Update: February 23, 2006

God is alive and active in Costa Rica!
We are grateful that on the weekends (when we aren’t studying) we have been able to get involved in some local ministries - thanks to a friend and local missionary, Keith.

One of the poorest communities here is Los Guido. There are thousands of families there living in makeshift houses. One afternoon we went along with Keith to deliver a package of diapers to a young mother named Kattia. Her house is made of scraps of corrugated tin which lean against the wall of a building. It is about 5 by 10 feet, smaller than some walk in closets. She has a dirt floor, an old couch, and a bucket with a toilet seat on it. She has no water, but somehow managed to tap into a source of electricity. (We were amazed at the number of shacks that had TV’s.). In many of the families in this area, the father has abandoned the wife and kids, but Kattia is lucky; her husband is still around, and even gets work sometimes. Still, on the day we visited, she could not afford a carton of milk for her 2 year old son. A few diapers aren’t much, but it felt good to do something for this lady, and you could tell that she really appreciated our visit.

Through Adrienne’s sister, we met a young woman named Maureen. Maureen and her family live in Los Guido. Maureen’s husband, Kenneth, was working for Coca-Cola making 27,000 colones (about $50) per week, but got laid off a couple of weeks ago. As a result they had to send their two young boys to Maureen’s parents in Limon (a poor area on the Caribbean side of the country). We enjoyed having them over for dinner one night, taking them out to a restaurant on another occasion, and visiting in their home. We hope that we can continue the relationship if they don’t move out of this area.

One of the highlight times since we have been here was a few Sunday’s back. Along with Keith, we took 13 girls and 2 boys to the movie theater. (Attached is a photo of the kids at the bus stop). They ranged from age 4 to 11 and were from the “hueco” (hole) in Los Guido. The hueco is sort of like a trash dump with a contaminated stream flowing through it. We believe that none of these kids had ever been to a movie, or even a shopping mall. Watching them (some very nervously) ride the escalator and the elevator for the first time was a joy to us. The movie was Narnia and afterward Keith tried in his broken Spanish to explain the parallel between the movie and the Gospel. We’re not sure if they understood that….but we do know they got a little sense of God’s love that day.

There is another ministry here that we are working with as time allows. It is in another poor community called Los Guizaros. A woman there named Cecilia (see attached photo) felt led by God to provide food and some spiritual education to the local kids. The ministry grew to feeding a hot meal (mostly rice and beans) to about 50 to 80 children three times each week. For many of the kids, these are the best meals they get. We are helping them expand to six days per week, and are helping with the activities and meals on Saturdays.

Many of you joined us in praying for Rocio (our landlady) recently. Thank you so much! God was so loving and faithful. Rocio had been experiencing swelling and pain in her lower legs, ankles and feet for a couple of weeks. She went to the doctor, and heard very bad news. As we were returning from la feria (the farmer's market) on Saturday morning she came out of her house to greet us. We could immediately see that something was wrong. We asked her how she was and in tears, she began to tell us about her Dr. appointment. (Keep in mind that she doesn't speak any English, so we were working hard to understand the basics.) She said that they did an ultrasound on her legs and she was losing or had lost circulation below the knees. The Dr. planed to do a procedure the following Tuesday to try to open the arteries and veins. She was told that if the procedure was not successful, they would likely have to take her legs from the knees down. We sat with her and Adrienne held her for about an hour while she cried. She has a son, Alex, who is handicapped and was very afraid that she wouldn’t be able to take care of him if she lost her legs. She asked us why God makes 'special' children if he doesn't allow the mothers to take care of them. Now, that's a tough question to try to answer in English, let alone in our limited Spanish!!

A couple of times during the next few days, Adrienne massaged Rocio’s legs and feet, we (along with some of you) prayed, and we also got some advice from Adrienne’s brother-in-law, who suggested that the problem might be related to the heart or blood pressure. Well, Rocio held off on her procedure for that Tuesday and was able to see a cardiovascular specialist the next day. (“Next day” appointments are unheard of here; God definitely orchestrated that!) The second doctor said that her veins and arteries were fine and she needs treatment for high blood pressure. What a relief! Throughout this 'adventure' she and Adrienne have become much closer. Adrienne was definitely blessed to be able to minister to her through massage, prayer, and companionship. Praise God!

Prayer Requests
Thank you all for your support. We know that God is listening to your prayers. He is very active in our lives. Please continue to pray for us and our ministry here. Following are some specific praises and requests:

· Praise God that He has kept us healthy and our minds seem to be able to make room for the Spanish language. Please pray that our language acquisition continues.
· There has been a rash of burglaries and assaults in our neighborhood. Please pray for our safety and the safety of those around us.
· The school year started here a couple weeks ago. Please pray that it will be a successful year at La Palabra de Vida – that the students would grow both academically and spiritually.
· Please pray for Rocio’s health, especially getting control of her blood pressure.
· Please ask God to bless Kenneth, Maureen and their boys, with an income, and a place of their own to live in.
· Please pray for Cecilia (in Los Guizaros) as she works to expand the number of days that children are fed in the community center.
· Please pray for God’s clear direction for 2007 and beyond.

More photos are available through the following link: http://www.parcher.us/gallery/Costa-Rica

God bless you,
Mark and Adrienne