The Reason We're Here

The Lord has blessed us here in Costa Rica. Our family has the honors of being a part of a Bible Study with some nationals here! What a blessing! This is Pascual and Jasmina's home. They have 2 little girls, Jasmine & Sarita. Pray for salvation and for others in the area to join with us in this time of studying the Bible together. Pray that the truth will shine through and that the Bible Studies going on here will remain active. GOD IS GOOD!

Supper Time!

September 29, 2008 5:30 pm CR time

Since you cannot join us for dinner, this one is for the family & friends that are missing the calm Gillen children. They are really excited about this meal they are eating. This is a typical evening with Kylie, Brooklin and Jacob.

Mastering the Language

This is a video of Anthony and Jacob practicing their Spanish. Listen how well Jacob pronounces the words. It is amazing! We have been working hard at the language. At Jacob's school they ONLY speak Spanish-no English. He probably knows more than we do!

We made it to Costa Rica!

Here is a video to go along with the pics above of the kids on the plane to Costa Rica.

God blessed our travels to and through the airports. We finally made it to our home in San Jose' at around 11:30 pm on July 24th. We are one hour earlier than Central Standard time (that is until the time change).

Costa Rica

We have Internet access now! We are planning to keep our blog a little more up-to-date! We will be posting some pictures of our time at Nanna & Pappa's house. Then you will get to see more pictures (but prettier) like the one below here in San Jose', Costa Rica!

Believe it or not, I could not find any other pictures for our blog at this time! This was taken in down town San Jose' right after our trip to the zoo (on Saturday, Aug. 9th). There came a torrential down pour but the girls couldn't resist holding this sweet lady's hand for a pic. We are really enjoying it here.

Fun at the Farm

The kids are having a blast at Momo and Poppy's house. They have been playing with their pony "Magic." We are leaving St.James on Sunday the 13th and headed to Nanna & Pappa's house! We will fly out to Costa Rica on July 24th. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!


The goats are behind...wondering when Brooklin and Kylie will ever pet them?!?



Brooklin is so good with Magic.




Jacob is feeling left out, but will have hardly nothing to do with the horses up-close!

You can tell that Kylie is loving this!

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

Bible-storying

Most missionaries are going to places where the people are illiterate. In the United States we usually don't think about this much because we are one of the top literate countries in the world. While here at our orientation, we are learning to "story" or share the gospel/Bible orally and with pictures. Some of the art work below is an example of storying with pictures.

Brooklin drew a picture of the man that fell asleep in the window.

An eagle sculpture by Brooklin.

In awe of His wonders

"I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth." Genesis 9:13ff

Sunday Night Cultural Worship.

This is the beautiful rainbow that God gave us last Sunday after our outdoor African Worship Service. I wish the picture could capture the true beauty. God is really at work here at FPO. I am in awe of His wonders.

First day of school

This is Kylie and Brooklin's first day of school. They have absolutely LOVED it. So far they have went on a field trip to the IMB office building, Maymont Park, and they make all kinds of really fun crafts.

Here we are at ILC in VA! This is Kylie, Brooklin and Jacob unpacking on our first day. They all share a room, but it's pretty spacious. The girls have bunk beds and Jacob has been sleeping in a big boy bed!

A Spiritual Challenge

"THEY ARE NOT JUST IDLE WORDS FOR YOU-THEY ARE YOUR LIFE. BY THEM YOU WILL LIVE LONG IN THE LAND YOU ARE CROSSING THE JORDAN TO POSSESS." DEUTERONOMY 32:47
We are challenged here at our Missionary training to be in the Word daily. This doesn't mean a 5 to 10 minute devotion. This means at least 1 to 3 hours of Bible Study and Prayer. Maybe you are too busy to do this? Then I ask you, what makes you the one exception to the above scripture? I challenge you to get up earlier everyday this week and experience God at a deeper more intimate level. Allow His Word to be your life. God is waiting for this time with you. Set your alarm at least 30 minutes earlier this week and I PROMISE (better yet, God promises) you will not regret it.
"Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." John 12:24
Be willing to die to yourself and give-up a little time. Your life and lives of others will be changed for eternity. This is not asking too much on an eternal scale.

Our Journey to FPO

We have made it to FPO in Virginia but we want to share a few pics of the journey to get here. This is Jacob above with his new rain coat and just some of the 15+ bags that we have packed for VA &/or Costa Rica. We managed to fit all of the luggage that we needed, and thank goodness the kids, into the Suburban for our long drive to Richmond.



Here is Brooklin and Kylie! All three Gillen kids were excellent on the way out. Momo had packed goody/activity backpacks FULL of fun. They stayed entertained and even had good attitudes the whole way here. We stopped at a couple of hotels and even went swimming once. The kids love it here and I will have more to share later. Be praying for our family as we are under some serious transition with schedules and of course unfamiliar surroundings!

Our Vision Trip to the DR

This is Keith Wagner (IMB Missionary) with a Pastor & his son-in-law. The Pastor did the baptisms this day and the son-in-law lead the worship.

Here are the 10 people that were baptized.

We have lots of wonderful pics from our Santo Domingo trip, but these are a few of my favorites. It has taken a while to get internet access, so thanks for your patience! These pictures in particular are at a Church plant up in the mountains. Anthony & I got to see 10 people baptized and 1 guy come to know Christ! It was TRULY amazing. Milagro is the lady in white (w/ black skirt) and she became dear to my heart. We found the Dominicans to be very warm and welcoming.

Getting Ready ...

Well, I wanted to post a last note before we leave for our short trip to the Dominican Republic. We are all ready to go and VERY excited, but there is one small problem. I am sick today. I have a small fever with a TERRIBLY soar throat. Thankfully, the doctor's office worked me in for some meds to make me all better. But, we all know who the great physician is...God Himself. I have to admit I was a little discouraged to find myself sick this morning, but then I received an email from someone:

"Friends, as you go about your day, remember that our Lord knows what it holds. The Bible says He walks with us through everything--that He goes before us, follows us, and places His hand of blessing upon our heads."

I know that whatever you face today God already knows about it. I challenge you to read Psalm 139...Only God!

Our Cute Girls

This is just a fun pic of our girls with some of their dear friends. I had to post this b/c they are all so CUTE. The park had very few people on this gorgeous day, so we rode rides until we were sick.

Whooooh!

Well, I'm a little out of breath after this past week and weekend. We have moved most of our furniture out of the house. We also visited Northbridge Baptist Church in Springfield, MO on Sunday. The kids also got to visit with Nanna & Pappa for the weekend. Our days have become very exciting, but I cannot lie, they have also brought somewhat of a heavy heart for me. I am realizing that I will soon leave family, friends, and yes, furniture behind. We have TWO Sundays left at our home church in STJ, MO.

Pray for Anthony and I as we venture on a short trip to Santo Domingo to visit with our fellow missionary friends there. We will actually meet them for the first time and they will give us the tour of the city, office, our apartment that we'll be living in, etc... We want to be safe, of course, but also accomplish whatever the Lord has for us there for that week. Pray for our children while we are away. They will be staying with Momo & Poppy and Nanna & Pappa and Ninni! I'm sure they'll have a blast!

Thanks again for visiting our blog. And thanks for your prayers!!!

The Flag of the Dominican Republic

The Flag

of the Dominican Republic

Blog?!?

I've spent the last couple of weeks learning how to post pics on the web and what the heck is a BLOG anyway?!? So, I've come a long way. Thanks for taking time to check-in on the Gillen Fam.

Prayer Requests

We are very excited about learning Spanish in Costa Rica. Before we go, there are a few prayer requests that we have. Please pray for:

• Our house to sell right away.
• Peace in our hearts as we go.
• Assimilation into the culture(s).
• A continued passion for the lost.
• Finally, pray that we'll learn the language!

Your prayers are GREATLY appreciated. The purpose of this blog is to keep you informed and to build a prayer support team for us and the Dominicans. So, THANKS!

God is the Creator

God is the Creator.

God is all around you. Take time today to notice God and praise Him for his creation.