TC Update/Announcements- June 2020

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Hey TC Family,

I don’t know about you… but for me it seems like time is just flying by.  I looked at my calendar earlier this week and saw “June,” and I was shocked.  

The summer months are here, school is almost out for the kids, and… still nothing is normal.  Things are just so surreal right now.  If I woke up tomorrow only to find out this was all a dream, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.  

But as we experience the surreal-ness of it all… it’s neat to see how God is still on the move… but in new ways. I see people spending time together in ways that they didn’t make time to before.  In a slower paced life kind of way…. which is good.  Time together with friends & family.  One on one time, or in smaller groups…. playing card games, taking walks, watching movies together, or chillaxing in the pool together. On the one hand, while I can’t wait for this quarantine to end… on the other hand, I hope that our new appreciation for slower paced time  time together doesn’t end when this quarantining is over.   

YOUR COMPASSION AND GENEROSITY AT WORK
As for life and ministry at Tamarindo church this past month… God is still on the move.  And one of the ways God is still moving is through your compassion and generosity.  This year, Tamarindo Church will be able to put $30,000 to work for good in the lives of those who are in need in our local community and in Nicaragua.  So far, funds have been used for….

  • Supporting the feeding center in Los Pochotes, St. Cruz.
  • Supporting Las Playas food bank.
  • Supporting feeding centers at Funda Cristo School and Pastor William’s  church family in Nicaragua.
  • Building a small home for a local family in need.
  • Buying medicines for those who can’t afford them.
  • Helping people to meet their monthly rent.
  • Helping to fund a basic well so that a family can have water.

Your generosity and prayers are making an impact in people’s lives in our community and in Nicaragua.  THANK YOU!

Please read below for the latest on Tamarindo Church.

TAMARINDO CHURCH BOARD UPDATE
We are excited to announce that, effective last month, Jean Mixon is our newest board member at Tamarindo Church!  A little background on Jean is that… she grew up in Long Island, NY.  After 

university she moved to Richmond, VA. for work… and that is also where she met her husband Robert.  Jean accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior in 2001, and has been following and serving him ever since.  And in addition to her love for learning from God’s word.. she loves swimming and snorkeling, in the beautiful ocean here in Costa Rica.  She also enjoys exercising, cooking, gardening, and reading…. and learning Spanish!  

Jean Mixon and her husband Robert first attended Tamarindo Church back in 2013 on a visit to the Tamarindo area.  Jean says,

“We had searched on line to find a good bible believing, English speaking, Christian church.  We met you and Stacey during that trip and shared our hopes for the future, of living in Costa Rica and desiring to serve God and the community by being part of a local church.”

After retiring and moving to Costa Rica full time in 2016 Robert and Jean became faithful regulars at TC.  Since that time Jean has served as part of the Leadership Team of TC… coordinating Sunday morning volunteer teams, taking on administrative duties, and helping with coordination of events.  In addition Jean has been a faithful regular at the women’s weekly bible study.  

Jean, we thank God for who you are and for the godly perspective you will bring to the decisions we make as the leadership board for Tamarindo Church.  Welcome to the board!   

RELATIONAL WISDOM 360About three weeks ago I began taking some of the leadership in our church through an online 

course called Relational Wisdom 360.  Well… about a week after starting the course with our leadership, a few people started contacting me saying that they’d like to participate in the course as well.  So now we have two groups! And we are learning some great insights into how we can cultivate our relational skills in a way that deepens our faith, and in a way that blesses our relationships with God and others.  In addition to looking at scriptures that speak about our relationships, we also explore topics such as emotional intelligence,  self awareness, God awareness, Other awareness.  Check out the Relational Wisdom 360 website for more info.  And if you’d like to be a part of a group when we offer the course next just shoot me an email let me know, and I’ll keep you posted on when we plan to run the course again.  This is all done online, so you can participate locally… or from abroad.

 SUNDAY MORNING CHURCH ONLINE
Please join us for online services on Sunday mornings at 10:00AM by going to Tamarindo Church Facebook Page .  Or… for those who don’t have Facebook, go to the Tamarindo Church welcome page on our website and you will find a Zoom link for our Sunday live services.    

Also… just a reminder. If you are not available to join us on Sunday mornings… you can always view the sermons later in the week as they will be saved to our TC Facebook feed. Just scroll down on our FB page posts until you find the Sunday sermon/video you missed.  Or if you don’t use Facebook, you can find them on our Sunday Sermons page on the TC Website.

SUNDAYS AT TAMARINDO CHURCH- Starting July 19th??We are excited to announced that the government of Costa Rica recently gave notice that churches can start meeting together for weekly services again starting June 21st.  This permission was given with the understanding that the churches will need to put certain health/safety measures in place.  And while some of the guidelines are restricting… we are just super glad that we can meet together again.  

After meeting with the leadership of Tamarindo Church this week we have decided, “si Dios quiere” we will start meeting for church services at Tamarindo church on July 19th.  Things may change between now and then, but this is our planned date for starting to meet together again at the church.  In the weeks prior to July 19th, we will be sending out information on what the guidelines are for our time together during worship on Sundays so that we are all on the same page for how we can and cannot interact at church on Sundays.  And for those not yet comfortable with meeting at church, please know that we will continue streaming our services online so you can worship together with us from home.  Stay tuned for updates as the date approaches!!

MARK YOUR CALENDARAs we look to the months ahead be sure to read below about upcoming events and mark your calendars.  You can fin

d out details about these events by scrolling down further in the newsletter.  

~ Prayer Night–
Join us for prayer or send in prayer requests for our Prayer Gathering on Tuesday, June 23rd @ 6:30pm.  See more info below.

PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVEIn closing… I feel I should say just a few words regarding the state of our world right now.  In these past months, our world has experienced a pandemic, a financial crisis, and now a crisis of injustice that has reverberated throughout the world.  And the most most recent of these events have impacted the heart and conscience of our world in a powerful way.   Many are deeply disturbed, grieved, angered, enraged by what by what they have seen in the video of George Floyd… and rightly so.  If you have allowed yourself the discomfort of witnessing the injustice depicted in the video of how George Floyd died…   I can’t imagine how any of us can observe an event like that and not find ourselves deeply disturbed, grieved, angered, or enraged too.  The senseless cruelty was clear enough.  And God’s command “Thou shalt not murder” makes it clear enough.  This is not okay.  Those given authority to enforce the law are NEVER above the law.  And cruelty like this…. and any brokenness in the system of law enforcement in society that allow injustices like this… needs to be addressed and corrected.  

Let us pray…

  • Forgive us Lord for times past if/when we have not been enraged with a righteous anger over injustices like what we are seeing now.
  • Give us a desire and willingness to listen and understand the broken-heartedness and anger of our brothers and sisters of color who are often the target of injustices.  
  • Give us wisdom in how to walk in the way of Jesus… as agents of healing… and advocates of justice and peace in our world.

This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD. ~Jeremiah 9:23-24

Peace,
Lyle & Stacey

PRAYER GATHERING
Monday, May 18th 
6:30pm online via Zoom


On Tues, June 23rd @ 6:30 we will be hosting a prayer meeting online via Zoom. Join us for an hour of prayer together as we pray for for our church, our community, and for requests shared among those gathered.   If you would like to join the meeting, please email/message pastor Lyle to let him know and he will send you the Zoom link for the meeting.   If you are unable to make the meeting but have a prayer request, please send your prayer requests to tamarindochurch@gmail.com

MUSICIANS WANTED – 

Has God gifted you with musical or technical talent that you want to use for His glory? If so, we are looking for people to join our worship team. Whatever instrument you play, we’re open to give it a try.  Here are the first few steps for becoming part of the worship team…

  • Prayerfully consider your involvement.
  • Contact Elizabeth:eguntonbunn@gmail.com  expressing your interest. The email should include:
    • Musical or technical experience and skill.
    • The reason you are interested in joining the worship team.
  • Elizabeth, our worship team leader, will review your information and schedule time when you can join us for an audition. 

TC PRAYER REQUESTS- 
Please continue to pray for Tamarindo Church……TC VISION – That God would guide us in our vision and strategy for reaching and serving our community.  Please pray that the Holy Spirit would give us creativity on how to do this best in our current context of the pandemic and social distancing.

MINISTRY TEAM-  That God would grow our church board, staff and volunteers in unity of Spirit, in wisdom, and in humility as we serve Him.  Please also pray spiritual guidance and protection over our church leaders.  

VOLUNTEERS-  Thanks be to God for our volunteers who serve in many roles in the church. Please pray that God would give us discernment in finding the best places for individuals to serve… and that God bless our volunteers in their service to Him.

FINANCES-  Please pray that God would meet the rest of our financial needs for 2020 through unforeseen gifts and Sunday offerings.  Pray also that God would give us wisdom in being good stewards of the resources he has given us.

OUTREACH- That God would create a spiritual hunger in our community, and that we would see many come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.  And pray for our church members to be sensitive to open doors to the love of Christ, to share the gospel, and to invite someone to church.

CHURCH LIFE- 

  • Prayer that God would raise up a team of prayer warriors for our monthly prayer meetings.
  • Prayer for God’s continued blessing over the new church community in Los Pochotes.
  • Prayer for the barrio of Cristo Rey Nicaragua… for God’s provision and protection over our friends there during this pandemic.
  • Prayer that God would use our church family to reach and bless the community around us.

THE WATSON FAMILY- 
Please pray spiritual wisdom and direction for Pastor Lyle as he leads the church.  For Stacey to find good balance between family, ministry and work.  For their children Olivia and Wolfie… that they would continue to grow to know, love, and serve Him.  Please also pray for spiritual protection over their family.