po·co a po·co ... shifting our expectations!

po·co a po·co  ... Little by little.

Everything that we are doing now-a-days has that same theme.

We are settling into life away from everything & everyone that we love ... poco a poco.

We are getting used to living the city life ... poco a poco.

We are having deeper & longer conversations in Spanish ... poco a poco.

This mindset (along with Pura Vida, of course!) has helped us to adjust to life here in Costa Rica.

We learned very quickly that we have to leave our "normal" & "comfortable" mindset behind us.

To be honest, it is the complete opposite of how we functioned in every day life before in the States. 

We were constantly busy, always adding more to our plates, striving to fill our days with as much as we could accomplish, and driven to complete task after task.

Here, we are realizing how much life we have missed out on along the way just by being so task- driven.  

God is showing us that there is little to no room for that mentality on the field.  

He desires for us to be driven by love.

He does not want us to be so driven by completing a task that we miss the opportunities to love those around us here & now.

We can not expect to master anything.  

We can no longer live this life task-driven.

Part of dying to ourselves in this journey is realizing that apart from Him, we truly can do nothing.
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We can not carry out our days here without there being some sort of interruptions, disappointments, frustrations, or struggles.

But, because of that, we are shifting our expectations!

We don't expect to go to school everyday without some sort of struggle.

But we do expect for the Lord to give us the wisdom & discernment we need each day to speak truth & life into each other as the struggles arise.

We don't expect to go throughout our week without facing frustrations in our classes.

But we do expect the Lord to sustain us, encourage us, & comfort us exactly when we need it most.

We don't expect to run errands without stumbling through the language and cultural differences.

But we do expect the Lord to protect & provide for us as we give our best each day to love the people that surround us as we navigate our new life in Central America.

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We are continuously reminded that the Lord has much bigger plans for our hearts to change this year than He has for us to learn Spanish.

Every day, we are thankful for new mercies, joy that comes in the morning, & grace that we do not deserve.

Learning to shift our expectations has been the most humbling experience.  We realize how much we tend to dread situations, expect the worst outcomes, and fail to recognize the Lord's hand in our daily interruptions.  We are realizing that in the interruptions, God is inviting us into His plans!

We are thankful to have this year to shift our perspective in so many ways.
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There's a peek into the work that the Lord has been doing in our hearts.

Here is a peek into what we have been up to over the last month or so!

Josie turned 4!  2-16-17

Zoo with the birthday girl! 

Culture Day at School 3-2-17

Cooking Tico Style at Culture Day

Dancing Tico Style at Culture Day 

Helping to launch a plarn ministry
(crocheting sleeping mats out of plastic shopping bags for the homeless in San Jose!)

Josie made a new friend :) 

Visa Renewal Trip to Guatemala 3-9-17

She's a pro :)

Cerro de la Cruz

Central Park :) 

Still daddy's baby :)

Growing every day!

UBER time!

La Cruz de Alajuelita in San Jose, Costa Rica

Overlooking San Jose

First Ferry Ride to the Peninsula 3-16-17

Best view in the world :) 

Beautiful sunset 

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We are praying for the Lord to give us the strength & desire to finish strong for our first trimester!  Daniel is learning past tense now & I (Laura) moved on to the second trimeter book today. We are so thankful for all that we have learned & retained since December.  God is so faithful!

We have a busy month ahead of us.  The first week of April, we will have our final exams for first trimester.  After we finish up our first trimester, we have a two week break before starting our second trimester on May 8th.

We also have three visits during the month of April ... what a treat!  We are counting down!

Josie's countdown chain for "Ms. Carwa" & Papaw and Nana!

Our friend Carla is coming to stay a week with us while we are on break for Holy Week.  We could NOT be more excited to share a week of our life with her here.  God has really used her in huge ways to speak encouragement into our hearts during this journey ... we can't wait to show her around & watch the Lord continue to work in her heart as she experiences more of Him here!

Papaw & Nana (Daniel's parents) are coming on April 26th!  We both get super emotional every time we talk about them coming to see us.  It will be so exciting to have them here & for them to see how much Josie has grown.  We can't wait to spend time with them!

After Papaw & Nana head back to SC, we will be spending several days with our Youth For Christ pastor & his wife.  John & Karen have spoken so much truth & love into our lives.  We are forever grateful for the way that the Lord has gone before us and prepared a way of encouragement through this precious couple.  We will be joining them & the Fowler family (another family here at our school that will be serving with YFC) for a few days away in the northern part of the Costa Rica.  We are excited for this time of renewal & fellowship!

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Please join us in prayer as we finish these last few weeks of our first trimester!  We will be 1/3 of the way finished with our time in Costa Rica.  It is so hard to believe!

Also, please continue to pray with us for our monthly support.  We are in need of more monthly partners to join our ministry team before we can head to Honduras full-time.  If you feel led to join our team with a donation, please visit our secure giving site:

https://yfc.givingfuel.com/32216

Thank you for all of your encouraging messages!  We really do sense the Lord's hand on our family in this journey.  It is amazing to see Him prompting hearts on our behalf when we need the encouragement, comfort, and prayer the most.  We are so thankful!