God is in Control

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NLT) Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Colossians 3:2 (MSG) So if you are serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ- that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

Corona-virus Update From Costa Rica

Since we last wrote we have seen an increase of COVID 19 cases. About 6 weeks ago, we started to see a decline in cases and an increase of recoveries. However, in the last 2 weeks we have seen our biggest increase in cases. This increase has also brought an increase of patients to the hospital. On June 8th we had a total of 620 active cases and now just 2 short weeks later we have a total of 1222 active cases. Your prayers are appreciated!

The government of Costa Rica still has most of the restrictions in place and in some cases has extended some of the restrictions. For example, our borders will remain closed here until May 15. Our visas were set to expire on May 24th, but Costa Rica has issued an extension until July 17th. That is good news and we are thankful for the extension, but we are uncertain if we will still be able to drive after May 24th. In order to legally drive here we need to have a valid entry stamp and that stamp is only good for 90 days. This issue has not been clearly answered so we would appreciate your prayers that the government would still allow us to drive on our original entry stamp.

Food Giveaway

We want to say “thank you” for all of your generous donations for the food boxes/bags for needy families. We have been able to help so many more families than we first thought. When we first started giving food away, back in April, we were believing that we could help 10 families a month for 3 months. However, God had a bigger number in mind. During the month of April we helped 23 families, in May we helped 24 families and so far in June we have helped 20 families and will be giving away another 8 boxes of food on Wednesday. This means that you guys have helped a total of 75 families with food boxes/bags in the last 3 months. God truly is able to do more than we can ever think or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)

Update from the single mom in prison

The mom that we have been working with is still in prison and was returned to general population (of the prison)at the end of May. The reason for this was because her son turned 3 and can no longer live with her in prison. Her son is now living with one of her sister’s.

Before she was moved to general population we were able to take her a Bible and also a kid’s Bible for her son. We are happy to report that not only did she read the Bible to her son she has continued reading her Bible and is now reading it to her 2 sisters. They are also praying together every night. This truly is an answer to prayer.

Because of the virus we still have not been able to visit with her. However, we have been trying to take food to her and her sisters every couple of weeks. Not only do we take them food, but we have started writing out Bible lessons for them. Taking food to them has allowed us to minister to them in a whole new way. It also has opened up a door for us to talk to her 2 sisters as well. God is working all things out for His good. (Romans 8:28)

She also wanted you to know how much your prayers mean to her and asked that you please continue to pray for her and her children, plus her 2 sisters and their children.

We still have no idea on when she might be released from prison. We have had 2 phone calls about us helping her, but have not heard anything else in about a month. We know that God is in control and we completely trust Him, but sometimes it is hard not being able to do anymore for her. We do appreciate your prayers for this situation.

We are Moving

We have been renting an Airbnb since returning to Costa Rica in February and and have to be out of here by July 15. About 2 months ago we started looking for house rentals. The first step of this journey has been to find out what area of Costa Rica God was calling us to. Was it closer to the city of San Jose or maybe in Alajuela where we are currently living or maybe in a different area all together? After praying about it we felt like God was telling us to look somewhere else. Somewhere where there was less traffic and more space between houses. We drove around looking at areas and finally felt like God was telling us to move to a town called Grecia, but we weren’t to live in the center of town. Now all we had to do was find a house.

When we first started looking we were looking for a house with at least 4 bedrooms. This was we so would have space for the single mom and her kids once she gets out of prison. We did find a house that we thought would be perfect, but the owner of the house had some family problems and in the end had to stay in the house instead of renting it. So the search went on.

We were having a hard time finding something that would work for all 10 of us, but we kept searching. Finally we saw a place that is currently being used as a small orphanage and we thought this could be the one. But, it turned out not to be the one because it would not be available until September at the earliest.

We continued searching and could not find anything else that would work and we were getting frustrated. However, after talking to one of our board members here in Costa Rica she said to stop looking for a house for all of you and just look for a house for the 2 of you. Her reasoning was because we do not know when the mom is going to get out of prison and it wasn’t necessary to have a big place at this time. After praying about what she said we realized this was Godly wisdom and we started looking for a house for just us.

We are happy to report that we have finally find a place to live. This house is very close to the orphanage place. This will gives us time to check out the area and get to know the neighbors before the mom and her kids live with us. Also, the owners of this house have agreed to a 6 month lease which is another answer to prayer. Most owners here want a minimum of 1 year lease with a possibility of 3 years.

The biggest problem with renting houses here is that most houses come completely unfurnished. When we say unfurnished we mean no kitchen appliances and sometimes not even any kitchen cabinets or closets. We are thankful to God because even though this place doesn’t have kitchen appliances it does have a big walk in closet and very nice kitchen cabinets. However, we are going to need around $4200 just to set up this house with the basics. The good news is that this will be less to buy once the mom and her 7 kids come to live with us. If you would like to see a list of what we need you can click here. Also, if you feel that God is leading you to help out with these expenses you can donate online here or you can mail a check to Love Changes All 44 Riverview Way Tifton GA 31793.

Psalms 118:24(NKJV) This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Matthew 19:26(AMP)With God ALL things are possible.

Lots of Love and Blessings,
John & Cindy Thalheimer
Missionaries to Costa Rica

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We have added some additional food items to the boxes that we have been giving away!

Our neighbor that has been sending us the needy families wanted to thank us for helping her neighborhood. She made this towel for us!