A lot has happened since my last post! Sorry it's taken so long but we've been really busy.

On October 15-18 we had to leave the country because of our expiring visas. We went to an island in Panama called Bocas Del Toro. This place is definitely the most beautiful place I've ever been to. It was really hard to plan things and get things lined up so we went there with a lot of our plans up in the air. Once there, God worked out all the planning for us and everything went extremely smooth.

 When we arrived the first full day we were there we went and hung out at a retirement home. The living conditions there are very poor and the normal meal is a cup of coffee along with a hotdog bun. The people there were thrilled to have us there to share life stories with us and just have someone to hangout with. I had an hour and a half conversation with a man named Roy. He's 86 years old and was full of stories.

The next day we went to a little village and helped out with a school by playing with the little kids. We also had time of singing and dancing and sharing testimonies. There we made connections with some of the kids and the next day they came and played with us at the beach. This trip was a ton of fun and we were able to talk to and share the gospel with a bunch of people.

My ministry in Tirrasis is still going well and I'm able to get to know the kids a little better each week. Our english church plant The Gathering Place last week broke our old record and had over 180 people there. The church is continuing to grow and connections and growth is being seen.

Every Thursday night I'm apart of a group of people that goes into a poor city called La Carpio to teach english. Last week was our first time there and we had about 30 people come out to learn. I sit down with a group of three Costa Ricans and try to teach them how to learn our english language while making a friend along the way. I'm looking forward to this opportunity that I have there to further spread the love of Christ.

The students have been keeping busy which has been keeping me busy as well. I'm learning more each day down here about both myself and the God we serve.

Prayer Requests-

• growth of the students and staff
• financial support
• depth in relationships with the students and people within my ministries
• guidance for what God has for me next in life
• help for both me and the people that are trying to learn english in our classes

                             Continuing to make relationships in Tirrasis with the kids that come out

                       One of the GAP Students and I as we spent the weekend in a Tico house

 

                                                        Playing with the kids in Panama

                                Talking with my buddy Roy at the retirement home in Panama


Thank you to those who have supported me both financially and through prayer. I wouldn't be able to be here if it wasn't for you! If you would like to join in helping me minister to the students and Tico's down here in Costa Rica click here SCORE International.

Or give by mail:
SCORE International
Attn: Brandon Hoover
P.O. Box 9994
Chattanooga TN, 37412

A little over a month into my third year down here in Costa Rica and things are continuing to go really well.

This weekend will be the first trip that I'll lead a group to Guacimo. In this city we take a bus for about 2 hours to get there and we get to have a look into how Tico's live. Four students and I will sleep in a Costa Rican home, eat Costa Rican food, and serve in the local church that they have there. My first time ever visiting Costa Rica 3 years ago I went to this town of Guacimo and God used that experience to begin molding my heart for missions. A lot of the people here don't have a whole lot of anything but what really got to me was how happy they are with what little they have. Mama Maria (the house we stay at) has one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen. She lives with her three sons, her daughter and her 3 children but when we come they make room for us. I became really good friends with her son Carlos and am really looking forward to reconnecting with him while there.
We've been busy preparing our upcoming trip to Panama along with a ton of other things that fill up our weeks. On Tuesday at around 1AM we're hopping on a bus and leaving on the long journey to Panama. We'll be there from Tuesday and come home on Friday. Part of the reason for going is with our Visa's we can't be in Costa Rica for more than 90 days and with this trip it will break that up.

More importantly we found connections with a missionary family that lives in the town we're going and they hooked us up with a few places we can serve in our short trip over there. We'll have the opportunity to serve at a retirement home that has about 20 people living there in poor conditions. I'm hoping in our short stay while being there we can make relationships and have the opportunity to share the Word of God with them. Also while we're there there's an indigenous tribe that lives on the island and we're hoping to connect with their kids school and hang out with them as well.

Most of the pictures I post are from my ministry in Tirrases. There I've been continuing to build relationships with the kids in that area. It's definitely rewarding to see each Saturday morning we pull into the city the excitement the kids show to want to hangout and play with us. I think I'm getting pretty good at becoming a human jungle gym for them.

This past Sunday we had the biggest attendance at our english church plant Guadalupe Gathering Place. We had over 160 people there on Sunday. It's really neat seeing how the Lord's been working there drawing people in to hear the true gospel. Continue to pray that God will keep bringing out Costa Ricans and others out to our church and to be with our pastors and staff within as well.


Prayer Requests:

• continued growth in the students and staffs lives
• Guadalupe Gathering Place (our english church plant)
• our trip to Panama next week
• for the hearts of the students I work/live with everyday

                                             We had perfect weather for our first beach day

                                        Playing soccer is a huge part of our ministry in Tirrasis

Praying with the group of teen guys that come out

Thanks again to everyone that has been supporting me down here both in prayer and financially. If you feel led to want to financially partner with me you can click here. 

http://www.scoreintl.org/donate/gap-student/

I've never had a blog before but I figured that living in a foreign country is a good reason to start one. We are three weeks into my third year down here in Costa Rica serving in the GAP Year Program as a Student Life Director. My position this year is filled with all kinds of new responsibilities and with a lot of life on life connections with both Tico's (Costa Ricans) and GAP students.

The GAP Year Program is a nine month program where students from all over the States (and one Canadian this year) come down to Costa Rica with the focus on learning Spanish, having Bible classes, and getting involved in the local community. I was a GAP student two years ago, last year I was a GAP intern and this year I'm serving in the role of Student Life Director.

Each year being down here is different in many ways. Basically the students are the determining factor as to how the year is going to flow. We're only about three weeks in at this point but with the attitudes of the students it looks to be a promising year. Their desire to want to learn Spanish and their passion to serve should make for a good year.

My ministry this year is serving in a poor city Tirrases with 5 of our students. We're helping out a local missionary named Jairo while serving in Tirrasis. Each week about 40 kids come out and we hang out, play games, do life, and give a Bible lesson for them. These kids come from really rough backgrounds. A lot of their parents are involved with drugs or alcohol so our goal is to basically love on them and show them there's alternatives to that life style by portraying Jesus in our words and actions.

Prayer Requests:
- that God would break and mold the hearts of both the students down here along with the Costa Rican's
- building relationships with the local Tico's
- I'm starting a Spanish Small Group so I'm going to need prayer for grace with the language and for the hearts of people that will be coming out
-for the kids of Tirrases

Praises:
-God's opened up doors and helped me build relationships enough to lead both an english and spanish small group
-for the attitudes of the students so far
-for the growth of our english church that we have down here and the community within

                                                 GAP class of 2013-2014

                                       GAP Students that serve in Tirasses

                                         The full team that serves in Tirasses

Special Thanks to those of you that have financially supported me being down here. I wouldn't be able to be down here if it wasn't for you guys. If you feel led to want to give you can click here. http://www.scoreintl.org/donate/gap-student/