Another note on the retreat

Just received this picture from our retreat leader, George Warren. He and Donna did a wonderful job. As you can tell by the faces of the staff, we were all quite pleased with their ministry. The next step is to combine the results of the "Strength Finders" with the results of the other test we have taken so far in the last few years (spiritual gifts, Firo-B, Myers-Briggs, and a few others) so that we are able to have a more complete picture of how God has wired us.

It was great to have George and Donna Warren with us for a week as they administered the "StrengthFinders" tool. Each of us prepared ahead of time and then the Warrens met with each team member to go over the results which identified our top five strengths. The team was brought together for an entire morning and we shared the results of each team member. What a great experience as missionaries and Costa Ricans staff were affirmed in their areas of strengths. It was great for Judy and me to see how similar and different we are, although we really didn't need a test to figure that one out! We are already seeing the positive results of the test as we work on tweaking our responsibilities. We are very grateful to the Warrens for leading us through a great week of team-building!

Strategic alliance in Guatemala!

What a contrast with the previous week! In mid-October I was facing the extreme poverty conditions of Cuba and two weeks later found myself with Drs. Fernández and Kautzmann with the leadership of a Christian University being taken to places where food abounded! We had asked you to pray for the trip to Guatemala. We are so excited as to how God is answering prayers! After three days of intense meetings, the leadership of the Christian Univeristy in Guatemala has agreed to grant accreditation to our two master's programs in exchange for the use of those programs for their theology students. This is significant news for LATN / ProMETA, but even of greater joy to all our students who are able to register their degrees with their governements and have the same rights and privileges as those who have secular degrees. Final details on how all this will work out are still being developed, but God is in all of this! One neat God sighting was revealed in a conversation I had with the vice-rector of the university as he was driving me to a restaurant. He actually studied with my cousins at John Brown University and as it turned out, his father and my cousin's father were best friends back in Guatemala! What are the percentages of that kind of a connection! Needless to say, that relationship did not hurt our discussions with this university of 55,000 students! We praise God for that "little" affirmation.

Tragedy and opportunity in Cuba

From October 18th to the 23rd, I was able to accompany a group of pastors and lay leaders from The Church at Charlotte (an EFC church in North Carolina) and My ReachGlobal leader, Brian Duggan, on a trip to Cuba. The purpose was two-fold: assess the devastation caused by hurricanes Gustav and Ike and explore new avenues for ProMETA to equip the leaders of the church. As to the devastation, it was incredibly severe in the southeast of the island. Many churches lost roofs, pastors lost their homes, and the economy was hit hard. But, the resiliency of the leaders was incredible and their faith was great. Their trust in God to continue to lead and provide for their future was impressive! And the potential for ProMETA? Well, I anticipate some movement on this as we enter 2009. The desire is great and the possibilities are available. Please make that a matter of prayer. And continue to pray for the church as it struggles to recover from the most recent hurricane last week!

Jonathan and Karen tie the knot!

On October 4th, our middle son, Jonathan married Karen Sikora at a beautiful ceremony in Linconshire, IL. God is so good! As parents, we pray that our children will cultivate wonderfully healthy and godly relationships whether in marriage or singleness as God's plan, and it is humbling to see how God answers those prayers. Karen is a lovely, godly young woman, committed to God's purpose for growing in Him and His purposes as a couple. Please pray for them as they follow His steps. They will be living in the Chicago area while Jonathan finishes up seminary.

September quarter - great launch!

On Monday this past week ProMETA began the third quarter of 2008. With a record number of students (36) in 12 countries, the virtual classes opened successfully! We've never had this large of a number of students in one quarter so this is wonderful. (A significant detail - we did not put out any advance invitation to prospective students nor to those who were currently enrolled in classes - this is something we normally do. God brought the students to us.) In the picture you see the ProMETA staff interceding for the 36 students, the five mentors - the Biblical Worldview course is being "team" mentored by Dr. Fernández and a very capable and gifted Spaniard. We pray that the course will eventully be mentored by him and Dr. Fernández move on to developing other courses. Thanks for praying, and keep it up!!

Great time in US and Safe Return to Costa Rica!

After traveling through eight states to meet with churches, small groups, mission leaders, family, friends, attend two weddings and the EFCA conference, we were able to return safely to Costa Rica two days ago. We're thankful for God's blessing our time in the US and also quite thankful that we are now back in Costa Rica, in spite of our Chicago flight getting cancelled and then arriving in Costa Rica minus three pieces of luggage. It was good to see our team mates again. Thanks so much for your prayers these past six weeks.