...our first post...

Dearest Friends and Family – Greetings from Costa Rica!

This letter serves as both an update and a petition. First the update: For the last year and a half, Paola and I have been working as tour guides/missionaries with an organization called Joshua Expeditions. We pick high school teams up at the airport and lead them through various vacation activities and a short-term mission trip while they are here. Admittedly, the first few trips were a bit difficult for us as we transitioned from full-time ministry working with marginalized people in marginalized communities, to working with privileged teens from private schools. It was somewhat of a culture shock, and it took a solid couple of months to really grasp what God was showing us; that these privileged teens were now our mission. Many of them were coming to Costa Rica completely broken, with hardships in their home lives, addictions, body image issues, depression, and an overall need for a deeper understanding of the world and God. Since coming to that realization, it has been amazing to see how these teens are willing to open up to someone they hardly know; asking for prayer, accountability, and advice. At first, it was difficult to think of ourselves as much more than chaperones, but now there is no doubt in our mind that we are indeed missionaries in a much needed mission field.

As team season began to wind down (it only runs about 6 months of the year), we started praying for the next step in our journey. We are still waiting and praying for Paola’s residency and visa resolution to come from the embassy, the outcome of which could be affirmative or negative; meaning we may be allowed in the states as early as August; or we could be denied…again. For our overall health and well-being, we knew that we needed to have something to fall back on here in Costa Rica so that if the answer is “no”, we won’t find ourselves desperate for work. As we began to seek and pray, instead of finding something to fall back on, we found God affirming us to stay regardless of the embassy’s decision. In February, we led a team on a home build with a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) group called Homes of Hope. Since Paola had worked with YWAM for four and a half years, we contacted the leaders and asked them what help they needed. They expressed their need for a bilingual lead builder (someone to manage the building of 22 houses between now and January); a bilingual team coordinator (someone to manage the teams that come to assist with the builds); and someone to develop a furniture building program to be able to furnish the houses that are built. It really seems like an opportunity created just for us, and we have felt such a confirming peace regarding committing to work with them for the next six months.

Now for an unexpected bombshell: Through our time working with Joshua Expeditions we have spent numerous days volunteering at an orphanage with the teams that come down. We have fallen in love with nearly every child there, but one has completely stolen our hearts. Her name is Alanis, and she is almost one and a half years old. It all started when Paola said, “I want her!”, and to her surprise, I said, “Let’s think about it.” It wasn’t a “No!”, and over the next few months, both Paola and I began to dream about her; I dreamt about being her father, and Paola dreamt about Alanis asking her to be her mom. Needless to say, each time we visit the orphanage it gets harder and harder for us to leave her. The adoption process in Costa Rica isn’t very expensive (compared to the states), nor is it very difficult. The only downside is that the adoption agency will not let you choose a child; you must apply to be parents and then the agency decides which child you get based on the parameters you set (age, gender, etc.). Learning this information was discouraging and disheartening, but the dreams didn’t stop, nor did the visits. In the last few weeks we have been put into contact with the former director of the adoption agency, who is now a diplomat for the entire country, through two of her close friends. They are encouraging us to go through with the adoption process and see what happens. We have decided that we don’t want to miss out on the blessing of being able to be parents to this wonderful little girl simply because we didn’t try hard enough. Therefore, we have committed to trying with all our might and all our resources to bring Alanis home.

This brings us to the petition: Most letters like this tend to hide the financial request behind a prayer request; we figure it’s better to just come out and say it – “We need money!” While working with Joshua Expeditions is paid, working with YWAM is not. Therefore, we need to raise funds for everything from toothpaste, to food, to rent, to gas, to adoption fees. For the sake of transparency, we are trying to raise $12,000 for the next 6 months. This basically pays our salaries to be able to work building houses for those in need while still impacting the lives of teens that come from the states to assist with the home builds. It comes out to $1,000 per month for each of us, which may not seem like much, but as we budget, that is the amount we have proven to be able to live off of. We are in need of one time donations as well as monthly donations; all tax deductible through YWAM. And yes, we need prayer! Lots of prayer! Please be praying for our work, for job safety, for sensitivity to notice brokenness, for the wisdom to make good decisions, for connection with those coming from the states, and for Alanis – for God to open and close doors that He deems appropriate as we enter into the process of trying to bring this little girl into our family.

Lastly, thank you for being a part of our journey, a part of this mission, and a part of the body that is working together for His kingdom.

Sincerely yours,

Paola & Dustin

PS anyone that is interested in donating/helping us raise support by hosting an event/or interested in finding out more information, please feel free to contact us at costaricaonamission@gmail.com.  If anyone is interested in sending a check, please make it out to 

Dustin Woida, NOT Dustin and Paola (for banking reasons) and send it to:

2565 E. Stretch Rd.

Merced, CA 95340