November 2009 Update

Hello all,



We’d like to update you on a few things regarding the work here in Costa Rica.



Tsimari school:



We are pleased to let you know that the Tsimari school is practically finished. This includes the walls, roofs, septic system, bathrooms, and water hook-up. A few minor details are left, such as refinishing the desks and chairs.



Giovanni and the community finished building the school in mid-November. Because of unforeseen delays and other commitments, we were unable to be directly involved with this phase of the school building, but were so blessed to hear Giovanni’s great report. The community worked extremely hard, including hauling rock for the septic filter. This was also Giovanni’s first time managing a project in our absence, and he did a wonderful job. Although our hearts were in Tsimari with Giovanni, we strongly felt that it was God’s plan that Giovanni take on this new role and responsibility.



We have posted a few pictures of the new school building below. Because our digital camera was experiencing some technical difficulties, we sent Giovanni with a disposible film camera, so please pardon the photo quality.



We are making plans to finish the details on the school the first week in December, if the weather behaves. We are planning on having the school inauguration in Tsimari at the beginning of February, right before the new school year begins.



One thing we really hope and pray for the Tsimari school is a new schoolteacher. There have been a number of problems with this individual, and, as a result, the children’s education has suffered. We are praying that this next school year, there will either be a change of heart in this teacher, or that another (better) teacher is assigned to the Tsimari school.





Chirripó-Cabécar Health Outposts Project:



As some of you may know, for a while it has been on our hearts to aid in revamping the government healthcare system for the indigenous people in Costa Rica, particularly the Cabécar people of Chirripó. While waiting on God’s timing and opportunity for this plan to be presented to the right authorities, we were given some insight into how to start doing something now- without waiting for the government authorities to take action.



There are currently 7 government health outposts (HO) in the reservation, in various states of disrepair. There is a need for at least 12 health outposts in total. The existing HO are not given regular maintenance beyond the initial construction, due to the fact that the health outpost belongs to the community and not the government. Since the government is not the owner, it does not allot funds for general upkeep.



In September, we were blessed to host a construction team from the Crossroad Church in Jacksonville, Florida, who helped bring much-needed repairs to the health outpost nearest us, in the community of Tsimiriñak. It was through their visit, that the idea was sparked to begin working on getting private funding, along with organizing the community, in order to work on improving the healthcare infrastructure of the health outposts on the reservation.



We would love to see church’s, other organizations, or individuals “adopt” a health outpost so that these may be outfitted and adequately maintained in order to provide an optimal place for the government healthworkers to provide their services. The wonderful thing about this type of project is that the health outpost remains under the community’s ownership and there are no government limitations to receiving private funding and support.



During the Crossroad’s team visit, they were able to change out a rusting roof, improve the natural lighting, replace termite-ridden support beams, and paint. This group worked really hard, and the community was so blessed to see so much done in the short time they were here.





Well, that’s it for now. Thanks for all your prayers and support. We really appreciate your prayers for continued direction in how to do truly transformational development in a sustainable way, while bearing Christ’s love wherever we go.



By His grace,



Alekcey and Judith

New school building in Tsimari

Building the school in Tsimari

Community members building their new school in Tsimari

Tsimirinak health outpost, before

Tsimirinak health outpost, before

Tsimirinak health outpost, before

Initiating major repairs

Major repairs continue

Tsimirinak health outpost, after

Independence Day

In Costa Rica, Independence Day is celebrated on the 15th of September. This year, Independence Day took on special meaning as we celebrated the independence of the Cabecar people in the community of Tsimari through the inauguration of two bridges. Because of these bridges, the people of Tsimari now have the freedom to send their children to school without fear of swift currents sweeping them away. They have the freedom to come and go as needed for work, supplies, food, and healthcare regardless of the height of the river.

God has blessed us immensely on this particular journey, which began with our first visit to the community of Tsimari in March 2008. At that time, the community was unanimous in their agreement that their most pressing need was for the bridges over the Pacuare and Tsimari rivers. We knew that this was an opportunity for us to show the love of Christ to this community that, in another Cabecar´s own words, is located "where the devil left his shirt" - i.e., far away and isolated.

The Lord provided us with people who were passionate about the project and were willing to pour resources into this project through the Hospital Clinica Biblica, which, along with the donation of some materials by other private companies, fully funded the entire project. We were especially blessed to have Pablo Martinez, the Hospital Clinica Biblica´s engineer to design and direct the construction. Before working at Clinica Biblica, Don Pablo worked with the U.S. Army in Panama building bridges in the area of the famed Darien Gap (where souther Panama borders with Colombia), so he was the perfect person to work with on this project.

One of the most important things about this project was the dedication of the people in the community, who worked hard to do their part. Men and women, young and old, came out to haul rock, sand, water, carry supplies to the bridge site, and anything else that needed to be done. After all, this was their project. This was, by their own admission, their biggest need.

The bridges were completed on September 14th of this year through the hard work of Giovanni, Don Pablo and his team of volunteers, and the community. Words are inadequate to express how grateful we are to God that He allowed us to a part of this demonstration of His love for the people of Tsimari. Through this process, the people of Tsimari have new bridges, and we have new friends.

Our involvement with the people of Tsimari doesn´t end here. We believe that God has led us to this community so that it would be changed from a forgotten place to a shining example of how God´s love and grace can transform us.

In October, we plan on finishing the school. We also hope to be able to get a new teacher for next year, which is also the desire of the community. After that, We will work on getting a horse trail established for the community. We are also asking God for direction in how to help the community have a source of income in Tsimari.

Thanks to all for your prayers and support. You are such an important part of this all.

By His grace,

Alekcey and Judith

Loading the helicopter

Carrying supplies to bridge site




Recycled plastic beams for flooring

Crossing river with 80Kg tower

Taking a tower up the river bank

Tightening cable clips: Don Pablo with Fernando

Tightening cable

Distributing floor beams along cables

Alekcey bolting in floor beams

Working on the Pacuare bridge

Cabecar girl watching Don Pablo work

Aniceto tightening links

Finished Tsimari bridge

Tsimari bridge

Finished Pacuare bridge

Schoolchildren crossing the bridge

Aniceto "cuts the ribbon" - Cabecar style (machete to plantain leaf)

Hospital Clinica Biblica volunteers and Giovanni

Tsimari Update

Hello all,
We’d love to give you an update on what is currently happening in the community of Tsimari.

Bridges:
It has definitely been a long-haul for the bridge project, but we trust that God has his perfect timing for everything. As you know, we were able to complete the first phase of the construction of two bridges in the remote indigenous community of Tsimari in March-April of this year. In May, we hired a Cabécar friend of ours to cut the boards for the flooring of the footbridges. He spent the month of June in Tsimari with his chainsaw cutting boards for the bridges as well as for the floor of the school. Plans to complete the second and final phase of the bridges in July have been postponed until August-September 2009 due to complications in the health of the head engineer, Don Pablo.

School:

As some of you may remember, the school in Tsimari has been on our hearts ever since our first trip to Tsimari when we were told that the boards of the school building were “lent” by one of the elders of the community, who wanted them back. Thankfully, we were made aware of a donation by the Japanese embassy of the materials for five schools on the reservation, and were able to secure some of these materials for Tsimari.

Perhaps the most challenging part of building the school is the transportation of materials to the school site in Tsimari. Thanks to generous donations by the Village Parkway Baptist Church (San Antonio, Texas), Hospital Clínica Bíblica, and individuals, we were able to finance the flooring for the school (not covered by the Japanese embassy donation) as well as the cost of transporting the materials by helicopter.

Last week, we were blessed to be able to begin the process of building the new school with the help of some volunteer friends and the community. We were joined by Dustin Gauthier (Dan and Lori’s son), family physician Margaret Gill (One of our mentors from our residency program at Mayo), and Margaret’s three oldest sons: Sean, Erin, and Collin.

The process began with the transportation of the materials by external load (materials loaded onto a basket, suspended from the helicopter by a steel cable), which is a precarious process. We are thankful for the skill of the helicopter pilots who expertly flew the loads over the mountains to the narrow valley of Tsimari.

The goal last week was to finish the flooring for the school. Everyone worked incredibly hard and together we were able to finish Friday morning, the day before we were scheduled to hike out. The last day, we were able to deworm a large part of the community, as well as provide school supplies to the school children of Tsimari.

Although we have faced (and continue to face) certain challenges and complications in seeing these projects through, we are thankful for God’s faithfulness and His perfect timing in it all. It is thanks to Him, and to you all, through your prayers and support,that we are able to move forward in demonstrating God’s love and care for the people of Tsimari.

Thank you and God bless,

Judith and Alekcey

Disclaimer: The following pictures are not in chronological order due to technical issues!

Moving the construction materials to the pick-up site

Construction materials ready for helicopter transport

Community meeting at new school platform

Giovanni piñata

Enjoying a break after work

Parasite treatment, pain pills and school supply stations

Floor almost finished

Alekcey and Erin Gill squaring off floor boards

Hiking out

Cabecars and volunteers working on new school

Starting the floor

Rebuilding the latrine

Working on the floor support beams

Old school structure coming down

More support beams and team work

Old school building over new floor structure

Transporting school materials

The "Dang" Moment

This term was recently coined by a dear friend of mine as I shared with her a recent example of how something which I, at first, felt to be an incovenience, turned out to be orchestrated by God. A dang moment occurs when something unexpected and inconvenient changes our intended course of direction for that day. Our first response is often to think, feel, and/or say “dang” (or some variation) as our carefully thought-out plans are altered in ways beyond our control. It is an opportunity to trust in God and His goodness, even when we can’t see the sense in it all. Sometimes, but not always, God allows us to see His purpose behind the “dang moment”. Such is the case described below.

One Thursday morning, Alekcey, Giovanni, and I drove as far as the road would take us into the reservation, close to the nearby Cabécar community of Tsimiriñak. Our purpose that day was to evaluate the termite-ridden structure of the health outpost in anticipation of its renovation by a team in September. We were just about to leave when a group of “outsiders” arrived, including government workers from the National Commission of Indigenous Affairs and a few volunteers who had brought some donated clothes to distribute to the Cabécar people. We briefly greeted them, and were about to be on our way to leave them to their “paternalistic, look-at-the-poor-indians-and-aren’t-we-so-great-to-be-giving-them-things” activities, when one of the volunteers tells us that he left his rented vehicle in the middle of the road when he could go no further (apparently some malfunction with the four-wheel-drive), essentially leaving us trapped for the time being. Rather than volunteer to move his vehicle so we could leave and go on with our day, he asked us to wait until they finished with their planned activity with the community (essentially, handing out clothes). Faced with no other choice, we waited.

After a while of waiting, Alekcey decided that we should head over to the plaza to see what they were doing. Honestly, I had no desire to be a witness to yet another grab-fest of donated items, the majority of which I knew we would later see strewn on the trail. Sure enough, when we got there they were handing out thick, heavy sweaters that I knew the people would never wear in the warm climate of that community. I headed over to mingle with some of my Cabecar women aquaintances, while Alekcey spoke with some of the volunteers. He shared with them about our mission, vision, and development-minded approach. The volunteers immediately recognized the value in what Alekcey was sharing with them, particularly regarding why we don’t usually give things away.

Soon, we were all heading back to our respective vehicles, when Alekcey shared with me the volunteer’s receptiveness to what he had to say. I was immediately convicted – after all, hadn’t I been in that very spot a few years ago until I had the opportunity to be gently corrected in my way of thinking? It was at this moment that I began to recognize the greater purpose in our being “trapped”.

We invited the group over to our place in Paso Marcos for drinks, snacks, and a brief tour of the facilities. As we sat around the table in our dining area, we shared thoughts, experiences, plans, and ideas. By the end of their time with us, we had made new friends and government contacts, and were invited to the next meeting of the National Commission of Indigineous Affairs, which is the government entity over all the indigineous peoples of Costa Rica.

After they left, I sat down to reflect on the lessons taught to me that day, as God reminded me in His gracious and gentle way who I am and who He is.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

April 2009

2 Corinthians 4:6-7

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Greetings dear friends,

We are incredibly blessed to be able to share with you some of the wonderful things that have been happening over the last couple of months. It is great to be able to reflect and see the Lord’s faithful hand in it all.
In February we celebrated our two year anniversary of dental clinics by branching out to a new area. We took the dental team to the area of Tsipirí, hosted by our friends Phillip and Saukeen Jones, which is in the Cabécar reservation about an hour’s drive from our place in Paso Marcos. Here, the dental team was received very well, and the Cabecars were generous with their produce of a variety of root vegetables, plantains, and beans. There is much need for dental care in this area, and plans are to continue to provide dental care here as well as continuing in Paso Marcos.
March and April have been a whirlwind of events, starting with Dan and Lori Friedly, along with their teenagers Dustin and Kristen, joining us for long-term service in Costa Rica. Dan and Lori felt God calling them to come work with us in Paso Marcos when they were here with a team a little over a year ago. They will be starting intensive Spanish study in San José at the end of April, and will then join us for the work in Paso Marcos permanently when they are done. We feel so blessed to have them here, and are so thankful for more hands and feet to do the work in this area.
Soon after the Friedly family’s arrival, we hosted a team from our home church in San Antonio, Village Parkway Baptist Church. The team had been working hard to get into physical condition for the hike to Tsimari (about 9 hr hike in the reservation), and we were working hard getting everything ready to start the bridge-building project in Tsimari. We prayed for good weather so the helicopter would be able to fly in, since we had been having unusually rainy weather for this year’s dry season. What do ya know – we had good weather, but a piece broke off the helicopter as it was leaving the hanger that morning.

The trip to Tsimari was cancelled for that week as the helicopter underwent repairs, but the team had a project to do: the night before as Alekcey was packing the supplies on top of the cars, the carport collapsed! It is a miracle that no one was physically injured – as Alekcey saw the roof coming down he immediately jumped down from the car, but his foot caught in the rack, and he ended up hanging from the side of the car, and he was completely uninjured! We brought the team back to Paso Marcos, and the team helped us rebuild the carport and help us with other maintenance on the road and property. The highlight of the week, however, was when our pastor, Pastor Steve, baptized Giovanni in the river in front of our property. It was a special time for all of us.

A few days after the team left, we got notice that the helicopter was repaired and Judith, Dan, Lori, Dustin, Giovanni, and Iris were off to Tsimari to begin the first phase of the bridge building. Alekcey was only able to make a quick trip in and out on the first day because he had some important commitments in San José, as well as the third seminar for the Aspen Institute’s Central American Leadership Initiative, this time in Nicaragua. Although it was hard for Alekcey not to be in Tsimari after so much work in preparation, it was clear that he needed to be in Nicaragua learning, building relationships, and networking, while Judith took the lead for the happenings in Tsimari.

Judith & Co. spent 10 days in Tsimari, and two days hiking out. It was incredible to experience a year’s worth of planning and pushing forward come to fruition. It was truly a community event – almost everyone from the community helped out – an elderly man with an unsteady gait, nursing and pregnant mothers, schoolchildren of all ages, and many others – everyone worked so hard that we finished the foundations for the two bridges in the time we were expecting to finish one. Seeing the community come together in this way is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced (Judith).

A few days after returning from Tsimari a group of guys from the International Youth Group in San José honored us with their presence for a couple days during Easter Week. A couple of these guys actually broke ground for the multipurpose building (where we live and work) a couple of years ago and hadn’t been back until now. Sad to say guys, Paso Marcos isn’t “roughing it” any more… We are thankful for their hard work painting the roof and helping us with other maintenance on the property, as well as the evening entertainment they provided. The rest of Easter Week we had many visitors come by – both old and new- but in the midst of it all, we somehow managed to rest.

This past weekend, we hosted another dental clinic here in Paso Marcos. It is really wonderful that the community can now depend on regular dental care here, and we feel blessed to be a part of it.

Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers. We are so thankful for you all.

By His grace,

Alekcey and Judith

The Friedly Family

Hiking out from Tsimari with new dog Gracie

Handing out school supplies in Tsimari


The crew looking over the bridge blueprints



Cabecar workers in Tsimari



Reading the Bible in Cabecar before lunch




Carryin sacks of cement across the Tsimari river


Making holes for the bridge foundation



Two proud Cabecar workers



Taking cement across the river


Cooking over an open fire in our Tsimari home




Cabecar women bringing up buckets of water from the river for the concrete



Men working at one of the bridge sites

Mixing concrete

Dustin and Judith putting up walls around the latrine

Unloading bags of cement from the helicopter

Unloading the helicopter