November Update

Well, we have now celebrated our first major holiday outside the US and can I say that our God is faithful and continues to do more than I can ask or imagine! We celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday with about 50 fellow Christians from here in the area where we live and work. It was an incredible thing to see the community that Christ has blessed us with in such a short time. We are closer to some people than others, but to know that all the people in that room yesterday are followers of Christ and most are here trying to make a difference in His name is quite amazing. We had a traditional American Thanksgiving meal, with all families contributing something. We fixed a ham and green bean casserole—from scratch (no Campbell's soup here and they were all out of canned green beans). We also had turkey, cornbread dressing, bread, potatoes, deviled eggs, salads and pineapple. We had a whole array of desserts from cupcakes for the kids to pumpkin and pecan pie! We haven't eaten like that in months! We were so full. Our tropical twist to the day was a walk down to the beach after we ate. Eden and I played in the sand and water and Bart went spelunking! He finally had a group of guys here to go exploring with and they had a blast. We are going to have to get a waterproof camera so he can get some good pictures of the caves.

My heart is full right now. As we continue to serve here, I am humbled that God chose us to be here and grateful that through your generosity we were able to come! Since you last heard from us, we completed 6 weeks of language class and are so thankful we did it.

Bart and I can now function pretty completely in Spanish, though he is much better than I am. The family that are the caretakers here at Refugio Solté speak only Spanish and we now are able to visit with them as well as accomplish the work with them that we need to. I am overjoyed with how far we have come. Bart even made a trip to an island where we have been working with some locals and served as the translator for the day! Can you believe it?

The longer I am here the more I hunger for the local people to know the love of our redeeming savior. For so many of them, they have no joy. I know there lives are far more difficult than mine will ever be, but I also know a redeeming savior who can change so much of their outlook on life. Please pray for them and that God will provide ways for us to reach out to them and show them His freedom and love!

I am now serving as coordinator of our Preschool Sunday School at Iglesia de la Costa, our church here. I teach the class once every 3 weeks as well as plan all the lessons and activities. It is also a great chance to use my Spanish as Eden is generally the only English speaker in the class!

Speaking of church, we had a program last Sunday afternoon for the kids in the community. It was a great time and the group that presented not only gave the kids a fun time, but presented the gospel of Christ! There were clowns, an obstacle course and candy! Eden was also one of 2 gringo kids present but she had a blast. When it was all over she told Bart and I we need a clown at home so she can play with them all the time!

We said 'goodbye' to JoJo early last week. Bart and I miss her, but not like Eden does. She was such a blessing to have here. She is a beautiful young lady of God and I am looking forward to see how He chooses to use her sweet and caring heart! She is a special one!

We are still waiting on our container...I know, I can't really believe it either. We have word a month ago that it would be about 2 more weeks and here we are...We spoke with our agent again last Friday and An he says it really will be just about 2 more weeks now. I guess we will see. I think about all of this and realize how little I feel like I need most of that stuff now. I am praying God will show me how I can pass it on to bless someone here that doesn't have much! Please be praying that God will open all the doors to finally get it out of storage and that He will provide the last bit of money we need. He has been faithful to give us all we have needed up to this point and we know He will continue!

We make out next trip out of the country the beginning of this next week. It is hard to believe it is already that time again. We are going a little early so we have it done before Christmas activities at church pick up and before my Mom arrives! We are looking forward to some family time together and to enjoying some air-conditioning for a little while!

As far as Refugio Solté goes, Bart is working very diligently to have what we have here complete by the end of February, including a more reliable power supply. He is currently working on building a house for the caretakers and then will dive into really finishing up the kitchen. Please be praying that as Answering the Call is working on raising the funds we need to complete the work, that God will open doors and lead them to the people they need to be in contact with. It is exciting to think we may actually have a full schedule next spring.

My role here at Refugio Solté has finally come together. While we are still planning on having and hosting groups of pastors from other countries for training and recuperation, that only partially fills our calendar. Based on that fact and in an effort to raise money to maintain RS and bring in the pastors at no cost to them, we are going to begin hosting groups to come in and do local mission work. These groups will utilize RS as their "hotel" but we will be able to more fully serve them because we will cater to the work they will be doing. One thing that sets us apart from other place is we are welcoming families with children of all ages. Many of the areas of service here are kid friendly—working with kids in the orphanages, minor construction projects, community VBS programs to name a few. For those projects, parents will take their older children along. The younger kids, say from 3 to 8 years of age, will stay on the RS campus and I will provide a missions based program for them to go through. I desire to provide them with learning opportunities in many areas. I want them to learn about the local community, the areas and people Answering the Call is ministering to around the world, and learning more about God and our responsibility to share His love with others. I am in the process of developing the program and am really excited for the opportunity to do this. I am praying that God will use this to open the hearts and eyes of the kids to the world around them and to ways that they can share God's love even at a young age. I know this is part of God's plan for me here.

Thank you for reading all of this. I know it has been a while since we have been in touch. Know that we think of you often and miss you dearly. Our hearts are full remembering all our Lord has blessed us with especially his love and gift of salvation. We thank you for providing for our family so we can follow where God has asked us to go and we can do the work we have been asked to do. Your faithfulness and willingness to bless us is beyond words! Your prayers and encouragement keep us pursuing all God has for us and we thank you for that. We love you and are praying for you!

With a thankful heart,

Heather

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." Philippians 1:3-5

September Update - Some things to laugh at...

Hola mis amigos!

As usual this was written earlier in the week. I wanted to get pictures in and that always takes me forever! Anyway, we do have more to share and will next week. JoJo is here safe and sound and Eden is EATING her up! What a blessing this time will be and we are looking forward to it. Please pray for her and her family as I know this will be a growing time as well!

I hope this finds you well and enjoying what God has blessed you with. I know it has been a while since you have heard from me. I have had a bit of difficult adjustment since my short return to the States. I struggled a little getting back into our simpler way of life and with having a positive perspective on it and all that we are going through. God and I have worked through so much and I find that I have a new joy in what he has given us here and beginning to find my place.

I know one of the things that we asked for prayer for as we began our new life was for fellowship. Can I tell you our Lord has been beyond faithful! We have Sarah and Jason who are here serving with ATC and have been such a God send to us. They have helped with so much as far as knowing how to save money on food, where to go for the things we need, how to get to certain places and then helped us through our first short stent in and out of the country. I cannot imagine where we would be without them and I know their first couple of years were tough not having been through this and not having anyone here, but wow, what they have provided for us is just beyond measure! Then we have Joe and Danette! They are also serving down here in a nontraditional missionary role. They are running a coffee shop and ministering to the local families through that. They have become really good friends. We find out selves at their place or them at ours several times a week. If we haven’t talked in a day it’s a little strange. They have 2 kids that are older than Eden, but they play with her and spend time with her and Eden just eats it up! I want to tell you that that prayer has been more than answered. God has moved, as always, beyond my wildest expectations!

We celebrted Eden's 3rd burthday here last week. We had a good time and she is PROUD to be 3! She is such a joy and a blessing. It is still so amazing to watch and listen to her here. She was created by our Heavenly Father to be here! We are soblessed!

I have a couple of funny stories I want to share - some things that have happened in getting adjusted to our new country, new money, new language and new surroundings, i.e. the jungle! First was a while back. I had gone to the store to buy a bill of groceries and we needed aluminum foil. I actually saw a brand I recognized as a cheap brand in the States but a very satisfactory product none the less. I glanced at the prices on the shelf and a far as I could ascertain, it was reasonably priced. I grabbed it and put it into the cart. I finished shopping and then went to check out. I was watching the prices and when the foil was rung up I about fell over. It rang up for the equivalent of about $14 American dollars. I was so flabbergasted that I couldn’t even manage to explain that I didn’t want it so I bought it. Now, I have never been one to feel the need to wash and reuse much like that – foil, saran wrap, ziplok bags, etc. But at $14 a roll, you begin to think twice, first before you use it at all and then again before you throw it away. I haven’t resorted to saving it yet, but wow was I surprised!

We have had a couple of language flubs of course but my favorite of mine was asking for butter (mantequilla) instead of a broom (macarena) – which here broom is escoba, so I wasn’t even close! And the ladies I was asking were very confused.

And as far as living in the jungle – or close anyway. Bart woke up one night because he heard something rattling the gate that acts as our front door. He came out to look, but couldn’t see anything. So, he came back to bed and just listened for a while. I woke up per my normal listening for Eden and all of a sudden I hear this noise and he says “That’s what I heard.” and jumps out of bed. He grabs the flash light and shines it into our living room which is actually a giant screen porch. As he does he sees something scurry across the floor and then up the wood brace on the other side of the room. At that point he turns on the light and there is a small opossum on top of this rail that runs along the front wall of our living room. I have joined him at this point and don’t know how we (or he – I wasn’t going near it!) was going to get this thing out of our house. He opens the gates and then opens the doors on either side of our living room/screen porch. He tries to shoo it out with the broom but it just runs back and forth on this pole and seems to have no desire to come down. So Bart grabs the pole the opossum is on, which is like 20’ long, and carries it out the door. I imagine that it is going to run back at Bart and attack him when the pole starts to move, but once it is out the door and close to the ground, it jumps off and runs away. We haven’t seen it again and I am very thankful. I had quite the mess to clean up in the morning and was thanking God for bleach and having enough towels that I could just throw the one I used away. I also wondered how zoo keepers possibly clean up after these critters every day. The smell was horrendous! So, we headed back to bed and had quite the story to share with Eden the next day. She was sad that she didn’t get to see the ‘possumus’ as she calls it and made us promise that if something like that ever happened again that we would come get her up.

As I have been sitting here writing, I have seen this flock of birds that lives in our yard, guans, walk across our driveway and just now fly behind me. They aren’t small birds, about the size of a grown rooster though skinnier and quite goofy in their behavior. They are quite funny and make a ton of racket when they want to. They entertain us pretty often.

It looks like things are coming together for my role with ATC. It will be in a role of working with children and I am thrilled about that. Pray that as this develops we will all be faithful to what God desires here.

God is teaching me so much right now. I am doing a study about who we are in Christ and it is just such a blessing. There are so many things that I have never been able to grasp about being a daughter of God and here in this place, I am understanding it so much better and feel like for the first time in a long time He and I are actually making some real headway in my understanding of how he loves me. There have been so many things that I have heard and studied during the past few years that I was curious about and wanted to believe, but was never able to make them a reality in my life and now I know my mind is being renewed and I am really taking these things to heart. Please pray that I will be faithful in my study and that I will continue to see what the Lord wants me to see and live a life that reflects my new understandings!

We want to share fully with you about the first retreat we had at Refugio Solté. Bart and I are working on it and we will have it to you soon. We appreciate those of you that prayed over that weekend. Know that the pastor and his church members were encouraged and uplifted and had God move in their lives in a mighty way that weekend. What an amazing blessing to get to be a part of!

Please continue to pray for the provision for the taxes and the release of our belongings we shipped here on the container. Also pray that we can come to some resolution quickly as our transportation situation is a strain not just on us but the family that lives at Refugio Solté. Based on information we received, we underestimated our taxes on the truck and personal belongings. We are working with an agent here to try and get things sorted out and to see if we can get any of that reduced. We know God, as he has in all things, has a plan and whether it is to supply the money we need, to reduce the money we owe, or a combination of the two, He will be faithful and provide what we need.

Thank you for each of you that are faithfully giving to allow us to be here. Thank you for each of you that are faithfully praying for us and our ministry. Know that you each are the reason we are able to follow the call God placed on our lives. We love you and look forward to hearing from you!

Feeling loved and blessed!
Heather

August Update - Poco a poco

Our first two months in the field have been a whirlwind for Heather, Eden, and I. It has been non-stop action and adjustment since we arrived. But now the winter is winding down here in Central America. The groups are finished coming, the rains have begun to fall almost every day, and projects are slowly grinding to a halt, and we moved into another (long term) house. And in this, we are beginning to understand the new life God has for us.

Before we moved here we thought that we had a pretty good idea about what life would be like in Central America based on our previous visit and discussions with others who live here. Things have turned out to be a little different than we were expecting. I hope that through my description you might more fully understand what things are like for us.

There is a saying that you hear down here all of the time; “poco a poco.” Little by little. This is truly the life that we are living and learning now. Daily chores are truly that. Several hours a day are spent cooking meals and washing the dishes. Sweeping must be done daily and bugs are everywhere. Laundry has become a marathon event as clotheslines have largely taken the place of the dryer. Four weeks ago we started the process to get cell phones. Late last week, we received them. There is no postal service and as a result, we have learned that you just go to the bank (which can be an extended event in itself) early in the month and ask how much you owe and pay it then or your utilities get cut off (We learned this lesson over a $27.00 electricity bill. We went a whole night not knowing this because I assumed it was just one of our regular black outs.). Everything takes more time here. No matter how early of a start you try to get to your day, it seems you always get to where you are trying to go later than you planned. From a fast paced American mind set it is a huge change, but as for us, there is no doubt that this is the place that God has prepared for us and this is the life that we are meant to live.

Back in the states, our house is still on the market. A potential sale fell trough and we are currently attempting to lease it. We honestly don’t know what else to ask or pray for with this issue. I just know that funds to pay the mortgage are gone after this month and it is all in God’s hands.

Up at Refugio Solte things are much the same. I look over the property and see so much that needs to be done and have learned that due to the tools, labor, money, building practices, and weather (have you ever tried to dig a swimming pool in the rain with a shovel? That’s my project this fall. My three interns are going to hate me by November), no project gets done as quickly as you would hope. At times this has been discouraging, but Heather reminded me to look at what has been done. The road drains better due to work we have done on it. Large areas of the property that were formerly mud are now landscaped gardens. A large portion of the main building is painted. There are stairways connecting the second and third floor. There are handrails around the third floor. There is a gate that is three quarters finished. The second pastor’s house now has a sidewalk leading to it and hot water (Sorry Houston; missed it by two weeks.) Plus I have been able to design the gate, a grand stairway to the fourth floor and a pool. Never mind that fifteen hundred and fifty coffee plants are going in the ground as I write this. God is blessing this project and moving it along in his time and expanding its scope.

South of where we are located is a small, difficult to reach, mosquito infested island with little in the way of electricity and no running water. A small group of people, many of them believers, scratch out a living here (The Houston group knows this island from their dental clinic). Refugio Solte is now to a state of completion that our fellow workers have been able to invite the Christian leadership and their families from the island to our mountain of refuge and restoration for a time of replenishment, training, and encouragement. In the early spring the site will be used for a marriage retreat, and this past summer the site was used to train almost twenty youths and twenty-somethings about kingdom living and the power inherent in being a child of God. Never mind the fact that Refugio Solte can now function as a home base for groups who come to work in the areas around our mountain.

Over the past few weeks we have met and become friends with several other missionaries in our immediate area. One family runs a pizzeria and coffee shop (the peanut butter cup latte makes Starbucks taste like instant coffee), another family leads a small bilingual church that we are currently attending, and another couple makes videos to help promote the ministries of other missionaries. Interestingly enough there is a common theme amongst us all. When we first met each family one of the first thing that was expressed was the desire for fellowship with other believers. Heather and I are currently praying about opening our home for fellowship and bible study among these new friends. Please be praying with us as to how God would have us proceed. In the states, missions is so often presented as a series of individual missionaries doing their work. This missionary does one thing, another missionary does another, and heaven forbid the idea that another denomination might be doing good work also. In practice, I am finding that these lines get a little blurry. You discover who is on your team and you play together.

On a lighter note, I have definite proof that God has a sense of humor. Growing up I thought it was a reasonable goal to be a millionaire by my thirties, I always wanted a place in the country with a tree lined driveway and a view. God gave it all to us. We just didn’t know that driveway would be lined with coconut trees and have a view of the Pacific Ocean and the Jungle and we really never expected that it wouldn’t be a house in the country but in another country. The funniest thing about it all is that down here I am not only a millionaire but, our support exchanges out to almost one point two million local dollars a month. As great as this sounds, it costs me one thousand local dollars to buy Eden a snow cone and gas costs over two thousand local dollars a gallon. A million doesn’t go as far as it used to.

Thank you for all of your prayer, love, and support. Taste and see that the Lord is good. To me he tastes like a peanut butter cup latte. We will write again soon. It’s raining and the power is out again.

We love you,
Bart

A new home!

Blessings to each of you!

As I write today, I have the pleasure of sitting in one of the bunk rooms at Refugio Solté as Eden naps. I look out one window and I can see the rain forest and I look out the other windows past the cross and see the Pacific Ocean. I am reminded of how great our Creator is and if this is more beautiful than I can really describe, how much better did God intend it to be and will it be when he establishes his kingdom here on earth again.

God has kept the story of the Garden of Eden before the fall on my mind the past several days. He has reminded me of the physical beauty of the place, but mostly of the intimate communion he had with Adam and Eve. He has reminded me that that is the reason he created us – to have a relationship with him and that all we go through here is to bring us into that relationship. One of the greatest displays of his glory is through the mercy he freely gives us to receive the mercy he poured out for us through his death on the cross and resurrection. I desire to experience that intimacy with him but I also know I fall way short on my end of things. I am thankful he is always right there beside me when I realize I have grown distant and turn back to him. He has stayed right behind me during the times I choose to lead and not follow. And he always welcomes me back with open arms when my heart comes home.

The last couple of weeks have brought some bumps. We are holding on to the fact that God has a plan and is working all of this toward our good. Please continue to pray for the sale of our house in Rosenberg. The contract we had on it fell through due to a really low appraisal. As that happened God gave us the word surrender. It’s one of those things that you think you are there but then you realize there is more you have to let go of. We thought we had a great plan worked out to sell the house and pay off our debt, but are now realizing that God has another plan. We don’t know how this one looks, but we are trusting Him to reveal it to us one step at a time just as he has with everything else!

Though there have been a couple of issues here with our current housing situation, God provided a home we will be renting long term. It is a great little house - 2 full bedrooms and bathrooms, a great size kitchen, a screened dining and living area, and a screen porch in the back. The porch in the back is large enough for half to serve as our utility room and storage area and the other half to work as a guest room. I can easily hang up curtains to make it a nice little room for guests. We will be moving into it on Tuesday and are really looking forward to being there. As excited as I am about the house the piece of property that it is on is just amazing – about 2 acres of land which has been cultivated and gardened by a sweet lady who is 82 years young. There is a coconut grove, 2 huge guanacasta trees, an herb garden, hibiscus, avocado trees, lemon trees, a bamboo planting, and so much more. Eden cannot wait to get to play in her new yard. I think she is actually more excited about moving than we are. And there is no reason why we should know about this house. God literally put me in the right place at the right time.

I will be traveling back to the states the end of this next week to finish packing up the house in Rosenberg and shipping our container. We are looking forward to having some ore of our things here, but especially our Bronco. The Jimmy is a great little car and it has been wonderful, but we look forward to having some more room and to not be paying rent on a vehicle anymore. The Bronco has been aptly named the “Jungle Buggy” and it will fit right in down here. I ask that you pray for Bart and Eden as they stay here. We are blessed to have Kloé, a young lady from our church here with them until August 7. I should be back not too many days after she leaves. I know Eden will be in expert hands with her and her daddy, it’s just hard knowing I will be so far away.

Pray for safe travel for my mom and I next week as we return. Pray the Lord will direct my steps in my time in the states and that I can accomplish all that needs to be done in my short time there. Pray for my mom as she returns life as normal – whatever that is, right? Pray that her time here will have been restful and that she can tackle what God has in the days ahead for her with gusto and assurance that her Heavenly Father has a plan for her too!

Bart is continuing to make visible and tangible progress at Refugio Solté. There is a new sidewalk to the 2nd pastor’s house, hot water in the 2nd pastor’s house, more progress on the landscaping, and the gate has walls and the arch on top is going up as I write. He is also making plans for stairs to the 4th floor in the main building, for the pool and several other things. Please pray with us that God will continue to provide for the growth of Refugio Solté and that all involved with the planning will be faithful to what God desires to happen here.

As we wrap up the summer we will begin planning for outreach in the community. I continue to pray that if this is where God would have me invest my time, that it would be clear and a desire that I cannot deny. We have mentioned the possibility of an afterschool program for the kids being a real possibility. I would love for you to join me in those prayers. Many details would need to be worked out, but I think it would be a great way to get this kind of thing off the ground. I am praying that if this is God’s desire that he would provide all we need to get it off the ground.

Thank you for letting me share some more of our life with you. Thank you for “standing in the gap” for us. Thank you for continually taking us before the Lord. We ask God to pour out special blessings on your life for all you have done for us. We love you each and look forward to each time we get to share with you. Take care and we will send more soon!

We love you each with the love of Christ!
Heather

PS: As always, I did not get this off as soon as I wrote it. We are now moved into our house which has been wonderful for the 2 days I got to enjoy it. We have a little more room than we had, Eden has her own space and a huge yard to run and play in. God also brought a cat to us on Wednesday night. She seems to be there for good. We have named her Luna and Eden (and Bart and I) has fallen in love with her. Luna has no aptitude for catching bugs, but she’s a cuddler!

I am on my way to Houston in about a 1 and a half. I am returning to go ahead and get out belongings and vehicle shipped and hopefully get something worked out with the house. I want to say a special thanks to our community group once again who has risen above and beyond to help us get things done around the house. They painted and have been keeping the yard up. We feel SO blessed to truly know what church family means! What an amazing thing to experience! We love you guys and thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
~Heather

House in Rosenberg

Hello All!

Bart and I want to ask for your continued prayer about the sell of our house. The contract we had fell through due to an incredibly low appraisal. Our realtor has tried to get something worked out and it is just pretty much dead. We are a little discouraged, but know God has a plan. The word God gave us this week in all of this was surrender. We are ready to sell the house and just come out not owning anything - cover the mortgage, the commissions and any closing costs. That's it. We had hoped to make some on it to pay off our other debt, but God has showed us this week he has another plan for that. So if you know someone that wants a great deal on a great house, let them know about ours! ;)

As far as praises, we had a great week with things here. We found a house to rent that is in our budget and beyond our expectations as far as the property it is on. I will share pics as soon as I can. Bart is continuing to make progress on the site with the completion of another sidewalk and more work on the gate. He learned to weld this week and is enjoying using his new skill.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and encouragement. We know God will use all of this toward our good and I know I am just having to hold on to that right now. We love you each and thank God for bringing you into our lives!

Blessins in Christ!
Heather

Weeks 2 and 3

Hola Amigos!

What a couple of weeks. I know it has been a couple of weeks and I am sorry. There are times here when life seems to move at turtle speed and I have all the time in the world. There are other times that I feel like I am busier than I have ever been. I know as we continue to settle in a routine will develop and I will be more consistent at everything including our blog. Sorry there are no pics again...they are not with me as I have time to post!

What a blessing it was to have the Grand Parkway team here this weekend. It was pure joy to have familiar faces around us. They helped accomplish several things at the center and took the Kingdom to people that have never heard it! They also provided me with some much needed towels and cooking supplies from the house in Rosenberg. I am a happy lady in the kitchen now. You that use Pampered Chef tools know what I am talking about! How did we ever function without them? It sure must not have been very fun! I smile now each time I use my garlic press or use a really good knife to chop some veggies because I am reminded of the wonderful people who brought them to me!

We have also had some friends from the team spend some extra time with us at our home. It was such a blessing to have them there and be able to share life with them. I know we are actively praying to find a home that will allow us to continue to do this and allow our guests some privacy. On that note, we have looked at a few houses. We have found either end of the spectrum – not very well built and not enough room or way more than we can afford! Please pray with us that the Lord will lead us to just the right house for just the right amount of money. I am also asking that if less is what we are supposed to be in, that He will help me get beyond any of my personal hang ups to living in and with much less that we had planned. I want to be open to what He has for us and I don’t want to get in the way of that.

My days continue to be filled with running errands and helping with various things with ATC. I had a rough spot this week, but it was the first time I allowed myself to begin processing all the change. God saw me through it and all is well and even more clear! I would appreciate prayer for time to process all of this and continued peace that we are exactly where we are supposed to be. Bart and the team from GPBC began a gate at the entrance to Refugio Solté. They also did some more landscaping and laid out the path for the sidewalk to the 2nd pastors’ house. He has a long list of things to do and continues to work on them as he is able. The Generation of Promise girls come tomorrow and he is looking forward to being able to work with them. Eden is having a BLAST. She continues to explore and learn each day. We are up with the sun and down not long after. She has chickens up the road she has adopted as her own and every puppy we see is hers. She has also had a horse in our front yard and met a little girl that lives next to us yesterday. I am just in awe to watch her as she takes in her new world. Each moth is “so beautiful” and each new person is “her friend.”

As we were in church a couple of Sundays ago, one of the pastor’s daughters came and asked Eden if she wanted to come to the back for a children’s time. She did and I went with her to help her feel a little more at ease. I was amazed to see that it was being led by the pastor’s youngest daughter. She had gathered a book, some colors – which they had very few of, some coloring pages, a few pieces of construction paper, an almost empty bottle of glitter glue, and a goody bag for each kid – left by another church visiting from the states I am sure. She read the book and then asked the kids to draw a picture of the story. Keep in mind that she may be 10 years old. Eden joined in and enjoyed it, but quickly realized that this wasn’t her normal Sunday school thing – all the glue she needs, unlimited color choices, all the paint she wants, etc. As per a normal 2 year old – she began to protest. It was her first encounter of not having something she was used to having and learning that this is all there was. There wasn’t a closet in a back room filled with supplies to allow her to craft to her heart’s content. I began to explain all of this to her and little by little she began to understand. Bart and I also talked with her about it several times over the next few days. Her world grew. She realized that there are kids out there that don’t have all they want at the drop of a hat. She realized that what she has been given is a blessing and not a right. Now, will this stick with her forever? Probably not, but what an honor to be a part of growing her world and ours. I feel so blessed that she gets to start looking at the world through those eyes now and not 20 years down the road. I know it will continue to be a challenge her, but wouldn’t you have liked to have started that lesson at 2 instead of 22?

While I was with the kids that night, God began to stir my heart. My desire and my passion for the hearts of the kids here became very evident to me! I began praying that night and continue to do so, that if that is the direction I am to move with ATC that He would lead the way. By Bart and I being here, ATC is now able to expand a reach out into the community around us. There are unreached people groups right here where we are. One group was visited by the GPBC team. There are others here that their own people call The Forgotten – they don’t even speak Spanish! God’s kingdom needs to be brought here! Please join me in praying that the Lord would reveal his plan to us and that my heart would be directed in the right path! I am excited to see where this all goes.

We are still waiting to get a closing date set for the house in Rosenberg. The appraisal has been done, but we are still awaiting the numbers. Please pray with us that the appraisal will be at or above what we have asked for it. This is the one place left where there can be a glitch, but we know our Father has a plan. I have to remember to give it over to him every day, and sometimes several times a day. My worry will do nothing to help the appraised price of the house!

Nana continues to be a blessing here. She has allowed me to do the things I need to do to get us set up and it is such a relief to have extra hands to help either with Eden or things around the house. Again today, I was just so amazed at the shear amount of time it takes to check email. Literally hours! And it was just checked 2 days ago! I continue to pray that her heart is getting renewed and refreshed and that she will return ready to tackle what God has in store for her. It has been such a blessing to share this special time in our lives with her and she has been such a blessing to us.

Thank you each for the prayers that are said on our behalf. Our Lord listens and will not fail! We treasure the words we receive in email and we will soon have a mailing address for you to send things to. Thank you does not seem enough for all each of you has done to help us get here – your prayers, your financial support and your encouragement. We love you each and look forward to hearing from you as I know you look forward to hearing from us. We pray that God blesses you each as you have blessed us!

We love you brothers and sisters in Christ!
Heather

Our First Week

NOTE: I will add more pics later

Hola familia y amigos!

What a wonderful week! I cannot believe we have already been here that long. It is just so amazing to finally be on this side of things. We are still working through things with the house, but otherwise we are settling in. Our transition has been relatively smooth. I am finding my way around the grocery stores and getting things set up in our apartment. I did laundry yesterday and Eden has experienced many firsts. I will try and give you an overview of our first week. I know we can say without a doubt that the Lord has been so gracious in preparing us for this journey. Each of our steps has been guided by him and we can see so much more of the big picture. And what a beautiful picture it is!

We arrived at our apartment on Friday evening. It is cute little place. It is actually like a little house. We have a wonderful kitchen and living area, a bathroom with a shower and 2 bedrooms. Nanna has one and Bart, Eden and I are in the other. God reminded me to pack her little air mattress so she is at home sleeping on it. He also gave me the foresight to bring a small pool for her. She not only plays in it, but we use it as her bath tub. She hasn’t quite been ready to give those up and our shower is actually large enough for it to fit inside. We have hot water and 2 small air conditioners which we are already using less and less. I keep turning up the temperature because I am getting cold! After locating a couple of pillows we are all sleeping well. We are in bed early, like 8:30 or 9, but up early – the sun is all the way up and very bright by 5:30am! This night owl never imagined she could function on these hours, but here I am!

Saturday we did some shopping and just getting settled in at home. On Sunday, we went up the mountain to Refugio Solté. We took in the sights and just enjoyed being “home”. Bart and I have felt homesick for this place ever since we left last year. It was so good to be back. For those that have been here you will not recognize so much of it. So much as been done, but there is so much more to do. God continues to grow his vision for it and with that the work grows.
Monday I ran errands – exchanged money at the bank, did some internet and computer work, and back to the grocery store. I go to the store every day. And that seems pretty typical. Fruits and veggies only keep for a day and you just don’t have much space to store things. Also, with the humidity – things just go bad sooner! Tuesday was similar but we spent some time up at Refugio Solté again.

Wednesday, we spent time here at home and then I took Eden and Nanna to the beach. I now know where the expression like a fish takes to water comes from. That was Eden and the beach. To watch her, you would think she had grown up going to the beach every day of her little life. She immediately took to the water and just had an absolute blast!

Thursday was laundry day. We spent the day washing clothes visiting with other ATC staff and enjoying the beautiful scenery. God showed me something too! While I was washing the water pump went out and I couldn’t get it restarted right away. I finally did, but it had slowed us down by about an hour. I was really wanting to able to leave before dark because I am still not quite used to driving on the 4-wheel drive required roads in the dark. Anyway, after I was finished putting our last load in the dryer, I saw the trees moving outside. I went out and up in a tree on the property of this house was a family of monkeys. There were probably about 6-8 of them ranging from adults to 2 that were pretty young. I called Nanna and Eden out and we got to enjoy watching them eat and play as our laundry finished. What God reminded me of as we watched was that if the water pumped had worked the whole time, we would not have been there to enjoy the monkeys. Just that little reminder that what we see as a delay or an inconvenience could actually be so we can be where we need to be to fully enjoy what God has given us. It just kind of brought a little perspective to this entire process! And Eden got to see her first monkeys up close and personal.

It does rain everyday and I know those of you in Texas are wishing we could send some your way. It has not damped Eden’s playing in any way!

Each day I marvel at the beauty God has put in this place and at his deciding to bring us here. We had very few questions and doubts before getting here and I can tell you whole heartedly that we are where God wants us right now. Everything we have done before now had been to prepare us for here, even down to the fact that we have both previously drive standard transmission vehicles – our little Suzuki Jimmy is manual transmission! We also watch Eden and we know she was created for this place. Will we be here forever? We do not know, but we know this is where God wants us right now! Bart is actively working and guiding the project already, Eden is having more fun than she ever has, and as for me – I am still unsure of my role with ATC, but I know God has a plan and I am at peace just caring for my family right now and helping out when and where I see a need I can meet.

We love you and thank you so much for helping us get here. We covet your prayers for our continued easy transition and that we can get everything wrapped up ad finalized in the States. Pray that things with the house continue to move forward and we will be finished with that in a few weeks! We thank you each for your prayers, for those of you that are supporting us financially, and for all of the encouragement we have received as we settle in.

Take care and God Bless!
Heather

Quick June Update

Dear Partners,

Thank you so much for your prayers. What a whirlwind of a week. I just wanted to give you a quick update and I will post more on our blog later this week. I just got off the phone with Bart. He has arrived safely in Central America and headed to the training center! Please pray for him to get some rest and to have a productive day tomorrow.

Eden, Mom and I leave Friday morning. Bart's trip really took all day so I am interested to see how Eden does. She is not a sit still kinda girl! :) I know you are praying and it means so much.

I meet with our realtor tomorrow and am praying for good news. We have several families that are interested and we are in their top 2 choices so lets keep it before the Lord. I am praying for an offer tomorrow! Join me!

I want to say a quick thank you for all of you that were a part of our day on Sunday. What a blessing to be all of are friends and family and to get to enjoy you all together. Thank you for the Good Ole' Texas BBQ and the sweet prayers! Again, what a blessing to be a part of this group of believers!

We love you guys and cannot wait to share more! I know you all want pics and we will get them posted on our blog as soon as we can! Please check in on our blog as I will be trying to post there every day as we really begin this!

Trusting in our Savior!
Heather Carty
www.cartysgoingglobal.blogspot.com

May Update

• May 19, 2009
  
  Dear Partners,
  
  I am sorry we have not been in touch for such a long time. I kept hoping we would have some new information to offer and nothing seemed to be changing for a while. Now, I feel like the whole world has changed in just a weekend!
  
  We are still praying about the sell of our house. We are now working with a new realtor and are very pleased with the changes we have seen. She held an open house this weekend and we had three visitors. All three had taken the time to look at our house online and were impressed enough with what they saw to come and visit. Our realtor will be following up with them by Wednesday. We are hopeful that we can move forward with one of these people as the buyer of our house.
  
  Bart is in the midst of wrapping things up at school as well as a few outside jobs and will be leaving for Central America around June 15. We will have an exact date later this week. There is much work to be done at the Training Center, now called Refugio Solté – “a place of refuge and to be released,” and he is anxious to get started.
  
  In light of him leaving, Eden and I had planned to stay here and take care of the house until it sold. Our incredible community group stepped forward this weekend and expressed a desire to do that for us so Eden and I can go ahead and travel with Bart. The ladies offered to keep the house dusted and vacuumed and the men will keep the yard done. It is such a blessing to be a part of a group that so desires to see us move into what God has for us that they will sacrifice their time and money to help us do that. These are the moments when I know what it means to be a church!
  
  So, unless we move forward with something on the house this week, Eden and I will be heading down mid-June as well. My mom is going to come with us and spend time helping us get settled and to see what we will be doing. We are excited to have her with us and know it will help make Eden’s transition easier. I will come home and close on the house and ship out our belongings when that happens.
  
  We know that this has been a much longer delay than we had expected, but we know our Savior is never late! We have seen His hand move in so many things and know that this is the right time. We have many things to accomplish in the next four weeks, but know we will get through.
  
  
• Please join us in lifting up the following things to the Lord:
• Please continue to pray for the quick sell of our house and the ability to pay off our remaining debt. We will be heading down in June trusting the Lord to take care of this before the pay-checks stop in August.
• Pray that the Lord will allow us to quickly gain a functional knowledge of the Spanish language.
• Pray that the Lord will provide fellowship for us as we begin a new life.
• Pray that the Lord will continue to provide peace and understanding to the friends and family that we leave behind in the United States.
• Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom with Eden as we make this transition and that her little two year old mind and heart will understand what we are doing. As we have been talking with her, she seems to be getting more prepared. Pray that God will continue reveal His plan to her in a way that she can understand.
• Prayer for JoJo and the Goodman family as they make the sacrifice to allow JoJo to come with us. Pray for the Lord to use this in their lives just as He is in ours. She will be coming down in the fall to help care for Eden so Bart and I can attend language school together.
• Pray that someone will come forward to take over the 3 year old Sunday School class we teach. With us leaving soon, this is an urgent need!
  
  
• Please pray about how the Lord might lead you to help with one of the following needs:
  We need to quickly find homes for our 2 dogs. If you are interested in taking one or know someone who is, please let us know.
• The continued provision of the $24,000-$30,000 yearly income –each week we see progress in this area!
• God’s provision of 1 laptop computers for work and communication with friends and family. We have received one – Praise the Lord!
• Peace about and provision for the proper storage of our belongings, both long term (things we want to keep but not move) and short term (items that will be going to Costa Rica, but not immediately).
• Provision of a 13 inch bench top planer similar to the Rigid TP1300LS and a legal copy of AutoCAD computer drafting program. Bart will use both of these for specific projects at the training center and well as for the future development of the site

We praise God continually for your support in our lives. Your actions, words, financial support and prayers are carrying us through. We are ready to embark on our journey and look forward to continuing to see God move in our lives. It is such a blessing to know a personal and relational God and we are humbled to be called to join Him in His work!

Blessings in Christ,
Bart, Heather and Eden Carty
www.cartysgoingglobal.blogspot.com
carty.family@hotmail.com

If you would like to make a contribution, please fill out the support form to the left or send us an email; you will be contacted shortly with details. We receive 100% of contributions and all donations are tax deductible. ATC will send you a receipt for tax purposes.

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” Psalm 67:1-2

March Update

March 30, 2009

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

Thank you so much for continued support and encouragement as we wait on our Lord! We are still here, but know that God is never late. He has a plan and it will happen at just the right time. We believe that what appears to be a delay for us is actually a chance for God to receive more glory. Each day more and more people are learning about what God is doing and are joining us in prayer. The more people who are a part of this means the more glory God receives when we finally get to make our move! Please lift up the following to our Heavenly Father. We thank you for your faithfulness and willingness to support the spreading of God’s amazing message of saving grace!

Praises:

• We are having people look at our house. We are thankful for the activity and the positive feedback we keep receiving from each showing.
• We have pledges for $1250 per month to go toward our living expenses in addition to one time gifts and pledges for moving expenses.
• Eden’s surgery for her ear tubes went perfectly. She is resting better, speaking clearer and just over all feeling better!
• We have located a language school on the coast where we will be living so we will not need to transition through the capital as we originally thought. This will allow us to begin work with ATC while we attend classes as time allows.

Prayer needs:

• Please continue to pray for the quick sell of our house and the ability to pay off our remaining debt. This is the last major obstacle we must maneuver in order to make our move to Central America.
• Pray that the Lord will allow us to quickly gain a functional knowledge of the Spanish language.
• Pray that the Lord will provide fellowship for us as we begin a new life.
• Pray that the Lord will continue to provide peace and understanding to the friends and family that we leave behind in the United States.
• Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom with Eden as we make this transition and that her little two year old mind and heart will understand what we are doing. She knows we are moving and that we will have a different house, but pray that when this actually happens that she will have peace and assurance that we will continue to be together as a family.
• Prayer for JoJo and the Goodman family as they make the sacrifice to allow JoJo to come with us. Pray for the Lord to use this in their lives just as He is in ours.
  Pray that someone will come forward to take over the 3 year old Sunday School class we teach.

Financial needs:

• The continued provision of the $24,000-$30,000 yearly income –each week we see progress in this area!
• God’s provision of 2 laptop computers for work and communication with friends and family.
• Peace about and provision for the proper storage of our belongings, both long term (things we want to keep but not move) and short term (items that will be going to Costa Rica, but not immediately).
• Provision of a 13 inch bench top planer similar to the Rigid TP1300LS and a legal copy of AutoCAD computer drafting program. Bart will use both of these for specific projects at the training center and well as for the future development of the site.

Thank you again for your faithfulness in bringing all this before the Lord. It is such a privilege to have you along with us on this journey as we follow God direction in our lives! We pray that God receives all the glory and that His name is made more famous as we go!

In Christ,
Bart, Heather and Eden Carty
http://www.cartysgoingglobal.blogspot.com/
carty.family@hotmail.com

If you would like to make a contribution, please fill out the support form to the left. You will be contacted shortly with details. We receive 100% of contributions and all donations are tax deductible. ATC will send you a receipt for tax purposes.

Update - Jan/Feb 2009

February 3, 2009

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

We want to thank each of you for your prayers and support up to this point. We are blessed to have you in our lives and helping us on this journey. We thank God for each of you and pray that He blesses you as you have blessed us.

As far as an update on our status: We are still here in the states. Our original plans did state that we planned to leave in January. That was always with the thought that our house would be sold. Well, our house has not sold. The Lord has directed us to wait until it sells before we make our move. Though we are not completely sure of all the reasons for the delay we are sure of a couple of them.

First, we found out in mid-January that Eden needs tubes in her ears. The delay has allowed us to continue to work with doctors we trust and with the insurance we currently have. This allows for little to no cost on our part for this procedure. Secondly, the one year anniversary of my Dad passing away was February 1. Being here allowed me to be in close verbal communication with Mom and to continue to support her as she needs. We are sure there are others and have prayed all along that God would allow us to move at exactly the right time.

God has revealed to us a slightly different beginning to our move. We had originally been planning on going to the capital first to attend language school and then move again to the coast near the training site. We have since discovered a language school on the coast. This is a blessing because we will only have to move once. With a two year old you can only imagine the advantages. Plus, this will also allow Bart to go to school in the mornings and then work at the site in the afternoons! He is thankful for the opportunity to get to do more than just school.

We want to ask for your continued prayers. We had a family express interest in our house this past weekend. We ask you to pray very specifically for this situation. We desire God’s will to be done, but that this be the right family and things to begin to move forward. We ask you to pray as we are praying for a contract this week and a closing date at the beginning of March to allow for a move mid-March. We ask you to pray that should there be anything else we need to do to allow this to move forward, that the Lord would reveal it to us and provide the means for us to do it.

We ask that you pray for Eden. Her surgery is scheduled for February 11 at 7:30 am. Pray for peace and comfort for her, Bart and I. and wisdom and steady hands for the doctors.

We ask you to pray for the continued healing for my family in the loss of my Dad. We know getting through the first year is very significant, but we ask for peace, understanding, and wisdom for life as it is now.

Please pray for JoJo Goodman and her family. She is a young lady from our church that will be traveling with us to help care for Eden as we travel, go to school and get settled. She desires to serve as a missionary in the future. Please pray God uses this experience to direct and lead her toward where He would have her serve. Please also say a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for her and her family. It is such a blessing to have her along with us for this transition.

We also ask you to pray for God’s continued provision for our funding. Thank Him as we have for the gracious provision of $10,000 that has been given us for our move and the $950 a month He has provided. We need about $2500 total for each month to cover our living expenses. Please pray that God would direct us to those we need to speak with, that He would lay on their hearts the desire to give, and that those He has called will be faithful through their giving.

Thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement. We could not and would not be doing this without your support. Remember as our prayer partners and supports, you are doing the work of God and making His name famous among the nations! We love you!

Pura Vida in Christ,
Bart, Heather, and Eden Carty

God is so GOOD!

Well, we are still here in the States. We are waiting for the sell of our house. We know that God has perfect timing and that it will all fall into place when He wants it to. We did find out yesterday that Eden needs tubes in her ears. We are thankful that we get to do this here and have our current insurance in tact to cover the expenses. Just one way that God is so GOOD!

We continue to marvel at the blessings He is pouring out on our lives. We have been give the $10,000 we need to cover our moving expenses and and schooling. We also have pledges for about half of our monthly expenses at the moment. God has also provided a young lady to travel with us to help with Eden as we get settled and make arrangements. She will also be able to watch Eden as we take language classes so Bart and I can study together! What a blessing! Again, God is so GOOD!

As I write this I am reminded of the song I sang often as a child:

God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me!
He answers prayer, He answers pray, He answers prayer, He's so good to me!

What a gracious and loving Father we serve.

Please pray with Bart and I, not only about the sell of our house, but about our starting location in Central America. As I was putting Eden to bed Sunday night, God gave me a question. What if we are supposed to start on the coast instead of in the capital? As soon as Eden was asleep, Bart and I began some cursory looking and there are actually 2 language schools near the place we will be settling in. One of those 2 schools looks better than any of the ones we were looking into in the capital. Please pray that if this is indeed what we are to proceed with, that God would open those doors. This would also allow Bart to do some work at the site in the afternoons and allow us to not have to move Eden twice! Thank you for all you lift up to the Lord on our behalf. This is just as important as what we will be doing in Central America! And remember...

God is so GOOD!
He's so GOOD to me!