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

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

Costa Rica in 2011

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you have all had a blessed year in 2010. 2010 was an awesome year for us and Lord willing we are looking forward to another year of blessings beyond measure. It has been a while since we posted anything so I thought it would be nice to give everyone an update. We have been doing some research on possible travel dates to return to Costa Rica. Prices for flight will more than likely determine the time we travel since they fluctuate so much and we obviously want to get the cheapest rates. Right now it looks like the cheapest tickets we can find are during the first 2 weeks of May. The best we can find is around 300 per person from Dallas to Costa Rica those first 2 weeks of May. If anyone out there knows of any way to obtain cheaper tickets please let us know. Between now and then we are going to be talking to our contacts in Costa Rica and working on possible plans while we are there. As we know from our last trip, God has a way of changing our plans and we will be more than happy to be flexible as needed. A couple things that we would like to do is visit the community in Alajuela that we visited during our last trip as well as visit the Orphanage in Atenas that we did not get to the last time. We are going to be looking at some things that we could do to provide for the needy and let you know what we have planned so that anyone that wants to donate to help has a good idea of where the money will be going. We would like to have some "projects" planned and you will be able to specify what you would like to donate for and 100% of your donation will go directly to the needs of the people. We still have a lot of planning and praying to do but I thought everyone might like to know what is coming up. Please keep us in your prayers and Dios les bendiga.

-David

Phillipians 4:13

You may have noticed that we have not posted anything in a few weeks.  One of the reasons is that we have been very busy the last few weeks, but the other reason is that we have been trying to decide what to say next.  One thing that I wanted to bring up was that this trip was a mission of exploration.  We payed our own way and traveled to Costa Rica to assess the living conditions of the people and to see if it was a place we would feel comfortable bringing our families.  We had high hopes and came prepared to do something to help out people in need that we might come across, but we had no idea how that would come about.  Hopefully you can see from our previous posts that God took us by the hand and showed us many possibilities in ways that we could not have accomplished on our own.  The people that we met living by the river were such a blessing to us and made the whole trip so much more than we ever could have hoped for.  God blessed us with the means to buy some supplies for those families, that we hope helped them get by a little easier for a few days but there is so much more to do. 

Obviously we cannot say for certain that our evangelistic endeavors will take us to Costa Rica on a long term basis, but God certainly did open doors for us while we were there.  We feel strongly that Costa Rica is at least a place to start.  No matter where we end up, we are going to continue to prepare ourselves for the work that has been set before us.  The Lord has changed our lives forever, and we cannot in good conscience go back to the life we lived before. 

Lord willing, we are planning to take another trip to Costa Rica during the coming Spring.  Now that we have a good idea of where we would like to work in the country and have some contacts, we hope to have a much more focused trip this time around.  We would like to be able to visit some of the other communities that are in great need, meet more people, and preach the gospel at every opportunity.  There is also a Childrens' Home in Atenas that we would like to visit and see what needs we may be able to meet.  In general, we are seeking the will of the Lord, and we know that he will be with us and guide us. 

As you know, there are expenses involved in traveling and staying in Costa Rica and we have all started saving money for those expenses.  We are committed to this work and are doing everything we can to raise money for the next trip.  We know that God is good, and he blesses those that seek him first and follow after him.  If you feel like you have been blessed with the ability to support this work then please use this link "Donate To Our Mission," or you may click the link on the right side of the Home Page.  This will take you to the donation page for the Footprints of Charity Foundation.  There is a one time donation button that is dedicated to the work in Costa Rica, use this link to make your donation.  You can also mail them a check if you prefer.  If you desire that donation to be used for the work in Costa Rica, just write "Costa Rica" in the memo field of your check.  Footprints of Charity has graciously agreed to support us in this work and they will see to it that your donation makes it to us.  If you would prefer to donote to us directly you can also do that by emailing us at footprintsincostarica@gmail.com.  We will email you the mailing address.  Also if you prefer your donation to be used directly for the people of Costa Rica then feel free to let us know and we will make sure your donation is not used for travel expenses.

For those that may not be aware, the goal we have in our hearts is for the Raboin and Avaritt families to move to Costa Rica.  John and myself (David) seek to work as Evangelists, seeking the lost and preaching the gospel.  Our wives and families are willing and able helpers in that ministry.  As we find all throughout the bible, a natural part of our work will also include helping the poor, the widows, and the orphans that are so abundant in Costa Rica.

We welcome your input.  Please email us at footprintsincostarica@gmail.com with your comments, questions, etc.

As we continue down this road that is set before us, please pray for us.  We are completely aware that we cannot do this on our own, and we welcome the prayers and encouragement of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  We continue to pray that the Lord is with us in all that we do, and that he will be glorified through us.  Phillipians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Posted by David