The long road home

Today is the day our team returns from Pavas. I'm sure that leaving their new Pavas family will be very difficult, as it was for me in December.

The team will arrive back in Richmond this evening on Delta Flight 1450 from Atlanta at 10:02PM. Please come join us as we welcome them home!!

Please keep our team in your prayers today for safe travels.

The reason we are there....

I received this email from Jayson. It summarizes the highs and lows of serving God on the mission field, but our call remains unchanged and commitment unwavering....

I am sure most of you have heard about our incident yesterday. There were a few tense moments, but everyone is safe. There were 5 or 6 guys and one of them had a gun. It was obvious that they wanted our bags, and we gave them to them. We lost quite a bit of money, several passports and several cameras, among other personal items. Fabián, who was one of the Costa Ricans escorting us, did his best to protect us. In Spanish he told them over and over, ¨They work for Jesus!¨¨ The US Embassy replaced our passports in under 2 hours. Today, much of our personal items were recovered, less the cash and cameras.

For many of us, this incident has underscored the reason we need to support the church in Pavas. It emphasizes the desperation and lack of hope that exists here. We cannot fix the community, it is far too broken. What we can do is commit to providing hope and opportunity to the children, through our partnership with the ministers here. Without the continued work of the church here, the kids we are helping to feed will become the next thieves or prostitutes. That is not the reason God created them. To the best of our ability, we must offer them hope. The church in Pavas is a beacon of hope.

All of us have worked hard to put together a program for this week. But the real ministry moments come when you least expect it. Carrying babies, weed eating, going over the kids´ english lessons...when someone who speaks no english hugs you HARD and with tears in their eyes struggles to find a way to say ¨thank you¨...these are the important moments. Some guy with a gun can´t change that.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. This has been a hard, but rewarding week. We will see you soon!

With love,

Jayson

They're there!

Well, by now I think everyone knows that I was not able to make the trip to Pavas....but I can't resist posting.

Donna heard from Alan this morning. The team arrived safely in Costa Rica around noon San Jose time yesterday. All baggage and supplies for the trip arrived exactly as planned as well.

Hopefully, we'll see posts from San Jose soon. Access to the internet cafe in Zapote (near Rebeca's house where everyone is staying) is always interesting. The sign says open 10 to 10, but we rarely found that to be the case back in December. I've also heard from Glenn Newcomb that Google identifies where you're logging in from and then uses that language....so Jayson may be working to post in Spanish!

Please keep our team in your prayers this week as they serve in partnership with the leaders of Iglesia de Pesebre in Pavas.

OK - here's the plan...

After working with the team leaders and the people in Pavas, we have a tentative itinerary.

We will all arrive in San Jose around noon on Saturday, August 11. By the time we clear customs, get our bags, find our ride, get to Rebeca's house and unpack it will be close to 2 or 3pm (assuming the flight is on time).

At Rebeca's house we will meet Don Rodrigo and Virginia, Giselle, Marjorie, Annajense, and of course Rebeca. There is no telling who else will be there to greet us. They will probably have light refreshments and we will have a little time to relax and settle in.

Saturday night we will remain flexible. Some may want to settle in and relax. Others may want to venture into town to see one of the museums. There are wonderful markets not far away, and if there is time we could even go to Moravia to see the crafts for sale there. Saturday night there is also prayer service in Pavas, which can last until midnight. The more hearty among us may want to attend, but I am betting most will be ready to call it an early night.

Sunday morning we will go to worship in Pavas. After the service we will begin our ministries to the children and the medical mission. Megan and her helpers will take about half of the kids and teach them songs. Donna Mathias and her crew will take the other half of the kids and help them in creating Mother's Day crafts that will include a Polaroid of the child and candy.

Debbie Bradley will set up her blood pressure and diabetes screening and get started. The folks on the construction team may venture into the barrio to eyeball the home repair projects.

Everyone will have plenty of time Sunday to meet the ministers in Pavas, and spend time with the families and children there.

Monday it is time to roll up your sleeves. The lunch program will be in full swing! We will help get the dining room set up, cook, serve the kids and then help clean up. After we get a little something to eat ourselves, Megan and Donna will get the kids' activities moving. They will switch the groups they had the day before so all of the kids have a chance to make their craft and learn the songs. Debbie will be giving her medical screenings and giving out the medicine cabinet kits we are bringing.

Of course the people working on the home improvement projects will probably have long been at work while all of this is going on!

At some point we will retire to Rebeca's house for dinner and showers. Some may want to walk down to the Internet cafe to send off emails to home. Some may want to find a quiet place to reflect on the day.

Tuesday morning we will all head to our projects. Some to home improvement, some to help with lunch. Then the kids activities will begin again. Megan and Donna will make sure each child has learned the songs and made thier craft. That evening we will all gather at Iglesia de Pesebre to celebrate Mother's Day! (Mother's Day is actually Wednesday, but people will be encouraged to spend time with their family that day) The local mothers will be invited to hear their children sing and they will receive the gifts the children have made. It will be a great time of fellowship and celebration!

Wednesday will be open. We have reserved this day to explore Costa Rica. We hope to have two different itineraries to choose from. One will be more cultural explorations like museums and markets. The other will allow us to explore volcanoes, rain forests, coffee plantations and Cost Rica's wilderness.

At some point we will also take the seniors from Pavas out to lunch. We will see what they schedule permits when we are there. Also, I hope one night we can hear Rebeca talk about her wonderful ministry to women she runs from her home, called CEDEPCA. Our trip would not be complete without her leading us with her guitar in a spang-lish sing along.

Thursday we will pack up and say goodbye to Rebeca. We will probably go to Pavas to say our goodbyes there as well. From there it will be to the airport and back home.

Thank you all for your energy and your enthusiasm. I am so excited to see how God will use us and bless us in this week together.

What I want From Pavas...

One of the great joys of going to Pavas last December was introducing my Pavas family to my WGBC family and seeing them embrace each other in complete friendship and love. Lifelong bonds were formed and I know that when we go in August, our family will grow even larger! There is an infectious love among the folks there, and you can't help but feel at home even if you speak a different language. We laid the groundwork for developing the Pavas partnership and I guess by most measurements you could call the trip a "success", whatever that means.

But I was left with a nagging disappointment. My three amigos from my prior trip, Jarec, Jeremy and Andre had not been seen in months. These three boys, from 8 to 11 years old, are brothers who live alone because their mother is in jail and their father abandoned them. I searched the faces of the kids in the lunch program but never found them. As night fell I wondered if they were out there on the streets, where I would not dare go at night. I wondered what they were doing to survive, and what physical and spiritual risk they had to endure.

They became for me the symbol of why we had to partner with the people of the Iglesia de Pesebre. It is these boys this ministry is trying to reach. It is kids like them who come each day for a plate of food and a little attention. I felt that in these boys I had met the suffering Jesus we are called to serve in Matthew Ch. 25.

But I want these boys to be more than just a symbol, more than just a heart-string tugging anecdote.

I wanted to see them. I wanted to hug them. The last time I saw them I told them I would be back. I want them to know I kept my word. I am not just another adult who has let them down.

I wanted to know they were alright.

So when we are there in August we will laugh and we will cry. We will work and we will play. We will serve and we will be served.

I will be looking for my three amigos, and I hope they are looking for me.

Pavas from Dan's Point of View

This blog entry was written by Dan McFaden - our intrepid traveler who went to Pavas for a week and a half in May....

La Iglesia del Presebre (The Church of the Manger) in Pavas has a unique ministry to their community. I was blessed—and I mean blessed—to share many aspects of that ministry while I was there for a week and a half in May. Yes, I painted—as my shoes and a pair of pants will attest! I moved furniture and cleaned the front of the newly remodeled building. One evening I even served as the door watchman to prevent mischief.

I was able, however, to do much more. I had numerous opportunities to visit in the homes of church members, even sharing meals with them. I experienced firsthand the poverty of the barrio below the church building. In spite of that poverty, that we in the USA can only begin to imagine, the people went out of their way to be kind, especially with my feeble attempts to speak Spanish! They greeted me as they greeted each other, with hugs and even kisses on the check. And always, bengida—bless you! They are indeed our brothers and sisters in Christ.
I also got to work with some of the children. I was painting in the kitchen when they were served lunch one day, and many of them came over to me to say that they remember me. Several asked about the other members of the December team and were delighted to know that all will be going back either in August or January along with other members of the Walnut Grove. Needless to say, I can hardly wait to go back in January!

Those who are going in August will be working on three homes of church members. All three homes are in great need of repair. One grandmother, the sole support for her children and grandchildren, cannot leave her house due to unsafe steps—if you can call them that! Another family has a roof that leaks every time it rains—and it rained every day when I was there. The third house also needs steps and a railing so a special needs child can get up and down the steps without fear of falling. All of these, with as little as they had, were willing to share with me. And all of these home are “down the hill” in the barrio. The pastor, Don Rodrigo, accompanied me as we walked—yes, walked through the streets of the barrio. How else could I experience what life is like in that part of Pavas?

If you are planning to go to Pavas in January and you do not have a passport, I urge you to begin the process of getting one. Let Judy Vanstavern or me know if you plan to go or if you have any questions. We will have a meeting as soon as the August group returns. Judy, Ann, and I will be leading the team, so we have room for 9 more. Que Dios se bendiga! May God bless you!

Mechanicsville to Pavas

How did we get from Mechanicsville to Pavas? It all started last summer when Drexel (our pastor) and Jayson traveled to Central America in search of partnership mission opportunities. Over the course of several days, they visited with many ministries in El Salvador and Costa Rica. Once they visited Pavas, our mission became clear.

Pavas is a very poor community on the outskirts of San Jose. The community has concerns with crime and many children in the community are orphans. The ministry at the Iglesia de Pesebre (Church of the Manger) focused on feeding the children in the community. For many of these sweet little ones, the only meal they received daily was lunch at church. It was a heartbreaking situation. The children of Walnut Grove adopted the children of Pavas as their mission focus for Summer Spectacular 2006 (vacation bible school) and raised enough funding to support and expand the children's feeding program.

In December 2006, a team of 7 traveled from Walnut Grove to Pavas to spend more time in hands on ministry and to develop the partnership with the church leadership in Pavas. The team worshipped at Pavas, helped with the children's lunch program, and brought Christmas gift bags for the children. We also met with the church leadership to establish a partnership moving forward. The primary focus after this trip was to work with the church leadership in Pavas to provide resources to secure the building so that their ministry could continue to grow and expand. Shortly before we arrived in December, the toilets from their new restroom facilities had been stolen. Toilets! They couldn't even leave the cooking utensils or serving pieces for the lunch program at church for fear that they'd be stolen again as they were so many times before. First order of business became securing the facility....more to come soon!!