Deaths
You'd think that living on a beautiful 25-acre farm bursting with potential would have us feeling elated and overflowing with vision, right? (Don't know the original story? Read it here.)
Well, not exactly. Have you ever felt like maybe you're just too late to the party? The cake is visibly eaten, the piñata remains have been discarded, and only a few talkative guests are still lingering over their quarter-cups of long-cold coffee.
That's what the last three years have sorta felt like:
Sept. 2019, Language School
Their website portrayed a vibrant school, alive in Jesus and full of happily connected staff and students. Maybe it had been that in the beginning. We're not sure how many months the house we lived in there had been vacant before our arrival, but the school seemed to be a shell of what it had once been. We are thankful for the training and the kind friends we met there! :)
Dec. 2019 - June 2020, Two Properties
We had looked and looked and looked for suitable properties to buy that would be adequate for our vision. With much prayer, we found two! But after much dreaming and hoping, we couldn't gather the financing before our sorrowed hearts saw them sold. And yet, the Lord was in it…
Mar. 2020, The Lockdown
As it did for the rest of the world, the pandemic halted daily life as we'd known it. As quickly as they had begun, our four oldest were ripped from their schools. It felt like the Costa Rica we had moved to only months earlier was suddenly stolen away.
July 2020, DeLynn Hoover (VidaNet founder)
Two weeks before the Lockdown, he and Gloria had graciously prepared an apartment for us to stay in (just "for a couple of weeks/months until we bought a property." Well, four months into our eventual twenty months there(!), we received unthinkable news - he died. Our most recent text exchange had been a conversation exploring a partnership with VidaNet. Indeed, the Lord did use our proximity to the staff there to carry us through one of the most challenging seasons of our lives …and theirs.
Jan. 2021, Clint Wisdom
After a month of fervently praying over Christmas for his healing, at age 51, he died from covid complications. We'd never met him, but he greatly impacted our circle of friends. Our oldest three have since been going to the youth group he started; his widow and daughter have bravely kept it going. However, the loss is keenly felt.
Aug. 2021, Monte De Dios
In 2019, just after language school ended, we discovered a dear church community in the area where we'd hoped to buy a property. A stark venue change, followed by a pastoral change, the abrupt firing of some sweet friends from church staff, AND the departure of all of our mutual connections, directly drained from us the hope of being a part of the church as we once knew it.
Sept. 2021, Godofredo Gonzales
If I (Dave) had looked for a more connected, talented, worshipful, and flat-out fun leader to help me begin worship coaching here, I would not have found a better match than Godo. We only knew each other for seven months before, at 54, he also died from covid complications.
Oct. 2021, Tico Small Group
We had begun hosting a small group of Costa Ricans from Monte de Dios, but the group fell apart due to relational complications regarding our recently fired friends.
Nov. 2021, Farm Owner’s Daughter
The farm owners had four children. When we met their thirdborn daughter, she had been battling cancer for five years. Last November, after months of praying for her and just a month after we began renovating the abandoned farmhouse, she died.
Sept. 2021 - July 2022, Farm Owners
At nearly 80 years old, they typically spend half the year on the farm and the other half in the US with family. So, after extending their northern stay due to their daughter’s passing, they returned, but their shorter stay was interrupted by a bout with covid and a quick return to the US for a family wedding. Then their second return followed an eye surgery which brought complications due to drug reactions. And shortly after that, the wife was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor. Praise the Lord, the tumor was successfully removed! She is presently undergoing chemotherapy. We are grieved that their time here and our opportunities to connect with them have been so limited. Still, we anticipate seeing them again after April 2023! :)
BUT GOD! He has carried us!
our devotional life, scripture, and missionary stories coming alive!
His Spirit, comforting, gently correcting, and inspiring with trust, understanding, and wisdom
the love of friends here
prayer times together within our family
closer family ties among us
visits from dear US family and friends
crazy cool nature sightings
observing our own individual growth
a trip back to the states as a family in May
financial gifts
ACTS youth group coming for ten days
the Veterinarian team we served here
Ad Lib Music's growth
new connections in Birri (where we now live)
inexpensive flower bouquets :)
music lessons for five of our kids!
Worship!
We believe we are here for such a time as this. We have responded to the LORD's invitation to move to this farm. As we wait for clarity of vision, we want to steward what He has placed into our hands - our faith, our bodies, our children, our friends, this home, the property, and the emerging opportunities and relationships we're building.
When we first put words to how we felt ("late to the party") and listed all the reasons that may have led us to feel this way, it permitted us to grieve and not feel bad for our lack of passion and drive, or not having "accomplished" more. And, oddly, it helps us move forward with hope. We can sit back and appreciate the Lord's careful, diligent handiwork in our lives; his training, refining, and perfect timing. We trust it gives you direction as you pray for us and God's work for us here.
Love,
Dave, Heather, Aspen, Clementine, Louis, Juliana, Huxley, and Caspian Helmuth
