By 8 am we were off to work on our various projects. We only have one half day remaining after today, so we were working toward completion of our projects.  The wall that Dean’s team is working on is nearly complete, with most of the siding being attached to a brand new wall.  Working in the sun all these days, some members of this team have a bit of sunburn.  The other teams are working primarily indoors, so this has not been a concern for them. 

As for the new furniture construction, this project is also nearing completion.  We had hoped to be able to also stain the new furniture, but this will likely have to be done by the mission trip that comes in after us. The pieces that were built by Terry’s team and Patrick’s team are absolutely beautiful.

Lisa’s team spent the day making puppet theatres for each house.  The children will make the puppets for the shows.  These puppet shows will be used for Bible lessons, and act as a form of therapy for the kids to express their feelings without being seen.  Terry spent several hours printing all of the pictures for each house.  This can be quite a monumental task.

The refurbishing team has also made tremendous progress.  Kathleen and Alicia have been painting away, with 8 desks, 6 bookcases and a large bookshelf, all requiring at least two coats. Other members of the team worked tirelessly to get these pieces sanded and repaired as needed. Warren and Verna became the expert stainers of our project, spending a lot of time on a very large piece with 18 cubby holes.  Diane and Pam moved over to assist our team in refinishing the chair seats and backs, many of which had to be replaced with new pieces cut by Patrick’s team. It was a very successful day with much progress made.

Some of the team wrapped up around 4:00pm to participate in some of the children’s activities.  Dance and baseball were the focus today.  I wish that I could share with you pictures of the children.  However, we must protect their identity, and so have decided not to portray them on the blog.  We can, however, share pictures of the children at our church events, which include a debriefing session when we get home, and on the video we show at our  Crab Feed.  We hope you will join us for these events so that you can see these amazing children.

After devotions, we split into three groups. The first group, which included people who had not been to  (2266) Roblealto before, was taken on a tour of the farm by Steve Means, the director of the farm operations. They were given an overview of the farm’s operation, which currently provides 16% of the income for the Bible home.  The goal is to improve this number to 25%. Chickens, day old chicks and Broilers, are a big part of this operation, but visitors are not permitted in this area due to the risk of disease to the chicks.  They toured the dairy operation, which will soon include cheese and ice cream, in addition to milk.  They weren’t able to tour the hog operation since inspectors were there today. The final piece of the farm operation includes beef cattle.

The second group returned to their various worksites to continue the previous day’s work. (2399) The siding project is making excellent progress, and should wrap up on Friday. All of the old siding was torn off, but only to reveal an exterior wall 12×80 that was crumbling.  Three days were spent replacing the wall studs and today we started attaching the new siding.  The new furniture project is actually being managed by Terry Chrisman and Patrick Oliphant since there are quite a few pieces being made, two of which are quite large. The refinishing of the older furniture is moving along well.  Most of the bookcases and tables have been stripped, sanded and painted.  A large piece with 18 cubbies was sanded and stained and looks beautiful.  Our final stage on this project is to stain the chairs and stain the large pieces being built by the new furniture team.

 The third group was hosting the house mom’s to demonstrate how to make stage curtains and puppets so that the mother’s could have the children play act with them. This can be very therapeutic, especially for those children who might not be able to talk about the traumatic events that have happened to them, or to express their feelings through the puppets. The moms were provided with materials to make the curtains, and socks and others materials for the children to make their own puppets. It will be very exciting for the kids.

Several members of the team enjoyed baseball practice with the kids at 4 pm. It’s always so much fun to play sports with the children. The coach for the children, who is from the Dominican Republic, actually played for a major league team in the United States.

We had dinner with our families at 6 pm.  We took pictures with each of the children and the house parents & their family.  Tonight Terry will print out all the pictures and tomorrow we will give them to each of the children.  For most of these kids, they’ve never had a picture of themselves. It was very windy tonight and the lights went out once.  All the girls screamed, but there’s an emergency light in each house now for just such occasions.  Apparently, the lights go out fairly often.  After we left our house families, we met at the team home for debriefing.

Thankfully, before we had to brave the wet, we had the pleasure of French Toast made by Joe and soux chef Rich – Delish!

In addition to the rain we had some serious wind, enough to blow sandpaper and face masks across a room, and a kindergarten class taking place in our work building.  They were strictly marched, by their teacher, past the tables and cabinets we were painting with shouts of “NO TOQUES, NO TOQUES!” to which I would add “Cuidado!” (“Don’t touch” and “Be Careful!”).   Oddly enough, it was our own teammates who came over and laid hands and notebooks on our wet paint.  In other parts of the workshop, the team continued to build bookcases and a large wall unit/storage system.  More sawing, sanding, and constructing. 

Back at Bonanza, Lisa, Diane, and Jessica had a craft party with the house moms of Roblealto, teaching them how to make scarves and hats with circular looms and yarn.  The ladies had a wonderful time and each expressed the desire to come back the next day for instructions for another craft – cross stitch.  The women seem to love the camaraderie and the fun of crafting, a project for themselves who give so selflessly to others every day.

In the evening, we played soccer with the children and we had dinner with our families again, strengthening the bonds we formed just yesterday with the help of a translator tonight at each  home.    Even though we are able to communicate so much with just a hug and some charades, it was a joy and a privilege to understand each detail and nuance of what the other is saying.  It was also an opportunity to learn more about each child and they about us.   We received fun questions like – What is your favorite animal/sport?  But, also questions that shot straight to the heart like – “Why did you come here?” and “When did you accept Jesus into your heart?”

Truly the hearts of these children are open and loving though still fragile and  wanting.  They, and even the house parents, are so aware of God’s presence and blessings in their lives.  The spirit of this place is incredible to witness, so much so that some of us are moved to tears by the sheer beauty of it.  To back up and then think of what these children have been through, the pain they’ve suffered, it makes their joy and vulnerability that much more amazing/beautiful/awe-inspiring.  And, we should be inspired, by each day and each breath, to live for Jesus who is the giver of ALL good things – especially hope, and love, which is really what this program is all about. 

To think that our stay here is already half over is distressing, as we’d all gladly work more days in order to see the children and soak in the peace and the faith of this place.  But we also know that the next three days will be filled with so much more faith, hope, and love that we’ll be able to get our fill and have extra to pack in our suitcases to bring home.

Summer’s lizard…

Rebuilding walls…

Alicia refinishing shelving…

 At 8:00, we were off to work.  Richard Davis, the group leader, divided us into three groups, working on three projects.  The first project, to remove siding and refurbish an exterior wall of the cafeteria building, is being lead by Dean Thomas. The second project is to refinish and repair furniture for the kindergarten classroom, which is being lead by Wanda Miller. And the third project is to build new furniture for the kindergarten. This one is lead by Patrick Oliphant. All three projects were very productive today and much progress was made.  Many of us who are not used to this type of labor were a little sore and sweaty, but we had a wonderful time and worked so well together on our teams. Everyone stepped up and did amazing work.  In the process, we had lots of fun too. We were even exposed to some of Costa Rica’s wildlife today.  Dean, while tearing out some of the siding, had an encounter with a bat! And summer’s painting led her directly to a tiny lizard.  It was certainly an interesting day. 

We had lunch in the afternoon, and worked until 3:00 in the afternoon. At this time, we were taken around to meet our families.  In groups of three, we covered seven of the houses. After a brief visit, we went back to the team house to clean up and rest a bit before dinner. We rejoined our families at 6:00 pm. The house moms prepared very nice meals of stew and salad.  We ate with the children and attempted to communicate with our very limited Spanish, and their even more limited English. Of course, smiles and hugs are a universal language, and there was a lot of that tonight. The families were incredibly gracious and invited us into their homes with open arms. After dinner, we played with the kids for a while, and then the parents lead a powerful devotion with the children. After devotion, it was time for the children to get ready for bed since they get up early for school.

We went back to the team home for our debriefing and to share our experiences.  Everyone expressed very positive encounters, and some were touched quite deeply.  Alicia is already dreading the thought of leaving, and it’s only our first day.  After the debrief, many turned in for bed after an exhausting day of work.  Some moved to the dining room for an intense game of chicken foot.  We all look forward to another day of serving the Lord tomorrow. Please enjoy some additional pictures in the posts that follow.

Church began at 9:30 with some incredible music performed by a band of young people. We sang the words displayed on the large screens on either side of the stage, not knowing the meaning, as the service was entirely in Spanish. The lead singer, a young woman, had an amazing voice.  There was also a chorus of young girls on one side of the stage.  After about half an hour of song, a young man who would be delivering the sermon, announced that our team had come from “Walnut” in California to work at Roblealto, and the congregation applauded us. There we likely 200 in the congregation, sitting on folding chairs, praising God. We were provided interpreters for the sermon, which helped a great deal.  The lesson, which was very appropriate, concerned God’s command that we love one another, regardless of who they are or how they may have failed, and to not be afraid to express our love.  The minister was exceptionally passionate in his sermon, and we could understand how strongly he believed even without words. After the sermon, we sang a bit more, and then we departed. 

We drove to a magnificent seafood restaurant called Princesa Marina Moravia, where both the food and the service were very good.  After lunch, we were off to do a little touristy shopping and then a short visit to the grocery store to load up on supplies for the week.  When we all had our shopping done, we were on the road again back to Roblealto. 

Shortly after we arrived, Pam, our liaison and coordinator at Roblealto,  gave a presentation on Costa Rica and the Roblealto mission.  She had an absolutely fantastic announcement for us too.  Apparently, they were hoping to build a fourth daycare center in Los Guidos, a slum area of San Jose. The land for the project had been donated by the government of Costa Rica, but the cost of building the daycare would be roughly $2 million.  Well, a very wealthy individual from the United States met with the leaders of Roblealto and offered to make a fairly significant contribution, but insisted that the government of Costa Rica support this project too.  The government officials agreed to cover 40% of the project, and the wealthy man will match whatever Roblealto raises in contributions.  So basically, he will cover 30% and Roblealto will only need to fund 30% of the entire project!  This is so exciting for this organization.

After Pam left, we prepared dinner, which consisted of several rotisserie chickens and salad. We ate and talked and enjoyed each other’s company.  Afterwards, we worked as a team to get everything cleaned up.  We all gathered in the living room later for a team meeting, where we discussed our projects tomorrow, and went over the rules and guidelines that we will follow when we begin visiting our family homes tomorrow.  Richard Davis, who oversees the work here, established four teams, one will do crafts with the moms, one will do siding on a wall in the cafeteria building, one will refinish the furniture for the kindergarten classrooms, and the last team will make brand new furniture for the school.  We are all very excited to begin work, and even more excited to see and play with the children tomorrow. Tune in tomorrow for another exciting day with us!

The Costa Rica mission team of Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church is preparing to embark on an amazing Christian adventure this coming Friday. At midnight, we will board a plane to San Jose, Costa Rica to do God’s work, refurbishing homes and loving the children of Roblealto Bible Home.

This year’s team, the biggest ever at 22, includes Mark & Cindy Tilton, Terry & Lisa Chrisman, Joe & Pam Cunningham, Warren &Verna Peterson, Dean & Diane Thomas and their children Dylan & Jessica, Richard Davis, Patrick Oliphant, Rich Steadman, Dave Hayne, Will McConihe, Alicia Bradbury, Patti Hoedt, Summer Chrisman, Kathleen Daniel and me, Wanda Miller.  Our dear friend Lois Husko will be with us in spirit; she won’t be able to make the trip due to a recent surgery.

We are so grateful to so many people who have helped to make this trip something special, especially those who have generously contributed and prayed for us, those who attended the Crab Feed, the Sew Busy Group for the aprons for the house moms & 100 pillowcases for the children, the Sunday School students of WCPC for the childrens’ gifts, and the drivers who will get us to and from the airport.

Please keep us in your prayers and follow us on this blog as we set out for a most memorable experience.

March 12, 2010

We started the day as we have every other one, in the Word. Lois read something that resonated for each of us and really capped this incredible week we have spent together:

The challenge each of us faces is to walk as if we have already arrived at the point to which God is calling us. We must first understand who we are in the body, what God has in his plan for us, and then walk as if we were there. Our walk should be a divine reflection of our calling…

This particular team bonded in a quiet, special way, and for many of us, just being on this team was God’s divine plan. We had revelations, we had hearts opened up, we had new relationships begin. The power of being at the Hogar Roblealto is being able to see God at work, to see his fingerprint on everything around us. God’s overflowing grace was so evident to all of us, and he work we were privileged to do was a reflection of our praise.

Today we drove into San Jose to see one of the three childcare centers that Roblealto runs. What a joy to see the little children in the cafeteria. The toddlers were so irresistibly cute and well-behaved. We shared lunch with them and took as many photos as time permitted. The daycare centers each handle about 250 children. The waiting list is long. Parents covet a spot, but there isn’t enough room. So the hardest cases get the first change. Roblealto is very clear about who its target audience is, and they turn away parents who offer to pay but who don’t fit the profile.

One little girl, 5 year old Stephanie, is being sponsored by a WC Pres Sunday School class. It was her birthday today and we were able to present her with the long card signed by handprint from the class. She was surprised and happy to be remembered.

We spent a good deal of time driving through the Los Guidos barrio. How to describe the abject poverty…words fail. There are way too many people living in conditions too deplorable to describe. The government is doing what it can but it isn’t enough. One of the biggest challenges is finding suitable daycare for the children so that their parents can work and earn enough money to survive. Children are either left alone during the day to fend for themselves – easy prey for gang leaders looking for impressionable kids to carry drugs or begin prostituting themselves. Mothers who stay home with the kids face starvation. Not a pretty site.

A nice plot of land in the heart of Los Guidos was donated to the Roblealto Association with the understanding that they would open up a fourth daycare center as soon as they raised enough funds to build. They almost have the permits in place and they are in the beginning stages of a fund-raising campaign. Their hope is that churches will support these early efforts. Once they have begun building, the government will kick in some money, and they also hope to be awarded grant funding from foundations for which they are eligible. It’s an exciting project and one that the Los Guidos neighborhood is anxious be in constructed.

We are now in the various stages of packing. Tools have been sorted, and suitcases packed. We’re on our own for dinner tonight and we will do our best to empty the refrigerator of the ham and cheese left over from the week. While we’re ready to be flying home tomorrow, there is a big part of us that will really miss this place. We can’t wait to share our experiences with our faithful supporters. Roblealto rocks!