Rejoicing In The Presence Of The Angels

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Luke 15:10


Lately we have been posting our highlights of what has been happening here in CR, and how we have been passing our time. Well today we have decided to let you in on some news that might not be as detailed with the day-to-day events, but will definitely glorify our Lord and Savior, and the work He has brought us here to do.

If you have been keeping up with the recent posts, you have come to know Geiner’s dad, Elias. You have shared in the joy of celebrating his birthday…you have seen pictures of his family, his farm, his life. Well, it gives us great joy to let you know that on February 28th Elias Alvarado had his name added to the Book of Life. During a small “revival”, for lack of a better description, the Lord tugged on his heart and let him know that it was his day of salvation. He walked forward and received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. After over a year of reading the bible, and Geiner and others sharing the wonders of a personal relationship with the Living God, he gave Him his life. Please rejoice with us, and keep him in prayer…a new creation indeed.
Well, the angels’ rejoicing does not stop there. Without going into too much confidential information, let’s just say that one of Geiner’s brothers has led a very troubled life. Juan has a heart bigger than his chest can hold, but also has succumbed to destructive actions that can only come from the enemy himself. Through many conversations with Geiner he has shared that he wants…no needs to change. He knows the gospel but has never trusted that Jesus is the answer to his crying out for help. Well, last night was the night…and during a long conversation with Geiner, he prayed to turn his life over to the Lord. Praise God for answered prayer, and for allowing Juan’s heart to be open to the promise of regeneration in Him.


“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matt 5:16


We previously mentioned Miles McPherson’s book Do Something…the overall premise is that the Lord has a plan for each and every one of us, and that plan includes how best to serve Him. The different stories sited include a woman who started a ministry to the deaf after she fostered a deaf child, a former prostitute who now ministers to girls on the street, physically handicapped people who share the love of Christ with other disabled people, and many more. The point is that we all have experiences to draw on from how the Lord has ministered to us personally…and how we can use that to minister to others.

For years now we have come to realize that the Lord has given us an amazing testimony in how He healed our marriage. We have shared this story with many individuals and couples, glorifying God in our portrayal…always being very clear that we would not be where we are today if it were not for the healing power of Jesus in our lives. He is the reason why we are the new creations (and new marriage) we are today. Well it seems that the theme of ministering to marriages has come up more than once since we have been here, including a very clear direction from the Lord in this area during prayer time. Recently a family member offered to open her home for prayer meetings and asked Geiner to lead them. This past weekend Geiner had the privilege to present a teaching on prayer to more than a dozen family members, which included two marriages in the midst of dealing with very severe issues…and the Lord was glorified. In fact there was such an amazing response to the teaching, prayer time, and question and answer session (which included addressing some of the marital issues being dealt with at the present time) that we have been invited back. The encouragement and invitation back came from a clear acknowledgement that those in attendance did not know the Word of God, and desired to know the bible more intimately.




Ministry has its challenges as well…and we were faced with another couple on the verge of divorce. We plan on meeting with them on our next trip to Perez Zeledon, but in the meantime Geiner is keeping in touch with both by phone, and sharing God’s views and outlook on their situation. We do not want to miss an opportunity to share God’s word in an attempt to save a marriage. Please pray for wisdom and guidance for us, and softened hearts for them.

Weekends such as the one we just mentioned give us such confirmation of God’s call for us to be here in Costa Rica at such a time as this. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support.

Birthday Celebration and two month mark!

Beloved of God and ours,

Hard to believe that we will be here two months this Sunday the 28th! The Lord has taken such good care of us, and we continue to seek His direction and plan.
As promised, here are some pictures from the birthday celebration we had last weekend for Dad. It was such a blessing to see his face light up as family members greeted him on his special day.


Arroz con pollo

One of the attendees of special note was Dad’s tia Lela. She is 87 years young, and sharp as a pin! We had not seen her for 15 years, and yet she remembered so much about us, including a hat Denise wore on that visit!

Most of the Alvarado gang where there…or at least those who live in Costa Rica. The joy is evident on Dad’s face as we all sang Happy Birthday (Feliz Cumpleaños) to him.



Praise God for his health, and his continuing to seek the Lord for truth and life.



The carpentry project is underway! We have some beautiful cypress panels that were cut from trees right here in the neighborhood. Geiner will be sanding and varnishing before any construction starts. We will continue sharing the progress as it develops.






Please continue to pray for the people of Chile and Haiti.
Until next time...

One brick at a Time!

Beloved of God and ours,
Since our last posting we continue to see the internet connection come and go, and frankly this is the last we are going to post about it. It is just too frustrating. We are blessed with using the wireless connection on Gary’s porch, if need be, and do what we can when we can.

The good news is our boxes arrived at our house yesterday!! Tomorrow Geiner and his uncle will begin the carpentry project with the wood you see in the picture below, so that we have a place to put the contents of the boxes. Geiner is excited about having his books here, and I made rice in my long-awaited rice cooker last night. Life is good, and we continue to experience the hand of God working in our lives. We are so grateful to Him for His provision.



With the boxes comes the last segment of our settling in. However, we just might be doing this again in the near future. As of last week, the property we live on is officially for sale. We were expecting this down the road, and how long it might take is unknown to us. There are many properties in the neighborhood for sale, but we know the Lord has this perfect timing worked out as well. If any of you have been thinking of moving to sunny Costa Rica and might be interested in living in a beautiful, paradise-like area, you can see the house on Craigslist (http://costarica.en.craigslist.org/reo/1604458929.html)…and we can vouch for the neighbors in the back ;) !! Well, it was worth a try!



Last Friday’s Foundations class presented some challenges. The air was thick with unresolved issues, on top of a very strong question from a 9 year old little girl (see below) . She asked about the incarnation of Christ and how Christ managed to create the world…the second part of that question was easier than the first. Well I don’t think I did a very good job explaining the “incarnation” to the nine year old in terms that she would understand…I try two different ways, but I don’t know if she really grasped it. Anybody have any ideas? I would love to be clearer to her.

Ministry this week has included some outreach…We have been talking about visiting the nearby parks to talk with people and hand out tracts. You see, the parks here are in the center of town, usually situated in front of the Catholic church. They are popular meeting places, and you can find people congregated just about any time of day. On Monday we put our feet to the task, and spent some time handing out tracts. Geiner did get to talk at length with Juan, an older gentleman who is a believer with mixed questions. He told Geiner that his discussion with him gave him peace. We invited him to the study, and also to join us for an outing we are having in two weeks.

On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to distribute tracts at a famous bus station in San Jose. The reactions to my (Geiner) surprise were some rude and a few grateful, never the less we gave out about 35 tracts. Eventually we are thinking to do the same at the bus station that brings people back and forth from Heredia. Then when we are ready we will have somewhere to invite them for fellowship.




This weekend we will celebrate Geiner’s dad’s birthday in Perez Zeledon. We have planned a surprise for Sunday…the first time Geiner’s dad (Elias) has had a true birthday celebration with most of his family. The Lord has been working in his life, drawing him closer to Himself through unexpected hardships. But through his bible readings Elias (Geiner’s dad) has come to know that God has not left him nor forsaken him, and that the Lord continues to be there for him through the tribulation…and will be there afterwards as well. Our hope is that this family gathering will be a testimony of God’s affection for us all, and that seeds can be planted for spiritual growth. Next time we will post some pictures of the celebration.

Seeds of hope!

1Cor 3:6-7I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

As the son of a farmer I see great potential in the seed that is planted. My father plants yuca, rice, plantain, bananas, fruit trees, etc. and to see the fruit and provision that God gives is very rewarding.

This is the way I feel this week, blessed to be part of what God wants to do here.

Beloved of God and ours,
We hope you are well, and receiving from the Lord daily…refreshing your souls.
We would first like to apologize to anyone who has attempted to contact us via email, Skype, Facebook, or any other means that requires an internet connection. Just when we thought we were finally connected, and our internet problems were over, we are faced with more challenges to stay connected. Without belaboring this already exhausting point…we are back on our landlord’s porch using his wireless and exercising patience! Please know that it is very important to us that we stay connected to you all…that is why we are letting you know here on the blog. We feel we can reach more people quickly by posting a blog entry, than individually. So with that said…let’s get on with some news!!!


Costa Rica has a new president…or we should say “presidenta”! Laura Chinchilla was voted in as the first female president of Costa Rica yesterday. Costarricenses are incredibly patriotic, and yesterday the streets were filled with supporters for each party, working side-by-side, to encourage passers-by to vote for their candidate. It was exciting to see the unity of the crowds working together, in spite of their differences. It is good to see the democracy of Costa Rica in action.




We are so excited to share a praise report of how the Lord is moving. This past Friday we continued with week two of Foundations. Family members and friends continue to grow, and this week the children sat with us, with the bibles that we had given them in hand, with no prompting from their parents. When they knew it was time to start the study, they went to get their bibles, and sat quietly listening, and asked us to look up scriptures for them. It was encouraging to see their enthusiasm. We see the willingness to grow in those who are attending, and they also asked if they could invite others.

Another praise report…our boxes are here in Costa Rica! Remember the 12 boxes Geiner was loading into the white pick-up? They made it here, and should be delivered to our house during this week. Geiner will have his books…and Denise will have more clothes, kitchen gadgets…and more. Thank you Lord! With the arrival of the books comes a construction project. Geiner will be building shelves and exercising creative carpentry!

Just to let you know…the car is fixed as well! We see the Lord’s blessings in so many different areas. The gentleman who fixed the car worked for a Toyota dealer for years, but charges much less. So he knows enough to trust that he is not taking shots in the dark, and also trust that it will be done according to Toyota standards.


We continue to pray for wisdom and guidance, and for you.

This week...at one point I felt like I needed to be way more prepared than what I am and started getting discouraged. Then yesterday (Sunday) we went to church with our landlords and God showed me that I am just like the little boy with the five loaves of bread and two fishes, and I learned that "a little is always plenty in the hands of Jesus". Then this morning I read a prayer in one of our books that applies to my search of God's will for our lives,...see, the heart with which you do things makes the difference between a miracle that it was thought impossible and a simple lunch. God glorifies Himself in what many think impossible, and the prayer is this:


“Dear Lord, I know that You have made all of the necessary preparations for me to do something significant with my life. I’m not walking this journey alone. I ask that you open my eyes to see the doors of opportunity that lie before me as well as give me the faith to walk away from those opportunities to do something that look important but are really not necessary for me. Please keep me focused on fulfilling Your plan for my life.” Miles McPherson. “Do Something” pg 77.

One Month Today!!!

San Isidro de Heredia 15 min. from our home

Dearly beloved of God and ours, it is hard to express in mere words the feeling you get when you know that God has you in the palm of His hand. We are sure you have all experienced this wonderful feeling of being so loved and cared for by your Heavenly Father, that you know you do not have to be concerned. Well, that is how we are feeling. He has provided for all our needs…and most recently with an internet connection (yes!), wonderful fellowship, our licenses, and so much more. Here are some details.
Can you believe it…we have been here in beautiful Costa Rica for a month! Wow, how time flies. We are still settling in…but at least we have internet as of two days ago – wooo hooo! Gary and Estelia, our wonderful friends (and landlords) have been on the case ever since we started hitting brick walls with the process. We are so grateful that the Lord placed them in our lives, and brought us here to live on their beautiful property.
The past week has been pretty full. We continue to pray for wisdom and guidance, and take advantage of every ministry opportunity the Lord sends our way. Saturday we did some exploring and investigating, to find some good places for people to stay when they come to visit. We took a ride to Monte Campana, not too far from our house, and it is beautiful. There is a waterfall, and lots of activities…and it is very reasonable. Just one of many places, we are sure!Sunday we had some wonderful fellowship with our friends and fellow missionaries,Victor and Nichol, and the congregation of Sela church. We attended service for the first time at Sela in central Heredia, and then went to Pastor Jose’s house for lunch. Victor and Nichol have some friends in from California, Brandon and Stephanie, and there were also some young men visiting from Calvary Chapel Managua Nicaragua. So it was a pretty full house.
We are doing our best to get the car in shape. Seems it needed some belts changed and a rotor…but then the engine light started blinking (which the manual says is cause for turning it off immediately and seeing the doc/mechanic ASAP!) other than that it has been a blessing. The car is in very good condition in spite of what is going on now…and we are enjoying the blessing.
As of last week, we are legal…in the driving sense! We were able to get our Costa Rican licenses within about 3 hours…which is pretty flawless in Costa Rican time (tell us that didn’t involve divine intervention!) Geiner will have to get a certification from the states to upgrade his to a B4, which is equivalent to his class A as a truck driver, but he has 6 months to go through that process.
And speaking of processes…we have begun the immigration process for Denise to become a permanent resident of Costa Rica. Once we “officially” start this, which involves receiving a couple more documents from the states, she will no longer have to leave the country for 48 hrs every 90 days. So if you come to visit you can only stay 90 days!!!.. but we can take a ride to Panama for two days with you, and then come back! ;-)
Hope this quick update reminds you of His goodness, His love and provision. He knows what we need and He provides. We trust Him with our lives because He is faithful and true and we pray the same for you. Until next time...

Week Three...Already!

The Internet Saga Continues:

This has been an interesting process…and certainly one we were warned about. But given the rapid pace of life in the US, and the advantages of free enterprise and competition, we find it very interesting.

We started investigating the internet connection process a week after we arrived. Here in Costa Rica there is one company, ICE, That is responsible for phones (house and cell), electricity, and internet…and of course we would call that a monopoly. And with a monopoly comes an attitude of “do it our way…you really don’t have a choice!”

We already have a modem in our house, so we thought that would make the process easier – so we ordered the service, paid the deposit, and followed the directions…a tech came to the house, only to tell us that our computers with Windows 7 were too advanced and not compatible for the system. But he told us we would probably be able to get DSL lines. So we said okay. That was going to take up to 10 days for someone to come and access whether or not we were in range for DLS. Found out we are not! However, if we have a cell phone signal, and we do, we could connect that way (somewhat like a Cricket broadband connection). So we go to ICE, wait in line, get sent to three other places, only to return to the same person in ICE where we started…and guess what?!...we couldn’t get that either because our proof of income comes from the US and not Costa Rica.

So here we are…and we are not done yet!

Starting Foundations:

We are excited to have the opportunity to start the Foundations class with three people who actually are as excited as we are.

The Family in Perez Zeledon:

While we were in PZ this weekend we stopped to see and pray with the family of the mechanic who fixed the brakes. If you remember, he recently lost a brother in his mid-thirties to alcoholism, and the family is devastated. We brought a bible to give them and it was another of those instances of the Lord’s perfect timing. The mother was the only one that stopped to listen and share how she felt, and accepted the bible. She was pleased because she had no way of finding the scriptures that she was recommended to read. We listened, we prayed, and shared very gently that Jesus is the only one who can fill the void in their hearts.

We also gave a bible to Josué (Geiner´s 9 yr old nephew) who had asked for one. He uses it to learn to read, to learn his numbers, but also to learn scripture. He is actually beginning to memorize verses Geiner gives him. He has a very strong temper and does not have consistent discipline. But we see how he longs for attention, so we want to use that to minister to him and bring the peace of God to his young life.

We are confronting situations with others who have been indoctrinated with non-biblical teaching such as prosperity gospel and faith movement. As Peter said, we have to be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have within us.

Ministry opportunities go on and the need is great. We will continue to keep you informed. Thank you for your prayers!

Seeds are Planted...and Ministry Flourishes

Dear friends,

Hope you are all doing well, and growing even more in your relationship with Christ. Happy new year to all of you and may the Lord, whose mercies are new every morning, bless you.

After our last update the weather here in Costa Rica has been changing, and a cold front is making our Costa Rican friends use sweaters! Our home seems to be the place where the winds of the world are coming to rest, and also from where they take off. To give you an idea of how it sounds, imagine if you go to the ocean shore and pitch a tent...you can here the waves break on the shore, and this, accompanied by the whistling between the trees and the drizzling, makes for a windy and rainy day in Heredia.

The winds of our ministry flourish as we get to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with family and new friends. Last week we left off when we were going to visit a family which is in the turmoil of Satan himself...with strife, bitterness, vengence, desires of death, guilt, adultery, anger, etc. That night two of those in the midst of all of that were touched by the Holy Spirit, and trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior, for the glory of our God. We rejoice with God in His work. Now with that we also get people that are managed by the devil and introduce dissention and spread gossip...one week later we hear the tales of it, but face it on our knees as we know that that´s the only way to fight it.

Yesterday was a good day... we were able to meet with Victor and his wife Nichol who are also missionaries here, with their focus on a School of Ministry...and the Lord is blessing it already. Some day we will send students there!

Victor invited us to go to the church of a friend of his, and we were blessed the the Word of God is the authority there too. After the service, we went to their home and had a good time of fellowship. To us this is very important, since having friends that have Christ as the center of their lives is a total blessing. They also come from a Calvary Chapel in East Anaheim Calif, which gives us even more common ground to build on the work which God has ahead.

Also, we received a phone call this morning from another pastor who needs prayer. He is going through some problems within his leadership and just needed to share it. I´ll meet with him on Thursday, if the Lord permits. This pastor loves the bible, but the doctrine from his home church is conflicting with the Word, and he knows it. So please, as you read this, stop for a moment and send a prayer for him...his name is Ciro.

My father is trusting God in his journey, and I am grateful. We are going to visit him this weekend, and also one of my uncles there in Perez Zeledon. He wants to learn more about Christ, and we don´t want him to loose momentum.

We love you all, and please know that your love and prayers are felt. It is weird...but they are! Thank you!

We just experienced another black-out...the electricity comes and goes and it has been like that the last two days. We love it here. Please continue to pray for wisdom, discernment, revelation from our beloved scriptures, and the ability to explain those truths simply.

We love you guys!

P.S. Denise is doing really well with her Spanish...I am so proud of her.