Purpose in Your Heart

A week or so ago Mark was listening to one of Brother Jonathan Blankenship's services online and he was talking about picking a book of the Bible and reading it over and over again. So, during one of our family devotion times Mark made a challenge to us all that we would pick a book and read a chapter every week. But we were to read that chapter every day and at the end of the week we would discuss what we had learned. The kids picked the book of Daniel and so we started our study. Tonight, we had our first discussion on chapter one of Daniel. One of the key things that we all learned was that even before Daniel was offered meat from the king's table....he purposed in his heart not to defile himself.  WOW! Even before he was offered he made up his mind.  You know this brings up the thought to us Christians today.....do we purpose in heart not to conform to the things of the world. Do we already have in our hearts and minds what our standards are on Biblical truths? Do we know and stand true to our feelings on music, dress, and other areas of controversy?  If we know what we believe and we purpose in heart to hold true to those things then the Lord will help us and our testimony for HIM will be easy to let others see.  We challenge you to do this same study and see what you can learn from God's word.

Thought of the Day



Mi vecina en su jardin

 Today as we were walking home from an enjoyable time at the park I noticed two of our elderly neighbors in their yard. We stopped and chatted with them and watched to see just what they were doing. Many times I had noticed them from my "high rise" bedroom window(LOL) and saw that they were sitting on the ground within the gates of their yard. However, I had no idea what they were doing. Today as we stopped and chatted with them, I noticed that they were single handedly plucking each weed from their beautiful carpet bed of grass. It may sound funny to refer to grass like that but here in Costa Rica you rarely see grass other than on a soccer field. With that said when you do see grass it is nothing that you would wanna take your shoes off in and run barefoot on. Each lady looked hard to find and only pick out that which was not grass. When we expressed how beautiful we thought the yard was and admired their hard work they had this to say....it helps to take their minds off of things and gives them something to do with their time. Also, they take pride in their lovely yard and want to keep it beautiful. As we walked on just a few shorts steps to our house I started to think about just how content those two ladies were with sitting on the ground and taking extra special care to only take out what was in fact not a grass seedling. How many of us would have done that? I know for a fact...that I have seen many people with a bottle or two of good ole "Round Up". However, the problem with that is you can kill the grass just as easily as the weeds. When I first started thinking about those two ladies the first thing I thought of was how content they were to do this time consumming job. However, now that I have put much thought into it....it really comes down to how much care and nuture they are willing to put into making their patch of grass be the most beautiful grass on the block. That triggers the thoughts of how much Jesus loves us and cares for us. Everyday he has to pluck away the bad(sin) in our life, but yet he is so willing. While we still must ask for "forgiveness" he is there eager and ready to pluck it away and tend to our hearts and minds just like those two ladies in their yard. We should take the same steps towards "cuidar" or care that the Lord Jesus does for us for others that we know. If we see our brothers and sisters in Christ struggling we should be the first to lend a hand, stop and pray for them or simply have an ear to listen. Of coarse we should do those things for our brethren but we should also be willing to share the gospel and hope for those who have not put their faith and trust in Jesus. So, with that said, don't be content in your ways if they are not productive but reach out and be willing to help pluck one "weed" or in this case a "soul" from the flames of destruction. I challenge you all this week to seek out someone who made need a little extra care, whether it be extending a hand to a fellow Christian or sharing the Gospel with a lost soul.

Joy in the Simple Life

We had a wonderful surprise trip back to North Carolina. While there we were able to spend time with family and friends and visit with Hilltop our home church. It was so nice to be able to see all the faces that we have missed for over a year. When we moved to Florida to train at Hope Children's Home the last time we were in N.C. was December 2010.  So, while on this visit we were able to eat at some of our favorite places including the most famous "Bojangles" for some chicken and biscuits. While this is a place that brings us much JOY....   we all quickly found how much we missed our new life in Costa Rica. God was preparing our hearts for the mission field by giving us JOY in other things. We love the simple life of no cell phone and at times even a car. It was weird to have a phone, which Wendy let us borrow. First, of all it took forever to learn how to use it and make a call. Second, we laughed at the fact that we had spent more in gas in 1 week than we had on bus and taxie fare in 9 months.    WOW! How we love the simple life.  Walking into stores where people don't greet with a smile while on the same shopping aisle or are always in a constant rush. I must say that on our first trip to Target, we felt like we were foreigners and that for once people were starring at us as if we should not be there. WEIRD!! However, in reality , no-one was even paying attention to us as we just walked the aisles in awe at all the things that were around us. I am thankful that when God calls you to do a certain job or go to the mission field he changes your heart and fills your longings with new kinds of JOY! The Bible says in: Psalm 126:2 "Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue filled with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. While we were sad to say our goodbyes to friends and family we could find comfort in another verse. In Psalms 30:5 "......Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning." I am so thankful for the JOY that the Lord has given me. Not only the joy that I have from knowing that I am bought with a price and have an enternal home in Heaven, thanks to my Savior Jesus Christ but also the joy that I have in my heart for doing and obeying HIS WILL.  Please remember us in your prayers as we go back to school on Tuesday and finish up the 2 and 1/2 months left here before we make our home in Honduras. Until next time...may you find Joy of your own.

Mark and the kids sitting on the porch of Nanny Bugs old barn.

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

Merry CHRISTmas To ALL

Well, we are so thankful and happy to be blogging from the great state of North Carolina. A huge "thank you" to a couple that supports us for buying our family tickets to fly back home to N.C. to spend with our families. After much planning and keeping secrets we managed to surprise all of our friends and family with out them ever having a clue that we were here. This is going to be a "Christmas to Remember" for our family. We get to spend time with family and friends and visit our home church "Hilltop" and celebrate the reason why we are doing what we are doing. If it were not for Christ coming on that first Christmas to save a world of lost....we would never have been called..."TO GO"...and "TELL". We hope that you all take time to remember and reflect on what truly makes Christmas..."CHRIST". While being with family and friends is so wonderful without Christ we would not have this season to gather together. So from our family to yours....

WE WISH YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Sincerely Serving Him,
Mark, Amy, Taylor, Hunter, Josiah and Baby(BOY)

Visitors, Surprise Care Packages (Doctor Visits) and Sugar Cookies

WOW! It has been a busy time for us here in Costa Rica. We have had fun showing Mark's parents around San Jose and getting their feet ready for all the walking. Then, we had three more guests to arrive. Mark's sister Wendy, her husband Terry and their daughter Alyssa arrived to spend a few days here with us as well. It was so nice to have some family here with us. The kids loved it and already hate that the time was no longer. But with that said we all ventured to downtown San Jose with look a little like the streets of NYC on a normal day. People everywhere.....They got to experience their first ride on public transportation and we ate a 2 story Pizza Hut that I am sure was against Fire Code with all the heads that were inside(LOL). While they all were here we received 2 Christmas Care packages from the States. Josiah received a Thomas the train set that he is in LOVE with.   He plays with it everyday. The kids have been playing "catch phrase" and we have all jumped into to the game for some great laughs. I think that we know every phrase in the game now....b/c we have played so much. Then we received another goodie box....with the ingredients to make HayStacks....the kids have loved eating them. It is the little things that make you feel like home. On Monday of this week it was a bitter sweet day....we had to say goodbye to Wendy and her family....but later that day we discovered that God has Blessed us with ANOTHER BOY!!! WOW 3 boys....whatever will Taylor and I do????? I guess that means we will both always be the "Princesses" of the house. Then on Wednesday night we listened to a wonderful sermon from Brother Jeff (our Pastor in NC) and made wonderful homemade sugar cookies. We searched and searched but could not find cookie cutters so we made ornaments and candy canes by hand. The kids had a blast. Thanks to all of you who have kept supporting our family through this Christmas Season. This is always a time that is difficult as funds become low or people have other obligations. Thank the Lord for how HE always Provides. Until next time...which is only a few days away...I promise...:)

Nanny and Papa come for a Visit

Well, for the first time in 8 months other than seeing family via Skype we got to see family in person. Mark's parents arrived Thursday, December 2nd for a visit. However, not just a short trip, they get to spend an entire month with us. The kids were so excited as we all anxiously waited at the glass window outside the airport. It has been so long since we have seen our families. This is one of the most challenging things about the lives of missionaries. Sure, we have different customs, food, and climates to get use to. But the biggest thing of all is being away from our friends and family back in the States. "Pero Gracias a Dios" (but thanks be to God) they were able to come and see us. We are so excited as Christmas is rapidly approaching and we only have 3 more days of school left in our second trimester. We also, have many other exciting things happening this month. One big item on the agenda...finding out whether or not we will be having a girl or boy...We find out this news next Monday. So, many things to be thankful for and yet some how the Lord continues to find more and more ways to Bless our family. May God Bless you all and until I blog again happy reading.