We are growing!

We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.

Psalm 78:4

Class picture with the Vanden Bosches!

(we have three more students since this picture!)

This morning I am praising God for the two new preschool students that started class today!

We are up to 13!

We have already seen how our small school is making a difference in the lives of our students and in the community. Emily came up with the idea to raise funds for Haiti. Vielka wants to recycle and save the earth. Ryan wants to be a professional soccer player. Through an exceptional education, we hope to throw open the doors of opportunity for our students, allowing them to dream big dreams and helping them get there.

Furthermore, we love asking the question: What if the most well educated students in Quepos are the ones who are brought up being taught Biblical truths, treating others with Christ-like love, and seeing their opportunity to be a bridge, sharing Christ’s love to the world? It is our prayer that through the love, encouragement, and education offered at El Puente, God will bring up students who will be catalysts for change in the Quepos community.

When I came to Costa Rica three years ago, a small group of women met every week to pray for the community of Quepos. On our heart and in our prayers continually were our friends who lived and worked at the beach- a place where drugs are prevalent and people are transient. Last week, we enrolled two new preschoolers- both children who grew up on the beach because their parents are street vendors there. We are blessing God for the opportunity to invest in these kids, hoping that God will use them to bring change and sing His praises in that broken community!

We also know that the kids see a difference in the education that they are receiving at El Puente. At the beginning of the year, Alisson, a second grader, sat in her chair, beaming. “I love science at this school!” she said proudly, “because we do experiments, and at my old school we just filled out worksheets!” Our desire is to see kids learning to hypothesize, experiment, analyze, and think for themselves, and she noted the difference!

More importantly, however, we see the eternal significance of the work we are doing at El Puente. During a Bible class a few months ago, the class was learning about Jesus and his disciples. While reflecting on the story as a class, Alisson, stood up and said to her teacher and fellow classmates “I want to follow Jesus too!”

Keep praying that God will use us to accomplish HIS will in our lives, in the lives of our students, and in the community of Quepos!