Missions in Costa Rica: octubre 2009

Coloring at the new table in Meco

Little Charlene with her mom and sister.
Apperently, Charlene had tuberculosis when the team from Florida came down.
She is now healed and full of engery

Barrio Meco

Since Brett no longer has use of the woodshop at the camp, he has been using a woodshop that belongs to the father of two of my English students, Yaime and Mainor. This is where he built the table for Barrio Meco. The kids needed a place to color, sit down, and eat their lunch. Felix had a connection with a family that owns a saw mill, so we were able to get donated wood to build the table. They need another table, since the program is growing.

Government Housing in Guatuso, known by some as the La Carpio of Guatuso,
but the communty has named themselves Ciudad de Dios, or City of God

Brett with Juan and Pastor Batista posting flyers for the campaña

Guatuso

We went to Guatuso to visit with our friends Juan, Gabi, and Pastor Batista. The Methodist Church there was getting ready for a compaña, which is a weekend-long activity designed to bring unbelievers to Christ. We went with Juan and Batista to post signs in a new government housing project that is currently housing about 150 families. Many people have come from as far as La Carpio in San José to take advantage of this new housing opportunity. The church hosted a kid’s Vacation Bible School in this community several months ago, so they have several new members of the church from this community. The problem is that the neighborhood is probably an hour walk from the church. They have a cell group established in a home, but would like for interested members to be able to participate in Sunday services as well. Another local church has a mini bus, which they use every Sunday to load up families to go to their church. The Methodist Church is now praying that the Lord would provide such a ministry tool to them as well.

Below are pictures that Juan gave us of their youth trip to Nicaragua this past summer. Brett drove them to the border in Larry and Jerry`s Church Bus.

Loading clothes and supplies from the trailor to the boat

Youth and pastors from Guatuso on the boat to the Solentiname Islands in Nicaragua

Kids enjoying VBS in Solentiname

Vbs in action in Solentiname

Barrio Meco, Sep 27 and Oct 4, 2009…

We started helping with a kid’s feeding program and evangelization ministry in a precario called Barrio Meco on Sundays. Our friend, Felix, invited us to help serve with this ministry. The local team consists of a group of about ten Christians who all had a heart for serving children in poor communities. They started first by assisting a door to door ministry with a mission team from Florida. For eleven Sundays, they have continued to serve in this little village where no other churches have ministered before. The residents are mostly Nicaraguan immigrants who built their homes as squatters on this property, which is just outside Ciudad Quesada. Meetings are held in the home of a lady named Myra, who has allowed the use of her front porch for the kids program and her living room for working with the adults. There is no electricity in this community, so they cook the meals for the kids over a wood burning stove, and the adults meet in a dark living room.

The first Sunday, we observed the program and got to know the team and the people from the community. The next Sunday, we led the children’s message, with the help of some of our youth from Santa Rosa de la Palmera. About 30 children attended each meeting. On the second Sunday, the team hosted a baby shower for Myra’s daughter-in-law, Yahoska. Her husband has left her, but Myra graciously opened her home to her daughter-in-law and grandchildren. We are very excited to be part of the project in Barrio Meco, especially to see locals, working in their own community to show God’s love to their neighbors.

Sonia teaching kids in Meco, Sep 27,2009

Kids eating lunch in Meco, Sep 27,2009

Sonia teaching kids in Meco, Sep 27,2009

Betzayda working with kids in Meco, Sep 27,2009

Mayra cooking for kids in Meco, Sep 27,2009

Felix preaching in Meco, Sep 27,2009

Kids in Meco, Sep 27,2009

Meco, Sep 27,2009

Carlos Blanco preaching in Meco, Sep 27,2009

Felix Singling with Jimmy in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Brooke teaching name game, ¨Me pico,¨ in Meco, Oct 4,2009

One of our youth from Santa Rosa, Karla, with Jimmy in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Eva, Karla, and Brooke playing Fishing Game in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Fishing game in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Rebeca helping with Fishing game in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Karla reading to kids in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Mauricio reading to kids in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Mauricio, Karla, Karen, Eva, and Rebeca leading name game in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Singing in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Felix, youth from Santa Rosa, Mau and Karen, with silly Andrè in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Yahoska and daughter in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Yahoska`s daughter enjoying some baby shower gifts in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Baby Shower for Yahoska in Meco, Oct 4,2009

Santa Rosa de la Palmera

Septic Tank, Sep 21, 2009…

Last week in Santa Rosa de la Palmera we finished installing the septic tank and drain field for the new bathrooms. The task was lead by the pastor Geovanny, while I helped and church members Mauricio and Cipriano joined in to help place the last culvert pipe for the tank. Unfortunately back in July, due to the limited space on the site, we “crossed paths” with the old system. In order to finish the new system we ended up removing the majority of the black water of the previous drain lines and field. Note my brown camouflage in the photo.

Geovanny and Brett working on Septic Tank, Santa Rosa de la Palmera

Fishing Trip, Sep 23, 2009…

Wednesday the 23^rd a few of the men from the church at Santa Rosa de la Palmera went fishing in a local creek. The pastor Geovanny and his son Joshua, Augustin, Maurcio and I enjoyed about two hours in the wild before we headed home soaking wet due to a rain storm. We caught about 15 shad (known as sabalo in Spanish). None of them was very big, but apparently all fried up they are very tasty. When we returned to Mauricio’s house, his dad Cipriano had lunch waiting for us. It was a great day of fun and fellowship.

Women’s meeting, Sep 30, 2009…

The women from Santa Rosa de la Palmera meet every Wednesday in somebody’s home or at the church. I, Brooke, led the message at the women’s meeting on Wednesday, September 30. I talked with them about spiritual gifts, how God gives us gifts for the greater good of the community (1 Corinthians 12-7) and to assist the leaders in the church. I referenced Numbers 11, where Moses pleaded for help in addressing the needs of the Israelites, and God granted him the help of seventy elders to help carry the load. When I asked the women what their gifts were, some of them knew, but many didn’t. Many said they were too embarrassed to get up in front of the church and share a message; we’ve also heard that people don’t want to evangelize because they don’t know enough about the Bible to do so. The pastor in Ciudad Quesada preached on September 27 from 2 Timothy 1:6-7, which says, “…I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. God didn’t give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.” I shared this verse with the women as well, so they know that the power of God and a spiritual gift is already within them, and all of us. We just need to revive it with a little oxygen and life so it produces fruit.

Youth Vigil in El Mirador, October 3, 2009…

We took the youth from Santa Rosa de la Palmera to a vigil in El Mirador, where some of us contributed a worship ensemble to the song, “Trading my sorrows.” It was a lovely event that lasted from 7:00p.m. until 12:00 a.m. The other churches that attended were from Methodist churches in Alajuela and El Molino. There was singing, dancing, a message about setting goals, and all the churches that attended contributed their talents in the form of songs, dances, and plays.

Start of English classes Ciudad Quesada/Santa Rosa, Sep 30, 2009…

We started teaching English at the Methodist Church in Ciudad Quesada on Wednesdays and in Santa Rosa on Thursdays. We gave an announcement at both church services in Quesada on September 27. Also, a friend we met working in Barrio Meco, Carlos Blanco, offered to announce the classes on his Christian Radio show. Despite all those announcements, no one showed up in Quesada the 1^st week, and the 2^nd week 3 people came. In Santa Rosa, however, we had a full class of 12 the first week, and the second week we had 16 students show up, which were divided evenly between children and youth.

Tutoring

Since we’ve been back from Scotland, we’ve worked with Eylin and Daniela, since exams started on Oct 5. I, Brooke, have also been meeting with Maritza, Yaime, and Mainor in English.

Brooke Birthday, Sep 25, 2009…

I turned 31 this year, and the youth from the church presented me with a cake, made by a church member, Yorleni. Brett and I also celebrated with dinner at El Tucano, and had some friends over and ate another cake, gifted by our neighbors, Jose and Santos. Maritza, one of my English students, gave me a Betta for my birthday, which we have named Jet Li.

Brooke with birthday cake and youth from Santa Rosa

Brooke and Brett with friends, Adan, Claudia, Eva, Rut, Josabat, and Jocabeth

Cutting balsa October 1^st and 8^th

Brooke and I went up north to Tonjibe about two hours from where we live to cut down a balsa tree last Thursday. Tonjibe is a village of indigenous people from the Maleku tribe of Costa Rica. The Maleku are well known for their artisan sculptures and woodworking in balsa. Marcos the pastor of the Methodist church in Tonjibe, and his family are friends of ours. The tree we cut was about three years old and about sixty feet tall. A week later I went back to finish the work of hauling part of the tree a quarter mile out of the jungle. A man from the community helped me cut and haul the ten foot lengths. Balsa is very light, but only when it’s dry.

For some time I, Brett, have had the desire to shape a surfboards in balsa. There is a kid in our neighborhood that I am looking to involve with this project. He is out of school and doesn’t have a paying job. I hope that I will be able to teach him a few things about tools and practices and perhaps give him some marketable skills in woodworking. At the very least, there will have to be a trip to the beach to test out how the board rides. We’ll start shaping in about a week when the wood has dried.