We are sure there will be many wonderful ways God interacts in our lives, when we allow Him in:-)
On our last night in Vernon at church we 'happened' to meet Gayle and her daughter Caitlyn (who Tianna enjoyed having as a leader at Eagle Bay). They had just came back from El Salvador, and said that they felt more safe there than in downtown Vancouver and I really needed to hear that! Later she emailed us a contact in El Salvador, Carlos. God is amazing for ensuring we met them that night!!
The morning we left Costa Rica we were driving in our rented car from LaFortuna to the airport, a 2.5 hr. drive. We got off a little late with saying goodbye to our new friends at the hostel and giving our food away. With the very poor signage we made a couple wrong turns and had to stop to ask for directions, then we were stopped for road construction. At the airport JC & Luis returned the car while we lined up to pay our departure tax. But all the delays were divine intervention because in the line to check in right behind us was the sweetest lady, Marilyn Daly. We only spoke for about 10 minutes but during that time discovered that her daughter and son-in-law live in Cape Town in a safe, secure area and have a house they rent out. They live there doing missions work. Since we have no other contacts in South Africa we got her daughters info. and will contact her about staying with them! God has amazing timing! Had we arrived in the airport just a minute or two earlier or later we would have never met!!! Oh and just to confirm it was His timing, we had to be at our gate at 11:20 and even with all the delays we arrived at exactly 11:20!!
God is directing us and opening doors (literally) of families we were meant to meet. We decided to experience our first “couch surfing” in Peru and made contact with Michelle Cordova in Lima. Her reviews online were fantastic and we had a really good feeling about her and her home. She and her entire family were so lovely and once again we felt embraced and welcome!
Every morning, waking to the sound of so many different types of birds singing, too many to count, of course there is the rooster but he calls all day not just in the morning. And who can ignore the chirping sound that the gecko’s make. All God’s creatures waking us up and bringing us into a new day!
Finding the house we are renting in Costa Rica was surely a gift from God. When we arrived we were shocked to find out the prices of rental accommodation, I guess we didn’t do enough research prior to coming?! Anyway, everything is $60 or higher per night and when you’re travelling for a year that’s not within the budget. Feeling somewhat anxious I went for a walk with Tianna on the beach and she asks ‘what’s wrong mommy?’ I tell her the truth and she tells me not to worry God will take care of us and everything will work out. The very next day JC goes for a walk to look for a place to stay while I send several emails attempting the same. He comes back a couple hours later saying he thinks he’s found it! And now only 24hrs after my prayers on the beach and Tianna reassuring me, we are renting a beautiful house overlooking the ocean, far from the tourists and dusty road below with a gorgeous pool, outdoor shower, toilet and sink! Our view out back is a jungle and the best part is we can afford it!!! The people who had it rented 'suddenly cancelled' leaving it open for us. Thank you God for continually taking care of us!
We are discovering more and more everyday that God moments do not have to be miraculous to be important. Even the little things come from God, such as getting a ride up the hill when our hands are full of groceries, meeting people and becoming instant friends, remaining healthy even when circumstances could be a recipe for illness.
Here is how JC describes it: (I stole this from an email he sent to a good friend back home)
dependence...I am very excited to see where God is leading me into in the days, weeks, months to come!!
We are discovering more and more everyday that God moments do not have to be miraculous to be important. Even the little things come from God, such as getting a ride up the hill when our hands are full of groceries, meeting people and becoming instant friends, remaining healthy even when circumstances could be a recipe for illness.
Here is how JC describes it: (I stole this from an email he sent to a good friend back home)
The trip so far has been amazing..still getting into our groove however I am really learning how to lean into God more than ever before!! It's amazing how
when you have nothing, ie. living in a jungle on a more of a day to day basis, with no comforts per se, my faith is deepening almost like a (welcome) forceddependence...I am very excited to see where God is leading me into in the days, weeks, months to come!!
Right now He is teaching me about how my patience is His way of cleansing events and circumstance and that my (our) unmoving faith in Him will always lead to success...His success and plan, and that I get to trust that plan is good and right for the greater
good of His Kingdom.
It's not like I didn't know any of this before our trip, it is just coming to me in a deeper level and with more meaning than ever before!!
I think that when you are faced with a dangerous situation and you survive you feel closest to our creator. Luck and coincidence does not belong in our vocabulary since everything that happens to us happens for a reason. Like during our last night in Santa Teresa when Landon & I swam out too far and the HUGE waves were crashing down and tossing us around like rag dolls with very little time to recover in between waves. Our attempts at swimming back to shore were failing due to the rip tide pulling us back out. Just when it seemed like there was no hope and it was only a matter of time since exhaustion was taking over we made it to shore!! We NEVER could have done that without the help of our guardian angels sent to us by God. I would bet that even those who do not believe in God would pray to Him in a situation like this. I would question though why wait until you are in a near death situation before making the connection with our heavenly father?
The morning we left Costa Rica we were driving in our rented car from LaFortuna to the airport, a 2.5 hr. drive. We got off a little late with saying goodbye to our new friends at the hostel and giving our food away. With the very poor signage we made a couple wrong turns and had to stop to ask for directions, then we were stopped for road construction. At the airport JC & Luis returned the car while we lined up to pay our departure tax. But all the delays were divine intervention because in the line to check in right behind us was the sweetest lady, Marilyn Daly. We only spoke for about 10 minutes but during that time discovered that her daughter and son-in-law live in Cape Town in a safe, secure area and have a house they rent out. They live there doing missions work. Since we have no other contacts in South Africa we got her daughters info. and will contact her about staying with them! God has amazing timing! Had we arrived in the airport just a minute or two earlier or later we would have never met!!! Oh and just to confirm it was His timing, we had to be at our gate at 11:20 and even with all the delays we arrived at exactly 11:20!!
After 4 days with the Cordova family it was time to move on (couch surfing is supposed to be for one night!) When we were packing the car to leave Kevin (Michelle's brother) said he would pray for us!
We feel so blessed to have met Elias through Mike & Crystal Powell from the Vernon Alliance Church. Initially he was recommended to be our driver and guide while in Lima but it has turned into something much more meaningful. We are already good friends and with the grace of God we are staying at his house with his entire family.
Today God heard my prayer and answered it.....we were on our way to meet a family that Elias knows to share God's love and be a blessing....Landon was not too happy about having to leave the new friends he met at the park playing soccer and basketball. In the car on the way he kept looking at me like.....'I really wanted to stay and play'.....I understood and felt bad for him. I prayed that God would somehow turn today into joy rather than disappointment for Landon and He did. When we arrived there were many children who came out to greet us. Landon made friends instantly (like he always does) and there was one special girl Gabriella that he got to know. Then we went to Elias's church where a small group of teenagers meet every Saturday night to sing, play games and learn the verses of the bible. Landon got to play the drums with "the band", he was thrilled!!! Today (Sunday) he had the option to stay home while Elias's family went to church since it's all in Spanish we decided to stay and listen to one of Pastor Stuart's services online instead. Landon chose to go back to the church in hopes of playing the drums once more!!! Thank you God for speaking to Landon in a language he understands....music.
Another contact from home....Leanne's uncle Dennis and his wife Ruth are Canadians living in Arequipa, Peru for the past 30 years. We were welcomed into their home and became instant friends. The kids adore them and we are so grateful to be renting the 3rd floor of their home with enough space to spread out in. We are here although the original plan was to be WWOOFing in Brazil at this time but God had other plans for us and this is where He wanted us to be, meeting and helping where we can through Dennis's church.
At the Rotary meeting JC & I attended we met Violeta who right after the meeting invited us to stay at her house! Our 3rd home stay in Lima was a Godsend. Our room was on the roof top patio with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and laundry area. Her family, husband Carlos, daughters Sandra(22) & Melissa(24) both spoke English and son Carlos Jr. Melissa works for Lan Air and has travelled pretty much everywhere and Sandra attends and works at the University. Both girls experienced Rotary exchanges in the USA, Seattle and Philadelphia. Violeta was a perfect hostess despite the language barrier but with lot’s of sign language and google translate on our computer we were able to communicate just fine. She even became my personal nurse when I spent one whole day in bed with all over body aches. She wanted to feed me but all I could manage to eat was jello and it was the best jello I’ve ever had!! Thank you God for Violeta!!
The place we are staying in San Andres is a small fishing village just outside of Pisco. Unfortunately the few restaurants on the strip next to the ocean close early and do not take credit cards. The one restaurant that takes credit cards closes at 5:00 and we arrived at 5:20. Walking back to our hotel we decided to ask Marco, a man JC had just met for advice on going to Pisco, where to eat etc. He offered to drive us, took us to the bank machine and dropped us off at a really nice restaurant where we feasted on pasta, steak(Landon), fries & Avacado salad. Marco speaks English, is a Pastor of the Capilla Cristiana de San Andres Church and has been to Kelowna!
Thank you God for putting him into our life at a time when we were so hungry and had no other options for dinner:-)
Thank you God for putting him into our life at a time when we were so hungry and had no other options for dinner:-)
Another contact from home....Leanne's uncle Dennis and his wife Ruth are Canadians living in Arequipa, Peru for the past 30 years. We were welcomed into their home and became instant friends. The kids adore them and we are so grateful to be renting the 3rd floor of their home with enough space to spread out in. We are here although the original plan was to be WWOOFing in Brazil at this time but God had other plans for us and this is where He wanted us to be, meeting and helping where we can through Dennis's church.
Every time we drive through the streets of these busy Peruvian cities where the norm is for the traffic to make 3 lanes when there are only 2, and 'somehow' we always arrive safely to our destination.
The night bus ride from Arequipa to Cuzco proved to be a nail biter (for me) the rest of my family were stretched out sleeping in the reclining seats. I thank God for keeping our bus safe when the driver made some pretty gutsy passes overtaking other vehicles with limited visibility.
JC & I had a mini-date in a coffee shop in Aguas Calientes & met Rina. She connected us with her boyfriend Ronal, owner of Olimpo Hotel in Puno where we stayed for 4 days. She then met up with us at his hotel and we went on a mini-tour with her brother and family. God puts people in your life for a reason...always.
The night bus ride from Arequipa to Cuzco proved to be a nail biter (for me) the rest of my family were stretched out sleeping in the reclining seats. I thank God for keeping our bus safe when the driver made some pretty gutsy passes overtaking other vehicles with limited visibility.
JC & I had a mini-date in a coffee shop in Aguas Calientes & met Rina. She connected us with her boyfriend Ronal, owner of Olimpo Hotel in Puno where we stayed for 4 days. She then met up with us at his hotel and we went on a mini-tour with her brother and family. God puts people in your life for a reason...always.
How often do we look at a sunny day and thank God? It rains often at Machu Picchu, it rained the two days before we hiked and poured the day after but the day we chose to hike the sun shone all day!!
We felt God’s presence on the Lake Titicaca boat tour as the rain stopped just in time for our hike across Taquile Island.
Meeting Basil on the plane from Johannesburg to Cape Town was such a blessing to our family. He welcomed us into his circle of friends inviting us to his home for a Braii (BBQ), played the piano beautifully and spoiled our kids with treats and even $$ when we left Cape Town:-)
Getting Landon's guitar returned to us after it was lost on the flight from Brazil to South Africa was a miracle. Landon is blessing people through music and God obviously wants him to continue!
Every ride we take in a car God provides a bubble of protection for us just like I pray for.
Meeting Demelza through a woman we met in Zimbabwe and being introduced to Servas was just another way we were able to connect to like minded people. How fortunate were we to be guests with her lovely family in Malawi. Our kids became instant friends and Landon begged us to stay longer so he could attend their school one more day.
Buying enough and not needing all the anti-malaria pills we purchased allowed us to be a blessing by helping a man treat his malaria in Uganda.
Because of a conversation we had with Sue & Kathy in Zimbabwe we are now staying with Susan & Rod in Cairo, Egypt. This has truly been a blessing and exactly what our family needed after travelling for 5 months.
After the tragic moment of Landon hitting his head and requiring stitches we developed a friendship with the International Doctor, Amira who handled his case. Because of meeting her we had a lovely Iftar dinner experience and learned even more about the Egyptian culture.
Floating in the Dead Sea while talking travel with a couple from Argentina resulted in our meeting and staying with Niko and Tanya in Israel. People that we were definitely meant to meet!!
Sometimes plans change and at the moment you are not sure why but when it is revealed to you you are so grateful for the outcome. Although sleeping in a tent on the beach at the Red Sea would have been memorable, waking in the morning inside a nice hotel room instead was what we needed in order to deal with tummy trouble!! Thank you God for stepping in and adjusting our travel plans.
Meeting the Aussie family in Peru was God's plan and because of that initial contact we were able to meet up again in Egypt and travelled together in Turkey. We feel blessed to have all these memories with their wonderful family and having developed a lifelong friendship with them.
Although initially disappointed about missing the bus to Kefalonia Island in Greece, this 'mistake' ended well since we decided to take a tour of the city of Athens and now will no longer have to return to Athens prior to leaving.
One of the most obvious God moments happened during our last days....we were in Greece, the kids and I had our tickets booked home but JC was undecided about coming home or going to work with his brother in Saint Maarten. We really didn't know what we should do and prayed for some direction. JC was checking into flights and I asked the kids "are you okay with Dad not coming home right away" and they both replied they were fine with it. Then the next day Landon broke down and said he thought Dad should come home with us, so he did!!
After the tragic moment of Landon hitting his head and requiring stitches we developed a friendship with the International Doctor, Amira who handled his case. Because of meeting her we had a lovely Iftar dinner experience and learned even more about the Egyptian culture.
Floating in the Dead Sea while talking travel with a couple from Argentina resulted in our meeting and staying with Niko and Tanya in Israel. People that we were definitely meant to meet!!
Sometimes plans change and at the moment you are not sure why but when it is revealed to you you are so grateful for the outcome. Although sleeping in a tent on the beach at the Red Sea would have been memorable, waking in the morning inside a nice hotel room instead was what we needed in order to deal with tummy trouble!! Thank you God for stepping in and adjusting our travel plans.
Meeting the Aussie family in Peru was God's plan and because of that initial contact we were able to meet up again in Egypt and travelled together in Turkey. We feel blessed to have all these memories with their wonderful family and having developed a lifelong friendship with them.
Although initially disappointed about missing the bus to Kefalonia Island in Greece, this 'mistake' ended well since we decided to take a tour of the city of Athens and now will no longer have to return to Athens prior to leaving.
One of the most obvious God moments happened during our last days....we were in Greece, the kids and I had our tickets booked home but JC was undecided about coming home or going to work with his brother in Saint Maarten. We really didn't know what we should do and prayed for some direction. JC was checking into flights and I asked the kids "are you okay with Dad not coming home right away" and they both replied they were fine with it. Then the next day Landon broke down and said he thought Dad should come home with us, so he did!!
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