Prayer Requests

I don't have a lot of time to update you all at the moment, but I did want to take a second and ask for your prayers for a few things:

1. This last January, when I did my internship in Laos, I stayed with a Lao host family for two weeks. I just heard from my host sister that they found out her father (my host dad) has stomach cancer, and there is nothing the doctors can do. She is supposed to be moving to the U.S. in two weeks and doesn't know what to do now. PLEASE pray that my host sister will have wisdom, and that she and my host mother will know what to do to help my host dad. Also, please pray for a miracle, that the cancer would just disappear and that he would be healthy again. I would sooo appreciate your prayers for this most sweetest of families.

2. As always, please pray for the health of all of us at the CR campus. Thankfully, Costa Rica is a haven in Central America where you don't have to worry about eating street food or drinking the water - its all okay. (And you can usually even flush your toilet paper). However, I would still really appreciate your prayers asking for health for us and the students who will be coming this next year. Nothing can dampen an overseas experience like illness.

3. Please pray that the remodeling of the campus would be done well and quickly. All of the construction is behind schedule of course (this is Latin America:-), but so far behind schedule that we're worried that certain things won't be done in time for when the students come in the fall. The most important areas will be finished, but other areas we hoped would be done aren't looking promising at the moment. Pray that things will be done quickly and that we will know how to support and encourage the workers. (It is so hard to have to play the "we're paying for this so please hurry up because we're in charge" card. It is already so difficult to try to have normal relationships when there are such unequal power relationships, what with the gringos coming in with their money to build a big college campus and paying the latinos to construct/remodel it - its hard enough to try to have an equal playing field here.)

4. And finally, please pray that God would continue to help us make the relationships and connections we need to create a great experience for our students. It seems that almost every meeting we have is divinely ordained - everyone has a unique way they can help us, or has someone they can connect us with that will be positive for the campus experience. We're so thankful for the relationships we've been making so far!

Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and prayers - I so appreciate them! Hope you're all enjoying your nice, hot, summer weather. When you are so hot you want to melt, think of us in the rainforest of Costa Rica trying to avoid the rain that pours buckets on us and that chills us every evening!