Journey of Godly Reminders ~ Part 3

The sunset is creeping on us fast.  Here in Costa Rica the days start very early.  Dusk is around 4:40am and it is dark at 6:00pm.  We had been hiking for several hours, pretty much a very steep incline the entire way.  We came upon a school where a woman shouted from the porch asking what we were doing and where we were going.

{school}

We stopped, rested our backs and our feet, and chatted with this lady.   And gladly used the facilities {an outhouse} she offered.  A 4X4 vehicle passed by and she looked at us like we were crazy...."Why didn't you ask him for a ride to get you further," she asked us.  Hindsight....we should have all gone running like crazy chickens asking for a ride!  

We loaded back up and hiked some more, daylight is ending and we are not going to make it to Roca Quemada tonight.  Our options of places to pitch a tent are scarce to say the least.  We are about thirty minutes from dark, you can see the thunderstorm rolling in from a distance, and our options on each side of the road are a wall of red clay or the deep valley of jungle {a drop off}.  Moving as fast as you can when hiking and hauling 30-40 pounds on your back, our goal was just keep moving.  We came across a small open spot where a couple horses were grazing.  An answered prayer, I am sure each of us were praying about.

We all waited outside a bamboo fence while Keith stepped inside the yard of a very humble home {a bamboo and grass hut structure} of a Cabeccar family.  This would be where we camped for the night.  A man walked out to the field and staked the horses.  It is 5:50pm and thunder rolling in.  I think we all pitched our tents in record timing.  

I have to throw some humor in here for you.  I am a girl who loves a soft bed but likes to camp as well and can rough it when need be.  I knew this would be a rough trip.  My question to David before I left was, "Will there be a river?  Anywhere?  Anything to get clean?"  He assured me that would not be a problem.  Ummmm, yeah that didn't happen.  Remember back when I said I would never truly be able to relate the entire experience to you because it would be void of the things you could see with your own two eyes, feel with your heart, taste, and let's not forget the SMELLS!  I am beyond disgusting.  I will just say, I wasn't the only one in the same condition..ha.  There are about 179 layers of sweat, grime, and mud.  My hope of a bath tonight vanished around 5:00pm when I knew we would never make it to the river tonight.  My cleaning up consisted of unhooking a small black hose, soaping up a washcloth and washing my face and arms, filling my water bottle, and running back to the tent.  The lightening in Costa Rica is wicked...WICKED.  I love storms here, the lightening is beautiful, and I love the rain.  But not when I am at the top of a mountain in an open field.  

This trip brought an whole new meaning to the verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  As the lightening flashed and the thunder was crashing, I prayed constantly for God's protection over each one of us.  And, at the same time was so thankful that this lightening was not striking where we were at, because it strikes so close to our house all the time that the windows rattle and your heart takes a few steps out of your body.  This trip was definitely a journey of lots of prayer with the Lord.  A reminder that we get busy in our daily routine and my prayers just become routine and not hours of uninterrupted communication with God.  

I finally fell asleep and managed to nap for a few hours.  My camping mates did not fair so well with the rain that poured continuously until the early hours of the morning.  Reid was floating in his tent and moved in with his parents in their two men tent with all of the gear.  Jessica was semi-floating in her tent.  And, I believe the others managed with only the bottom of the tent being wet and everything that was sitting on the bottom of the tent being wet.  Everyone was up and packing bright and early and we were heading down the mountain by 6am.

{all packed up and ready for day 2}

This part of the trip I think was definitely the hardest.  It was hours of down, down, down....sliding down, slipping, falling, and so much mud caked on your shoes that they were coming off and added several pounds of weight.  

The further we went the muddier it got.  About an half hour into our hike, we came to the most amazing view.  Pictures cannot capture the justice that God's majesty portrayed.  Breathtaking, and really silence, was an appropriate response as we all stopped and took in the peace that surrounded us.

                   

We finally reached Roca Quemada, much later than we had anticipated.  At this point we met Yamileth, one of the women who is working with Dr. Judith in helping teach prenatal care and newborn care, and most importantly she is saving lives.  Her stories are an entire other post all alone.  

{Yamileth, Keith, & Emily}

We were supposed to meet Yamileth at the "store" ( a small shanty consisting of tuna, sugar, rice, and beans) the night before, but we did not make it.  She was sitting in the doorway waiting for us when we arrived at 9:30 Thursday morning.  She told us her plans to visit a pregnant woman in another village later that day and asked us to come with her.  We agreed to meet her in this village later in the day.  We headed to the river to filter water and restock and then continued our trek further into the jungle where we camped in the yard of another young woman who has also helping the women on the reservation.  

{This is the Chiripó river where we filtered water and treated the filtered water with 

bleach.  Let's just say I wanted to cover all bases.}

While we were down at the river there was a woman washing clothes in the river with her children.  I mention this because many people have died on the reservation doing this very thing.  One particular family we know adopted two children whose parents and other siblings all died one morning when they were down at the river and out of nowhere a huge wall of water came.  It was a sunny morning when this happened, but it had been raining higher up the mountain and the river started rising fast and went downstream, taking the lives of this family, except two children.  Drowning is the number one cause of death on the reservation.  Every time we went down to the river to do this or had to cross a river this was always in my mind.  Everything can look fine, and then in an instant life is gone.  You never know when life will be over.  It can be any second of any day.  I know this, there are things that remind us of this, but when you are literally standing in a place where you know people have died from something they didn't expect it seems even more surreal.  Another one of those Godly reminders, a reminder of why we are here, a reminder of what we are doing, and that the journey to these people is worth every bit of the hardship.   

Journey of Godly Reminders ~ Part 2

This trip to the Chirripó Reservation included myself, Keith Avaritt, Lesa Avaritt, Rob Moore, Heather Moore, Jessica Moore, Reid Moore, and Emily Siemens.  Just sharing this journey with these wonderful people was a Godly reminder in itself of the sheer blessing of being able to call these people friends who are family.  We had some fun times with lots and lots of laughter and some tears.

We left the home of Isaias piled into the back of his little 4X4 truck and along the way picked up two more people, a woman named Gladys and her six year old daughter along with a couple of newly purchased chickens.  We all found it totally ironic that the chickens were being transported in the plastic sack bearing the name "Pipasa," the Costa Rican chicken processing company (same as Tyson for those of you in the states).  We all became a little bit closer in the back of this truck with 9 people, 8 packs, 8 backpacks, and two chickens.

Gladys is a woman that David and I had heard about.  She is a very petite woman with the most muscular arms I ever seen on any woman.  The unanimous story we keep hearing is that she is one of the strongest women on the reservation and carried 2 bags of concrete, each weighing 50kg (that is more than a 100lbs each).  She carried this the entire way from the point where we started hiking which is approximately 8-10 miles to the entry of Roca Quemada (the first community in this part of the reservation).  Talk about some phenomenal stamina and strength.  It is almost unbelievable, I mean to carry 200lbs of concrete, but if you only knew what kind of terrain she is climbing and the grade of the descent make this unfathomable.  

She and her little girl climbed into the back of the truck with us and sat quietly.  The sweet little girl with her had sad eyes; she looked tired and uncomfortable.  Lesa pulled out a little sucker and piece of bubble gum and you could see the whites of her teeth as she broke her lips for a beautiful smile, a little hesitant at first as she looked to her mom first.  This little girl had sores on her arms that looked so painful.  My first thought was that she had been beaten and burned on her arms.  They were whelped like a what you would see on a slave that had been beaten with a whip.  But, yet they also looked like something had bitten her in the middle and it had become grossly infected.

The time came for us all to pile out and start the hike in.  Our driver thought if he emptied all of us out of the truck that he might could make it further with our packs and help us out a bit further.  I was hopeful but not confident that it would happen.  The steep grade of the roads and the incredible amount of very wet mud made it impossible.  He made it about 300 feet when it was determined that would not be happening.  Deflated, but oh so thankful that he was able to take all of us and our packs this far.  

What an awesome view to be engulfed in when you are out on a stroll....well, not a stroll,

because I was sweating like some 500lb man.  I didn't know my body was capable of 

producing so much sweat.  Just keeping it real : ) 

This sweet man unloaded our packs, grabbed one of our backpacks and hiked with is for a couple hours and then turned around and hiked back to his truck.  This part of the trip is hiked on what they call a road, with steep grades that are not even legal in the states, and is red clay.  The first couple of hours were a hard climb...up, up, and up.  We passed several people and almost every one of them that stopped asked me "Where are you going...What are you doing...Who are you...Who are you going to see?"  They are all curious as to what in the world are crazy white people doing out here.  And us white people are SLOW compared to their almost run.  From where we were dropped off they can make that hike in 3.5-4 hours, our pace doubles that time.  

{Pictures never truly depict the grade of places here.  And this mud is 

wet, wet, wet...and my shoes weighed like 20lbs...I know they were!}

Gladys hiked with us for a couple hours before she went on ahead of us so that she would make it home before dark.  She told us during this time about her daughter's arms and that she had just gone into town (a 7-8 hour hike each way for her) for the second time to get medical care for her daughter. I can't recall the exact name, but there is an insect here in Costa Rica that causes severe lesions on the body and can only be treated with an injection of a certain medicine.  There is nothing you can take by mouth or any creams that you can apply that will make it go away.  And with children the lesions usually become worse and worse because they touch them.  This was the second time she had taken her for this exact thing and they would not give her the injection.  They keep telling her that isn't what she has and tells her to come back later and they will look at her again.  This is typical social medicine here.  They've given a her a cream but nothing is helping and her condition is worsening.  She had taken her this second time because she was having a hard time breathing through her nose.  The insides of her nose were swollen and red.  This mother left a doctor's office again with nothing to help her daughter.  Before she went on ahead of us we stopped and prayed that God, the greatest Physician of all, may heal her and give that precious child comfort and take away her pain.  

{Pictured Left to Right ~ Gladys, her daughter, Jessica, Lesa, Reid, Emily, 

me, Heather, and Rob}

When we see these situations that seem so helpless, and you feel like there is nothing you can do to really help them, there is.  We can advocate for them, we can show them love, make God's love present to them.  We hold the most powerful help to them.  We have God on our side.  We have Him any time of day or night.  We can call on Him at any time for anything.  And we can share Him with others.  You begin to feel so deflated when you see first hand the harsh realities of life for these people here and you wonder what in the world am I, one person going to be able to do to really help these people.  There is so much need that there is just really not a tangible place to begin.  There is only one place to start and that is showing and sharing God's love.  

Journey of Godly Reminders ~ Part 1

I have thought a lot the last week an half on how I could accurately describe and give you a true portrayal of our trip to the Cabécar Chiripó Reservation.  And I have concluded that it really is not completely possible.  You need all five senses to feel, see, touch, taste, and hear everything.  And as time passes, even I forget the tiny details.  I could write for days and days and probably never break the surface on everything that I could say about that trip, from the back-breaking trek to the heartbreaking realities of the lives of the Cabécar Indians.

I am so thankful that this trip was something that my husband wanted me to go on, and while he wanted also to go very badly, he asked me if I would like to go while he stayed with the kids for a few days.  He drove us as far as he could to the reservation and then turned around and made the long trip back home solo to take care of the kids.  He wanted us to have as much time as possible out there in the short amount of time that we had, because if he had not driven us the 3.5-4 hours then we would have had to spend 8 hours getting there on the bus system.

Yamileth, one of the Cabécar women, who works with Dr. Judith to help the woman on the reservation is married to a Tico, and her husband, Isaias had planned to drive us as far as he could in his 4x4 truck and then we would hike the rest of the way in.  When we arrived he invited us into the home he, his wife, and son share with his parents.  His mother had prepared us lunch before she left early that morning to go take care of her grandchildren.  This family by Costa Rican standards is poor, by American standards poverty stricken, and by Cabeccar standards very well off.  It is all in how you look at things and by what standards you hold.  This family invited us into their home and have opened their arms and hearts to us like family.  I had only met them once before, but this trip allowed me to build a foundation for a relationship that I am sure will only teach me things that I hope will make me a better person and better steward for the Lord.  

One may think that rice, beans, and chyote (a squash like vegetable) is not a grand meal, but the fact that this family prepared that for eight of us is huge.  I know that it is not a light gesture when people offer you a food or drink here, because they are literally offering you all that they have, the food that they are stretching for their own families.  I always feel immense guilt when eating their food, but also feel such honor as they wash their best plates to serve you and search all of the cabinets in the kitchen in fridge to serve their eight guests.  I have never seen hospitality like what I see here, because these people will offer you something, anything when they have hardly anything to give.  And they give with such pleasure.  The attitude that these people show always reminds me of what I think God means a cheerful giver to be.  While I cannot see the inside of their hearts,  I do see their outward demonstration of happily giving you everything they have and not a giver of their extra leftovers.  

I feel so privileged to be on the ground in this country and to be a witness to these things that are such simple gestures, but such huge reminders to me of the expectations that God has for me.  So, thirty minutes into arriving and the journey of Godly reminders starts.  And, so our journey begins, as Rob says, "I spent one week here one day."

Oh, and we can't forget the laughs we had as we arrived and David found himself stuck in mud and sawdust.  Funny how you will let the locals talk you into doing things that you know will not work.  They are relentless when they tell you something will work and you kindly decline and they are very persistent in insisting that it will be fine.  

And you find yourself in pickles like this.....

This picture does not even begin to depict the hilarity of the situation.  But 

us girls had to move our way up the hill and turn around because it was so 

comical.  Keith and Rob had not even started the trek and were splattered

with mud only minutes after arriving.  Side note: The girls made the final

push that made the difference.   : )

We will just say we were all in some really awkward sitting positions to fit

all 8 of us and our 8 packs and 8 small backpacks into the back of this...

The beginning of a very bumpy ride that we were so thankful we had, and that appreciation grew

immensely once we started our incline.

"Puentes de Vida" ~ Bridges of Life

A little over a week ago our entire family made a very long day of it and headed to the edge of the Cabeccar Reservation.  And I am so thankful for good little travelers who really don't complain about long hours in the car.  Daddy's only complaint is the too frequent bathroom stops...usually instigated by Mom.  I know, I am as bad as the kids.

It was an amazing day!  Several months ago we met a Costa Rican doctor who has dedicated his life since his medical career started to the Indigenous people of Costa Rica.  We got to meet his wife the other day as well.  She is an American and is also a doctor.  They went to Med School for the sole purpose of doing medical mission work.  They don't just do things here and there, these people live to help these people.  You would just have to meet them to fully comprehend their love for these people and see their desire to serve, completely and fully serve.  

They live about a mile outside of the reservation in a very small and very modest cabin.  He drives into the city to work in administration in one of the private hospitals where he has been able to make contacts and raise awareness for their work on the reservation.  The rest of their time is spent on the reservation serving these people and teaching them life skills that these people may not have ever had the opportunity to learn without their help.  They have raised funds to build foot bridges as drowning is the number one cause of death.  I could go on and on telling about the many different things they have in progress.  I don't know when they sleep!  

I have mentioned before the program that they started for the Cabeccar Women.  Judith (the American doctor) started a program 16 months ago.  The first 8 months she had several women enroll in a coarse she had developed to educate women on basic prenatal care, postnatal care, and newborn care.  She has taught these women basic things and this basic knowledge has saved lives.  These women went through the 8 month coarse and have been on the ground for 8 months now educating other women and helping other women.  She gave them something that will give for generations, and that is education.  

During election time in Costa Rica it is the law that government officials have to deliver ballots to the tribes.  One of these women who completed the coarse was seeing a women at the end of her pregnancy.  From the basic things she had learned she knew that a particular woman needed to leave the reservation and get to a hospital.  She did not know all of the physiology of what was going wrong, but she knew that something was wrong and if this woman did not get help, then she and her unborn baby would both die.  This young woman prayed that God would help her, help her find a way to get this woman the help that she needed.  These people are hours from the nearest hospital if they have transportation by a vehicle, and a vehicle can only get to the very edge.  Government officials arrived via helicopter to deliver the election ballots.  This woman acted quickly and used every resource.  I believe without a doubt that God answered her prayer with that helicopter.  I mean, what are the odds?  That is a God thing!  Only He sends a helicopter at the very moment it is needed.  She was able to arrange for this woman to be transported on this helicopter to the nearest hospital.  She used the knowledge that she was given, the resources God gave her at that moment, and she acted.  Her actions saved this woman and her unborn baby.  Had she not been able to be transported out by that helicopter she and her baby would have died.  She was having a placental abruption.  For those who don't know that medical lingo, that is when the placenta (what supplies nutrients and complete oxygenation to the baby) starts separating from the uterine wall.  She noticed the beginning signs of an abruption.  The doctors told her that she would have not survived if she had not gotten to the hospital when she did.  They did an emergency c-section.  When a placenta completely separates from the uterine wall you have minutes to do a c-section and get the baby out.  AKA....a nurse's nightmare!!!  Everyone on the unit moves at LIGHTENING speed!!!!  

{Left: Dr. Judith, Yamileth, & Gendry}

 

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that there isn't a nice labor and delivery room for these women with state of the art external fetal monitors, 4D ultrasound machines, epidurals, and an OR steps away from the delivery room.  These women don't have that.  They were born in a place, not of their own fault, where these aren't options.  Their reality is laboring on dirt floors without medicines, no idea what is happening to their body, no doctors, and at times delivering a baby completely alone.  They don't have everything that so many of us take for granted.  

I don't know to what extent or frequency that I will be able to help these women and this life-changing program that Dr. Judith has started, but she has extended the offer for me to help her with this program.  This is an answered prayer for me.  I was able to sit in on the last meeting with two of the women who completed the coarse.  I am in complete awe of their example to serve others and to love others like Jesus.  These women walk hours and hours to see just one woman or one newborn baby.  And then they do it the next day and the next.  They are changing lives, one life at a time.  If one life is saved, one life is changed, one life is able to see the love of God, truly know the love of God, and obey that awesome command that will free them, then the many hours in a car, hours hiking, the horrible Montazuma's revenge that strikes will be worth every second of my time and my family's time.  Because this is what it is all about...following Him, wherever the path may lead.  Please pray for this opportunity that has been set before us and that we will be able to plant seeds.  Keith, Lord-willing, will arrive with a group of 7 on July 28, and it is planned to travel to the reservation and go in further on July 30.  David wants me to be able to go on this trip.  I have only been to the edge of the reservation and not completely in, so this will be my first time.  As much as he wants to go, he is staying at home with the kids so that I can do this and spend some time with some of these women.  That is the most difficult thing about some of our work here, it means we each fly solo, because the kids can't always come, and this is one of those times.  So, please pray for all of us.

April Newsletter {by David}

Here is David's newsletter for April if you have not already seen it.  If you are not on his email list and would like to be added please send me an email.  Simply click on the green envelope icon with wings under the FIND ME, and it will pop up an email.

To enlarge this, simply zoom in or click on the image.

Reservation Update

Several weeks ago I shared about our visit to the Cabecan Indian Reservation and our hope to help them in a humanitarian way in the future.  From talking with Israel, a medic who works for the Costa Rican public health system, we initially thought that building them a small building to function as a clinic would be the best thing.  During this visit he gave us contact information of a husband and wife, who are both doctors, that have helped the Cabecan Indians for several years in many different ways.

A couple weeks ago we were able to meet the husband, Dr. Alexi.  It was a very informative meeting and he was able to explain a lot of things about the public health care system here in Costa Rica, the needs of the Indigenous people of Costa Rica, obstacles we could face, and current projects that he currently has going to help the people on the Cabecan Reservation and other highly impoverished areas of Costa Rica.  There were so many things we would have had no way of knowing if we had not been able to meet with this man.  It was also nice to be able to discuss these things in depth in English.  It was more difficult speaking with Israel, the Cabeccan, because we were both speaking our second language.  

Dr. Alexi explained to us that he has had several run-ins with the CAJA, the public health care system that operates here in Costa Rica.  During his many years of devoting his time and private funding, he had confrontations with the CAJA.  They informed him that they did not want him helping them.  He simply told them he was simply enabling the Cabecans with skills to help themselves medically and to be able to recognize when they need to leave the reservation and try and seek medical help.  He has also been teaching them basic skills like hygiene, basic prenatal education, and other similar things.  

Unfortunately, what Israel had hoped to accomplish by having a small building for a clinic will not be able to happen the way he was originally thinking because of the CAJA and him being an employee of the CAJA.  The CAJA will not send a doctor to work on the reservation.  Israel had hoped that the CAJA would allow him to work from the clinic, but Dr. Alexi said the CAJA will not allow that because he is only trained to give out immunizations.  So, a clinic built by an outsider could jeopardize his job with the CAJA and the few things that they do receive from the CAJA.  Dr. Alexi said the only way that we could possibly get cooperation from the CAJA is to meet with the director of that reservation and ask them if they would man the building if we constructed it.  The downside to that is we are essentially building a clinic for the Costa Rican government that may or may not be used.  Dr. Alexi says the Ministry of Health administration changes with every president and while maybe one administration might man it, the next one might remove anyone from there.  And the building would be the governmen's do with as they wish.  We do not want to get involved with the government, so we need some more time to figure out how our help can be the most beneficial and how we can do that without the CAJA getting involved. 

{what you see is the "town" that is a 3/4-1 day hike from the edge of the Reservation}

We are still brainstorming and looking at all the different options and things that we can do to help them wether it be constructing a new structure (without the involvement of the CAJA), possibly making modifications to existing structures, supplies, or many other things.  To see what would best meet their needs, we need to spend some more time talking with the people on the reservation.  

Keith is coming in May to give David a little break and allow him to meet us in the states to visit with our family.  While Keith is here, he is currently planning, Lord-willing, to visit the Cabecan Reservation and talk more with the people and Israel.  Distance and time are keeping us from being able to move forward at a more timely pace.  We have faith that the Lord will guide this work and will make it very evident what we are supposed to do in the right time.  Please keep praying for the work here and these people on the reservation and that they may see God in everything we say and do and lead them to the truth.

{Israel and David- first meeting}

Love Knows No Boundries

There is pain and suffering all over the world.  There is sickness.  There is poverty.  And there is no God in so many of these places.  So many people have no idea what the concept LOVE really is.  They have no way to know what LOVE is because they have never truly seen it or felt it.  How will these unloved people all over the world ever know what LOVE is, if we do not show them what LOVE is.  We have to LOVE them for them to know LOVE.  We have to be the light that brightens their world.  Their world can only be brightened by God's love.  And we are the vessel that can show them.  The ways of showing love are endless.  There is just really no end to how we can show and share God's love.  

We have been here in Costa Rica full time for over 21 months.  Everyday here is a new day with new challenges, many celebrations, and heartaches too.  Living here has been such a blessing to our family.  We are blessed to be able to see the broken, because seeing it truly changes you.  It changes the way you think about everything.  This place has changed me.  And I pray these experiences that I live everyday, keep changing me to be a better servant for the Lord.  

Our life is truly full here.  There is so much work to be done and not enough hours in the day.   We continue to have church services in Los Altos and studies with the people in that community.  David continues weekly to try and make new contacts in the area and share the Gospel.  It has been so encouraging to see members at the church in Los Altos take the initiative and share Jesus with those they meet.  One of the young men have been accompanying David when he is out trying to meet more people.  Developing relationships with people weaves you through a web of meeting more and more people.  Through this process we have met more people who live in other areas.  

{This is Alejandro.  He has been going with David and meeting new people.}

We have had weekly studies with a group of people in an area called Barrio Jesus.  These studies have been a major course of encouragement for David and I.  These people are so hungry for the truth, in its simplest and raw form.  They are eager.  They are thirsty for the word of God.  We sit for hours at a time engaged in His Word, asking questions, and looking straight in the Bible for the answers.  Please pray for this new area of work and that God will be glorified and His will and truth will shine brightly.  It is our hope and prayer that we will soon have a church meeting in this new area.  

There are so many other things that are in the works here in Costa Rica, and we are just in the beginning stages of planning and praying about.  I cannot wait to share all about it.  Some of you who personally know me know that I am a registered nurse and I have a passion for medicine and helping people heal with the knowledge of medicine and the miraculous healing powers of God.  He hears prayers and he answers.  And it is such an awesome thing to be a part of helping someone back to health and witnessing miracles of life through beautiful births.  That being said, I have missed that part of my life from the states.  I have missed medicine.  I have missed delivering babies terribly.  It was not just a job to me, it was a service to the Lord.  And, it has been on my heart since before we moved here to be able to use my knowledge to help people here in Costa Rica.  Like I said, I can't wait to share more, but this is it for tonight...just pray, pray for God to lead us down the path and show us the possibilities and that everyone involved will know the Love of God because it is so great.

{one footprint at a time...}

Red Letter Words

GO RED TO END IT!

"Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and need." ~ Proverbs 31:8-9

I always have grand intentions of getting things blogged.  I have a little notebook that I am constantly scratching down random thoughts, sometimes just little things I want to remember, other times blog post ideas, and then those things that I need to be reminded of so often.  With that said, I had an entire other idea that I was mulling over this morning while I was running...but then I saw all the END IT pictures.

While we feel as if we are so small and that we can't possibly do anything to help and there is nothing we can do - WE ARE SO WRONG!  To end Human Trafficking, you are right, I can't stop it, you can't stop it, or your church, but together with CHRIST we can END IT.  Anything is possible with Christ, Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  It does not say some things, but ALL things.  

This was a great educating experience for my children this morning.  They needed to know this.  I got the red pen out and started marking, and we started talking.  Talk about some questions, and funny understandings from a four year old.  After I marked and we talked, Leia went running to find Daddy and her words, "Daddy, Daddy, I have a red mark so no one can sell me."  Okay, so she didn't get the whole picture, but we gotta start small here.  The other kids have been learning some about slaves, since they have been studying about the wars in England, France, and the War of 1812, so slavery has been mentioned.  They thought that since all these wars were fought that no one allowed slavery anymore.  I explained that these people are owned, they are property, they have no life, they have no choice, they are nothing.  They are treated horribly, they are punished, they are hurt physically, mentally, and endure things that we could probably never truly imagine.  They are still young and we didn't get into the even harsher realities of what most human trafficking consists of, but it was the beginning of a conversation that we will continue to have.  Because, like it or not, the trafficking is everywhere.  It is in front of your eyes, and you probably walked by someone in at least the last week that is imprisoned to this.  

Olivia wanted to share her thoughts she has had today after talking about trafficking this morning.

 

Costa Rica has become one of the highest trafficked areas in the world for this, and while the government here is being forced by the United Nations to crack down and do something about it, it is still happening.  I blogged more about this a few months ago, and you can find it here.  

I haven't had the time to research the origination of the X for the End It Movement.  But, for me, it signifies that the only way to stop this incomprehensible evilness in this world is with the words of Jesus, the ones that share of his love, his sacrifice, and the blood that was spilled for all of us sinners in the world.  One person at a time.  That is all we can do.  One person at a time.  One relationship at a time.  And sharing the One true KING.  I believe all those Red Letter Words are the best and only tool needed to Free the Slaves.

If we aren't using those Red Letter Words then it will be impossible to End IT.  

Jesus's very words were, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." ~ Mark 15:15

Recap of 2013 by David

Since I am a bit technologically challenged, I didn't know how to export David's newsletter into the blog without making it a PDF and then changing it to a JPEG, so sorry for the small font.  I was able to zoom my screen in and see it fine.  You can simply do that, or you can also click on the image and then zoom in on the font.

Daughter of the King

An answered prayer!!  She is a daughter of the one true King.  Cleansed and made whole. Washed with the water, sins removed by His blood...This is what Olivia experienced Monday, January 20th.

She made this decision with much thought and study.  She chose to give her life to Jesus and to strive to live like Him.  Confessing her faith of him and acknowledging that this would be a new life for her is just the beginning of her changed life.  She is just beginning her journey with the Lord, and I pray she grows with Him, grows deeper and deeper with Him, and more in love with Him.

So, you teach the Gospel to others and you share the love of Christ, and in that time some choose to obey and you are a witness to that obedience.  But, I must say that hearing my daughter's words, "I want to be baptized," and confessing her reasons and her understanding of the Gospel are some of the most precious words I have ever heard.  

 {Pretty sure this will be one of the most memorable baptisms he ever does.}

  

 You can barely see her face, but it is that smile of knowing you are free, clean, and a 

DAUGHTER OF THE ONE TRUE KING.

 It was dark, and the end to a long day for many, but everyone came with rejoicing hearts to witness this very special day.

{I snapped this a few Sundays ago before church while they were waiting on me to finish my snapshots of everyone else.  It is candid, and I kinda love this picture a lot. }

SHE IS A DADDY'S GIRL

I don't know why, but her recent birthday of turning 9 years old hit hard this year.  I mean by American standards we are half way done.  She is half way to 18!  My mind kind of goes into space with this thought.  It is typically your human instinct to think ahead, but I can honestly say at this moment, I am actually not thinking ahead and am instead remembering sweet memories of the past living the present, hoping we are making many more to remember.

A Battle For Jesus

You share the Gospel, you plant the seed,  and show love, and share love, and live love. This is what we tell ourselves, this is what we try to live.  So many of us Christians have had "normal" lives, have known of Jesus and really known Jesus for more years of our lives than not, and we all have struggles.  We all have moments where we aren't living like we should, making the choices that God would approve, and living a complete Christ-centered life.  And in those moments, maybe some of us have people who love us, nudge us in the direction we should be moving, or God intercedes and takes his hand and carries us where we need to be.  We have love.  We have God's love, true love from our family.
I was and am so fortunate that I have parents who truly love me and have always showed that love.  I had a loving family that included a father figure and a mother figure.  Some are less fortunate, and maybe only have one of those, but that is still one.  Then there are some who, by tragedy have neither of those.

Think on this....

How does one know what love is?

How does one grasp that God, the most amazing father in the world loves them more than anyone?

How does one imagine what this love is?

How does one Believe this Father is different?

WHEN....

At the age of ten years old you were sent from your home country to neighboring Costa Rica to work as a babysitter.  REALITY HERE!!!!  My daughter is 9 years old.  I cannot imagine doing this to my child.  You come to this country you have never been to before to care for children, when you are only a child yourself.  And you do this for the next 8 years.  You are all alone!  You are a child alone in a foreign country caring for another person's children.  For the better part of the next 8 years, you never hear from your family much and do not see them.  In this time, your family has grown without you.  You were sent away.  How does that make you feel?  You have nothing!  You are a child with no family.  

Your family moves to the country where you are living at the age of eighteen.  You have yearned for this for so many years.  You just wanted your family.  You wanted to be loved, to be accepted.  But, the reality is they moved on without you, they grew without you.  For whatever reason they chose to send you away.  In your heart you know the situation for what it really is, but it is so hard to tell yourself that they must not have really loved you.  You now find yourself with 4 children, living a life that you wish was better, wishing it could be different for your children.  You are not married and have 4 people who depend on you, but you live constantly in war with life and yourself.  

As I think about this woman, I think about how us Christians who have Jesus struggle at times in their life with their faith, and we know Jesus.  We had and have people who love us, who didn't send us away, who didn't abandon us.  And, we have times in our life when we think, how can I get through this, but we know we have Jesus on our side and we have him to lean on.  He is there to comfort us, to carry us, to carry our load.  

My heart breaks for these people who don't know love.  They cannot even comprehend it.
I can't expect them to understand that God is love, when they don't even know what LOVE is.  

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." ~ Heb 11:1  

With faith, there is love.  And this is the battle that Jesus fought.  He is a warrior for love.  And I have faith that God will show this person what love is, that they will see it. Because the Gospel is LOVE. I think circumstances make things harder or easier for people, but at the end of the day we all have to make the choice to know God's love or to not know God's love.  Please pray that this one who does not know love, will know love, will have faith in the God of love, and act on that love in obedience to the one who showed the biggest sacrifice of love.

Nothing but the Blood of Jesus

Yesterday, May 26, 2013, was a day full of rejoicing in Los Altos de Naranjo, Costa Rica.  Five people  obeyed the Gospel and were baptized.  We, and so many others, have been praying for these people to accept the truth, and to see the Lord working is amazing.

Above:  This is Marta.  She started meeting with us the second week we moved to Costa Rica on the front of Myra's porch, and has been with us ever since.  She always welcomes us with open arms and wants to study His word.  She is a quiet person with a precious, humble spirit.  She is the mother to four beautiful children.  From oldest to youngest: Lorena, Michelle, Margarita, and Julito.

Above:  Many have heard us talk about Myra.  Praise the Lord, is all I can think to say.  Her life has been hard, the past full of heartache.  But, a start that is white as snow. What a day for her!

Above:  This is Marta's oldest daughter, Lorena.  David would see her at Marta's house when visiting but she never left the house except to go to school.  Her mother said she never liked leaving the house and would not come to church.  She was always there for the studies at the house, and would involve herself.  She attended church for the first time 7 weeks ago, and has come ever since.  Her beautiful smile has never been prettier than in these photos above.

Above:  This is Alejandro, Lorena's boyfriend.  He started coming with her to church after she came the first time, and he has been there ever since.  He is quiet, but his expression when he came out of the water was worth more than any words could ever say.

Above:  This is Michelle, Marta's second oldest daughter.  She is almost 13.  She is very quiet, and a girl of few words.  Through the months she has really come alive and is so vibrant.  {And she is quite attached to Miss Leia Liu}.  I wanted people to be there when this happened, and I think these pictures captured the emotions pretty well.

Throughout the baptisms my mind was humming the chorus, "What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus," and then we concluded with, "Oh Happy Day, When Jesus washed my SINS AWAY."

Love the toucan that Deybin spotted right before we started.  Almost like he was there to watch.

The journey has just started for these people.  Their life is new and white.  Please continue to lift them up in prayer as they begin their journey as a Christian.  It was truly a memorable day, and a day that makes my heart so happy that my children were able to witness.  I love that they know that Jesus says to "Preach unto all the world."  

I wish everyone could have been there to witness such beauty.  I hope you enjoyed these photos even half as much as I enjoyed capturing the the moment of complete innocence, the moment that everything is gone, washed completely away.

If Only...

We know human trafficking is a reality here in Costa Rica.  We know prosititution is very much a reality here, it is a broad daylight reality that is accepted and legal.  Personal stories (I hate to use the word story, because they are not stories, they are nightmares, horrific life events of survival) and visualization of the truth of so many lives here breaks my heart.  How can this be so?  How can I even imagine what these people have lived or are currently living.   

I started doing some research online for hard statistics about prostitution and trafficking here, and what I found is about what I figured...there is no way for them to account for everything and it is much worse than what is documented.  Brothel prostitutes are supposed to carry a health card and prove routine health physicals, so those cases are accounted for, but all the others are not.   So many births are to girls under the age of 18.  It is very common here for girls to become mothers between the ages of 14-16.  After reading several articles and research documents, I thought, how can stats show the woman who are forced into prostitution to buy food for their family?  How can the stats account for all the girls who are encouraged to work the streets close to bars, so that they won't be evicted from their home?  How can it show the women who cross the border into this country illegally looking for any way to survive?  It simply cannot.  

{This picture was borrowed from here.}

What I did read, unanimously, is that the majority of the customers or consumers for the prostitution industry and human trafficking are North Americans.  Costa Rica is an international destination for human sex trafficking and the ringleaders of these criminal organizations are just as powerful as drug cartels.  They have property that can be sold again and again which makes them an invaluable asset.  These girls are coerced into thinking they will get out of a bad situation, earn money, and will then be able to have a "better" life than they know.  Their path and choice is driven by dire need.  They are in situations where they have nothing left.  They have no tangible goods left to sell.  They have nothing left...but themselves.  They use everything they have left...just to survive and provide.  

{This photo is borrowed from here.}

Prostitution researchers’   say,  ‘women are in   legal prostitution for the same reason they are in illegal prostitution, a lack of alternative survival options. Most women in prostitution did not make a choice to enter prostitution from among a range of other options. They did not decide they want to be prostitutes instead of doctors, engineers, lawyers, pilots. Instead their ‘options’ were more in the realm of how to get enough money to feed themselves and their children. If prostitution were really a choice it would not be those people with the fewest choices available to them who are disproportionately in prostitution. Such choices are better termed survival strategies. Prostitution is about not having a range of educational and job options to choose from. Most women in prostitution end up there only because other options are not available.’’

But there is another option available to them.  They can have the Lord, if only they knew there was another option.  What if they knew the Lord and had the opportunity to know the Gospel and to obey His precious word?  The impossible is possible with God {Phil 4:13}.  It is possible for them to not have to choose this.  No child should have to live the nightmare of traffic, scenes, and sounds in the confines of their own home {shanty, at best}.  And every mother and woman {tragically, girls...children} should know that there is another choice out there. She should know she is worth far more.  She should know that there really is another choice.  If only...

*** I credited links to pictures I borrowed, simply for reasons of copyright.  ***

The Difference

Through tear-filled eyes you hear the words, "Nobody wanted us."  Left at a young age, not the only child, but one of 4, and the oldest only 15 years old and the youngest 3 years old.  Their father left them years before for someone other than them and their mother.  Years later, their mother abandons them.  None of their family would take them in.  They had no one to care for them, no one to provide for them.

They were born into turmoil and extreme poverty.  A world where life was already very hard, and it just  got even harder.  When they became abandoned, their grandmother offered to take their older brother but none of the other siblings.  They went into government custody and remained there for four years until their mother decided to resurface.  They lived in a system with so many other orphans and abandoned children, where the common thought is, "I was not wanted.  I am not wanted.  I am not loved."

This is not a Costa Rica epidemic, it is a worldwide epidemic.  It is an epedemic of people not having the knowledge of what a true father is, and most of all who our heavenly father is.  It is an epedemic of people never learning what love is and how to love.  These children knew their father left them long ago, made another life for himself that excluded them from his heart and his life altogether, and the only thing they had left was their mother.  Left with nothing and in government custody, they call their father, begging for him to get them out.  He appeared for a few visits, but left them there.  Four years, these children were left in an orphanage, until their mother came back.  They left the orphanage and returned back to a place where there mother still couldn't provide and care for them.

These people are no different than you and I .  I was born in the United States of America.  I was born in a land where education is everyone's opportunity, where those who have nothing can obtain food stamps, women can feed their children with WIC, provide their children with free medical care, receive unemployment checks for a time until they can find a job, and so many more benefits that it is really just embarrassing when you think about the extreme suffering in the rest of the world.  I lived in a place where even if I couldn't find the job of my dreams to provide all the comforts and necessities to my family, I could have flipped burgers making minimum wage to provide them with food and shelter.   I could make minimum wage and obtain a higher salary than most people in the world and buy goods that are at a much lower price and more readily available than anywhere in the world.   I was born with parents who loved me, cared for me, and provided above and beyond what I ever needed.

The difference is millions of children in the world are born in a place where their life seems impossible to change.  They live in circumstances, that just aren't realistic to residents of the United States.  They live in places where they cannot continue their education enough to even read.  They live in a place, some with parents, some without, and they all think "no one wants me."

And the biggest difference is so many don't know God, they don't know Jesus, and they don't know His love.  How do you imagine a heavenly Father who is so awesome when all you have ever seen is the polar opposite of what God is?  And how will they ever know, if we do not "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation" Mark 16:15.  How will they ever know what LOVE is and that,  "God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" 1 John 4:16 if we are not teaching and being a light to the world?

August 2012 Costa Rica Newsletter - by David

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Greetings from Costa Rica, the heavier rains have started here but the future is looking bright. As I write
this letter I am at a loss for words to describe the depth of my excitement about how the Lord is working here. I am happy to report that we Baptized seven new Christians this Saturday. These were all people that had been attending the church services for the last two months and we have spent countless hours in that time studying the word of God together. There is nothing sweeter than seeing these people that we care for so much obeying the Gospel and beginning their new life in service to the Lord. There are several more people that we have high hopes for also and Lord willing they will heed the call of the Lord soon. I believe that these new converts are going to be an integral part of the ongoing work of reaching the lost and making new contacts within the community.

I have also been having some very good studies every week with a man that lives close to us in Atenas.
He comes from a Catholic family but he told me that he has always had a blasé attitude about religion in the
past. He is from Nicaragua and he is here working as a guard of a bank owned house. He has been living
alone in this empty house for a year now and he cannot leave the house except for short trips to town for food.  This year of solitude combined with his inability to see his kids for two years has caused him to think a lot and reevaluate his life. I found out he could leave on Sundays so I asked him this last week if he would come to the church service with us. He agreed and I think he really enjoyed the fellowship and the chance to get out of that house. I feel good about the direction he is heading and I have an open invitation to come study with him any day of the week.

We are still looking for a new place for our worship services. The community building that I had hoped to
use is not going to be a reliable option. There are not many options that are in accessible locations there but
we have faith that the Lord will provide. All the families that have been meeting with us have had various kinds of financial struggles lately because of things that they cannot control. I don't know how these people survive on the money they make in a good month much less in bad months. We have helped them where we could and they don't ask us for help but I know from being in their homes that they are facing desperate times. I have encouraged all of them with the verses in Matthew 6:25-34 and they have taken that to heart. Please remember them in your prayers and if you can help please let us know.

I want to thank everyone again that has supported us and the work in Costa Rica. Your prayers and
support make you a part of the work here and we are so thankful for your love and generosity. The past month we were short by $1450.00 on budgeted expenses. We also had to spend $1900.00 on non budgeted expenses that were mostly medical costs when Kalina had to get an MRI and see a Neurologist because of complications caused by her Lupus.

If you would like to financially support this

work please send donations to this address:

6301 Walnut Cove

Benton AR, 72019

Dios les bendiga (God bless you all)

David Raboin

Apdo #112 - 4013

Alajuela, Atenas, Atenas

20501, Costa Rica

501-303-4488 (little rock phone number

that calls us on Skype - free for most people)

506-6078-8191 (Costa Rica cell phone)

raboindavid@hotmail.com

(This isn't the picture he had on the newsletter. 

He included a picture of one of the baptisms.

But since I had already shared those....

I thought I would share this one.)