Savoring Life

Taste and see that the Lord is good; 

blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Fear the Lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

Psalm 34:8-9

As many, if not all, of you know, we were incredibly blessed on May 28th by the arrival of Aaron Gabriel (aka Ari) to our family.  Life hasn't been the same since.

As we adjust to this new phase in our lives, we find that parenting is not merely a new aspect of the many-faceted ministry in which we find ourselves, but an essence that seasons every element of our lives.  It allows us to appreciate the deeper notes of the flavor of the Lord's goodness.  

In these past several months, we have been blessed on several fronts:

Family

With two days to spare, we were able to pick up Ari´s US passport at the embassy in Costa Rica in time for travel to the U.S. for a family reunion in Chicago with Judith´s family in July.  It was one of those rare events where everyone was able to be there, and we cherished the time we had with them.  

Friends

We were blessed by a visit from our friends the Gill family from Rochester, MN.  They are always ready to serve and give of themselves, and they worked hard on getting the building for CoopeDuchí´s fruit processing plant ready, as well as helping Mark and Marge Long (members of our ministry team) with finishing their house.  

We were also blessed by a visit to Paso Marcos by our long-time friend Sam Kennedy.  He is a current seminary student who blessed us and the community in a variety of ways this summer, and we are grateful that he came.

CoopeDuchí

The Co-op continues to move forward.  The machinery has arrived and the finishing touches are being done for the fruit processing plant to begin processing guava.  Hooray!  

The current location of the processing plant is temporary, as the owner of the farm where it is located is allowing us be there rent-free for the next 6 months, at which time we will need to move to another location.  We are thankful that, through the generosity of friends, God has provided the Co-op with the land on which to build a permanent facility for processing fruit.

AeroVital

The day after our return from the U.S., we welcomed Paul and Bridget Abbott to Costa Rica as part of our ministry team.  As we´ve mentioned on previous blogs, Paul is a helicopter pilot who will be volunteering his skills for the helicopter ministry that is AeroVital.  They are starting language school this week, but are already jumping into their ministry roles.

The day after their arrival, Hospital Clínica Bíblica inaugurated their heliport, which at this point in time is the only hospital-based heliport in the metropolitan area.  Little did Paul know when he jumped into the helicopter with the owner/pilot Juan Carlos, that he would be landing the helicopter for the inaugural flight, television cameras and all.  

For those who may not be aware, AeroVital is a social business formed in order to generate profits through medical and other transport services in order to subsidize flights into the remote, underserved areas of Costa Rica, especially for the indigenous people who live in the mountains. 

Puentes de Vida

We are continuing with the training of young Cabecar women as maternal-infant health promoters, with graduation from the training program projected for the March 2013.  We plan to launch the pilot program for the practical aspect of the program in April 2013 by employing 3 teams (2 women each team) assigned to cover specific areas of the reservation.  There is still much work and fundraising to be done, but we feel strongly that these women are the key to changing the current reality of inadequate health services to the Cabecar people in this area.

Marcelo

Some of you have had the privilege of meeting Marcelo, a 23 year-old young man with a 6th grade education whose family lives up the road from Centro Emanuel.  He has worked with us in maintenance and construction projects in Paso Marcos since March 2011, and came to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in April 2011.  Before that, he was the one everyone in the area blamed for any mischief, sometimes with good reason.  We have been so privileged to be a part of mentoring Marcelo, so much so that he has become like a son to us.  We are proud to announce that Marcelo has taken the step to begin schooling in motorcycle mechanics in San José, while starting a job in the Maintenance and Engineering Department at Hospital Clínica Bíblica.  He had the opportunity to work with the chief engineer and employees of this department on two separate bridge projects, where they were impressed with Marcelo´s work ethic.  This is a big step for Marcelo, but we believe it is just one step to something even greater that God has for him in the future.

Thanks again to you all who love, support, and pray for us.  

Below are a few requests for prayer:

1) Continued wisdom, guidance, and provision for all the projects we are directing 

2) Wisdom in balancing family, work, and ministry

3) For Marcelo as he starts this new phase 

Marcelo

Industrial kettle for processing fruit pulp

Lowering the 1-ton industrial kettle into the plant 

Judith and Ari

Ari livin´ it up at the beach

A moment of wonderment

Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla welcomes CoopeDuchí,
represented by our good friend Israel,  into the national Co-op network.

Bridging the Gap

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
   bind them around your neck,
   write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
   in the sight of God and man.

 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him,
   and he will direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:3-6

We have been saying the verses above to our son still in the womb at night before we go to bed.  Just as we hope our son will heed these verses, our prayer is that we would be guided by them, as well. 

Below is an update on some of the things that have been going on since our last posting.

Baby

Thankfully, all has gone very well with Judith´s pregnancy.  She is now almost 37 weeks, in the final stretch before delivery, and we are very much looking forward to seeing our son,  Aaron Gabriel, very soon.

Paso Marcos Bridge

Many of you who have visited Paso Marcos have had the opportunity to ride the cable-cart over the river.  If you have, I hope you took pictures because the Paso Marcos cart is now a part of history.  

Thanks to the Engineering and Maintenance Department of Hospital Clinica Biblica (in San José), we spent Semana Santa (Holy Week) this year building a bridge over the Pacuare river in Paso Marcos, replacing the 40-yr old cart.   The day of the inauguration, we heard stories from members of the community of people who have lost their fingers and even their lives crossing the river on that cart.   What a blessing that men, women, children, motorcycles, and ATV´s can now cross over the river safely and without fear.  One of the great things about this bridge is that it greatly improves the access of a large part of the community to our base of operations, Centro Emanuel.  

Puentes de Vida

The training program for the Cabecar maternal-infant health promoters is going very well.   Since one of the values of this program is “Excellence”, the girls have been challenged to think analytically, which is new to them as they are typically taught to learn “by rote” in school.   Because of this challenge and the high standards to which we hold them, a few of the women have dropped out of the program, but we have been encouraged by those who have really applied themselves and are persevering.

The girls have a class and a test every month, and need to pass each test with an 80% (if not, they need to take a make-up test).  We are so happy that ALL of them passed their last test in April.  

As Judith’s pregnancy is advancing, we have been really blessed by the people God has provided to lend their support in teaching and logistics for the months of May and June - including a special visit by the obstetrical nurses from Hospital Clinica Biblica.

Another great addition to the program has been the donation of an OB ultrasound machine (courtesy of the generosity of Judith’s OB, Dr. Leonel Abud).  Currently, Marge Long, who is certified to do OB ultrasounds in the U.S., is refreshing her ultrasound skills while on furlough in the U.S.  We are excited about the implications of what this added tool will mean for the maternal-infant health program.

Co-op (CoopeDuchí)

In spite of some bureaucratic delays, the Co-op is moving forward.  Training of the technicians to run the fruit processing plant is well underway, as well as the equipping of the plant itself.   The opportunity to process fruit has expanded to processing passion fruit and mora (a type of Costa Rican berry similar to blackberry).  CoopeDuchí has also had an interesting opportunity to begin marketing and exportation of locally-grown organic coffee.  

Aerovital

The helicopter transport program continues to move forward.  There have been some delays in getting the heliport equipped, but we trust in God´s perfect timing for everything.  Please continue to pray for the missionary pilot and his wife, Paul and Bridget Abbott, as they are continuing to work on raising support for this endeavor.  

Thanks, again, for those who support us and this work financially and in prayer.  You are as much a part of all of this as we are.

God bless you all.  

Heliport  under construction on parking garage at Hospital Clinica Biblica

Equipment for processing fruit

The prefabrication phase of the Paso Marcos bridge at Hospital Clinica Biblica´s Maintenance Department

Prefabrication of the Paso Marcos bridge

The cable-cart

Workers from the local community working on the bridge

More work on the bridge

Fer-de-lance viper killed during work at the bridge site

The maintenance worker´s camp under the bridge site

Getting the cables into place 

Cable-cart in use while the bridge under construction

Connecting cables

Installing the flooring

In the camp mess hall...

More work...

Walking back and forth with the food from Centro Emanuel to the bridge site

More work

Adjusting the cable 

Final touches

Last adjustments to vertical cables

Giovanni (foreman) with Don Pablo (engineer) - the men of the hour

Cable-cart pallbearers

Community members walking across for the first time

The finished product

Paso Marcos Bridge

Alekcey at the bridge inauguration

"Cutting the ribbon"- or in this case, the slicing of the banana leaf with a machete

The bridge inauguration after-party

Down-river view of the bridge

Aerial view of the bridge

Bridge construction team

New Things

This is what the Lord says -- “See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”  Isaiah 43:19

A very belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!  We realize it’s been awhile since our last post.  This is, in part, due to the many new things that are happening in and around our lives and the work God has given us, which is why we feel  that the verse above is so appropriate for this moment.

New Life

Many of you have already heard the surprising and welcome news that we will be having our son join our family sometime around the end of May.   Already, he has been a blessing to our lives, and we are thankful that his development and the pregnancy have been going well.  

New Endeavors: 

In addition to continuing the responsibilities and programs in which we have been involved (Agribusiness Partnership Program, Art Mentorship Program, Directorship of Centro Emanuel, infrastructure projects, etc.), we find ourselves in the position of pioneering three major new endeavors:

• Puentes de Vida (Bridges of Life)

As many of you know, the problem of infant mortality and maternal health has been a concern of ours from early on.   Last year, the infant mortality rate for the Chirripo district was approximately 66, compared to 8.5 for the entire country of Costa Rica.  Our earlier efforts to partner with the government healthcare system in addressing these concerns have failed, largely due to resistance of the government healthcare authorities to work with a private organization such as ours.  

In August of last year, after facing again the frustrations of closed doors to our having a working relationship with the local government healthcare system, an idea began to form in our heads: “What if we just went ahead and started a program addressing the problem of infant mortality and maternal health that would complement, but be completely independent of, the government healthcare system?”  As a result, “Puentes de Vida” was formed.

One of the main recognized problems for the Cabecar people is timely access to the healthcare system and general education regarding the importance of preventative healthcare.  Few Cabecar women have prenatal care, in large part because they don´t come to the appointments.  Well child visits are often sporadic, and many women wait until their children are very sick before coming to the clinic - sometimes until it´s too late.

Puentes de Vida seeks to train and eventually employ young Cabecar women to be maternal-infant health promoters to their own people.  The idea is that each promoter visit the pregnant women in their homes at least once a month during pregnancy, and then at least once a month through the infant´s first year of life for health surveillance and education.  The mothers will still be encouraged to go to the government clinic for regular prenatal and well-child care.  The goal is to reduce the infant mortality rate by at least 50% within the first five years of the program.

In January of this year, we launched the first training program for the health promoters, with eleven trainees in this program.  This training will last through January of next year, after which we will employ 5 of the women (sponsored by individuals, organizations, and churches) to start the pilot program covering approximately half of the reservation.   

The launch went very well, and it is great to see how the Cabecar women are excited about their being a part of the solution to helping their own people.  It has also been particularly exciting for Judith, as she is able to use her own pregnancy to train these women in practical skills (doppler tones, fundal height, etc.). 

• CoopeDuchí

We have been given the opportunity to be part of forming a Co-op for the district, formed by both indigenous and non-indigenous affiliates, with the purpose of promoting economic development in the area, particularly for the agricultural sector.  This co-op seeks to improve the price the farmers receive for their products, as well as give added value to their products by processing them in the area.  Alekcey is the president of the co-op Council, and has been working hard along with a Peace-Corps volunteer and several locals in getting this going. 

The name of the co-op is CoopeDuchí - “Duchí” being the Cabecar word for Chirripó (the name of the district).  We’ve been learning a lot, and have been working to teach what we have learned about how a co-op works to the local people.  The co-op has approximately 350 affiliates at this point in time, and things are moving forward to starting the first co-op project. 

The first project will consist in having a fruit-processing plant - starting with processing guava, a fruit that is widely found throughout the area and which every year lies rotting on the ground.  We hope to have the plant up and running by March-April, which is when the guava season starts.  After the guava season, we will look at using the same equipment to process other fruits in the area.  As the co-op begins to produce, we´ll also look at other options for agricultural development in the area.

• Aerovital

This is the helicopter program we have talked about in previous posts.  Aerovital (roughly translated- AirVital) is the commercial name for the operation that will be working under the company Horizontes de Esperanza (Horizons of Hope).  This will be a social business which will provide rotor-wing air ambulance and other services to those who can pay, while using the profits to subsidize these services for the underserved, remote areas of Costa Rica (especially Chirripó).  

The plan is for Aerovital to be launched sometime around April of this year.  Things are falling nicely into place, and God has opened the doors to having us work alongside a local helicopter transport business to use their helicopter and other services at a low cost.  The owners of this small, family-run business are Christian men of integrity, and we feel very privileged to be working with them.

Missionary helicopter pilot Paul Abbott and his wife, Bridget, are planning on moving down to Costa Rica from Oregon to start language school and operations this year.  They are both talented people of integrity who love the Lord and want to use their skills for Him.  We very much look forward to seeing what God has for them here, in the helicopter ministry and beyond. 

Thank you, again, to all who support us and these projects financially and in prayer.  You are a vital part of all that goes on here.

Prayer requests:

• Healthy pregnancy and delivery for Judith and our son.  Also, with all that is going on, for wisdom as to what and how much Judith should be doing these days.
• Puentes de Vida program:  wisdom for Judith in directing the program; for all teaching- that the teaching would be understandable and practical for the women; that the women would have discipline to study, learn, and stick-with-it in the training program.
• CoopeDuchí:  For wisdom for Alekcey in making decisions at this critical stage of start-up in the process.  For the people to understand the importance of working together in community to better all of their lives.
• Aerovital:  Continued wisdom for Alekcey for this start-up process.  For Paul and Bridget Abbott as they raise support and make preparations to come down to Costa Rica.

CoopeDuchi initial general assembly with affiliates

Judith and the girl's from the Art Mentorship Program making Christmas cookies

Judith and her artwork at the glass art show in November

Puentes de Vida trainees learning about the digestive system

Puentes de Vida trainees showing the female reproductive and urinary system

Magdalena and Adilia studying at breaktime during the training session 

Yamileth and Magdalena telling a story showing how infections can be prevented 

Alekcey teaching proper handwashing technique

Classifying commonly available foods into their proper food groups

Adilia using a pregnancy wheel to calculate gestational age and estimated delivery date

Juana taking Marge's pulse as part of her practical test

Puentes de Vida trainers and trainees

Alekcey educating the people regarding how a coop works

Judith and the girls from the Art Mentorship Program after a sleepover at Centro Emanuel

Bell 206B3 JetRanger that will be used for the Aerovital program