FELIZ NAVIDAD

First of all, we want to thank everyone for their prayer support, financial support and service. We also want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas, celebrating with your family and friends and a blessed New Year.

This will be our third Christmas here and we really miss being with our families and friends. We are thankful that we have a telephone and a computer to communicate.

We had a team here that helped with celebrating Christmas in many ways, both here in Anonos and in Jasmin, where they helped to build a house. There will be more in our next newsletter about this trip.

Your support this past year has definitely made an impact on the local communities, and in helping FundaVida.

In 2008 we had two teams from Mountain View church in Culpepper, Virginia; A team from the Vineyard of Portland, Maine; A Vineyard church from Grand Rapids, Michigan; A Vineyard team from Columbus, Ohio; New Life Church from Columbus, Ohio. Two families and three teams from our own Vineyard Church in Mechanic Falls, Maine. A little over 100 people came to serve this past year.

Luis Sanchez, who lives here and who works with us, recently said this to the last team that was here, “Things are changing. It is much cleaner in the “quebrada”. Oh Boy!” Luis has lived here for 44 years and has seen the change. The “quebrada” is where the drug addicts live and the drug dealers are slowly moving out.

When prayers and blessings are given, it is wonderful to be able to look back at 2008 and to be able to say “Thank You, Lord, for answered prayers and for blessing us.” All of this has been possible, because God is with us.

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, nd shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”, which translated means, “God with us.”

I was working with Luis the other day, when he shared with me his memory of his childhood Christmases. Most of the children here receive their gifts on Christmas Eve, the 24th. And when Luis was a boy, he would go through the streets, the day after on the 25th, looking through the trash, pawing through the gift wrap paper, hoping that just maybe….. just maybe….. their might be something that someone had forgotten. He was one of those children who never received a Christmas gift as a kid.

As he reflects on it at this time, he says with a smile, “The greatest gift I have ever received is Jesus as my savior and my relationship with him.” He says in his words, “I am a blessed man.”



This is a photo of Luis and his son.

Merry Christmas to all of you and we look forward to whatever God wills for 2009.

Resting in His Peace,
Rodney and Cindy

New Connections

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

Our summer is just around the corner. The air is changing, becoming dryer, but we are still having rain in the afternoons. Soon we won’t have any for six months and when it returns, it will be welcomed once again.

Rodney and I had a busy but wonderful three weeks in Maine. We were able to visit family, clean out Rodney’s dad’s apartment and have many times of sharing about Harvest Hands and planning for the future. We thank you all for the wonderful prayers that we received and the times spent with us!

I would like to share with you a little about one of our exciting future plans.

We have recently had the privilege of getting to know a church in San Filipe (near Alajuelita). CCA (Center of Christian Praise) is only about 15 minutes from the Harvest Hands house. This church is bustling with the life of Jesus. It has a school of about 300 students. It has two drug rehabs, a nursing home, a soup kitchen, a bakery and several other businesses that it has started, in order to help people in the community to have jobs.

Another awesome thing that this church does, that we are going to participate in, is that they build homes for the needy. There are many organizations that do this. However, there is a special manner that this is done here.

There is a small community called Jasmin. Here is a barrio of extremely poor squatters. Most of the homes do not have indoor plumbing and many have to walk a long distance to get their water. Their homes are shacks on the side of a mountain, which overlooks san Jose. It is impossible to even bring a car there at this time of year.

CCA is building homes for the people in this community, starting with those with the most need. These homes are built in panels, at the church, and are trucked to the site. Teams come and construct these homes in a week’s time! And the most wonderful thing is that one home costs only $3,500. And if these homes have to be moved, they can simply be unscrewed, put on flatbeds and moved to a different location. They were designed by a man who was homeless and who now works for the church.

Can you imagine the final moment when there is a celebration? The house is prayed over by all. And the family is then presented a new Bible and the keys to their new home!

We look forward to learning how this is done, so that we can do it here in Los Anonos. We have two, possibly three teams coming in 2009 to construct homes in Jasmin. What a blessing it will be!


I’ve included some photos here of Jasmin and of one of the homes that has already been built.
Blessings to All!
Rodney and Cindy

A "Long Termer's" Perspective

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,
Because we here at Harvest Hands can’t say it enough: Thank you for your support! I have been a part of this ministry since April 14, 2008, and I am now excited to share with all of you who are praying, encouraging, and working alongside our ministry. I truly believe that we are sharing in this work even though the distance separates us.
I am frequently asked, “So how did you hear about Harvest Hands?” In short, Cindy’s newsletter. I now sit on the other side, writing an update for this month. Reflecting now, I have that feeling you may relate to: “Wow, time has passed so quickly!” I attest to the Lord’s faithfulness in serving here and learning Spanish. Rodney and Cindy will be the first to tell you that I am not a risk taker; I tend to move quite slowly, in fact. God certainly has a way of pushing us into action, and I am so glad that I have come. The people of Los Anonos are our friends, not our project. They are people we greet individually, visit in the afternoon, learn from and share our lives with. Rodney and Cindy are an example of service through relationship. All of these experiences constantly direct me back to Jesus.
There are many friends of Los Anonos I would love to share with you. Two in particular who have grown close to my heart are Doña Carmen and Doña Marta. Both of these women open up their homes to me, share stories, and make me feel welcome. Doña Carmen is an elderly, bedridden woman who still has a youthful way about her. She will proudly tell you she is 96. Please be in prayer for Doña Carmen because her regular care- taker has moved to another neighborhood because of a most unfortunate robbery. Doña Marta is a Nicaraguan woman who takes care of at least three grandchildren at a time. She is excited to have me help her grandchildren with their English. Marta has made me feel most comfortable during a time when I was unsure of visiting families the most.
Part of my role has been to assist with an English program. Beginning in April, I resumed Marsha Ames position at the Kinder teaching four short classes a week. Also, I have an English student on Thursday nights. While these opportunities are wonderful, our vision is larger. I spent the past couple of months brainstorming about how I can help more people with their English. Now in October the vision is becoming a reality. With the assistance of our neighbor Luis, I met with two different families who want tutoring. Because I have the cooperation of both the students and the parents I hope for consistent attendance. Please be in prayer that these tutoring sessions will be a platform for the love of Jesus.
While I have pursued a teaching role here, I have also been a student. During September I had a Spanish tutor in downtown San Jose. The tutoring helped me shrug off timidity and now I can speak to people with more confidence. Our Spanish skills are the key to relationship. We want to speak encouragement, vision, and love to those around us. This desire propels us into the challenge of language learning. We hope to have consistent classes in November as well.
Lastly, Harvest Hands has a new member on the team. Joy Snyder joined us on October 1 and will serve through May 1. I pray that the four of us will grow as family, friends and fellow servants. Please pray that we will have wisdom as we make plans for the upcoming teams. I am excited for this preparation time. The rain is heavy this month preparing the ground for brilliant growth. I pray for the same in the Spirit, as well. Come Lord Jesus, grow our capacity to love and hear your voice. Thank you, friends, for walking alongside of us and sharing in this ministry. Blessings, Rebecca

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

This month’s newsletter will be one of prayer requests. As we now have some “not quite so down time”…..meaning that we have no teams until December, we have time to ponder about the past work, the present work and the future work, here in Los Anonos. Our prayers are put forth to the Lord with much thanks and appreciation of all that He has done. The teams that came in 2008 brought so much of the Kingdom of God to Los Anonos.

Spanish…. We have started our classes again. We need to be able to go deeper when we talk to people. . Please pray for a supernatural mastery of the language. And for more time and “inspiration” for studying!

Our children’s program has been changed to every other Saturday morning. This will be a much better time, especially since we are in the rainy season and mornings are dry. We will be giving and enforcing rules for the children and a new schedule, including music and individual ministry time. Our first day on this new schedule will be this Saturday, September 13th. Please pray that our new format for this time will be a blessing to not only the children, but also to the teachers. Pray that the love of Jesus will be poured out on these children, many of whom know no love at all. Pray also for an in breaking of the Holy Spirit on all.





Pray that the drug addicts will be freed from their addictions. Pray that the violence among them would stop. Pray that the violence in Los Anonos would come to an end.


Pray for the children. That they would have proper love and discipline and that they would receive the truth of how Our Father sees them.


Please pray that we would make the best use of our little rental house in Anonos. That it would be a place where God would be glorified, whether during the teen programs or during English classes, or just meeting with people. We hope to use this house more and more as time progresses.

On another note, I really feel that all of us should be Harvest Hands, whether we are here in Costa Rica, in Virginia, Michigan, Ohio or Maine or anywhere else; whether we are out in the streets or doing our dishes; whether we are sweeping the floors in our church or in our sick neighbor’s house. We can be serving the Lord with all of our being.
Please pray that we are all able to stay on course, dedicate our lives 100% to the Lord and to finish well.


Take the time to check out the FundaVida videos, three of which take place in Los Anonos…. http://www.fundavida.org/home/langswitch_lang/en


Blessings to All,
Rodney and Cindy

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

We are at the end of having 4 wonderful teams here since June at the Harvest Hands house. The Mountain View Community Church team will leave tomorrow. Two men from our church in Maine arrived last night. Welcome Chuck and John!! A family of four will arrive tomorrow evening. So, we will have ten in the house until next Friday. Though this is not a planned team, it will be a team.

What a blessing it was to have these recent churches, who are dedicated to advancing the Kingdom of God, serving the poor and encouraging us as long term people here in Los Anonos. And believe me, they are an encouragement. They arrive at any time during the day (or night) and are always ready and willing to do any work that needs to be done. They have devotions in the morning before going out. Then they leave the house and visit people, pray for people, encourage us, play with kids, teach, paint, clean and labor and most of all they LOVE. They have poured out the love God on the people of Los Anonos, freely and unconditionally and then they return to their perspective churches to continue doing the same.

In the Bible we read this from the book of Isaiah chapter 58:6-7, "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? “

This is what the church is here on earth for. And in doing so, the Lord is glorified. We are truly thankful to all who are involved in coming, in praying, and in financial giving.

In saying thanks, one of our extended helpers Holli ,who has been with us since March, is returning to the states. Holli is a member of the Columbus Vineyard Church, in Ohio. She is and has been a awesome addition to Harvest Hands. She will be truly missed by all. Her joy, laughter, passion, integrity, dependability, and wisdom has touched our lives and the lives of all who have come to know her. Thank you Holli for sharing your life that is so filled with Jesus here in Los Anonos.



Don’t forget to read the blogs of Rebecca and Holli. They tell more of the life here in Los Anonos, Costa Rica.
somegirlnamedholli.blogspot.com & rebeccadunning.blogspot.com
And ours: harvesthands.blogspot.com

Blessings to all!
Rodney and Cindy

Things are busy here in Costa Rica. We are into a swing of having four teams come within a two-month period. We have had a team of 9 from Grand Rapids, Michigan and a team of 20 from Columbus, Ohio.

What a tremendous push for the Kingdom happened!! The Grand Rapids team did a wonderful skit entitled “Everything”. It is a skit about a young Christian girl, who becomes enticed by the world to the point of drinking, drugs and suicide, at which time Jesus rescues her. They performed their skit four times and many people were touched by this powerful presentation, including addicts in a drug rehabilitation center. Some of these men were touched so deeply that they were weeping. One of the weeping men gave his life to Jesus. A week later, when Rodney saw him, he was still glowing.

Also, the Grand Rapids team helped with FundaVida’s new project in Veinte Cinco de Julio, which we mentioned in our last newsletter. There is a huge amount of work to be done here.





The Columbus team accomplished a lot of painting in this building, as well. Afterwards, they played a soccer game with some of the locals. Some of these “locals” were sniffing glue and smoking marijuana, while the Columbus guys were playing soccer. One of the young men was sniffing glue in front of his two-year-old daughter. He is in the photo, behind his daughter on the pink tricycle. We did have opportunity to share with them why we were there.



This group of teenagers and young adults from Veinte Cinco is considered dangerous by most, however, what we discovered is that they all come from broken families and like the rest of us need the love of Christ.

While one half of the Columbus team was working in Veinte Cinco de Julio, the other half worked here in Los Anonos, in the little kindergarten. They, too, did some painting. They also did neighborhood prayer walks. These prayer walks are so very important and have been effective here in Anonos. People’s hearts are softening towards us and towards the Lord.

While the Columbus team was here, Holli, one of our long-term girls who lives with us, was able to attend the Eastern Region Pastor’s Conference to promote our mission, Harvest Hands. We would like to thank her for the time that she took to go to Pennsylvania to give us a hand. Thank you also, Josh Ray, for the fabulous DVD, brochures and display that you prepared for this event.

Last, but not least, we want to thank all of you for the prayers for Rodney’s dad. He is doing better and we ask for more prayer, so that he can return to his normal life. His name is Conny. Thank you for praying for Rodney while he was in Maine. It was a very trying time and being far from home is difficult.
Blessings To All!

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

It seems that whether the weather forecast says 90% or 30%, or even just calls for a cloudy day, it always rains.....really hard!! It is 3 p.m. and I am in my living room watching the rain come down in torrents. I really do like the rainy season, especially on a Sunday afternoon!

Our trip to Maine was wonderful, but not nearly long enough to visit everyone we would have liked to have seen. You all are a blessing to us and we thank you for refreshing us while we were there.

The flight home was exciting to say the least! We appreciate your prayers, because we did have an interesting landing with firetrucks and ambulances waiting for us. Praise God for His goodness! Nothing happened! We are now safe and sound here in Los Anonos!

As we move forward with the mission here we are seeing new developments. A new space for our meetings has become available, so we are working on procuring that. The drainage in the gym, where we are currently holding our meetings is being repaired, so that it will be dry.

You may be thinking, “I thought that they already had a building!” We do, but directly across the street another has become available, which is much more spacious and reasonable for rent. It has five rooms, instead of one. The five room home is $180 per month and the one room home is $100. It only makes sense to take the larger one. We will give up the smaller one.

The possibilities for this building are endless. We can use it to teach English, tutor students, have a computer center, have Bible studies, teach crafts, etc. There is also an area where would like to start a recycling center. We would like to teach the people of Anonos how to make their community beautiful. I believe that the Lord has placed this in our hands so that we can spend more time connecting with the people of Anonos and telling them about Him.

Yesterday, we joined Eladio Guerrero, the coordinator/director of FundaVida at a new (old) building for the FundaVida teen center in “Veinte Cinco de Julio”, a community where FundaVida has served for several years. This building was formerly a nursing home, but is now in great disrepair. It needs an extensive amount of work. But the vision for FundaVida is great. They will offer after school tutoring, a computer center, counseling, a teen program and much more for the children and teens of that community. Since our mission here is to help mission organizations and churches already at work, we will seize the opportunity to help FundaVida repair this building, and to continue the work here in Anonos, readying our new building for use.

I’ve attached two photos of this building. One is of Rodney, Eladio, and Alvaro, one of the FundaVida employees in a room that will be used for the computer center. They are discussing the work that needs to be done.



The other photo is of a young man who was doing volunteer work for FundaVida. He is 15 years old and a recovering crack addict. We don’t really know anything about him, but we do know that he is a very sad young man, yet was open to talking with us.



The third photo is of the house which we will be renting here in Anonos. The white fence next to it is the area for the recycling center.





“It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servants jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be in God’s field in which we are working.” 1 Corinthians 3:7 (The Message)

Blessings to you All!
Rodney and Cindy

Mother's Day Newsletter

May, 2008 Harvest Hands Newsletter
Greetings Harvest Hands Friends,

I’ve been reading Genesis, and today, which is Mother’s Day, I am reading about Sarah and how God fulfilled His promise to her about giving her a son. The verse that was impressed on my heart was, “And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had spoken.” (Genesis 21:1) This lady was 90 years old, when God fulfilled His promise to her!

As mothers (though this letter isn’t just for mothers), or as God’s people, we always need to remember that He WILL do what He promises to do. Because He is faithful to His word, we never need to doubt His promises. He will do what He says He is going to do! If we all stay in the Word, we will read His promises to us and we can be strengthened by that hope.

My thoughts then went to the mothers in Los Anonos; many mothers, with lots of children, and not many fathers, but many “significant others”, who are not always there; drug addicts, alcoholics and abusers. I sometimes wonder how I would view life, if I were in their shoes and if I didn’t have Jesus as my strength.

One of the mother’s who Rodney knows, who I have not yet met, is Carla. Three members of our last team delivered a refrigerator to her, one which someone had donated, because she didn’t have a working one. The old one was left there for her to store dry goods in. There are many other things that she needs. She doesn’t have a toilet or a shower. She uses a bucket for her toilet and a garden hose for her shower.

She is in her mid-thirties and has four children, two boys and two girls. She never asks for anything. However, the one thing that she would like help in is learning how to speak English, so that she can get a better job. She already has two jobs to try to make ends meet. It is sad to say, but one of the acts of injustice is that a person’s income is based on education, rather than his willingness to put in a hard day’s work. The cycle of the poverty that Carla lives in, and others like her, is oppressive.

One of our hopes in working with mothers like Carla is primarily to bring hope, the hope that Christ brings to all of us. He gave Sarah a hope and we are to do the same. Also, being able to build a relationship with her through teaching English, gives us opportunity to spend time with her. We are all bearers of His light and hope.

Enclosed is a photo of a single Mom in Anonos. Lydia is with her brother, father and two sons.

Blessings to you All!
Rodney and Cindy

PS Don’t forget to read the blogs of the two girls who are serving here with us in Costa Rica. Their blogs give a good picture of what life is like here in Los Anonos.

rebeccadunning.blogspot.com
somegirlnamedholli.blogspot.com

Thank you so much for your support!

April Newsletter

Our April Newsletter, 2008


Dear Harvest Hands Friends,
So glad to hear that the winter thaw has finally come. At times when we heard how this winter has been for everyone, it made us think of C.S. Lewis’ book ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, when the white witch had control and it was always winter.
Rodney, Marsha and Holli were on a prayer walk with Eladio and another man this morning. They went to “25 de Julio”, one of the communities where FundaVida has worked. FundaVida is an organization that is connected with PuraVida Coffee in the United States. We sell this coffee at our church. The money is used to help kids at risk. Fundavida’s hopes are to have a new teen center in this community, as well as a new location for the computer center, which is already established there.
While we were prayer walking, one could sense the intensity of spiritual warfare. We observed two things that are somewhat common in this community. One was Marsha watching a mother kick her child to the ground. The girl was about 8 or 9 years old and began to cry. Her mother only said in a vulgar way to be quiet.... Angry parents, wounded parents, passing it on to the next generation... It broke our hearts to witness this. Only moments before that, we witnessed one of the street prostitutes, who live day to day on whatever they can do, was trying to steal something through someone’s gated door. The owner of the home came out with a gun and threatened to kill her if she didn’t leave. All of this was at nine o’clock in the morning.
It is so difficult to witness things like this. Sadly, it is common in many of the communities, where there is extreme poverty and hopelessness. Our desire is to help both abused and the abuser and the robber and the robbed.
We are preparing in our hearts to say good-bye to Marsha Ames, who will be returning to Maine on the 23rd of this month. She has been here for about a year. This will be hard for us, as well as hard for her. Please keep her in your prayers as the transition for her will be difficult. She has made a godly impact on the children of the community, as well as on many of the adults. We will all miss her.
We are also looking forward to the next team coming from the Mechanic Falls Vineyard, which is always an encouragement to us and those they serve here.
The photo is of a drunk man in “25 de Julio”.
Thank you for your continued support. Please keep us in prayer.

Easter Week in Costa Rica

March 20, 2008

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

It is Semana Santa here in Costa Rica, which is Holy Week. And throughout the country people celebrate in several ways. Most businesses are closed, so people take vacations. And the churches take advantage of the story that leads from Palm Sunday to the resurrection of Jesus. Mainly, it is the Catholic church that does this. The streets are quiet all around us.

Interesting enough, there are even a few days when the country is “dry” and liquor is not sold. There are many other things that happen during this time, as well. It is interesting to watch how other cultures pay recognition to this week of the story of Jesus.

We have a new wonderful young lady with us now. Her name is Holli Litwiller. She’ll be with us for 5 months. Her being here has already been a benefit. And it’s awesome to watch God work in those that serve. If anyone is interested in reading her blog, the address is: http://somegirlnamedholli.blogspot.com/

Last night, Wednesday, March 19th, we had a great time with the FundaVida employees. We were able to introduce them to the Passover Seder meal. We had 21 people, which was a full house here at Harvest Hands. It was a night of revelation for all of us, especially those who experience it for the first time. That revelation is discovering Jesus in the Passover.

We have had three teams in a row since January, which has kept us quite busy. And we are looking forward to the Mechanic Falls team coming in April. All of the teams have truly made an impact in the community in different ways, the local school, being one of them. We have seen God’s expression and His compassion work through all of those who have taken part in serving here. We have seen how the hands of Christ are touching the lives of the children, the mothers and the addicts here in Los Anonos.

The groups who come to work have been a great support to the local Vineyard Church of Escazu. One of the main reasons is their desire to plant a church here in this community. The teams have been an expression of God’s love in a way that has not been seen in Los Anonos. One of the older addicts approached Rodney one day, while one of the events was taking place in the open air gym and said, “Don’t ever stop doing this kind of work. I see that God is involved and it’s touching the children’s lives, as well as the community. Don’t stop.”

Church planting has always been one of the focuses of the Vineyard. We are well on our way to seeing this happen in Los Anonos. The group of committed people from the Vineyard here in Escazu, who we work with, are doing an awesome job. And also, once again, they greatly appreciate all of the help that has been given from all of those who support this endeavor. The Kingdom is truly being expanded, little by little.

While one of the groups was here, we met a woman, whose name is Ana, who has three daughters. She is new to us. She lives in a little tin house, about 10 feet by 18 feet, with a dirt floor. There is only one twin sized bed and a crib for this family of five. The shower curtain is made of black plastic trash bags. Her husband works far from home and probably is only home for the weekends. Two of her daughters are twins that are two years old. One of the twins was born with severe problems and must be fed with a feeding tube, which is the only way that she can receive nourishment. She is two, but is about the size of a baby of one. Ana is a great mom and gives her and the other two children lots of love. When we first met Ana, it was as if the Lord’s light was shining on her. Or I should say, shining through her. Her smile has attracted us. Her openness to allow us into her home and life is truly genuine. She has asked for nothing. We have come to find out that both she and her husband are believers. One of the things that Ana said to Rodney is, “My daughter is a special gift to me.”

As we look around, our thoughts are “How can we help her? What can we give her?” This is when we feel so inadequate. Yet at the same time, we know that we can become her friend. And to us, friendship has such great value. As time goes on, I’m sure that you’ll here more stories of Ana and her three children. We have included here a photo of her and her husband and children. Also included is a photo of the twin, whose name is Jackeline. Pray that we would have wisdom on how to be the right kind of support to those like Ana. Ana believes that God is going to do a miracle in their lives. Pray for this!!!

There are many here, who have similar stories and at times, again, it is overwhelming. But we are reminded again and again that it is the Lord’s plan to use us as He pleases. It is our part to be submissive and obedient.

An article that we found by David Ruis goes deeply into this. You can read it at this site:
http://www.pastors.com/rwmt/article.asp?ArtID=10087

Blessings to you all!
In Jesus,
Rodney and Cindy representing Harvest Hands

Update from a Long Termer

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

It’s already time for our February newsletter! Since I last wrote, we’ve made a trip to Nicaragua to renew our passports and we have had a wonderful team from Virginia, who signed up to come again in August. We are now planning for our Mechanic Falls team to come down next week.
This month, we thought that it would be good for you to hear from Marsha, our friend and great helper, who has been here for about 8 months. Here's a photo of her at the youth camp where she went as a leader. Also a "clean" photo of her at the end! We have thoroughly enjoyed having her and are not looking forward to saying good-bye in April. So, here is her letter!





“Let us be Your hands, let us be Your feet”, these simple lyrics from a popular Vineyard song ring so true of what we, here at Harvest Hands, are working at to bring a community closer to the heart of God and to be a help to those who are in need.
I have been here at the Harvest Hands house in Los Anonos for the past eight months, celebrating salvations, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Year and how each day is a new day with our Savior. These past months have truly been and continue to be an experience that goes way beyond the walls of a classroom.. It it’s not without its hard times, but we wouldn’t be living if we didn’t walk though those hard times and come out on the other end stronger.
Over the past months we have had a great opportunity to work at the local kindergarten, which is such a huge blessing. When the school is in session, I go twice a week to teach English to 40 children, ages four to six. I’ve had great success in teaching vocabulary with gestures. They love learning new words through song. Their absolute favorite is, “Head, shoulders, knees and toes… knees and toes”. They thoroughly enjoy these classes, as do I. If they continue with their learning of English it will be a great asset for their future. Also at the school we have been doing work projects to help with the disrepair, which is endless. All this has helped to build relationship with the school staff, the children, and the community.
In Los Anonos there are so many precious children that catch your attention and get rooted into your heart. It’s so easy to give your love and attention to the children with the beautiful faces and sweet disposition. Those are the ones that become our favorites and dominate our camera film or digital files. God has been teaching me to really open my eyes wider and know with my whole being that ALL children are precious and worthy of our attention, because they all need it and they all crave it.




One of these children that has captured my attention is Maria Fernanda. Her photo is included in this letter. Maria is ten years old. She was born with a mental disability that affects her learning, her speech, and her social interactions. She has problems with personal and physical boundaries and she becomes a fighter when provoked by the taunts of her peers. Her home life leaves a lot to be desired. She lives with her mother, grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins and her younger brother Daniel in a house that is severely run down and dirty. Her family doesn’t know how to manage her when she gets in fits of anger, misbehavior and frustration. Instead of loving discipline to correct her misbehavior they yell and hit her. But I have seen her family love her and protect her from the taunts and teasing and that brings me joy.
When I see Maria I see a bright young girl with a fire in her heart and a girl with a loving spirit. I see the way she treats her dolls; she gives them tender care. She is also very quick to run up to me when I’m walking and plant a huge kiss on my cheek and hug me tightly. She can be very difficult to work with, but with patience I’m learning it all comes out right. The other day on Wednesday evening when we have our weekly program with La Vina, Maria was in my group. The topic was Esther and how a young girl can make a difference because she has the strength of the Lord on her side. Maria was very attentive and it’s my prayer for her that she will become that difference and that little acts of loving-kindness would reach into her soul and transform this special little girl.

Thank you for your support and prayers, we feel them all the time, and thank you for helping to make a difference here in Los Anonons, Costa Rica.

Marsha Ames

January, 2008 Newsletter

We are finally back, after a very long break and hopefully, we'll be able to blog more in the future! This month our newsletter was written by one of our December team members and I thought that I'd put it in our blog with a few photos. I hope that you enjoy reading Laura's letter!


Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

On December 5th our team of nine began our trip to Costa Rica and the Harvest Hands House leaving behind several inches of a beautiful, fresh snow. The team was made up of five of us who have made several mission trips to Costa Rica and four others who would be experiencing their first trip. Out of the nine, six of us had never stayed at the house. All of us left filled with great expectation and excitement to be going at such a special time of year to, among other things, join in and help with Christmas festivals for the children.

Our flight down was good and as we walked into the airport in San Jose we thought, “Great, judging by the number of people in front of us we should get through customs pretty quickly.” All of a sudden as we came around a curve in the hallway there in front of us was a mass of humanity about the size of a football field, or so it seemed. That would prove to be the first of our many “waiting times” in long, long lines of people. We proceeded to get through customs, pick up our baggage and then go out to meet Cindy and the bus to take us to the house.

Before going down we had all heard the stories of the nighttime fireworks and early morning roosters crowing and dog’s barking. About 3 a.m. those voices came to life and they continued until we pulled ourselves out of bed about 6 a.m. By the second morning I really enjoyed what I experienced upon waking. The roosters, the dogs, the many voices of children and adults already out and about, the smell of the community that would drift in through the windows, the same car that was being started, and the activity that was happening on the street just below us.

Our first introduction into the community of Los Anonos was a visit to the kindergarten. As we walked into the classroom, the first thing that caught your eye was the nativity set and the beautiful way it was displayed in this little public classroom. We saw that in many different places, so much care, attention and detail given to displaying those. That is so different than what we do here in the U.S. Marsha had taught the children to sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and “Jingle Bells,” in English, along with some sign language. They were so proud of themselves and their little faces were filled with smiles as they sang for us. It was precious!

Our team joined Funda Vida in Canaan for their festival on Saturday. We arrived to lots of children and moms and to find out that the bouncy house that was to be there was not coming. Some of us jumped in to do face painting and construction paper ornaments, others put on a skit about Jesus’ birth with puppets, and our guys got involved with the games and became “climbing trees” and “horses” to ride on. Mark entertained by playing his flute. We had a great time interacting with the children and some of the moms and just being a part of a very special day for them.

Wreath making and decorating (30 of them) was planned for Monday with a group of ladies from Los Anonos that come regularly on Wednesday evenings. The greens, wire, forms and decorations were all going to be purchased. While the team was at the open air Agricultural Market they came across a man who had beautiful, very full, undecorated wreaths for sale for an amazing $1.00. Wouldn’t you know, he had just the number that we needed. What a wonderful provision from the Lord! We were in awe of how the ladies took those wreaths and the decorations we had purchased and made them into something so beautiful. It was really fun to walk in the community and to see them displayed in and outside of their homes.

On Wednesday the team was invited to do a Christmas festival in another public school. They had contacted Rodney to ask him to come. We purchased a Christmas tree that would be used to place handmade decorations the children made on it. Then it would be given to a family that would not have a tree. The time, care and creativity that the children used in making those, and then to watch them as they came to hang them was so special. In addition to face painting, and the skit with the puppets and games, four of our team members became clowns, Chuckles, (Chuck Vincent), Ruffles (Mark Pendleton), Giggles (Faith Potter) and Buttons (Christina Potter). They did an amazing job with the children and we all had such fun watching them! What I will remember most from our time there is one little girl in particular. Marsha opened the morning with prayer (what a blessing in a public school) Sitting in the front was this little girl who had soft gold glitter on her face that glowed. When Marsha said that we were going to pray, she opened her hands and held them out to the Lord and closed her eyes. She was so precious sitting there.

That evening we joined the team from LaVina to help with the party in Los Anonos for the children and moms. There were about 280 of us gathered in the open-air gym. Our clowns had another opportunity to bring a lot of laughter, fun and hugs to children. The rest of us just helped wherever we were needed. Twenty-four pizzas arrived on the back of two motorcycles and I remember thinking that really wasn’t a lot of pizza for all these people. We just started handing it out, piece after piece, then we handed out a second piece, and some of the children even had a third piece. I looked over and there were still 4 boxes sitting there. Then I saw pizza being served to the team of workers. I truly believe we were watching Jesus just multiply the pizza, the story of the feeding of the 5000 came to mind, and I was just in awe. Pizza for these children is a rare and really appreciated treat. Isn’t the Lord good!

It really is hard to condense everything and give highlights of a mission trip, there is so much that you want to share. I truly saw what it is to be a “team,” an “amazing team” as John Sylvester said, “which was truly tested to the limits of patience and endurance as we traveled home, missed a flight and spent a night in the airport.” (A story for another time.) God-stories abound . . . walking to the high place to pray and seeing the river that flows through this community and having the Lord speak to you of the “river of life, that sets our feet a dancing,” going into a home to visit and gathering with the family, hand in hand around the table praying together, the incredible, contagious laughter of children as you play with them, praying for a pastor in Linda Vista, receiving a heart that a woman cuts out and writes in English, “I love you,” cleaning horribly filthy gutters that children reach into, fixing a stove for the cooks at a kindergarten, replacing leaky pipes and making a light work again, face painting and having a little girl hold your finger as you paint her face, God’s healing and protection from infection for a team member after having a stalk of bamboo grass go into her ankle, walking into a building that has little left except the standing walls and seeing the vision for a computer center and soup kitchen through the eyes of those praying and asking for it, and spending time with those that God has placed in Cindy and Rodney’s lives as they have gone to live and serve Jesus in Costa Rica and the incredible gift of hospitality that they have. We will never forget Jesus carrying us through a total white-out the last half an hour or so of our flight home and landing us so safely and securely on a snow-covered runway.

One morning as I was getting ready for the day and looking out at the community, I was praying and asking the Lord about their lives and wondering what do they have, what will the children do who are growing up now? Very clearly the scripture came to me,
”For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11. That verse resounds in my heart when I think of that community.

I truly believe that God does have hope and a future for the precious people in the Los Anonos and I truly believe that we are a part of it through this ministry of Harvest Hands. I would encourage you to go. Go and serve Jesus, see what He is doing there and ask Him what your part is. Thank you for your prayers and your giving. God Bless you abundantly.

In Jesus Love,
Laura Vincent (For the team: Chuck Vincent, Mark Pendleton, Kevin O’Leary, John Sylvester, Deb Thoma, and Tammy, Faith and Christina Potter)