A busy July full of Gods love

Wow, I can’t believe it’s July!  Wait the second week of July!  Where has the last month gone?!  June was an extremely busy month for us.  We were able to participate and be a part of all the teams that came to the Sanchez’s.  I believe we had teams here all but maybe 4 days in June!  Can you say emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausting?  But an AMAZING exhaustion!  It was awesome to see God working in a lot of people in a lot of different ways!  You might think that coming on a mission trip, you will get to go and be a blessing to so many, which you do.  However, it is much more that the people of Costa Rica are the ones that are really being a blessing to all of us!  Their attitudes, gratitudes, and simplicity of life is a pure joy to watch and be a part of.  We did a lot of VBS activities the past few weeks!  It definitely puts a whole lot of perspective on the big productions we do back home in the states!  A few songs, fingernail painting, face painting, bubble blowing, skits, snacks, games, crafts, etc. and you have a bunch of children and their parents who have heard a little word about God and leave with a smile on their face.    

anxiously waiting the arrival of Nana

One of our highlights for our family this month was getting to have our first family visitor….NanaSplechter!

 getting ready to get on the boat to LaBarra 

We were able to travel to LaBarra for the first time with the girls and her.  We walked to different families homes taking food, visiting, and praying with them.  One particular family was one I had gotten to visit the very first time I came to Costa Rica two years ago.  It was one of those families you don’t really forget meeting.   The oldest daughter was 13 at the time and had a newborn baby.  I just thought of how her life as a child had quickly turned into a life as a mother and thinking how she had been robbed of her childhood.  For her, she knew no different.  This particular visit, two years later I was now looking at a 15 year old with another new baby.  I could not even imagine being in her shoes, but the love between this family is evident when you see them.  I pray that they continue to seek God and to build a strong relationship with him.

 She was a baby 2 years ago.

 Pearl is about 4 years old.

All the kids.  The three bigger children are brothers and sisters.  And the two smaller children belong to the 15 year old.  

 Mission Team from Illinois at the beach in Labarra.  It isn’t safe to swim in the water due to sharks and rip tides, but they got their feet wet!

 painting fingernails in Labarra 

 facepainting in Labarra

a bag full of candy to hand out! VBS in Labarra

 giving away clothes

This man was hoping for a whole church service in his home!  We did the best we could by praying with him, singing songs, talking with him, and giving him food.  He is raising his two girls by himself.

 VBS, women’s group in Labarra. 

 Our first sleep over in Costa Rica with Sasha!

Papa and Nana Knapp sent me a whole bag of my favorite oatmeal!

 

Our baby chicks we got to raise and eat!  They were so cute and cuddly here but in six weeks they will not be!  

 

Ephesians 4:1-7

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  But to each of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

We have had several ask about sending mail to us.  WE HAVE A PO BOX!!!!  Our new address in Costa Rica is:

Apdo 44-3011

Heredia Barva

40201 Costa Rica

(that is exactly how the lady at post office gave address to us!) We have been told that anything big sent will probably get sent to San Jose.  But most likely things in a manila envelope like the size of 9x12 or smaller will fit in the box and should be fine!

We want to thank all of you who are supporting us by keeping us in your prayers or financially.  We can definitely feel the love!  Dios te Bendiga, (Spanish for God Bless you!  Someone who knows more Spanish than I could correct me on the wrong spellingJ )

The Splechter family

 

 

 

The Wise Man Built His House Upon a Rock.....

  The beginning of June, we were fortunate to spend a week with 3 married couples from Miami, Florida.  They had come to go to different churches to speak on marriage.  Our family was very blessed to have met these 6 people.  They were hilarious to be with and there was never a dull moment!  Each couple brought their own dynamics to the group and all added together made for a very fun week! 

      We started the week by attending a church service at Damascus church in Alajuela, Costa Rica.  Joel gave the message , basically on Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”, encouraging us all to make our foundation solid unlike the man that built his house on the  sand!  At the end of the service, the congregation was installing around 40 new members!  This was a first for this congregation.  Each individual had attended a class, and on this particular Sunday, they were signing an agreement that they would uphold as a member of this church.  What better way than to help hold your congregation accountable! They received a certificate, were prayed for by the leaders of the church, and you could feel the excitement from them! 

               

  The following day, we started off with a little devotional and worship time.  During the devotional time we were talking about trials and how the Lord uses them to strengthen us.  And how through these trials we can be assured that we are sons  and daughters of God.

         After we had finished our devotion, we all began to get ready to go minister to some children.  When a few people entered the mission house where they were staying, they realized someone had robbed the house!   Again for a moment our peace had been robbed.  Unfortunately for Albert and Marta, their backpack had been taken that held an IPAD, cellphone, lots of money, passports, his tennis shoes, and Marta’s watch and bracelet.  Wow, how could this have happened when we were all right there on the property.  The crazy thing was, we had just been talking about this very thing and God immediately put us to the test!  Of course, their was a mix of emotions at first, but the way these people handled the situation was absolutely incredible and what happened after was even more amazing! 

     The very next day, when the group had to go to San Jose to the Embassy for new passports, God showed us all his plan is way better than ours and sometimes extremely hard to understand!  While Albert and Marta were waiting on their passports, the other couples from their group were walking around the area in a park.  They noticed a mother with her teenage daughter that was severely handicapped throwing herself on the ground.  The group decided they should go and pray with the woman.  Immediately instead of thanking them, she was thanking God for sending people all the way from the USA to help carry her burden.  You see, without the passports being stolen, this group would have never been placed where they were.  They saw that and realized God had put them in this situation specifically for that woman.  Not only were they able to pray with the family, but they were able to bless her financially to be able to support her child’s needs.  What was a headache to begin with turned into a moment of pure joy!  It was amazing to watch unfold.

 

    

   Albert and Marta                              Joel and Ileana

  

          Roberto and Leonor

 

 

 

Throughout the week, we traveled to a few churches doing marriage conferences, each one with different dynamics.  It was cool to see how their messages effected the different congregations. 

 Cinco Squinez Church- Playing a little game with the married couples

 Kimball-always there to greet you and so full of energy!

 ladies group discussion

 

We also visited the homeless in a local park.  This ministry is one that our neighbors do weekly.  I personally love going there, because it is awesome to be able to feed these people who have literally nothing but the clothes on their back.  They all have a different story to tell and it makes you realize, that with just one wrong turn, it could be us.  Some were successful business men, musicians, students, and they have made a few bad choices that ended putting them in their predicament.  Thankfully, it is never too late to change your life.  And by God’s grace, we can be forgiven.

  The man sitting on the bench had a seizure while we were there that was pretty bad.  For the girls, it was definitely eye opening, but something I am thankful they witnessed.  Madison’s friend back home was diagnosed just a few months ago with Epilepsy and I have tried to explain to her what having a seizure is.  So she actually got to witness it and knows why it is important that she is praying for her!  The crazy thing was this man had one in the morning and the activity we were at in the afternoon a teenage boy had a severe seizure.  So please pray for this homeless man, boy, and Madison’s friend Gracie. 

 

 Homeless man

 

 

 Walter, a man who had lost his wife, was severely depressed, and then turned to alcohol to cope. As he shared his story the tears rolled down his face, and you could really feel his pain.  I got the pleasure of praying for this man.  Please pray for him and his situation.

 

waiti          

Waiting in line for food J

  

Pray for this little girl as she is learning how to walk.  She is 4 years old.

Below is her mother Sujey and grandmother Yesenia.

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Playing around with the microphones telling stories.

Kids VBS: playing a little music,

 

Finger nail painting,

 

 

     

Facepainting,

Making a little craft,

 

Plantains anyone?

 

 

  A tr

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A trip to Poas Volcano!  This is what you missed Miami Group! J

We have had several ask about sending mail to us.  As of now, we still don’t have a PO box.  The best thing to do is mail it to us at 1107 Eagle Crest Rd. Centralia, IL 62801 and my parents will send it with a team.  Those wishing to support financially can either mail it to the above address or send to Feed The Crave 2511 Veterans Drive  Effingham, IL 62401 marked for Kim and Shaun Splechter Family.   We want to thank all of you who are supporting us by keeping us in your prayers or financially.  We appreciate it more than you could imagine!