To Mexico's "Forgotten People"

We just said good-bye to Dan as he left to head out on a project trip deep into Mexico's Copper Canyon.  It will take him four days of travel to reach the remote people group he will be working with to design a health clinic and women's shelter.  The following article and photo are taken directly from EMI's website:

 

"Approximately 60,000 Tarahumara people live in the Copper Canyon area of northern Mexico. Many years ago, there were over a million. They have become a forgotten people, ignored by the government to the point of becoming extinct. One news report team recently called the Tarahumara "the poorest people in the world," many of them still living in caves and stone huts.

Seventeen years ago, Pastor Tomás and his assistant Brenda (Tarahumara Ministries) were led to reach out to this people group. Travelling for hours and days on donkeys and walking through the canyons, they searched out the people. As Tomás would say, "These people have been waiting over 2000 years to hear about the life-saving love of Jesus." However, the Tarahumara do not have a word for "love," and thus it has been difficult to share this concept with words. But through 17 years of loving dedication, Tomás has built up trust amongst the peoples' guarded hearts, and the fruit of his labor has become evident as several people have now responded with a genuine faith in Christ.

Sadly, women are treated poorly in the culture, and all types of abuse run rampant – even to the point of death. Girls are usually "married" by 12 years old, often with child. In general, men dominate the culture and women are not allowed to express themselves. However, women recently have begun to realize that they can hope for a better life. They desire to seek sanctuary to avoid abuse, and they desire to learn life-skills training to help provide adequately for their families.

The project will include a building with two main functions: A health clinic, and a women's shelter. Currently, the community is plagued with high infant mortality rates, death in pregnant women, malnutrition, and cases of tuberculosis. In fact, health care is so poor that less than half of children currently live to age 10. By providing a clinic with rotating doctors, the healthcare for the 300 families in the area will significantly increase. The women's shelter will provide a safe haven for abused women while helping them develop basic life skills, like health and sanitation, agriculture, and proper child care.

The CMA church in Canada is currently raising money for this project, with plans to begin construction near the middle of 2014.  EMI plans to initially provide a preliminary design with 3-D renderings for the dual-focused building in order to support fundraising efforts. Later this year, once the ministry has confirmed the preliminary design, EMI will finalize the architectural drawings and provide structural drawings for construction."

This week, Dan will be with the Tarahumura people to help meet these physical needs in rural Mexico so that the Gospel can be preached among this lesser reached people group.  Please pray for safety as he travels through a dangerous part of Mexico.  Pray for wisdom and discernment for him as he makes decisions and plans regarding this project.  The Tarahumura have been called the "forgotten people" of Mexico.  I'm praying that Dan's time with them would remind them that they are far from forgotten, but that they are indeed beloved by the Almighty God. 

Nine years!

Today, we are celebrating nine years of marriage.  I was laughing a bit today thinking about how shocked I would have been to know on our wedding day that by our ninth anniversary we would have lived in Atenas, Costa Rica longer than anywhere else as a married couple.  I wouldn't have been shocked that we were missionaries or that Dan was using his engineering skills on the mission field.  But having arrived back from studying in Ukraine just ten days before our wedding, and Dan having just moved back from Guatemala the day before we got engaged, Costa Rica was not a country I was even remotely thinking about at that time! 

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's will that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21)

On that day, we also didn't know all of the adventures - fun, hard, exciting, scary ones - that were ahead of us.  We have had many joys and some trials, and I am thankful to have been able to walk through each of them with the love of my life.  I love you, Dan!

YWAM Base, Costa Rica

At the beginning of March, I (Dan) once again had the opportunity to support another great ministry by helping them realize the dream God has given them for a new facility to make and train disciples.

This time the team served Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The ministry is led by Diego and Salla and their team currently includes Kimo and Laura and some other DTS students. From their base in the remote town of Corral de Piedra (go ahead, try to find it on a map), they conduct Discipleship Training Schools (DTS) to equip participants with skills in a particular area of Biblical concern (for example, justice and mercy) and to prepare them for cross-cultural ministry.  They engage with the rural community to improve the quality of life there, work with young, single mothers to teach them not only to care for their little ones, but to care for themselves by restoring their dignity in Christ, and also strive to strengthen family relationships in a place where infidelity is very common. They host teams from the United States to help with a Bible distribution program to hand out Bibles to every household in the entire province of Guanacaste! Everyone at the YWAM base in Guanacaste instilled in me as a project leader an excitement to be a part of what God is doing through them and also great anticipation for what more He may do with the new facility we designed.




Kimo and Laura on the left with their little ones, two DTS students in the center with Diego and Salla on the right.

Last November, Sarah, the kiddos, and I had the opportunity to meet Diego and Salla at the YWAM base since it is here in Costa Rica. When we arrived at the site, we talked a while about the history of the vision they have had for this site. They had recently purchased a 5-acre site only about 100 yards from their existing base. Their desire is to develop it to include a multipurpose building for up to 200 people, DTS classroom space, a preschool, and student, team, and staff housing, along with all the necessary support spaces for these functions. They told us about the previous professionals they had hired to provide a design, but who didn’t really listen to their needs. They explained how the nonbelieving architect didn’t understand the spaces or the relationships required for a Christian ministry. They told us how this single professional attempted to design all of the infrastructure needs for the site that would normally take multiple specialized designers. In the end, all of the investment they made in these previous designs was wasted. I was able to respond by describing our team which would have at least 8 specialized volunteers, and that our architect and planner are both principles in their respective consulting firms. They would all be dedicated Christians who understand the exacting requirements of Christian ministries. As I listed all the expertise that the EMI team would offer, the look of amazement slowly grew on Salla’s face until at last she said, "That is exactly what we need."


Out team of professional, specialized, volunteer designers and engineers working together to develop the Master Plan

For example, the missionaries requested a "prayer room." However, even they didn’t know exactly what it would look like. Through the master planning design process, the "prayer room" evolved into a "prayer area" located at the heart of the site. It was placed where everyone needing to move from one part of the site to another would have to pass through it. This emphasizes the central place of prayer in all that YWAM does and will do on that site. This is a prime example of how Christian professionals who understand the functions of ministries can provide compelling design solutions to the glory of the Lord. Here are some preliminary renderings of the idea.

Conceptual rendering of the prayer area located at the center of the site.

Apart from the master plan, we provided a design for the multipurpose building which will be the first they will build. It will be one of the busiest buildings on the site. YWAM will use it as everything from a dining hall to a concert hall, from a gymnasium to a sanctuary, from a café to a conference center. They even wanted some classrooms for their DTS and other ministry training. Additionally, it will be used both by the people on the site as well as the entire community. Therefore, Diego and Sala wanted it to be open and welcoming to the community. I am really excited about this design.


Volunteer architect, Jim, working on the design of the multipurpose building

I am also excited about how EMI will be able to support Diego and Salla through this building process. This was the first full project I’ve done in Costa Rica and the proximity promises to allow us to do even more than usual to help YWAM realize their vision. For example, during the trip, I could confidently tell Diego and Salla that this project trip was just the beginning of a long-term relationship to which we are committed, not only until they are occupying this building, but until they can completely develop their entire site according to the calling and vision that God has given them. This is something we have never really been able to do before, but we hope to capitalize on the proximity of the ministry in order to provide the most comprehensive professional services possible.
 

The team taking a much deserved coffee break from their hard work

Missionaries are good at missions. They aren’t always as good at implementing building projects. But almost every missionary encounters himself in the midst of a building project that could potentially distract them from their ministry. I don’t want that to happen to Diego and Salla. I want them to be able to focus on their ministry using the gifts God has given them while we focus on realizing their vision for the ministry base using the gifts God has given us.

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12:4-8

Since I am so proud of our team, I want to include some of our final renderings.  We produce these to give to the ministry in order to help them raise support for the construction costs of the project. In fact, we were able to personally put some of these renderings into the Diego's hands just a couple of weeks ago. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do:

This is the Master Plan with the Multipurpose Building shown in the lower left (North is up).

Here is another view of the Master Plan from the North

Here is a view of the Multipurpose Building from the entry road.

This is a view of the Bonfire Amphitheater at the back of the Multipurpose Building.

We hope to be able to update you soon on the progress towards starting this exciting building project!  Please pray for YWAM Guanacaste as they raise the funds to make these plans a reality!

tonight's dinner conversation

Timmy: "Where's Daddy?"

Me: "He's outside.  Our neighbor thought he saw a snake in our yard and they are trying to find it."

Timmy: "Oooooh, maybe it's a JUMPING PIT PIPER!!!!" (he meant "pit viper")

Me: "I hope not!"

Timmy: "You know, if one of those bites you,... (dramatic pause), you die."

Me: "Oh, wow.  Yes, uh, thanks" (praying "Dear Lord, please don't let my husband die.")

A few minutes later, Dan returns:

Dan:  "We found the snake and killed it with a machete." 

Timmy: (excitedly) "Was it a JUMPING PIT PIPER!!!???"

We look up the Spanish word our neighbor used and realize... it was a baby venomous pit viper... not a jumping one though (as if that makes it any better). 

Me: "I think I want my own machete."

This missionary life changes us in so many ways.  Never before would have I dreamed the words "I want my own machete" would come out of my mouth!! 



my husband, my hero

 

*While being the snake hunter tonight did once again make my husband my hero, the above photo was from his project trip to Ecuador, where, in his words, he learned to "hack up the jungle" with a machete... another skill to add to his resume, I guess!

the other blog

Well, it's no secret (or surprise) that I haven't been doing well keeping this blog updated.  I thought I should let you all in a little secret... I do have another blog, and I update it more often.  It's supposed to be for our far away family who miss their grandkids, so it's full of kiddo pics, quotes and mommy memories.  Eventually, my hope is that our schedule will allow us to update this space more often.  In the meantime, you can find something from us at www.psalm67kid.blogspot.com.

Happy Easter!

 

Happy Easter from Costa Rica!

 

Today we rejoice in the hope and promise of our risen Lord!



about us

Our home church asked me to write an article about life here as a woman on the mission field.  It was so hard to do for some reason; there was so much I could write and it was hard to know what would be best to include, especially as I needed to limit it to 500 words.  But, it's done and I thought I'd include it here!  For the blog post, I included a couple of pictures of us exploring the Orosi Valley, a beautiful area of Costa Rica that we took a day trip to a couple of months ago.

We have been serving with Engineering Ministries International (EMI) in Costa Rica for almost 5 years. My husband, a structural engineer, leads teams of engineers and architects to provide professional designs for Christian ministries who bring spiritual and physical hope to the poor in Latin America. We coordinate the intern program for EMI’s Latin America office and serve in our local church.

In spite of living in a small, coffee town in the mountains of Costa Rica, my life here as a wife and stay-at-home mom probably looks like a lot like yours. I take care of my kids and our home, cook and clean, visit with friends, plan play dates, talk to my neighbor over the fence, take my oldest kid to preschool and soccer club, and go to weekly Bible study. But, there are also many differences and, while these differences bring challenges, they also bring new joys. Managing a home here has taught me to be thankful for things that I took for granted before; frequent power and running water outages make me so thankful for those conveniences. Hearing the pelting tropical rain on our metal roof reminds to thank God for a roof over our heads, especially as we interact with friends here who never take that for granted. Although trying to learn another language as a mom with little kids has been a big challenge for me, I have been blessed to be able to share lives with other women in our community… in Spanish. I absolutely love hearing my four year old talk excitedly to his friends in Spanish during a play date. My kids are growing up with Costa Rica as home, and although there are times when I struggle with knowing that their childhood is so different than mine was and what I can relate to, I am so thankful for the opportunity they have to grow up in this beautiful culture.

Our church here looks very different from what we experience at Grace EPC. We meet in a one room, concrete block, metal-roofed building. Our kids have Sunday school on a patio behind the building while we mamas of little ones bounce our babies on our laps in the sanctuary. Our youth group meets under a tree in a nearby park. Everything is in Spanish; we are the only foreigners there. And, yet, this little church family has become our home here. Our hearts have learned to truly worship in Spanish. By far the biggest challenge in living here has been missing family and close friends in the States, but we have found such richness in sharing life closely with these Latino brothers and sisters in Christ. As I sing with them each Sunday, I feel like God is broadening my perspective, giving me more and more of a vision of His kingdom. God is doing exciting things among His people throughout Latin America, and we get to be part of it! Thank you for remembering our family and for praying for us!

Christmas Music Festival

I mentioned in this post that we would be doing our church's Christmas program in the central park of Atenas the weekend before Christmas.  It was part of our town's first ever Christmas Music Festival and there were a lot of people there! The festival took place downtown in our central park.  I was surprised to see a huge stage set up there as we were running some errands in the morning.  I realized then that it was a going to be a bigger event than I had been expecting! 

Timmy made his acting debut as a sheep.  Unfortunately, I waited until the day of the festival to gather materials to make his costume, and after visits to many pharmacies and grocery stores, I realized that you can't find cotton balls in Atenas.  I had to get creative and actually sew (definitely not a strength of mine) and finally finished his costume right before dinner time!  Whew!  In the end, though, he was the cutest little sheep I've ever seen.

 

 

When we first got there at 6pm, we had the kids get in their costumes and practice a little, and then we waited... and waited... and waited.  Many different groups, all from Atenas, presented some sort of song or dance or instrumental piece. 

 



practicing

 

our adult choir

 

our pastor Yeremy (far left) and other men in the choir

 

Timmy on stage!

 

 

 

It was finally our turn close to 9pm!  Our adult choir sang a few songs, Yeremy shared about the significance of what we celebrate on Christmas, and the kids acted out the Christmas story with songs.  As our choir sang some Spanish praise songs about Christ's birth that I hadn't heard before, tears filled my eyes as I thought about how much I love these people and this place. 

 

We arrived home around 10pm, tired and thankful.  Thankful for the hard work of our brothers and sisters from our church who planned this and practiced for months, and for our pastor and his wife who even learned how to knit and made beautiful scarves for everyone in the choir!  Thankful for God's grace over us as our tired kids played their parts and sang their songs perfectly.  Thankful for praises to God going up on a public stage in the middle of town!  Thankful for the people in the park who heard the truth of the gospel presented.  Thankful for the amazing joy of Christ, the Promised Messiah, come to earth.

Happy New Year!

Feliz Año Nuevo from Costa Rica!