A Reflection on 2010

As we look back on the year of 2010 God has allowed us to have and see many blessings. First, of all we started out the year living at Hope Children's Home in Tampa Florida where God really laid upon our hearts the ministry of children. We fell in love with all of the kids at Hope and staff that we shared our daily lives with. Not to far into the new year was a time where we needed to pack up our belongings and start to pack and prepare for one of our biggest moves in our lives. In late April, we packed up 13 suitcases and 4 back-packs and headed to the airport. We would begin our new life in just a few short hours in a new country. A country where we had no friends, could not speak the language and had no clue what to really expect. However, with bad weather somewhere in the US...lol the Miami airport canceled many flights out of their airport and we had to stay the night in a hotel. But bright and early the next day we made our way to San Jose, Costa Rica. We were greeted at the airport by our "big brother", Carla Ackerman and her daughter Madie. I can honestly say that I do not remember much about the car ride to our new home other than it was raining. The next few days and weeks we would get adjusted to our new home and it's surroundings. Now for us it seems as if we have always been there, and we actually miss our small little world of Costa Rica.

In August, we had the pleasure of guests when our director Pastor Mike and his son Ryan came for a visit. They brought with them some comforts from home and we were so excited to see the contents of the four suitcases that they brought along.  In late September, we took our second VISA trip so that we could renew our 90 day Visa's. We packed up and headed out with the Ragland Family to the country of Nicaragua. It was only a few short days after our return from that trip that we discovered we were expecting BABY # 4.  God has allowed us so many blessings and also allowed us to make many new friends. One of the most important things is that we have been able to pick up the language. We are now more than ever ....ready to hit the ground in Honduras. Due to the arrival of our little one in late May we are leaving Costa Rica in late March instead of late April. We also had a wonderful Christmas gift from a couple that supports us...they purchased airfare for us all to fly back home and spend Christmas with our families. It was a surprise for them all because no-one knew that we were coming home. We were also blessed with many care packages and many special monetary gifts this Christmas. It is such a blessing to know that we have many who not only take the time to pray for us but send our family and our kiddos gifts. They have enjoyed them all.

While in North Carolina we have enjoyed many comforts from home including some Bojangles Chicken and Biscuits, Chick-Fil-A, Max's Pizza and other places. We were even able to see SNOW!!!! Josiah had a blast playing in the snow and did not even want to come back inside. We say goodbye to the year 2010 and welcome 2011 and pray that we are blessed with another great and wonderful year. We want to thank you all for reading our newsletters and updates, supporting our family and most importantly praying for us.
We love you all and WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Sincerely Serving Him,
The Coats Family