News from Judith and Alekcey: Our Neck of the Jungle

Greetings everyone,

Once again, we are blessed to be able to share with you some of what has been going on with us. God continues to be so generous with us in allowing us to participate in so much of what He is doing here.

We have to admit, we are often overwhelmed with the opportunities that continue to open. That is one of the many reasons why we are so thankful to have our new partners, Dan and Lori Friedly (and son Dustin) come to live and work with us full-time in Paso Marcos. Dan and Lori just graduated from language school in San Jose and moved in with us last week . They are helping us with logistics for our current projects, and will be starting a much-needed youth mentorship program for our area.

Here's a quick overview of our last couple of months:

Dental Clinics:
Hospital Clinica Biblica continues to provide us with the professionals and equipment for ongoing medical care in this area. Since the last blog, we have hosted two more dental clinics: one in Tsipiri (in the Cabecar reserve) and another in Paso Marcos. In addition to providing general dental care to these communities, we are starting something new by targeting two schools in the area- one in Tsipiri, and the other near Paso Marcos-with the goal of taking the school children from the curative stage through to the preventative stages of dental care. This will include educational activities for oral health at the school, as well as individual interventions for each student.

Agribusiness Partnerships
The community has responded very well to this program, and through funds provided through ICDI, the number of partners continues to expand. Last month, the farmers went to their first agronomy workshop at the University of Costa Rica, which specifically addressed banana cultivation. It is such a blessing to see the excitement and hope in each partner as they invest in their future.

Optometry Team
Last month, we were blessed to be a part of hosting one of three optometry teams with VOSH (Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity) in the area, specifically for the community of Tsimiriñak. They were a blessing to the community through the provision of eye exams and glasses.

Tsimiriñak Health Outpost Dormitories
This month, we had the privilege of hosting a team from the Crossroads Church youth group from Jacksonville, Florida. Last year, Crossroads sent a construction team for the health outpost in Tsimiriñak. This team continued with this project by helping us with the initial phase in building the dormitories for the healthcare personnel next to the health outpost. The community came to work side-by-side with the team, and together they were able to accomplish quite a bit in the few days that they were here.

New Indigenous Healthcare Model
We have been working together with the government health area coordinator, Dr. Luis Meneses, in defining and refining the new healthcare model. So far, both the Cabecar community and the government authorities have been receptive. Please pray that we will have wisdom as we help with the execution of this new model -- there is so much to do!

Central American Leadership Initiative (CALI)
Some of you may remember that Alekcey has been part of an Aspen Institute fellowship program called CALI, which is a leadership development program for young leaders in government, business, and social sectors throughout Central America. The last seminar, as well as the graduation ceremony, was held this month in Antigua, Guatemala. This was a special time of fellowship, networking, and encouragement with this great group of people who truly are motivated to invest their lives and resources to better their countries and region.

Judith's parents also joined us in Antigua, and it was a wonderful time of fellowship, and shopping. Judith discovered her ministry to the indigenous street vendors (she's seen this in Peru, as well). She befriended a Christian Mayan woman named Deborah (and her daughters Rebekah and Flory), who invited them to her house and church. Judith and her mom traveled on bus to the nearby town of San Antonio de Aguas Calientes for a time of sharing with these precious brothers and sisters in Christ in their small church. They even asked Judith to do the Bible teaching - which she found out about minutes before church started while riding the bus to the church! It was a special time of encouragement on both sides.

Thanks, again, for making our being here possible through your love, support, and prayers. Please pray that God will continue to give us wisdom of how to manage our time in the best way possible for His glory.

By His grace,

Alekcey and Judith