Tico Tuesday, February 14th

Valentine's Day greetings from Costa Rica!

This past weekend was men's camp. I heard a couple updates about what was happening over the course of the weekend, but I'm not sure much could have prepared me for their return. As the second service came to an end on Sunday, we received the 120ish men who went- an all time record number of attendees. (I think in the past the record had been around 70). The men could hardly wait for the sermon to finish and make their entrance clapping in rhythm and shouting "¡Grande y fuerte es nuestro Dios!" Great and strong is our God! These men were exuberant. Once they all made it to the front of the church we all sang the song "Grande y fuerte es nuestro Dios" and then their families all came and surrounded them, happy to be reunited again, even though they were only apart for a couple days. It was a special, joyful time. God has been moving powerfully in our church the past few weeks and this was clearly a continuation of the same movement of the Holy Spirit. So, why am I telling you all this? Because, in addition to wanting to let you know what's going on in my church, there is a more specific testimony I want to share with you. A man who started attending my church last year, got baptized, and became a small group leader came up to me after the service. He is divorced and no one in his family comes to our church. I think they might even all live in San José. But after the service, though he had no spouse or children there to greet him, his small group came. And that touched the depths of his heart. And it touches mine. That is one of the main things small groups are supposed to be about, and I praise God for it and allowing me to be aware of it. Hallelujah! He is so good!
May he continue to work powerfully in your life! Thank you for being a part of mine and being an instrument of God's blessing to me! ¡Grande y fuerte es nuestro Dios!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, February 7th

This past Saturday I had the privilege and joy of teaching part of the 201 Spiritual Maturity class at my church. A lot of people who came are relatively new to my church, and many of them do not have a regular time of devotions with the Lord. I pray that will begin to change after this class, which covers Bible reading, Bible study, and a few other related disciplines, along with prayer, basics on how to have devotions, tithing, and Christian fellowship.

I teach the section on prayer and how to have devotions and I love it! It is so much fun! I love being able to provide people with tools and ideas to help them grow in their relationship with God and really encourage them to start putting these disciplines into practice and allowing God to be their first priority in life. There is a saying in Spanish that translates "Tell me who you walk with and I will tell you who you are"--implying that the people with whom we spend time mold our character. From what I have learned in life, I have coined a somewhat similar phrase, "Tell me how you spend your time and I will tell you what your priorities are." We make time for what matters most to us. The way we live reflects what we value. Part of why I love teaching a section of this class is that it leads me to reflect on my own life. How is my time with Jesus? Am I living in a way that allows people to see Jesus in me? The material challenges and encourages me, and gives me an opportunity to challenge and encourage others. The goal of the class isn't just to convey information: the goal is to invite people to make a deeper, stronger commitment to the Lord. And most (if not all) of them do.
There is a huge need here in Latin America for discipleship, for helping people grow and mature in their relationship with God so they can be equipped to evangelize and disciple others well. I love being a part of what God is doing here! Through your prayers and holistic support, you are a part too! Thank you!
May others see Jesus ever more clearly in you!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, January 24th

Today, we had a staff retreat. A kind couple from church lent us a beautiful space that was open, yet protected from the wind, and there we

took some time to start evaluating the five purposes on which our church is based: worship, fellowship, discipleship, service, and mission. It was exciting yet overwhelming to think about a multitude of things we can do to reach out to the community the surrounds us. Upon recognizing the feeling of being overwhelmed though, I felt the Holy Spirit reminding me that the work doesn't rest on the 10 of us who were sitting around the table. The work of convicting and persuading people to come to salvation is his. As staff, it is our job to coordinate, promote, motivate, build teams, invest in and empower, and encourage others. We must be faithful in our tasks, therefore enabling others in the church to do what God is calling them to do. But also as we sat there processing different issues and concerns I was also reminded of the importance of praying for my church and its leaders. I am one of them. I have an idea of what it is like, and I tell you, it is hard. The head pastor and other teaching pastors carry very serious responsibilities, and as a sheep, I believe it is my responsibility to pray for my shepherds. And in my role as small group coordinator, I must care for the facilitators I work with as best as I can. It is challenging. And it is also exciting.
12 years ago when I went to Guatemala on my first missions trip I was introduced to some great words from Oswald Chambers: "Prayer is not the means to a greater work, prayer is the greater work." I wrote that on my prayer card that many of you still have. And so, in this 2017 (I can't believe January only has a week left!), I invite you to continue to join me in prayer. For my church and its leadership and your church and its leadership. For government leaders, for those who are suffering, for those who are mourning. May God attune our hearts to his and lead us in the great work of prayer.
Thank you so much for praying for me and with me!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, January 17th

And we're back!

Subtle picture from small group

Wow, I feel like I could write a short novel about our time on that special Caribbean island this past week. But first, let me thank you for your prayers. Life on the island is hard, and especial in and around the capital city, the spiritual atmosphere is really dark and heavy. I know many of you were praying though, and I thank you. God answered them! God blessed our trip and our trip was wonderfully fruitful. We felt we surpassed our goals. From what I sense, these visits to my brothers and sisters on the island are like taking water to the desert. Not because we're great, but because they live in such a hard place in such hard circumstances. Yes, we bring a lot of donations (most people there live off less than $20/month), but I think just the time we can spend with them, the trainings we can give them, the friendship and encouragement we can offer them all mean so much. And at the same time, God blesses our giving and obedience and we end up leaving blessed and encouraged ourselves. I don't think there was a dry eye on anyone on our team the last day when we started saying our good byes and they thanked us and gave us each a wooden mortar and pestle with their fellowship's logo custom-made on it.
In our time there, not only was I able to give the small group training I'd been asked to provide, but I was also able to spend a lot of time talking with the young woman who is in charge of discipleship and small groups. She had a lot of questions for me and we joked a lot about my team leader's comment about the people there squeezing us like lemons all week. But that's what we were there for and I was so happy to share what I have learned with her. We also had the opportunity to visit a few of the small groups. That was really neat. It is such a gift, such a joy to be able to share with fellow brothers and sisters in other places. Being part of God's family is such an amazing gift!
Being able to go on this trip was a really special gift too. Thank you to those who gave to help make it possible. This trip helped me grow a lot and we were able to provide some tools and training for our brothers and sisters there and encourage them to keep on persevering and growing in the task set before them.
Thank you again for all your prayers and support. May God continue to challenge you, grow your faith, and use you to bless and encourage others!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, December 20th

Pre-Christmas greetings from Portland, Maine!
I arrived here safely and soundly at dark, frigid wee hours of the morning and am very happy to be able to spend the next several days here and celebrate the incarnation of Jesus our Savior with my parents.

This weekend I was able to distribute a little thank you to many of those who were small group facilitators this year. It was just a small token of heartfelt thanks to them for their service this year and inviting them to the training retreats we are planning next year, but many people were very touched by the mini-card and chocolate. I wished I could have given them so much more, but many responded with deep gratitude, giving me a big hug and telling me thank you for the support I provided to them over the course of the year.
Then yesterday before flying out I had breakfast with one of the women on my small group core team. She posted a picture of us on facebook afterward and the words she wrote to accompany the picture touched the depths of my heart and almost had me in tears. "...Thank you for your love...your friendship and your wonderful representation of Jesus...Growing by your side has been a great blessing." Well if that right there doesn't make me feel like all my labors and efforts from the year have been worth it, then nothing will. I had not felt any doubts about my service this year, but receiving such kind words makes it all feel worth it a hundred times over.
God has been so good to me this year and it is a great joy and blessing to be an instrument in his hands. Thank you again to all of you for your support in every way. Words can never be enough. (No Tico Tuesday next week as I try to disconnect as much as possible while I have time off, but a Chronicle will come out shortly after the first of the new year).
Merry Christmas to you all, and may God's peace and joy fill you to overflowing as we celebrate his miraculous birth and await his return!
Come, Lord Jesus!
Carrie

Tico Tueday, December 13th

A smattering of news:
I am going to get to go to the island in the Caribbean that has a piece of my heart! Thank you to those who have already started donating to the cause. A team of 8 from my church is going and I'm really excited. We'll be focusing on children's ministry and small group training. Also, this week I was able to get my plane ticket to Spain for the Life Coach training for less then I had expected. Praise the Lord! So now the total I need to raise (formerly $2900) for both the island (Jan 8-16) and Life Coach training (in March) is $2400 (also taking into account what has been given already). You can give here.

Working hard in PT!

Speaking of travel: I'm going to Maine for Christmas! I am really looking forward to some time off and getting to spend time with my parents. If you are in northern New England and would like to get together, let me know and we'll see what we can do! And since I will be in Maine shortly before I go to the island, I will be taking donations with me to take to the island, so if you would like to donate: new or lightly used children's clothes, candy, face paint, balloons, stickers (preferably not with English writing on them), or if you happen to have 120 units of the same, small toy please contact me and we'll see how close I can come to my baggage weight limit! (Hooray for free bags on Southwest!)
In other news, I have two, just TWO sessions of physical therapy left! And the last one my therapist and I are going to play tennis with some other people from church. Hallelujah! This recovery process has been really hard work and very tiring, but it is paying off. I continue to feel better and stronger each day. I can't wait to see how impressed my orthopedist will be when I have my followup appointment with him on Friday!
I ask you to please join me in prayer for the staff of my church. On Thursday we're having our big annual planning retreat. Pray for unity, efficiency, creativity, and great wisdom for us as we look at each area of work and evaluate 2016 and plan 2017, striving to be obedient to God and grow his kingdom here on earth.
Thank you so much for everything! You are an amazing support team and I am so thankful for you all, for every prayer, for every gift, every email! Thank you!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, December 6th

The other day one of the small group facilitators wrote to me, ecstatic about the experience her group had at supporting our church's biweekly ministry to the homeless. They brought the food, led the singing, and spent time pouring love into those who came. The small group facilitator sent me pictures, including this one, and several of her small group in action. Then she included several screenshots from their group chat, in which multiple members expressed the joy of serving together, how happy they are to know each other and be part of a spiritual family together, all sorts of warm, fuzzy feelings. The facilitator's joy brought me joy, and it was beautiful to see how God has been working in this group. This facilitator is one who came to most of the trainings we had this year and I can tell she has really been trying to put it all into practice. This is one of the greatest small group success stories I've heard this year and I thank the Lord for what he's been doing!
Another small group facilitator and I were texting recently as well, and he was among the group from my church who was able to go help with relief efforts from Hurricane Otto. He is planning a special gathering to share with his small group what God did in that time. He shared a testimony with me: the day they left, the team had a light breakfast. They had brought some food to eat later, but gave it to the people they were serving because they had nothing. The team ended up not eating again till the evening after a very hard day's work: and the Lord sustained them and gave them energy all day. He told me he wasn't even hungry that night. As he told me that, a verse came to mind: Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me" (John 4:34). I believe serving others was the food of my brothers and sisters from church that day, and it was a beautiful act of worship to the Lord, and God rewarded them in multiple ways beyond their comprehension and mine.
Praise the Lord for his ways and his works!
Carrie