Learning to trust

The past week has been rough. Definitely not one of my favorite weeks since living here. BUT, can I just say how good our God is?!?

For almost 2 weeks, both girls have been sick. It started with a cough, then runny nose, then worse (croup-sounding) cough. Two Fridays ago, we took them to our Pediatrician here, Dr. Cordero. From the beginning she has been a blessing to us - she is up to date on the U.S. medical standards, she speaks English, she is very patient with us, etc. Anyway, on that Friday, she checked both girls and said that Olivia had something viral and to give her some medicine to help with the congestion. She said Ava looked "perfect".

So we went and got the medicine, and began taking it as prescribed immediately. A day or so later, Ava seemed to be getting worse again. Olivia did not seem to improve much, and she started running a low-grade fever.

All week I have been up at the church painting a mural for the childrens' classrooms... so Jeremy was here with the sick girls by himself. On Thursday, he called that afternoon to say that Olivia was upset and complaining about her ear hurting. When I came home a little later, I walked in the door to her screaming and saying her ear was hurting really bad.

Now I realize that this doesn't sound that bad. BUT, if you know Olivia at all, she typically does not tell us when she's sick... the last time she had an ear infection, we didn't know and by the time we took her to be checked (because she wasn't sleeping) it was very bad.

So I called Dr. Cordero's cell phone and asked her what I could get for her to help. Ibuprofen was not working. She told me some other pain medicine to try and told us to come in at 8:30 the next morning for her to look at the girls again. Olivia eventually calmed down and went to sleep.

The next morning we went to her office, and she checked both girls. Olivia did have an ear infection, and Ava had a DOUBLE ear infection! She gave us some antibiotics (from her cabinet) and told us an antihistimine to get to try and dry up the fluid before we fly this week.

At the end of the visit, she told us there was no charge! 


She gave us medicine for free, did not charge us for the visit, and told me to call her cell with any questions.

As we were on our way to the second appointment, Jeremy and I were discussing how we were going to pay for it - they usually run about $80 per child - and we ended the conversation by saying, "God will provide."

And He always, always does. In His perfect way.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matt. 6:25-27

Meeting Needs

February was a busy month for us. We started the month off with a visit from Heather's parents and by moving in to a different house. We dropped Heather's parents off at the airport and proceeded directly to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua for our mandatory 90 day exit from Costa Rica. When we returned we had a team geared up and ready to build one of our most challenging homes to date for a sweet and needy family. Alex, Rebbecca and their 4 children received their new home 7 days later.

In the middle of the build, the team took a free day on Valentine's day and we tagged along to have a special day together as a family. On this day God choose to sell our truck after 3 long months. Praise God!!!!!!!! We were definitely feeling the love of our Father in Heaven as we soaked in the beauty of His creation and came home to find our truck sold on Valentine's day.

Just one day after the team building Alex and Rebecca's house left, another team arrived ready to build a house for another needy family of five. Eduardo, Carmine, Carlyn, Allison, and Henry were all living in very poor conditions. Their home was built from scrap materials and was the equivalent of a shed that no one would want to even put their lawn mower in back home. This team of 4 married couples worked hard to build this family a new home. On the 3rd day of the build, one of the team members received a call from the states informing him that his home had burned down. Here they were in Costa Rica, building a home for a needy family, and their home burned down in the midst of it. To top it all off, he is a retired fire fighter.

Production slowed down dramatically this day as we all mourned for this family. The locals were offering to go to the United Stated to rebuild Gary and Mary Lynn's house that had burnt down. I was very moved by the genuine heartache our Tico friends felt for this couple they had only known for a couple of days. Our local friends did not understand how insurance works in the U.S. and were deeply disturbed that this couple had lost everything. We had to explain to them that they would be able to rebuild, but it would be a lengthy, strenuous, and emotional process.

We prayed over Gary and Mary Lynn that night at church and they naturally cut their stay short and flew home the next morning. When Gary left, he wanted to give 2 of our construction staff members a gift to show his love for them and the deep bond that they had began to share. Gary was limited on time, so he took 2 shirts out of his suitcase and left them for us to give to Victor and Mauricio. Upon receiving their shirts they understood fully what this man had just done. Gary had given these 2 guys that he had only known for a few days, 2 of the only shirts he had left. All the clothes he had left were in his suitcase. These guys took the shirts home and put them up somewhere to treasure them and to remember Gary and Mary Lynn.

The house build went on full speed ahead after the family's departure and we finished the house on the 5th day of the build. As we were finishing the home on the last day (Friday), Pastor Minor, one of our part time 6:8 Ministries Staff members, went to talk to the family. Pastor Minor came back about 1 1/2 hours later to inform me that Eduardo, his mother Aurora, and his father Javier, had all prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Praise God!!!!! What a good way to finish up a home build and dedicate it to the glory of God! We dedicated the house and the team just couldn't walk away without buying them some new furniture for the home as well. It was a great home build.

This was the best home build yet this year on many different fronts. Now this family has a secure home with indoor plumbing and electricity. The team left the next day and we entered in to a week long break between teams. In this time we have been shopping for a car and getting caught up on some administrative duties. We begin another home build on March 6th with one team, and 2 other teams will be here doing other ministry as well.

Please click on the Expenses page to read about our residency and monthly needs. We are grateful for the unique relationships we have with each one of you. We truly miss you all very much.

with love in Christ,
Jeremy, Heather, Olivia and Ava Hicks

New Year, New Digs

We have sincerely been trying to work on an update to send out to everyone, but with Jeremy working with 3 construction teams back-to-back, his free time has been very little. I only say that to let you know that he is working on a specific update to email out this week. I look forward to being able to share more with you about the families who have received homes this year. God is truly doing amazing work here in CR, and we are so thrilled that He is allowing us to be a tiny part of it!

Thanks to the help of some good friends at home (in Jacksonville), we were finally able to sell the Durango!! Praise the Lord! We had no clue how long it would take to sell, but we are so thankful that it did - and happy that it has a new home with someone who needed it. We still have not purchased a vehicle here, but Jeremy has been on the hunt for one that's safe and in our price-range. Please pray that he will find the best car for our family. We appreciate your prayers about all of this.

Last month, we moved into a different home in the same neighborhood. We are now only 5 doors away from people we know - another prayer answered! It is such a blessing to have friends within walking distance. And honestly, another thing I am so excited about is our neighbors. We were never able to get to know our neighbors at the old house, because they never seemed to be home at the same time we were. At the new house, we have already been able to meet and talk to several neighbors. This is so exciting to me, since most of my time is spent here at home with the girls.

Our immediate neighbor to the left is actually our landlord's sister. And she speaks English. This has been a HUGE help to us in getting to know our landlord. Our neighbor's name is Maria. She and her husband do not have any children, but her Mother lives with them. I don't know for sure, but she appears to be about the same age as us. Her sister Nathalia, has a daughter named Camilla that is 5 years old. She comes over to play with her Grandmother quite often, so she and Olivia have been able to play together a few times. It is always interesting to me how kids can communicate without speaking the same language.

Would you please pray with me that God will continue to allow me opportunities to build a friendship with Maria? She told me that she enjoys speaking with me, because it's her only chance to practice English. She also told me yesterday that her family is Catholic, and most of her family lives about 20 minutes away. She is definitely interested in why we're here, and what exactly we are doing. Pray that we will be able to share our faith with her.

We are hoping to begin our Spanish classes in the next week or so. Please be praying that this will happen, and that God will continue to provide for the expense of language school. We are looking forward to the day when we can speak fluently with people and not need an interpreter.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Be on the lookout for an email this week with more details about the past month. [h]

Generosity

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38


Thank you for praying and giving - we are seeing how God is answering your prayers on a daily basis. We now have an update about our support, and it has been so good to see how God is working in that area. He never ceases to amaze us - and we are humbled by the people who have given so generously!

We are preparing our first family "newsletter", for lack of a better term, so that we can update everyone on where we are in the process. If you have been reading this blog, then you have a pretty good idea of what has been going on, however, let me know if you want to be added to our mailing list.

It's amazing to think about how your giving is going to help so many people in Alajuelita - allowing 6:8 Missionaries to share the gospel with them, help meet their physical needs, and show the love of Christ. Even though God doesn't need us to do His work, he allows us to join Him and witness just how powerful, loving and merciful He is. Oh, how He loves us!!

This weekend Jeremy and I will celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. It's fun to look back at how God has grown and stretched us as individuals, and now as a family, to get us to this point. When we look to the future, it's unclear how it will play out, but if you look at the past it is always so clear how God was at work. Even in the things that didn't make sense or feel good at the time - we can see how the hand of God was there, leading us. It is the same for every child of God. He is always at work around us!

What? A $10,000 car for a missionary?

Yep, you said it. We could easily spend 1ok on a car in Costa Rica. I know what your thinking, why do they need such a good car for missions work? Well, we believe that driving a car that's more of a status symbol will draw more people to Christ because they'll think that we're cooler and they'll want to spend more time with us which will allow us to lead them to Jesus. Are you buying it? NO!!! Wrong answer!!!

The truth is that cars in Costa Rica can be 2-3 times as expensive as the cars in the US. My 2000 Nissan Sentre SE model is going for about $2500-$3000 here in the states. In Costa Rica the same car goes for about $9000. Yep. Pretty drastic huh? That's what I say.

Our plan is to take the money we get from the sell of both of our vehicles and to apply a little more so that we can get a decent used vehicle (used in Costa Rica is like 2000 or older) that will be of use to both our family and the ministry. One of our friends there bought a 1995 Toyota 4Runner 4x4 for around $8500 which was probably a pretty good deal.

Check it out for yourself @ www.crautos.com

Can't we just ship our cars down there, you ask? Sure. for about $800. So why not do that? The taxes are between 70%-80% of the blue book value of the car. Well, your car would still end up being cheaper than $9000. Why don't you just take it? Well, the taxes are on their blue book value, not ours. So if my car is worth $9000 in Costa Rica the taxes would be around $6300 at 70% (which is probably not the rate I would get) + the shipping fees of around $800 totaling about $7100 dollars for a vehicle that's not even going to be practicle for our work and family.

We can add a little money and get what will be most effective and practicle for our living situatuion. It will still be as used and as old as our cars are now, just a lot more expensive. But we'll also get more for it when we sell it as the cars there seem to hold their value longer.

One thing that we have to consider is the strength of the vehicle as we will be hauling people and luggage and supplies around quite often in a very mountainous area. Another is whether or not it's a big seller in their economy so that we can sell it when it comes time to do so. Another is whether they have the parts available down there to fix it if it breaks down as it will be an older vehicle. There are not many american made cars there that sell well and are inexpensive to have worked on.

Any other questions?