News from Judith and Alekcey: 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