| Overholt Newsletter |
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When I first started to read the bible I was amazed at how many begats there were. Abraham
begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob and so on. I really wasn't even sure what a begat was but
knew they were important. I now understand the word to mean procreate, to regenerate, to
bring forth, or to conceive. From the beginning God's call to mankind was to
multiply. Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it...
In our missionary journey here in Costa Rica, Debbie and I are seeing that God is still in the
"begatting" or multiplying business. He has been, very graciously, leading us on a path of
multiplication. We can't take credit for it because, if it had been up to us, we would have
settled for less. We would have been content to settle in and pastor our first church plant in
La Isleta but the Lord has been unsettling us and challenging us to look beyond what we
have done in the past so that He can lead us into His
begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob and so on. I really wasn't even sure what a begat was but
knew they were important. I now understand the word to mean procreate, to regenerate, to
bring forth, or to conceive. From the beginning God's call to mankind was to
multiply. Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it...
In our missionary journey here in Costa Rica, Debbie and I are seeing that God is still in the
"begatting" or multiplying business. He has been, very graciously, leading us on a path of
multiplication. We can't take credit for it because, if it had been up to us, we would have
settled for less. We would have been content to settle in and pastor our first church plant in
La Isleta but the Lord has been unsettling us and challenging us to look beyond what we
have done in the past so that He can lead us into His
purposes for tomorrow. I never saw myself as a
church planter nor had the desire to do so until
moving to Costa Rica. Now I'm doing conferences
and teaching on church planting. Not only that but
there is this complusion on the inside to see other
churches embrace the reality that God is still calling
us to be fruitful and multiply. It almost feels like we
have stumbled upon a hidden truth that is so simple
and obvious and yet missing in the life of many
churches. We believe that a healthy church like a
healthy couple should be able to reproduce itself.
church planter nor had the desire to do so until
moving to Costa Rica. Now I'm doing conferences
and teaching on church planting. Not only that but
there is this complusion on the inside to see other
churches embrace the reality that God is still calling
us to be fruitful and multiply. It almost feels like we
have stumbled upon a hidden truth that is so simple
and obvious and yet missing in the life of many
churches. We believe that a healthy church like a
healthy couple should be able to reproduce itself.
Debbie's Corner
principles that we believe have been the basis for
any success.
To read more about some of the principles that we
have learned click here
any success.
To read more about some of the principles that we
have learned click here
Street Ministry
"Without Walls"
"Without Walls"
We certainly don't pretend to be
experts or to have all the
answers on church planting but
as the Lord has opened the
doors for us to establish five
new works over the past two
years, we have learned a few
experts or to have all the
answers on church planting but
as the Lord has opened the
doors for us to establish five
new works over the past two
years, we have learned a few
provinces - a more direct route instead of having to go over a
treacherous, narrow mountain pass with one lane each way.
Well that was closed down because of mud slides and so the
government is working furiously on that to try to improve
conditions and sheer up the mountainside. But despite all this
the people continue to rebound and are a hardy group, who
work hard and make do: many families living together and
pooling their resources.
Two weeks ago we travelled 7 hours in the car to a camp that
was being held in the eastern province of Limon. After passing
through pineapple plantations, crossing rivers, enduring
potholed roads and wondering if we were going in the right
direction we came upon a small community called Los Angeles
de Rio Jimenez- off and beyond the well travelled highways.
There Pastor Isidro and his wife Rosimeybi have been pastoring
the Foursquare Church for 4 years. They are a wonderful
couple, hospitable and with lots of vision and zeal for serving
the Lord. He hosted the weekend so that the pastors in this area
could come together for a weekend of teaching, encouragement
and vision casting. Many of these pastors were not able to
attend the national convention in January for various reasons so
this was an opportunity for them to come together and have
fellowship as well. John shared in two sessions on Sunday
morning on church planting and also Pastor Juan Carlos who
was with us shared and helped to pray for the pastors and
leaders. All this was under several huge canvas tarps that had
been erected to protect from the sun and the rain. It is exciting
to see the pastors and leaders desiring to expand beyond their
own communities and wanting to mobilize their churches.
After lunch we travelled back to San Jose where that night we
visited a new Foursquare church plant and John was happy to
be able to speak in English to the group gathered. The pastors
are Costa Rican but have a desire to reach the English
community in their area - so are having services in English once
a month. It was a joy to be able to meet with this group and hear
their vision and to see them jumping out of the boat and
trusting God.
Right now we are preparing for 3 teams coming in August and
getting accomodations ready and itinerary's set in place. As well
we are involved with the English church in the community here
and serving with some great people on the team there. So life is
busy but we have found some time to walk, read and explore.
Thanks again to everyone who supports Foursquare missions
and makes it possible for us to be here. We are in this together
and hopefully you feel that as you read the newsletter.
Some prayer requests would be for provision for the pastors
here and their families - many are truely living by faith and
trusting God for their daily needs. Pray that God would bless the
families in their churches with jobs and that they would grow in
their hunger for more of God. Also pray for more leaders to
come to pastor the new works that God is opening up. We ask
also for continued prayer for our own family - children and
grandchildren, brothers and sisters, parents too.
We invite you to come and visit and share in the ministry here.
You will be impacted.
treacherous, narrow mountain pass with one lane each way.
Well that was closed down because of mud slides and so the
government is working furiously on that to try to improve
conditions and sheer up the mountainside. But despite all this
the people continue to rebound and are a hardy group, who
work hard and make do: many families living together and
pooling their resources.
Two weeks ago we travelled 7 hours in the car to a camp that
was being held in the eastern province of Limon. After passing
through pineapple plantations, crossing rivers, enduring
potholed roads and wondering if we were going in the right
direction we came upon a small community called Los Angeles
de Rio Jimenez- off and beyond the well travelled highways.
There Pastor Isidro and his wife Rosimeybi have been pastoring
the Foursquare Church for 4 years. They are a wonderful
couple, hospitable and with lots of vision and zeal for serving
the Lord. He hosted the weekend so that the pastors in this area
could come together for a weekend of teaching, encouragement
and vision casting. Many of these pastors were not able to
attend the national convention in January for various reasons so
this was an opportunity for them to come together and have
fellowship as well. John shared in two sessions on Sunday
morning on church planting and also Pastor Juan Carlos who
was with us shared and helped to pray for the pastors and
leaders. All this was under several huge canvas tarps that had
been erected to protect from the sun and the rain. It is exciting
to see the pastors and leaders desiring to expand beyond their
own communities and wanting to mobilize their churches.
After lunch we travelled back to San Jose where that night we
visited a new Foursquare church plant and John was happy to
be able to speak in English to the group gathered. The pastors
are Costa Rican but have a desire to reach the English
community in their area - so are having services in English once
a month. It was a joy to be able to meet with this group and hear
their vision and to see them jumping out of the boat and
trusting God.
Right now we are preparing for 3 teams coming in August and
getting accomodations ready and itinerary's set in place. As well
we are involved with the English church in the community here
and serving with some great people on the team there. So life is
busy but we have found some time to walk, read and explore.
Thanks again to everyone who supports Foursquare missions
and makes it possible for us to be here. We are in this together
and hopefully you feel that as you read the newsletter.
Some prayer requests would be for provision for the pastors
here and their families - many are truely living by faith and
trusting God for their daily needs. Pray that God would bless the
families in their churches with jobs and that they would grow in
their hunger for more of God. Also pray for more leaders to
come to pastor the new works that God is opening up. We ask
also for continued prayer for our own family - children and
grandchildren, brothers and sisters, parents too.
We invite you to come and visit and share in the ministry here.
You will be impacted.
Watch the video
| La Isleta church in Filadelfia |
| Multiplication |
| Church at Martina Bustos in Liberia |
| La Guinea church |
| Las Lomas church in Playas del Coco |
| Church at Paraiso |
Recently we had an opportunity to visit Nicaragua,
the country north of us. We live about an hour and a
half from the border. Our purpose was to explore
opportunities for taking future teams into the
country. I'm so thankful for Juan Zepeda, one of our
assistant pastors, who is from Nicaragua and so was
able to guide us along the way. For me the biggest
ordeal was simply trying to cross the border. I
couldn't believe the amount of documents and fees
and maze of stations we needed to hunt down just
get the van across, but after two hours we made it
through. I discovered that the border crossing was
one of those wonderful cultural experiences that
helped me to recognize more of my need for
patience and to learn to enjoy the journey.
We met some wonderful people such as the
president of the Nicaraguan Foursquare churches,
Dagoberto Carrion and his wife Magdelena (shown
below). They welcomed us with open arms and
introduced us to many of the other church leaders in
the area.
the country north of us. We live about an hour and a
half from the border. Our purpose was to explore
opportunities for taking future teams into the
country. I'm so thankful for Juan Zepeda, one of our
assistant pastors, who is from Nicaragua and so was
able to guide us along the way. For me the biggest
ordeal was simply trying to cross the border. I
couldn't believe the amount of documents and fees
and maze of stations we needed to hunt down just
get the van across, but after two hours we made it
through. I discovered that the border crossing was
one of those wonderful cultural experiences that
helped me to recognize more of my need for
patience and to learn to enjoy the journey.
We met some wonderful people such as the
president of the Nicaraguan Foursquare churches,
Dagoberto Carrion and his wife Magdelena (shown
below). They welcomed us with open arms and
introduced us to many of the other church leaders in
the area.
Newsletter May 2010
Click here
Click here
We discovered that they have a great place to house teams when they come. There is one
building which has a dining room and full size kitchen and then three other buildings for
sleeping quarters. They even have a fully functioning school bus to use.
building which has a dining room and full size kitchen and then three other buildings for
sleeping quarters. They even have a fully functioning school bus to use.
Pastor Dagoberto and I have already made plans for us to come back in November with a
team of Costa Rican church members. We will be doing two leadership seminars and
partnering with some of the local pastors to help them hopefully plant a new church. Our
desire in all of this is to establish a Nicaragua/Costa Rica connection where teams from
Nicaragua can come to work with us as well.
team of Costa Rican church members. We will be doing two leadership seminars and
partnering with some of the local pastors to help them hopefully plant a new church. Our
desire in all of this is to establish a Nicaragua/Costa Rica connection where teams from
Nicaragua can come to work with us as well.
| Pastor Juan Zepeda our guide |
| Lots of horse and buggies |
| Nicaragua |
| Pastor Dagoberta Carrion |
Hola from sunny, warm and rainy
Costa Rica. Yes, we are in the rainy
season: six months of it. There
have been many homes flooded
and families lives uprooted from
the rains, bridges have been
destroyed and roads washed out.
A new highway was built and
opened last year to connect San
Jose the capital with the western
Costa Rica. Yes, we are in the rainy
season: six months of it. There
have been many homes flooded
and families lives uprooted from
the rains, bridges have been
destroyed and roads washed out.
A new highway was built and
opened last year to connect San
Jose the capital with the western
| Debbie and I with Dagoberto and Magdelena |
| Our team: Juan & Sandra Zepeda, Jose & Fabiana (mission directors for the Costa Rican national foursquare church, and Debbie and myself |
| Typical Nicaraguan taxi |
| Are their big bugs in Costa Rica? |
| Windmills in Nicaragua |
| Arroz con parakeet! |