Tico Tuesday, May 22nd

Tuesday greetings to you!

At a station of the concert of prayer

Thanks be to God, I am feeling much better after being sick last week and the small group facilitator retreat went really well! At this time last week, we had 8 people signed up and there was a chance we might have to cancel the retreat. But, thankfully, we were able to get more people to sign up and ended up with about 35 participants. It was still a smaller crowd than I hoped for, but I believe there was also some spiritual resistance. We planned a really good retreat that touched a lot of things the enemy would much rather us let alone. I am grateful for those who came though, and they are really glad they came too!
The retreat's theme passage was Jeremiah 17:5-8 and was called "Your Roots." We had individual time to meditate on the Word, two times of worship through music, a concert of prayer with one station for each of the five purposes (which we managed to draw out of the passage), a special speaker from our big sister church, and some brief time to share testimonies. I introduced a new tool of resources for our leaders, and told them about some other new resources we have in the pipeline as well. It was a wonderful day and I could sense God's presence and hand in motion.
Please continue to pray for the Small Groups at my church, as well as my team and me. We have several things we need to start doing and many others we need to improve upon. Thankfully, the next couple weeks aren't supposed to be quite as busy as the last couple, so I look forward to having some time for extra praying and strategizing.
Thank you so much for your prayers and for just reading and caring, and of course, for your financial partnership with UWM!
God bless you and grow your roots as you trust in him!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, May 15th

Greetings one and all from rainy Costa Rica!

This past Friday we had another prayer vigil at church. It was really nice to be at a prayer vigil again, as I missed the vigil in March due to my trip to the States. Prayer vigils are some of the fastest 4 hours that go by at church every other month. Friday was no exception. It was a powerful time to intercede and worship. Our theme was "I am your Healer" and we prayed for emotional, spiritual, physical, and holistic health. My faith was challenged and grown, as was that of many others present. We had some of the best attendance ever at a vigil and it is always exciting to see what God does in us. It was particularly encouraging to see a couple small groups sitting together. That's what we're going for! Not just meeting once a week for a study, but to do life together and develop bonds that reach deeply into each other's hearts and lives.
Please continue to pray for the small groups at my church, and particularly for the retreat we're having for facilitators on Saturday. Right now, we don't have many people signed up, but I pray and trust that God will bring the people who should be there. My team and I have been working really hard preparing this event and I'm really excited for it.
Please also pray for me as I've come down with a cold and need the strength (and for my voice to hold out) to teach two hours tonight and again on Thursday night.
Thank you!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, May 8th

Salutations to you all!

This past week was UWM's regional conference for Central America and the Caribbean. Wow, what a wonderful, special time it was! Though I was on the planning committee, I really hadn't had much time to actually get excited about the conference. This week and next week are really intense, so I was working really hard in the time leading up to the conference to make sure I'd be able to really let go, disconnect, and enjoy the conference (and not have to work during free time). When I got on the ferry, I started seeing more and more of my fellow missionaries and seeing people who had come down from the office in Charlotte. It was like a family reunion. There were people I hadn't seen in years it was great to see again, and there were new people whose names I'd seen before, but had never met. What a joy it was to share and grow with these people for a few days! There were about 90 of us, and hundreds and hundreds of years of combined missionary service. It was such a treat to get to be together, listen to one another, pray for each other, enjoy free time together, worship together, learn about what's going on in the mission on a broader level, etc.
And it was also really nice to be right on the beach. My room faced the water, so every morning I'd go on the little back patio of my room and listen to the waves as I had my devotions. I wish I could hear the waves every morning while I do my devotions, but I came home very grateful that I live in the Central Valley and that I don't live sweating profusely every time I go outside here.
May God bless and refresh you as well according to your needs!
Love,
Carrie