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.

It Takes A Village

Some of you have already volunteered your time and money for the Days For Girls Project that was led by Melanie Gaddy for the girls and women in Haiti.  But for those who have never heard of this, it is an awesome organization and I wish I had known about it before.  Because it is awesome.  It makes me want to have my sewing machine here.

{Click Here for more info about this organization}

There are women all over the world who endure their cycle every month without the needed hygiene products.  There are more women who don't have these things than women who do have these things.  As inconvenient as that time of the month can be to some, imagine living in conditions where you had no access to the things you needed, and if you did have access, having no money to pay for these things.  That is the reality all over the world.  

I have so much to blog about and share with everyone.  First off, the medical clinic that I have mentioned in some of my recently previous posts is becoming a reality.  The building materials were purchased last month while Keith Avaritt was here.  The main idea and focus of this clinic right now is for it to be a place that women can stay if they need medical care during their pregnancy.  We want this to be a place they can stop on their hike out to seek more medical care, or a place where a doctor can come in and treat them.  While thinking about a supply list for the clinic, one of the most basic things came to mind.  These people do not even have access to feminine hygiene products, much less postnatal pads.  Then Melanie Gaddy ran the Days for Girls Project for the women and girls in Haiti, and I believe this was God showing me a way to help these women now.  No need to wait for a clinic, these women need these items now.

{This is Magdalena, a native of the Cabeccan tribe, a women who is dedicated to educating and helping the girls and young women of her tribe.}

I NEED YOUR HELP!  This Indigenous reservation is home to thousands of women.  I am dreaming big, but how awesome if all of these women could eventually have these items!  The Days for Girls organization is helping make this possible.  This organization has figured everything out.  My initial goal is to have 50 regular kits and 25 postnatal kits brought with Keith Avaritt at the end of July.  We have exactly 3 1/2 weeks to do this!  The organization asks that we donate $10 a kit to cover the costs, so they can turn around and make more.  Please pray about this and see if you can help just one women or more.  With God all things are possible and I know that He will supply the need.  Huge things happen when everyone helps.  With a village of people working together, a huge task, is nothing.  Anyone who would like to make a donation for these kits can make a tax deductible donation here.  Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see the donate button for the Days for Girls Project.

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}

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

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?

Thanks for Family

I have been reading all the daily "Thanksgiving" posts since the beginning of November.  There has not been a day go by that I have not read from multiple people their thankfulness for their family.  I read these, I think the same thought of being so thankful for my family, and so thankful that God blessed my family with our 2 children.  I am so thankful that He decided to bless me with our two children through adoption.  So many people say, "Oh, they are so blessed to have you."  No, I AM BLESSED to have them.

So, during this month of thankfulness, my heart hurts for all those who have no family and especially the ones who are voiceless and only have a small population of the world crying their plea for them.  These children don't have anything.  They do not have the pleasures of this world that are ruining so many children (Yeah, I did just say that, because it is true.  I see more and more clearly how the youth is corrupted by all the "things and activities" that dominate their existence).  But not only do they not have things, they lack the most important things, Love and, for so many, the very knowledge of God.

But for some orphans, they became One Less and we are so thankful they are our family.  We are thankful to say we are blessed because of them, not that they are blessed because of us.  Through the next couple weeks I want to share with you true life stories that added to families, started families, and completed families.

Leia and so many others were and are so blessed by the Love they received from the wonderful staff of His Hands Taiwan.  These babies had a blessed beginning in this home.  The staff at His Hands wants their babies to learn about God and our wonderful Savior.  We are so thankful for this.  Most of the orphans in the world, do not have a beginning, middle, or ending as these babies.  No, they remain part of the 163 million who have no family, no love, and no future of knowing the Lord.

There are so many things you gain and learn through adoptions and my favorite is the awesome friends I have made and continue to make.  This comes from one of those sweet friends.

We were blessed with 2 amazing biological sons Dayne in 1992 and Keagan a short 10 months later in 1993.  We had struggled with infertility before Dayne so we were thrilled to be pregnant again so quickly.   We love being parents and always thought we would have at least 4 children.  

In 1996 we got pregnant a 3rd time--again we were ecstatic, but only 12 weeks later we lost that baby---we were devastated!  But we also knew we would try again and we would have more children.   

It took until 1998 to get pregnant again...this time all seemed to be going great until a routine ultrasound revealed our baby had passed away.   Our son Trevor Daniel was stillborn May 5, 1998.  We were beyond devastated.   Still we knew we wouldn't give up. We were sure God wanted us to have more children.  During this period of years  I had recurrent dreams of a baby girl we would have, always telling Tim that  she is beautiful but that I didn't  understand because she has black hair and black eyes (she looked nothing like us). We  got pregnant 3 more times  between 1999 and 2004.   We prayed and prayed and we finally had Peace that we were not having more children.  We went on enjoying the boys we have and loving life.   We were thrilled God had finally showed us that our family was complete. 

Spring Break 2005 we went to Disney World with the Peach family.  They also have 2 boys and all the boys had a great time!   

June 2005 Paula calls and says "hey guess where we are ALL going next year for Spring break".  She then tells us how ALL of us are going to China and adopt baby girls!  We thought she was nuts!  I mean good for them...but we have been done for over a year thinking about having more kids, we are happy, we thought we were complete.  God had other plans;)

She invited us to come to an informational meeting that an adoptive family was giving at their church it was on Sunday night...ummm I work weekends, no one will work for me...Tim would never adopt....our family is compete....so many excuses I could come up with!    The closer it got to the meeting the more we felt we might like to go.   I asked a couple people at work if they would be interested  in working...nope, not surprising its impossible to get someone to work a Sunday for me....NOT gonna happen.  So I give up!    I get a call...it's from a fellow coworker(someone I hadn't asked...or even considered  This person NEVER works extra!  NEVER!)   She says I hear you would like to go to a meeting Sunday and I'd like to work for you! WHAT???   

So we get to go to the meeting---we are gonna go to hush Paula, but that's it!  Our family is complete!  

We get there and the other people that are in the process of adopting are there, they are all normal ordinary people like we are.  Not super rich or super stars they are just ordinary people that are going to adopt!  Really?  That's possible?  I went to the restroom and saw Jackie there with her little 2 year old from China..they were at the sink and I suddenly felt this overwhelming urge I hadn't felt before...I couldn't look at them, because if I did I would have cried  right there in the bathroom.  

We are sitting in the meeting and hearing all the testimonies of these "ordinary" people   Then Jackie stands up....she brought some visual aids----her children from Guatemala and China!   She tells her story and shows us her beautiful children.   I cried through this whole meeting.  I had never felt anything like this before.  God had put all these things together so that we could be here with these people!  So we could learn about this wonderful thing called adoption---He had even taken care of finding someone to work for me!!  

We left and I asked Tim what he thought.   I'm nervous at this point I'm thinking I would like to do this but we both have to want it!   He says we should talk with the boys, we should decide as a family.   We sat the boys down when we got home and asked what they would think if we decided to adopt them a sister...they both said "we aren't sure why that is even a question. There are babies that need homes and we want a baby...we should do it!"    

That was Sunday night....Monday morning we called a homestudy agency, filled out the application with FTIA for China and called all our family and friends and told them we were expecting a baby!;)   We started the crazy paper-chase and decided on a name!  Ava Christine would be our daughter!   

On November 17, 2005 we were officially LID (log in date) for China!  we thought it would be a 6 month wait....but Gods plan is perfect and our daughter was born January 14, 2007 in China.   We got THE CALL August 2, 2007.    Ava's Gotcha day was October 14, 2007  what a blessing she is!  

We are thrilled!  Our family is COMPLETE!  People ask us if we will adopt again, we say no we are done....,.well God is in control, He knows best!  

 

August 2010...we hear about His Hands Taiwan!  Some Friends of ours Donnie and Gina have just been home a short time with their little girl from there. The Dunns from Mt Carmel are working with them and we start reading about their ministry.   We contact them and just inquire if we can adopt from there.  We are told there is a waiting list.  But we are put on the waiting for an application list. 

On November 17, 2010 we are given an application to fill out!   This is 5 years to the day we were LID with Ava;) 

On February  9, 2011 we were accepted officially into their program.  Now the real wait begins!   

We thought the wait would be short, we are impatient and sometimes forget that Gods plan is perfect.

  On February 9,2012---yes one year to the day of acceptance with His Hands we got an amazing email telling us that we have a beautiful daughter born January 12, 2012 in Taiwan!   We click on her picture and we instantly know she is our daughter.  She is what we have been waiting for!  We are instantly in love!  

On September 7, 2012 in a train station in Taiwan we are handed our beautiful daughter Kerrigan Jayne!  What a blessing!

                                                    

                                                   

As we look at these 2 beautiful

Blessings, Praise God that when we said we are complete as a family...He said "no you aren't".  

So again we think we are complete;). We are happy and thrilled with the family God has given us!   We will see what the future holds and if God calls on us again then we will say yes! 

 

The journey wasn't always easy! But when we look back  we see God always had the perfect plan for us! 

"Justice to the Fatherless"

I could spend days, weeks, and months pleading for the orphan.  I could preach of all the verses that pertain to the poor, oppressed, widows, and orphans.  But I won't, I will simply share with you the four that stand out TO ME more than any of the others.  There are many more than four, but these are the ones that were seared to my heart and caused me to become broken for the orphan.

James 1:27

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:  to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."  

Isaiah 1:17

"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause."  

Proverbs 31:8-9

"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 needy."

And even more than the three scriptures above that seared me with a brokenness was this...

Matthew 25:40-45

⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,^[a] you did it to me.’
⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’

Something so simple brought sparkles in

his little eyes.

He will probably never remember me, but maybe that 

is one less day of lonliness that he will remember.

There are 163 million more pairs of these eyes that 

are begging you to pull them in.

Wow!  To ignore the fact that there are 163 million children without a mother or father, no one to love them, some with no one to feed them or clothe them, millions of people starving and naked in tattered rags, people sick with diseases that leave them in isolation, men and women imprisoned (some guilty of their charge and some innocent) who have never even heard of Jesus and what He did for them.  To think that I once lived my life in complete ignorance to the outside world around me, the world that so many never see or acknowledge that it exists.  How could I continue and ignore such things? Because by ignoring these things, I was ignoring Jesus.  Guys, he is everywhere.  Is your heart not broken?  Does it not break your heart to know that daily we ignore Jesus.  Daily!!!  We live in isolated worlds where days go by without acknowledging the dire NEEDS of others.  

People say, "I can't adopt."  You don't have to adopt.

Logan and Olivia can't adopt but they can

 be a voice for them.

 pray for them.

 love them.

You can become broken without adopting, before adopting, while adopting, and maybe it doesn't even happen for some until after they adopt.  But if we are not broken for "the least of these," then we are not living the path Jesus set before us.  We have to be broken.

Some may know what today is, it is any other day.  But some have come to know this day as a day to come together and be a HUGE voice TOGETHER for the ORPHAN.  It is ORPHAN SUNDAY and November is Orphan Awareness Month.  A month that Americans cherish as the month of Thanksgiving and family.  So, as you journey through this month and the blessings that are being poured on you and all around you, I beg you to please think about the ones who have no voice.  They have no one to turn to, no one to hear them.  It is simple, WE ARE THEIR VOICE.



My family is so blessed to have been able to be a part of the miracle of adoption.  And I say miracle, because it is just as miraculous as giving birth to your own child by blood.  God gives many miracles and adoption, I believe, is one of them.

CARSON THANH RABOIN

A woman who gave the gift of life and chose us to

be Carson's family.  I love you, Molly!  And we love 

Carson so much!!!

Proud Daddy

Big sister assessing her new brother.

I think she is quite smitten.

Big brother checking him out.

Nothing like holding your baby for the first time : )

Family of 5....one more to come ; )

And then God blessed us with another miracle.  Leia (Sin Xio) Liu Raboin our second little princess.  We waited, I can't say that it was patiently, to hold you in our arms.  And the day finally came....

Snuggled right up to Daddy

Nothing quite like this moment.

She's holding on to my shirt, and I'm not 

letting go either : )

She laid her head down and kept it that 

way for hours.

Loving with her big brother.

Everybody wants to play with me.

Oh, how he loves her and still adores her every whim.

Sweet Kisses X 2!

Such a WONDERFUL big sister.

MY RABOINS