Proyecto Sixaola

"This is our favorite breakfast spot in Puerto Viejo, called Bread and Chocolate. (Peder, Jess, and Jared)"










"Kara and Jon, the coffee drinkers of the group, enjoy a French press at Bread and Chocolate."










"We're at the Thai Restaurant. It rained on us a bit, so we found some improvised umbrellas for the table."

"Guiselle is telling us about La Casa de la Mujer and the plans for the future."










"A team picture right in front of the church"










"The team with the Gonzalez family and some church members."











"This is how Puerto Viejo got its name, which means Old Harbor. This is where pirates used to dock a long time ago."











"Jared, Adrian and Curtis are racing out to the sea."










"The beautiful vista of the sunset with the jungle mountains in the background."










"Adrian enjoys a Fresca the first night at the beach."

Journal Entry 11: Jessica Garber
March 13th, 2006

The last few days we realized most of us were pretty much down to our last
few dollars for meals, taxis, and other miscellaneous things, so we all
tried to stretch it out. It was so amazing how God provided for us in
different ways! We were at a restaurant and all ordered small amounts of
food, and the waiter just gave us a whole plate of fried plantains to eat.
And on the plane, the flight attendant gave Peder an extra sandwich.
Our flight from San Jose to Houston was delayed 40 minutes, so we missed our
connecting flight to Baltimore. This means that we all miss our classes
tomorrow, and we had to worry about a few more meals. While waiting in the
airport for a shuttle to our hotel, I remembered that I had a few dollars
left on my Starbucks card. After 10 minutes of scanning the options of what
we could get for $2.95, considering tax, finding 50 cents in Gail's pocket,
Gail and I decided on a grande hot chocolate. Maybe the two girls working
were feeling extra nice, or they were bored, or we looked pathetically
starving, but they gave us two hot chocolates and asked us if we wanted any
pastries. We told them that it was a huge blessing and they handed my card
back with the $2.95 still on it. A few minutes later, Jon and Kara came to
us with news that they had gotten us all $8 at the waffle house for supper.
During devotions this evening, we discussed how blessed we have been
throughout this entire trip. God exceeded our expectations numerous times
and showed us an abundance of his mercy and love! When we thought we were
going to be too tired to wake early in the morning to work, he gave us extra
strength and encouragement for the day. He blessed us with health and
safety in many different circumstances. He provided for our needs, and gave
us enough to be able to complete the projects we started. And what is even
more encouraging is the fact that God used us and changed us in ways that we
have yet to see.

Journal Entry 10: Peder Wiegner
March 11th and 12th, 2006

On Saturday, March 11th, we ate breakfast at Bread and Chocolate in the
morning, and then rented bikes and headed out to Punta Uva, one of my
favorite beaches. It is about a 40 minute bike ride from Puerto Viejo.

It had been rather cloudy throughout the day, but the sun peeked through a
few times. I was hoping that we would be able to see monkeys and sloths
(although I'm not the biggest fan of monkeys). Near the end of our stay at
Punta Uva, Jon and I heard some faint howling in the trees deeper in the
forest. We quickly gathered everyone and raced to find where the monkeys
were. Before we actually saw any monkeys, we saw a sloth hanging upside
down scratching its arms. Then we heard the Howler Monkeys and saw them
jumping in the trees. We entertained ourselves for several minutes trying
to imitate the howls that they made; of course, none of us could really do
this effectively. I'm sure the monkeys were laughing at us.

We were expecting David to show up at Puerto Viejo in the evening. He
arrived a little late because the bus he was originally going to take had
broken down, so he had to wait for the next one. This night we went out for
Thai food at "Chile Rojo."We walked around town for a while and then reconvened at night for
devotions and a debriefing time.

On Sunday we spent our time doing some souvenir shopping and taking in the
last sun rays before having to leave to the capital, San José. We left on
the 4PM bus to San Jose and arrived around 9PM. From the bus station to the
Federation, we all piled into a taxi-van from 1973 that was burning oil and
on the verge of breaking down. Needless to say, we arrived safely and went
straight to sleep.

Journal Entry 9: Peder Wiegner
March 10th, 2006

Today was our last day in Sixaola. We slept in for the first time; it was
fantastic. We had originally planned to leave at 10AM to our next
destination, the beach. However, history repeated itself. Last year when
the Eastern team was going to leave to the beach, we stayed an extra five
hours in Sixaola. This time it was a mere two extra hours. We were off by
12 noon.

Before we left Sixaola, Guiselle took us to "La Casa de la Mujer" or "The
House of the Woman." This is an organization of Sixaolan women; Guiselle is
the President. This group has a lot of plans and dreams for the future.
One of their dreams is to create a day-care center which would allow mothers
in Sixaola to work outside the home in order to make money. They also want
to build a nursing home in order to take care of the elderly of the
community. I think that La Casa de la Mujer is reflecting some of the
dreams and hopes of the people of Sixaola!

We said goodbye to our new friends, our brothers and sisters from the church
in Sixaola, loaded into a van and departed to the beach.

As we neared the beach, the familiar humid salty smell of the air,
accompanied by the glorious jungle entrance to Puerto Viejo, brought back
the memories of my beloved beach town. Due to its rustic look, the town may
seem somewhat unimposing, but, it's my favorite vacation spot in the whole
world.

We're at the beach!

"Carmen's house from different angles"

































"Carmen standing in front of her finished house with two of her three kids."









"This is where we went with a large part of the congregation to take a little excursion. The waterfalls were beautiful."

Journal Entry 8: David González
March 9th, 2006

David is one of three sons of the González family. He helped us
tremendously throughout the whole week, anywhere from translating and
working hard on the sites to encouraging and being a great friend.

Terminamos con la remodelación de las tres casas, ahora tres niños van a
poder dormir mientras llueve porque su casa ya tiene paredes, y las bolsas
plásticas que tenían como techos ahora son láminas de zinc. Un niño asmático
no se va a preocupar mas por el polvo que desprende las paredes de su casa,
llenas de polilla. Bueno su mundo no ha cambiado mucho ya que al igual que
ayer, hoy no saben que van a comer mañana. Sus ropas van a ser las mismas su
enfermedad la misma y su pobreza no va a cambiar de la noche a la mañana. El
Señor vino vivió entre nosotros y nos dio, creo, el mayor ejemplo de
servicio y sacrificio en la historia. Él que siendo Dios nos amo tanto como
para pasar por todo lo que paso. Que hay de nosotros que somos sus hijos y
nos jactamos de nuestra devoción como cristianos.

Estos jóvenes han sido de inmensa bendición. El Señor me ha recordado a
través de ellos cuan grande es su amor por nosotros, y que ha pesar de las
dificultades el nunca nos va abandonar. Espero poder haber sido de ayuda y
que todo el que llegue a leer esto comprenda lo enormemente necesitado que
estamos de hacer crecer nuestra fe, y poder amar a nuestro prójimo sin
importar nada, poder humillarnos y servir humildemente.
Que Dios les continué bendiciendo grandemente,
David González.

We finished the remodeling of three houses; now, three more kids will be
able to sleep while it rains because their house has walls, and the plastic
bags they had as a roof are now tin roofing. An asthmatic kid will not have
to worry any more about the dust that sheds off of the larva-infested walls
of his house. Well, their world has not changed much since it is the same
as yesterday, today they do not know what they will eat tomorrow. Their
clothes will be the same, their sickness will be the same, and their poverty
will not change from night to day. The Lord came and lived amongst us and
gave us, I think, the greatest example of service and sacrifice in history.
And he being God loved us so much to go through what he went through. What
is there of us who are his sons and daughters that we pride ourselves with
our devotion as Christians?

These youth have been an immense blessing. The Lord, through them, has
reminded me how great his love is for us; and that besides the difficulties
He will never abandon us. I hope to have been of some help and that
everyone who reads this will understand the enormously important it is to
grow in our faith and be able to love our neighbor no matter what, be able
to humble ourselves and serve humbly.
May God continue blessing you greatly,
David González

Jess is eating a coconut with Betsabé, one of Paula's daughters.










Carmen is a very friendly and joyful woman. Here she is standing by her new wall.










These are the Xtremely lovely people we are staying with, Olman and Guiselle Gonzalez. Their sons, equally Xtremely lovely, are David, Daniel, Alberto (Alberto could not be with us this time).









We finished Paula's house today. This is her kitchen, laundry room, and sink. (seriously).

Journal Entry 7: Jessica Garber
March 8th, 2006

After a morning at Paula's and lunch, Kara, Gail, and I walked back to the
church to see if there was anything we could do there. On our way back to
the church, we stopped at Paula's house to see the finished roof and new
walls. (Paula is a single pregnant mother who has five children). We
stepped into her yard and saw her sitting by her new window with a huge
smile on her face. She had said earlier "Este es el día más feliz de mi
vida" (This is the happiest day of my life). In just two days, her one room
house was transformed to keep out the persistent rain. Even though we had
helped her, we all felt like she had blessed us just as much with her
gratitude.

When we arrived at the church Guiselle enthusiastically invited us to help
with dinner, as we sometimes do. She was just about to leave, so she
quickly showed us a random assortment of ingredients and showed us what to
do. After she left we turned on la música and began grating yuccas, mixing
cheese and butter, and wondering what to do with the eggs. We all had
different ideas of what the ingredients were going to become. While we were
at it, we decided to make brownies; not knowing where the measuring cups
were or what 325 degrees was in Celsius. While Kara and Gail went to Panama
to fetch some ice cream for the brownies, I found out from Guiselle that
everything was to be mixed together, formed into a pancake-like structure,
stuffed with chicken and mushrooms, and fried to become: Enyucados. They
tasted and looked almost like a hashbrown, which was far from what we were
imagining.

As we finished preparing supper, the boys returned from a hard days work,
sweaty and smelly. They finished the work at Paula's house and began at
Carmen's, a single mother of three. Carmen had told us that in December she
was considering moving back to Nicaragua because she could no longer support
her children, and she started praying for her situation. When she heard
that we were coming, she began praying for our safety even before we came.
She was so grateful for the answer to prayer, and the joy showed in her face
as we attempted to converse with her.

Praise God for our safety in numerous situations, and for the valuable
conversations we've had with our new friends in Sixaola.

Journal Entry for Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Jared Nissley

This is Jared writing for all of us in Sixaola. Today was the first day of
work projects on houses in the community. The building materials were
delivered yesterday so we had all we needed to begin. We got up (kind of)
early with hopes of a long day of work. Jon planned to go to Sandro and
Patricia's house to give a hand to a contractor hired by the family. Peder
spent the day helping a welder install a new porch railing at Carlos and
Tita's house. (All of the houses in Sixaola are on stilts in order to avoid
the floods. Thus a railing is pretty important for a narrow second story
porch when there are lots of kids around.) The rest of us spent the day at
Paola's house. It's actually more of a shelter than a house as you can see
from some of the pictures. Carlos (whose porch railing was being welded)
and David (who served as interpreter) also helped us. We removed the
patchwork of metal and wood that made up the walls and replaced it with more
permanent and weatherproof masonry sheeting. We also needed to replace a
lot of the house's framework. The day went really well and we were thankful
for no injuries and a cool, cloudy day. But there is still much work to be
done as Paola's roof needs serious repair and we haven't even touched the
final house on the list. With only one more day left for working, we
resolved to bust our tails tomorrow in hopes of finishing all the projects
on the list. Cross your fingers.

This evening, the church had a prayer service filled with mostly women and
children. I sat beside two girls who couldn't stop poking me and playing
with my pockets. That made it extra difficult to figure out what Pastor
Olman was talking about. We were praying for a lot of physical and tangible
needs which makes plenty of sense in the context of Sixaola. Near the end,
Tita gave a testimony of how the Lord has provided for her needs and thanks
for the work done at her home. "I want to thank all the people that donated
materials and funds. I will always cherish this service in my heart and my
prayers," she said. These words provided an awesome sense of encouragement
for all of us as we headed off to bed.

"Carlos engineered our work on Paula's house. He is Tita's husband."











"This is an updated picture of Paula's house. We finished replacing the exterior walls."










"These are two of Paula's four children."












"Gail was the ladder holder for part of the day. Here she is, posing with her ladder."










"Heinly is working at Sandro's house."













"Jared is smirking after giving Adrian a little scare."











"Kara is working on the railing, and she is talking to Paula, the single mother who lives in this house."










"This is the before any work was done on Paula's house."

Journal entry 5: Jon Heinly
March 6th, 2006

Greetings from Sixaola! Today was another great day of interaction with the
people here. For several hours in the morning and afternoon we were at the
school and gave school supplies, clothes, and shoes to the children there.
In total, we gave things to about 250 children. Along with this, we did a
skit about David and Goliath which the children thought was hilarious. We
also played games with them and then made salvation bracelets. These are
bracelets which have beads representing different things in the Christian
faith like red for the blood of Christ and white for purity. In the
afternoon, some of us delivered supplies to the houses which we will do
construction on tomorrow. In the afternoon, we played soccer with some of
the youth. This evening we had a short meeting with the owners of the
houses. We also spent much of the evening with the Gonzalez family, sharing
stories, laughing, and learning more about the needs of the people here. It
has been a wonderful day.

Our interactions with the children today were wonderful. I find myself
thinking of the times when Jesus speaks of the least of these. I believe
that the things we do for these children from this poor community of Sixaola
we are doing as unto Christ Himself. And as we interact with them, we too
find ourselves blessed. I am also certain that we will all look back on our
interactions with the Gonzalez family as one of the highlights of this trip.
They are a beautiful family and the Spirit of Christ is evident in their
lives. There is so much joy in this house and it is truly an honor and a
blessing for each of us to share in their lives for this short amount of
time.

As we prepare to go to bed and look forward to a long day of work tomorrow,
we are all in agreement that our time is going quickly here. We thank the
Lord for all the wonderful experiences so far. We are also grateful for all
of your prayers and trust that each of you are somehow able to share in the
blessings that we are receiving as you pray for us. God bless you all!

Prayer Request: Safety on the various work sites March 7th and 8th. We need
a lot of prayer for that.

Journal entry 4: Adrian Groff
March 5th, 2006

Greetings in the name of Jesus to all who love us back in the States!! Today
was an amazing day, perhaps the best day so far on our trip. I think many of
the team members will agree with me on this one, however, just because today
seemed to be the best doesn't mean the other ones were bad, but that this
one was filled with many instances where we saw the Lord's hand at work. In
this entry, I will first tell you all about what we did today, and then I
will tell you why it was such an awesome day.

In the morning we woke up and ate another delicious meal prepared by
Guiselle and other women from the church. Then we walked downstairs to
participate in the worship service with our Costa Rican brothers and
sisters. It was a beautiful time of worshipping together and listening to
Olman's teaching. Although the service was mostly in Spanish, with Peder
translating into English at times, there was a great connection between us
and the rest of congregation through the same language of the Spirit. We
then spent time making bracelets for the children and doing a David and
Goliath skit. It was a lot fun, and I know the children were blessed by all
that we did.

In the afternoon, we went and played soccer with some of the teenagers from
the church. It was a lot of fun, and did we ever sweat!! The weather down
here is definitely not like at home, it was probably in the upper 80s or low
90s. Yeah you read that right, it is hot!!! Anyway, I am just getting to the best part which happened in the evening.

The congregation gathered again in the evening to share in the Lord's
Supper. It was an awesome service and as the team gathered for debriefing at
the end of the day, we all were able to share about ways we had seen Jesus
during the evening service. I personally was touched by the joy expressed by
the congregation, even when their lives are so difficult and they have so
little materially. There was definitely a strong connection of love as we
shared together in communion, because although we come from very different
places, we are all united as one through the blood of Jesus. It is really
hard to express in words how I felt during this time, but it is like a
beautiful painting in my mind and the Lord really touched me with His
presence. Thanks so much for all your prayers, and we praise the Lord for
His faithfulness!! We love you all.

For the team,
Adrian Groff

"local greeting"











"jared and adrian are helping unload the World Vision truck which brought all the clothing and shoes"











"Adrian and Gustavo are reading... or at least they are trying to teach each other"









"Here we are!"









"Floods have not only destroyed the livelyhood of many people in Sixaola, but here you can see how it has eaten away at the road."










"Daniel and Maciel eat Carambolas (Starfruit) together."











"More than a thousand words. This pictures expresses pain, beauty, distress, and life, all at the same time."

Journal entry 3: Curtis Dehmey
March 4th, 2006

Well there is a lot to tell! Today was a busy day! When we visited the
homes of the people in Sixaola in the morning it was exactly what you would
see in the world vision videos with people living in shacks and one room
homes. In the one home, a single woman, Paula, was taking care of 4
children probably all under 10 years old and was also pregnant while her
husband was no longer with her. They have one room and are in need of the
outer walls, which are presently rusted corrugated tin material. These need
to be replaced in order to provide protection from the elements. We hope to
help in these upcoming days. I was hit hardest with the poverty level when
a small group of us went to Panama. Four kids at once came up to Jared and I
asking us for money. I wanted so badly to help these children but I wasn't
sure if money was the right thing.

I was part of the VBS planning group with Gail, Kara and Adrian. My most
memorable moment of the day was when I watched Adrian interact with Gustavo.
They were trying to read in Spanish and in English together. They were
both trying to learn each others languages in order to interact. Something
I and the others in the group long for are to be able to interact with the
people and speak their language. I took Spanish for about 3 years but I
forgot most of it. I want to interact with the people here but it is hard
because I don't know the language. Now I see the importance of knowing
another language.

This evening all of us fellowshipped with the youth in learning each others
names and what each of us enjoys doing. Many of us butchered their names
and what they like to do, but it was all in good fun as they all laughed at
us and we laughed with them. At the end we got a little crazy when it
started to rain really hard and Adrian, David (one of the sons of the
Gonzalez family who is 17), Gail and Jess danced out in the rain singing
songs, wrestling and getting soaked. I joined them for a short while, but I
did not want to get as wet as them. The funny part was that none of the
youth joined us in the rain because they thought it was too cold when today
it was probably in the 80s and humid. I wish I could tell you so much more
about our day, but we will all have much more to share when we return home.

Jess says:
While Curtis‚ group was doing the VBS stuff, we were part of the donations
group. This afternoon Peder, Jon, Jared, and myself were preparing for
Monday‚s activities by sorting through the clothes and shoes that are going
to be given away. I was really impressed by the donations from World Vision
in that they were quality items. Instead of giving away shoes that don‚t
fit or clothes that nobody wants anymore, the donations are all nice things
(Fubu, American Girl, Birkenstocks, etc.). I was challenged to remember to
always give my best, not just what is easy or convenient.

"Adrian is attempting to find a way to rest in the airport. Uh Oh! Is he stuck?"







"The long 6-hour bus ride from San Jose to Sixaola."








"Curtis interacting with some kids."

Journal Entry 2: Kara Shelly
March 3rd, 2006

After finally getting to bed at approximately 2 A.M. we all slept fitfully
until around 7:30 when Peder, Jared, and I woke up and headed off to the
World Vision headquarters to have a meeting and receive our donations. Kevin
Cook, at the Regional headquarters for World Vision, gave us a wonderful
tour of the offices, and then explained the procedure for documenting the
administration of all the donations. Following the meeting was a brief photo
session where we checked the boxes of donations which were filled with
school supplies, shirts, shorts, and shoes. Peder, Jared, and I then
returned to the guesthouse as everyone was waking up and showering.

Before starting our journey to Sixaola the team stopped at Burger King for
lunch. It is interesting that fast food is mostly the same all over the
world - well with minor adjustments. We then piled into our bus for our 6 hour
drive to Sixaola. The trip was comprised of enjoying Costa Rica's beautiful
flora, napping, reading, some dancing, and much sillyness. We arrived in
Sixaola after dark and hauled our luggage up to the Gonzalez's home which is
attached to the church.

We then enjoyed an evening of fellowship with the church "Templo Bautista
de Sixaola". The congregation was very warm and immediately made us feel at
home, even as many of us struggled to converse in our broken Spanish. We
enjoyed a delicious dinner of chicken, rice, beans and fried plantains which
was prepared for us by two ladies of the church, Patricia and Clara. After
setting up our mosquito nets we fell into bed exhausted and excited at the
prospects of the week that lay before us.

Journal Entry 1: Gail Longenecker
March 2nd, 2006

We have made it to Costa Rica! It was a long day and we are all thankful to
be here. We started out by having breakfast together and left a little bit
earlier than we had planned because of the possible snow. Praise God that
the snow did not stop our travels and everything went smoothly, despite a
few delays.

While we traveled, we spent time sleeping, reading, playing games, talking,
doing group devotions, and finding fun ways to entertain ourselves. One of
my favorite past times was trying to lie down on the airport "benches" which
are divided by armrests. Adrian, Kara, and I were successful in lying down
under the armrests! It's good that none of us got stuck.

We are all gracious to be here at the Federation of Baptist Churches to
sleep tonight. Guiselle has made us an amazing midnight snack and soon we
are going crash. We praise God for safe travels and we are excited to
travel to Sixaola tomorrow.