Jon and Jessica

Seneca Hills Winter Pictures

2008-12-10T22:35:00.005-06:00

It has been snowing here at camp these past few weeks. I took the following picture of camp since most people only see camp during the summer.

The Homestead - where Jessica and I are currently living.

God had a plan

2008-09-19T14:00:00.000-06:00

God had a plan.

Hello friends. Allow me to update you on where Jessica and I have been over the last few months. When we returned from Costa Rica, we were facing the decision on whether to go back long-term or not. After being home for a few weeks, we were pretty sure we were going to return. It was at that time that the missionaries in Costa Rica said that they were receiving a house mother back from their other orphanage in Guatemala, and that we are welcome to come, but we would not be the house parents. We were pretty devastated, but God had a plan.

Faced with yet another closed door, we weren’t sure what we were going to do, so we thought I was going to return to finance and just get a job. During the interview process in Pittsburgh, we went to Seneca Hills in Franklin, PA, the summer camp that has been a part of my whole life. We spoke with the Facilities Director, Stan Smith, about possibly volunteering at camp and working maintenance while we waited for the interviews. Stan was quite happy to have us help out since the summer camping season was just around the corner, and there is always plenty of work to be done. Jessica learned how to use a power washer, and we both spent many hours painting.

The interviews were going along when Michael Harvey, the Executive Director of Seneca, took us out to lunch. Come to find out the Administrative Assistant had given her resignation to pursue another job. Her last day was the day before the first week of summer camp. Michael asked Jessica if she would consider applying for the position. Jessica had said many times that if she were to work at Seneca, that would be the place for her – but that was always under the assumption that the current lady would be there forever so there was really no chance. It truly was a perfect position for Jessica; it combines all of her gifts: details, finance, big event planning, and organization. However, what would I do if Jessica worked in Franklin? If I were working in Pittsburgh, the commute is just not possible. So, we told Michael that Wednesday that we weren’t going to say no, but we weren’t sure how it was going to work out. God had a plan.

The next day I went to my quarterly Program Committee meeting for that camp. I have been on the Program Committee for the past three years. The committee is in charge of vision casting the direction of programming (activities, etc.) for the camp. During this particular meeting, our current Program Director, Tracy Mitchell, announced that she will be leaving at the end of the year to be a missionary to South Africa. One of my “dream jobs” has always been the Program Director position at Seneca Hills. However, just like the Administrative Assistant, we thought Tracy would be here forever.

So, in back to back days, two full-time positions (the positions that we loved from a far) opened at the ministry where we were already volunteering. God has a plan.

We decided that Jessica would interview for the Administrative Assistant position. And she was hired shortly thereafter. We then asked them if I could continue to volunteer at the camp and then interview for the Program Director position. They allowed me to volunteer and said that when the time came I could throw my hat into the ring. Due to Tracy’s wanting to wait until later in the summer to tell the summer staff, her decision to go to South Africa was kept under wraps for a few months – which is why this update is so long coming.

It was a GREAT summer. Jessica worked long hours, but loved it. The summer started with one week of training followed by the first week of campers and the auditors. The camp is fortunate that she’s that tough - she had some long days that week, and most of the summer, as she worked through all the different processes. When I asked her after one particularly late night how she was doing and whether she liked her job she said to me, “I love it. I can do this job!” She still works way too long, but hopefully that will change eventually.

For me, I spent most of my time working with the Program team organizing games, singing silly camp songs (See the first picture), hiking in the woods (See the second picture), doing belly smackers (See the third picture) and playing with campers.

Now when we’re out and about on weekends, I will frequently run into one of the nearly one thousand campers we had this past year. They smile ear to ear and say “You’re that guy from camp!” Yes, I am that guy from camp. Junior campers quickly follow that with “I LOVE DEAD BUG TAG!!!” For those of you who have not yet played Dead Bug Tag, let me explain. Dead Bug Tag is a game of tag where all the summer counselors are “it”, and the younger campers have to try to get away. When they are caught, they have to get on their backs and move their hands and feet like a squished bug. After a few minutes of being a dead bug they are told they are now alive and can run around again. Here is the best secret about Dead Bug Tag…a tired camper on Sunday night makes for a sleepy camper and a happy counselor. The third picture is Dead Bug Tag in action. Dead Bug Tag is one of my favorite games yet.

After the summer camp season ended, the Board of Directors began the interview process. Last night the Board selected me to become the next Program Director. I am very excited about this position and the overall direction for our lives. After more than a year of trusting, we are finally seeing God’s plan before us.

Due to the general nature of non-profit’s, funding the overlap between now and Tracy’s departure will put an extra strain on the budget. However, we believe that this time is imperative for training, as well as the regular PR and planning that needs to happen before the new year. Tracy has been the Program Director for over five years, and her knowledge base is huge. I need to learn as much as I can from her.

So that I can start October 1^st, I will be working to raise support for this “bridge” period. For the past 14 months Jessica and I have not asked for financial support feeling that it was right for us to finance this period of our lives as we were searching for what God had for us. Many of you have come to us asking how you can help. This is it.

Jessica and I are thrilled to be at Seneca Hills. We would like to invite you to camp for a tour, a stay or a meal, whichever suits you best. We are planning on having a party next Memorial Day weekend during family camp where everyone who has been on this mailing list is invited to come to Seneca Hills as our guests. You will be able to take a swim in the pool, climb the climbing wall, go rappelling off The Rocks (see the 5^th picture), bike along the Allegheny River, zip on the Zip Line, play torpedo ball in the Rec Center, camp around a camp fire and get to see firsthand the slice of heaven that God has led us to. For more information about the camp, visit www.senecahills.org.

If you are interested in partnering financially in what we believe God has called us to do next in our lives, we ask that you consider giving to Seneca Hills. Checks can be made out to Seneca Hills and sent to the following address:

Seneca Hills, PO Box 288, Franklin PA 16323

If you want to help us “bridge” the gap this fall, please write “staff supplement income” in the memo line. Any donations above and beyond the “bridge” amount will go towards the Operations Fund if God provides more than is needed.

Thank you for your prayers over the last 14 months. Please continue! We need them. Thank you for your notes of encouragement. Keep it up. Thank you for reading the blog. I hope to start my regular postings again. And thank you in advance for supporting us.

Love,

Jon and Jessica

Reflecting on the last eight weeks

2008-03-12T20:05:00.005-06:00

Dear Friends & Family,

I have officially made it out of the quarantine I placed myself in when we returned from Costa Rica. Not sure if I got a bug on the plane or the change of climate (we came home to “The Blizzard of March 2008” - 14 inches, which set some records in Ohio), but I was miserable for a few days. As we reflect on the past eight weeks at Hogar De Vida, Jessica has encouraged me to write about the different feelings I had and to let you know what God said to me while we were away. Since much of our blog was based around short stories and funny experiences, I felt that now was a good time to reflect and share.

Though many of our stories shared the lighter side of our journey, there were several difficult days for me. I was searching the entire time. Searching for answers to questions like “Is this mission teaching the Gospel? Do we feel that these people are following God’s leading? Is this a mission that is doing good in the world?” Very early during our time there the answers to these questions were undoubtedly yes. Great thing were happening at Hogar de Vida. The Gospel is being taught and precious ones were getting a chance to regain their lives after the turmoil they had previously experienced.

My searching then turned to whether or not Jessica and I were supposed to move to Costa Rica. Had our past six months lead us to this place to become long-term missionaries? Or was this a great experience, one we will never forget, and it is time to return to our lives in the States? For me this was the most difficult question. I began to search into what is “a calling”. I read the callings of the prophets and disciples in the Bible, I listened to sermons, and I asked the missionaries at Hogar de Vida how they knew when they were called. And I read Matthew 28: 18-20, which doesn’t give much wiggle room for “being called” or not.

Matthew 28: 18-20

The Great Commission

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

During my readings I came across Elijah in I Kings 19. Elijah had just had his miraculous experience on Mount Carmel. He then flees from Jezebel to Mt. Horeb, a forty-day journey. God asked Elijah “What are you doing here?” I don’t know how many times I asked myself that question. “What am I doing here?” I had a good job. I worked with good people - doing something I loved - and enjoyed who I was when I did it. “What am I doing here?”

Many days I struggled with this question. For the most part I was a painter/maintenance man. Though I can paint pretty well, my skill set is not in manual labor. Not that I can’t do it, but I just like interacting with people. One of the best parts of my job at Hefren-Tillotson was the interaction with people, both co-workers and clients. In addition to interacting with people, I love information. For those of you who know my dad, you understand this love. I grew up listening to KDKA news talk radio rather than music. Jessica even filmed one of our video blogs on the topic of my pursuit of information.

However, in Costa Rica, most of my days were spent in solitude in an information bubble. I was struggling. I enjoyed the kids. I think the blog posts make it obvious that we really enjoyed that part. But would God call me to work at a place where I didn’t have much people interaction during the day? And place me in an information bubble from the rest of the world?

As we went about our days, we began to feel more and more of a draw to Hogar de Vida. The missionaries began to share with us how they have been praying for a missionary couple to come down and open the 3^rd home. Olga, the house mom where Jessica worked, shared that they have been praying for eight years for a missionary couple to come. And we began to learn of other tasks (on top of being house parents) that really fit our desires and skills. (Psalm 37: 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.) So, we received another tug at our hearts. Is this really the place for us? God, do you want us to come here long-term? (And for those of you who are wondering about the information bubble, I finally found out they have a Wi-Fi network at Hogar de Vida.)

I continued to read about callings in the Bible. Moses was called through a burning bush. Sometimes I would think, why couldn’t God just call me through a burning bush? Why can’t there be some miraculous sign that just makes it obvious to everyone (and especially me) that this is where I am supposed to be?

While thinking these things, I listened to a Wild at Heart calling CD series. The speaker talked about how God doesn’t dictate to us because if all He did was to dictate then there wouldn’t be any room left for a relationship. He used the example of a new boss asking an employee what he thought about a project and the employee finally getting fed up with answering the questions and telling the boss “Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.” There isn’t room for dialogue if He only dictates.

The calling CD also used the Moses burning bush calling illustration. The actual words in the Bible are these, Exodus 3: 4 - When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said “Here I am.” Did you notice when God spoke? It wasn’t until after Moses looked - implying that God wants to talk to us, but He might be waiting for our attention.

Again, when God called to Elijah in 1^st Kings 19, God wasn’t in the miraculous powerful wind or in the earthquake; He was in the gentle whisper. So, I began waiting for gentle whispers realizing that I might not get a burning bush.

Throughout this entire process (the past six months, not just the last two in Costa Rica), we never really knew what we were going to do until we were ready to take the next step. Madeline, the adorable Guatemalan child, was on our plane flight home from our trip to Guatemala when we had nothing else scheduled. We didn’t get the e-mail to go to Costa Rica until we were at the Booden’s’ babysitting for a weekend with again nothing left on our schedule. As these months have played out, we have begun to realize this process – talk about a lesson in faith and patience for two professional financial planners.

For our last day at Hogar de Vida, Tim asked me to give the daily devotion. I didn’t want to, but said yes. Not knowing what I was going to say, I started looking through my notebook of devotions I had previously written. I came across one that I had written for a youth group retreat to Seneca Hills in March of 2004. The devotion was on calling. In my own handwriting, I began to read what I had said on calling nearly four years ago. I took my devotion for our last day from these pages. I compared and contrasted the life of King Solomon and his pursuits in Ecclesiastes 2: 1-11 to Jesus’ life in Philippians 2:1-11.

Ecclesiastes 2: 1-11

Pleasures Are Meaningless

¹ I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. ² "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" ³ I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

⁴ I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well—the delights of the heart of man. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. ¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

I then contrasted this “chasing after the wind” to a summary of Jesus’ life in Philippians 2:1-11.

Philippians 2: 1-11

Imitating Christ's Humility

¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ⁶Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ⁷but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! ⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Through humility and serving others, Jesus was able to have a life that was anything but meaningless. It doesn't say that one has to go to Costa Rica to do this, however this spoke to me. In addition, I had written three questions in my notebook to help others determine their purpose.

1) Is this desire that you have something that is sustained and matches against the teaching of the Bible?

2) What is it you do that when you do it you feel God's pleasure?

3) What is it that comes looking for you?

In my own handwriting I answered question #3 four years ago “for me it’s kids. Kids just like me, and I like kids.” This also struck me.

After reading my own words, I was taken back to when I originally decided that we would pursue missions. We were at Memorial Day Weekend at Seneca Hills Family Camp. The missions’ speaker was giving a spiritual gifts test that I had signed up for. I had also agreed to take some of the kids to the river to swim. Well, it took a lot longer for the kids to get ready than expected, and as we were finally getting into the river I looked at my watch and told the kids that I was supposed to be up at the chapel to take this test. Looking into their eyes I quickly realized that I didn’t need to take a spiritual gifts test to know one of my gifts is working with kids. I shared this at the last missions’ session of the weekend, and said that I wasn’t currently working with kids so I really didn’t know where this was going to go, but if God were to call me to work somewhere - be it overseas or in the states - that I would go. At that point I didn’t expect that it would lead to quitting our jobs at Hefren-Tillotson and everything else in the past six months.

Fast-forward to me reading my own words, contemplating that past Memorial Day Weekend, and now being presented with a wide open door to come to Costa Rica and be a father to the fatherless…is this my gentle whisper?

As we got on the plane to come home, I continued my practice of praying as Samuel prayed, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” The movie on the flight was scheduled to be Enchanted. A few minutes later, the attendant came on and apologized and said that the movie wasn’t Enchanted and that we would be watching August Rush. Rather than watching a movie about a fairy tale, we would be watching a movie about an orphan. With only one set of earphones, Jessica heard the music and words. But I didn’t need the sound; everything was coming in loud and clear. The movie is a beautiful story of how a boy, though abandoned and fatherless, has special talents and has a purpose in life. With tears coming down both of our faces, we watched as we believed God spoke to us again.

So here we are – back in Ohio – back in my parents’ basement. We ask that you continue to pray for us, specifically this next week. With a decision to go overseas waiting in the balance. With needs that we don’t even know of yet waiting to be fulfilled. Two travelers on a journey waiting as the God of the heavens and earth whispers gently – hoping we’ll hear – with or without headphones.

Lots of Love,

Jon & Jessica

Back in the States

2008-03-09T15:42:00.004-06:00

Dear Friends & Family,

We have returned from our eight weeks in Costa Rica. Though we had prepared for the difficult goodbyes, they were much harder than we expected. As we look ahead to the future we aren’t sure what we will do. The missionaries in Costa Rica opened the door for us to return. If we were to return, it would be for at least one year.

As we consider our future, we ask for your prayers. We thank all of you who have read our blog over the last eight weeks. Please continue to e-mail us with thoughts, funny stories, and updates on your lives. JonandJessica@gmail.com

Love,

Jon & Jessica

Video Blog #9 - 03.04.08

2008-03-04T13:35:00.003-06:00

After having technical difficulties, we were finally able to publish these videos. I hope you enjoy.

Video Blog #8 - 03.04.08

2008-03-04T13:06:00.003-06:00

Video Blog #7 - 03.04.08

2008-03-04T12:54:00.003-06:00

Video Blog #6 - 03.04.08

2008-03-04T12:44:00.002-06:00

Week #7 Update 02.27.08

2008-02-27T20:20:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends & Family,

We had a blast today. We are currently in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, the most visited national park in the country. As we hiked through the park today we saw all kinds of birds, iguanas, chameleons, three-toed sloth’s (yes, I counted), and what can best be described as a R.O.U.S. (rodent of unusual size, per The Princess Bride). However, since it wasn’t such an unusual size, it is probably more of a R.O.S.U.S (rodent of slightly unusual size). The R.O.S.U.S. looked like a cross between a rat, a rabbit and a squirrel. I have no idea what the actual name of the R.O.S.U.S., but I feel confident that R.O.S.U.S. will catch on soon.

Even with all these fun creatures, the highlight of the day was the monkeys. I’ve never seen so many monkeys, nor been as close as I’ve been today. These sneaky devils know the drill. They come out in packs and ham it up for the tourists. All the while they are looking for the unsuspecting foreigner. We witnessed a beautifully orchestrated heist today. The culprits made off with what looked like PB&J sandwich. Jessica and I tried to warn the unsuspecting couple, but our cries were too late (or possibly in the wrong language).

I was also the target of an attack. To set the scene, Jessica and I had just witnessed the heist of a man’s snorkel. As they were making their getaway, the monkeys had to jump across the trail. As we were watching two monkeys make the jump, we were distracted from what was happening directly above us. High above another monkey had a few small coconuts at the ready. I could have used the warning “bombs away!” Getting hit from forty feet up with a small coconut on the shoulder hurts. I looked up in time to see him drop the second coconut and was able to dodge. Quite the rascals.

We’re now watching American Idol with Spanish sub-titles. It’s great getting a bit of American culture every now and again.

Our seventh week at Hogar de Vida was also eventful.

After church on Sunday we were invited to a fund-raising event held in honor of Hogar de Vida. The event was a gringo-style chili cook-off held at a beautiful home in Atenas. (In Costa Rica, gringo is an endearing term used for those with light skin who don’t speak Spanish.) We were all surprised to see how many English speaking people were there; most of them are American and Canadian fixed-income retirees who have moved to Costa Rica in the last few years. We guessed there were at least a hundred there eating chili and having a good time. We gave a sample of the chili to the kids we took with us. They hated it. I had a good time talking in English. The review of the party from the kids was “too many old gringos” and “bad music”. I guess songs like Elvira and Unchained Melody aren’t their style.

After the fund raiser, we were invited to Olga’s house for Sunday afternoon coffee. Olga, and her husband, Enrique, have worked at Hogar de Vida for over ten years and are the house parents of the upper house, where Jessica works. We took a taxi to her home with Kimberly, one of the tias, and Priscila, one of the kids, and had a great time chatting it up with her family for their regular Sunday afternoon family time. Olga and her siblings grew up in the home and just recently Olga and her husband, Enrique, purchased the home from her mom after building Ma a new home in the back yard.

For those of you keeping score at home, we have now killed three tarantulas and three scorpions. We have talked to the Ticos (Costa Ricans), and they pretty much said that tarantulas are bad, but scorpions are really bad. To make matters better (or worse), the scorpions were killed in the hallway outside our bedroom. Despite Jessica’s major fear of spiders and insects in general, all her practice of spider-spotting is finally paying off.

Monday was Kimberly’s last day, but before she left she wanted to milk a cow. So we joined Ben (one of Tim and Dena’s sons) and Josiah (Ben’s cousin) for milking duty. When you have twenty-three kids in the houses, fresh milk every day is very useful. Jessica had some previous experience from going to the Big Butler Farm Show. This was my first experience. We had a good time - tasted fresh warm milk, filled a bucket and most importantly didn’t get kicked. So, all in all it was a successful experience.

We also welcomed four new kids to the upper house on Monday. Three of them are siblings - a five-year-old girl and a set of two-year-old twins. The children are very sweet, but it was apparent that the older sister has been mothering the twins versus being a kid herself – which is probably why they’re now here. We also welcomed a two-week-old baby girl. All in all, I think getting new kids might have been harder for Jessica than losing kids was a few weeks ago. Four absolutely beautiful children who need love and now don’t have parents – if she could sign adoptions papers right then, we would have been coming home with kids of our own.

All in all, the week was full of emotions. As we’re drawing close to the end of our two months, our thoughts have been turning towards our return – which is exciting and unnerving once again.

We have six days left and return Wednesday night March 5th. We are use to 80’s and sun, so if someone back home can place the order for warmer weather on the 5th we would appreciate it. Hope all are well.

Lots of Love,
Jon & Jessica

Video Blog #5 - 02.22.08

2008-02-22T17:57:00.000-06:00

Week #6 Update 02.20.08

2008-02-20T12:10:00.001-06:00

Dayaret & Gipsy - saving some spaghetti for later

Kimberly - learning how to use the computer

Jerbin & Tania - hamming it up for the camera

Antonio, Maria & Jacksel - how to get 3 two-year olds to sit still - blowpops

Jessica - walking through the markets in San Jose

Hello Family and Friends,

Well, last Thursday was pretty tough. The kids’ mom came to pick them up at lunch time. The kids were very excited to be going but were also a bit anxious about the unknowns. Since they had lived with their mom, she has moved into a new house and gotten a new boyfriend. We hugged them and shared a few tears. At one point I decided to pick up Dayaret just to have some comfort. They yelled “Adios! Adios!” out the window as they drove away in the taxi. Please pray for these three kids and their mom. Since they left a week ago, she has called here many times asking for help concerning discipline.

I talked with Dena (she and her husband, Tim, are the head missionaries here) that night, and she said how she can still remember the first ones to leave. All in all, I would rather love them as much as I can while they are here and have a broken heart when they leave versus not giving them my all just to protect myself. They are the ones that need it. Though I will probably always remember them, I was feeling better the next day.

I was feeling better emotionally the next day, but not physically. I got pretty sick on Friday. I got all the symptoms of the 24-hour flu. I haven’t been sick in seven years – quick shout-out to the Howats for that one. In the middle of my day in bed my wife came down to check on me, bringing a little one with her. Hania was pretty nervous when she first looked at me. But even though she didn’t want to talk, she walked over and picked up my football off the floor and handed it too me. Even a three year-old Costa Rican knows that football is just one of those things that can cheer me up.

Continuing our week of firsts - first kids to leave, first time I’ve got sick in seven years, and the first rain of the year. February 16th. The Costa Ricans said this is much earlier than in past years. It typically doesn’t start raining until May. They don’t mess around here with rain. We have had several good soaks since the 16th. The power goes out fairly quickly, but that’s alright. I grabbed some Oreos and milk and went out on the porch and watched the rain.

We took the bus to San Jose yesterday for our off day. A bus ride to San Jose costs ¢585 Colones, or about $1.20 US. San Jose is the capital city of Costa Rica. We had a great time seeing the sites and taking in a bit of inter-city culture. Wanting a taste of home, I ate a Big Mac. No matter where you go in the world you can always find Coca-Cola & McDonalds. We walked the streets and went to the parks. They have a beautiful national theatre which reminded us of Heinz Hall back home. In the end we bought tickets for the tour because Jess wanted a little culture.

I was amazed at the hundreds of small tiendas (stores) that line the streets. I don’t know how anyone could find anything. One store would have a giant spool of wire, women’s clothing and children’s toys all together. However, in one of these random stores I did happen to find a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey. When we first went into the store the Denver Broncos jersey was on the front of the rack. I promptly switched it with the Steelers jersey and told the lady working the store that the Steelers are “La Mejor” (the best). She nodded; she must be a big fan.

Since Jessica works until six or a bit later each night, we’re always there for the bedtime routine. I typically clean up from whatever I have been working on and head up for a bit of after-dinner playtime and then send them off to bed. This week I have been painting in the upper house.

Note to self: when painting a children’s home, make sure you block all access to the room you are painting. This way you will not have to clean up little shoe prints of paint up and down the stairs. End of Note to Self.

So, we were up at the upper house giving goodnight kisses and saying “Buenas Noches” to all the kids. As we were walking out the door, Jerbin called both Jessica and I back and said “Jessica, te amo.” (I love you) and “Jon, te amo.” It was almost as if he knew we needed that.

Today for our second day off we’re spending the day here cleaning house, grocery shopping, going to the internet café, and then having some kids from the lower house over for dinner this evening. When the kids from the lower house heard that the upper house kids had gotten to cook with Jessica, they wanted in on the fun. They’re going to make cookies and then pancakes, two things that require lots of hands-on time so everyone gets a chance to help. One of the tias, Kimberly, is also going to come to dinner. It should be a good time.

One thing that we haven’t talked about in the blog as of yet is our thoughts on the future. There are days that we want to go home, and there are days that we feel like we could stay here. Above all else we want to do what God has planned for us to do. As of now we aren’t sure what that is. There are needs here that we could fill, and they’re been praying for a married couple to move down here. There are needs back in the states that we could fill. So, we are asking for God’s direction. If you could remember us in your prayers - and specifically direction for the future - we would greatly appreciate it.

Jon

P.S. Our computer had the blue screen of death this week. She recovered from the first wave, but past experience tells me this is the beginning of the end. We will continue to post to the blog, but we might have to do them all from the internet café. Only two more weeks to go…..

Week #5 Update 02.12.08

2008-02-13T10:12:00.000-06:00

Hello Family & Friends.

I was chatting with my mom tonight, and she was saying how many people are reading this. So to all of you who are reading, I say thank you.

We went camping this week at Hogar De Vida. Well we didn’t actually go anywhere, but the grandes (big kids) slept outside one night. We had a good time. I went into the vault of games from when I was a camp counselor at Seneca Hills http://www.senecahills.org/ and played Alien Egg Hunt with the kids. Alien Egg Hunt goes like this. First, hide a watermelon somewhere on the property. Second, give a dramatic speech about how aliens layed an egg here, and we need to find it before it hatches. Then, run around screaming. Finally, when the kids find the watermelon, throw it on the ground and eat all of it. It is a lot of fun. I probably have more fun than the kids.

The actual sleeping aspect of camping outside was a different story. We had four in a tent that would sleep two comfortably. Between the snoring, the ground, the bugs & the little hands hitting me every few minutes…I didn’t sleep much. I think I’m getting older.

Before bed we had a time to share around a campfire. When it was my turn, I talked about how this time here has helped me see God for who He really is. As a father figure at the Home, I do a fair amount of discipline. We usually have the kids sit for five minutes whenever they are bad and then say "I’m sorry" to whomever they just bit or kicked, etc. After the five minutes are up, we always end the punishment in hugs. Just because they are bad doesn’t change my love for them. I wait eagerly for the chance to hug them. If I, a sinner, don’t change my love for them when they are bad, how much more does our Heavenly Father continue to love us when we sin and wait patently for us to say we’re sorry a receive our hug.

So, what else is going on at Hogar De Vida? Summer has officially ended and school has begun. There was some moaning on Sunday night, but I think I can officially understand why parents enjoy the start of school every year. The picture is of Brandon and Kimberly, the two kids from the upper house who started school this week.

I can officially be called a killer of tarantulas (plural). The second was wasn’t nearly as exciting as the first. I killed it without much fanfare. I ask you dear reader, which is worst the first or the second? With the first you are awaken to the fact that they exist but then can keep it in the back of your mind that this was a one-time thing. The second isn’t as shocking at first, but now we know it wasn’t a one-time thing and there are probably more out there.

I had to go to town to the hardware store this week. Jessica was going to go with me, but it didn't work out with her schedule. In the end it actually went pretty well, and I must have looked like I knew what I was doing because a lady came up to me and asked for help. I had no idea what she was asking for so I hope I told her that I didn't work here and wasn't sure where that was, but I never really know what I'm saying.

Jess held a second cooking class. This time it was Peanut Butter Cookies. I like the fruits of these cooking classes. It was kind of fun to watch. Five kids really wanting to eat the cookie dough and Jessica doing her best to make sure they didn’t. Lots of finger licking that resulted in another trip to “Lave sus manos otro vez” (wash your hands again).

Jessica also had what I am dubbing the day of bodily functions. I won’t go into great detail but it was the day all the kids decided to do all their business - in various means and ways. Some with diapers, some without diapers. I enjoyed hearing her stories of never-ending trips to the bathroom. Here in Costa Rica men don’t change diapers.

Finally we just received word that Brandon (age 6) Pamela (almost 5) and Jacqueline (age 3) will be leaving Hogar De Vida this Thursday after visitation time. Jacqueline, besides being my co-anchor on my Superbowl Commentary, is also my favorite. I tried hard to not have a favorite, but I just can’t help it. Every time I see Jacqueline she gets this huge smile on her face that says “Hello you again. Why of course I would love to have you hold me.” And then runs with her arms up to me. Her first words are “Esta Suyo?” (Is this yours? - pointing at my t-shirt, water bottle, anything I am holding) After we establish that yes the clothes I am wearing are indeed mine, she asks “Tiene caca?” (Do you have to go to number 2?) I let her know that I am fine and thanks for asking.

Thinking about them leaving has left me pretty sad. When we found out they would be leaving, Jessica and I took all of them out for a paseo (a trip to town). We walked around town, watched a volleyball game and had some ice cream. It is a blessing that they are going home to their mom. Their situation should be better than the one that brought them to Hogar De Vida in the first place. However, it won't be perfect by any means, especially when two of the three kids suffer from major anger and ADHD tendencies. No matter how we feel about it now, all we can do going forward is pray for them. God’s word doesn’t come back void. They have heard the message of salvation for a year, and all we can do is pray for them - for salvation, protection and continued physical and emotional healing.

Thanks for reading. Please continue to send us your e-mails at jonandjessica@gmail.com. We enjoy reading what is going on in all of your lives. Please remember to pray for us as we finish out our final three weeks here, and especially remember us Thursday. It will be a tough day.

Love,

Jon & Jessica

P.S. - Gipsy is the cutie on the couch. She's almost two and loves to run and smile - and take off her shoes.

Video Blog #4 02.12.08

2008-02-12T22:10:00.000-06:00

Video Blog #3 - 2.05.08

2008-02-05T18:00:00.000-06:00

Week #4 Update 2.05.08

2008-02-05T17:50:00.000-06:00

Hello friends and family.

I hope everyone was able to enjoy the slice of Americana that is the Superbowl. It definitely has a different feel when all the commercials are just promos for some Mexican Soccer League. I think the SportsGuy (a writer for espn.com page 2) said it best. Giants fans were crying, hugging, jumping for joy all around him. They looked like castaways who had just seen the rescue boat. Isn’t football great. Tom Petty and Jordin Sparks were the only things we heard in English. We still haven’t seen the commercials. Maybe we’ll pull up some commercial ratings website and watch the best ones.

The painter took a break this week and became a carpenter. My brothers-in-law would be proud. We have several kids who have gotten to the point where they can climb out of their cribs. It is kind of dangerous. I was assigned to take a crib and cut it in half horizontally to make two toddler beds. I’ve made 4 of them so far. They actually look pretty good, and the rewards are the smiles on their little faces when they receive their camas nuevas.

So we had a birthday party here at Hogar De Vida. It was a birthday party for all the ninos that had birthdays in October, November and December. I’m not sure if it was a month and a half late or really early. Actually here in Costa Rica it was probably right on time for them. Anyways, it was a lot of fun. A Christian couple from San Jose drove in to throw the fiesta. My wife revealed a hidden talent of balloon animal making. We played pin the tail on the rabbit, ate lots of sweets and we even had a piñata. I however missed the piñata because I had to take Brandon, my little buddy (5th picture), up to the house for stabbing Jerbin with a ruler. You’ll have that.

I have a new exercise plan. The house received a new bicycle yesterday. Running behind a bike with seven 6-8 year-olds for a couple hours is great exercise. We had one small wipeout where I almost annihilated the little girl. No blood though. All in all it was great fun.

You know your Spanish is coming around when you start to hear the kids mispronouncing words. As you know, we have several cows on the property. The cows frequently get out of their areas and come for a visit. Cows in Spanish are vacas. However, when Jerbin sees cows he says “Macas.” Everyone corrects him by saying, “No Jerbin, Vvvaca”, and Jerbin responds, “Si, Macas!” Speaking of the vacas. Two of the cows are going to have babies here shortly. I hope we get to see it.

We started working on colors with some of the children. We had two Duplos, one blue (azul) and one green (verde). We went back and forth saying this is blue and this is green. Blue, Green, Blue, Green, Blue, Green. When we asked Jerbin which one was blue, he of course pointed to the green. When we asked Jacqueline what color this one was, she said siete (seven). I think I have a future as a teacher.

I’m off to play futbol with the other guys. Here’s Jessica.

Hola –

Another week has gone by, and we’re half way through our four weeks here. It has really flown by – not that we’re skipping days, but that the days go quickly.

This past week we got a new girl in the upper house. Pricila is four years-old and her younger brother was already placed at Hogar de Vida in the lower house. Typically they try to keep sibling groups together but the beds just didn’t work in her favor this time. She calls me Jescala, but I haven’t quite caught onto it yet. So I don’t always know that she’s talking to me. It’s been interesting to watch the integration of a new kid into the mix. Unfortunately the tias and kids tend to treat her differently – myself included I hate to admit. For the kids, she’s the “muchacha nueva” (new girl) so they prefer others over her. For the tias, it’s hard to love on her because she has lice and all of her teeth are rotting out. Neither of these things are her fault at all. They’re both very visible examples of her poor home situation. I’m working on my lack of love for her. I’ve decided that lice isn’t that bad. There are easy remedies for it. And if all else fails, I can stand a haircut. And teeth can be dealt with. All kids in Costa Rica have free health care, so we’re going to take care of that too. She needs love – probably more than all the other kids right now. So I’m working on that – for her sake – and asking for forgiveness concerning it – for my sake.

Last week it was the tarantula – this week it should have been a lot of dead bugs because the exterminator just came. However, no such luck. There is a counter in the kitchen that was always dirty. I kept thinking that I forgot to wash it. Finally I realized that dirt was falling from the trim near the ceiling. So I got the broom and tried to wipe it down. I ended up breaking up an ant farm of the biggest black ants I’ve ever seen. Of course I start yelling for Jon. The ceilings are really tall so I couldn’t reach to kill them with the fly swatter. He emptied our bottle of Raid as I swatted the ones that fell. All in all – really gross. So we washed all the dishes again.

We keep getting questions about food so to answer a few of those – we typically eat breakfast and dinner at our house and then have lunch in the upper house with the kids and staff. For breakfast, it’s the usual for us – cereal or toast. For breakfast in the upper house – they usually eat some form of beans and rice. For lunch, we typically have the almuerzo casado (married lunch) which bears the name because it’s what they used to send with their husbands to the field for lunch. It consists of black beans, rice, a small portion of meat (usually beef) and a bit of salad (typically some sort of cole slaw). Once in a while there will be pasta or fish. But always beans and rice. Dinner for us is whatever we get around to doing – most often the same as breakfast – cereal or toast. However we have also had mac and cheese, spaghetti, soup, grilled cheese, and pb&j. Tonight or tomorrow will be hot dogs. If we did have dinner in the upper house, it would be…….beans and rice. Having our largest meal at lunch time has been a bit of an adjustment, but it’s the Costa Rican way. Overall, we’ve found pretty much everything we’ve wanted American-food-wise in the three grocery stores in Atenas. Things are slightly different but overall we’re definitely not suffering in the food department.

We’re off to Atenas once more today to post this blog, and then I think we’re going to go to one of the volcanoes tomorrow.

Talk to you next week!

Love,
Jon & Jessica

Video Blog #2 1.30.08

2008-01-30T16:24:00.000-06:00

Video Blog #1 - 1.30.08

2008-01-30T15:45:00.000-06:00

Life as a Tia 1.30.08

2008-01-30T13:16:00.000-06:00

I’m typically the editor – not the writer. Jon is the story teller. I’m more facts and details so this one may fill in some holes. However, don’t forget we’ve only been here for three weeks so some “facts and details” may change since I have limited knowledge to back them up. The three pictures are the sign for Hogar de Vida, Jerbin on the three-wheeler, and the upper house where I work.

As you are aware, we’re in Costa Rica. The country is about the size of Maine and is directly south of Nicaragua and north of Panama. It’s known for having great weather and being a mixing pot of European, Asian, and Caribbean island descent. Overall it’s a very westernized country versus Guatemala – I only make the comparison because that’s more what I was expecting / am used to. Everyone here wears western clothes versus any traditional clothing. There are not really any major crafts or textiles that stand out as Costa Rican. I chuckled a few days ago because I saw a store selling pottery. The sign informed customers that their pottery was truly Costa Rican while pottery sold by vendors on the beach is actually made in Nicaragua and pawned off as made here. I guess 80 or 90 kilometers in my mind doesn’t justify paying the store prices. Plus, I’ve never been to Nicaragua – having something from there sounds more interesting anyway.

Costa Rica is also known for being very environmentally / ecologically aware and active. They have vigils for egg-laying tortoises and so on.

So anyway, we’re in Costa Rica and working at Hogar de Vida para Los Ninez in Atenas, which is in the district of Alajuela. Tim and Dena Stromstad and Barb (don’t know her last name) are the American missionaries who work there. However, it’s really a nationally run organization – there is a national board affiliated with Children of Promise (http://www.childrenofpromise.org/) and then under them are Tim and Dena and the staff. Dena is the director (over the tias and kids) and Tim is the administrator (more over the men workers and other operations). Olga, one of the house moms, is also a full-time supported missionary. All the others are paid staff.

Hogar de Vida (home of life) is officially a foster care facility for abused and neglected children taken from their homes by the government. Most kids are there for about two years while the government does an official investigation of their situation / parents / etc to 1 – determine if they can return back home 2 – go live with extended family or 3 – eventually become officially abandoned and available for adoption. Just like life in the US, many of these kids are born to single mothers who love them but just can’t care for them. They are abused and/or neglected – typically by their fathers or their mothers’ current boyfriends. It’s a cycle – a child grows up without being raised and then goes on to have children of their own with out knowing how to raise them.

Thursday afternoons are very hard at Hogar de Vida. It’s parent visitation day. Some of the kids don’t even know their parents – the twins came at six months old and are now almost three. Their mom shows up and brings candy but they don’t really know her from any other person who gives them candy. Some of the kids get pretty worked up on Thursdays anticipating visits or crying when they’re over or being depressed and dejected when their parents don’t show at all. One of the burdens that has been placed on Tim and Dena’s hearts is for the parents of the kids. We’re currently helping the kids in life and hopefully in their spiritual lives, but what are we doing for the parents….right now not too much. It’s a cycle and unless we break the cycle with the parents, their kids will eventually fall back into bad situations and homes.

There are currently 23 kids at Hogar de Vida. They are split between the casa arriba (upper house) and the casa abaja (lower house). I work in the upper house as a tia (aunt) five days a week cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children. There are typically three or four tias on duty at a time during the day, three during the evenings, and two overnight. Jon and I are currently living in the third house – which I think is currently unnamed. I refer to it as the third casa (casa tercera) or the yellow house. It is currently under final construction and painting and then will be ready to be opened to house tias and children as soon as enough staff becomes available. Each house has a live-in mom or parents and two overnight tias plus the other day-staff tias. Right now there is not a live-in house mom/couple for the third house so it’s sitting empty.

Jon has been spending his days painting our house and other random things on the property. Due to cultural differences, he can’t do a lot of the same stuff I’m doing. He can play with the kids but not much past that. In Costa Rica it seems they are highly suspicious of men with kids – abuse is a big deal here.

Olga, the house mom of the upper house, is constantly reminding the tias that our goal at Hogar de Vida is not about getting our chores done or making sure the kids are fed and in bed. It’s about Jesus and His saving grace for our lives and the lives of the kids. She’s always encouraging us to use each moment as a teaching opportunity and a time to praise God for what he’s done versus just another day of work.

Sometimes that comes easier than others. I’ve found when all else fails – for example with Pamela, a six year old girl with major anger and possibly ADHD tendencies – I have to hold her tight and sing Amazing Grace. It’s the only song I can come up with in times of emergency. It works. The grace and the English (b/c she doesn’t know what I’m saying) are enough to calm her down so I can actually talk to her and let her know that in the midst of her tantrum, I care about her and want the best for her. It’s great to see progress with her but also wrenches my heart when I really think about it. Because in just a few weeks she’s come to know that Jon and I aren’t pushovers about discipline but that we also really care. And she respects it in the end every time. And soon we’ll be gone and eventually she’ll be back with her mom or dad or some other relative probably in a life once again without boundaries and discipline. All I can do is pray for her because I can’t fix it. Only God can protect her.

That’s it for now. We will be posting again next Tuesday or Wednesday. Thank you always for your prayers and emails. And concerning emails – please email us at jonandjessica@gmail.com because we currently do not have the reply feature on for the blog.

Love,
Jessica

Tarantulas, Fútbol & Football 1.29.08

2008-01-29T10:06:00.000-06:00

Greetings from sunny Costa Rica. I actually saw on the news that some parts of the US will experience -50 degree wind chills tonight. Yuck. So yes, today Jessica and I celebrate our 3rd anniversary. Even the longest journeys begin with the first steps.

So – for our three week update…We arrived last night to our hotel for our two days off. Excitedly I grabbed the remote for the first time in 3 weeks. I turned on the TV and….The President was on EVERY English station. Not quite what I had in mind for a relaxing time.

Yes, we had a tarantula. They are some of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen. We were heading up to the house late one night when Jessica first spotted it. To her credit she didn’t wake the entire campus up, but needless to say I knew something was wrong. First I got my camera to get a picture, and then I got the broom. Some would say stomp on it, but since I was wearing shorts all I could think about was missing and having it crawl up my leg. Anyway in my best lumberjack impersonation I swung the broom with full force….and missed. The tarantula scurried towards the field. You wouldn’t believe how fast they are. Jessica picked up the hammer to throw it at him, but I said you aren’t going to hit him with a hammer from 15 feet away, so…I threw the hammer. It was a toss for the ages. Not since the glory days of playing bocce at Grove City College have I had such a toss. I didn’t kill it with that shot, but I hit it and it never moved again. I picked up the broom and a 5 foot level this time and attacked. I didn’t miss this time and used the level to finish him off. If I had wrestled a lion I wouldn’t have had more adrenalin than I did right then. When I told the Tias about it they weren’t as impressed. “Usted es mas grande de la tarantula.” (“You are much bigger than the tarantula.”) But Jess was impressed. And we both slept better than night knowing it wouldn’t hurt a kid on the soccer field the next day.

One of my favorite activities here is going to the pool. I usually go on Sundays, but this week we went on Saturday. We have a great time. I take my football and toss it to the kids after I count Uno, Dos, Tres. Ben Roethlisberger needs to realize how lucky he is. Most of my receivers are four feet tall.

Jessica made her chocolate chip M&M cookies this week. We gave some to the kids. They went straight for the M&Ms on the top with no regard for the cookie. In no time we had a bunch of chocolate covered faces giggling at us. One of them kept saying “Ver! Ver!” Which is “Look! Look!” He didn’t eat the cookie for some time; he just wanted everyone to look at what he had.

My Spanish is coming around. Funny how much you can get across when you use your hands as much as I do I have even held some 20 minute conversations with other workers. I don’t know everything that is being said and I’m sure I’ve said yes to all sorts of questions that I had no idea what was being asked, but all in all I think the main points are understood. I told one of the Tias that I don’t really care if they understand everything as long as they smile and nod. However, listening to sermons in Spanish on Sundays has been more tiring than energizing. I usually end up reading my bible and hoping the pastor doesn’t look my way for any acknowledgement to what he’s saying.

Here is my Superbowl analysis. In their last meeting, for 3 quarters the Pats didn’t blitz Eli and he looked pretty good. The Pats then blitzed nearly every down in the 4th quarter and Eli looked like Eli. I expect them to blitz the entire time. The Giants need to work on their blitz pick-ups. And that is how I see it. If the Giants can block they will win, if they can’t, the Pats will do it again.

As a painter here I have a lot of time on my hands to think and pray. Right now we are asking that you also pray for us as we try to determine what to do come March. I’ve even said what Samuel said when God was calling him, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.” So the verses that keep going through my head are 1st Corinthians 9:24 & 25.

24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

I do not know where this is heading. However I do know that no matter where we go, be it Pittsburgh, here or who knows where else in the world, I want to run in such a way as to get the prize. What is my purpose here?

One last story. Yesterday Jerbin and I played soccer. Here is how it typically goes. He sets the ball up and walks a good 10 steps backwards. He then giggles “Venga! Venga!” which means “Come! Come get it!” I make one movement and he goes full speed at the ball giggling the entire way. He usually kicks it and then falls down to show how much power he has. It is the best. One time he dribbled the length of the field with me guarding him. After he scored he wanted to hang on the goalpost. As I lifted him up, a bee stung him on the ear. I hate bees. He cried in my arms as I carried him up to the house to get some medicine and a glass or water. And that is why even though I am scared to death, I kill tarantulas.

Thanks for reading. I really enjoyed your e-mails.

Lots of Love from both of us
Jon

Memorable Moments 1.23.08

2008-01-23T11:31:00.000-06:00

Hello family and friends

The kids are passing around a cold and one of the babies didn’t sleep the entire night. A sleepless night and then 10 kids the next day makes for some hard times. So, we volunteered to take Dayaret for the night to our house. Dayaret, pronounced (daj-a-Ray) is the baby on the bed with some of the biggest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. As I am writing this I am a little distracted by a small hand ripping out some of my leg hairs. I would say I would hope we get some sleep tonight, but let’s be honest; I’m going to sleep just fine. We’ll see if Jessica gets any sleep tonight.

I’ve also attached before and after shots of what I have been doing during the day. I painted our house in Packers colors and they just couldn’t pull it off - huh. I’m sure everyone will be relieved to know that I was able to watch the end of the Patriots game. As was customary with my Sunday schedule, after attending Church we ate lunch and I went to the pool and played with some of the grandes (big kids). When I returned the keys to the pool, Tim the director asked me if I would like to finish the Patriots game with him. He twisted my arm enough and I said I would stay for the end. That Tom Brady.

A few mornings ago I was awoken by what I thought was a very large animal directly outside our bedroom window. I rolled out of bed and confirmed that it was a very large animal, actually several large animals…the cows got out of their pasture and were proceeding to have breakfast on the futbol field.

We have every Tuesday and Wednesday off. Today we went into the center of town for the first time. We went to Rick’s Internet Café where for 700 colones you can have a coke and get ½ hour of internet. I like Rick’s. In the evening we went with Olga and her family to watch her daughter’s futbol game. Olga is the house mom in the house that Jessica works at during the day. After the game we stopped for pizza and drove to a public park / soccer field next to the Home to eat it. Jessica said it was one of her most memorable moments of the trip so far. Eating pizza, drinking a to-go coke, (a to-go Coke is a coke out of a plastic baggie you have to bite the corner of the bag and then just suck it out while not dropping the bag) under a full moon and stars at a soccer field that sure enough had more cows on it out for a moonlit snack.

How about this for a miracle. Many of you know that I enjoy a Coca-Cola now and again. In fact, I have one at lunch EVERY day. Today I was trying to remember for how long now I have had a Coke at lunch. It goes back all the way to my Sr. year in high school. I sometimes get caffeine headaches if I miss it. We’ll for two weeks now I haven’t had to have one Coke at lunchtime. Cold turkey from the word go. We have had some on our vacation days, but not necessarily at lunch and I haven’t had any problems. I’m actually pretty amazed.

Typically I get off work around 4:00. After cleaning up I go to the house and help dinner/pre bedtime. Sometimes this includes watching some tv, but one night we just sat on the back porch and looked at the moon. When it was time for bed we marched the kids into the house towards their beds. As we were marching in the 3 year olds started chanting “Tele! Tele! Tele!” and proceeded to park themselves on the couch to watch a show. We however chanted right back “Cama! Cama! Cama!” which is bed. Dejected the 3 year old slowly marched to bed. I don’t know if it comes across as adorable as it was, but I loved it.

Every morning at 8:30 we have group devotions in La Rancha – which is the large open-air pavilion in the center of the campus. About half the kids come every day along with the staff. We sing and pray and read the Bible. It’s been a good way to learn a bit about different staff members as each signs up to do devotions. A daily hour of devotions has taught the kids to sit and pray and sing. I think they are the best behaved kids at church. They can sit while the other kids are running around. Monday is the dia de oracion – meaning day of prayer. So every Monday everyone prays in turn. However, it’s quite normal for everyone to pray out loud but quietly while it’s someone else’s turn. It’s an odd feeling at first, but then it begins to make sense. Everyone’s praying to God so why do we need to listen necessarily to what someone else is saying. Plus, it helps cover up my buddy Jerbin’s humming. Sometimes the kids get snowballs, chocolate malt balls, at the end to reward their good behavior. Candy is the universal reward.

We’ll I’m off to bed. Dayaret is currently sleeping. We’ll take advantage of that. Talk to you next week. Thanks for the e-mails. We love hearing what is happening.

Lots of Love,
Jon and Jessica

P.S. It is now Wednesday morning and I am copying and pasting this e-mail. Dayaret didn’t sleep much and neither did either of us.

Bienvenido a Costa Rica 1.15.08

2008-01-15T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hola! We're here safe and sound. We're currently in Playa de Jaco, a beach on the west coast. Our days off are Tuesday and Wednesday, so that's when we'll most likely be checking emails. Everything is going well. Thank you for the updates. It's nice to get a piece of normalcy.

Jon spent his first few days working with a guy named Grant on surveying the property, and now he's painting. There's probably plenty of painting to last him the next 7 weeks. I am one of the "tias" (aunts) in the upper house. We have ten kids under the age of 10 I believe. Four are in the 2-3 age and pretty crazy. Plus three babies. 11 hours of being an aunt is busy but good. I feel bad for the tias who actually live in the house b/c theyr'e on 24 hours a day. We're living in the third house which is currently not in use. It's more than fine.

Jon here now. So a few interesting points about Costa Rica. Their money is called the Colon. The colon exchanges 500 colones for 1 dollar. I got off the plane and immediately got $20,000 in my pocket ($40). In europe our taxi from the airport to our hotel in Spain cost 30 euros so maybe $50. Today our taxi cost $700 colones or $1.50.

Costa Rica is much more westernized than Guatemala. We went to the grocery store and they pretty much had everything we needed. The weather is pretty nice. The blueist skies, few clouds, 85 degrees, 50% humidity and no rain.

For activities last night we took about 7 kids to the "mandarinas" trees. Mandarinas are more like clemintines than oranges. I think we picked about 50 of them. Jon!!! Aqui!!! Esto!!! which to translate, Jon come pick this one for me. Muy rico. It might be a good thing that American's are currently not allowed to adopt b/c I think we picked out 3 that we would bring home. Absolutly beautiful kids.

We spend our evenings eating a little supper and then we pretty much go straight to bed at around 7:30 or 8:00. I nearly lost my breakfast on the bus on the way here, but I guess that is to be expected. I might have to take double medicine next trip.

We love all of you. Hope all is well. Send us e-mail updates.

Jon & Jessica

What we're up to 12.4.07

2007-12-04T13:53:00.000-06:00

This email is a compilation of a couple months worth of thoughts. So read it at your leisure.

August 7th - #1 Dear Friends and Family, All of you have played some sort of role in our lives - as family and friends - so we wanted to let you know about some HUGE changes going on in our lives. We're very excited and want to share them with everyone but we're also very nervous so we're asking for your prayers as well. As some of you might have known, Jon and I have been trying to buy a new house for about 9 months now. Each time we think we've found "the one", for one reason or another, we come to find out otherwise. In the midst of these times we've been anxious and feeling that there's something coming we're supposed to be doing - so we kept trying to do it - buy a house, start a family, make some career moves, etc. But none of our plans were working. Every so often one of us would throw out the "let's just sell and move to Guatemala" line. But then Jon would go onto pittsburghmoves.com once again and find our next dream house.

So to make a very long story short - we're "selling and going to Guatemala". Not just Guatemala - but that is part of the plan. Jon and I are working to set up a couple different "internships" as he's calling it to spend some time with various missionaries and organizations to see what's out there and where we fit in. While we are firm believers in meeting human physical needs, we believe that good works are just that without the Gospel. So we go with the goal of sharing the Gospel - how, when and where - I don't really know. And for those who really know me - that might be the hardest part. I like to know the details. We resigned our positions at Hefren-Tillotson this past Wendesday to be effective August 31st. Leading up to that date, we will be moving our stuff to Jon's parents' basement in Ohio and then setting off on our adventure. We plan to be in touch via email and be back every so often between internships. After the internships - again - I don't know.

At this point I feel I'm supposed to type "we covet your prayers" but I've always been weirded out by that phrase because the 10 Commandments say "thou shall not covet". So I'll go with a different one. We need your prayers - I won't even make it optional. Many of you were at our wedding and you promised to support our marriage - so here's a chance. We are firm believers in spiritual warfare - and within hours of us stepping out on faith into - "ok, God - here we are - now what?" - the flaming arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16) started to fly. As this all becomes more official / organized, we will be sending out updates, etc. If you're interested in being on that email list, let us know. In the meantime we're getting ready. Feel free to call whenever - we'd love to talk to you about this. Also, feel free to forward this email on to others. Love, Jon & Jessica Jon cell - 412-600-6116Jessica's cell - 412-849-6128

October 22nd - #2 So it's now about two months later. Some things happened as expected. Some are different. And I never sent out the first email. But I didn't want to not send it - because some of you need the whole story. Since we resigned our positions, we have had many confirmations from God that it was the right step - not the easy one - but right. At the same time, we are struggling because we don't have many more answers than two months ago. We spent most of September traveling and spending time with Drew and Lindsay Hall, friends from our church who are in French language school in preparation of moving to Guinea, Africa to be medical missionaries. We were planning to go to Guatemala on October 13th with a short-term team from our church, and we had applied with the missionaries there to stay an extra two months after the team came back to the US.

In the end, our first expected "internship" ended up being just one week. We arrived back in the US this past Sunday. It was very hard at first when the answer was "no" because I thought that was pretty much a shoe-in for our first project. But as we spent time there last week, it became clearer that God was right (duh) and that the answer was supposed to be "no". But as for what's next, that's still to be determined.

November 26th - #3
The past month has sort of flown by - with highlights and a lot of down time.
As our Guatemala trip was coming to an end, one of the team members asked us if we had felt a calling towards Guatemala during the trip. Honestly the answer was "no". We had a wonderful time, Jon finally got to experience it, and we had really enjoyed getting to know our team members. However, there really wasn't a calling. But as we landed back in Atlanta, we believe our calling for that period of time showed itself. As "luck" would have it, one of our team members switched seats to an aisle row for that flight, leaving Jon and I in an aisle by ourselves. Across the aisle sat a mother and two kids. The father then asked Jon if he minded if he sat next to him to be beside his family. Jon lost his extra leg space but obviously didn't say no. Not until we landed in Atlanta did we end up actually talking to the man, but in the amount of time it took to unload the plan, we learned he and his family were on their way to the US for treatment for his four-year-old daughter, Madelena, who has leukemia. They had never flown before, didn't speak a word of English, and only had a piece of paper with their destination name to show to a taxi cab driver once they landed in Baltimore. With my broken Spanish and help from other team members on our team, we realized we needed to help them get through the airport. For those of you who haven't flown through Atlanta, the airport is nice - but huge and crowded and the lines are tortuous - and that's for someone who has flown many times and can read English. So after a very stressful hour and a half, we got them on their flight to Baltimore. It really was not short of a miracle. We prayed for Madelena and her family and sent them on their way praying they would make it to their destination.

We planned to go to Baltimore the next weekend to meet them and see how they were doing. They were here for up to a year and a half - with two suitcases for the four of them. We didn't know how we could help but at least knew we could buy some warm clothes for them to make it through the winter. One of our team members worked on locating their social worker at Johns Hopkins. It came down to Friday afternoon as we were already on the road to Baltimore. The social worker called me at her wits end. "They don't exist - at least not in the Johns Hopkins system". After a long pause, she said that there was one other place she could think of - but it's not part of JH, so she didn't know how they had gotten the JH name. The National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, MD has a pediatric cancer center - and Madelena could be there. It just so happened that Jon and I were staying in Bethesda that night at a friend's apartment. I researched The Children's Inn at NIH that night and knew it was the right place. So we went Saturday morning, knowing that any success would depend on (God and) the lady at the front desk.

The receptionist was beyond overly helpful. She wanted us to find them. However, they had arrived the previous Sunday and then checked out Monday. What!?! She then offered to all their social worker who could set something up for Monday. We told her we were leaving on Sunday. She told us that when families arrive and the kids are sick, they tend quarantine them and to send them to a hotel for a few days until everyone is healthy. That's what had happened. Then she proceeded to tell us she couldn't tell me at what hotel they were staying, but she gave me a list of the three hotels they use. Then she gave me a copy of yellow pages. Then she said we could just use their computer lab instead. So within five minutes we were back outside with the names, numbers and addresses of three hotels within half a mile. On my second attempt, we had them on the phone. They were overjoyed to hear from us, had been trying to contact us all week, and couldn't believe that we showed up to visit them. We spent the afternoon together, rode the Metro, went shopping, and had dinner. Our goal was to do whatever they needed. And what they needed was for someone to let them know they weren't forgotten.
The feeling of doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing in that moment is amazing. I guess that's the definition of "calling".

Since then we've talked on the phone a few times with David and Julia, Madelena's parents, and we plan to go visit again in mid-December. Unfortunately David is scheduled to return to Guatemala later this week. That might be slightly delayed due to an emergency appendectomy last week - but we'll see. At this point, they need prayer and support through all of this. They're eagerly trying to learn English and I'm going to help them establish an email account when we go in December. Once David has to leave, Julia will be alone with the two children - ages four and five. If anyone knows anyone in the Washington DC area who speaks Spanish who would be interested in contacting them, let me know.

In addition to Madelena's family, God has consistently been giving us one step at at time - again very hard for me being that I love long and detailed plans. The week after going to Baltimore we were baby-sitting for three kids from church. During that weekend we heard from Costa Rica. We had applied to work for two months at an orphanage there. A few days earlier, we finally came to the point of saying "Ok, nothing is working. We're going to have to get a job again". The answer came about five weeks later than we were expecting, but then Costa Rica said "yes - please come." So we're pretty excited to be going. We will be leaving January 9th and returning March 5th. Please keep Jon in mind incase the Steelers are in another AFC Championship and Super Bowl game. He will be out of the country. =)

After we got the confirmation from Costa Rica, we then had two more very positive leads. After church one Saturday night in Pittsburgh, we had a very encouraging talk with the pastor of our church who had heard of our plans and goals. He offered to get us in contact with the head of missions placement for the C&MA denomination, which is located in Colorado Springs. It just so happened that we were leaving for Colorado Springs just a couple days later. So the meeting is set for this coming Sunday. Who knows what will come of it - but even just the conversation with Pastor Rock was a huge blessing in and of itself.

And then right after that, we received another email from another director of C&MA based in New Jersey. He had received and email from a hospital in Mali which we had contacted a while ago about. They are extremely understaffed on the business / administrative side.
So as usual - it's really one step at a time. The future is unknown but God is faithful.

As of right now we're in Montana visiting my family. Then we'll be back in Colorado Springs for the meeting and then back east again for a few weeks before Christmas. After that we'll be packing for Costa Rica and praying for whatever is after that. The past few months have been weird. Being a guest is not easy though our hosts have been overwhelmingly gracious. We miss our friends and our life in Pittsburgh and get ancy every so often. But we're confident that God has lead us this far and will not let us down.

Talk to you soon -
Love,Jon & Jessica