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Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Rain, Weddings, and New Adventures

Rainy season has finally come. It came about a month late, but it’s here! Sometimes I wonder we prayed so hard that God would give us a dry wedding day that He decided to move the entire season back a month.


It’s interesting to no longer write as “I” and “me” but “us” and “we.” Manu and I have been married for just about two months now (woohoo!) and there are so many things that we are still getting used to, but so far it’s been a beautiful, smooth transition. In the last few months we have seen God’s hand move in ways that we did not expect. I can now see that long before we were ever making wedding plans, He was making them for us by putting people in our lives who would help lift the load of wedding plans and details. I learned a good, hard lesson on pride and letting go of control the week of the wedding. It’s one that I won’t soon forget. In the end the wedding was beautiful, we enjoyed ourselves and were so blessed to have many friends and family members travel long distances to stand beside us. 








After our honeymoon Manu and I moved into an apartment located about 200 yards from the coffee farm that serves as VidaNet’s base. God was definitely in control of that detail as well. We had our eye on two apartments. One we had seen and loved, the other we hadn’t seen but it was closer and cheaper. After waiting, praying and playing a long game of phone tag with the owners of the cheaper one we were ready to give up and go with the more expensive one. We decided to call one last time and were finally able to see the apartment. We loved it (especially the price!) and said “yes” on the spot.





In ministry, Manu and I have committed to the position of Vida220 Directors for the next three years. The school starts on October 18 and we are working hard to prepare everything for its arrival. This year we are expecting 13 students from the US, Canada, and Costa Rica. We are excited and nervous to see what the next 10 months will hold. It’s a huge responsibility and this is an intense program. It would be easy to wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves into, but if there is one thing that we are sure of, it’s that God called us to this, we didn’t just choose it on a whim.  We hope and expect to not only see growth and greater maturity in the students this year, but in our lives and leadership as well.  


We would greatly appreciate it if you would join us in prayer for these things:
  • Protection over our marriage, home, and health
  • Wisdom in our marriage and ministry
  • That God would take total control of Vida220 and change the lives of all involved
  • For guidance and direction for future plans, both near and far
  • That Manuel would receive his visa to be able to visit the States


Thank you so much for taking time to pray for us and these things. Manu and I may never be able to personally thank you for your support and prayers, but know that we are so grateful for it! We hope to visit the States sometime very soon! Until then you’ll be hearing from us from here.


May God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you!
With love,

Manuel and Liz

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Homesickness


“Our Father will refresh us with many pleasant inns on the journey, but he would not encourage us to mistake them for home.”
                                                          C.S. Lewis


I’ve been feeling homesick lately. It always seems to happen around this time of year. You’d think that the holidays would be the most difficult time to be away from home, but I’ve found that it’s the months following Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s that hit me hardest.

This homesickness is something that I have yet to fully understand, although I feel like God has recently given me some insight on the matter.

It’s a strange thing, because the feeling of homesickness doesn't go away when I’m “at home” in Ohio. There’s still always something missing. But what is it?

In Ohio I’ve got a big, amazing family, great friends, an awesome church, history, the privilege of enjoying four distinctly beautiful seasons, so many comforts, so many opportunities. Why shouldn’t I feel at home there?

Here in Costa Rica I really have no reason to feel so homesick either. I have been blessed to be able to meet and get to know so many wonderful people, many of whom have come to feel like family. I have an amazing boyfriend. I daily get to see the awesome works of God’s creation in ways that I would never see in Ohio. God’s allowed me to form a very small part of an effective ministry. Why shouldn’t I feel perfectly at home here?

Would anyone like to tell me?

Some might call it discontentment. Or maybe it’s just a “missionary problem”. Sometimes I feel like I’m just flat out crazy. Or maybe I’m not so crazy. Maybe this feeling is something normal, something people have been feeling for thousands of years.

"Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw if way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that--heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a city waiting for them."
                                                   Hebrews 11:13-16 MSG

Could this be something we’re all born with? Maybe whether we realize it or not, there’s something deeply ingrained in our souls that tells us there’s something more, something so much better than this.

Naturally we’re all looking for that unknown thing. We look for it in money, possessions, and power. We think we’ll find it when we finally have our “other half”. We search in seemingly good and fulfilling things like having a successful ministry, being active members in a good church, and surrounding ourselves with wholesome things and people. Well, let me be the first to tell you that it’s in none of those things. 

“They desire a better country…a heavenly one.”

I've come to the conclusion that this homesickness will be sticking around for a while (at least I hope it will!), and honestly I’m okay with that. But I know that someday it will end. Someday I’ll no longer be an exile in a strange land, but a permanent resident of that heavenly country. Someday I’ll be home. I long for that day, but if God still has me here then it must be for a good reason, and I fully intend to make the best of every moment that He allows me to walk this foreign land.