Abraham Project Blog
The Environmental Agency is requiring a series of independent studies be done at A.P. Phase II in order to determine soil use. Today they were out digging holes in order to obtain core samples of the earth. Their purpose was to reach firm ground in order to determine how to construct the new foundations for the future homes.
After receiving an emergency call from PANI (Child Social Services), we welcomed a sibling set to the Project today. Steven and his sister María José were removed from their abusive situation by court order. Their father is a drug addict and their mother has been negligent in her care for them. The children arrived with literally “The clothes on their backs.” The first night Steven kept crying because he wanted to go home to take care of his mother. We know God has deposited them into our care for a season, and we are looking forward to sowing into their lives and watching that seed grow!
Franco and Franca arrived from Italy last month in order to meet their children for the very first time! Mainor & Jenny have been here at the Abraham Project since 2009. The Office of Adoptions has worked diligently in order to find a family for these siblings. The adoption was finalized today (June 6, 2012). Mainor & Jenny are thrilled to have their very own parents. We wish this sweet family our best as they begin a new journey together!
On June 1, 2010 (exactly 2 years ago today) we received Ashley into the children’s homes. She was only 9 months old then. Today, she was adopted by a sweet family right here in Costa Rica. It’s so exciting to see how God moves on behalf of all the kids here at the Project. We know little Ashley will be in good hands and that the Lord will continue to guide every one of her footsteps.
Ten more teams came down to serve at the Abraham Project during March and April and as always, it was such a blessing to have them here! In the last post about teams, we mentioned how hard all the volunteers and local workers had labored to prepare the dirt floor for concrete to be poured in the to-be church building. Well, that hard work continued into March and early April too. The work was not in vain and we can proudly announce that the cancha is complete!
After countless hours of labor, the concrete was poured in early April. Now, children from the daycare and our teams can come and play futbol, and eventually we plan on installing a basketball hoop too! Thank you to everyone who dug, sweat, hauled dirt, and poured concrete!
Almost all the teams below contributed to finishing the cancha, so in order not to be redundant, we won’t mention that for every team. But along with this project being accomplished, teams contributed in many other exciting ways:
This month, there was a little pause in teams visiting us before we hit the busy summer season. That’s great news for the team leaders Jason and Kerby Harpst because they just welcomed a beautiful baby daughter into their family on April 20th. Adaya Ruth Shirley Harpst. They are enjoying these first few weeks bonding with their newborn before a dozen more teams come join us at the Project this summer!
Thanks to every single person who took time out of his/her every day life to come serve the people of the Abraham Project, as well as the people of Costa Rica. We are blessed by your service.
At the end of March, the pastoral group that we oversee was in charge of the church service. We decided to develop a PowerPoint presentation in order to illustrate to the congregation the daily happenings of the children’s homes. In order to take all the photos necessary for the presentation, we had to arise early in the morning (5:30 a.m.) so that we could get all those candid “pillow hair” and “rubbing the sleep out of your eyes” shots. The kids had no clue we were coming so it was definitely a big surprise to them. Needless to say, we did get a lot of really good pictures and it gave us invaluable insight to how a typical day flows in the children's homes and that’s what we’d like to share with you!
Have you ever thought about what it takes to get ten kids (in one house) and seven kids (in the other house) “up and at’em” in the morning? It could be chaos, but our house parents, Esteban & Gabriela and Aaron & Candace, really make the process look easy. At 5:30 a.m. the tios head upstairs making sure that all the kids get up and begin the day with baths and making their beds. Some of the children have their own alarm clocks. This allows them to begin developing personal responsibility. The tias in the meantime are busy preparing breakfast. As soon as the kids are dressed in their school uniforms, they head downstairs to eat their morning meal. After breakfast, they wash their own dishes and brush their teeth. In the house with the big kids, Ericka helps her Tia Gabriela comb and fix the younger children’s hair. The tias faithfully apply piojitico to the girls hairs (a special lotion that keeps them from getting lice!). During the morning rush hour, showers are taken, shoes are shined, snacks are packed, backpacks are readied, and lotion is applied. The big kids help the little ones get ready and the tios are doing a little bit of everything.
At 6:30 a.m., the kids (11 in all) load up in the van and it’s off to school! This year the kids are attending a new public school that has a private school schedule. That means that they don’t go to school half days anymore. They go all day from 7:00-2:00 p.m. This has made life a whole lot less complicated for the tios. Once they’re gone, the tias start getting the little people (5 kiddos) ready for daycare at the Abraham Project. The children start at 7:30 in the morning, and enjoy a snack and hot lunch before returning home at noon for naps. Once the big kids get home from school it’s time to do homework, study for exams, and play a bit before dinnertime. The children help their house parents prepare for dinner by setting the table and serving the drinks. Afterwards, they head upstairs to put on their pajamas, brush their teeth, and have devotions and prayer before going to sleep.
You see, much of what our house parents do during the day is exactly what you and I do, only on a greater scale. The job of house parenting is raising excellent kids who love Jesus. One of our tios recently told us that they instill “family” values into the kids in their home. They remind the children that although they are not brothers and sisters by blood, they are brothers and sisters in Christ, because we are all part of the family of God. What a sweet lesson our kids are learning right now.
Our house parents are definitely our “heroes!” The Lord has blessed us with parents that truly see their work as a “calling” and not just another job. Without a true calling, this mission would be incredibly overwhelming. God regards their work as a labor of love that He will not soon forget. Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Thank you Esteban, Gabriela, Aaron, and Candace for your love and dedication “to the saints” the forgotten children of Costa Rica/Nicaragua!
Already in 2012, we have been incredibly blessed to have five short-term teams come and serve at the Abraham Project. It’s always such an encouragement to see people take time out of their daily lives and come down willing to serve. This year, one of the biggest projects that every team has worked on is La Cancha. The “cancha” is the dirt floor that will one day be the floor to the new church building that is in the process of being constructed. In order for concrete to be poured however, six inches of the dirt had to be dug out first. Talk about some hard labor. The volunteers who have come down willingly wielded pick-axes, shovels, and wheelbarrows to get this seemingly endless task done. As the saying goes, “many hands make light work,” and although the work clearly wasn’t ‘light’ it probably would have taken our local workers months to do this job without the teams’ help. So we are incredibly thankful for every volunteer’s effort!
In addition to the cancha, the teams have done much more to bless the Abraham Project. Whether here for a day or more than a week, here are a few more highlights of how the teams contributed:
The energy, effort, and encouragement the volunteer teams bring to the missionaries and local workers here is invaluable. The Project wouldn’t be where it’s at today without these teams!
Many of you remember Joselyn, a girl we had in our children’s homes since she was four. A couple of years ago, she was relocated to another children’s home after a failed adoption attempt to Spain. We have great news to share! The Office of Adoptions informed us that they had found a family for her in Italy! A couple weeks ago, she and her parents, Aldo and Gloria, stopped by the Abraham Project for a visit. We enjoyed seeing her again and meeting her new family. Today, they left for Italy. Joselyn was nervous about flying on a plane (never mind the fact that they had 2 layovers – Panama City, Amsterdam, then on to Rome). We have since heard that the family arrived safely in Italy and is now beginning their new life together. Please continue to pray for Joselyn. We trust that the Lord would go before her to prepare the way as she adapts to her new family, new language, and new culture. She has always held a special place in our hearts and we believe that God is not done with her yet!
The month of December was super busy for the kids in the children’s homes, as they wrapped up final exams and the school year. December also marks the beginning of summer vacation! Our house parents, Esteban & Gabriela, took on the task of making 250 tamales for the kids in the children’s homes. They invited Jenny (Gabriela’s mother) and Emilia to help clean banana leaves, prepare the food, and mix the masa. Tamales are a huge part of Christmas tradition in Costa Rica.
The daycare center closed it’s doors on December 15th for a two-week end of year break. That evening they put on an incredible Christmas program. Lights! Camera! Action! Every child in the daycare participated in the much anticipated event. There were over 500 parents/family members present to watch their little ones perform. The singing, dancing, and celebration of Jesus’ birth, was a joyous occasion. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed traditional Christmas tamales and agua dulce (sweet sugar cane water).
Several businesses and organizations blessed the children from our homes with Christmas parties. In fact, the children enjoyed six parties in all! A pharmaceutical company hosted a get together at McDonalds, some employees from a bank brought Santa out to see the kids, and a call center brought a band & choir out to sing Christmas carols to the children! The Christmas season was certainly festive! We all enjoyed the food, gifts, activities, and bags of candy that the different organizations contributed.
Siblings Mainor and Jenny were given some sweet news in December. The Office of Adoptions informed them that they would soon be adopted by an Italian couple! The kids have been with us for over two years while the Office of Adoptions actively looked for a family for the brother and sister. For the longest time, things didn’t look promising, because Adoptions had told us that families are somewhat resistant to adopting pre-adolescent boys (Mainor turned 13 in November). But their persistence in searching finally paid off! The Office of Adoptions has been sending a social worker out to talk to the kids and prepare them for an eventual meeting with their new family. At this time, the date for a hearing with the judge has not been set. Until that happens, we will not know when the family will arrive in Costa Rica.
At the end of October, we received another pair of siblings to add to our group of kids here at the homes. Angela is eight years old, while her little brother Jefreson is four. We received a call in October from PANI, looking to move these kids from another children’s home. The other place stated that Jefreson was difficult to handle and they wanted him removed immediately. Our supervisor has told us that she usually calls the Abraham Project when she has “difficult” cases. Although, she is not a believer, she has seen the difference that Christ makes in the lives of these little ones. She likes that we offer the “religious” component to our work with the children. Pray that Jefreson’s behavioral issues are resolved quickly, and that he and Angela feel the peace and presence of Jesus in this place.
We are eternally grateful for the love that each of you extend to our family and the kids here at the project. It is greatly appreciated!
We welcomed back our good friends from Southside Christian Church in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Southside was in Costa Rica for a two week stint so we took advantage of the "extra" time and took them to to Rincon de Osa to rebuild a church. This particular church received warning from the Ministry of Health that their doors would be closed if they did not upgrade the building to meet the new standards. Although it was extremely hot and humid, the trip was a great success as we were able to reconstruct the building from the footers up to the top of the block walls. Basically, the remaining portion is putting the trusses and metal roof on.
In addition to the construction, the group was able to participate in a youth service and the mission pastor was able to preach on Sunday morning. There was some time for relaxation as we ventured out to fish in a bay on the Pacific Ocean and I must say the fishing was very good! Not only did we eat fish, but we were also surprised when they served iguana one day. Like anything else, it tasted like chicken!
THANK YOU SOUTHSIDE!
This week, we have enjoyed a team from Seattle, WA. They were a group of high school students who came with a lot of vigor and willingness to work. They put a lot of insecticide on the wood and re-organized the bodega and the wood they took out to cure.
Several of the young men on the team took time to pressure wash the fence and the sidewalks and Luke even helped a little! Luke "helped" one of the young men write his name on the sidewalk:
Last week we had a first-time team visit us from Redeemer Community Church in Little Rock, AR. Two interns from this team were here last year for four months and returned for one week as a part of this group.
These guys did a special project this week: they helped tear out old grass and put down new sod. It was a huge endeavor and we were so grateful for all of their help and excellent work.
A few of the guys also finished up painting the church roof! It looks great! Thanks to all of the teams that contributed to the final product!!!
One very skilled carpenter on the team worked on a shelf that will go in the lawyer's offices.
The team was also very involved in teaching in the daycare. They provided a variety of activities for the children and performed a skit that was very captivating and the kids really seemed to love.
We are very grateful for all of their hard work and the grass is looking great!!!
We were happy to have a return team with us this past week from Grace Community Church from Indianapolis, IN. The team did a lot of work with the wood, by putting on insecticide and organizing the bodega (the warehouse where we keep the wood).
A couple of the members of the team finished up pressure-washing the roof, so that we could finish painting in order to protect the metal.
The team leader, Mike, also worked on a special project all week. It's a rail for a "big-boy" bed for one of the kids in the Children's Homes.
Due to some VERY heavy rains last week, these guys had to make some last minute travel changes for their fun activity day. Instead of going to the beach, as planned, the team ended up going to the Volcan Arenal and they had great weather there and got to see the top of the volcano.
We were so glad to have the returning team from FCC here this past week, led by Dr. Randy Smith and his wife Tammy. This team is the home church of another of our missionaries here at the Project, Candace Brown and her husband Aarón.
While at the Project, the team worked on putting down sand so that artificial grass could be added as a final touch on the playground.
Some of the team members also spent some time welding and others were in the basement of the multi-purpose building putting ceiling tiles in the rooms where the lawyer's offices will be located.
A really great thing that the team did while they were here was an outreach to an indigenous group of people called the Cabécar Indians who live in a remote area in the mountains in Turrialba. While there, the team painted the church building, did a kids' outreach, enjoyed a service in the local church and slept in a three-room house for one night, that had to have been about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the church where the outreach was held. It was, from all accounts, a great experience for the team members and the Cabécar Indians as well.
At long last we have a roof covering the newly installed playground, so the kids can play outside rain or shine! Thanks to everyone who helped from putting insecticide on the wood to sealing the trusses. The workers have finished up the tin this week and it looks great!!! Below are a few pictures of the process from start to finish.
Last week we hosted our team coordinators (Jonathan and Amy Griffith) home church and close friends. They were a huge blessing to the Griffith's as well as the Project.
Most of the team worked on putting insecticide on boards that will be used later on at the Project.
The rest of the time was spent organizing that wood inside the bodega, once it had the insecticide on it.
A few guys also worked on the roof of the church building painting one side and getting the other side prepped and ready for paint by pressure washing it.
Thanks again for all of your hard-work and support!!!
This week, we had a very talented artist come to the Project to paint a couple of murals on the walls of the playrooms in the Children's Homes. She worked for three days to give the kids a more colorful, happier place to play.
We are very grateful to Mandy Antoon for all of her hard work and effort!!!
We now have a fence all the way across the river side of the property! It has taken a few months and a lot of hours to complete, but it is now finished. From the first pieces of aluminum that were sanded and primed back in January, to all of the effort that went into welding and painting. Many team members played an integral part in helping this fence come to fruition and we are very grateful for everyone's hard work.
The last step of the process was putting on the small roof to help with watershed and give a more decorative look.
Thanks to everyone for all of their hard work!
We were blessed to start the month of May with a great group of college students from North Georgia College and State University's Wesley Foundation. There were only seven members of this team, but they moved enough dirt for at least three times that many people. A whole lot of soil was moved from one side of the Project to another in order to level out the playground area. It was a lot of really hard work but they did everything with great attitudes.
They also worked on treating wood, and painting pieces of metal that will be put together to form a roof over the playground so the children can play outside, even in the rainy season.
The hardest part of the week though, was probably for the guys who pressure washed and scrubbed one entire side of the church's roof. Sadly, and oddly, there are no pictures to document the actual transformation of the roof, but trust us, it looks great!!!
We were so glad to host a returning team from Living Hope in Bowling Green, KY last week. They worked really hard around the Project doing everything from working in the Daycare to running electrical wiring to cleaning drains along the fence.
A lot of time was spent on the concrete mixer: sanding, grinding and priming. They did a great job getting it ready to paint.
We were so grateful to have this team at the Project, working very hard and giving of themselves in huge ways. Thank you all so much for everything!
