Renfro Ramblings

Christmas time is here and so is the hot and sunny weather. The seasons in Chile are reversed so Christmas falls during the summer time. Instead of drinking hot chocolate by the fire people grab their beach gear for a long day at the beach. Instead of getting sweaters, scarfs, and gloves for Christmas, people get surfboards, beach towels and flip flops! The summer time also means the end of the school year. Students face finals and turning in projects to finish of the year. For those that finish high school December is a crucial month because they take the PSU a very important nation wide test that determines which university or institution they qualify for. For many their future depends on this test. Many of the students we are working with had to take the PSU so we were able to encourage and pray for them. To make things more interesting they find out their results 3 days before Christmas. HO HO HO Merry Christmas! The summer time will also be a busy time for us as we gear up to star

WE ARE FINALLY IN CHILE!!!!!  And can't express the gratitude we feel for all the prayers and support of everyone who have helped us get here. THANK YOU! It has been quite a busy 2 months, as we left Costa Rica and transitioned to life in Chile. The Lord has opened door after door and we are in awe at the way He has prepared the way for us to begin university ministry. The need is huge here with over 15 universities in the cities of La Serena and Coquimbo of which we live in between. We can not do this alone and the Lord has already put key people along the way who He will use to make this possible. But we can not do this without the church. We are grateful for El Puente, the church we attend and has opened its doors to help with this pioneering work. We can't do this without the body. Pastor's Marcelo and Carolina are amazing people who we are privileged to serve alongside. El Puente is home to several university students who we have focused on spending time with. They hav

A week ago several youth destroyed a university building and surrounding businesses and homes. They were infuriated after they weren't allowed into a concert that could not fit in anymore people. They began to throw bricks and rocks at the buildings as a protest. The area looked like a war zone. Every time we drove by it, since its on our way home, I began too feel such a heavy burden for the youth that participated. I felt like the Lord was reminding me that these youth are living without a purpose and that He desires for them to know Him! it also makes me think about the passion that these youth have to live for something or to give their life over to a cause. In this case they gave into vandalism and destruction. But what if they invested that passion into walking with God. They would do the unimaginable to share His love with the world! This also reminds me that there is so much work to do and students through out Latin America are searching for a purpose in life. The Lord is c

It has been 6 months since we arrived in Costa Rica. In a little more than a month we will graduate from CINCEL and make the big move to Chile. It has been a fruitful and purposeful time and aside from Spanish grammar, the Lord has taught us so much and blessed us with amazing opportunities. Back in April Josh had the privelidge of traveling   to the southern zone of Costa Rica to meet the pastor of an indigenous group called the Bri Bri. The village was pretty far into the woods, so much so that the only way to get there was on a boat used to transport bananas. Needless to say it was quite a trip!       I was also blessed when Faith, my bestfriend's parents flew me to India to be in her wedding! It was an unforgetable experience and an honor to witness the marriage of Faith and her new husband. They will remain in India as they embark in a life of ministry.  One of our major tasks for language school is a research project pertaining to the Costa Rican culture.  I have chosen to r

We've been in Costa Rica for almost 3 months. We finally feel pretty adapted and pretty blessed with the opportunity to be here. It's amazing how living in a different country makes you think a lot about your identity and values. God is teaching us so much about people and culture! We wanted to take the time and share a little about our lives here. Costa Rica is a country of 4 million people, which is equivalent to the city of Houston! And 1 million of them live in the the province of San Jose, where the capital is and where we live. It is a pretty advanced country and we have almost everything we need. In some cases not what we are use too, but hey it works. Something that we've had to adapt to is not having a car. So buses have become our common mean of transportation. I've really grown to enjoy it because we are exposed to people daily and through it I have learned a lot about patience. Having a car you can get in, drive to, get out, do what you have to do and head b

Our biggest task in Costa Rica is to attend school everyday. One of my favorite parts about this is the people we are privileged to be surrounded by more than 25 hours a week. Our class is mainly made up of people who have a grasp of the language and can speak Spanish pretty well. One special couple in the class is Don and Jacqui Cartledge (center) who have been missionaries to Chile for 25 years! The reason they are in our class is that next year they will be the school's new directors and they are wanting to experience what being a student at Cincel is like. God's timing is good! They have been a huge blessing as they have been able to offer so much insight and wisdom on being a missionaries to Chile. We can't thank God enough for this privilege! Something else the Lord has taught us is the value of being in language school. We have realized that even though we can speak Spanish, learning the correct way is so crucial to ministering to a culture. In our case we will be wo

Our goodbyes have been said and our trust has been place in the Lords hands. Now we begin a new season of our lives! We are finally settled here in the beautiful country of Costa Rica where we will learn and perfect the heavenly language of Spanish. We feel such awe and gratitude as we think of all the people that are obediently giving and praying for our ministry to the university students in the country of Chile. After being here exactly one month we still at times stop and think "I can't believe we are here!" Its been a long year as we spent our time raising a budget to get to the field. Our new season involves advanced grammar, translation, interpretation, and Latin American Literature. Sounds like a lot but we have realized how much of a blessing this will be as it will prepare us for our future in Chile.  Josh and I have gotten in tune with the culture and started shopping at the "feria" Saturday mornings. Here people come buy and barter fruits and vegeta