The short version of the story is that in three days we will be leaving Costa Rica and flying back to Texas for at least six months before we head to Lima, Peru.  Our team psychologist recommended that I take this time to receive both the individual and extended family counseling that is needed in order to better prepare us for the mission field.  The other reason for this detour is that I have been diagnosed as having clinical depression and postpartum depression.

Though these changes in our plans were unexpected and came as a surprise to us, we have spent a lot of time struggling in prayer over it and are certain that the Lord’s hand is guiding us in this new direction.  And we are hopeful of what is in store.  It brings us great joy knowing that God is taking care of us and knows what is best for us, for our families, and for our team.  If you would like to read the rest of the story, here is the letter I wrote for our November newsletter…

Dear Friends and Faithful Supporters,

The last weekend in October our team was visited here in Costa Rica by our team psychologist and counselor, Dr. Steve Allison. Steve is a professor at ACU and has worked with foreign and domestic mission teams for years equipping them for the field by analyzing personality traits as well as instructing them on team dynamics. He has partnered with our training institute, the Halbert Institute for Missions, to help train and equip our team for the mission field. He has already been a blessing to our team, so we were thankful for his scheduled visit. While he was here he spent a lot of time with each of our family units individually, and he also spent time with our team as a whole. His visit was much needed and timed perfectly, because we have been growing together as a team through conflicts, tragedies, cultural stresses, and personal struggles. It has been a difficult, but also very rewarding time for our team here in Costa Rica. Our original plan for this year was to stay here in language school until mid-April of 2009, go back to Texas for a few weeks, and then fly to Lima, Perú in May to begin our work in that city.

Well, at the end of his visit, Steve met with Wes and I for a couple of additional hours. He had some surprising news for us and gave us a lot of things to think about and pray about. First, he said that he highly recommended that Wes and I stay in Texas for longer than we originally planned, before heading to Peru. The purpose for that being that he felt like we needed a chance to go through some extended family counseling, because I came here with too many things left unsettled within some of my family relationships. The second thing he told us is that he is fully convinced that I have clinical depression. And he said he wanted me to start medication right away. It is his professional opinion that I have probably had clinical depression for quite some time, possibly even for several years. And so since arriving here in Costa Rica he believes that I have been dealing with clinical depression, postpartum depression, and culture shock all at the same time.

The analogy Steve gave us is this: Normally, people run on eight cylinders. He said, most likely I have been running on 5 or 6 cylinders for such a long time now, that it has come to seem completely normal to us. Lately though, some major events and changes have happened in my life and they are knocking out more cylinders out from under me. He feels like if things were to continue on as they have been, then it could be just a matter of time before I crash and burn because more stress and conflict and change is inevitably going to come. And because of that he said he wants to be sure that we do everything we need to do in order to better prepare us to be emotionally and physically ready before we move to Lima.

Wes and I really struggled with Steve’s assessment, but after much prayer and thought, we believe his assessment of me to be true. So, following his advice, we will be leaving Costa Rica on December 19 after the end of this semester of classes and living in New Braunfels, TX, where my Dad recently started a new job. In New Braunfels we’ll be able to get the family and individual counseling that Dr. Allison recommends. Our hope and our goal is that we will be ready to go to Lima by the beginning of the summer. While in Texas, we will continue our language training as much as we possibly can.

Of all the mixed emotions that I have, relief is the biggest one. There are still many questions to be answered and details to work out, but we are at peace with this decision and know that God is in control. We have been incredibly blessed by the encouragement and support of both our team and our supporting church.

Though our plans for the next several months have changed, our vision and our call to Lima is the same. If you haven’t seen it yet, then please check out the new video on our team website. Click here. We find a lot of hope and inspiration through the message of this song and video, and we’d love for you to share that same hope with us.

Thanks for being with us through this journey,

Stacy

We’ve been told for months that it never rains here after November 15th. Well… the 15th came and went and the rains just kept coming. But, finally, in the last week or so the rains have called it quits and the sun has been shining. The weather has been phenomenal.

Our time here has been right in the middle of the rainy season… our afternoons have been filled with dark clouds and torrential downpours. And in many ways it has been a rainy season for our team as well. We have had some incredibly difficult times. Times of strife and conflict and resolution and forgiveness. Stresses of culture shock and we’ve personally been dealing with growing from a family of 3 to a family of 4. We have mourned with our team mates through their time of loss and through it all we’ve grown together.

Even now the rains continue to fall. I pray and hope that these rains will lead to life and growth in the light of the love of our father…

The Fletchers have been planning all along on returning to the US for a while at the end of this semester of language school. After spending some time with their supporters they plan on heading on down to Lima.

But things have changed a bit… It’s seems like a lesson I keep learning over and over… our plans don’t mean much.

This afternoon, the Fletchers boarded a plane and headed back to Texas a week earlier than planned because they recently received some very scary news from their doctors. You’d be best off just reading it in Stephanie’s own words on their blog, here. Basically, after losing their baby boy earlier in the semester, despite taking precautions against it, Stephanie had become pregnant again. After an appointment with a doctor this week where they couldn’t find the heart beat they are getting back home as soon as possible to get the best medical attention they can. Please pray for them… they need your prayers… that God will protect that little baby inside of Steph… pray that God will take them under his wing and give them comfort and peace that only he can provide… pray that the storm clouds will clear and the Fletchers can rest in the warm light of the Father.

Let me tell you, we had what could go down in the annals of history as the single best Thanksgiving meal since the pilgrims crashed the party back home in the US of A.

We got together with the The Fletchers, The Thompsons, Mark, The Kliewers, The Peters, Caroline, and Alejandra.  We did it potluck style and every single dish was spectacular.  We even had a for real deal turkey… cooked by Justin no less.  Seriously, being away from our families, I don’t think we could have had a better Thanksgiving.

Sorry… I don’t have any pics. Check out everybody else’s sites.  I’m sure they’ve got some.

At his four month check up he was 17.5 lbs, 26.5 inches long, and his head circumference was 17.3 inches.  All stats between the 90th and 95th percentile.  He loves to giggle and smile and stare at his big brother in awe with his big, bright blue eyes.  I love to watch him grab his toes, grin when he hears music or songs, and stretch real big when he first wakes up.  He’s such an easy and laid-back baby, and he continues to blow us away with his hugeness.  If you’re not already tired of us saying it, I have to say it one more time, at least, because this picture speaks volumes.

See those jeans Derek is wearing?  Those are the same jeans Jakob was wearing when he was 13 months old and walking all over the place!

Jake is doing great, too.  It’s official.  He already understands more Spanish than I do.  That’s okay.  I was preparing myself for this.  But it became clear when we were at Derek’s check up at the hospital and the nurse started talking to Jake.  I, of course, had no idea what she was saying to him.  But he, of course, new exactly what she was saying to him and he responded to her questions appropriately.  Yeah.  He’s the coolest and smartest little 2 and half year old I know.  Here are some fun facts about Jakob:

Jake loves being a big brother.
He’s a great little helper and
He always seems to keep a watchful and protective eye out for the smallest kid around.
His favorite shows are Curious George and Little Einsteins
He likes to run like Dash from The Incredibles.
He loves to read Bible stories and
He loves to tell stories, too.

Man, it is so fun having two boys.  I’m lovin’ it.  They are already so different in many ways.  It’s such an honor to be their Mama and to celebrate their uniqueness and the way God made them.

First off, during the weekend of Halloween we were really blessed by a visit from our friend, mentor and counselor Dr. Steve Allison from ACU.  We had met with him while back in The States and he had scheduled a visit with us in Costa Rica to follow up with us individually and as a team.  One of his only requests was that we take him on a Costa Rica adventure.  So, we begrudgingly obliged and went with him on a jungle canopy zip-line tour and river boat tour through the jungle.  Pretty amazing.  We are really glad to have him in our lives and he will continue to be following up with us as we move forward.  More on that later.

Secondly, I have some really sad news.  As we’ve said before, our main form of transportation here is walking… but we also ride in taxis.  Well, you may not have known this, but taxis in Costa Rica are not unlike black holes that blast 80′s music.

While you ride in them they are quietly taking your things and hiding them so you’ll never find them again.  In fact, I think Costa Rican taxis are probably where all of those lost socks go when they disappear in the dryer.  Not sure how that works… but I’m pretty sure.  On top of that, I am not what most people would describe as “good” at keeping up with things.  Well… the taxis have swallowed up 3 umbrellas so far and who knows how many other little things.  But recently a taxi driver drove off with one very nice and very much loved Nikon camera and my jacket.  You heard right… don’t make me say it again… it hurts too much.  So, we still have the little point and shoot camera… but until I can replace my camera things just won’t be quite the same around here.

Finally, this past weekend we had a chance to go spend the weekend near Volcan Arenal. It was nothing short of ridiculously incredible.  But, to go into all of that would make this already long post way longer… so more on that later too… I promise.

Well… in case you didn’t notice, last Friday was Halloween.  If you are reading from back in the US of A, this is unlikely.  But, if you’re reading from some other country, like say… Costa Rica, then you very well could have missed it.  There were actually a few Halloweeny things around here and there… and at Hiper Mas (Costa Rican Wal-Mart) they even had Halloween decorations.  But for sure, if you went a couple of blocks East from the back entrance to the language school and took a right, Halloween was in full swing.

The Fletchers and the Thompsons live right next door to each other, so we took advantage of that, invited some friends and had a real deal Halloween Party.

We had a great time playing games with the kids, laughing at some great and some ridiculous costumes (as seen above).  We spent most of the night getting our kids as tired as possible and then, because we couldn’t inject it directly into their veins, feeding our 2 year olds as much candy as possible right before bed time.  Why do we do this again?  Who knows?  It’s just what we do… and it’s awesome.

Some more pics here if you’re interested.

Took these pictures this afternoon on our front porch.

Derek is such a smiley kid. It’s amazing how different the two of them are physically. Stacy pulled out some more clothes for Derek today… some of them are Christmas clothes that Jake wore when he was 9 months old… Derek can wear them now at less than 4 months.

Jake is talking up a storm as usual. He is learning more and more Spanish words every day. It’s funny because you can tell the words he learns from his teachers because he says them with a Costa Rican accent and the words he learns from us with a gringo accent.

This last pic is a view that I have every morning as Jake and I walk to school… well Jake doesn’t exactly walk anywhere.

The sun starts going down at 4:30 PM and rises at 4:30 AM.
You hang blankets on your 2 year old’s window to block out the sun.
8:30 PM feels like 11 PM because your 2 year old has been up since 4:30 AM.
Dora the Explorer now speaks Spanish and teaches kids English words.  For real.
No bathtubs so your kids bathe inside a rubbermaid container.
The only hot water in the house is through the “widow maker” in the shower.
It’s called a widow maker because there are loose hot wires in the shower.
You shower at a friend’s house because your electricity is out for days.
A different key to lock every door.
Not just locking up when you leave, but locking yourself in when you get home.
No doorknobs on your doors.
The wind blows the door closed and you’re locked out of your house.
A locked front gate, so now you’re trapped between your front door and the gate.
The birds that fly above are parrots.
You can’t speak Spanish and your Spanish teacher can’t speak English.
After his first day of school, your 2 year old says, “Come on, Mommy, Vamonos!”
Your favorite side dish is gallo pinto (black beans, rice, cilantro).  Yummy.
McDonalds is still McDonalds, besides the fact that they make deliveries.
Super Wal-Mart is called Hiper Mas and SAM’S is called PriceSmart.
Locals use weed-eaters or machetes to mow and their fingers to weed-eat.
You’re walking down the sidewalk and your 2 year old randomly signals for a taxi.
The door bell is replaced with a coin tapping on your gate.
Or, visitors just say hello, because you can hear them through your open windows.
Your neighbor opens their gate and you think they’re “ringing your door bell”.
Three different sizes of ants infest your dishes that haven’t been rinsed off yet.
Baby weight disappears fast on the walk to school and everywhere else everyday diet!
You download tv shows and movies to watch on the computer after kids go to bed.
You don’t have a mailbox.
You find bills slid between the slots on your gate, or you mistake trash for bills because
Paper crumpled up on your porch is a bill thrown past your gate, kept out of the rain!

It rains every day (it’s the rainy season) and we love it.
Your home address is a paragraph long.
You walk everywhere (because you don’t have a car).
Exhaustion pounds you because of the elevation change.
Taxi drivers try to scam you.
Taxi drivers collect your umbrellas, because you keep leaving them in their cars.
The water and electricity go out often.
You have a maid that cooks, cleans, and does the laundry!
Heating water on the stove to do the dishes (when you don’t have a maid).
No carpet anywhere.
Your walls are concrete.
Your kitchen cabinets are concrete.
You’re not supposed to flush toliet paper. Anywhere.
Scented trash bags.
Bars on every window.
Your windows are open all the time (no heating or air conditioning).
Motorcycles and trucks that drive by sound like they’re going down your hallway.
The box fan cost $40 and you buy it anyway (to block out the noise).
Bird poop on your paper towel holder and sink counter (see “open windows” above).
Locals think your baby is cold when you dress him for summer weather.
Open man holes, aka “gringo traps”.
Pot holes the size of large safari animals.
Cracks in sidewalks that loosen your stroller tires and wheels.
A pound of bacon costs more than $6 (and it’s totally worth it).
The infant bouncy seat costs $80 and you buy it anyway.