Weekend of Renewal

According to Merriam- Webster Dictionary, renew means:

to make like new :  restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection

Last weekend, we took off to Guatemala for a "visa renewal trip".  Because we are here in Costa Rica on tourist visas, we have to leave the country every 90 days and have our visas renewed.  We came earlier than the other families in our trimester so we had to go on our visa run a week before everyone else that is going this coming weekend!

What we thought was a trip for renewing our visas ended up being more about renewing ourselves.

We had NO idea how much we needed a few days to unplug from life as a student in a capital city of well over a million people.

Little did we know when we planned this trip to Guatemala that this visa run would be the exact moment when we needed it most!

We are so thankful we had a that time to step back from it all, reflect on what God has shown us in the last 3 months, celebrate all we have accomplished through HIM, and spend time as a family.

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We can honestly say that the last 3 months of our life as a family has been the hardest 3 months that we have ever faced.

That may come as a complete shock to some of you who are reading this or have been following our journey.

You're probably thinking ...

Wait ... you guys seem to be really enjoying Costa Rica & language school?

But you always say you know without a doubt that you are doing God's will?

Weren't you called by God to the mission field?

Yes, yes & yes.

But it's hard.

Life as a missionary family has been a combination of days that have been amazing along with some days that are just flat out ugly.

It is so hard to live in the balance of waling in obedience but also being transparent sand real enough to share about the struggles, too.

When people from the States ask how are are doing, it is so much easier to talk about the praises of that particular day or week than it is to share how extremely difficult every day tasks are here.

Even when someone here at school asks how things are going for us, it is easier for us to answer quickly & change the subject rather than being honest about how hard it really is on us.

But God has really been convicting my heart lately about the importance of being honest.

If we aren't honest, how will anyone know how to specifically pray for us?

If we aren't transparent, how will anyone minister to our hearts in a way that redirects us towards Christ?

We are forever thankful for the way that you are praying us through this season and look forward to continuing our journey with the Lord knowing that you are with us!