The Adventure Continues
/Our week began by saying farewell to our oldest grandson, Peyton Denney. He spent several days with us in Costa Rica as a high school graduation gift. Pam and I had fun taking Peyton zip-lining, snorkeling and golfing. He’s a wonderful young man!
Tuesday and Thursday I walked down “memory-lane.” I was invited to speak for the chapel service at the Spanish language school that Pam and I attended 43 years ago on our way to Chile. Never in a million years did I ever dream that we would be back in Costa Rica. And never in a million years did I ever imagine I’d be back on the campus where Pam and I struggled to grasp Spanish pronouns and the subjunctive tense.
I was flooded with memories and filled with gratitude. God knew ahead of time what Pam and I would do in the years ahead. Knowing Spanish not only allowed us to serve in Chile, we also used Spanish often in our ministries in the US and continue to use it now that we’re back in Costa Rica. In God’s grace, Spanish has been a wonderful lifelong gift!
Tuesday evening, we hosted a Connection Group for 16 people from ECF. We’ve discovered that making friends is one of the greatest needs among internationals. However, the heavy slow-moving traffic between 5:00-7:30 PM is a formidable obstacle for people to commit to weekly meetings. As a result, we’ve discovered that monthly potlucks geographically spread out around the Central Valley can be one venue to help people connect. They have been tons of fun!
Our Tuesday group was an example of the vast diversity in our international church community. We had people from Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Venezuela, the US and the Philippians. Our two common bonds are English and Jesus. It continues to be fascinating to hear the stories from this wide array of human experience.
Wednesday, I was abruptly made aware that ECF will need to relocate from the Hilton Garden Inn. In full disclosure, we had already been looking. We’ve been averaging 130+ on Sunday and this is pushing the hotel’s limits, especially with kids ministry.
However, it wasn’t until my meeting on Wednesday with the hotel leadership that I realized we needed to move as soon as possible. Please keep this in prayer. We have a couple of intriguing options. But this will be the fourth location for our church since Pam and I arrived. Pray for wisdom as we make this crucial decision.
Initially, I was surprised by this new development. But once I calmed down, I realized (again) that nothing ever catches God off-guard. One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 2:10. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
This not only reminds us that we are God’s love-poem (the meaning behind “handiwork”), but also that he’s always working upstream to prepare good works for us to do.
In my case, this means God already has the next place for ECF to meet. But what does it mean in your case? What is God preparing for you to do? When we move in the direction that God points, it generally takes a step of faith. But it’s always an adventure!
