Bridge Over Troubled Water...

This is the third year in a row that we have celebrated Costa Rica`s independence day with the Cabecar people as they gain their independence from dangerous river crossings through the construction of new bridges.

The Duchi bridge is the fourth bridge we have been able to complete together with the Engineering and Maintenance Department of Hospital Clinica Biblica, and with the support of many individuals and institutions.   This is the only bridge spanning the dangerous Chirripo river, which each year claims lives of those daring to cross its swollen waters during rainy season.   Thanks to this bridge, approximately 3500 people now have safe access to healthcare, education, and commerce.  Per the request of the community, this 75 meter-long bridge was built to be able to sustain the weight of pack animals and even all-terrain vehicles.

The week we built the bridge was a week of extremes:  extremely exhausting as the workday started at 6 am (5:30 am for the cooks) ending anywhere from 6-8 pm, and extremely rewarding as we worked alongside the Cabécar people for their community.  Alekcey worked hard with the bridge building team, while Judith and Iris (our friend and neighbor) kept everyone well-fed.

Almost every day, one or more of the girls from the Art Mentorship Program would come and help out in the kitchen and with the worker´s laundry.  There was a constant flow of visitors, old friends and new, providing us with tremendous opportunities to broaden and deepen our friendships amongst the Cabécar people.  Every day the people came bearing gifts given out of the gratitude of their hearts, ranging from pork meat, beans and other produce, to a hand-woven bag and hammock.  It´s possible we left with more food than what we came with!

Because it was Costa Rica´s independence week (190 years of independence from Spain), the nearby school and highschool included us in all their celebratory activities, including the evening parade of "faroles" (home-made lanterns) on Sept. 14th to the bridge site.

All in all, it was an incredible week, and we thank you again for your support and prayers.

We´ll sign off with a Cabécar phrase that was put on the plaques adorning both sides of the bridge, for every person crossing the bridge to see:

Säkeklä te bas wapeble

(May the Lord go with you)

Our mess tent

The old dilapidated cart

Rolling out the cable

Setting up the utility cable

Tightening bolts

Cabecar kids helping

Tensing cables in the rain at night

Tensing the bottom cable

Installing the vertical cables

Watching the crew at work

Marcelo, our Centro Emanuel worker 

Clinica Biblica crew working on flooring

Alekcey securing the lifeline

The old and the new

Working at night

Almost across

The "Faroles" parade

Independence Day

Before and after

Life Abundant

Not to us, O LORD, not to us

but to your name be the glory, 

because of Your love and faithfulness.

Psalm 115:1

Since starting our work with the indigenous and non-indigenous people in our little corner of the world in 2006, we have often received comments from well-meaning visitors such as these "It's really impressive how you have given up a secure and comfortable life for a life of service" or  "Wow, you've really left behind a lot to serve in this obscure part of the world."   The truth is, there is no other place we would rather be.  Every day our hearts are filled with gratitude for the life to which  God has called us: a life full of challenges, to be sure, but rich in rewards.  He made us for this, and there is no greater contentment than to be in the center of His purpose.  It has certainly been a journey of faith, and every day we sit on the edge of our seats in anticipation of how He may be leading us next.

We'd love to give you an update on several different aspects of our lives over the last few months.  There really is so much going on, that it's hard to boil it all down, but we'll do our best to try.

Art Mentorship Program

It wasn't until recently that we found out that the Cabécar nickname for the Christians on the reservation is translated as "the meeters, or the people who meet".  In June, I challenged the girls, who had been on the receiving end for about 8 months, that it was time to start giving out of what they have received.  They took on the challenge to no longer be known simply as "the meeters" (after all, a lot of people have meetings - in government, in school, etc.), but to be known for Christ's love in them as "the people who love, the people who help, children of God".

As the girls come from different communities, we decided to take turns having each girl host an outreach to their respective communities.  We leave after art class on Saturday, then hike together with all the girls to the hosting girl's house while visiting homes of people in need along the way. We then spend the night at the girl's home, and return to our respective homes the following morning (Sunday).

The girls have identified people in their communities who are lonely, mourning, sick, or discouraged.  They then encourage, pray, sing, and just love the people we visit.  We have done two such outreaches so far, and the girl's excitement at what God can do through them is contagious.  The important thing is that these outreaches be led by each girl - I (Judith) am just there for encouragement and support, and am honored to be a part of it all.

Sikwa Ditsä School

About 1 1/2 miles down the road from us in Paso Marcos, just inside the reservation, there is a school called "Sikwa-Ditsä", which means "Non-indigenous person/indigenous person", denoting the mixed ancestry of many of the children who attend.  Through the support of national and international individuals, we at Centro Emanuel have adopted the school.  A Costa Rican accounting firm (C&V Associates) has provided school supplies and backpacks for all the children, and groups from the U.S. are helping to improve the facilities.  These groups include our dear friends from our days in Rochester, the Gill family, as well as our home churchVillage Parkway Baptist Church in San Antonio.  Our local team, the Friedly family and the Longs, plan to augment the children's education with English, health, and outdoor phys ed. classes.

U.S. visit

It had been almost 2 years since we had visited the U.S. together, and in July we were able to spend about 3 weeks visiting friends, churches, and family in Texas, Nebraska, and Colorado.   Also, during this time Alekcey was invited to the Aspen Institute's Global Leadership Network Conference, called Act II, to participate as a lead discussant for the round table topic of "Can a nation develop without losing its soul?".   God really blessed our time there as a time of learning, relationships, and rest.

Erika

Our 20 yr old niece, Erika, gave her summer to serve in whatever capacity she was needed in Costa Rica.   Her time here included helping home-schooled missionary kids finish up their school year, teaching violin, living with a Cabecar family and tutoring in English at the Cabecar high school (English is one of their required classes), helping in the kitchen during teams, helping with construction work at the school, and composing an amazing song that we are still humming at Centro Emanuel.  I'm sure I've left something out, but, all in all, it was great to have her here and to see how she was shaped by her time in Costa Rica.

Helicopter Program Update

Some of you may remember our mentioning our aspirations to start a Helicopter Program to support the work in the remote indigenous areas of Costa Rica.  The real possibility of this started with the scouting visit of two prospective missionary pilots in April of this year.  As these things often go,  in spite of gentle pushing and prodding in different directions, not much happened to move this project forward here in Costa Rica until about 2 weeks ago -- and now it is really moving forward fast (it's often like that here - all or nothing!).

We have begun the process of soliciting the permits for rotor-wing ambulance and internal/external load transport services for a Huey helicopter in Costa Rica;  and our missionary helicopter pilot partner, Paul Abbott, is looking at a helicopter for sale in Washington, as well as working on beefing up his Spanish so he can pass the licensing test here in CR.  The idea of this program is to run the only rotor-wing air ambulance in Costa Rica, as well as offer cargo transport services, which will in turn fund helicopter services in remote areas of the reservation for ministry purposes.

Honestly, getting this program going is definitely a stretch to our faith, since it requires start-up funding many times greater than the funds we are use to raising and handling.  BUT we realize that this is not a limitation for God.  Please pray for us that we may be wise in handling all aspects of this new venture, and that He will be the center of it all.

Duchi bridge

This is the third year in a row that God has allowed us to direct the construction of a bridge on the reservation.  The Duchi (or Chirripo) river divides the reservation, separating thousands of Cabecar people from the outside world.  About three years ago, the bridge over this river collapsed, and people had to resort to either crossing on a precarious cable or fording the river.  In the last year, both of these options have proven fatal at one time or another as people attempt to cross the river to sell their produce, buy food, or access healthcare.

Once again, the Engineering and Maintenance Department of Hospital Clinica Biblica in San Jose, with funding from multiple sources, will be building the bridge along with the community and our team from Centro Emanuel September 10th-17th.  We would very much appreciate your prayers during this time.  Our hope is that this bridge would be a monument of God's great love for the Cabecar people.

As usual, there is more going on that we can talk about in one blog (we should probably write more -but it sure is hard to find the time!).

We are so thankful for your continued love and support.  You are a vital part of all that goes on here.  

Thank you for your partnership.

Cable over the Duchi river at the future bridge site

Alekcey with the Duchi bridge committee

Cabecar high shool where Erika taught English

The Gill brothers

Brian Gill painting the Sikwa-Ditsä school

Cabecar schoolchildren rappelling

Working on Sikwa-Ditsä school

Students and work team

The kids are on their way to having a new school 

Open Doors and Stained Glass Windows

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

I Corinthians 2:9

Dear family and friends,

Each year has its unique challenges and blessings (these are not mutually exclusive), and this  year is no different.  We continue to be amazed at God's timing in opening doors that had been shut, while at the same time closing other chapters in our lives.  We try to be sensitive to what He is leading us to do, and not just assume the direction we should take.

One of the doors God has reopened recently (more like flung open) has been the proposal for changing the government healthcare model for the Cabecar people in this area.  When we first felt the need to start thinking about this (aprox. 4 yrs ago), we thought, "The need is obvious, but how are we ever going to be in a position to change this?" .  Well, thank goodness that we don't have to see the big picture in order to be obedient, and after all these years, God has opened up the door to work with the higher government healthcare officials and present the proposal in the next 1-2 weeks.  This is just the beginning, and there is much work to follow; but we are encouraged by what has been taking place.

Here is another door that is being opened:  Any of you who know us know that we are always full of ideas and dreams.  One that we had often considered as an "impossible dream" was a helicopter transport service for health and infrastructure reasons in the remote access areas of the reservation.  

We won't bore you with the intricate details, but here it is in a nutshell.  A month ago we were blessed by a visit of two U.S. helicopter pilots who are exploring the possibility of moving to Costa Rica with their families as full-time missionaries to start a self-sustaining helicopter program.  This program will provide rotor-wing medevac and transport services under Hospital Clinica Biblica, with the profits going to serve the underserved in remote access areas of Costa Rica (mainly, the Chirripo and Talamanca indigenous territories).    These pilots have a wealth of abilities and information (both ex-military - one has even flown in our mountains before), and are humbly seeking God's direction for their lives in this area.  We are still in the early stages, and need a helicopter, but look forward to seeing how God directs and provides in all of this.  

Judith continues to lead the Art Mentorship Program in Tsipiri with adolescent Cabecar girls.  It has been a blessing to study God's word, pray, and work together.  This year the girls are working on a series of four stained glass windows for the Tsipiri church.  It has been slow going, but the process of growing together has been wonderful.  

During Semana Santa (Holy Week) this year, we were able to visit a few of the girl's homes and be a part of the baptism celebration a couple of the girl's brothers in the Chirripo river (along with Philip Jones and family).  It was a really wonderful time, with opportunity to deepen relationships as we shared time together on the hikes, in their homes, and, of course, in the river.

One of God's special blessings to us this year was the opportunity to share with Judith's sister Jill's family, who were here for several weeks.  Jill and her seven kids adapted well to Costa Rican life, and seemed to particularly relish "jungle" life on their visits to Paso Marcos and Tsipiri.  The girl's in Judith's art class really enjoyed some organized games with Jill and the kids - which were sometimes slightly changed in order to fit the context.  Case in point:  one item of a scavenger hunt was to bring back a live chicken in a sack - boy did the kids have fun with that one.

In March, a couple of dear friends (and ICDI founders) from San Antonio visited us: Ron Sweet, who had some very interesting adventures on his own with the natives on the reservation, and Terri Kruse, who shared her musical skills by giving guitar lessons in and around the community of Paso Marcos.   One of the great blessings of their visit was seeing their personal ministry and relationships with the local people taking off (our involvement was minimal).  There are many people in the community who are looking forward to their return.

Last, but definitely not least, we have been blessed to have the Long family join the work permanently in Paso Marcos.  Since their April 20th arrival, there have been three family units (plus volunteers/teams coming in and out) living at the Centro Emanuel in Paso Marcos.  It has certainly had its challenges, but our prayers and striving for unity have brought us together in a wonderfully unique way.   

We look forward to where this journey continues to take us all.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers and support.

Enjoy the pics below!

Our niece Eireann making friends with Cabecar baby

"Mr. Mark" Long taking our nephew John David on a rock rapell (He loved it!)

Here we are with Judith's sister, Jill, and her kids

Our niece, Colleen, in a sack race with Rosie, one of the Cabecar girls in the Art Mentorship Program

Busy at work on stained glass

Starting to put the pieces together for the second window

Rebeka fitting and spacing pieces together for a cloud

Rosie shaping glass with the grinder

 

Magdalena showing her first glass mosaic project (These were on display in the windows of the Tsipiri church for a time)

Johanna's glass mosaic (all these designs are original)

Reina's glass mosaic

Rebekah and her glass mosaic

Rita and her glass mosaic

Tatiana and her glass mosaic

The girls explore the glass shop on their field trip to San Jose (Dec. 2010)

Rebekah patiently teaching Judith Cabecar in her home (April 2011 visit)

Phillip Jones praying for the young men right before their baptism in the Chirripo river

Old News.

Below is a something I wrote in January - but never posted because of I never got the pictures up that I wanted to post.  Even though it's "old news", I wanted to go ahead and post it because it gives the details of our last couple of months in 2010.  Enjoy...

Hello all,

We'd like to share the details of some of the more interesting events/developments in our lives in the last three months (with photos to illustrate at the bottom of this blog).

Family

As many of you know, our 14 year old niece Ellie came to take care of us for a little over three months (Sept-Dec).  Ellie is sweet, gentle, and servant-hearted, and we were blessed by her stay with us in many ways.  In spite of language barriers, she was able to befriend the girls in the Art Mentorship Program, who are all asking me, "When is Ellie coming back?"

During Ellie's time here, her mom (Judith's sister Jaime) and younger sister, Edith (11), came to visit.  Jaime brought her card-making skills with her, and taught the girls in the Art Mentorship Program to make Christmas cards.  Following the class, I (Judith) was thrilled that we were going to have the opportunity to hike (4 hrs) together to one of the girls' homes for a house dedication service, with an overnight stay and hike back the following day.  In spite of years of hearing  about the Cabecar people, after the trip my sister remarked, "I had no idea."   It was a blessing to be able to share that experience with my family.

Art Mentorship Program

We wrapped up the first session of the Art Mentorship Program with a field trip to San Jose to visit the glass shop and a movie, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", topped off with a choral performance by the girls (with Ellie on the flute, Phillip Jones on the guitar, and me on violin) at the year-end Cabecar meeting at Timothy and Keiry Jones' house in Grano de Oro (see video below).   We have been so blessed by these girls, as I have seen their faithfulness and perseverance in coming to class (a 5-6 hr hike for some), as well as their love and care for one another.

While at the glass shop/school in San Jose, they were able to show their glass mosaic projects and were encouraged by positive feedback.  For most of the girls, this was their first trip to the city.  Many of the students and staff had tears in their eyes after the girls shared a couple of original a capella Cabecar praise songs.  It's fair to say that both sides were blessed. 

This  year, we'll be teaching the girls how to do stained glass, with plans to finish a stained glass project for a series of four windows at the Tsipiri church.

Agribusiness Partnership Program

We continue to add new partners to the Agribusiness Partnership Program, including a few women, for a current total of 18 partners.  Our friend and finance guru from San Antonio, Ron Sweet, was able to meet with the partners and continue to teach them business basics when he was here with the team last month.  At the partner's request, Ron will be spending more time in Paso Marcos (starting in March of this year) to teach them about things like balance sheets on Microsoft Excel while they teach him Spanish.  We are looking forward to seeing how this program grows over the next year.


Village Parkway Baptist Church team

This is the fourth year in a row that the Village Parkway Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas, has sent a team to Paso Marcos for end-of-the-year activities.  We have been blessed each time with new and returning team members, and this was no different.

This year, activities included working on construction of the Cabecar shelter/Art workshop (future site of the Art Mentorship Program) in Tsipiri, Vacation Bible School in Paso Marcos, New Year's Eve community party, New Year's Day carnival, and a variety of youth/adult classes (guitar, conversational English, basic finance, and jewelry-making).

We were blessed and encouraged by God's faithfulness in showing His love to the community through all of these activities, and we are seeing the community opening up more to His love as we were able to pray with several and distribute Bibles to those who asked.  One teenage Cabecar girl, Ruth, gave her life to the Lord,  and Pastor Steve Branson baptized both Iris and Johanna (our neighbor's and dear friends - Giovanni's wife and daughter) in the river.  To God be the glory.