Daddy is in "nanama"

Steve is in Panama for a week with Jack and Jenifer Mitchel (Grace Dental Mission), Steve went to help translate for them, and to share The Gospel to people who will be waiting to have there teeth worked on. Steve thrives in situations like this, I'm so glad that he has the opportunity to use what he has been learning this past year. The boys and I are staying here in San Jose for the week that he is gone, going about life as normal as possible without Daddy around. Josiah and I are still going to school during the day, which is helping us stick to a daily schedule. We are praying for Daddy at night and at meal times that he is safe in "nanama" as Elliott and Josiah have renamed Panama, very cute.

Please do be in prayer for us. There have been several robberies of nationals, and students around our neighborhood. Six that I know of within the past two weeks. We are just trusting for God in our safety, especially while Steve is gone. We are taking steps of safety and walking with people to school and back. God is good all the time!

I wanted to blog a little bit about a book that I have been reading called "NO GRAVEN IMAGE" written by Elizabeth Elliot
In the first chapter she talked about her journey by train to the mission field, and she encounters a women selling little toy suitcases with her children in toe, and no one was buying them from her, so Elizabeth bought one from her for five cents, later she sees her get of the train without having sold any more suitcases. She talks about how the women's eyes pierced her heart, and she thought she should have bought all of them. Later She sees a poor man on the street with no eyes, but head gazing in her direction, and there was a little girl sitting on his lap who looked worn out and unhealthy. At the end of the day she was reflecting over what she could have done for them besides giving them a little bit of money, should she have done something more "If only I could give the man his sight, the child her health" she later comes to the conclusion that all she can do of lasting value is share the Gospel with them. This book has been such an encouragement to me, because she is a Godly women who is experiencing culture shock, learning another language, separating from friends and family, and she is just very open with her thoughts of working through different situations that she has to encounter. Great read!

When Steve comes back we will send out our more formal prayer update! Thanks for checking in with us! Becky for the Diems

Happy Fathers Day!

I am so thankful for my Dad! Happy fathers day Dad! We miss you! Thanks for everything you do for us! I am also thankful for the father that God has blessed my children to have! His day started out with receiving drawings one by one that Josiah made for him. Family breakfast, and off to church. It was really neat at the end of the service today they called all the fathers up and prayed over them. It was really touching to me to hear them praying in Spanish.
We had the pleasure of sharing at our church today,our testimonies, our call to missions and what we are planning to do after language school. It was really great to be able communicate for the first time in front of a group together, in the language that God has called us to serve in. What a blessing that God has brought us to this point, to be able to share our thoughts and emotions in this language.
We are going to spend the other part of our day having a little gathering with one of our Friends because her parents our in town.
Hope that you all have a wonderful day! May we remember that we are here because of the sacrifice that was made by our Father the Savior! And for that reason alone we are able to live the life that he has so blessed us have. May we do all for the Glory of God!
Serving Him, The Diems

Time flies...or Time of flies?

The rainy season is here again, and as we have been told, is the reason behind the fly infestation in our house. But in the meanwhile of swatting our noisy visitors, we've been so blessed by some visitors from the states. Becky's sister Audrey and her husband Ryan came to visit us for a week. It was like old times again when they were here, it was only a year ago that we lived 2 minutes apart in Raymond, NH. They were able to celebrate with us Josiah's 4th Birthday! It was really special for him to have family here on his day and we were all so blessed that they came. My mom has come for another visit this week and is in grandma bliss with the boys and enjoying every minute. She was woken up the first night here by a roar of soccer fans as Costa Rica swept the United States in an eliminatory final....

The beginning of the rainy season also means the last trimester for us. In just three months we will be going back to the states and Lord willing be in Argentina by late September/early October. We have been hard at work in our classes and there is a definite note in the increase of intensity of our learning. We really can't say enough about the quality of our grammar teachers this tri, who display consistently a passion to teach us. At times feeling overwhelmed, but knowing and trusting in God's grace to enable us to finish strong.

Thank you for your prayers for us!
Please continue to pray for:
- Skill to learn
- Our language learning would be a joy
- Safety and good health
- Opportunities to minister to the saints and to share Christ.

San Vito - Where Barbed Wire is For Cattle

After a 6 hour bus ride, we arrived in an old Italian colony. San Vito Costa Rica is altogether a different place. Located on the eastern border of Costa Rica and Panama where the air is fresh, cool and clean. The lush green mountains feed grazing the cattle and bumpy dirt and stone roads lead to homes and ranches on the hillsides. It is here where our nanny Adina bought a home. She plans on retiring this August when Becky and I leave for Argentina and desires very much to escape from city life and be surrounded by her family. Becky and I had a week off from school between trimesters, so we both really felt that the Lord wanted us to help fix up her new house. The house didn't have windows nor doors with good security and was generally in rough condition. It was amazing to think that it had not been abandoned, but actually a family had recently been renting it. When we walked into the house for the first time my head started to spin as I wondered how we could get this all fixed up in one week. Also, not having anymore tools than a small utility bag with the basics. As everyone left the house I prayed and asked God for his provision and wisdom. Realizing the job was too big for one week, we decided to focus on what we could do which was to clean up the land, redo the kitchen by installing windows and a door, and replace the siding in the back of the house. Adina's nephew who works 2 hrs away was happy to loan me the electric tools needed and her brother in law who is a retired security guard said he would help in any way he could. Praise God! Along with working long days trying to get everything done, we had a week of practicing Spanish. Also we were indulged by the Costa Rican cuisine, rice and beans three meals a day. We also tried some new foods that I had never had, a salad from a white flower, cow liver, boiled green bananas, unpasteurized milk, cheese and yogurt, and fried pig skin. We returned back to San Jose, behind our barbed wire. By God's grace we completed everything on our punch list. It was a little discouraging however realizing that there was still much to do. We pray that Adina would be encouraged, a woman who has been serving missionaries for more than 20 years.