Letter to our friends and family

This is a modified version of a letter we sent to our supporters from last year.  You should get a better idea of the who, what, where, and why of Costa Rica 2012.  Thanks for reading!

Dear Friends and Family:

When we think of you, the thought brightens our day and blesses our heart! We could never thank you enough for believing in and graciously contributing to our mission earlier this year to La Palabra De Vida in San Antonio de Belen, Costa Rica.  The school was blessed greatly through your $12,000 in gifts!

Because of your gifts, children at La Palabra de Vida are enjoying a brightened and better equipped library with many books catalogued and available for the first time.  350 Spanish language children’s books purchased with your generosity were added to the collection.  Additionally, Matt and Lisa Befus, who have faithfully served at La Palabra de Vida for 15 years, have been blessed with a large gift that allows them to focus their time more effectively on their ministry and their family.  Your kindness did these things!

We are traveling back to Costa Rica on December 29, 2011 and will serve there until February 1, 2012.  We will be teaching English during the month of January to some children whose English skills are not adequate for entrance into the school.  Additionally, we will be funding the purchase and installation of PowerPoint projectors in 10 classrooms at the school.  We will also be serving teams from Loveland, Colorado and Wheaton, Illinois, as they perform new and remedial construction at the school. 

This year, through our time in prayer with the Lord, we have learned several things that the Lord is asking us to do:

• To be more generous with the resources He has so graciously provided.
• To love all people, but especially the ones who struggle so much with life, who Jesus called “the least of these.”
• To pray actively to expand our opportunities to serve the Lord more at home and overseas.

We believe the Lord has directed us to personally fund our mission trip and work with La Palabra de Vida this year.  After much prayer and through some excellent resources, we arrived at this decision.  This decision has caused us some stress and second thoughts, but we know, above all, that the Lord is good and always faithful to us, even when we doubt.

Several organizations and resources have been special to us this year as we came to this point in our life and the life of our ministry.  First, our churches, Heartland in Rockford, and Five Oaks in Woodbury have loved us, blessed us, and encouraged us to actively seek out what the Lord would have for us in our lives. Second, Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love, provided a sobering reality for us…we’re not really as generous and kind as we think we are.  Finally, Vince Miller’s book, The Generous Life, provided clarity and focus to us as we attempted to understand the proper use of the many financial blessings that we have received in our lives.

We would like to ask you to do three things.  First, pray for us on our mission trip this year.  Second, buy and read, The Generous Life by Vince Miller.  Vince’s super writing style, personal stories, and biblical teaching will challenge you and bless your heart.  Third, pray that God will lead you to a person, an organization, or a ministry, that is involved in reaching out to the “least of these” with the lifesaving message of Jesus Christ.  Fourth, after prayer and decision, bless this person, organization, or ministry, with a generous financial gift as a result of how God speaks to you. 

We’d love to hear what God is doing in your lives.   God's richest blessings to you as you continue to bless those around you!