"Go" With The Kemper's To Argentina

Return to Buenos Aires

2010-06-27T15:28:00.002-06:00

For those of you who still follow our blog, thanks for keeping up with us. We just returned to Buenos Aires last week after a 6 month stateside assignment. We spoke in many churches and missions conferences in the states. We also had a wonderful time with our family. But, we are back and trying to get settled back into our life here in Argentina. We had one of our missionaries from Uruaguay last week to stay with us while he worked here in the office with Mike. This week we have a couple from Chile that are supervisors to all our Argentine mission teams. I enjoy having people in our home. We had a good day at church this morning. Keep praying for us.

Mike & Kathy California Mission Conf.

2010-03-19T15:36:00.001-06:00

Buenos Aires, Argentina

2010-02-14T22:45:00.000-06:00

ESL Class & Fiesta

2009-12-09T18:47:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving with our Mission Family 2009

2009-11-27T15:29:00.002-06:00

Family Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T09:43:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Our Misson House

2009-11-18T21:34:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to my granddaughter, Raegan

2009-09-23T11:14:00.001-06:00

La Boca

2009-09-15T12:53:00.002-06:00

Our first outing outside of the city

2009-08-18T07:56:00.003-06:00

We went to a village about an hour away on Sat. with another missionary couple that were kind enough to ask us along since we do not have a car. The place is called Tigre, it is built along the river "Rio de Plata". There are lots of small shops with everything from leather & furniture to toys. The weather was actually hot in the 80's. We had a great time. It is such a drastic difference from where we live, it was good to see something besides apartment buildings. You can double click on the picture for a full view.

MK's birthday

2009-08-18T07:51:00.002-06:00

MK Daniela Frealy celebrated here 4th birthday on the mission field of Buenos Aires, Argentina Sunday. Since our MK's don't have grandparents and aunts & uncles on the mission field, the other missionaries become aunt & uncle. Our missionaries here attended her party along with several Argentine friends.

Ashlee & Alex's New Hair Cuts (Granddaughters)

2009-08-07T10:50:00.003-06:00

Ashlee Grace Kemper

Alexandrea Kemper

Here We Are

2009-07-15T14:06:00.007-06:00

This is Mike's ofc from our apt.
This is the apt. we are in now.

These are of the 1st. apt on 1st fl.

Well, we have been here 2 1/2 weeks already. We are living in a guest apt. that belongs to the mission just across the street from the mission office. We were in a small apt. on the lower floor that had 2 small windows, but there were outside walls that kept the sunlight from coming in. Thankfully, we were able to move to the 2nd floor that has 2 big windows that I can see out. We have been looking for a permnament place to live. We have certain requirements and budgets that we have to work within. So far the places we have seen have not been so great. Pray as we continue to look. Several of our new missionaries here have had to stay in the quest apts. for several weeks and sometimes months. Pray we find a place before we go home on stateside assignment in Dec. Mike is not feeling so good this week. He has a terrible cold. We are just not used to winter weather. Somedays are really nice in the 50's and some have been down right COLD. We both are trying to adjust to a new culture and the Spanish is quite different from Costa Rica. Keep us in your prayers. We are missing our Costa Rica friends (& the weather).

Argentina

2009-06-29T14:31:00.002-06:00

Well, we are sitting in the Costa Rica airport waiting for our plane to head to Argentina. Please continue to follow us so you can continue to pray for us. We will add a new page as soon as possible from Buenos Aires. God bless all of you.

Our Farewell

2009-06-15T23:07:00.000-06:00

Argentina Update

2009-06-10T17:48:00.002-06:00

Mike & now have a date, June 29th that we will leave for Argentina. Our yearly mission meeting will be here in Costa Rica June 25-29. We will attend this meeting and leave from there to the airport. Please pray for us as we finish our time here, packing, and our flight to Argentina.

Mike's first sermon in Spanish

2009-06-07T12:43:00.002-06:00

Mike preached his first sermon in Spanish at the new church start "Iglesia Vida Nueva". Others in pictures are the pastor, Geovanni & his wife. Cavin & Charlotte Cawthon and their children as new missionaries in langauage school. They have been in the country only one month.

Here we go to - Argentina

2009-05-06T18:29:00.003-06:00

For of you that have not heard already, we are transferring to Argentina. We do not have a definite date, but probably will be the end of June or 1st of July. We will be living in Buenos Aires. Mike is taking the position of Logistics Coordinator, which has to do with housing, cars, visas, budgets, etc. We still plan to take our STAS (stateside asignment/furlough) Dec. 15th 2009 through June 15th 2010 in west Tennessee. We ask that you continue to pray for us as we make this transition. We understand the Spanish is spoken a little different there than here in Costa Rica. We have had a wonderful experience here in Costa Rica working in Operation GO. Many of you have come down and worked along side of us and we are so thankful. Also, the missionary family here has been a real blessing to us, we will miss working and being with them.

Testimony

2009-04-04T12:29:00.000-06:00

I gave my testimony and a Bible study for a wedding shower for Lupi. Here are a few of the ladies that attended.

Earthquake Dec. 2008 Costa Rica

2009-03-23T14:31:00.005-06:00

Please Click on this title

and watch as the earthquake happens. Watch the small quite river as it turns into a flood of mud, and feel the quake as the photographer did as he was calling for help.

Mission Conference Idlewild Bapt. Tampa, FL

2009-03-03T21:29:00.003-06:00

We had the priviledge of being involved with the Global Missions Conference in the Idlewild Bapt. Church in Tampa, FL. this past week. 80 missionaries from around the world and in the USA were there. We spoke in several classes in homes during the week, as well as 2 on Sunday. Costa Rica pastor, Jamie Fuentes, was invited by the church to go with us. This was his first trip to the USA.

Great 8 min. sermon, please watch

2009-02-17T16:16:00.000-06:00

Costa Rica Family Soto Commissioned As Missionaries to India

2009-02-05T17:28:00.003-06:00

Wednesday night (Feb 4) The Herbert Soto Arais family was commissioned in Puntarenas as missionaries to India. They will be going to India on Feb. 17 One of the goals of our IMB Costa Rica Team is to see Costa Ricans becoming "the missionaries!" We rejoice that this family has responded to the Lord's "call" and they are responding. Join us in prayer for Herberth and his family!

OP GO Summit In Guatemala

2009-01-31T12:35:00.002-06:00

We were able to visit with some of our dearest friends a couple of days before the OP GO summit, the Morris and the Bartleys. The summit was really a blessing to get to hear from other OP GO personnel in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Nigaragua, and Dominican Repuplic as how the Lord has done amazing things this past year.

Good News!!!

2009-01-11T16:36:00.002-06:00

We are headed back to Costa Rica Tues. Jan. 13th. My test came back as negative for cancer. Praise The Lord! I want to thank all of you for your prayers. God heard you and blessed me. Even if the outcome had been different He still would be in control. Many of you have emailed us with words of encouragement, and I want to say God bless you. I will have a follow up CT scan in Costa Rica in 3 months. Please pray for Costa Rica as they have experienced a major earthquake a few days ago and many have lost their lives and still dozens missing. All of our missionaries were on shaky ground, but safe. We will keep you updated on the tragedy. KATHY

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

2008-12-06T19:25:00.002-06:00

FBC Trenton, TN On Mission In 20 Noviembre, Costa Rica

2008-12-01T13:40:00.003-06:00

We began to work with the team from FBC Trenton, TN in a neighborhood called 20th of November in the Puntarenas province. It was extremly hot this week and they really hung in there and did a great job. Mike and I had to leave after just 2 days because of the death of my brother. However, David Brown, one of our OP GO team members continued on with the team. As a missionary volunteer or a missionary on the field, you always have to be FLEXIBLE or fluid as we now say. You can see a video of this team on our OP GO blog spot. opgocostarica.blogspot.com

Thanks

2008-11-28T20:00:00.005-06:00

Thank you everyone for each prayer you have offered up on my behalf. Things are still uncertain for me. I thought that I would have a bone marrow biopsy on Thursday. But, the oncologist said she thought I should have a PET scan done first. Since they don't do those here, I will have to have one while we are home for Christmas. We leave here on Dec. 17th. I am waiting to hear from a specialist in Memphis for an appointment time. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. I know God is not uncertain, he aleady knows what is going on with me. Please pray that these appointments and tests will go quickly and we will have an answer by the time we return to Costa Rica in Jan. Thanks again, all of you have been a great encouragement to me. Kathy

Prayer Request

2008-11-25T23:41:00.000-06:00

Please pray for Kathy especially this week. Kathy will have a bone marrow biopsy on Thursday, Nov. 27th 9 a.m. The doctors are concerned that she has Lymphoma/Hodgins diseasse. She will likely have to have a lymph node in the abdomen removed soon as well. Please pray that there is no cancer and that the things that need to be done can be done swiftly. God already knows the answer to these questions, she is trusting HIM, that whatever the outcome HE is in control.

Prayer Request

2008-11-12T10:39:00.002-06:00

Kathy's brother, Vaughn Woody, passed away this past week and was buried on Friday. Many of you already have had us in your prayers. Thanks so much. Continue to pray for Charlotte, Vaughn's wife and the family. Vaughn was a Godly man. He was Mike's pastor when we met and did our wedding 40 years ago. He was ready physically and spiritually ready to go home. We return home to Costa Rica this Sunday, Nov. 16th.

Children's day Limon, Costa Rica

2008-09-29T13:35:00.002-06:00

Mike went Sunday with a couple of clowns to FBC Jeruselem Limon, Costa Rica to help them celebrate the Day of The Child. More than 400 children were at church and more than 600 for the entire attendance. The clowns presented Bible stories and fun and games.

Please visit our new blog for Operation GO

2008-09-27T12:55:00.000-06:00

We have now set up a blog spot just for Operation GO Costa Rica. This one will include not only the Kempers, but any of our other colleagues that are working in OP GO. We hope to have their stories as well as ours to report to you. Of course you are always welcome to continue to visit us here for our personal blog. The new one will have the dates that have already been taken for the rest of this year and next. We do have many openings and would love to have your church/team contact Mike at kempermk@gmail.com
The new blog is http://opgocostarica.blogspot.com

Operation GO - Costa Rica

2008-09-27T12:53:00.000-06:00

Pastors Conference

2008-08-17T20:03:00.004-06:00

Our mission sponsored a pastors conference this weekend. A team from Missouri came to lead in the services and Bible Studies. There were 18 pastors and their families from Guanacaste & Puntarenas areas of Costa Rica. They got to enjoy not only the spiritual aspects of the conf. but also family fun times like a water balloon fights, swimming, sports, etc. The ladies had fun times with card making led by Susan Wright one of our own missionaries. Friday was Mother's Day here in Costa Rica and the ladies had a great time, then the husbands even came to serenade them. Three of the mothers were given flowers for the oldest, youngest and the one with the most children (16 children). Later Mike and I took a family home that was a 7 hr. drive one way. The rain was terrible, you will see some of the pictures of the water we went through. Over all, it was a great time for renewal for the pastors and their families. Steve & Debbie Duvall our missionaries planned and put a lot of work into this but the success and glory goes to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Romeria

2008-08-05T10:30:00.007-06:00

Below are pictures taken from "The Romeria". This is a walk from San Jose to the city of Cartago, however many people walk from their hometown to Cartago. This pilgrimage takes place each year on Aug. 2nd in oder for the people of Costa Rica to worship the "La Negrita" in oder to get favors or miracles in their lives. One of our collegues described the walk as a "river of humanity" on the highway to Cartago. It has been reported an estimate of 2 million people made the walk this year. Once they arrive at the Basilica, they walk on their knees to show their devotion and allegence to the statue, "La Negrita". This year we had a team of about 25, 12 our our missionaries and the others from the Palabra de Vida (Word of Life) Baptist Church of Cartago, that gave out more than 50,000 tracts of the REAL plan of salvation. We stood and and gave out tracts from about 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. and it was not even a drop in a bucket as to the multitude of people that walked that day & night. The "La Negrita" is a little black statue of the mother Mary & baby. The people here refer to Mary as the "Mother of God". It was quite an expierence seeing all the people and realizing just how far from the truth of salvation that is found only in Jesus Christ that these folks have come to believe in.

Mission Way - Nicoya

2008-07-30T15:04:00.004-06:00

Thanks so much to the team from Mission Way Bapt. Church, Jacksonville, FL. We had a great week in Nicoya working with pastor Jorge. We spent 3 days of distribution of the gospel of John. We had the priviledge of participating in the annual celebration of the annexion of Guanacaste in the church on Friday night, but we had to spend the whole day cleaning the church. Below you will see several pictures of the celebration. At the showing of the film on Sat. night there was one man saved and many rededications to the Lord. May God have all the glory!

Mission Way - Nicoya

2008-07-30T12:57:00.001-06:00

FBC Dyer - Baranca

2008-07-09T16:07:00.002-06:00

2008-07-09T15:42:00.000-06:00

FBC Dyer - Fray Casiano

2008-07-09T14:04:00.002-06:00

FBC Dyer - Fray Casiano Team
Just as I promised here are new photos of the Dyer FBC Team to Fray Casiano, led by Doug Duncan. As you can see there were a multitude of people touched by this team. Many lives have been changed by the Holy Spirit, but using the hands of these wonderful volunteers of Dyer. Thanks again team!!!

Idlewild Baptist Church On Mission In Costa Rica

2008-06-02T23:44:00.002-06:00

Idlewild Baptist members work and witness in Orotina, Costa Rica.

2008-06-02T22:52:00.009-06:00

We finished the week in Orotina working with Pastor Jaime. Our team from Idlewild Baptist Church Tampa, FL. did a great job, even though we had a tropical depression which brought lots of rain day & night. There were 40 plus souls who asked Jesus into their hearts, children's ministry, 2 film showings, and much more. Thank you so much to Erik Clem, Maggie DeJesus, Chris Dick, Larry Ficca, Reina Flores, Lindsey Hagland, Doris Hall, Hilda Hodges, Jennifer Maass, Bob & Ann Munsch, Fred & Jean Vaudrin, Timothy Moore, Jonathan & Desiree Boyette. A special thanks to team leader, Ray Sanabria, who has taught his team well.

We're back!

2008-04-17T10:05:00.002-06:00

We made it back to Costa Rica on Tues. evening April 15th after being in the states for two weeks. After the funeral of my brother in law, Paul Faughn, on Wed. April 2nd, we went to be with Mike's mom in the hospital in Bryant,AR. Mom passed away on Friday evening April 4th. God is so good to have allowed us to be with her a couple of days before her going home to be with Him. Her funeral, or should I say celebration, was on Monday Apr. 7th. Mrs. Kemper was a woman of God as found in Proverbs 31. Mike was able to spend some days with his father in Ark. and I spent a couple of days with my sister in So. ILL. We both met in West TN for the last 3 days with our sons and their families.

We have lost two dear people in our family to death, my brother in law Paul, and Mike's mom, but I don't know of two people that had more faith than these two. They are now worshiping our dear Savior face to face, we can only dream and try to imagine the joy they have.

Thanks for all your prayers, cards, flowers and memorials. We certainly felt the strength that only comes from our Father, whom you have prayed to on our behalf.
Our MAC Region of our mission and our collegues have been super supportive of us and we owe them our deepest graditude.

Special Prayer Request

2008-03-31T12:12:00.002-06:00

As many of you know my brother in law, Paul Faughn, has been sick for some time. The Lord took him home to be with Him Sunday morning. Please pray for my sister Jackie and her family as they move through the grief process.

Also, Mike's mother is very close to death at this time in Little Rock. We will be leaving San Jose Tues. morning very early for Memphis. After the funeral for Paul on Wed. in So. Illoinis we will head for Little Rock, AR to be with Mike's family. Please pray for the Kemper's as they prepare to say goodbye to their Mom. She too was like a Mom to me.

Thank you already for the prayers you have lifted on our behalf.

Medina FBC in Cartegena, Costa Rica

2008-03-22T09:31:00.006-06:00

DOUBLE CLICK ON THIS VIDEO, THEN ON THE NEXT PAGE CLICK ON THE BLOCK ON THE RIGHT.

Medina FBC in Cartegena, Costa Rica

We worked with the FBC of Medina, Tennessee this past week in Cartegena. It was so hot and dry, but the team didn't give up. We distributed the gospels of John house to house, showed the film in the park, cleaned the park, painted the church inside and out, and had a children's ministry on Tues. afternoon. It was a great time with our friends from Gibson Co, TN. They were there not only to work in the community, but to encourage the pastor, Carlos Flores and his wife Juliana. 8 people came to know the Lord this week, that made all the hard work and heat worth it. You will see all the smiles on the faces of the nationals and our team. God is good!

Note

2008-03-02T20:39:00.001-06:00

Remember you you are invited to view other albums by clicking on "View Family Album" on the left side of this blog.

Guatemala Operation Go

2008-03-02T20:22:00.005-06:00

We just returned from a Operation GO trip in Guatemala. We were privileged to work with Larry & Sarah Pyler and Keith and Glenna Bartley, and a great team from Georgia. There were 7 new believers and 19 people who were interested in a new Bible Study in their neighborhood. Please pray for the national church workers as they now cultivate the seeds that were sown this week.

In these pictures: the team gathers around a lady with a large infection in her arm where she received an injection evidently with a dirty needle. The team paid for her to go to the doctor and a bus trip home. Mike and pastor Todd witness to a young man in the park. The team prays for our 3 missionary couples, the Plylers, the Bartleys and the Kempers. And of course, we are eating.

Prayers for Plans

2008-02-10T22:05:00.000-06:00

Mike and I really enjoyed being with the Gibson County Team this past week. Keep the new babes in Christ in your prayers in the town of Canas. Also, Mike and I will be flying to Guatamala Feb. 20th and return on March 1st. We will be working with a team there and will have the honor to work with 2 missionary couples that we have known for some time. This is part of our training with "Operation GO". Then March 13-20 a team from the FBC Medina, Tennessee will be here in Costa Rica to work with us in a small town called Cartagena. The weather there at that time will be very, very hot and dry. Please pray for this team as they prepare for this trip.

Canas - Gibson County Baptist, Tennessee

2008-02-09T23:31:00.000-06:00

We had a great team of 10 people from Gibson County Tennessee lead by Andy Rice of FBC Humboldt. They really worked hard in close to 100 degree heat everyday. We distributed 1,949 gospel of John. We showed the movie "Facing the Giants" in 2 different parks with approximately 200 people in attentance in the first showing and 100 for the second. Of course there were many ways satan tried to give us trouble, including me almost breaking my foot, but "Greater is who is in us that who is in the world." There were 33 people that came to know Christ as their Savior this week. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!

The team was able to use thier last day here to tour Volcano Arenal and some of God's creation of beauty.

VIDEO OF THE FBC FLAT CREEK GEORGIA

2008-01-21T12:30:00.000-06:00

TO WATCH PLEASE GO TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THIS BLOG SITE AND CLICK ON "VIEW THE KEMPER'S VIDEOS & PHOTO ALBUMS" TO SEE OUR LATEST VIDEO OF FBC FLAT CREEK GEORGIA. AFTER THE ALBUM COMES UP CLICK ON "FBC FLAT CREEK" THEN AGAIN ON THE BOX TO THE RIGHT THAT SAYS "FBC FLAT CREEK"

Mision Bautista Jerico & FBC Flat Creek Georgia

2008-01-21T12:12:00.000-06:00

PLEASE DOUBLE CLICK ON PICTURE TO MAKE LARGER.
We are having the privilege of working with the FBC Flat Creek Georgia for our first team after language school. We began work Friday with prayer walking and distributing scriptures, along with an invitations for a children's fiesta on Saturday morning and a showing of "Facing the Giants" (in Spanish of course)for Sunday night. We delivered 850 marked gospels of John and were able to talk and witness to many people. On Saturday we had a great morning with the children of the community. The kids had a great time of Bible Stories, songs, crafts and games. The volunteers seemed to enjoy themselves very much also! Sunday worship was really special, our missionary Mark Grumbles brought the message in Spanish and 4 of our volunteers gave their testimony intermittently during the sermon. God is good! Each testimony fit so well with the sermon Bro. Mark delivered.

I can't explain in words the Spirit filled time we had on Sunday evening at the showing of "Facing the Giants". I know most of you have seen this movie, but this time it was used as an evangelist event. There were many visitors to the Mission and it seemed everyone was touched in some way by the message in the film. This was not setting well with old satan and all the power went out suddenly about the middle of the movie and it was off for about 20 mins. Candles were lit and the pastor took that time to talk about the principles or lack of in the movie up to that time. Not one person left and we finished well. I couldn't help but think that the lights in that darkness was not just the candles, but the lights of Christ that came from Georgia. After the movie, one young Christian man stood and gave his tearful testimony how God was faithful during many, many giants that he has faced in his life. We may not all have understood all the Spanish, but we all understood the Spirit's moving in the service. We will continue to go into homes this afternoon, please pray that God will work in these folks lives.

PRAYER FOR STEPHANIE

2007-11-14T21:42:00.000-06:00

A SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST
This little girl, Stephanie, is 9 yrs old. She has a kidney disease and it seems there is not much they can do for her here. You can see how much fluid has built up in her body. Some of our missionaries go to this house every week for a Bible Study, trying to get a church started in that area. The missionaries gave her a birthday party last Sunday. She is a precious, happy, but very sick little girl. The doctors say that her prognosis is grim. Please pray for a miracle in her health. Pray for her mother who is trying to bear the whole burden of taking care of Stephanie, her other children and work when she can. Also pray for the Bible Study and that God's power be demonstrated in this family and community.
DOUBLE CLICK TO MAKE PICTURE LARGER

Good News

2007-10-16T15:38:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday night was the first Bible Study in Guayabo where the White Hall team worked. There were 15 people not counting the missionaries that were there for the study. That is a great start. This Wednesday night it will be in a home of one of the christian ladies that came and is interested in helping get a church started there. Please continue praying for this new cell group and the missionaries that will be going there every week to lead.

White Hall Baptist Video

2007-10-07T20:22:00.000-06:00

White Hall Mission Trip

DOUBLE CLICK ON THIS BLOCK, THEN ON NEXT SCREEN CLICK ON THE BLUE BLOCK ON THE RIGHT SIDE. MAKE SURE YOU WATCH TO THE END FOR THE CREDITS. More pictures can be viewed in our web albums. You will find the link to our web albums on the left side bar of this blog site.

White Hall On Mission In Costa Rica

2007-10-06T22:16:00.001-06:00

We just finished a wonderful week of missions in the village of Guayabo with Operation GO. This team did a great job! We spent the first day prayer walking the streets of this village. The next couple of days we spent from door to door to meet the people, talk with them, and invite them to the film "Facing the Giants" on Wednesday night. There was approx. 125 in attendance for the film. Also, with the aim of starting a Bible Study that will lead into a Church Plant. On Thursday we were able to get into 2 schools to show films that taught Christian Values. We were able to show the film 5 times to different classes. Also, we (our missionaries) were invited back next week to show the film to more classes. Because of this team, we are becoming known to the community and the people are accepting us. The first Bible Study will begin next Wednesday night Oct. 17th. Of course we took the team to some of the sites on Friday. Mike and I were blessed to be a part of this team!

Prayer request

2007-08-01T21:11:00.000-06:00

When we arrived back in Costa Rica on Monday evening we found out that Mike's sister Becky had a heart attack over the weekend. She is doing pretty good. She has some damage and blockage in the back of the heart that cannot be stinted. The doctors are going to manage her health with medication. She should come home from the hospital on Thursday (tomorrow). Becky has been the caretaker for their parents and now she probably won't be able to do as much as she would like to. Please pray that all of Mike's family as they deal with making decisions. Please pray for Becky as she recovers.

Trip to Panama

2007-08-01T20:22:00.000-06:00

DOUBLE CLICK ON PICTURE TO MAKE LARGER
Our trip to Panama was quite interesting. We are in line at the border waiting to cross the bridge on foot. On the other side we waited in line again for another stamp in our passport. The other picture shows us waiting to get on the water taxi that took us to the island. You see a picture at the top of the river we were on for about 30 mins. The long wooden boat is common there, a house that is common on the river, and the little house with the palm tree is our hotel. We only had a day & 1/2, but we had a great time.

Kemper Update

2007-07-26T13:35:00.000-06:00

Just a note to update you all on what we are up to these days. We are finishing up our 2nd trimester in language school. One more to go, and we should graduate the middle of December. We are involved still in a Monday Bible Study (cell group) in a Tico home. We are having 15 people each week. We are HEAVY into language learning. Please pray for us to understand and speak this language well in order to do the will of our Father. It is getting so complicated with so many tenses and moods when each verb has at least 6 changes in it's spelling from tense to tense. We do have some fun times in school. Below you will see a few pictures of some of the extras going on at school. Mike's father is doing really good, thanks for your prayers. His mom daily continues to loose more of her memory, but so far they both are able to stay in their home with Mike's sister, Becky, coming everyday to check on them. We are so thankful for Becky!! Our sons and their families are all doing fine back in West Tenn. We sure miss those GRANDkids.

Costa Rica Folk Dance

2007-07-26T13:10:00.001-06:00

DOUBLE CLICK ON PICTURE TO MAKE LARGER

July 25th is a special holiday for Costa Rica. Every year there are many special events recognizing the annexation of Guanacaste (a large area of NW of the Country.) Our school always has a special event with many Costa Rican participants. Our teachers do a folk dance and invited some of us students to participate with them. The 1st picture is Kathy and a missionary/student friend. (They are showing off the skirts Kathy made for this event.) The 2nd picture has one teacher (2nd from left) with the students that were invited to participate. Then the 3rd is the dance.

A REAL TRIP HOME

2007-05-30T18:46:00.000-06:00

We are back in school again, trying to catch up on what we missed in one week. It is amazing how much grammar that was covered in 7 days. We just have to share our story with you of our trip home. Our original flight was scheduled for 2 pm on Sunday. We arrived at the airport in Memphis at 11:30 am. We were told that our flight was going to be delayed, but they could put us on an earlier flight at 12:50pm. That sounded good to us so we waited. It turned out that this plane was delayed because the tire needed to be repaired. Finally we depart from Memphis at 1:50 pm. Fly to Houston and we were not allowed to land because of storms. The pilot says over the speaker we are going to be in a hold pattern until we could land, so we circled and circled. After about 40 mins. he comes on the intercom and says, "We do not have enough gas to continue in the air, we must land at another airport". That was really more than I really needed to know, he could have just landed without telling us we didn't have much gas left. Anyway, we landed at St. Charles, LA. , stayed there for about an hour and fueled up and then we were allowed to start back toward Houston. We landed in Houston at 5:50 pm and our connecting flight to San Jose, Costa Rica was to leave at 6 pm. We went to our next gate as fast as possible and were glad that this flight too had been delayed and we were to leave at 6:50 pm.
Well, all the passengers got on board but there were no pilots. We waited close to 2 hrs for them, then we waited to be fueled. The pilots decided they wanted more fuel before we left so we waited again. We were sitting still on that plane for 3 hrs before we could get in the air. OK, now we are close to San Jose and the pilot tries to make a landing and has to pull up. We were not allowed to land because of fog. Again we circled and circled and the pilot comes on to say we will have to go to another airport. We finally landed in Nicaragua around 1:30 am, they had to call in workers because they had all gone home for the night. Continental put all the passengers in hotels for the remainder of the night. We left on Monday back to San Jose around 12:30 pm and arrived around 1:10 pm. I thought well we made one landing OK, then the pilot comes on the intercom to say we cannot unload because they do not have a gate for us. Again we wait, for about 40 mins. We were really tired, but very thankful we did not run out of gas and we did make landings, just not the right places at the right times. Thanks for taking time to read all this, I am not sure, but this is probably more information than you wanted to know.

NEED YOUR PRAYERS

2007-05-20T22:15:00.000-06:00

Mike's dad had a heart attack on Saturday. He was taken to Bapt. Hosp. in Little Rock where it was determined that he has 4-5 blocked arteries and will undergo heart surgery on Tuesday morning. He also has a blocked carotid artery and some kidney failure. Please pray for Charles Kemper and Mike's mom, Robbie. Mike's mother has Alzheimer's disease and she doesn't understand all that is going on. Mike's dad has been the primary care giver for Mrs. Kemper for some time. Please pray that the family will make wise decisions. Mike and I are flying home tomorrow, Monday, to be with his family for the surgery. We will return to Costa Rica on Sunday if all goes well. Please continue to pray for us. THANKS. Kathy

FRONT OF MISSON HOUSE

2007-05-04T21:21:00.000-06:00

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This is a view of the front of our house. Looking out our front door, I have never felt so free behind bars and razor wire. See below for other views of house.

OUR KITCHEN & LIVING ROOM/DINNING ROOM

2007-05-04T21:17:00.000-06:00

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This is our kitchen and living room/dinning room. Look below for our back yard view.

Iglesia Cristiana Bautista El Lince

2007-04-16T16:59:00.000-06:00

This is a mission church that was started from the FBC of Desamparados, that we have been attending. The 1st picture is Pastor Fernando Ponce. He is from Peru, and has been the pastor of the mission for 7 yrs. This past Sunday the mission constituted into a church. The congregation in the photos are both the mother church and the mission folks. This is a very poor part of San Jose with many, many people. We hope to work more with this church in the future. CLICK ON PICTURE TO MAKE LARGER.

FBC Desamparados

2007-04-10T21:39:00.000-06:00

This is the church we are attending, the FBC of Desamparados. Easter Sunday all the SS classes participated in a progressive Passion Play, starting with the children then the youth and ended with the adults portraying the Crucifixion and Resurrection. If you look at the back right side of the audience picture you will see yours truly. DOUBLE CLICK ON PICTURE TO MAKE LARGER

THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS

2007-02-10T22:20:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much for your prayers for our block party. We had a great turn out for that community. These folks are not believers, but were very attentive to the gospel. Last Monday night at our Bible Study we had 25, that is a good increase from the previous week. Several of the people were from the efforts of the block party.

We just finished our 5th week of school. We have had a few test already and we did really well on them. Gracias a Dios!! Continue to keep our language on your prayer list.

Also, this past week our son, Phillip, was in a really serious accident doing his job with the police dept. We are so thankful that he or his partner was not hurt seriously. It was only by the grace of God. By the looks of the car and the speed that they were at the of the accident, it was nothing short of a miracle. There are sometimes like this I really want to be close to my family, but I know they are in the hands of God. That was very evident this week. When you pray for us this week, thank God for this miracle.

SEE PICTURES BELOW OF THE BLOCK PARTY
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BLOCK PARTY AT RIO AZUL

2007-02-10T21:46:00.000-06:00

PRAYER REQUEST

2007-01-29T14:30:00.000-06:00

We just finished our 3rd week of school. So far we are doing pretty good. We both have good grades in the language.

Continue to pray for our language.

Pray for our block party we are doing Saturday Feb. 3rd in a village called Rio Azul (Blue River). We are involved in a home bible study in that area on Monday nights. There are plans to start second group in that area. Hopefully the block party will allow us to meet and invite new people from the community. We and some of the other language students will be participating and we have very little language at this time. We will have a couple that supervise us that will be there to help with the language.

WATERFALL AND BUTTERFLIES

2007-01-27T21:24:00.000-06:00

FROGS AT LA PAZ WATERFALL

2007-01-27T21:19:00.000-06:00

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News

2007-01-22T21:43:00.000-06:00

We have great news. As some of you know we have been living with a Tico family since we arrived. We were told a first we would have to live here for 14 months. Now our leaders have given us the option of staying with a family or moving at the end of April to an apartment. By that time we will have been here 6 months and we are ready to have a place of our own. The family has been great host, but our room seems to be getting smaller after all this time. You know we Americans like our space. God does answer prayers!

Notes from the Kempers

2007-01-01T12:34:00.000-06:00

Feliz Ano Nuevo!! Happy New Year from the Kempers. We have been out of school for the last 2 weeks. We will begin our orientation with the formal language school Jan. 3rd. We have been fortunate to see a couple of places these last 2 weeks we thought you might like to see. The following pictures of animals are for the GA's, RA's, Mission Friends, & Awanas and all children young and old that are interested. There are monkey's, sloths, lizards, an iguana, birds, and a real live opossom and babies (TN. road kill). There are many butterflies of all colors and other birds like Tucans that we could not snap our camera fast enough to get a picture.

The following pictures of the garden is a place that Mike and I took a bus to about 1 hr from San Jose. It is a Bed & Breakfast in the village of Grecia (Greece) that we spent one night night at. It was a time of just retreating from the big city and seeing God's creation. If you like flowers and trees you will enjoy looking at these.

Please pray for us as we start this New Year in language school. It will be more intense learning than what we have been doing thus far. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers.
Kathy & Mike

Our "GO" trip to the Village of Pavis

2006-12-04T08:14:00.000-06:00

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Our langage group teamed with some of the memebers of the Missionary Baptist Church of Pavis. We distributed close to 1,000 copies of the Book of John, and we invited them (all in Spanish) to view the Film "The Hope" in the evening on Thru. & Fri. We are eating at the church. The picture of the shoes hanging over the power lines represents the drug gangs territory.

Drug & Alcohol Center for Men

2006-11-29T16:04:00.000-06:00

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We were able to actually go out and do some "mission" work for the first time today. Mike and I along with the others in our "barefoot language" class went to a Drug & Alcohol Rehab Center for men. Mike did his first Bible Study in Spanish. Of course he had to read it, as we are not fluent in Spanish. He did write the study and then had it translated and was able to read it clear enough for the men to understand him. God is good! Others of our group did presentations on work safety and cooking banana bread. It felt good to be doing something other than verbs.

Please pray for these 26 men that are trying to better their life. This center is a Christian based organization and it is operated from the sale of what the men make and sell. Some of those things are school desk, white wipe boards, rocking chairs, wood work, and other metal work. Here they get spiritually fed as well as learning a trade. Thursday and Friday we will go out into one of the smaller towns or villages to distribute the "Gospel of John" and make contacts for a church, as well as showing a Christian film at night. Pray that we will be able to be understood with our limited langauge and The Gospel in hand.

Ox Cart Parade (buey carretta)

2006-11-26T18:47:00.000-06:00

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We went to the annual Oxcart Parade today in San Jose! Here is some information about the Oxcarts. The Oxcart was designated National Labor Symbol in 1988. The Oxcart is a rustic strong vehicle with two compact wheels moved by oxen. The oxcart integrated Costa Rica into international commerce by becoming the main means of export transportation after 1840. The first shipment of coffee to London was transported from the coffee plantations to Costa Rica's main ports by oxcart in 1843. Painting oxcarts developed into a form of original Costa Rican art in the early 20th century. It was decided to add life to oxcarts by handpainting them with bright colors and geometrical figures. There are never two oxcarts painted the same. All of them contain changes in color tones and figures. This art has been passed from generation to generation up to the present time. Oxcarts portray the peaceful tradition of Costa Rica and the arduous and fervent labor of its people. They are perceived as a window to Costa Rica's optimistic vision of life, humility, patience, sacrafice, and endurance to pursue goals in a pacific and progressive manner.

Tropical Flowers

2006-11-19T14:52:00.000-06:00

Where the red fern grows. Also, where the red bananas grow.

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Trout Farm

2006-11-18T23:18:00.000-06:00

At the Rainbow Trout Farm - we caught our dinner ourselves and the outdoor resturant cleaned and cooked it for us. Eating outside in such a beautiful scenic setting was really a blessing. Here you see Kathy's big fish, the fish cleaners, and some of the beautiful sites.

Cartago Trout Farm and scenic view

2006-11-18T22:49:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed the adventure along the curving and mountainous road to a Rainbow Trout Farm a little beyond the city of Cartago. The mountains, tropical forrest, waterfalls, flowers, fruit trees, and unique vegtables were truly spectacular. It was a wonderful change of scenery from the city!

Cartago Field Trip

2006-11-18T22:36:00.000-06:00

Yesterday our group took a cultural field trip to the nearby province of Cartago, about an hour drive northeast of San Jose. The drive was beautiful! In the city of Cartago we visited the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles. It was sad to see people walking on their knees from the back of the church to the front where the priest was conducting the mass, in hopes of receiving special blessings. Also it was sad to see several people filling their bottles with what they consider to be "Holy Water."

Our Room

2006-11-18T22:32:00.000-06:00

Front of our house from the street view. All houses here have bars on the front and all windows. Also most homes have razor wire on the top edge of the house to keep robbers from going through the roof. We have a room with a small bathroom. Things are a bit "tight" but we are surviving!

Tico Dog

2006-11-18T22:25:00.000-06:00

Most Tico homes also at least one dog to announce the arrival of visitors or passers by. Our Tico dog is Dona! By the way, Dona is now a "bilingual" dog. Kathy has taught Dona to roll over and beg using English commands! I think the dog learned English quicker than we are learning Spanish.

First Month in Costa Rica

2006-11-18T21:14:00.000-06:00

We arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica on Oct. 26, 2006. While we are learning the language and culture of our new home we are living with a Costa Rican family. Costa Rican people call themselves, "Ticos." Our Tico family includes a mother (Lorena), three children in their twentys (Victor, Natalia, Madeleyne), and a seven year old boy (Jean Piero) and a dog named Dona! This family is working very hard to help us adapt. They do not speak English and that helps us to learn more of the language each day.

We are now involved in "Barefoot" language learning. The "official" language school begins the first week of January. Until then our small group of eight meet daily with a tutor in the mornings learning the basics of language and culture. Then in the afternoons the assignment is to go out on the streets to walk, look, and practice what we are learning each morning.