The Test

This past week, I had two very intense tests to prepare for.  The first one was last Friday, and was a 30-minute oral exam.  There wasn't much I could do to prepare for it, because no one knew what the questions would be.  I just showed up, and started talking, answering questions with the teacher as I went, and hopefully showing fluency  in Spanish.  In order to pass the oral test, I needed to achieve an 'advance' rating on my speaking abilities. (One teacher told me that an 'advanced' level is when a Spanish speaker who has never talked to a gringo before can walk up to me and hold a conversation, and I can understand and make myself understood.)  Considering that I came to Costa Rica to study Spanish only 7 months ago, and that I came in with almost no Spanish, getting an advanced rating would be pretty huge for me after only two trimesters at the school.

The second test was last Tuesday, and was a comprehensive, 3 hour, 300 point written exam.  It covered everything: present tense, past tense, future tense, subjunctives, parifrases, comparatives, quoting people... everything!  In order to pass the written test, I need at least a 70% as a final score.  Most students take both exams after their third semester at the school, but since we are leaving in less that two weeks, I decided to take them now.  I took them for two big reasons:  First, I wanted to graduate here with the diploma (in order to graduate with the diploma, you have to pass BOTH tests first!).  Second, since we are leaving early, I wanted to confirmation that my Spanish had grown to the level where I'd be able to converse well when we get to Mexico.  I was hoping that these tests would assure me that I have everything that I need to serve and minister in Mexico.

However, as I've been waiting for the results, I realized something: I was looking for something from these tests that should only come from God!  There is NOTHING in this world that can make me a competent minister of the Gospel apart from the Lord, no classes, no tests, no human confirmation or adulation.  Nothing makes me 'good enough' or 'equipped enough' except God.  I was reminded of what God told the prophet Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 1:



      Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
                  and before you were born I consecrated you;
                  I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the LORD said to me,

                  “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
                  for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
                  and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
            8    Do not be afraid of them,
                  for I am with you to deliver you,
                  declares the LORD.”

9 Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me,

                  “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
            10  See, I have set you this day kover nations and over kingdoms,
                  to pluck up and to break down,
                  to destroy and to overthrow,
                  to build and to plant.”


The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Je 1:5–10). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

God was well aware of my deficiencies when He chose me.  He was aware of my sin when He saved me.  He knew about my pride and my struggles when He began to sanctify me.  He knew of my terrible Spanish when He called me to serve and share and minister in Mexico.  God knew!  And not only did He know, He called me anyways!!  I don't need a test or a class or a piece of paper to tell me that I have what it takes to serve in Mexico, because God has already confirmed this in me!

So, I'm going to go receive my scores in about 5 minutes.  I'll be excited if I pass, and I'll be disappointed if I fail, but I will remember that neither one defines who I am or my ability to serve God, because it is God who is doing the work in me, and it is He who will see it through to the day of completion.  May I never build up something else to have the significance in my life that only God deserves, because if my God is for me, then who (or what) shall be against me? (and that includes my terrible Spanish!).  May you also find yourself justified and covered today with all that you need in Christ, because He is more than enough for us!

Mamóns

This will just be a fun little post about a new delicacy that we found in the Feria around here lately.  In our Feria (fruit market) that we attend every Saturday, there are tons of fruits and veggies that you can buy, many that are familiar to Americans, but some are totally foreign.  It's a fun place, especially if you're willing to try new things.

Our weekly Feria here in San Francisco de Dos Rios

An example of what you can find at the Feria each week.

This week, we got a bag of the newest, weirdest fruit to be in-season here in Costa Rica.  The official name is a rambutan, but here they call them Mamón Chinos (literally means 'Chinese Suckers'.)  These are some weird little fruits mainly because of how they look: they have the color and size of large ripe strawberries, but are covered in these weird looking hair like things with the texture of something offered by Nerf.  On a scale of 1 to Weird, these are a 12!

Remember these toys?  That's kinda what a Mamón Chino feels like.

Some of our selection from the Feria this week.

So, we decided to get half a kilo (about a pound), and show everyone how to eat them!  The girls helped me with this experament.  Zoe and I loved the Mamóns, while Sara and Caitlynn didn't really care for them (and Gabe was too young to try).

The girls with their Mamóns all ready to try.

The first thing you have to do is use your fingernail to crack open the Mamón, so that you can get to the fruit inside.  (Thankfully, you don't have to eat the 'hairy' part, I'm not sure I could do that!)

The Mamóns all broken open with the fruit showing.

Once you have it cracked open, you can take the top off to see the fruit inside, which you can squeeze into your mouth.  It has the texture of a peeled grape, with a very large seed inside.  You suck on the fruit until you eat all the fruit off, then can spit the seed out.  The fruit is somewhat sweet, kind of like a grape, though not as juicy.  Overall, they're a lot of work to eat, but very good!

The seed with all of the fruit off of it... you wouldn't want to swallow that thing!

If you want to see more, you can watch the video below and see my assistant Zoe show you how to eat a Mamón.  If you ever stumble across them in the markets back home, give them a try!

A week of... rest?

A few weeks ago, we had 'Spiritual Emphasis Week' here at the Spanish Language Institute.  Every semester, they bring in a guest preacher, who shares at chapel during the week.  However, instead of just having chapel on Tuesday and Thursday mornings like normal, chapel is every morning and afternoon during the week!  Also, teachers are not allowed to give out homework during Spiritual Emphasis week, so it's supposed to be a time to step back from the Spanish (a little), and focus instead on the Lord (a LOT!).  In theory, it's a time of rest... in practice, not always :)  But, it's always blessing!  This semester, I'm the worship leader for the institute's chapel time, so that meant there was a lot of preparation to do to get all the worship ready for each chapel time.  However, it was a great blessing to gather every day and worship with the students at ILE.

We were blessed this trimester to have David Sitton come and be our speaker for Spiritual Emphasis week. David has been a missionary to Papau New Guinea, focusing on completely unreached tribes, many of them comprised of head-hunters and cannibals.  Now, in addition to continuing trips to PNG, he founded and runs To Ever Tribe Missions, (www.toeverytribe.com) which focuses on sending missionaries to the unreached people-groups all around the world.  He spent the week sharing about his experiences in missions, and encouraging us in the theme that 'Jesus is Worth It.'  It's good to be reminded that, when we struggle with the language, when we miss home, when we are unsure about our finances coming in on time, and have countless other struggles, that Jesus is worth it!  It's also challenging to be reminded that, when there are times of personal loss, when people reject our message, when we share Christ for a long time without seeing clear fruit, that Jesus is still worth it!

David Sitton (right) with our friend Scott from the Institute

We were also blessed to get to have David in our home on Friday night for dinner.  We got to just talk to him about our mission to Mexico, and hear more from him about missions.  To Every Tribe supports missionaries in Oaxaca, Mexico, sharing with unreached people groups just a 2 days' drive from the US border!  We were also blessed to hear David's heart for Mexico, and to find out about ways that David might be able to help us as we prepare to get started in Mexico.  It's so amazing how God brings the right people into our paths at the right time!

Gabe checking out someone else's yard

Patriotic girls at our school's 4th of July party

We also had a great surprise during our week of rest, because Sara's friend from the States, Michele, came for a surprise visit!  I (Nick) had known for a few months that she was coming, and helped work out a lot of the details, but the entire idea for the trip was Michele's!  I had to lie a little, and tell Sara that I had a men's meeting at the church to go to, then I went across town by bus to pick up Michele in a cab and bring her back home.  I had told Sara that someone was going to be staying with us on Monday night, so she was expecting a guest, but she definitely wasn't expecting Michele!  It was so great to see her reaction, and to get to spend time with Michele for a few days.  Michele stayed with us, went to classes with Sara a few times, and we took her downtown one day to see a few sights and do a little shopping, but mainly we just enjoyed our time with her here.  What an encouragement it was to Sara to have Michele here!

Walking through downtown San José with our friend Michele.

It was a very BUSY week (of rest), but we couldn't have been more blessed by it all.  Now, as I'm writing this, we're down to only 40 days in Costa Rica before we come back to the States for a few months!  Be in prayer for:

• The end of our schooling here, that we'll learn as much as possible.
• For Nick as he'll be taking a massive exam at the end of July called the ECHO exam.  It consists of a 30 min oral examination (that must be passed at an 'advanced' level), followed by a 3 hour written exam (that must be passed at a 70 or higher).  Nick really wants to pass this test, so keep that in your prayers.
• Pray for us as we get ready to say goodbye to some amazing friends here in Costa Rica.  The difficult truth is that, for many of these great friends that we've made, we may never see them again this side of heaven as we spread out around the globe to share Christ.  Our goodbyes will be very hard (some of them already have been), but we rejoice in the time that we've had with everyone here.
• Pray for us as we are still seeking more churches to share at when we're back in the USA from August to November.  We are hoping to share about our mission at many new churches, and raise a little more support, but the doors haven't been opening well so far.  Keep this in your prayers, please!

Thank you for your love and prayers, and for remembering us!  

Zoe having one last play date with one of her best friends here, Bethany, before their family leaves for Mexico City this weekend.

One last time being silly before having to say goodbye.

The Well

Scott and Tim are missionaries here at ILE that are in their final trimester of study before heading to serve in Peru.  A few weeks ago, they were blessed to get to attend and share at a missions conference in Montana (State motto: Well, we're not quite Wyoming, but at least we're not Colorado!).  While they were there, they heard an analogy that really stuck with me when Tim shared it with me upon his return, that I'd like to share with all of you this week as well. (I've expanded the analogy some for the sake of this blog):

"When a missionary goes out to share the Gospel, it's like a rescue mission in a well.  The rescuer grabs onto the rope, and holds on tightly as he lowers himself into the well.  Up above, however, they must be a team of workers that are also holding the rope as he begins his work.  The rescuer is bearing his own weight; however, the team up above is bearing his whole weight as well!  So, as the rescuer goes out, both the worker and the supporter bear the same weight, and both bear the scars on their hands from the endeavor.  In the same way, both the missionary (or missionary family) and the support team back home bear the weight of the ministry.  The missionary leaves behind home, comforts, friends, family, and puts themselves into situations that aren't comfortable, that aren't always safe, and that are incredibly trying.  Meanwhile, those at home also bear the weight: they miss their loved ones who have gone out to serve, they bear the weight of praying for the missionaries, of supporting the ministry financially and in other ways, and of not forgetting those who have gone out from them, even those who have gone out years before.  And, both sides bear the scars from the endeavor, but both bear them gladly, because they know that the mission, the need to share the Gospel around the world, is more important than any other."

I love this analogy!  Too often, some missionaries and some churches look at missionaries as lone rangers, living the solitary life, separating themselves from everyone to take on themselves a mission that has been given by God to them and them alone.  But nothing could be further from the truth!  As Sara and I have left Casper and come here to Costa Rica, we have felt even more deeply the need that we have for the church back home than ever before.  We can't tell you how much every little message on facebook means, or the occasional letter or package, or when the phone rings.  We can't explain how it feels to be prayed for, and to know that people are remembering us before God from 3400 miles away.  We can't explain how humbling it is to see people support us financially every month.  We can't describe how it pierces our hearts to hear people talk about missing us, about wishing we were still at the church, about wanting us back in the States.  We see first hand that we need YOU!  We need those back home, the family, the friends, the other believers, the churches, who are helping to make what we are doing possible.  Thank you, all of you who are pouring yourselves into our ministry just as we are, in different ways, so that we might go forth!

And we bear the scars at times, too.  It can be hard to be away from home.  We miss our family and friends.  We miss being in a culture where we can understand everything and make ourselves understood easily.  We miss the feeling that we're able to more easily reach people and share the Gospel because we can communicate in the right language.  We struggle with battles of the mind as we try to learn Spanish; we struggle with battles of the heart as we miss our homes and families and friends; we struggle with battles of the spirit as we fight against spiritual warfare that feels more prevalent here than it was back home.  But, as the Bible assures us, these are 'light and momentary troubles,' compared to Christ!  We do this, and you send and support us, because we know that it's worth it, and in light of the need for the Gospel of Christ around the world, what else could we possibly do??

Finally, we do this because we know it's not about us.  As Paul Washer says, "Missions is not about sending missionaries.  Missions is about sending the truth of God through missionaries."  We go because of this truth, and we trust that you send us and support us because of this truth as well.  If this rescue mission that we're on is about us, then please, let go of the rope!  But, if you believe in this because of the power of the Gospel, and the need for God to be heard about and glorified around the world, then continue with us in this mission.  Thank you for being WITH us in this endeavor, striving with us, working with us, praying for us, bear our weight in your own way, as we seek to see the King of Glory (Ps 24) pour out His Spirit in Mexico and across this world.  We love you all, and God bless!

Meet our Friends: The Steeles

One of the biggest blessings about attending language school at ILE (Instituto de lengua española) is that we have been blessed to meet some AMAZING missionaries.  God has given us amazing friends here at ILE, and when we leave in August, we will leave knowing missionaries in almost every Spanish speaking country on earth!  What an incredibly blessing to not only have the ministry in Mexico that God has given us, but to also be a part (in prayer and encouragement) of God's missions across the Spanish-speaking world to see His name glorified!

Because of this, I was thinking: we are so blessed to have you all praying for us and supporting us!  But, if we're the only missionaries that you know and pray for, then you are really missing out!  So, about once a month, I'm going to try to very briefly introduce you to some of our friends, so that you can be praying for them, as well!  Praying for each other is one of the greatest blessings that we have in our walk with Christ, and praying for missionaries?  Well, that's even better! (at least, in THIS missionary's opinion ;)  )

That being said, we'd like you to introduce you to Tony and Beverly Steele.  Tony and Beverly were 3rd trimester students at ILE when we started back in January, but, we already knew them (a little).  You see, Tony and Beverly are the only other missionaries to Mexico from Global Outreach (our mission's organization).  We knew they were working towards getting to Mexico, too, and we have been praying for them.  So, we were incredibly excited to get to meet them and start to talk about ministry in Mexico with them.  When you take into account the size of the language school and the size of Mexico, there really aren't that many missionaries at ILE going to Mexico, and it was such a blessing to get to share what God has put on our hearts for that amazing nation.

We got to spend some time with Tony and Beverly last semester while we were at ILE, especially one night before the end of the Trimester when they came over to our house for dinner.  In one of those 'small world' moments, we found out that, even though they are being sent out of the Kentucky/Tennessee area, they lived in Casper, Wyoming for a few years, and even attended College Heights (our home church) for a while.  While this was a while ago (before Sara or I were born!), it's still crazy to see how paths can cross in this world!

Beverly holding Gabe when we went to visit Courtenay and Jacob Folk in Cartago.

Tony and Beverly finished up their time at language school at the end of April, then spent a few weeks in the States before driving down into Mexico over Memorial Day Weekend.  They are ministering in the state of Zacatecas in Mexico, about 4 1/2 hours north of Ciudad Guzman, where we'll be living and ministering.  They have a great heart to partner with pastors in southern Zacatecas to see more churches planted across the area, and see the Gospel go forth into one of the more spiritually dark areas of Mexico.  Would you pray for them this week as they begin their ministry there?  There are so many things to do when moving to a new country, and many things to figure out.  Plus, now that they've left language school, this is the first time that they've been in a Spanish speaking country without the benefit of other missionaries around to lean on for support; would you ask that God would be their strength and support during this time?  Pray that God will be glorified through them in Zacatecas, that they would have numerous opportunities to share the Gospel, and that many would be saved through their ministry.  You can also keep up with them and their ministry on their blog: http://www.gozacmission.blogspot.com/

Go ye therefore, into all the world, but start with Mexico! ;)

We are so blessed to know the Steeles, and we can't wait to be a few hours from them in Mexico, sharing the Gospel with that great and needy country!