Hogar de Vida

Wednesday morning came along with all of us ready to get busy and put the past mishaps behind us.  We had to be up and going early this morning to be at the children's, home Hogar de Vida, at 8:30.  The sun comes up at 5:00-5:30 every day in Costa Rica and those piercing rays of light make it a challenge to sleep in anyway.

There are 3 "homes" on the property that house the children.  Each home has a Tia (Aunt) that lives with them and basically serves as a foster mom for the kids.  I did not get all the details but I am pretty sure that at least some of these woman have husbands that live there as well, but have other jobs during the day. 

The girls were going to do some cleaning and laundry while Keith and I worked on picking up mango's and mowing the grass.  I will have to get Kalina to do a post about her experience with her time at Hogar de Vida because I have no idea what she was doing inside while I was outside.  Well we had only been working on the mango's for about 30 minutes when Tim (Hogar de Vida boss man) decided that he had something else he wanted us to do.  He called us over to where he and his grounds keeper were looking at some sewer lines.  To make a long story short, we needed to reroute some of the sewer lines because they were backing up the leech field.  There was an existing tank that had been abandoned at some time in the past and now they wanted to use it again to alleviate the problem.  Now I can probably guess what you are thinking.....Wow, you got promoted from lawn guy to sewer guy.  Some might look at that as a demotion, and I was not sure at first, but I can't say I was disappointed.  I don't even like mowing my own grass...  It turns out that it was only grey water lines we would be working on so that was a plus.  We spent a little time figuring out how everything would tie together and we realized that we needed some pipe fittings and glue.  I was given the job of picking up the parts at the local hardware store since I needed to go into town anyway.  John, Heather, Micheala, Jeremy, Sarah, Jonah, and Merilene had arrived that morning.  They did not know how to get to the Orphanage so I needed to meet them in town so they could follow me.

So I made my list and headed into town to meet the other half of our group.  I successfully located their vehicle at the park, it was so good to see that they had made it without any problems.  They all looked very tired and probably felt like we did that first day after we arrived.  They had not had much sleep for the last 24 hours but they were ready to get right to work, no rest for the weary.  We headed from there to the hardware store, Vargas and Sons.  I was kind of excited to see what a full fledged Costa Rican hardware store looked like.  I had been in a very small one during the last trip but this one was much larger.  I was impressed, the place had a very good selection.  This was not anything like a Home Depot or Lowes but it was similar to a local hardware store you would find in the US.  I was able to find the parts we needed and we headed back to the Orphanage.

When we arrived back at Hogar de Vida, all of the new arrivals were put to work.  The girls went off to clean and Jeremy and John joined Keith and I as we dug ditches for the new sewer lines.  We only had about an hour until lunch time at this point but we got quite a bit accomplished.  From 12:00 until 2:00 is quiet time, so the kids can take naps so we left for lunch.
Between our group of 14 and Kathia's group of 5 we had a lot of people to fit into any of the local restaurants.  The place we picked ended up having pretty good food but I think we overwhelmed their kitchen and staff.  It took the full 2 hours and then some for everyone to eat, then we headed back to Hogar de Vida.  The heat and lack of sleep was getting to our latest group of arrivals so they decided that they needed to rest so they would be ready to go the next day.

Keith and I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up the sewer lines while the girls had the opportunity to spend some time with the kids once they were done cleaning.  Logan and Olivia had a great time playing with all the children.  I wish that I had a chance to spend some time with the kids as well, but we wanted to make sure we did not leave them with a half completed job. 

The day we spent at Hogar de Vida was time well spent.  For the children that lack parents to love them and take care of them, this place is a wonderful alternative.  They have plenty of room to live and play outside, and they have some very loving people watching over them.  In my estimation Hogar de Vida is a place that is deserving of any help that we can give them and Lord willing we can continue to help them in the future.

Dios les bendiga,
David

Trial by Fire

Bang!!!  I sat straight up in bed immediately awake.  It was still Monday night and later when I had time to look this would have been around 3:30 in the morning.  My first thought was that someone had ran into the gate.  The house we were renting was at the end of a road and it had a gate across the road before the house.  As I was rushing over to the closest window that looked towards the gate, I could see light coming from outside.  This only confirmed it in my mind, Someone had ran over the gate with their vehicle and they were trying to rob the house!!!  Once I got to the window I looked outside and I could see the gate was still shut and the light was not coming from headlights.  The light was coming from the opposite direction from the gate.  But there was nothing over there that should have been making light.....I hurried over to the window on the back side of the house in the bathroom and that is when I saw it, fire was coming from somewhere on the outside of the wall and it was starting to lick at the underside of the roof.  From the time the Bang had woken me up until this point had only been maybe 10 seconds.  I guess Kalina had gotten up to go to the bathroom but did not realize why I was up.  She walked into the bathroom about the same time I said "Oh no, it's on Fire!"  I did not realize she was behind me and when she heard me say that she sleepily asked "What?".  I repeated, The House is on FIRE!!  I took off running towards the front part of the house where everyone else was sleeping.  I guess Kalina looked out the window for herself and a couple seconds later she was screaming FIRE, FIRE!  At this point I had reached the bedroom where Sherry, Lindsey, Olivia and Logan where sleeping.  Thankfully Sherry had been woke up by the bang us well but did not know what it was.  I yelled that the house was on Fire, get everyone out!!  I threw open the door across the hall and yelled the same at Keith.  Everyone was heading out, so I started dragging suitcases away from the burning end of the house towards the front.  I checked on the fire again and it was still just barely flaming.  I knew the walls of the house were solid concrete so I figured I had a few more minutes to grab our clothes so if the worst happened we would not have to run around in way too tight clothing.  These people are a lot shorter than we are!!  As I was throwing clothes into a suitcase, and Kalina was trying to grab some essentials in the bathroom, the second explosion happened.  I have never seen my wife move so fast, screaming at the same time!  She was headed out the door in a flash, and I was right behind her dragging what I had thrown into a suitcase.  As we came out the other end of the house we looked back and saw a huge 10-15 foot long jet of flame shooting out of the side of the house.  I really wish someone had thought to take a picture of it, but all things considered I doubt anyone was even contemplating pictures.  (Well, Kalina informs me when everyone was outside the house up the hill, she pulled her camera out and then realized the battery was in the burning bathroom on the charger.)

It was a very scary night for everyone, but praise the Lord that we woke up as soon as it started and everyone got out.  The lady that manages the house we were in, graciously took us to a different house that she also managed, and that is where we would end up staying the rest of the week.  As soon as I knew everyone was ok, Keith and I headed back to see what had happened to the house. 

We knew that it was a gas fire and the neighbors told us there was no shut off valve, so I was wondering if the fire fighters would be able to put it out.  More prayers were answered when we got back and saw the fire was already out and had only damaged the bathroom and master bedroom we were staying in.  We soon found out the the source of the fire was the water heater and propane tank attached to it.  Whoever had worked on our hot water earlier that day had messed up something and the gas line had a slow leak that eventually started the fire from the water heater pilot light (First bang).  The heat built up enough that it blew the gas line completely open (second bang) which caused the gigantic blow torch.  The combination of the concrete walls and relatively fast response of the Fire Fighters limited the damage.  It was also a small propane tank, probably about 20 gallons, and it probably burned up the fuel quickly.

The fire fighters let us go back in and get everything out that we could salvage.  Once again the Lord was looking out for us, and we were able to get just about everything out except some things that were in the bathroom closest to the fire.  After collecting everything we headed back to the new house.

It was still early in the morning at this point and while we were all tired, no one was in the least bit sleepy at that point.....  After the adrenaline wore off Kalina noticed that she had jammed her toe really bad during the screaming sprint to safety.  It was swelling up and pressure was building under her toenail.  Immediate action was needed.  We went by the local clinic and quickly decided that would take all day and cost a fortune.  So my wife is a nurse, and she decides that she will just operate on herself (she is such a tough lass!!)  We went by a pharmacy, and she bought the supplies she needed, then we went back to the house.  After a failed attempt to inject a pain numbing medicine in her toe, she decided to turn to a wise and vastly intelligent entity that we all know as Google..... if Google says it, it must be true right?  Anyway she found a DIYS (all the handy guys out there will know what that means) article on the subject to confirm what she thought she would need to do.  Using a paper clip heated to a molten red consistency she was able to slowly drill a hole (2 holes actually) in her toenail and successfully relieve the pressure.

As I mentioned earlier, we were supposed to be at the Orphanage today but the fire changed things.  We did decide to go ahead and go buy supplies for them, and we would bring them with us when we went on Wednesday.  We ventured into Escazu again and bought the supplies then headed back to the house.  We were supposed to be meeting another one of our contacts for dinner.
Tim and Cindy are friends of Kathia.  We had not met them yet but I had talked to Cindy over email.  I had read her blog and Tim's as well, so it was kind of weird just meeting them but knowing a lot about them.  Cindy is a Nurse, and Tim is an architect, so we had something in common there.  The main thing we wanted to do was talk to them and get to know each other a little better, as well as talk to them about Chirripo.  Chirripo is the tallest mountain in Costa Rica, at over 12,500 feet, but it is also where a Natural Park is located.  This is also what we would call in the US an Indian reservation.  It is home to pretty much the entire population of the Indigenous tribes of Costa Rica.  We wanted to get some more information about these people thinking that this may be another opportunity to spread the gospel.  We had a good meal and conversation together, and hopefully, we will have the opportunity to continue this new relationship in the future.

It was a long day that started out in a scary, frantic, no need for coffee wake up call.  But in the big picture of life, it was just another bump in the road.  It may have just been a coincidence that we just happened to be in the right place at the wrong time but it could have also been something more.  1 Peter 5:8-9 says;  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.  Satan is always looking for ways to make the lives of Christians miserable, ways to make us discouraged and give up.  Well, it will take more than a log in the road and a house fire to slow us down.  Phillipians 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  When we are doing the Lords work it is hard to get discouraged when you recognize that Christ is your strength.
We did in fact get to go to Hogar de Vida the next day without any more houses catching on fire.  I will cover Wednesday in the next post.  Here is a closing verse to leave you with.  It is amazing to think of all the things that God can accomplish when we serve him.  And he can do things far beyond the best we can think of!  The important thing is that we have to work for his glory, not our own.

Ephesians 3:19-21: And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Dios les bendiga
-David

(Note:  I will post more pictures of the fire damage later, I have to get the pictures from Keith)

Orphans, Crocodiles, and Beaches oh My!!

I know, I know the title for this post seems completely random and silly right?  I know but do you realize how hard it is to come up with a Title for these posts sometimes?  Not as easy as it looks. Sometimes it is harder to come up with those few words for a title than it is to type the whole post!!!

Monday morning came along, and Kalina and I headed over to Hogar de Vida while Sherry and Lindsey stayed at the house with the kids.  We spent several hours talking to Tim and Dina, they are the couple that started the Hogar de Vida children's home over 10 years ago.  We talked about a lot of different things that we might be able to help with while we were there.  They were very cautious and made sure we knew all the rules before any of us could come to help.  They had a whole list of rules that we heartily agreed to, such as no immodest clothing, no piercings besides earrings, no cursing, etc.  This place was structured around providing a Christian atmosphere for these kids, and they were very serious about it.  They have had a lot of struggles lately with financial support because of the economic situation in Costa Rica and in the USA.  They don't have any large supporters. They mostly depend on a lot of small donations from lots of places.  So while they obviously needed help, they wanted to make sure we were not just wanting to come for a photo op with the kids or that we would cause more problems.  They explained several problems they have had in the past with groups that have come to help but ended up causing more problems than they fixed. 

























This was the view from just inside the gate of Hogar de Vida.

We were looking for something we could do for them in a day or two but we also had Kathia with us.  She is one of our Costa Rican friends that has helped us so much.  She was interested in getting involved in a continual effort to help the orphanage.  She has several of her friends and family that could help with making clothes for the kids or even just yard work.

So when we were done we had agreed to come back the next day and Kalina, Sherry, Lindsey, and Olivia along with Kathia's group would work on cleaning windows and folding laundry.  I planned on taking Logan with me to go buy supplies for the orphanage and hopefully be back by lunch time.

Well it was lunch time and we had the rest of the day free.  This was the only time we would have for just "fun" and it was time to fulfill a promise we had made to Logan and Olivia.  It was time to go see the Crocodiles and then the Beach.  We headed west toward the pacific coast and in about 40 minutes we arrived at what we have started calling the Crocodile Bridge.  The kids were both absolutely amazed to see crocodiles that were not in a cage.  I think before this they had only seen one small crocodile at the Memphis zoo and in pictures.  There was one of them laying in the sun that was at least 15 feet long.  There was probably 15-20 of them swimming or laying right below us.  Most of them were just laying there soaking up the sun and Logan just could not stand it.  He kept yelling at them, "CROCODILES WAKE UP" over and over again.  He was very disappointed that none of them seemed to notice his wake up calls.

From the Crocodile Bridge we headed a little farther south to a beach that we had heard about from Kathia's husband Jason.  It was not a place you could get to unless you knew where you were going, luckily we had the inside info.  You had to take a right off the highway at an unmarked dirt road and drive about 10 minutes until you entered into the back gate of some kind of Resort community.  Then you drive thru the middle of the compound of condos until you get to another dirt road that goes another 300 feet where you have to park and then walk the last little bit thru the trees and over a very treacherous looking bridge over a small creek and there you are.  Easy right?  I am sure you can find it now all on your own.....Anyway it was a nice quiet beach, there were only 4 other people there besides us.  The kids had a great time playing in the water and the girls had a blast sifting thru tons of pieces of coral reef.

We stayed a few hours at the beach then we had to head back so we could fix something to eat and I had to be at the Airport to pick up Keith at 8:15.
I arrived at the airport right on time and wonder of wonders Keith's flight was on time.  I was even able to stake out a good spot to wait on him to get outside and I was able to swoop in and save him from the mob of taxi and shuttle drivers eagerly waiting to devour unsuspecting tourists.  I was excited about the possibilities of Keith being along for this trip especially since he is much more fluent than myself with Spanish.  I have gotten a lot better but it takes time.
Once we got back to the house we all spent some time talking about Costa Rica and the days ahead but we all went to bed pretty early so we would be rested for a hard days work at Hogar de

-David

The Lords Day in Costa Rica

So once we actually made it to the airport the flights all went fine, including a 9 hour layover in Denver.  Luckily my Aunt and Uncle live in Denver and they came and picked us up.  It just happened to be the same night of my cousins graduation party so we got to see everyone for a little while which was nice.

This was the view from the house we were staying in.  This was still the beginning of the rainy season and everything was still pretty brown.

So we arrived in Costa Rica on time and made it to the house we were renting in Atenas and got settled in.  We ventured into town and found a gem of a restaraunt that we did not know about the last time we were here.  Kay's is the only place that we have found in Costa Rica that you can find american style breakfast.  She serves just about anything you could find at a Ihop, Waffle House or from your Mom's kitchen.  Kay has apparently been a waitress for over 40 years and you could tell, she was a real pleasure to be around.

After we refueled we went back to the house and had our Sunday worship service.  It was another beautiful day in Costa Rica to worship the lord.  It is impossible to not be in awe of his creation when you are surrounded by some of the most beautiful landscape you have ever seen.
























This was on the way to Escazu, A big mud slide had covered the road and they had only cleared it enough for the adventurous that did not mind doing some off roading.

I made several phone calls to our contacts in Costa Rica while the kids took a much needed nap.  Once that was all taken care of we took a 30 minute drive to Gringoville, Costa Rica (aka Escazu).  This town is probably home to the most rich, affluent and upper class of Costa Rica.  It does not at all resemble the rest of Costa Rica, in fact it looks mostly like a city in the USA.  Our reason for visiting Escazu is because they had the closest Walmart, yes that is right, Walmart.  This was a new developement that had just occured in the last couple weeks, and there are only a handlful of them in the whole country.  So the questions to ask would be is this a good thing that Walmart has set it's sights on Costa Rica?  I hope so, but only time will tell.  Anyway we had some supplies to buy and this would be one of the cheapest places to buy the things we needed.  Well this was a Sunday night and if any of you shop at Walmart on the weekend you know that is usually the busiest and worst time to go.  Well I don't know if it was because of the weekend or because it was new but this place was jam packed.  This was a supercenter and it was probably larger than some in the USA, but there was still not enough room for the masses.  I don't know for sure how many people were their but it had to be somewhere between 2000 - 5000.  It looked like a crowd you would see packed into a stadium for a sold out concert except for the shelves and shopping carts.  It was insane, I am not really sure how we made it out alive.

We did make it out in one piece and we did not even lose either of the kids!!  That is about all there is to tell about Sunday but we were a bit exhausted and everyone went to bed pretty early to be ready for the next day.  Kalina and I were scheduled to meet with the Director of Hogar de Vida in the morning.  Hogar de Vita is a childrens home in Atenas and we wanted to talk to them to see what we could do to help.

-David