-For Dustin Woida as he learns Spanish

-For the development and funding of the new workshop and apprenticeship program

-For the approval of our non-profit association by the Costa Rican government

-For quality Costa Rican staff members who are called to work with SI-Costa Rica

Dave and Janice Hansen

This past month I visited SI Costa Rica while on a “vision tour” with professors representing nine colleges or universities from the states.  All are interested in partnering with Students International for semester programs.  It is exciting to report that Costa Rica will be offering semester programs similar to the spring Guatemala term and the fall term in the Dominican Republic. Jeff Dixon, country director, and Darin Mather, who has been instrumental in developing curriculum for all of the programs, are crafting a unique program that will include an SI partnership with the University of Costa Rica. Several Christian Universities are excited about the partnership that would allow science majors to study abroad without falling behind in their required class and lab work. The program would also include an emphasis on learning the Spanish language and offer time to work alongside our staff at the ministry sites.

The current semester programs in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic have served as great models, yet each country and culture is unique. The Costa Rica program looks as if it will begin spring of 2011. Students spending a semester in a country while pursuing their course of study and serving at the ministry sites have been a blessing to the work of Students International.  Furthermore, the semester programs encapsulate our mission and vision statement:

Mission
Bringing students and the poor together cross-culturally to encounter God, share the Good News, disciple and serve others in occupational ministries.

Vision
Seeing students and the poor transformed into the likeness of Christ and discover their true calling.

Blessings,
Dave

Cailah Pritchard

Cailah was one of our first staff members here in Costa Rica. She grew up in Hanford, California and graduated from Biola University with a degree in Intercultural Studies. Before college Cailah spent time serving in Chile with YWAM where she learned Spanish and developed a love of Latin culture. Throughout her college years Cailah was anxious to graduate and to put her degree into practice. It was clear God was leading her into overseas missions. It was not a question of “if,” but rather “when” and “where.” Cailah says, “Through a combination of the right timing and connections, God confirmed that SI Costa Rica was the place for her at this time.”  As Cailah works in the community of Las Fuentes at the Community Development Site she constantly strives to bring a level of excellence to her work and to incorporate the community members into the decision making process. “And although we may not always see the kind of results we anticipate, it’s clear that God is at work in the people of Las Fuentes through the continual building of relationships and the enthusiasm of the people for the projects at work there.”

In Los Guidos SI-Costa Rica staff person Krysta Williams runs a tutoring center in partnership with La Iglesia Cristiana Reformada de Los Guidos and Food for the Hungry Costa Rica. The tutoring center provides a safe place for children to work on their homework, enjoy educational activities, to practice their English, or to read a book.  Although the tutoring center is available for students of all ages, the majority of those who come are in elementary school. The Costa Rican school year ends in December, so Krysta is busy helping children study for year-end exams and finish up various projects.  In the five months since the tutoring center has opened it has developed a consistent clientele. It is a joy to watch God work in the lives of these children. For Krysta, “the best of part of the tutoring center is being able to build relationships with the kids who are coming everyday and to be able to be a positive adult who can sit and listen to them for awhile. It’s amazing to see how they light up when you say you’ll go to the playground with them, or even just listening to them read for a few minutes.”

We continue to grow here in Costa Rica. In October we added Dustin Woida to our staff team. Dustin will be studying Spanish for the next few months and then will transition to leading a ministry site. We are also in the process of launching a new ministry site that will involve mentoring, discipling, and teaching a marketable skill to adolescent boys through a carpentry workshop and apprenticeship program.

In the last couple of months I have had the privilege of showing many people the various ministry sites and of telling the story of SI-Costa Rica. Each time I tell the story of what God has done in the past 14 months and where we think He is leading us I am amazed. I am amazed at God’s faithfulness, His provision, His guidance, and His plan. But mostly I am amazed by His deep and passionate love for people, both for people who know Him intimately and for those who do not yet know him. Will you join our staff team in praying that the love we have for each other and for those that we work with will be a contagious love that draws people to our King?

Janice and I count it a privilege to have led a team to Fiji this past summer. Fiji is an English speaking country, and without the hindrance of a language barrier, we saw deep relationships being formed among team members and Fijians. A highlight was being a part of the group that prayed with Mr. Sharma to receive Jesus as his Lord. SI Fiji staff and Jonathan and Tricia Thompson took part in his baptism a few weeks later.

Please pray for and along with Ray and Laura Pittman as they continue to seek the Lord’s plan for SI ministry in Fiji as it is in its formative stages. See their prayer requests listed below. Once again, thanks so much for all of your support to the ministry of Students International, and please continue to pray for wisdom for us as we grow.

Blessings,
Dave

As we look back over the summer, we are so thankful to see the different ways that God has worked. We have seen six of the Indian villagers in the Momi community come to the Lord and be baptized! We’ve seen personal breakthroughs in the lives of team members, people sharing things they’ve never told anyone before. We’ve seen several of the young people on the teams realize that God is calling them to full-time ministry or overseas missions. And we’ve seen the incredible impact of relationship-centered ministry. . . life on life. . .and how God uses this to change both the Fijians and the North Americans.

Overall, it’s been a great privilege to be involved in what the Lord is doing here through SI Fiji!
–The Pittmans

Each outreach team spent one week working in the west (construction and agriculture at the Momi Bay base, education at the Sigatoka pre-school) and one week at Homes of Hope in Suva.  Here’s some photo highlights:

“It is hard to believe that we just completed our 10th summer of ministry. God has done so many amazing things in the last ten years that I could write volumes. If you had asked me in 2000 to dream what SIDR might look like in 10 years, I would not have been able to imagine the ways God has blessed us. In addition to the new facility we now enjoy, we also now have 15 ministry sites. This includes our three newest: micro finance, women’s sports, and our own physical therapy site. God has given us amazing opportunities to share the Good News.

“The people on our team, especially the youth, were so receptive. This was a life altering experience and would not have been possible if not for the Lord (of course) and your obedience to Him in helping us go. The missionaries there in Costa Rica with Students International are doing an awesome work. They are taking little and making much. They need our continued support and prayers.” -from a letter thanking supporters

Jesus’s words in Luke 13:20 (The Message) challenge us, “How can I picture God’s kingdom? It’s like yeast that a woman works into enough dough for three loaves of bread -and waits while the dough rises.” We are all called to be part of Kingdom work.

One story that illustrates how God is working is that of Allison Mullinax, an inner-city elementary school principal from Norfolk, Virginia. She felt called to bring a group from her urban church with limited resources on an overseas trip. I challenged her to bring a team to SI Costa Rica, but because of what seemed to be insurmountable financial need, it looked impossible. We love and serve the “God of impossibilities,” and the financial obligation, passport acquisition and time off from work schedules all fell into place and the group was Costa Rica bound!  What an amazing experience they had. The interaction of all participants and staff along with the people of Costa Rica was such a witness of loving Jesus and displaying servant hearts. Allison said that they are still talking about Costa Rica and plans are underway to secure more resources and passports for future trips!

Please continue to pray for all of our staff as they get some rest. Those in the Dominican Republic are gearing up for a fall semester program with Bethel College, pray for their refreshment as well as transition into the fall schedule.

“How can I picture God’s kingdom? It’s like yeast that a woman works into enough dough for three loaves of bread – and waits while the dough rises.”