News from Judith and Alekcey: 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.