San Jose, Costa Rica

We have arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica.  After almost two years preparing to serve with ReachGlobal, we are beginning our time in Latin America.  We will spend one year in San Jose studying Spanish at The Spanish Language Institute. The picture is the outside of our apartment complex.  We have found it easy to give directions to our apartment because it is the only "blanco" or white building on our street.  We don't have a street address, we just give directions based upon nearby landmarks.

God was kind to us in our travels to Costa Rica.  We fly standby, and that can be quite stressful.  You never know when a seat will be available.  We arrived at the airport in Huntsville, AL at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday (Jan. 2) with 10 pieces of luggage.  It took Hope, JD, Jim, and me to get it all to the check-in counter.  We were advised to bring everything with us and pay extra baggage fees as it is the cheapest way to get freight to Costa Rica.  We thought we might have to pay as much as $800 to get all 10 bags here.  The first blessing was that we only had to pay $250 for extra bags and overweight bags.  Wow!  Next, we were able to get seats on all our flights with no trouble, hand-wringing, or waiting.  We are so blessed!

We were met at the airport in Costa Rica by a gracious friend, and she hauled us and ALL of our luggage to our apartment.  That brings us to another blessing.  The ReachGlobal communications director for Latin America had secured an apartment for us.  When we arrived, we were delighted with the apartment.  It is clean and bright, and some of the furniture is better than what we have had in our home the past few years.  It all matches! The pictures are all of our apartment.

The communications director tooks us to HiperMas (Wal-Mart in Latin America), and Pequeno Mundo (Big Lots) to buy household items.  Wal-Mart must be the anti-christ as they are taking over the world.  I didn't even get lost because the HiperMas was laid out just like the Wal-Mart in Jacksonville. 


Jim was able to communicate in Spanish to get our internet/cable ordered.  We should be online sometime next week.  Once we have internet, you can contact us via Skype.  We will have our Skype active when we are at home.  You can call us from your phone @ 256-850-0525.  This is a U.S. number, so there will be no international charges.  If you have a Skype account, our Skype names are jim.wilson.efca and melanie.e.wilson.


The first language boo-boo has been made.  I should know better because Jim did this one when he was learning Spanish.  We were in a restaurant talking with the waiter.  I was trying to tell the gentleman that I would be able to speak some Spanish in one year.  Instead of one "year," I said one "an_s."  Uh-oh!!!!  Shouldn't talk about body parts like that!!!


We ask that you pray for us as we begin our language studies.

Trusting God

At the end of our time in Alaska this summer a terrible tragedy occurred.  Our nephew, Elliott, was killed in a tragic accidental shooting.  Our family is devastated.  As we grieve the loss of this amazing young man, please pray for God's love, wisdom, and strength for the family.  The lyrics of Steven Curtis Chapman's song, "I Will Trust You" express much of what we feel at this time.

I don't even wanna breathe right now
All I wanna do is close my eyes
But I don't wanna open them again
Until I'm standing on the other side

I don't even wanna be right now
I don't wanna think another thought
And I don't wanna feel this pain I feel
And right now, pain is all I've got

It feels like it's all I've got, but I know it's not
No, I know You're all I've got
And I will trust You, I'll trust You
Trust You, God, I will
Even when I don't understand, even then I will say again
You are my God, and I will trust You

God, I'm longing for the day to come
When this cloudy glass I'm looking through
Is shattered in a million pieces
And finally I can just see You

God, You know I believe it's true
I know I will see You
But until the day I do

I will trust You, trust You
Trust You, God, I will
Even when I don't understand
Even then I will say again

You are my God, and I'll trust You
And with every breath I take
And for every day that breaks
I will trust You
I will trust You
And when nothing is making sense
Even then I will say again

God, I trust You
I will trust You
I know Your heart is good
I know Your love is strong
And I know Your plans for me
Are much better than my own

So I will trust You, trust You
I trust You, God, I do
Even when I can't see the end
And I will trust You
I will trust You, I will
Even when I don't understand
Even then I will say again

I will trust You, I will trust You, I will
I know Your heart is good,
Your love is strong,
Your plans for me are better than my own
Yeah, Your heart is good
Your love is strong
Your plans for me are better than my own
And I trust You
You are my God
And I will trust You

ALASKA

Although we have been away for many years, Alaska still feels like home.   When we return for a visit, we are in awe of God's majestic beauty found here in Alaska. As we drove to my dad's home this weekend,  the beauty of the snow capped mountains left us breathless.  


Another highlight has been visiting with our families.  Being several thousand miles apart, we rarely see our sisters, nephews and nieces.  It brings joy to our hearts to be with them!!!! :-)

Jim had the privilege of preaching at Kenai Lake Baptist church which is nestled between an emerald green lake and a towering mountain peak.  We've also been meeting with individuals and church leaders to share the vision of our strategic ministry of equipping pastors and leaders in Latin America.  We're convinced God has provided us with sovereign appointments which will help advance God's kingdom work.  This trip has reminded us of God's awesome, creative wonders as well as His wonderful, sovereign wisdom.

While riding bicycles through a local park, we came upon this mama moose and her little calf. We were able to watch them for several minutes while we waited for the baby to join the mother.  With mama on one side of the path, and baby on the other, we didn't dare ride between them for fear of being charged.