Thank you

I want to take a few minutes to say thank you to so many of you who have been praying for me and my family over these past couple weeks. Your prayers and your sweet words of comfort and encouragement have meant so much to me. These last few weeks have been challenging, but I am continually reminded that God is good ALL the time. He is using each circumstance in our lives for His glory. Each day there are blessing that keep popping up here and there that so clearly show God's hand over everything.

My mom had to go to Arizona with my grandpa for two weeks to help sort through all his stuff there and get his condo ready to sell. Because we are in a period of transition in Costa Rica, I was able to have the flexibility to extend my stay and help Dad take care of the kids while Mom was gone. While home, I have been so blessed by our community of friends and family that have surrounded in this time, especially from my home church, Crossroads. Our church family took such great care of us; helping me get kids to school, basketball games, piano.... Plus, while my mom was gone, I don't think I cooked one meal! This was a huge help, even though I love to cook, since I also happened to be really sick most of the time my mom was gone.

My mom is now back; which I am so thankful for. My grandpa has moved into a one-bedroom apartment above the garage of our neighbors, two houses down the street. It is perfect for him. He is close to family and near enough to town that he can still walk to his favorite coffee place, McDonalds. He is glad to be here, but there still is a lot of transitioning. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

On Saturday I head back to Costa Rica. I am thankful for a few more days to get to spend some quality time with Mom. It's hard to realize that this is, most likely, my one trip home for the year. It will be hard to say goodbye to my family all over again and to leave my strong community here. But at the same time, there is a part of me, that is hopefully for the community I will build in Costa Rica. Right now, that community is very small, but I look forward to building relationship that will expand my "family" down there. It will never replace the relationships I have here, but I look forward to the day when the two communities will be joined together forever and we won't have to say goodbye anymore.