A new virtual meeting room

I guess it's been a few weeks (or, er, months) since I last commented on our blog. But, getting our prayer letter out yesterday reminded me that it has been a while since I've written anything here.  But, if you'd like a copy of our prayer letter, here is a link where it can be found (Most recent prayer letter).

We are getting excited as ProMETA's virtual meeting room gets close to being completed.  Three different churches, each donating for a unique piece of the project (construction, technology, equipping).  I'm excited because once this room is complete, we will be able to use if for many different purposes.  We've already used it for our very first virtual team meeting with team members from as far away as Spain, Minnesota, and Peru participating with us in Costa Rica.  It really was a wonderful experience.  We envision this room being used for recording training DVDs, training webinars, face-to-face training classes, meals, and fellowship.  It really can be a multi-purpose room.  Thanks to those churches who helped make this possible.

Summer 2011

Summer 2011 will go down in our K & J Anderson history as one of the most up and down summers of all time!  Beginning with ProMETA leadership team meetings in Colorado (notice the serene and peaceful picture of Bear Lake) Judy and I flew to Boston and went on a 1,550 mile trip down I-95 from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale in a 16 foot rental towing a Dodge Caravan (notice that we had to work on it because the wheel straps came off!) followed by the "white coat" ceremony of Hanjo, our daughter-in-law at Nova Southeastern University, a very special and meaningful event. The summer also included a 10-day trip back to Costa Rica where I needed to give a workshop to 35 leaders of the Costa Rican Christian Missionary Alliance denomination.  We also added activities

such as a trip up to Rockford for a missions conference.  And as if that weren't enough, the "virtualness" of ProMETA does not allow one to ever get away from the office!  But, these are not complaints - I'm just reporting on how things went this summer.  Oh, I forgot to mention that there is one more trip to Tennessee for a week of ReachGlobal meetings as we map out ReachGlobal's strategy for the next 10 years in Latin America (lots of prayer needed here!)  So, the summer has turned out to be a very "active" one for us!  But, overall, it has been so good to see family, even if briefly at times.  Judy has been able to spend significant time helping Kris and Hanjo take care of                                                                                      the girls as they have needed to focus on their transition from living in Boston to Hanjo beginning  med school at Nova Southeastern University.  We head back to Costa Rica within the next two weeks, Judy will leave a week before I leave.

So, how would we evaluate how our summer has been?  It has been one of our most difficult summers logistically, but certainly one we will look back on in the future with grateful hearts, thanking God for all He did protecting us, providing for our needs, and watching over each one of our adult children these past months. God is good!

Great time with family over Christmas

As you can tell, it's NOT Costa Rica!  Actually, the picture was taken at Chicago's Daley Center just after Christmas. Judy is the one on the far right. On the far left is Alexandra, our daughter-in-law and between Alex and Gregory (right behind Judy) are Alex's two brothers.  It was their first time to be in cold, really cold, weather and see snow for the first time. 

We had a great time in Chicago from the 20th until we returned to Costa Rica on the 30th.  Being with both Judy's and my side of the family was the best Chrstmas present we could have ever wanted!  We were able to be with all members of our immediate families except Kris, Hanjo, and the girls as well as Judy's youngest sister and her family. We were able to stay with Jonathan and Karen, so that made our time even more special.  Thaks for your prayers. 

December events

December has been a great month in many ways.  ProMETA is going to finish the month in the black (financially), Judy finished the fall term successfully with only one second grader not returning next month, and, on the 14th we will be leaving for the States for two weeks with family in Chicago and Ft. Lauderdale.  Unfortunately we won't be able to see Kris, Hanjo, Kyla and Kiara so that visit will need to wait.  But God is good and we look forward to our time with family. 

We've had a few inquiries regarding personal support.  Honestly, we're more concerned about ProMETA's financial status, but I did notice that December has not been a good month for either ProMETA or our personal support. Because our support figures are based on 12 month averages, this month looks rather meager as we have dropped to a little over $1,000 per month in support lacking. We'll see how the month finishes, but it looks like we will probably end the year around $600 a month lacking. It's been an interesting year support-wise since we'veactually been totally supported for one month (September) and never more than $292 per month lacking until December.We pray that 2011 will be a great year for both the ministry and personal support as we press on with equipping Latin America's leaders.

Although I've not been able to confirm the report yet, I was told that we've had over 70 applications for the January term. Although most of those applications will not materialize for this next term we are always encouraged by the many leaders who do begin the application process because some of those applications are kept on file and eventually materialize as ProMETA students.

Busy November

November is setting up to be quite a busy month, as if last month wasn't busy enough.  In October we invested a great amount of time working on budgets for ProMETA, hosting a faculty rep from BIOLA University, gearing up for some promotional initiatives for the coming months, and four days of ProMETA strategic planning meetings as we look toward the next five years. And of course, Judy keeps busy with her passion: teaching missionary children at the MK school. On top of those activities, as a member of the ReachGlobal team, I have virtual meetings twice a month with the area leadership team with the concommitant responsibilities produces by those meetings, frequent meetings with various team members, etc., etc.  In November, we'll be spending nearly three full days in a team spiritual retreat with ReachGlobal veteran missionaries, George and Donna Warren.  Also, we're gearing up for presenting ProMETA to nearly 1,000 leaders at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit, Nov 19-20.  And, the office here in Costa Rica is getting ready for the next quarter that begins in January.

Back in Costa Rica - Sabbatical was wonderful!

We returned to Costa Rica a little over three weeks ago after having been blessed with an extraordinarily great sabbatical. Even though we did not accomplish all our sabbatical goals, we certainly accomplished the ones that were "musts" for us (re-energize, re-focus, and establish a sustainable "rhythm of life") that will help us do ministry and life in a more balanced way.

What did we learn while on sabbatical? Well, much more than we would be able to put in this blog, but certainly one of the main areas to which we gave focus was understanding how to balance our responsibilities with other needs such as rest, renewal, and similar priorities that have not been priorities. So, during these first three weeks back, we've been sensitive to what a good balance should be.  We may not be there yet, but we do sense that we have been able to do better in this area.  That has been good.

So, in the spirit of taking some meaningful time off, about two weeks ago, Dr. Enrique Fernandez and I took advantage of a national holiday and drove into the Costa Rican cloud forest, and with the help of a guide (whom we met "by chance") were able to walk into the mountainous area and take pictures of the elusive Quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala. Dr. Fernandez (Quique), himself a Guatemalan, commented that he had never seen a Quetzal in his own country. It truly is a beautiful bird. 

Sabbatical and family

These past six weeks of the sabbatical have been focused on family. We've spent the month of June as well as the first part of July with family in the Chicago area. The picture of our granddaughters, Kyla (right) and Kiara (left) was taken on the banks of the Mississippi river in Dubuque, IA about two weeks ago. Kris, our oldest son, and the two girls came over from Boston to spend two weeks with us along with my (Keith's) parents and siblings in Dubuque. Hanjo remained in Boston during that time to prepare for a major exam she will be taking at the end of this month (we will be going to Boston on the 16th of July for nearly three weeks, so we look forward to spending time with the whole family). Although we would love to spend more time with family, it has been so good to have some time with all members of our immediate family (parents and siblings) during the past six weeks. This afternoon we travel to Ohio to see Judy's youngest sister, her husband, and another one of Judy's sisters and her husband who are traveling back from their family vacation. It's been so good to reconnect with family members these days!

Sabbatical continues.

How boring of a title - "sabbatical continues." Yet, as we move through our sabbatical, with minimal contact with the team back in Costa Rica (yes, I have had some contact on a few issues), we need to remember that this time is designed to be rejuvenating, relaxing, refreshing, and a few other "re's" that will enable us to return ready to get back into the harness and work with the team. There have been a few things we have done that were not part of a sabbatical activity. For example, we participated in a missions conference recently at the Glenview EFC in Chicago. Next week we will be driving up to Chicago for a family wedding and then will head down to San Jose, Costa Rica for faculty meetings (training) and a greatly anticipated team spiritual retreat with Jim and Leta Van Meter of Paraclete Ministries. So, the sabbatical continues and we're thankful for this period of "not-too-many-exciting" activities.

The sabbatical begins!

Judy and I have been in the US for two weeks now and are getting settled in for what we hope will be a wonderful time to refresh, re-energize, study, and prepare for our return after Labor Day. Our itinerary is still being developed but we anticipate some travel, much time in libraries, time away from the office in Costa Rica, and a break from my ProMETA emails (one of our staff members is monitoring and filtering all my EFCA emails and forwarding only those I must receive (like sales announcements - just kidding!) . As you may have noticed by our lack of entries in this blog for nearly three months, the schedule has been incredibly full, but these next few months should be incredibly refreshing. Would certainly appreciate your prayers.

Notice the picture (how can you miss it!). I thought I'd include this picture as an example of how important it is to make sure you are standing in the right spot in terms of the background! It reminds me of one of those costumes worn by the Carnival dancers in Rio de Janeiro! Judy is beautiful, but my headgear is something else!

I hope writing once every two months on this blog is not a chronic disease! Well, a New Year's resolution for next year will be to do the blog thing at least once a month. But, the lack of writing is not due to lack of things to write about! There's a lot...for example, this week I "enjoyed" some time in the hospital for what was to be an angiogram (as a follow- up to my annual physical exam) and turned out to include an angioplasty. These last few days have been spent resting at home and enjoying the Christmas season.

Since the robbery, insurance covered some of the loss and donations from individuals came close to cover the rest. The greatest losses were the personal items such as keepsake jewelry.

November was a rush of activities with a team spiritual retreat, a Church Planting Coach clinic, a Willow Creek Leadership Summit, and various meetings and planning sessions as we look to next year in ProMETA. And, it looks like we are going to have our largest enrollment ever in terms of students beginning a new quarter. God is so good!

Robbery, Strategy, Networking

Well, as you can see, the last entry was nearly two months ago. But, so much has been going on that I keep delaying uploading a post. We will be getting a prayer letter out the beginning of November but thought I'd just post a few things here.
On the 27th of September we were broken into here in Costa Rica. (Notice the new "razor wire" protection on the wall we recently installed!) Although the losses were not heavy, certainly not as bad as our colleagues in Peru who also lost musical instruments and passports, knowing that someone broke into our house while we were at church is rather unsettling. The hardest losses were the laptops.
The week before the robbery we spent five days in strategic planning meetings for ProMETA. Ted Kautzmann, ProMETA's academic dean flew down from Minnesota and the three of us who live in Costa Rica went over an agenda that, even with five days set aside for strategic planning, we still did not finish! Not sure what that means!
The week of October 12th, Ted and I met in Puebla, MEX for two reasons. We needed to meet with the vice-rector and the academic dean of a major university and we attended a four day conference on "spiritual formation in Christian universities and seminaries" for seminary and university presidents and academic deans. Other than catching a stomach virus (fortunately not the H1N1 type!), it was a great time. Now to recover!

Back in CR after two long months!

The summer was a metaphorical whirlwind of activities. We kept trying to get our summer prayer letter out between trips and as of today, it is still only half finished! Judy and I left Costa Rica together on June 24th and returned a week ago today. In between those dates we traveled from Miami to Chicago and then Keith went back to Costa Rica for nearly a week and then to Venezuela for nearly two weeks returning to Chicago to rejoin Judy and then go to a family reunion in Dubuque, IA for three days. That was followed by meetings in San Antonio, TX and then on to Florida where Alexandra and Gregory were (finally!) married. The picture to the right was taken a couple days before the wedding. Both are still in school and felt like it was time to tie the knot - they've known each other since the late 90's. Now Judy and I are back in San Jose, CR and are glad to be able to schedule a routine. Once again we realize the incredible value of prayer and how praying for one another is such a key to carrying out God's desires. We hope to have our next prayer letter out soon before the end of the week!

We begin two months of travels

These next two months, Judy and I will be doing a great deal of traveling. We will be visiting nearly a half dozen supporting churches while mixing in a four day trip back to Costa Rica for a very important meeting and then two weeks in Venezuela. So, this summer will be quite busy. We also plan to be at an Anderson family reunion the last week end of July prior to leaving for meetings in San Antonio, TX. Then, the summer will be capped with the wedding of our youngest son, Gregory, to his sweetheart of the last eight years, Alexandra. August 22nd is the big day. We return to CR on the 24th.

Teaching in Guatemala

Lately, I've not had much of an opportunity to travel, so last week end's trip to Guatemala was a special time for me as I traveled with Dr. Enrique (Quique) Fernández to Sumpango, just outside of Guatemala City. Ten churches were invited by the "Los Olivos" Free Church and nearly all of them responded by sending their pastors, elders, deacons, and deaconesses. It was very special to be in the home country of Dr. Fernández and to be given a special tour of the various areas where he did ministry prior to joining the EFCA. The teaching on leadership was shared by four of us with four different areas emphasized: Dr. Fernández taught on strategic planning, Dave Christianson focused on trust and empowerment, Oscar Chiquitó (an elder from the host church and recent recipient of a masters in International Economics) on leadership and community development, and my area was shepherd leadership. The response from the church leaders was quite positive and we sensed God's leading and presence during the entire week end.

Great spiritual retreat!

The final days of April the ProMETA team had two wonderful events, one of them being a spiritual retreat. Jim and Leta Van Meter led our three days with the theme "Come away and be with Me!" And, it was incredibly restful. Times of worship, prayer, bible study, personal reflection, and long periods of rest in the afternoons all were bundled together resulting in us returning to the office with renewed strength. In the picture you can see Judy participating in a late-afternoon event. We enjoyed moments where we gathered in smaller groups for games, study, prayer, etc. and relished one another's company! The retreat was held at a Catholic retreat center about a 30 minute drive from our house in San Jose. Because we were the only group there, it was very quiet and peaceful.

Meetings in Bangkok

Greetings from Bangkok. I have been in ReachGlobal meetings for 3 1/2 days now with another 1 1/2 days to go. Once a year all the global leaders meet together for fellowship, training, networking, and strategic planning. Because it's always difficult to find a place that is centrally located to all staff, the venue changes every year. This year the meetings are in Bangkok (next year in California). The flights totaled nearly 36 hours of travel (either Costa Rica is at the end of the world, or Bangkok!) I leave for CR on Saturday and then fly with Judy to Florida on Monday for visa work and a couple days of R & R during Holy Week. I've been able to stay in touch with Judy daily via a webcam and Skype - hurray for technology! One of the strangest things while here has been my email correspondence. All my e-mails arrive during the night because of the 13 hour time difference so I have an entire day to answer them before the next wave of mail rolls in! Thanks for your prayers.

Parents visit us!

It was wonderful to have my parents and Judy's mom with us for nearly a month. They arrived on Feb. 21 and left on Mar. 20. We kept very busy with my dad preaching two Sundays and leading a men's breakfast. We also had all of them be in two of our ProMETA team meetings and even asked them to share experiences with the team. The wealth of Christian ministry experiences was something worth sharing with the rest of the team. We also asked my dad to help us record the audio portions of one of the ProMETA courses, one that had nearly 45 Power Point presentations to go with the content of a new course called, Old Testament Backgrounds. So, my dad spent nearly two weeks at the office recording the audio tracks to go along with the visuals. That was quite special.

A wonderful week in Boston!

What a wonderful time! Because I (Keith) needed to be at a conference the week end of February 20th, Judy and I spent nearly a week in Boston with Kris, Hanjo, and our two grand daughters, Kyla and Kiara. We took a day trip to the beach and "enjoyed" being there in below-freezing temperatures! Not much like Costa Rica! But, the week has gone well and tomorrow we head out of Boston, Judy back to Costa Rica and I travel down to San Antonio for the conference. A highlight for us here was our visit to their church plant and preaching with Hanjo translating into Korean (the church plant is primarily focused on Korean students in the Boston area - the church planter is a Korean student at Gordon Conwell Seminary). Next week I'll be headed back to Costa Rica arriving on Wednesday. Thanks for your prayers.

LATN Team Retreat

It was great for the entire LATN team to be together in January. All ReachGlobal missionaries from Latin America had just meet for one week in Costa Rica (Jan 14-21) and because all our LATN/ProMETA staff were in country, we took advantage of the ocassion and added three more days to our time with our own retreat, Jan 22-24. Staff from Spain, the US, and Peru were able to join those of us living in Costa Rica. The primary focus of our time was spent on spiritual formation issues, but we also spent a few hours on the implications of becoming accredited. In this particular picture, Dr. Ted Kautzmann, ProMETA's academic dean is sharing with the team some of the implications. We are planning on having at least two retreats each year for the purpose of spiritual formation. We will also bring the team together once a year for a week of working together face to face. As you can well imagine, these tend to be busy, but great times together.

Earthquake in Costa Rica

We thank God that our LATN team is doing fine and that as far as we know, there has been no damage to our offices as the result of Thursday's 6.2 earthquake. The epicenter was less than 30 miles away! The earthquake struck at 1:21 pm and our building shook back and forth for about 20 seconds. Over 1500 aftershocks were reported as of yesterday. The death toll last night was at 15 but there are still 100s of people missing, so we're not sure what the final count will be. As far as churches are concerned, many of the churches with which we have contact were far enough away from the epicenter to have suffered damage. I am still waiting to hear from a Free Church pastor regarding the dozen or so churches he works with. We are looking at various options were we as a team can help out (it may be giving donations through one of the local churches), but for the most part, the government and the Red Cross are the ones handling rescue operations. We would certainly appreciate your prayers.