Troubling Thoughts

The past couple of weeks have been eventful.  We now have another trip to Panama to renew our visas under our belts.  We have gone through the preparations, church services, and fun times of Christmas in a different culture, and we have been keeping up with our current responsibilities at the youth center.  But for this blog post I'm not going to tell tales of life in Costa Rica.  I'm not going to share stories of brand new experiences or strange circumstances.

     As a matter of fact I have been putting this post off.  (You may have noticed that it's been longer than normal between blogs.)  The reason for this is that lately when I read The Word of God I have been finding disturbing things.  Things that keep me awake at night.  Things that are difficult to write or talk about, but things that I feel like I am supposed to share here.

    So, I'm going to share some troubling thoughts, but I share them as one who is on this journey and not as one who has already arrived.  I share them as a true friend is supposed to share things with those he cares about.

“On judgement day many will say to me, ‘Lord!  Lord!  We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you.  Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’  

Mt. 7:22 - 23

 I guess I always skimmed over this before and assumed that this described separating sheep from goats.  However, now that I give this some consideration I see more and more that this is a separating of sheep from those who THINK that they are sheep!  

      This is terrifying!  No unbeliever I know would claim to have cast out demons, or performed miracles, or prophesied in God’s name.  Does this imply that we may be sitting next to people in church that are not known by God?  Does this mean that we need to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling?  Are we to examine our relationship with God and encourage other Christians to do the same?

      Just when I thought this was one of the scariest things I had ever read, I came across a parable later in Matthew...  I want to type this all out for you as you may not have a Bible handy whey you read this and I want you to read what I read for yourself!  

“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.  When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

At midnight they were all roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming!  Come out and meet him!’

All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps.  Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’

But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us.  Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’

But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came.  Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.  Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord!  Lord!  Open the door for us!’

But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’”       Mt. 25:1 - 12

It seems like the same group of people, are again in this story, being turned away from a reward they thought they would receive.  These are people that did what they could to prepare for the marriage feast, they went out and waited with lamps burning, and when they saw they didn’t have enough oil they did what they could to keep their lights from going out.  But, the door was locked...  And they were told that they were not known by the bridegroom. 

They were too late!  They were left in the dark!  And this is where the story ends.   

So, what just happened?  Why didn’t Jesus tell a story where 9 out of 10 made it or even 80%?  In Mt. 7, Jesus uses the word many!  I don’t know about you but 50% really leaves a person with a sick feeling inside!

If these are all people that think that they are saved, what is the difference between the two groups?  What is the oil?  It seems to me that there is only one correct answer.  What is the one thing that a follower of Christ could not share with someone to help save their souls in their hour of need?  What is something that is an external source of power that we get to carry with us wherever we go?  What can be used by a follower of Christ to bring light to the darkness and to our path?  

I don't think the answer is a thing at all but a Who!  The Holy Spirit is the only possible solution!  He is the difference between those who do the right things in their own strength, but run out and burn out, and those who seem to have an extra power source.  He is the difference between the lives of those doing “good things” for God, and those being led to right things in and through the power of God.  He is the difference!

No amount of wearing yourself out for God will impress in the end.  He wants to know us!  Is it possible that the God of all creation really would not know (on an intellectual level) those who were turned away?  A friend pointed out that this word is the same one used in other places in the Bible to explain the intimate knowing between a husband and a wife.  HE WANTS TO KNOW US!  Do we allow Him to?  Do we place our relationship with Him in this type of a category?

There is nothing wrong with walking the isle and repeating a prayer after a salvation message, but I don’t see it mentioned in the Bible.  I do see that God calls us to repent and be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.  I don’t know about you but I want to be drenched in The Holy Spirit!  Not because I fear hell (and I do) but because I want to live a life totally surrendered to His control and with His power!  I know it won’t be an easy road, but I choose The Comforter over any other comfort, and know that His ways are always better than the world’s.

This is a truth that I feel God has led me to in the past couple of weeks and I can’t shake the feeling that I am supposed to share it.  I hope that this post does not come across in any way other than a letter of encouragement from one friend to another.

In the midst of this busy season and New Year’s resolutions I’ve been challenged to take another look at my relationship with The Comforter.   I hope you will be too!  

        Please check out the column on the side for our family's prayer requests and please keep praying!  In addition to these, we are learning of some huge opportunities and praying that God will use us in these areas in His time. (We'll share more as we are able to.) 

    
        Happy New Year!
         The Ridderings

 P.S.  If you want to support our ministry, the easiest way to do it is via www.WorldOutreach.org/donations -  you can select Aaron and Faith Riddering from the list under the donate tab.  You can also set up automatic monthly gifts with your credit card if you choose the "Monthly" option.  Or, simply mail your check to:  World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate for Aaron & Faith Riddering #239 

Mama said there'd be days like this!

      Doesn't it look like Bella is having "one of those days" in the picture at the top of this page?  Life is hard sometimes!  (Life is real hard when you are 2 and have to take family pictures without having taken a proper nap!)

 We've had a few rough days this last couple weeks.  Not rough in ways that would tempt us to question God or run screaming into the jungle, but life has been harder than usual lately.  A very dear friend lost a spouse and we grieve with that friend and wish we could be close by.  We spent Thanksgiving without family and won’t see them for Christmas either.  Our truck continues to provide us with opportunities to work on our patience as we realize that another repair is needed when we are hours from home.  Then there is the upcoming surgery of a family member, the unexpected bill, the strained relationship, the sick child that stays up all night, the problem at the lawyers office, the strange sore on my face that doesn’t seem to heal, and the mold that is starting to take over our luggage! 

I hope it doesn’t sound like I am complaining.  I know I have much to be thankful for.  I’m just saying that those days “your mama warned you about” do stack up on you sometimes.  

        Where would a person be if this life was all they had to live for?

“....And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.”  

1 Peter 3:15b

    

     “And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”   

1 Corintinans 15:19

The word “hope” in our day and age seems to have become pretty anemic.  People say things like, “I sure hope we aren’t having rice and beans again tonight!”, or “I hope that stain comes out of my favorite T-shirt!”.  It’s statements like these that minimize hope to something little more than wishing upon a star.  But, the way I read it, hope is supposed to be a driving force in our lives.  When we read the above verses our minds no longer jump to the greatness that was implied by the writers.  (At least mine doesn’t.  I guess I shouldn’t blame my problems on you...) 

I was re-reading my last blog when I noticed that I said that, “With joy I look forward to each leg of the journey and not just the destination!”  I stand by this and think that joy can be found in all hard circumstances if you view it from God’s eternal perspective.  However, if we focus solely on the journey and the “here and now”, we do so at the expense of not spending any time looking forward to our hope.  When was the last time that you and I spent a few minutes daydreaming about heaven and longing for our prize?   

I read a book called “The Slumber of Christianity” by Ted Dekker a while back.  In it he shared this interesting point:  Marathon runners look forward to, and enjoy, the little cup of water that they get from those little card table water stations that are set up along their route.  If you watch a marathon you’ll see the runners grabbing a cup and taking a quick drink or even pouring the water on themselves to cool down.  Those little cups of water are something to look forward to for a dry and thirsty runner. 

Now imagine for a minute that only a mile from the finish line the runners stopped running and started congregating around the table drinking water and swapping stories.  We move in closer only to find that they are talking about how amazing the water is and how nice the well placed table is.  Now imagine that they start setting up tents and talking about how they want to stay right there next to the table for the rest of their lives so that they can enjoy what has been provided...

This illustration is laughable, but isn’t that what we sometimes do?  We enjoy the good things that God has blessed us with here on this earth, and that is the way it is supposed to be.  But, the good things we enjoy here are only tastes or glimpses of what is to come.  The good things God provides are supposed to make us long for the day when our hope becomes sight, but sometimes we enjoy those little cups of water so much that we start camping out where we are.  We begin to look to those cups of water to bring us joy rather than to looking at our goal.  We sometimes forget about finishing the race that we started.  We know that when we finish the race we are promised eternal rewards that vastly outweigh anything that we experience here, but we tell ourselves that the water table isn’t too bad either, and we forget our prize!   

As followers of Christ we get to find joy in the “now” as God’s Kingdom invades earth in and through us, but we must not fail to look forward to the day when our hope becomes sight and we leave our earthly bodies.  

       Hope makes the bad days bearable!  It can turn a terrible circumstance into an opportunity.  The hope we have in Christ can help us find joy in our sufferings, (and the Bible says that persecution and suffering for his sake are part of the deal).  Our hope knocks the teeth out of death!   And when death looses it’s sting in our lives, no one and nothing can stop you or talk you out of following Christ wherever he leads.  (After all, what’s the worst case senario?  Death and heaven?!)

“Faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest of these is love.”          1 Corinthians 13:13

Sure, hope comes after love in the list, but my point is that hope definitely makes the list! of the "big three"!  Love will always be.   Love will be what goes on in heaven for all of eternity and is the greatest command for our lives here on earth, but hope and faith help us in our daily lives to focus on heaven and what really matters!   So, as it turns out, hope is a very powerful tool in the life of a follower of Jesus!  Maybe we all need to spend more time with our hearts and minds on the future we are promised?  Maybe we need to dwell on heaven every day?  Maybe we need more thoughts of heaven during those days that more closely resemble hell? 

       Since writing the last blog we traveled to San Vito and had a great time visiting with our missionary friends Bart, Heather, and Eden.  Bart, Kaleb, and I got to work on the school project and spend some time "camping" out in the Indian village, and meanwhile the ladies/girls got to spend some quality time in the "big city". 
  

       Yesterday, we got to spend the day with the orphans from five different orphanages!  Usually we only get to spend time with the kids from one orphanage on any given day as we work through the rotation, but for the Christmas party they all come together and we spend most of a day having a "Gran Fiesta"!  We get to eat together, play together, have water fights, sing songs, give gifts, and pass out lots of hugs!  To say that this was a highlight for our family is a big understatement! 

Fun times at a Christmas party!

Around 65 of our friends without families.

        I continue to enjoy my times at Centro de Vita (the youth center).  I have been working with some of the leaders there and the kids to get a calendar put together with some mission activities as well as some fun things too.  We are trying to get some classes going as well in the new year to expand their horizons.

       Our Spanish classes are going pretty well!  Lately we have been doing three classes a week and spending 2-3 hours in each class.  Our teacher is a great Tica friend who is helping us so much!  I know there are times when we have "glazed over" looks on our faces, but it is encouraging when we hear a Spanish conversation and understand all that is being said!

       We would appreciate your continued prayer as we are facing some big decisions!  One request in particular is wisdom in what we should do with Faith's dad's upcoming heart surgery.  Please pray for him in this time, and also that we would have wisdom in deciding if and how Faith can make a trip to be with him.

       We love and miss you all, and pray that this Christmas season is one full of hope!

                                                                                                                   The Ridderings

P.S.  If you want to support our ministry, the easiest way to do it is via www.WorldOutreach.org/donations -  you can select Aaron and Faith Riddering from the list under the donate tab.  You can also set up automatic monthly gifts with your credit card if you choose the "Monthly" option.  Or, simply mail your check to:  World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate for Aaron & Faith Riddering #239    

An Easy Yoke (and a little puke)

This past week I got to spend some time in a Guymai Indian village with a team on a mission trip and my friend Bart who is a missionary there.   Along with many other things, Bart and his wife Heather are in the process of helping build a school in one of the villages so that the children do not have to go long distances by foot to the next village for school.  Working on the school was the focus of the week as well as a VBS program and we all had a great time! 

A photo of the village we were in.

I got to help in some construction and be part of what was going on that week but not until after I took a journey....

   We ended up having some sickness in our family at the start of the week so we could not all go as planned.  I was, however, able to go alone midweek.  Since I needed to leave our truck for my family, my trip consisted of a long bus ride, a car ride, and a late night (pitch black) hike in the mud through the jungle.

As my journey started out I found myself again talking with God about what his intentions are for my family and me.  (I guess I would feel more comfortable if I could see the whole picture.)  Although he has shown us many things to be doing and involved in, I was wondering if I am DOING enough.  

In the past I was able to look at my list at the end of a given day and decide if I had been “successful” in that day.  Did I get enough done today?  I used to ask myself this question, but I could compare myself to other people in construction and/or insurance adjusting and see how I measured up.  This business of trying to give each day to God and allow him to have his way with me is a new experience for me.  Although I would highly recommend it to anyone, it has been difficult to know if I am measuring up.

On that bus God brought a couple verses to mind that I had read several weeks before.  I had really been struck by the verses when I read them,  but on that bus ride I began to see something totally new and different!  (Isn’t God’s Word amazing in that it truly is a living thing and is somehow new each day?)  

“Now may the God of peace - who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood - may he equip you with all you need for doing his will.  May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him.  All glory to him forever and ever!  Amen.”   Heb. 13:20 & 21

These words blow me away with the greatness of God!  This benediction brings so much comfort and freedom!  Did you see it there?  I had to read it several times before I realized that God is using the same power that raised Jesus from the dead to equip me with all I need so that I can do what he wills!  It says, “May HE produce in you...”!  He is the one producing the things in my life that please him!  He is and will be actively involved in every good thing that I will ever do!  The responsibility rests on him as long as I am willing to follow!

No pressure here....  No wonder Jesus invites us to share his yoke and states that it is light.  He is going to equip us to do, and then produce in us, the good things that are pleasing to him!  Does it get better than that?  Is there a more freeing benediction?  

I see now that my walk with Christ is a little like the trip I took to visit the Indian village.  (I’m sure this analogy breaks down at many points, but just try to follow the main idea.)  I had no idea how to get there on my own.  I didn’t even know what to expect once I got off the bus.  I needed only to buy my ticket and get on.  Once on board I did not question the driver to see if he had done this before, I just trusted.    

Stepping off the bus in the dark, I was still miles from where I needed to be but I was told that there would be a car with two guys to pick me up...  Again I trusted, and sure enough they pulled up minutes after I got there.  It was not just any 2 guys that picked me up either.  I met two brothers in Christ who had stories to tell all the way to where their car could go no further.  (One was even very familiar with my tiny “hometown” in Colorado!)  Then we got out of the car in pitch darkness and began to hike in the mud on trails and over old suspension bridges and found our way to the village one step at a time.

To top it all off, (sometimes God has to “drive home” points with me as I miss some things that are painfully obvious) when I walked into the building that the group was in I found them having a sharing time.  Several of those sharing spoke on how we need only to be willing for God to have his way in our lives and we don’t have to have everything all figured out!  He wants to take us along for the ride but does not want us to forget who the driver is.  

Please keep in mind that I was not told, nor did I expect, that the journey would be without difficulty or be the most direct route to the destination.  It’s good I wasn’t told that every aspect of the trip would be lovely as five minutes into the bus ride the child in the seat next to mine threw up everywhere!  Puke splattered all over my leg, feet and bag and the smell the rest of the way was incredible!  And, there were many unscheduled stops between the start and end of my trip.  

Jesus does not promise that the journey will be without it’s problems.  As a matter of fact he tells us in many ways to buckle up!   It seems that the whole New Testament is filled with warnings about what to expect if you follow in Jesus’ footsteps and live a Spirit directed life!  You don't get into a yoke without knowing that there will be hard work and even pain involved, but the difference is that when we share a yoke with Jesus he will be as close as our next breath and he promises to never leave or forsake!

Along the way I could have been stressed about different parts of the journey, but I trusted the drivers, I trusted Bart, and I trusted my God to do what I could not.  It’s fun to be at ease on a journey!   And God calls us to live life in this way! He calls us to trust him to equip us!  Then he promises to produce every good thing that he wants to do in and through us by his all sufficient, never ending, indescribable power!  

What’s not to love about this offer that God makes every day of our lives?!  My trip to the village was a cool adventure and I learned to trust the one giving directions even more than I did before.  I know that where God calls, I can go with confidence!  Whether he calls me to adventure, solitude, suffering, or joy (or most likely a combination of these) I can have peace knowing that he will provide all I need for doing his will and then produce in me all the good that he wants to do through me!  I get to be like a kid whose daddy calls him to follow along on a grand adventure!  With joy I look forward to each leg of the journey and not just the destination!  

   I pray that each of you can find comfort in this verse knowing that the pressure to plan the course, provide what is needed, and work in us is on God's shoulders.  I pray we can all find peace in that.   I also pray that you all find a challenge in this verse to continue on or get on that "bus" and let him choose the path!  

Happy Thanksgiving!  This is the Costa Rican version of a turkey.

   Again, thank you for all your prayers!  Here are a few updates on some prayer requests.  We have had some health issues since the last blog and ask that you continue to pray for health for our family as our bodies adjust to this new climate and culture.  Please continue to pray that God directs us in the everyday things like future housing, additional vision, and physical and spiritual provision.  Please also pray for the families in our area as we are seeing a spiritual attack on the family unit here.  Finally, we are going back to the Indian reservation this coming week to help finish the school and any long trip is an unknown in a developing country with a (almost) 30 year old vehicle.

                                                                                                                    Your Friends,
                                                                                                                  The Ridderings

      

P.S.  We are very greateful to all of you that have felt lead to support us!  We are at about 60% of what our expenses are here and are amazed by that after not doing any fund raising before we came!  If you want to support our ministry, the easiest way to do it is via www.WorldOutreach.org/donations -  you can select Aaron and Faith Riddering from the list under the donate tab.  You can also set up automatic monthly gifts with your credit card if you choose the "Monthly" option.  Or, simply mail your check to:  World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate for Aaron & Faith Riddering #239         

Investing in the Relationship

  I’ve been praying for something for years.  I’ve prayed many times and never felt that God was answering my prayer.  My prayer was for something very good.  I couldn’t imagine God not wanting to give me what I was praying for.  I’m not gonna lie, there have been times that I have felt frustrated by what seemed like God's silence regarding my prayer!

Do you ever read the Bible and then put it down and look around wondering why things seemed different back then?  I have!  Why does the relationship that the disciples had with God seem so much different that what we see today?  I long for things in the "here and now" to look more like what I read in God's word, so I asked myself what's the difference and why aren't things like that? I looked at my own life and wondered if there was something wrong or if something needed to change, but never really got to the bottom of it.  

Stay with me here because I’m going down a little rabbit trail. 

A wise man once told me that after getting married I should keep doing the things that I had done to win my bride in the first place.  One of those things was buying flowers.  As a man I feel that dollars spent on something already dead and guaranteed to wilt and be thrown away is a waste of money.  But, because I was given that advise, I still do it.  Not as much as I should, but I do it.  I have found that sometimes I do it for her, and sometimes I do it for me.

What I mean by that is that most times things are great and I just want to do something special for her.  Then there are other times...  During those times I have found that when I “invest” in my wife, I can feel my heart turning toward her.  My heart follows where I put my investment. 

So, back to the point.  

  My prayer for all those years was simply this.  “Lord, I love you.  I want to want more of you.  Please help me to love you more!”

Now don’t get me wrong, this is a prayer that I would highly recommend!  But, after years of praying it, I felt the same as when I had first started.  I loved God before, but I wanted to love him more and couldn’t in my own strength.  I believe that God calls us to repentance in the first place and then, because of our sinful nature, has to help us even to love him.  The thing that didn’t hit me until recently was that I needed to “invest” more in the relationship for my sake.  

It was a couple of weeks ago that I started looking around at the circumstances of my life.  We have no plan B.  We haven’t sold everything, but we have much less than we did a year ago.  I don’t think God calls everyone to sell things as part of the process, but are we willing if he does?

God called us to “invest” in our relationship and now I realize that he has answered my prayer!  More than ever I find myself looking forward to my times with God!  When I read The Word it seems to be more alive than ever before!  I am depending on him like never before.  God has helped me to love him more!  

But...

I think that before God helped me to love him more, he helped me to “invest” in our relationship.  Taking this step in the process has turned my heart more toward him.  Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that I DID anything to deserve answered prayer, but he helped me through the process. 

The cool part about loving God is that it’s never enough!  He answered my prayer, but I’m still praying the same thing today.  I pray that my Heavenly Father will take me through this process again and again.  I hope that at the end of my life, my love for him will be something that I can’t even imagine now!  

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field.  In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.”                Matt. 13:44

Did you see the word excitement in that verse?  Other translations use the word joy.  Relationship with God is the treasure and spending eternity with him is worth selling “everything” in this life to get!  We get to find joy in our relationship with God and can be excited for the next time he calls us to “sacrifice” earthly things in exchange for more treasure!

My prayer for each of you reading this is that you would know the joy of investing in your relationship with the God of the universe!  In what ways is he calling you to "invest" in your relationship with him?  Will you do it?  There is joy in it!  I pray that he takes you through the process again and again and that you find yourselves closer to him but longing to be closer still! 

  We find ourselves more and more connected to the people that God has placed in our lives here in Costa Rica.  We've found a great new church home and we get to meet new "family" each week.  One of our concerns for moving down here was uprooting our kids one more time.  We knew that finding new friends can sometimes be hard, so we prayed about this quite a bit before we left.  Not only have our kids found some great friends, but Faith and I have found new friends as well as friends that we had here before!

That's right we now have no more need for diapers (during the day)!!
If you can't see in the photo, we bribe our kids with chocolate!

  Times at the Centro de Vida (the youth center) have been really good.  I've really started to enjoy and look forward to times there with my Monday night buddies as well as times spent hanging out with the youth group on Friday nights.  Our pastor here has asked that I become the director of Centro de Vida and after praying about it for a time we felt a real peace in it.  I will now be starting to schedule activities as well as looking for those willing to teach english, computer, music, and other types of classes as part of the outreach of the center.  Please pray for wisdom and that God will bring the right people in the right times to fill needs.  It is in filling these needs that we hope to have opportunities for sharing Jesus with our community!

Crazy times at Centro de Vida!

  We continue to go into the orphanages every other Friday and love it!  Some of the kids are starting to remember our faces and when you see them smiling it makes the long drive totally worth while!  Please pray for these lives!  Please also pray that we can show them the love of their Heavenly Father.

  

Craft time with our friends at the orphanage.

   Thank you so much for your support of our ministry here!  So many of you have added us to your prayer lists and are praying for us every day!  Prayer is the thing that makes the impossible possible in our lives!  Please keep praying for us and let us know if there are ways we can be in prayer for you!  Thank you also to all of you who are partnering with us financially!  You have brought grateful tears to our eyes!

                                                                                       We love and miss y'all!,
                                                                                           The Ridderings


P.S.  We are working on our budget and have found that we are around 60%.  For those of you who feel led to donate to our ministry please visit www.WorldOutreach.org/donations -  you can select Aaron and Faith Riddering from the list under the donate tab.  Or, simply mail your check to:  World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate it for Aaron & Faith Riddering #239. 

Flat Tire in a Border Town

     “You fathers - if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?  Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion?  Of course not!  So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”    Luke 11:11-13

 

Do you remember going places as a child with your parents?  My parents would tell me when it was time to go, they would help me get into the car, and they would drive me to places that I may or may not know.  Sometimes we did things that were exciting and fun and other times we did everyday things or even painful things (like getting a shot).  Bottom line was that I was along for the ride and my loving parent was in charge.  Knowing these things was enough for me to trust and even look forward to these journeys. 

Fast forward a bit. 

A week and a half ago I found myself sitting on a curb watching my front tire as it was going flat.  My family and I were checked out of Costa Rica but had not yet checked into Panama. (Where does that actually leave a person?)  I was watching my tire going flat because I had locked my keys in the car!  That’s right, now you’re starting to get the picture of how our day was going....

A requirement of staying in Costa Rica, without being a resident, is to leave the country every 90 days.  That is why we were on the border between two Central American countries.  This was our first trip to Panama, so before starting our trip we had lots of things to think about and some concerns as everyone that we talked to had a different story about what to expect and what is required. 

We prayed about the upcoming trip and placed it in God’s hands and we felt God’s peace come over us and our situation.

So, back to our predicament.

It was at that point, with the tire going flat and the keys locked in the car, that the old me would have wanted to scream and then fix things in my own power.  I would have stressed out and worried because, after all, it was up to me.   Right?  

Lately, though I have felt like that little child who is being led around by his loving parent.  Sure, it was my fault that the keys were locked in the car, and it was a bit rattling to be in that situation, but holding the hand of my big loving Heavenly Father helped me have a different perspective.  So, I sat there sweating, but with a smile on my face because I was anticipating what God would do next as I waited for a guy to come and unlock our car.

                                                                                          

  In the end the guy was able to unlock the door with enough air still in the tire to limp over to the tire store.  Once at the tire place we found a better deal on tires than we could have gotten in our town and were able to replace our very bald tires for about 50% of what it would have cost in Uvita.  We also got checked out of Costa Rica and into Panama, and out of Panama and into Costa Rica in less time than we had anticipated!  

As a father I have four little people that trust me to provide and watch over them.  When they put their hands in mine and want to go with me even when they don’t know where I am going, there is nothing that I wouldn’t do for them.  They trust and love me even though I sometimes have no idea what I am doing or where we are going.  How much more can our hearts be at peace with the God of the universe living in us and guiding our steps?  After all he already showed us that he loved us so much that he would die for us....  

Our God is good!  He is worthy of our trust, praise, and devotion!  He lacks nothing, and he is our everything, and it is our Abba (Daddy).  He is ready and willing to lead us, and if we ask, he will send the Comforter to dwell in us and give us true peace!  Will we let him? 

Here are some other ways that we can see/feel God’s loving hand working and directing our lives. 

Our family has been able to get on more of a schedule for going into the orphanages.  During these time we get to play games and eat with the kids as well as hear a Bible story.  It is so cool to have begun a relationship with some of these kids!  I know my face lights up when I see them and just remembering their names really makes them smile!  We don’t know yet what part these times with the orphans will play in our ministry here in Costa Rica, but it’s hard to drive away unaffected by our friends there! 

Game time at the orphanage!

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you”  James 1:27

Smiles all around!

For a couple weeks now I have gotten to go several times a week to Centro de Vida (Center of Life) and start hanging out with kids.  Monday nights are a time to play games and start relationships and Friday nights are a time with some Bible teaching.  I am really enjoying getting to know some of the kids even though I don’t know a lot of Spanish yet.  Please pray that the Holy Spirit would begin working in these lives to draw them toward repentance and a relationship with him!  

We had a week and a half between our first rental and the house that we are now moved into.  During that time we didn’t know where we would live.  God provided a place to stay through some great friends here that were going to be in the States during that same time frame!  Not only did we have a place to stay but this amazing house has an ocean view and a pool!  We are now moved into our new rental and the cool breeze is worth all the work of moving twice!

Finally, we have been humbled by some very generous financial gifts that have come this past month!  I was carrying in some groceries last week and it hit me how blessed we are.  I stood there with bags in hand and tears in my eyes!  We have been blessed by some of you, and we thank you for your faithfulness!  While not yet at 100% of what we need each month, we feel very blessed to serve a God that is our provider! 

We miss you all!   

      The Riddering Family

PS. Here's a link for those of you that would like to support our ministry here in Costa Rica -  www.WorldOutreach.org/donations -  you can select Aaron and Faith Riddering from the list under the donate tab.  You can also set up automatic monthly Gifts with your credit card if you choose the "Monthly" option.  Or, simply mail your check to:  World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate for Aaron & Faith Riddering #239. THANK YOU to those of you who have donated already and for those of you that are praying for us!

Holy Insanity

“Let no one deceive himself.  If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.”

1 Cor. 3:18&19a

A couple weeks ago a missionary friend of ours needed a place to stay for a night.  While we were talking he called Faith and I “crazy” several times as we told him our story.  Once we had him up to speed on our adventure and all the unknowns he said something like; “If crazy is like hot sauce, then I’m catsup crazy.  You guys are like that hot sauce that burns your lips, your mouth, and your throat, and then burns other parts of your body the next day!”  

I think that the reason for this comment was the fact that he was heading back home after several months and we are here with our family and have no plan B.  (I am pretty sure he meant this as a compliment.  At least that’s the way I’m choosing to take it....) 

“Crazy!”  A word, or rather an idea, that pops up more and more in conversations that I have with others when talking about our decisions as of late.  (I think they must mean crazy in the good way....  Right?)  There are nights that, after waking up at 3:17 in the morning to get Bella a drink, I can’t go back to sleep because part of me knows that we really are crazy!   

I am, however, finding that being “crazy” really does have some great advantages!  Since making the decision to follow where God was leading us and moving to Costa Rica, it has become hard to have “normal” conversations.  It has become difficult to talk with someone for more than 5 minutes without being asked something like; “This is a really large garage sale!  What are y’all doing?”, or “Why do you need so many suitcases?”, or “What do you need this storage unit for?”, or even “What brings you to Coast Rica?”.  It’s after questions like this that I get a big grin on my face and get to tell people (because they asked) about how God has been leading our family.  I get an opportunity to share about God’s hand in our particular circumstances! 

It has been amazing for me to have a part of my life that doesn’t make sense.  It’s almost like God brings opportunities to make much of him when we have those parts of our lives that seem crazy to others, exposed in our lives.  These insane parts of our lives are a cause for questions, they become conversation changers, and they are a gift from God!  After all, how much fun is it to have a predictable ordinary conversation?

I guess I’ve said all this to say that as followers of Christ we should all have “crazy” parts of our lives that do not make sense to this world.  Christ is working in us and his ways are higher than our ways, so there will be opportunities to share Jesus when people ask why we do the things we do.  We should not hide those parts of our lives but instead put them on display for the world to see and wonder....

“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!  But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.  For the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and discard the intelligence of the intelligent .”

1 Cor. 1:18&19

We have gotten more of a sense of the direction that our family’s ministry is heading lately.  This has really been cool to be a part of and our days are really starting to fill up.  (I now have to check my schedule before committing to any upcoming project/event...)  

After lots of prayer and seeking God’s will, Faith and I were getting a feel for the direction God was leading us.  Then we got to spend an evening talking with our pastor and his wife after they returned from the States.  We asked about needs and vision they have for the church here, and received some confirmation in seeing that some of the direction we had, lines up with needs at this time!

I got to go into the local high school with a group from our church!
(That's right, there are no walls on this part of the school!)

So, I am going to start helping with a youth center that is an arm of our church.  Our pastor has a large vision for Centro de Vida as a place for teens to come and hear about God’s love.  Right now that takes place in a casual game room setting, but the hope is to get to where the casual relationships turn into a situation where we can pour God’s love into them through teaching, relationships, and discipleship.  In addition they hope to have music, art, computer, and english classes scheduled so that many people in the community have a physical reason to be in the church, and then stay for spiritual reasons.  I am excited to partner in this way as youth ministry has been part of my background!

 There are other new areas/needs that we can help with, some of which are still being thought/prayed about at this point. We are really excited, and hope to share some additional info in coming blogs!

Thank you for your prayers!  We know you have been lifting us in prayer as we have felt it and seen answers to prayer in the last couple of weeks!  Bella’s rash has gotten quite a bit better!  Please continue to pray for our family’s health as we get used to a new country and new bugs!  Please also continue to pray that we pick up the language quickly as ministry will be so much easier when we have a working knowledge of the language!

Some fun games to break the ice...

We also found a house that we can move into on October 1st!  Not only is this house a 3 bedroom (very hard to find here), but it is closer to our church and stores.  It is also close to a river and is several hundred feet above sea level so we’ll get some cool breeze and keep our air conditioning cost to a minimum.  The house also has a place to park our car out of the sun and rain.  We feel blessed to be making this transition soon!

Finally, please pray for God’s provision in our situation.  We have been so blessed to receive support from some of you.  It is hard to put into words how grateful we are and how each gift has been an answer to prayer.  However, we have had to take a significant portion of our monthly expenses out of our savings each month so far.  For those of you that would like to support our ministry here in Costa Rica please go to -  www.WorldOutreach.org/donations .  Just select Aaron and Faith Riddering from the list under the donate tab and follow the instructions.

 

    Your Friends,

      The Ridderings