After 26+ hours of travel we arrived at our ministry site in Los Chiles, Costa Rica. Amazingly enough we only took 2 automobiles, which were preluded by a 14 hour ferry ride across Lake Nicaragua and a short boat ride up a river crossing the border into Costa Rica.
Let me begin by saying this country is beautiful. The location we are living at is a good distance away from any cities, or any civilization for that matter. It is basically in the jungle. To reach the location from where we were dropped off by the bus we had to pile 15 people in an Isuzu Trooper and venture about 5 miles from the highway down rugged winding dirt roads. Due to limited seating Phil, Greg, and I ended up riding on the back with solely our toes on the rear bumper, hanging on to the top of the jeep for dear life. Once we reached our location, and caught our breath, we found out it is a children’s rehabilitation center in development.
Before I get too far ahead of myself let me tell you a little more about our contacts and their vision. Tony and Rosa were given this farm and the 18 acres of land it sits on after praying and seeking fervently opportunities to reach children from broken homes in the Los Chiles area. They believe this will be a place where kids ages 12 – 17 will come and live Monday through Saturday receiving education and working on the farm. One of the target groups they want to focus on are those kids who cross the border from the poorer country of Nicaragua and are not accepted into school here. Similarly to the United States it is law in Costa Rica that kids must go to school at least through middle grades. During the time we have lived here thus far we have had the opportunity to spend time with 2 of the kids that may come to this sanctuary when it opens up in January.
Beyond the excitement that they will be opening up the farm so soon, the culmination of several years of preparation, Rosa and Tony are still left with an important task they must complete this month in the form of Christmas parties. They have thrown Christmas parties giving away gifts and sharing the true Christmas story for the past 3 years, reaching over 2000 kids in this region. They are passionate about this project and believe it presents an incredible opportunity to reach kids and their families in these different communities. With so many things on their plate at once they are understandably anxious about getting everything done.
[Enter World Race Teams]
ð A week and a half forward…
We have chopped down a forest garden with machetes, milked cows, fertilized trees, made cheese, and trekked the luscious monkey infested jungle during our brief time here, all the while preparing for the six 3 hour long Christmas parties taking place over a 5 day period. Sounds exhausting I know, but we have enjoyed every minute of it, and are excited to share what Christmas means to us with families and children in Costa Rica. I truly hope and seek to honor Jesus this month.
