Micah and Beth Florea
Contact Info
Internet Office Phone: (719) 571-9503This is a US phone number
Costa Rica Office Phone: (506) 2446-8140
If calling from the US first dial (011)
Our Background
Micah grew up, along with his two brothers, in the small Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth, WA. His father was the pastor of the local Lutheran Church and very active with social issues in the community, eventually managing the local food bank and emergency shelter. As a child, Micah recalls delivering food baskets to families at Christmas time and sometimes interacting with homeless people that his parents would assist. From a young age, he was shown by example what it meant to be a light in the world, and he has continued to grow in his faith and commitment to the Lord ever since. Micah developed a passion for the Latin American culture and its people in high school, where about a third of the students were Hispanic. He learned Spanish so that he could reach out and connect with his Hispanic classmates who were often isolated from the majority due to the language barrier. He went on to minor in Spanish in college, and began to pray for the opportunity to serve God through his gift of engineering and his love for the Latin American people.Beth grew up in Silverdale, WA. Her parents raised her, her sister, and her brother in a non-denominational church. At a very early age Beth accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She attributes much of the growth in her faith to the example she had from her parents. In college, a friend showed her what it meant to be Christ-like in a way that Beth had never experienced. This friendship forced Beth to really grapple with her understanding of God. After traveling to other countries and spending a pivotal summer with her brother and his wife in South Carolina, Beth's life began to forge a new path. Shortly after graduating from college and taking a professional job at a large company, Beth met Micah. She fell in love with his passion for the poor and compassion for others. During Micah's internship with EMI in the spring of 2006 in Guatemala, Beth left her corporate job and joined him in Central America for a couple of months. While in Guatemala she learned Spanish, volunteered in an orphanage for abused girls, and developed her own passion for helping the poor. Together, Beth and Micah's vision became one and they married in August of 2006.
Professional Training and Experience
Micah graduated from Tulane University in 2002 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, having spent his junior year abroad studying engineering at the University of Costa Rica. Then, after working for a year at Pacific Engineering in Wenatchee, WA, Micah went back to school and earned his M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating in 2005, Micah returned to Washington and worked before doing a 6-month internship with EMI in Guatemala in the spring of 2006. After his internship, he spent two years working for Swenson Say Fagét, a structural engineering firm in Seattle. He obtained his PE license in April 2008.
Beth Graduated from Western Washington University with a B.A. in Accounting in 2005. She has three years of experience in corporate accounting. She also has some experience with non-profit fundraising, and she volunteered with a micro-lending organization that gives funds to local immigrants and refugees in the Seattle area.
Ministry Experience
Through his church in high school, Micah began taking trips to Guatemala to form relationships with a sister church in Guatemala City. He returned to Guatemala many times thereafter to continue these relationships and to develop an understanding of other cultures. In college, he was active in his church, helping to lead mission trips to El Salvador and Costa Rica, in addition to singing in the choir and participating in Bible studies and prayer groups. After college, he spent a year leading the youth group at his childhood church. He has taught ESL and has offered driver's training and basic computer classes to Hispanics in Washington State. Apart from his internship with EMI, and prior to becoming staff, Micah volunteered as part of an EMI disaster relief team that partnered with Compassion International in response to a devastating earthquake in Peru in the fall of 2007.
Beth was involved with numerous Bible studies and small groups during and after college. Shortly after graduating, she went on a mission trip to the Basque region of Spain with people from her home church. There, she was part of a ministry working toward building relationships with an unreached people group. She has had the opportunity to use her athletic knowledge and experience by coaching church basketball camps. When she volunteered in the orphanage in Guatemala, she had the privilege of teaching a weeklong basketball camp to 30 girls - all in Spanish! Beth loves using athletics as a way to connect with young girls and to build relationships based on Christ. Micah and Beth had the privilege of teaching Sunday school to 3-year-olds together at their home church in Seattle.
Since January 2009, Micah and Beth have been serving as staff in the EMI America Latina office. Micah initially served as a structural engineer, project leader, and intern mentor. In April 2011, he became the Office Director. Beth maintains the office finances, performs administrative and planning tasks, and mentors interns. They enjoy serving in ministry together.
Favorite Scriptures
Ephesians 3:20
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine… to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen."
Micah 6:8
"…And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Matthew 25:31-46
"…For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat...whatever you did to the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."