Getting It

She snuggled up next to me, asking hard questions about death, babies and adulthood. We talked a bit, while I tried to navigate the minefield of too-adult answers, and truth.


And then I asked, "When you get older, do you want to have lots of babies?"


She looked at me and said, "No, I want to be like you."


"You mean you want to love on your nieces and nephews?"



"Yup, and spend lots of time with them. And be a missionary."


She gets it.


A few weeks ago, the kids were bantering about how long I was staying in Costa Rica.



They were coming up with ideas of how long was too long, and how soon I should come home.

"Ten DAYS!" one shouted



"Ten MINUTES," the next one giggled.


The oldest calmly said, "She's not going to change many lives in just that amount of time."


He gets it.


My heart may be obliterated at the thought of leaving them for an entire year, but when I told them I was going, and they asked why, one of the reasons I told them was, "For you."


I want all my "kids" (esp my nieces and goddaughters, but all of them) to have a rock solid belief that even if God doesn't have their heart's "Plan A" of husbands, babies and family in their life-plan, their lives are still full of worth. God can use single women in big ways. Adventures don't only come with wedding bands.


But most of all, I want them to get that HOWEVER He calls us, the right thing to do is say "Yes."

In Just One Week...

... I'll be feet on the ground in Los Anonos! Leaving there in November, I thought July would never come. And it has seemed like a V-E-R-Y long time, but it's HERE.

We have a great group of seven teens and two not-so-teens (Deb & myself), who are on fire and ready to knock this trip out of the park. Their enthusiasm is incredibly refreshing, and it's fun to see the various aspects of the trip through their eyes.

This weekend our team is doing a retreat at the church, to practice our drama presentation, do a service project, work on our Spanish worship songs, walk around Manchester, pray together, and hang out for long periods of time, so they get a taste of what it will be like to work as a team.

Things to pray about:

• Team Unity
• Deb has a slipped disk in her back, and is in considerable amounts of pain most of the time
• I broke my toe on Monday, and though the pain is getting more bearable, it's still really uncomfortable
• Safety for our travel day next Friday
• Everyone on our team allowing God to do His work in our hearts
• Preparation of hearts in Anonos
• Finances - almost all the team members have raised what they need, but there is still a little left that needs to come in

In Football Terms...

... I'm at the 50 yard line, as far as finances. Well, almost. I'm only $300 away from being there.

This = BIG DEAL!

This = Many prayers answered!

This = 5,300 more dollars to go!

My Razoo account has been updated from the July youth trip, to my year internship, so online donations are now being accepted. They can be one time, weekly or monthly.

Kindly click HERE to see the page.

Checks or money orders can be sent to my home address, or to Manchester Vineyard Community Church at

150 Dow St
Manchester, NH 03101

If you choose to send it to MVCC, please enclose a note with the check, indicating that it is for my internship.

I have a page in my journal where I've been keeping track of how much money has come in, and here's a picture of it. Each box represents a day of my year in Costa Rica that has been paid for...

Many thanks to each one of you, who have helped fill in those green squares!