An expanding ministry team??

On Wednesday night I proposed to Kristin. There might have been some drugs in her food, because she said yes!

Yes, it is true, Kristin and I are engaged to be married, and hope to become a family in May! We believe God has brought us together to serve Him together in ministry, raise Hudson together, and be partners through all the ups and downs of this life. It's very exciting!

Isn't it funny that sometimes, when you surrender an area of you life to God, God blesses you beyond your wildest expectations in that same area. In deciding to move to Costa Rica, I basically gave my desire to find a spouse over to God, knowing that it would be very unlikely I could find a compatible mate through my own efforts down here. And yet God brought Kristin into my life just as I moved down here, and we started communicating from a distance. To me, it was as though God wanted to reward me for that step of faith.

Kristin reminds me of the virtuous wife described in Proverbs 31. “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed...”

We plan to get married in Vero Beach, FL in May, and for Kristin and her three year old son Hudson to join me in Puerto Viejo and become a part of the ministry team here right after our honeymoon. One complication is that Hudson's father has visitation rights, and moving Hudson requires a judge's decision. Please pray with us that the judge will grant the request to move if it's His will for us to live and serve in Costa Rica. If God has other plans, may he deny the request and show us what He has in store for our family.

Hudson and I played a lot of games together. He called me "Daddy Sloth" and I called him "Baby Sloth." "Mama Sloth" Kristin completed the family.

In ministry news, aside from Girls' Skate nights, for the past few weeks I have been running the skate park operations alone for the most part, as Barrett is temporarily dedicated to getting his new house livable so that his family can move in soon. They have endured many trials and frustrating living conditions for several months, and it is no hardship for me to run the skate sessions and Bible studies and youth activities on my own.

Eight boys came to last week's youth Bible study, and I taught on the parable of the Prodigal Son. Many of the kids had never heard the story of the Prodigal Son before, and were interested enough in the story to remain quiet as we read from the Bible. Afterwards, we had a lively discussion time as we considered the meaning of the parable and tried to relate to the characters in it. It was encouraging to see the kids think about God wanting to be their Heavenly Father and to consider His love and acceptance.

Hudson couldn't get enough of the skate park. For a three year old, I think he showed a lot of promise on the ramps!

On a hike to a nearby waterfall, Hudson showed no mercy for the bad guys (weeds) as he swiped at them with his foam sword. He also learned that real men use their machetes to cut flowers for the table :)