Past, Present, Future, and Current Needs

Greetings,
Jenn, Caleb, and I are sitting on our bed in Costa Rica trying to decide what we are going to do today, our day off this week. The current topic of conversation is how much exactly to pull out of the ATM machine to cover our expenses for the next week here in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. We are trying figure out how much it will cost for Caleb’s diapers, wipes & snacks, food for when we aren’t on base, some maternity clothes and haircut for Jenn, and any bus/taxi fair for going into the downtown shopping areas. Anyway, we wanted to give you the bullet point update of what we did in Panama, what we are currently doing in Costa Rica, and what awaits us in South Africa.

Panama

• We helped pull together and attended the Una Voz, One Voice Art Festival which focused on fighting injustice in Panama and highlighting current work.
• Officially launched the Spanish speaking, 30 Days of Prayer booklet.
• Helped clean up an indigenous village not far from where we were staying after a really bad storm
• Jenn spoke at a church about Voice for the Voiceless with another teammate, Laura.
• Developed a website for the indigenous village of Errebache with the intent of assisting them in preserving their culture. Spent time staying with them in their village and sharing God’s word and testimonies with them.
• The women on our team spent a week in the Darien Province to experience their traditional culture and share the love and word of God.
• Just before leaving Panama we found out that the chief of Errebache (in the picture above) and another woman in the village had made a full commitment to Christ during another team’s stay – Praise the Lord!
  

Costa Rica

• Shared about Voice for the Voiceless, our testimonies and the word of God in numerous churches and at a night school most nights this week.
• We have fed the homeless both on the streets of San Jose and at the Salvation Army (The picture below is of a homeless man sleeping in a cardboard box)
• Visited very young teen moms in their homes and threw a party for them at the base for Mother’s Day which is August 15th. We will continue to partner with this ministry throughout our time in San Jose.
• Went into the ghetto to play with and feed children of prostitutes and drug addicts through a ministry run by a Pastor named Bella Fleur.
• Next week we will begin going to the street of San Jose to work with the homeless and possibly the prostitutes at night while maintaining our day time ministry to teen moms, feeding the homeless, and speaking/ teaching in churches.
• We were able share on a radio station about, “Voice for the Voiceless.” The broadcast has the potential to reach Central and South America.
• Caleb has been able to play with other base kids, which has been a great joy for us.

South Africa

• We leave for Capetown, SA on Sept. 3rd and return to the US Oct. 25th
• The first two weeks we will be attending the U of N conference and completing our DTS debrief
• The following month we will be working with our friends, Dave & Laura Fisher. They run the Voice for the Voiceless ministry in South Africa and work a lot in the townships. A lot of the work they do is focused on those impacted by AIDS.
  

Current Needs, Prayer Requests, and Praise Report

• Prayer for our team. We specifically ask for the unity and peace of God to reign supreme
• An additional $900 a month for September and October. This will cover our medical insurance ($530 a month), monthly car payment and expenses for the additional month in South Africa. This includes housing, food, travel and misc. expenses.
• Praise God, we found short term housing when we return, God is good.
  

We are amazed at the journey we have been on and the fruit we have seen. God has blessed us immeasurably as a family and we are so excited for the remaining time ahead. To date we have been able to consistently pay our monthly bills because of the generosity and faithfulness of family, friends and acquaintances who have given. If you feel God’s leading to give, we can definitely use it in order to finish strong.

In his Service,

Gary, Jenn, Caleb and Baby Land