Patience and Persevering

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. James 5: 7, 8

Hello everyone,
We hope all is well with you and your families. I am so excited to write this update to you because of all the new things the Lord has been doing here. As some of you already know Chelly’s sister and husband, Darwin, have come to join the work here in Costa Rica! Annie arrived here in the first part of July and later her husband joined her in the first part of September. They came from Peru after helping another church plant there. It has been awesome to have Darwin and Annie here to help with the “tilling of the ground.” Darwin has a huge heart to evangelize (not just a heart but a gift), and Annie has been playing worship for the church. We cannot fully express the joy that we have by having them here! Also while they have been here Darwin and Annie have had their first baby! They had a little girl named Mery Angelica Torres on the 18th of September.
It is so nice to have family close by.
Here are a few great things that have happened in the last few months:
• Joel, the 16 yr old that I have been teaching, is doing great and continuing to grow closer to his Savior. Right now he is learning how to study the Bible the Inductively. He loves it and is learning a lot in Scripture. He has also been going out on his own to share his faith, even when I am not around!
• 2 weeks ago we started Sunday morning services!! We are going through Genesis right now and will continue to move through the Old Testament unless the Lord gives us another direction He wants to go.
• We have a new couple that has been joining us for the last few weeks. Please be praying for these two, they have a long way to go in their marriage.
• Soña and Carlos are doing great! They just had a new granddaughter this last week. Their other daughter, Yenri, is getting married in January.
• We are almost done going through Acts in our Wednesday studies, only three more chapters and then on to Romans. It has been great to see Soña, Carlos, Yendri, and Camila grow in their faith and understanding about the beginning of the church.
We are so excited to see what the Lord is going to be doing in the next few months! We have 4 guys coming down from the States to help us for a whole year; we are super excited about this! We think that the next year is going to explode with fruit. We are so excited and can’t wait to see what the Lord has for the people here.
Some things that you can be praying for:
• Darwin, Joel and I are going to be going into town weekly to share Jesus with the people. We really need prayer that the Holy Spirit over flow us for this work.
• Darwin and I would like to get a men’s study going on Tuesday nights. We plan on renting a synthetic, indoor field to play soccer on. We want to have a 45-60 min study with the guys before we play.
• In January, with the help of the 4 guys coming down, we hope to get a youth group going on Friday nights. Pray for the youth here, Darwin and Annie were walking in the park one evening observing the youth. They watched as many of the youth smoked pot and crack. These kids have nothing to do here in the night or on the weekends.
• That Annie and Darwin will get their Costa Rican Residency.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for praying for us. Please don’t forget your call where you are and be encouraged to continue on in the strength of the Lord.
In our Savior,
Schockey Family

Slow Moving and Challenging

Hello Friends and Family,
We hope that this update finds you seeking diligently after the Lord. We really miss all of you and hope that someday the Lord makes it possible to see you again.
Well the last 3 ½ months have been long and challenging for us here in Costa Rica. We started off on a high note in May with a marriage retreat in the northern part of the country.
We had a great 3 days with our missionary friends from around the country. Pastor Rob Salvato, from Calvary Chapel Vista, was able to come down and bless us with his teaching. It was a great time of fellowship for our whole family. The rest of May was pretty slow going. We were able to talk to a few new people in town, but we are still waiting to see fruit. Sometimes it takes a while before the people make a choice to come back and talk with us. Near the end of May we did have our old house cleaner, Jennifer, come back to talk with us after not seeing her for a few months. She had come back to tell us that she was sick of living the way she was, and that she wanted to make some big changes. She had a new guy in her life that also wanted to see her change. So we shared with her that she needed to stop walking on the fence, and get down (die to self) so she could walk in Christ full time. It was a great time getting to share with her and later her new boyfriend. It seemed like everything was going to be much better in her life. However, 3 weeks later we got a call from her boyfriend that she was in the hospital from an overdose. A few days later we found out she was doing better, and then when we tried to call a few days after that her phone was disconnected. We have been to her old apartment and work, but no one knows where she is. Please be praying that we can find her again and that she is ok.
In June we had quite a few people come down to spend time with us. At the end of May and beginning of June Chelly’s family came down for 10 days to have some fun with the grandkids.
We had a great time with them and can’t wait to see them again. Also Alex, the boyfriend of Yendri, came down from the States to see his future wife and hang out with us for a little bit. Alex brought a friend named Shawn down with him. While Shawn was here we were able to share Christ with him; please be praying that he will make the decision soon. We also were able to see our Pastor and his wife for a couple of days. It was great to see Pastor Dave and get to talk to him about the things going on here. It was also nice to have him be a part of the study we have on Tuesday night.
The studies on Tuesdays have been great! We look forward to what the Lord is going to do each Tuesday. We are still going though Acts with the people the Lord has brought here. This next Tuesday we will be going through Acts 15. Please be praying for this next study because once again we will be talking about the law vs. grace. This has been a hard topic for some of those that have been coming. Some of the people in the study believe that we can be saved by/through the law, and that in our own power we can fulfill it. It is so sad to see people still trying to be saved by their works when it clearly says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” Eph. 2:8, 9 (also Titus 3:4-7; Rom. 3:21-26). Also I will be bringing up a touchy topic here in Costa Rica. Last week the main Catholic Bishop set up a “Holy Door” in the city of Cartago, which can forgive your sins. All the people have to do is go to Cartago, walk through this “Holy Door,” and then pray before a holy rock that looks like Mary and all their sins are forgiven. Please pray that the people will not think that I am attacking them, but that their eyes would be opened to the lies.
We plan on trying to get the Sunday serves going again soon. We are going to see if having the serves in the evening will bring people in. Please be praying that we are doing what the Lord would have us do. We believe that soon we are going to have a big increase in the church. We have been tilling the ground and planting seeds for a year and a half now. Please be praying that this is the time when many will turn their lives to Jesus. We have new help now and more coming in September to help with this increase. Chelly’s sister Annie is here with us now and later in September her husband, Darwin, will be joining us. Annie has been working in Peru for the last 5 years, and her husband is has grown up in Peru and has been working with Calvary for 6 or more years. So we will have a worship leader and an evangelist fluent in Spanish joining the work here! We are so excited to have this kind of help and family. Darwin and Annie plan on having their first child here in CR. Please be praying that Darwin will be able to make it to his child’s birth in September and that he will be able to stay here. It is hard for Peruvians to enter CR and then stay here as residents. The new baby will make it possible for him and Annie to stay here just like we did, but the whole in-between time is what we need prayer for.
I, Curtis, had the chance to go join my parents on a short term mission trip to Managua, Nicaragua during the first part of this month. We went with some brothers and sisters from the Methodist church to hold a 2 day teaching seminar for the Methodist pastors of Nicaragua. I have been on many short term mission trips in my life, but this one topped the list. We first went up to the northern part of the country, Estelí, to see a pastor and a project called Febretto. Febretto is an after school teaching program trying to teach kids so that they have a better living.
Nicaragua is a hard place to live, it is very poor. Everybody was telling me that it is the second poorest country in the Americas next to Haiti. The second part of the trip we went back to the capital, Managua, to teach the pastors. The first day my parents and others on the team taught how to study the Bible inductively. The pastors sucked it up and were very excited to use the tools they had been given. The next day my parents and others from the team taught the pastors through some lessons in the book “Self-Confrontation.” A great book used to disciple people through the Scriptures with no outside doctrine or denomination. When we were ready to leave we encouraged them to continue in the faith. One of the pastors asked what we were going to do with this new baby we had just adopted. They wanted to know if we would be back to feed them more from the Scriptures. This made it really hard to leave them. Please pray that the Lord would protect them from men’s traditions and keep them focused on His word.
One last thing before I end this update; we ask that you all please pray for our children. As some of you remember in December and January Chelly and I were being attacked in our marriage, well now the enemy is after our children. The last few months have been very challenging for us in dealing with our kids. Our two older children have become very strong liars. By strong I mean that they are unwilling to change. The lies have been horrible causing the teacher of our oldest to think that we abuse our children. We had to have a meeting with her to clear all the lies up. Everything is fine right now with the teacher, but I just caught our oldest in another lie this morning which she was planning on telling the teacher. So please pray that we would know how to deal with this problem, and pray that our witness would not be destroyed by these lies.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this update, sorry it is long. Also thank you so much for keeping our family and this ministry in your prayers. We love you guys and pray for you often.

In our Savior,
Curtis, Chelly, and girls

The Last 4 Months in Short

To those continuing in the faith of our Lord Jesus, and to those who we pray will someday receive the grace that comes through faith,
It has been quite a while since we have updated you on the work going on here in Costa Rica, sorry. Within these last few months it has seemed that some of the original people that we began to minister to have been coming back into our lives. As some of you may remember in some of our first updates we were getting frustrated because we would give council from the Word of God, and the people would be really excited to hear God speaking to them through the scriptures. However, we would only see them 2 or 3 times and then they would vanish. Well in these last few months some of them have returned for council! Two of the people have hit low points and are now making big changes in their lives to follow Christ daily. It has been very exciting to see them want to change because they have understood that they cannot be a “good person.” They now understand that only through Jesus can they have lasting change!
We have had a great time lately with those coming to the study on Tuesday nights. We have been looking for things that we can serve in as a church. A couple of months ago we went with Carlos and Sona up to Rivas to visit Adriana, the widow. It was great having Carlos and Sona be able to minister to Adriana. Just two weekends ago we went with Carlos, Sona,
Camila, Mark Schwartz (leadership and good friend from our home church), and our other friends Curtis and Michelle, to the drug rehab to make a lunch for the men there. It was great to see those who have been coming to the study get a chance to do what they read. The men were blesses by the food and a short testimony from our friend Mark. They asked if we could come out another time so that they could cook for us. This relationship we have been making with them is really turning out to bless both side, I guess that is what makes it a relationship.
Chelly and I have both been discipling some young adults for the past few months as well. I have been spending time with a guy named Joel, and Chelly has been meeting with a girl named Heidy. Joel has been learning about what it means to be dead in Christ’s death and alive in His resurrection. We have gone out into town to witness to the drug addicts and alcoholics a couple of times together. It has been so exciting to see Joel grow in sharing Christ and his passion to see others changed. Usually when I see him he asks when the next time will be when we go out witnessing! Heidy has also been changing a lot. Chelly has been teaching Heidy about the love God has for her, the working of the Holy Spirit in her life, and what it means to put hope in the Lord. She is so passionate and full of emotion for Christ. Chelly is always excited to meet with her because of how she reacts to the Scriptures.
Please continue to be praying for Carlos and his family. If you don’t remember Carlos started coming to the studies at the first of the year. His wife and children had been praying that he would come to the study, and finally he did and has continued. The last Tuesday study Carlos’ brother came! Now we are praying that his bother would continue to come and Carlos’ son would be able to come as well. Please pray with us that the Lord would continue to touch this family. Also please be praying for the other Senora that has been coming for the past year and a half, Camila.
We had a great discussion with her the last study about what significance the law now plays in our life since we are now in Christ. She still believes that to get salvation we must perform and complete all of the laws through our flesh. She has been with us through the whole book of Matthew and now through 6 chapters in Acts! We really want to see her understand that she can’t do it without Christ, so please be praying for her.
As far as personal news with our family:
• Rya and I (Curtis) had our birthdays, Rya is now 2 and I am 30!

• The girls are back in school, Ava is in 1st grade and Zoe is in Kindergarten. It has been lots of fun to adapt to the way that schools are done here. We are very thankful for the opportunity to take another step further into the culture.
• Rya’s eye has fully healed! For those of you that didn’t know, Rya had a Bot Fly Larva living just above her eyelid. If you want to know about what a Bot Fly is just type it in on YouTube.
• Thanks to those that have been praying for our marriage…It is awesome!
• As far as the house goes we are waiting for a decision from our leadership. We may buy the house or just buy a property. This is a huge blessing our home church is providing for us and the work here. Please pray that we get the property that the Lord wants us to have.
• We almost have Rya’s American passport!
Once again, thank you so very much for your prayers and support. You guys are a great family to be sharing this ministry with! Here are some verses that I read through this morning that I hope encourages you or corrects you wherever you are in your life.
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:5, 7
In love through our Savior,
Curtis, Chelly, Ava, Zoe, Ali, and Rya

End of the Year Update

Hello Friends and Family,
Sorry this update is coming to you a little later than usual. November and December were very busy months for us and I wanted to put it all in one update. I will use the bullet approach so that I can include as much information as possible without going over 2 pages. So here we go:
• Ava graduated kindergarten and Zoe completed her class for the year as well. Both kids have come away from the school with a good grasp on Spanish, and they made some good friends that we hope to stay in contact with.
• For the last few months we have been looking for a house to buy. We have found one that would be perfect for having studies in and it has 2 bathrooms (a big deal when you have 5 women in your family). We are just waiting on paperwork to be fixed. We are hoping and praying that we would be able to buy it and move in by March..

• We had our Pastor and his son come down to visit us for Thanksgiving and look at some properties. It is always nice to see familiar faces from our old home
• We shared Thanksgiving with lots of ‘gringo’ friends at a restaurant my friend owns in Ojochal. There were about 60 people so it was great for our whole family.
• In December we had our friend Alex come back to visit his girlfriend, Yendri. While here he stayed with us until my (Curtis’) parents flew in on the 13th.
• My parents stayed with us from the 14th until the 31st. We were able to drive around and explore the country a little more while they were here. At times it is very hard to be away from family, so this was a great time for Chelly, the girls, and I.

• While my parents were here we were also able to participate in a gift exchange at the Salvation Army, cook Tamales with Gustavo’s family, have a Christmas dinner for those that have been coming to the Bible study, and visit Adriana and her boys in Rivas.
So there you are, 2 months of fun in 7 short bullets. We had some really neat things happen these last 2 1/2 months that I would like to be a little more detailed on. First of all we had a young man come to us and ask if I would disciple him. His name is Joel and he is only 15 years old. At times I forget that he is that young because of his concentration on the Word. There are very few teenagers here that want to be sold out for Christ. So as of the first of the year we have been meeting together 2 times a week. During our ‘meetings’ we have been memorizing verses together each week, and going through the Word. It has been great for the both of us, Joel is learning more about what it means to die to self and I have been learning a lot more Spanish from him. Please be praying for Joel and his family life.
Another person that we ask that you be praying for is Adriana. Adriana is the young widow with the 3 sons in Rivas. As I said above, we were able to go visit her before Christmas. While we were there we were talking to her about her future plans. We wanted to know if she had any ideas on what to do for work.
She told us that the family in the States that she used to work for asked that she would come back to work for them. They would take care of her visa and the money to get her there. The catch is that she would have to leave her 3 sons here with her mom. As you can see she is desperate. We ask that you would pray that the Lord would give her another option and she would take it. It would be really hard on the boys losing their father and having their mother leave them for more than half a year.
One more real quick update about the study we have been having on Tuesday nights. I am sure that some of you remember Yendri, Andrea, and their mom Sonya. Well we have all been praying for about 7 months that Carlos, their father/husband, would come to the study. We are happy to say that Carlos has now been coming to the studies since the first of the year! Every time I talked to Carlos about coming to the study he would tell me that he was too bad of a person, and that he had already read the Bible. However, it looks like he has listened to the Holy Spirit for now. Please pray that he would continue to come to the studies and that he would understand what it means to be a new creation in Christ.

Thank you so much for reading this and praying for us and the people here. Please write us when you have the time and let us know how we can be praying for you.

In our Savior,

Curtis, Chelly, Ava, Zoe, Ali, and Rya

Enjoy

We have chosen to go the way of the blog. We hope that we will be able to post more pictures on here that will correspond with the update. The idea is to give those of you that have been praying for us a visual along with the prayer requests. So please enjoy this new method of delivering updates to those of you involved in or curious about the work here.