December 2013 newsletter

The Goshorns Step by Step December 2013

Merr y Christmas from Kentucky!

Tim, Jennifer and Daniel finished 1 year of language school, and graduated on December 13th. Tim and Jennifer have a good base and we were told that Daniel received the highest final score on speaking & grammar in the history of the school.

Matthew & Katherine were in regular school on the same campus as us, and they had Spanish class 1 hour a day.

Matthew is understanding & speaking Spanish very well.

Katherine understands a lot but needs to build up her confidence when speaking. The year was packed with the faithfulness & mercy of God. We built some wonderful relationships with fellow students, teachers, guards, doctors, nurses, clerks, neighbors, children at the feeding center & our amazing church family. Saying goodbye was very hard, as we expected it would be. Pain is a true feeling when saying goodbye, and we’re thankful for this pain. The pain lets us know that we developed strong relationships, and so if we had no pain, then we would not have been blessed with such strong relationships. On our last day at church, 2 kids from the feeding center showed up who do not normally attend church. They said they knew it was our last day & wanted see us again before we left. Matthew talked with them about continuing to attend church & they promised they would. Everyone that we met will always be in our hearts & prayers. We learned so much from our pastor, Miguel Rojas, & our Costa Rican church family on how to serve the Lord & community with all we have.

As hard as it was to leave the people of Costa Rica, it was wonderful to arrive at the airport around midnight to a large group of people from our home church with their arms open wide. They drove us to our temporary home. We were given the

Our Costa Rican pastor and his family.

entire bottom floor of our dear friends home with a private entrance. It has two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen & full bathroom. Church members so generously put up a Christmas tree, stocked the kitchen & refrigerator, and left a basket full of gift cards for us. We were also given a car to use while for the next 2 months. AMAZING! On Sunday, the church presented each of us with prayer shawls that the women of the church made with bible verses needlepointed & sewed on them. We are truly blessed & humbled.

We are grateful to be able to spend Christmas with Jennifer’s mom (Joan) in New York. She’s in the middle of 7 weeks of chemo & radiation, so we would appreciate if you would keep her in your prayers.

We are so thankful for all your prayers and support. It is an honor to serve with each of you.

“If you have no opposition in the place you serve, you’re serving in the wrong place.” ~ G. Campbell Morgan

Katie’s birthday party at school.

Our last Sunday at our Costa Rican church.

GOD WANTS TO USE ALL OF US, ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS LET HIM Our lives were touched this year by many people, one person in particular was a woman at our church. I first met her early on a Saturday morning when we went to our church to help prepare the food for the kids’ feeding center. It was obvious that she was not happy that we were there. The kitchen was her space, and preparing food for the kids was her job. While we were preparing food, I would walk over and ask if she wanted me to wash the dishes, and she would always say “no”. I did this every Saturday for quite a while. As time went by, I think she began to realize that we were there because we truly wanted to help, not for photo opportunities. Then one Saturday, when I asked her again if she wanted me to wash the dishes, she just smiled and said yes. I later learned about her life. It was not too long ago that she had been living on the streets with absolutely nothing. I watched her a lot. I could see a person that was very proud & loved the Lord very much.

One Sunday, the church had about 40 baptisms take place. I was asked to help the people get in and out of the baptismal pool. I was so proud when I held her hand when she entered & exited the pool. She was so happy. Not only did she get baptized, but most of her family did also.

There were plenty of tears to go around. It was so very hard for us to say goodbye on our last Sunday at church. She asked us to come back on Wednesday, but we said we couldn’t. She walked away, and some time later the pastor’s father came up and said she was going to cook us dinner on Wednesday. She got us to come back after all. She & her family cooked the entire dinner, and there was a lot of food. She fed everyone, but she would not eat; only wait on us. When it was time to leave, she cried & held onto each of us.

We may never see her again, but this woman that loves & serves the Lord has taken up a huge space in our hearts. We’ll be able to serve the Lord so much better knowing & learning from her. I learned that God continues to teach me & will continue. I love how He uses everyone that is willing to be used.

I don't care who you are, how much education you have, or how knowledgeable of the Bible you are, God can and will use you to further His kingdom. Do not wait until you think you are ready. He wants to use you now!

Jesus told Paul and each of us "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness."

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The Goshorns Step by Step

Prayer Requests  

Continued physical, emotional and spiritual protection.

Praises 

We have been generously blessed with a home and provisions for the next two months.

Continued financial and prayer support, as well as new finacial and prayers partners.

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Safe travels while in the states.

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And finally that we trust in the Lord for everything and stay strong in our faith in Him.

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We are thankful to have vehicles to use while in the States.

We are grateful for the opportunity to return to the states before going to Peru.

We had a great experience at the language school and healthy “goodbyes”.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3: 23-24 23

Y todo lo que hagáis, hacedlo de corazón, como para el Señor y no para los hombres, 24 sabiendo que del Señor recibiréis la recompensa de la herencia, porque a Cristo el Señor servís.

Colosenses 3: 23-24

Par tner with us God has been very clear that we cannot do anything alone. First we need Him, then we need His followers to help us. Without the Body of Christ behind us, we will never be effective ministers of God’s word. When someone partners with us, financially or through prayer, they are just as much a part of God’s work as we are.

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-or you can mail your tax deductible gift to:

www.themissionsociety.org/people/ goshorn

Our email/teejaygoshorn@yahoo.com

or www.goshornstepbystep.com

“The Mission Society” at PO Box 922637 Norcross Georgia 30010-2637 USA Designate gifts: “Goshorn Support 5/540” Skype: tim.jen.goshorn US Phone line (works wherever we have internet): 859-474-2494