Costa Rica!

Well, as most of you know we made it here to Costa Rica on Saturday night around 8pm.  We were thankful for safe flights and that all of our bags made it.  We had people waiting at the airport right outside of customs to help us grab our bags and helped us out to the van and brought us to our new home for the next year.  We certainly give God the glory for everything going so smoothly.

 

We unpacked yesterday and walked to the local grocery and ate Chinese for lunch.  We even took a trip to Walmart in the late afternoon, which is a little further away.  We went with our "big sister", Denyse in a van that they had hired to take us.  There are drivers that help families as ours coming to the language school.  It is more reliable than a taxi with much more room.  

 

Tomorrow we start orientation for language school, so continued prayer is appreciated as we adjust to a new culture and learn a new language. 

 

 

 The girls love the swing set in our backyard.  I love that the area is enclosed so that they can play more freely :)  Thanking God for taking care of the little details.

 Siesta time for Danica and Katie Sunday afternoon.  I learned a little trick at WMI this summer about putting two twin beds together to make a king size bed.  This seems a little better for Danica since this is her transition from a crib. 

 Above is the little reminder note Chris posted per my request in the bathroom.  Hannah had a little melt-down the first night we were here because she accidentally flushed her toilet paper.  So, we posted this little reminder for everyone!!!

 Here are the girls today posing in our backyard by the palm trees Katie was counting yesterday morning when she woke up.

Let me introduce you to a little friend we found on the paper towels this morning.  The girls would love to keep it, but we decided it might be best to let the little critter go free so it could eat some bugs.

The teeter-totter is also a big hit.  Pretty sure Danica has a new friend, the neighbors have twin girls who are about the same age.

 

We are excited to see what God has for us here as a family and as his children.  Our prayer is that we would be faithful in all things for his glory.



Sneak Peek!

Since we are leaving Saturday I thought I would share some pictures of our new home for the next year.  We will be living in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment.  It has a washer and a dryer and is about 5 minutes walking distance from the Language school.

A view of the kitchen and dining room. 

 Hannah has already staked her claim on this bedroom.  She is so excited to finally have her own room!

 Thus, this will be Katie & Danica's digs :)

 Here is the master bedroom.  There is a closet that isn't visible with this picture.

 This view is from the front door looking into the living room. I love how open it is!

Lastly, here is the bathroom.  Note the cord going around the shower rod, it is the water heater. 

We got these pictures from our "big sister" Denyse, who is going to pick us up from the airport in San Jose.  She has secured this apartment for us so that when we arrive, we will be able to move right in.  We are blessed that the school has the "big brother" program to help us get settled in and show us the ropes.  We will be posting more when we get there, but until then, here is your sneak peek!

Back home again in Indiana!

We had a wonderful week at Oasis, met even more people to add to our summer of friendships, and ended the week with Global Fair.  We have enjoyed this time of fellowship with other missionaries, but we are also happy to be back home in Indiana!

Hannah & Katie with Jen, another new sweet friend

Global Fair is something new for us.  We were so excited to be able to attend this year.  And let me tell you, it was amazing.  There were missionaries from all over the world with booths that had information about the countries they minister in.  Some had food, others had activities for children, there was face painting, a station to make coffee-bean people,  balloons, ice cream, alpacas....what more could the Raber girls ask for?!?

Coming into Global Fair

Danica loved the alpacas!

Katie loved the sticky rice and barbecued chicken.  The sticky rice was in the  bamboo, they cut the top of the bamboo so that you could peel part of the bamboo back and eat it horizontally  (if that makes sense).  There were black beans in the rice, but it still tasted sweet.

There were signs around to let you know where you were :)

Katie is pointing to Peru on the huge globe that was there.

The flag of Peru painted on Katie's cheek.

We had a wonderful time in Pennsylvania!  We left the fair and drove the 12 hours home and arrived

home early Sunday morning.  Of course Katie and Danica were thinking they had already slept enough, so it was a little difficult to get them back to bed, but eventually it happened.

One last thing I just wanted to share.  First, thank you for your prayers for us in this journey, we couldn't do it without your support.  How do I know that you are praying you ask?

Well, let me tell you.  This past week I got a text from my sister Joanna saying that she was over at our house getting some plants and the UPS guy delivered a package that she had to sign for.  It was from the Indiana Health Dept.  Well, I have been working on getting birth certificates that will eventually be getting an Apostille for our student visa paperwork.  We had some difficulty getting the documentation scanned and sent so ordering the birth certificates took about a week.  Anyway, I had upgraded the shipping to UPS and they assured me I would receive an email that would give me a tracking number so that I would know when they would be delivered.  So, when Joanna sent me that text, I sent another back to her saying, "Praise the Lord" and letting her know the above info.  She then texted me back saying that she had an interesting time getting a key to get into my house and then she was only here for about 10 - 15 minutes total and the UPS guy came during that time.  Now some may consider that coincidence, but I consider it ANSWERED prayer! 

W.e M.ade I.t !!!

W.e M.ade I.t !!!  We finished WMI!

We were so blessed to be able to spend 3 1/2, almost 4 amazing weeks with incredible people.  We learned so much about ourselves and about others in the process.  It has been a growing experience for which we are truly thankful for.  We now have friends who are literally going around the world to spread the Good News.  Though we are sad to say goodbye, I prefer to say "See ya later." 

This is the WMI class of 2012



Angel & Katie

My forever friends Taryn & Laura














From WMI we went onto Washington D.C. for some sightseeing.  We spent the afternoon with our friends and walked around and enjoying our time together.

 We enjoyed spending some time with Abe.

 

The girls loved riding the Metro.

We also spent some time at the zoo.

We had a wonderful weekend in DC and then we came back to Pennsylvania for one more week.  We started the week with a commissioning service last night and we will be staying at Black Rock Retreat Center this week.  There is air conditioning AND a pool!
    We miss you all and hope to see you soon. 

Chris' house parents from Louisville, Avonelle & Marv Peachey came to our commissioning service.
It was wonderful to see them and spend time catching up. Oh & the girls all got t-shirt headbands that they LOVE, please excuse the fact that they are not exactly matching their outfits :)

Prayer requests.......

*Still working on the student visa paperwork, so please pray that documentation would come through.

*Please pray for the girls as they have been troupers this summer, but there is more change to come, so please pray that they would adjust well.

*Lastly, please pray for us as we come home next week, that we would be able to keep our focus and do the things we need to in order to be ready to leave when our plane does.

Praises & Prayer Requests

 Well, you may have to excuse the order of these pics because they are not chronological, but I am too tired to do anything else with them, so hopefully you will enjoy them as is!  Above is a pic from breakfast this morning.  We went to church with a couple who were missionaries to Peru a few years back, so it was interesting to hear stories from them and their families experience.

 The girls cheesing on the front steps of the dorm before supper tonight.  They enjoyed the pool today, so they are gonna sleep good tonight!

We went to a local park on the 4th to celebrate and we caught a glimpse of this alpaca.  Hannah is convinced that we are going to get a pet llama when we live in Peru.......

   



   

We have been blessed with some wonderful  friends while here at WMI.  Jamila, on the left, is going to Southeast Asia and Ruth Ellen plans to go to Guinea-Bissau.  They have been wonderful with our girls and Jamila braided Hannah & Katie's hair Friday night in the midst of the heat wave :)

 We have also been blessed with sweet friends for Hannah & Katie to share adventures with here.  This is before their 1st sleepover.  They had another one Thursday night :)

Here is a peek into the girls dorm bathroom.  It has 3 showers and 4 bathroom stalls.  There are also 3 sinks on both sides as you come in.  Let me tell ya, the shower sessions get pretty interesting at times with the Raber girls!

Here is our favorite little guy, Lucas Edmond.  The girls love holding him and he has the sweetest little grin.  His parents are planning to serve in Italy.

Lastly, I wanted to show you our version of air conditioning here in Pennsylvania.  We put fans in the windows :)  Thankfully, the weather has cooled off and is supposed to continue to do so this week.

Another praise I wanted to share.......

Chris & I did our testimony this week and I was really nervous about it.  I wanted to share a song, but didn't have time to get it ready with all the busyness of the week.  So, I just prayed that the song would be sung during our praise and worship time.  I don't know about you, but sometimes I pray without expectation.  Well, the song was "How Great is our God".  And God did show how great He is !  The last song of the praise set was the one I had prayed for.  Of course, I cried as I sang the words to that very sentimental song and I shared my prayer with the group during my testimony time.  So, I want to encourage you, no matter how big or small the prayer request, it IS being heard.  And we don't always get immediate answers, but that doesn't mean He doesn't care!  He is always listening and for that I am so thankful!

And also for the prayer requests....

Please pray for our family, immediate and extended as we continue to prepare to go.

We are still working on paperwork for our provisional student visas.  I thought I had it ready  to go to the Embassy in Washington DC, but I didn't get the Apostille seal on the birth certificates.  So, please pray that all goes smoothly with getting the paperwork in order.

Pray for the girls as they say goodbye to their new friends this week.  It is tough to know they may never see these girls again here on earth.  I am thankful for the time they got to spend together.

I want to end this post with a verse from my friend Adrianne's prayer card...

"For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of Lord."

Habakkuk 2:14

Learning to lean....life in PA

 Well, we have been in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for 2 weeks now.  The time has flown and we have been blessed with many new friendships.  Both Chris & I, and the girls have bonded with missionaries that are ready to go to Albania, Botswana, Guineau-Bissau, Cambodia, Southeast Asia, Montenegro, Italy, Thailand & Tanzania to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have learned alot about ourselves in this process.  Most importantly, we are learning to lean even more on Jesus.  Monday, we had an  amazing lesson on the Holy Spirit.  We spent the afternoon in prayer for each other and it was such a joy to see how the Holy Spirit was working in each of our lives when we opened up and shared our struggles with each other.  Three hours of prayer went by in a blink!

The typical day at WMI or World Missions Institute is that we eat breakfast @ 7:30am in the school cafeteria.  (We are staying at Lancaster Mennonite School.)  We then meet @ 8:15 for worship and sharing in the word.

 In between breakfast and worship we drop our children off at childcare which is in the classroom beside where we meet.  The older two love it and Danica is warming up to it.  She calls the teenage girls who care for her "sisters".  So, when we see them at lunch she says, "there are my sisters!"

Back to our schedule, we have been studying the book of Acts.  After time discussing the Word, someone either from WMI or a guest speaker shares their testimony and we have a short break around 9:45am.  Class resumes from 10am to noon, from which we break for lunch.  Lunch again is served in the cafeteria and we have a break from noon to 1:30.  The afternoon session goes until 5pm with a mid-afternoon break.  It has been quite a challenge to sit for such a long time.  It is reminding me that I need to get back in the "student mode" before Language School :)  Supper is served at 5pm and most evenings are free time.

 Hannah and Katie made fast friends with Rachel and Angel who are going to be going to Tanzania with their family.  I was so blessed to see how God provided playmates for my girls.  He is so good!

 Above is our dorm room that is not air conditioned,  but does have power, so we are counting our blessings!  Danica is in a room with us and the other two girls are in the next room.

 This is the other side, as you can see Chris is taking a siesta, which is pretty rare.  We have a nice fan and the evenings had been pretty cool up until the past few nights.  There is alot of space for our clothes and there are two closets too when you first come in the room on either side.

We got to spend some time at the pool with some dear friends before our departure.  Hannah & Lindsey also got to spend some quality time at camp this past week.  And Katie and Audrey enjoyed the pool time together before we left as well.

We love you all and miss you!  Please continue to pray for us, we know you are and we appreciate it so very much.  May you remember that what we are doing is nothing extraordinary, we are just trying to walk in obedience to His call on our lives.  Matthew 24:14

It's Official!

Well, after many months of prayer, planning, and prayer, we actually have a date to fly out of the country!  We will leave for Costa Rica on Saturday, August 25th.  We are so excited, yet realizing this is really it.  We are going to a different country to share the love and gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!

Our next step at this point is getting ready to go to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for WMI.  It is World Missions Institute, which is training to prepare us for missions.  The girls will be going with us, with the exception of Hannah missing one week because she will be attending Bible Memory Camp.

We are leaving Saturday June 15th to go to Pennsylvania.  Basically with the exception of coming home for a very special wedding,  we will be gone until July 22nd.  The training includes a week called "Oasis" in which we will be meeting some missionaries who have lived in Peru for the past 12 years, so I am looking forward to getting some practical packing tips for our journey. The last day is Global Fair on July 21st,  which will be a culmination of all the missionaries with food, facts, and activities from all over the world.  I wish it would be closer so that everyone could check it out.

We also hope to spend a few days in Washington DC, which will serve dual purposes.  We need to get a provisional student visa prior to going to Costa Rica.  Well, we had already planned to go to DC and do some sightseeing.  Now it looks like there may be some business involved as we will be trying to go to the Costa Rican Consulate to get the paperwork done.

Lastly, we are planning a commissioning service at Providence tentatively for Sunday August 19th, so if you live in the area and want to come you will be more than welcome.  Details to come......in the meantime, please keep us in your prayers as we continue this journey in faith.

Oh and one more thing, we had some other excitement last week :)  My girls were blessed to be able to attend VBS at Bethel.  Well at the end of the week, they drew a name for a winner of the parakeet.  Hannah was looking forward to it all week, and we told her she could put her name in the drawing only if she could find someone to agree to take the bird when we leave.  The next morning when Shawna dropped off Allison & Laney, Hannah asked her to be caretaker in case she won.  Shawna graciously agreed and Hannah waited patiently for Friday's drawing.  Long story short, Hannah's name was drawn and she was ecstatic!  We now have a new pet for a few weeks......

 His name is BB, short for Benny Boo :)