Harvest Hands

2011-04-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Harvest Hands friends,

How can time possibly go by so fast? It has been over a month since the last newsletter and we’ve had two teams since then!

Here are a few excerpts from Dave Jefferson’s newsletter for the Mechanic Falls, Maine team, which consisted of 16 people! Thank you, Dave for writing this! I’ve added my bit in parentheses (..)

Mixed in between all the construction (and painting projects at our new church building) were trips by all of us down into the streets of Los Anonos, where several healings and at least one salvation took place. (We continue to pray for signs, wonders and the power of God to be poured upon Los Anonos.) What thrilled us the most was the very active role taken by the young men of the community in these God moments. The energy of the Ticos, Tito, Jason, Kevin, Pipo, Randal, Nanis, and Chino who prayed along with us was amazing. One afternoon we went into San Jose, and gave out hot dogs and prayed with some of the homeless of the city. (There are many homeless in San Jose, who need food and the love of God.)

One of our big projects was putting some final touches on the Casa Nueva, which is our new church just down the street from the house. Four inside and two outside benches were made from scratch by Ben Mosher, Sr with various team members assisting his carpentry.. (Ben came with his son and three of his grandchildren… what a blessing to see three generations of believers serving on the mission field together!) The outside worship area was finished, and a roof for the large donated stove and pizza oven was installed. Some excellent murals were painted on the walls by the girls under the artistic talents of Julie Herrmann, a talented intern (of Harvest Hands).

A church service on Saturday night, with Dick preaching was powerful, with several of the young Ticos visibly moved, and at least one deliverance witnessed. The Church was also used for a wedding that we decorated for and attended. Rodney married the couple out in the amphitheater type worship area. Our own Steve Limerick headed the church make over project. He has earned the respect of the Tico boys. Half way between the house and the church on the side of the road we made a basurero (garbage depot) out of cinder block and mortar.

The girls of the team took right to the youngsters of the community and taught a group how to crochet. Spanish and English words were exchanged continuously. There was also a skit and a number of lessons put on for the youngsters at the new church in one of the meeting rooms. (We have a Kid’s Club every Saturday for the children of the community.) (And thank you, Dave, for writing part of this month’s newsletter!)

Two and a half weeks later, the Portland, Maine team arrived to build another new “yellow house” in the community. This house was built for Karla, a single mother of 4 children. Her former house had no plumbing and a dirt floor.

Some of the members of this team also painted murals on the “Casa Nueva” walls, visited families, loved on kids and taught members of the Harvest Hands house how to minister a Sozo, a type of freedom tool to help people be free of hurts from the past. Here is a photo of Julie, our intern, and one of the team members, Sarah Bonneson as they are painting.

This past weekend we were blessed to have our son, Josh, visit us with Jeremy Riddle. Jeremy was leading worship and teaching at a worship conference that we were able to attend. And Josh preached a wonderful encouraging message at our church here in Anonos. Thank you to both of them for the blessings!

There is so much more that God wants to do in Los Anonos! Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment on the next steps to take as far as building the church here. God is growing it… He’s the only one that grows it! But we have our part to play and need discernment. Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We couldn’t do it without you. You are a huge part of the Harvest Hands team!

If you would like to support us financially this is our address:

Harvest Hands

c/o The Vineyard Church

P.O. Box 55

Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256

2010-11-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

October 1, 2010

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

I’m watching the clouds form very quickly over the nearby mountains today. Hopefully, we are back to the regular rainy season weather, rather than the intense rains that have been pouring on Costa Rica for the last week. There are about 60 roads in the country that have been closed, because of swollen rivers and/or mudslides! There are some photos on the Inside Costa Rica website: (http://www.insidecostarica.com/archives/2010/september/10-09-30.htm). We thank God that no one has been killed. I have the same feelings as I do in Maine during the month of March, when spring is just around the corner, but it snows again! We are anxious for the dry season!

We had a wonderful and blessed time preparing a Mother’s Day dinner here at the Harvest Hands house for the women of our fellowship. We were able to give them a lovely dinner, prayer time, roses and a gift (provided by a couple of women from La Viña, Escazu), but I think that we were more blessed than the ladies! What a joy it is to serve these women!

WELCOME JULIE!

➜ ➜ ➜ ➜ ➜ ➜

We would like to welcome Julie Herrmann from Grand Rapids, Michigan as our new “intern”. Julie will be with us for a year. She has been here for three weeks and has “slid” into our house, ministry and hearts with ease! She has started teaching English, giving piano lessons and an exercise class for the women! Julie is also bi-lingual and has already used her language skills to do some translating. She has also done teaching at one of our small groups. She and Steve have started doing puppet shows for the children. Julie has a blog where you can get to know her better: http://mylifeintupperware.blogspot.com

Now that we are in a “non-team” season, we are taking advantage of the time to do some upkeep around the Harvest Hands house. One of the sad, but necessary jobs that we accomplished was the cutting of the big pine tree next to the house. Its roots were starting to destroy the walkway and were heading to the house. It was amazing to watch Marvin (the man who received the first yellow house) climb this tree in his stocking feet, cutting each branch with a machete. When he got to the top, his chain saw was passed to him and he started cutting the big trunk in sections. That was completed in two days and the other pines in the back were also removed.

We will also be doing some work on the interior of the HH house, such as painting, etc.

Remember I told you about the bag gardens which were planted all over Anonos?? They are growing wonderfully and producing much! Here is a photo of ours with a nice Chinese cabbage plant! →→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→

That’s it for now! We will be having a meeting in October with the mission leaders of the churches who work with us here in Los Anonos. So, I’m sure that there will be much to share in our next newsletter.

Please pray for wisdom for us as we continue to minister in the community. The warfare can be intense at times and we need your prayer coverage!
We also need prayer for the next steps to take as a church is growing here in Los Anonos!

Blessings to you!
Rodney and Cindy

PS. If you would like to send financial support, the address is:
Harvest Hands, c/o Vineyard Church of Mechanic Falls
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256

2010-08-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

God is on the move in Los Anonos! There isn’t a day that goes by when He doesn’t do something here!

Since our return, in June, from the States, we have had three teams here at the Harvest Hands house and we have worked with another team that was staying at a different mission house. Thank you to Vineyard North in Grand Rapids, Michigan, New Life Church in Gahanna, Ohio, Mountain View Community Church in Culpeper, Virginia and the Surge youth team that was made of several churches from the Northeastern United States, for all that you did here in our community!

The “physical work” that was accomplished was amazing. The spiritual work that was done was major. I will try to give you a picture of this.

*A concrete sidewalk was built going into one of our yellow houses, because of the overabundance of mud. We have a small group at this house every week.

*The Michigan team went to Jaco to minister to prostitutes and addicts, praying for those in the streets, both day and night. They took several of our youth from Los Anonos to disciple them in this area of prayer.

*A yellow house was built for a family who was living in a house made from scraps from a house that was torn down.
This is a photo of the house dedication when a Bible is given to Daniel, Brenda and their children. A prayer is said to bless them. Followed by a pizza party.

*A professional hairdresser held a hairdressing school for five of our Los Anonos ladies and gave enough donated equipment for each of these ladies to open their own salons!! These ladies have already started cutting hair! Two ladies also went to the women’s rehab to cut hair and to pray for the ladies there. Here you see
Eleanor instructing one of our ladies, Adrianna, how to trim and thin hair.

*And lots of “sack/bag gardens were planted by two of the teams. Please look at the following website to see sweet video of how these neat gardens are made!
http://www.sendacow.org.uk/baggardens
These gardens are able to produce quite a few vegetables in a small area. One lady has harvested peppers from her bag garden already! These gardens will continue produce, as long as they are cared for.

Our church here in Los Anonos is growing rapidly. We have three small groups that meet on Wednesday nights and another two women have asked for groups in their homes. We have a group that meets on Thursday nights and another that meets on Friday nights. We are planning on starting up our women’s group again in a couple of weeks. Our people here in Los Anonos are hungry for more of God and more of His love!

We were able to gather as a full church on July 4th! It was the first time that we have had a “church service” with our whole group of people! The New Life Church sponsored this wonderful day of worship, baptisms and a BBQ! Here is the church of Los Anonos, minus about 15 people.

We are seeing some of our guys who struggle from addictions coming back to meetings and desiring to be free of these addictions. In the photo above, you can see Juan Pablo, who has been clean from drugs for four months. He was baptized on the 4th of July, as Federico Villegas preached about Freedom! Please pray that more of the addicts will press into the heart of God and gain strength to walk out their healings and that Juan Pablo will walk in the freedom that God has given him.

*A concrete block trash bin was built in the Quebrada near the river. This is just the beginning of cleaning the trash from the streets in Los Anonos. We would like to build 6 more in various locations.

It is wonderful to be a part of God’s awesome work here in Los Anonos and we are thankful for all those who have partnered with us this season. We look forward to what God has for us here in the future.

The work here wouldn’t be where it is today without your prayers and financial support and we hope that you would continue.
Harvest Hands
c/o Vineyard Christian Church
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256

Blessings to All,
Rodney and Cindy

2010-03-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Harvest Hand’s Friends,

Spring is just around the corner in the States and it is almost “winter” here in Costa Rica. We have about one more month of the dry season. Then the rains will come again and make everything greener again.

This month we received a wonderful gift in the visit of Rodney’s family, including his 85 year old dad. What a blessing it was for us to have them here for over a week!

Our present team from Mechanic Falls, Maine, just left this morning for a much needed R & R at the beach, after spending 5 days painting two coats of “Salsa” red on our Harvest Hands house. They also painted much of the trim and the huge wall in the front! What a blessing to have that accomplished so very quickly.
Here are a couple of photos of our new entry, our back patio and a few team members hard at work!

ursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UzRJRh6mOiE/S6ZKeBVW7gI/AAAAAAAAAqE/CYu-detdW0k/s320/Entry.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451126278593113602" />

Our weekly schedule of our groups in Los Anonos looks like this:

Tuesday evenings: Women’s group.
Wednesday evenings: Life group in the Quebrada
Life group in the “Mangos”
Thursday evenings: Teen girl’s group
Amigos de Dios (Friends of God), our addicts group
Friday evenings: Our young people’s meeting

The life group mentioned above that takes place in the “Mangos”, which is in the upper part of the hill on the other side of the river, was just started two weeks ago. It is at the home of David and Maria, who have three children. This is the family who received a yellow house back in January. They are excited about this life group being in their home. Already we have found out that everyone who is a part of the life group, who live in the “Mangos”, want help in getting their high school diploma. What a benefit this will be for them.

Also, in our Amigos de Dios group (the guys who struggle with addictions), several of them have asked Rodney if they can get help to learn how to read and write (in Spanish). Many of these are not able to read or write. What a wonderful way to be able to spend time with them!

Prayer requests: That more would come to know and follow Jesus.
That we would find a place large enough for everyone to meet together.
That the chains that bind the addicts would be broken.
Pray for health for us. Cindy is having some stomach issues.

We thank you for your prayer and financial support. If you would like to give to our ministry, here is the address:
Harvest Hands
Vineyard Christian Church
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256

2010-03-07T11:47:00.000-08:00

February 2010 Newsletter

Dear Harvest Hands,

Much is being accomplished with your help and we thank you. As you recently read in our last newsletter, a team from Michigan came to build a yellow house for a family. Also, a team from Virginia came to teach the men and women here in Anonos and at the men’s and women’s rehab in Alajuelita, which is part of the CCA Church.

This past Wednesday, we said good-bye to a team from the New Life Church in Gahanna, Ohio, who came to build a yellow house. This house was built for a family of nine people! Some of you may know Lester, who leads worship here in Los Anonos. His father passed away in October, which left his mother a widow. So, because of the nine people and because the team was able, they built a home a little larger than usual. What a blessing to move a family into a lovely house, with indoor plumbing and more space. Most of the yellow houses do not have plumbing inside… maybe only to a kitchen sink.

Also, there were two women on this team who came to teach on starting home businesses, the Ten Commandments and conflict resolution. They also did some crafts to show the ladies how easy it is to produce something to sell for little money. They made great connections with the women in Los Anonos. These two ladies also helped to paint the yellow house that the men built. Thank you to all from New Life, who helped with this project.

One of the things that we are working on is helping families that are presently unemployed to find ways to make a living. You’ll hear more about this in the future. As this is something that we feel God is stirring our hearts towards…. helping those in need.
We have all heard the expression, “You can give a man a fish or you can teach him how to fish.” We can also equip him with the proper necessities to fish.

For those of you who would like to read a wonderful description of a week of serving God in Los Anonos, I am going to direct you to New Life’s blog. This was written by the pastor, Brian Robertson, who came with them and others. The last day was written by all of the team members about how the trip impacted them. As in all blogs, you will have to go back ten days to start at the beginning of the trip. The blog address is: http://newlifeincostarica.blogspot.com/

Here’s the New Life team in front of the house they built.

We will have a little break before our next team from Mechanic Falls comes in March. Rodney’s family will be visiting us this month, which will be wonderful.

We are still in need of a building for a church. Please pray about this. The possibility of getting the kindergarten building is not looking good. God has the perfect place for us to meet.

As we move forward as a church, we are in the process of raising leaders and establishing a leadership team. Please keep this in prayer, as well. You will hear more about this in the future.

Once again, we would like to thank all of you for your support. If you would like to financially support Harvest Hands, checks can be made out to Harvest Hands and sent to:

Harvest Hands
c/o Vineyard Church
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256

2010-02-11T16:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Harvest Hands friends,

This newsletter is coming to you a little later than typical. We have been busy. We just said goodbye to the second team of the year. The first team, from Vineyard North, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, came right after the new year. They constructed a yellow house. It was a real blessing for the family that was in much need. Relationships were built and the family now has a greater desire to grow closer to the Lord.

The second team came in from the Mountain View Community Church in Culpeper, Virginia. They basically did teachings here in Los Anonos and in the rehab centers who we work with. They taught on abuse, purity, marriages and family.

As they leave, we are now preparing for the construction of the second yellow house of the year, with a team from Columbus, Ohio, the New Life Gahanna Church.

In light of all of this, all of our hearts look to Haiti at this time. As we look out on the community where we live, Los Anonos, we can only imagine how devastating this is to so many who live in Haiti, because of the conditions that they already live in. It is also awesome to hear the testimonies of faith of the people from Haiti. In reflecting on the Haitian people and those who we work with here in Los Anonos, it is amazing how those who live in poverty have a greater strength to rise above devastation such as this. They know how to survive without their computers, without cars, without TVs, without gourmet food, without hot showers, etc. Because, for most, they never had these luxuries to begin with. I am not saying that it is easy for them. But, what I am saying is that they are truly a people of faith who depend on the Lord.
I ask myself, “Oh God, how would I do if I were in their shoes?” I don’t want this to sound political or judgmental, but this is an awakening in my heart even more for those in need. This is truly a tragedy that is happening in Haiti and they need all the help that they can get.

With that being said, we also must reflect that according to UNICEF, 25,000 children die each day due to poverty. That’s 100,000 in 4 days. This rarely makes headline news. If you feel led, take a look at the statistics on this site: http://www.globalissues.org/article/715/today-over-25000-children-died-around-the-world.

When I looked at this site, I felt overwhelmed. However, I know that God had given us, the church, the ability to help those in need. We are thankful for all who have supported the work here in Los Anonos and we know that your hearts are also crying out as well for those in Haiti. Let’s also continue to reflect on the catastrophes that happen every day. Is it possible for us to make a difference? I believe, yes, because we have a great God, who has a huge heart that cares for mankind.

I am reminded of something that Bono said, “The poor are where God lives. God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is where the opportunity is lost and lives are shattered. God is with the mother who has infected a child with a virus that will take both their lives. God is under the rubble in the cries we hear during wartime. God, my friends, is with the poor, and God is with us if we are with them.”

With this being said, we know that God is with the Haitians and with those around the world who are suffering from extreme poverty. And He calls out for us to continue our involvement in His Kingdom, here on earth, wherever the Holy Spirit leads us.

God bless you and thank you for your prayers and financial support.
Rodney and Cindy

2009-12-20T10:38:00.000-08:00

Nicaragua Trip

I have been pondering for days about how to write about our trip to Nicaragua. It’s very difficult to know where to begin, because of the intensity. How do you write about a trip to the second poorest nation in the western hemisphere, where 85% of the people live below poverty level?

We went with 16 people. Being missional was new to 11 of the 16 and all came back to Los Anonos with a greater under-standing of Nicaraguans and of what it is like to live in poverty. The young men from Anonos, though in need themselves, saw that there are others who live in worse conditions.

The only glitch that we had in the 12 hour travel day was a three hour wait at the “frontera”, the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. We had 500 notebooks that we were bringing to a Christian school located in the Managua dump. The border guard was going to charge us $200 to bring the notebooks into the country, but he later changed his mind and charged us $20. Hmmm... That makes you wonder where he was coming from! But this is very typical of the corruption in the government there.

Our first place to visit the next day was “La Chureca”, the dump in Managua. About 1,500 people live here. Please take a look at this video, taken by another ministry. It describes “La Chureca”. http://www.vimeo.com/1054619 Here the people merely exist. They exist by scavenging for garbage to eat. I saw a man who had a bag of bones that looked as if they had been discarded by a butcher or meat shop. Our guide, the vice-principal of the Christian school, said to me, “That’s his dinner.” I saw another man walking on top of a smoldering pile of trash. He had on rubber boots. A man told us that his feet are numb from the heat... not burned, but he was just accustomed to the temperature. This is how he survives. I saw one of the cutest dirtiest little girls that I've ever seen.

We saw trash scattered everywhere, houses of plastic bags, dirty and naked children, and animals looking for food, as well. The air was heavy with smoke to the point that it burned my eyes and I wondered how many had respiratory diseases.
One lady told me she had lived there for eleven years. How can this be? There are some who wouldn’t want to leave... they know nothing else. They wouldn’t know how to live outside of the rubble. They wouldn’t know how to live if they didn’t have to scrounge for every need.

Next, we worked in Tipitapa for 1-1/2 days. Tipitapa is a huge community of shacks. Some of people who live in Tipitapa work in the sweat shops, where they are barely paid enough to buy food. Many homes don’t have refrigerators or stoves. Perhaps just a wood fire to cook the little food that they can buy, perhaps just rice and beans.

We had two focuses in Tipitapa. One was a children’s program and the other was rebuilding an outhouse and a shower for an older couple.

Virginia is 56 years old, but looks 70, because of her hard life. Adam is older and has Parkinson’s disease. He can barely function at this point. Virginia and Adam have a one room wooden house with a dirt floor. Their outhouse had no door and was falling apart. Their outside shower was nothing but a few metal sheets put together with plastic as a curtain and a bucket to fill with water. She has such a look of hopelessness on her face. And he has blank eyes from discouragement because of his disease.
We hope that when they stand under that running water in their new shower that they would be washed and refreshed by the love of Jesus.

The children’s program was held at the local church, a small and humble facility with a tiny enclosed yard. And somehow this small yard was filled with about 300 children!! The group of young people, who went with us, did some activities with the children and then gave them hot dogs, chips, a drink and candy. Many of these children brought their one hot dog home to their family. We were happy to give out hot dogs, but frustrated, because of the endless hunger in this area.

We finished off Saturday with a trip to the Managua Children’s Hospital. We joined with the Vineyard church in Managua, so there were about 30 people who went. It seemed quite strange to me to visit a children’s hospital from 8 to 10 at night. We divided into three groups. One group went to the ward where children were in serious condition, but healing. Another group went to the cancer ward. And the last group went to the waiting room in the general ward and ministered to the parents and some of the children who were out of their rooms. These children were being tested and cared for, but were well enough to visit. What precious children! We can’t say if any healings happened, but we do know that there were tears and blessings on both their part and ours.

This is just an overview of our time in Nicaragua, because of space purposes. We have included here a couple of photos. I will post some photos here and on my Facebook page.

We want you to know that your prayers and your financial support are greatly appreciated. We pray that you will have a wonderful Christmas and a joyfully blessed 2010!

Merry Christmas!
Rodney and Cindy and the Harvest Hands Team

If you would like to see more pictures from the Harverst Hands mission trip to Nicaragua,
please visit Picasa at the link below.

http://picasaweb.google.com/cinrodlaf/NicaraguaTrip2009#

2009-12-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

To all of our Harvest Hands Friends,

Go to this site, if you would like to view our photos from our Nicaragua Trip 2009:
http://picasaweb.google.com/cinrodlaf/NicaraguaTrip2009#

2009-11-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

The months fly by so quickly, it’s difficult to keep track of what is happening! Now that November is upon us, we are prepping for our family to visit for Thanksgiving and at the same time planning our trip to Nicaragua with about 12 – 15 people. Oh how many blessings God pours out on us that we are thankful for!!

During the last week in October, we had the privilege and honor of hosting several of the pastors and mission leaders of the churches who come on a regular basis. These churches send teams two or three times a year and have been instrumental in the growth of the church here in Los Anonos.

This group of churches were made up of our home church, the Vineyard Church of Mechanic Falls, Maine (it was so good to have Dick and Maida Ray, our pastors, here!!); New Life Church of Gahanna (Columbus) Ohio (Brian Robertson, associate pastor and Cindy Schmidt, missions director); Mountain View Community Church of Culpeper, Virginia (Derek and Carrie McFarland, associate pastors and Jeff Kesner, missions director); The Summit of Madison, Virginia, (Mark DeCourcey, pastor); and Vineyard North of Grand Rapids, Michigan, (Mike and Lauren Befus, associate pastors). These people come to Los Anonos and give freely of their hearts, souls and pocketbooks! We thank God for them!

We talked about the vision of a new church here and how to make it work. We talked about the needs, such as a pastor and a larger building. We do know of a building nearby that will cost $1,000 a month to rent. It is a very large house, with a living room that is able to hold about 100 people. Plus there are several other rooms that could be used for classrooms. We know that God will provide the perfect place for a church in Los Anonos. He will also provide a pastor with a heart for this community.

On our mission trip to Nicaragua we will be working with the local Vineyard church of Managua and with several of our Los Anonos young people and several people from La Viña. This is, for many, their first mission trip.

Our hope is to see the Viña Los Anonos become a missonal church from the onset. We also want to see the other churches do more missonal work abroad. We will be working in a community called Tipitapa. The poverty here is extreme. A children’s Christmas program at one of the local churches in this community is being given, as well as a small construction project. Also we will visit a school that is in the dump of the capital city of Managua. There are 1500+ people who live here, where you see children rummaging through the trash with the hope for something to eat or a tin can they could recycle for cash.

We thank all of you for your support and prayers! They are so needed at this time.

If you would like to send monthly support or a one time donation, you can send a check to Harvest Hands at this address:
Harvest Hands
C/O The Vineyard Church
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256

Blessings to you All!
Rodney and Cindy

2009-10-16T14:09:00.001-07:00

Dear Harvest Hands friends,

It's time for another newsletter! How quickly the months pass! Thank you all so very much for all that you do! We are seeing the fruits!

Baptism!!

We woke up this past Sunday to a beautiful sunny day. What a day for a baptism, a baptism of 14 of our young people from Los Anonos! And the Lord was so faithful to keep the rain away until we were finished!

We held it at our friend Rosa’s property in the mountains, a lovely place with a natural pool, a rancho and the peace and love of God.

Rodney went out early to set up. Rosa’s sister was already there, cooking a typical Costa Rican meal for forty people. The remainder of the people arrived around 10:30.

Our service began with worship, followed by a precious baby dedication that had been requested by several of the young mothers who wanted to dedicate their babies to Jesus. These children were anointed with oil and the mothers were encouraged to raise their children in the ways of God.

After the dedication, 14 young people gave their testimonies about how the Lord has changed their lives and why they wanted to be baptized. Some of these young people have come out of drug addictions and they all still live in very difficult situations. I've attached a photo of one of our young men being baptized. It is such a picture of dying and being resurrected into a new life!

The day ended with a sharing of communion, a great meal and a wild round of mud “futbol”! (Photo attached) Note the “muchacho” on the left…. He is our very own Steve, who is fast becoming a friend to all of these young men.

There is so much happening here that it is difficult to put it in one short letter. Rodney and Jono took a trip to Nicaragua at the end of September to plan a mission trip. They made some awesome connections there, one being a Christian school in the middle of the Managua dump, where about 1,500 people live… yes, they live in the dump. As we will be taking several of our young people from Los Anonos on this trip, please pray for them to be able to raise funds, etc.

Towards the end of this month, a group of pastors and mission directors will be joining us for five days of meetings. We will discuss what the future of Harvest Hands and a new church here in Anonos will look like. These leaders are from the churches that support us in our ministry here. They are wonderful people of God who come from several different churches: Our church, the Vineyard Church of Mechanic Falls, Maine; New Life Church of Gahanna (Columbus); Ohio, Mountain View Community Church of Culpeper, Virginia: The Summit of Madison, Virginia; and Vineyard North of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

We love that we can all work together to advance the Kingdom! I’m reminded of Psalm 133:
1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,  running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

It is the joining together of these churches in unity that has been so beneficial to this ministry. God is anointing us and blessing us as we serve here together.

We are in desperate need of a larger facility for our meetings. Please keep this in prayer. Right now, we have our little church divided into many small groups, which has been working out well. But we desire to be able to meet as a body and do not have a space large enough.

Think of how far Los Anonos has come! And it is because of all of your prayers! Thank you!

Bendiciones,
Rodney and Cindy

2009-09-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

September 7, 2009

Dear Harvest Hands Friends!

We have entered a new season here at Harvest Hands. It seems that our seasons are such.... January to April and June to August are team seasons. September to December and May to June are our “down times”, when we are just as busy in a different way than when teams are here. God doesn’t stop moving in Los Anonos when we have “down time”. He continues to advance His Kingdom.

We would like to welcome Steve Limerick from our church in Mechanic Falls, Maine! Steve will with us for a year. We’ll love having another man around the house. He will be able to help Rodney with some of those “manly” chores that Taylor and I are not able to do!! God always provides for our needs!

As some of you may know, I, Cindy, took advantage of the “down” time and had surgery on my foot on August 25th. And I would like to thank all of you for your prayers. It is healing nicely. This time as been difficult, because I’m not really able to do much. I thought that I would enjoy the idea of not cooking, etc., but I’ve found that it’s more frustrating than restful! I roll around the house in an office chair! I do stand up on one leg to occasionally cut veggies and help Rodney in the kitchen a little. He’s doing a great job keeping us all fed!

This “down time” has also been a time when we can spend a little more time in the Word and a little more time journaling. However, we have been very busy planning future events, which I would like to tell you about.

This week, Rodney and Jono, the young man who is working with us, will be going to Nicaragua to plan an outreach with the Vineyard Church in Managua. This outreach will happen in November. We are really excited about this, because the trip will involve bringing several of the young people from Los Anonos and people from La Viña Escazu– 20 in all. What a better way to involve them in Kingdom work! They will have the opportunity to serve in a community called Tipitapa, which makes Los Anonos look like Beverly Hills. 85% of Nicaragua lives way below poverty level. The purpose of doing a mission trip at this time is so that the DNA of the church is mission minded and church planting minded.

Please keep this trip in your prayers.
Pray for Rodney and Jono as they plan the outreach with the folks from
Nicaragua.
Pray for God’s favor upon those going in November.
Pray for all of the technical logistics (place to stay, vans, etc.)
Pray that the funds will be there for our Anonos young people.
They are working on getting their passports right now, the money for which was provided by a church that sends teams here. But they will need funds for the trip, as well.

Other current and future happenings is of course the baby church, which is growing. We have been meeting in our small “casita”, but 45 people in a 12’X16’ area doesn’t quite suffice!! So, we are looking for a larger facility for our meetings. We will keep the little casita, as well, because right now it is used 4 nights a week for various meetings...English class, meetings for those who struggle with addictions and our Friday night meeting which started out to be only for the young men, but has turned into an “everybody” meeting.

In October we are having our first baptism!!!! We have 15- 20 people who want to be baptized and I’m sure that more will sign up when we announce it.

Please pray for strategy for this new little church.
That God would bring us a larger facility.
That God would show us the steps to take in order to make it thrive.
That He would help us to train up some of the young people as leaders.
That He would give someone the heart to pastor it.

Please pray for us as we minister to the folks of Los Anonos.
That we will be able to find a good place for the baptism.
That He would give us wisdom, grace and patience.
That He would enlarge our hearing and seeing, to know what He is doing.
That there would continue to be a unity here in the house, as we now have
2 young people living here and 2 more people working with us. A
team of six!! It’s wonderful!

This photo is of our present Harvest Hands Team:

Left to right: Jono Calvo, Taylor Crossman, Luis Sanchez, Cindy, Steve Limerick and Rodney

Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We could not do this without all of you!

If you wish to make a donation, here’s the address:
Harvest Hands
c/o Vineyard Church of Mechanic Falls
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256

Bendiciones,
Rodney and Cindy

2009-08-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

As we prepare for our last team of this season, we are realizing that these are some of the most exciting days that we’ve had during the three years that we’ve been living here in Los Anonos, Costa Rica.

Watching what the Holy Spirit has been doing and being a part of it has been such a pleasure. We are seeing a church being raised up and a transformation taking place in this community. We are thankful for all of the supporters and for all of the teams that have been involved in being the hands and the feet of Jesus.

Changes are happening within the hearts and the minds of the people who we have been working with. Los Anonos looks the same, but when one goes to the meetings or meets people in the street, the difference is evident.

We are seeing the Holy Spirit move powerfully in ministry, with much weeping and repenting. One of our young leaders, Tito, just recently shared at our youth meeting about honoring your mother and father. He described his life with his father, Gilbert (King Kong), and how it was difficult for him to say “I love you, Dad.” His father is a crack addict, who searches through trash, the river and other areas for anything that can bring him money to support his addiction.

For those who have been here, you’ve seen Tito’s father in the streets, a man who has a face that is full of pain and anger. But beneath it, we know there is a man who Jesus wants to bring salvation to.
Tito shared that he has come to the place where he can now share his love with his dad. But his father typically will look down at the ground and not know how to respond. After sharing, Tito opened the meeting up for ministry. There were many young people who were able to relate and for at least a half an hour, there was weeping, as the Holy Spirit was releasing healing to the broken hearts.

This is one story of many that happened throughout the week. We have recently started a new Bible Study right in the heart of the Quebrada. This is the area of Anonos that houses the addicts, prostitutes and drug dealers and is considered the most dangerous area. We are averaging anywhere from 15-18 people in a room that is no bigger than 8’ X 11’. Here too, we are seeing the Holy Spirit move in a powerful way. We have several stories already from this particular Bible study, which we will share in our blog this week.

Recently we have had a young man named Jonathan Calvo join us. He has been a tremendous benefit as he has a real heart for working in the community. He is bi-lingual, which helps us to work more easily. And he is a local Costa Rican. He is well received by all. He will be working with us for at least the next three months. Jono, as he is called, will be helping us with our language skills as well.

Steve Limerick, a young man from our own church in Maine, will be joining us on September 3rd for a year. We look forward to his arrival!

With that, Taylor Crossman, who has been with us since June, has also decided to stay for a year. So God is providing committed workers for the harvest to Harvest Hands!!

And last, but not least, many of you know that the New Life team from Columbus, Ohio, came to build the first yellow house in Los Anonos! This was no small matter, as many of the local young people also became involved in this project! They set a precedent of how we want to do yellow houses in the future. I know that I sent a memo out about this before, but once again to get an in depth description of building a yellow house, go to: nlcostarica2009.blogspot.com We highly recommend that you check it out, if you haven’t already done so, because it gives such a wonderful description of the blessing that it was to all to build this home.

Please be praying for these things:
*Wisdom for those involved in being a part of this new church in Los Anonos. There is a kingdom clash and we are seeing that. The warfare is heavy, because we are in the enemies territory.
*Pray for us to be strong in this spiritual warfare.
*Pray that God would raise up local leaders here to take part in the Holy Spirit’s transformation of Los Anonos.

Here's a photo of some of the young people who we work with, with team members from the New Life Church of Columbus, Ohio!

2009-07-16T05:57:00.003-07:00

This month our newsletter is in two parts. The first part is our update on the happenings in Anonos. The second part is a newsletter written by Mike Befus, associate pastor of the Grand Rapids Vineyard, about his youth group's trip to Costa Rica.

Harvest Hands Newsletter

Over the last several months there have been many amazing things happening here in Los Anonos. It started when the young adult group that we meet with each week watched the documentary “Trans-formations”. It is about the power of prayer to transform a community. This is exciting, because there has been a work going on here in Los Anonos over the last three years and this is great news for all those who have been laboring here. We see the beginning of God birthing a church, which has been wanted from the beginning.

After watching the video “Transformations”, these young adults took it upon themselves to pray for the transformation of their own community. It wasn’t long after they began to pray for transformation that things really began to change. Here is a documented list of things that happened.

The police came in and began to bust down the buildings where crack was sold.
The police were also making drug arrests.
There were two young men who were murdered. These killings had a major impact on the
community. They had been drug dealers.
There was a greater increase of prayer after the murder, which included the local churches, who want no more violence.
Vineyard North of Grand Rapids, Michigan came with their young adult group. This group did a teaching on Hearing the Voice of God and Healing Prayer. They also did the “Everything” skit, which impacted many. Attached is a letter and photos that came from their associate pastor, Mike Befus.
The Vineyard Church of Columbus sent a team of youth. They brought 30 of the Los Anonos young people to a conference at one of the local Vineyards. This, too, had a major impact on the lives of the young people.

During the visits of both of the Vineyard teams, the young adults began to come to places of repen-tance and wanting more of God. We have seen some major deliverances. We’ve seen kids on their faces on the floor, repenting and weeping and crying out even more for the transformation of their community. Those who struggle with addictions are even coming to these meetings and are wanting more teachings about Jesus. This is truly the Kingdom of God being demonstrated in this community.

A young man, whose name is Mario, probably 20 years old, was one of the first youth that was reached here in this community over three years ago. He had fallen back into the addictions of crack, the use of thinner and other drugs. He fell back into these addictions about two years ago. Thank God that during this in-breaking of the Holy Spirit, he is one of many, who are being touched in a ma-jor way. At the time of this writing, he is on fire again. But this time, there are many young people, here in Los Anonos who have also caught the fire. They will support him and help him along. What a blessing this young man is. He has so much potential.

Also, there is a work that is being done with those who struggle with addictions. We were having bi-weekly meeting with them, where they received a meal after we shared the Word of God with them. They asked if they could have meetings every week, only they said that they don’t need food. They only want the Word of God. Wow!

Adult have approached us about doing small groups in their homes. We probably could be doing at least five at this time, if we had the help.

I could tell many stories of many things that we have seen over these last several weeks. Daily, there are new things that God is doing. It is as if we are reading the book of Mark. There seem to be so many amazing things happening in such a short amount of time. The kids, or the young people are attracting the adults. We see a church being birthed. We are excited for what God is doing.

I believe that we could go on and on, but we’ll try to keep you posted as time goes on.

Prayer needs:

Please pray for a pastor, preferably a bi-lingual Tico, who we can work with.
Please pray for protection, because, of course the enemy doesn't want this to happen.
Please pray for more workers for the harvest.
Pray for a facility large enough to hold this many, as our little casita is bulging!
Please pray that we would allow the Holy Spirit to coach us, because it is Him that is birthing this church.

Also, here is a photo of Alejandro and Mauricio, brothers who struggle with addicitons and who want to be freed.

Blessings to All,
Rodney and Cindy

Here is Mike Befus's account of his trip with his youth group.

Costa Rica Report

Isn’t it amazing what change a year can bring? We had the privilege of returning this year to Los Anonos, our second trip, but the journey seemed more like a step into Narnia. Only months have passed in my life, but in Anonos kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall: only rubble remains where drug houses stood, only bullet holes and stories remain of dealers murdered in the street, the economy of crack is crumbling, the walking dead are being raised to life, the children of Anonos are becoming the children of our Lord.

The transformation is far from complete, but the contrast is clear – life is changing in Los Anonos.

Our 2009 team was a mix of ages: teens, twenty-somethings, a couple of moms – but they were hand-picked for their readiness to demonstrate the kingdom. Our primary ob-jective was straightforward: to pass on our experience in following Jesus to the Anonos Muchachos (lit: the Anonymous Boys). Its a growing group of teens (boys and girls) that are swarming to Rodney and Cindy and finding Jesus. We were hoping to play a small part in adding courage to the dreams God is already stirring in them.

Upon arriving, it was clear that we were simply joining a mission well underway. Several of the young Anonos guys had radically changed since the previous year. Tito’s journey stands out: meeting him last year it was evident that he had ‘one foot in, one foot out.’ He recounted that over the last year several people had prayed for him, given him pro-phetic words, shown him what Jesus looks like, included him in ministry, and how he had recently decided to go ‘all in.’ The change couldn’t be more clear – a new softness in his voice, a new tenderness toward others – a clear humility is growing in place of that colloquial bravado.

There is an equally impressive change happening in the ‘community’ of addicts. Last year, this community existed only in the business exchanges of the after-hours Que-brada (that hapless & hopeless broken riverside road that is the centre of the drug trade). Just six months ago, Rodney and Cindy began boldly going out to the hedges inviting the most broken, most addicted to a simple gathering at the rented Casita. What started with a juicebox-handout invitation has grown into a dozen male addicts asking to have the Bible explained to them. Every other Thursday, these notorious neighborhood characters saunter into the Casita while the well-dressed church folk continue up the hill to a proper church. Its an interesting scene, the well-meaning religious folks and the ragamuffin addicts.

On the evening we attended, the seasonal rain was pounding the corrugated roof of the one-room Casita – far too much noise to carry on a meeting, far too wet for anyone to go without an umbrella. So we did what disciples do, went to the door and started telling the rain to stop (smirking at what seemed a symbolic gesture). But one of the addicts joined us at the door, “lluvia deja!” And within a few minutes it lightened to a drizzle. All of the regulars poured in for brief worship and a nervous testimony by our gringo stu-dent about his own battle with women, drugs and suicide, then a short story about the restoration of Peter. It occurred to me that most of these guys already seemed like they knew Jesus – if someone had not told me the backstory I would’ve assumed that they were young, energetic disciples, just like Peter. Maybe they weren’t churchfolk, but there was a palpable excitement about finding Jesus that I don’t always feel at church.

The next day Luis got an urgent call from one of the guys from the meeting: Domingo from Nicaragua. Twenty-five years old, a head taller than the rest of the neighborhood, Domingo was the current top dealer in town (as well as father to three beautiful toddler girls). We gathered a small group of guys – an emergency response crew – and headed down. Domingo lived in one of the nicer homes on the Quebrada, presumably a benefit of running a crack enterprise, and when we arrived, Domingo’s wife offered us the best seats on the porch. The pair explained to us how things had been changing since Do-mingo began attending the addict’s meeting some weeks earlier. The changes in his heart were so gripping that he’d told his boss he wanted out – just two weeks ago. Of course, that isn’t how organized crime works in any country, and the mafia boss ex-plained to Domingo that there is no way out: “If you try, we’ll kill you. And just so you know we’re deadly serious, show your loyalty by ‘taking out’ this girl from this other neighborhood.” But two weeks had passed, and Domingo explained to us that “he can’t do it; he can’t kill people – anymore.” He’s heard about Jesus, and he wants a change. He’s scared out of his mind, but he wants in. Domingo’s wife had been a Christian, a decade earlier in a different life, and she told us over tears that she wanted ‘back in.’ And so the both of them, and Luis, our party of gringo helpers, and those unseen; we all gathered round to welcome this family into the kingdom. They wept as they asked Jesus to come in, take over, and release them from this prison of their past. And then Luis wept and prayed over them with the passionate, Fatherly tone of a man who’s struggled his whole life for this barrio.

Its humbling to reap where others have sown, but we were all grateful to be there to watch a kingdom fall. Full of courage, we headed into a couple days of teaching work-shops hosted by pastor Martin and his orange church on the hill. The hosting church, the muchachos, a few addicts, and a few 20-somethings from Escazu Vineyard turned out to hear a Bible presentation and hands-on demonstration on how to begin to hear la voz de Dios (the voice of God) and pray for the sick. On night one, a variety of people around the room were shocked at their newfound ability to hear an accurate prophetic word. What was more shocking was to see various churches and social classes coming together to learn and do Jesus’ ministry. By night two, the group grew to a packed house eager to learn to pray for others. We started with a word of knowledge for a woman who upon receiving quiet prayer immediately exhibited very loud signs of de-monization or emotional trauma. (It always makes for interesting teaching times when the supernatural is on display.) With a then-captive audience, we instructed everyone how to pray for the sick in a simple way, watching and listening for John 5-ish indica-tions of ‘the Father at work.’ By the end of the practice session that night, seven out of eight of our ‘subjects’ had received some kind of relief from pain; for several of them it was a surprise total, immediate healing. One of the addicts I’d recruited to pray with me (not yet a Christian as best I could tell) wrapped up our prayer time together by enthusi-astically preaching to me: “Jesus gives us the power to heal, he gives it to us!” I imagine that same exuberance as the 72 returned with joy in Luke 10.

The next day we needed a break from all the excitement, so we took eight of the muchachos on a white-water rafting expedition. Despite being just a 2-hour drive from Anonos, none of them had ever been! As we boarded the rafts, I heard several anxious cries of “Dios perdoname, Dios ayudame” (God, forgive me, God help me!) from a few Ticos, but Tito in particular. Next time you see him, please remind him of it.

Settling into the second half of our stay, I was glad to see the muchachos ready to take their appetites for adventure to the streets. Tito, Dago, Jesus & Lester emerged as the four muskateers most ready for action. We accompanied them to the CCA men’s rehab in Alajuelita for a Father’s Day celebration with the addicts. Many of the addicts were estranged from their families, and the Anonos muchachos gladly filled that void by offer-ing Jesus-style family time: worship, some family-style games, and a hands-on blessing of these recovering men and dads.

Returning to Anonos, the boys courageously set a plan to gather all of the muchachos/as (about 25 in all) to the Casita for ministry planning. Tito especially stepped up as leader, setting the agenda for his peers to gather for two nights of listen-ing prayer, ministry in the streets, and a futbol match to close. It was a clear risk, to head out into the community after dark, looking for those the Father is drawing, but the muchachos rose to the task. New leaders emerged as we went out with the message and power of Jesus. God’s power was moving through them, and the neighborhood was experiencing ministry through the hands of its own children. Several students reported God’s tangible power on display.

We were all having fun, but by night two, it was clear that this thing was more serious than fun. As we moved from the Casita to the Planche to pray, several addicts, even those we’d ministered to were openly passing crack in the street, some were bringing it into the Planche with taunting gestures. So we countered with a performance of the “everything skit” – a story of Jesus saving us from our self-inflicted death, right in front of the scene of those bloody street killings a couple months earlier. A fumble-turnover of sorts.

On one of those dark nights, Luis got a panicked call from Domingo. Despite usually avoiding the Quebrada after dark, Rodney, Luis and I grabbed the biggest and youngest gringo in our group (don’t tell his mom) and headed down to find out what the panic was about. When we arrived, Domingo’s eyes were darting, keeping watch on the street. He explained that his boss had sent two groups of messengers down that day to warn him, “kill the girl, or we’ll kill you – we’re coming back at 10:00 pm.” I looked at my watch: 6:00 pm – now my eyes were darting, too. I scoped out the nearby concrete wall, and thought about drive-by shooting scenes I’ve seen in movies. I thought about the photos I’d seen of bodies in the street two months earlier, just in front of the Casita and just across the river from where we sat. Domingo was sure he needed to get out of town to-night. I was sure we needed to stop talking and smuggle his daughters out the back door. But after talking it through, it was clear that our pale-skinned ‘special ops force’ would do too much to draw attention. Domingo assured us, “the neighbors are watch-ing.” And so Luis and Rodney, at great personal risk, hatched a plan. I assumed they knew what they were doing until Rodney looked at me and said, “we’ve never done this before.”

And so we settled on a brilliant, if non-glamorous plan – we delegated. Walking up the hill, we interrupted Pastor Martin’s church service to tell him of the problem. He was glad to assist these new converts with an escape to Nicaragua, even suggesting a loca-tion where a friend’s church would get them settled. Slightly better than our ideas. So, as unsettling as it was to leave this family to someone else’s care, we entrusted the situation to a trustworthy man. Don’t be fooled, Martin is a hero-in-the-making, a great choice for any secret mission. Having escaped a teenage life of gun fights, drug dealing and prison, Martin found Jesus at nineteen and has given his life to living and working in Anonos. He was more than up to the task. So we went home to pray, and Martin went down to aid and assist. By morning we got the call: Domingo is out; he’s fled to Nicara-gua; he should be there by day’s end.

Can you say, game, set match? That’s certainly how it felt, but as you’re reading this remember that the match is still on, its still being fought – right now! But there are defi-nite points on the board, and you helped put some of them there. Next time you visit Los Anonos it won’t be the same Anonos that you last visited, because that kingdom of this world is becoming the kingdom of our Lord. Can I get an amen?!

The "Everything Skit" at the Casita

2009-06-30T06:31:00.001-07:00

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

We recently returned from Maine where I visited for a month and Rodney visited for two weeks. It was a wonderful time of catching up with family and friends and a month of sharing what God has been doing in Los Anonos and other communities around the San Jose area, where we work.

Last week, we welcomed Taylor Crossman, who is going to be with us for the next few months to help us with the following teams. She will also be teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) and assisting us in all of the daily aspects of the ministry. She serves and attends Mountain View Community Church in Culpepper, Virginia, which is also one of the fellowships that comes on a regular basis. This is a photo of Taylor.

Since our return, we have been preparing for our next round of teams.

June 17 – June 25th The Vineyard Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan
They will be doing a two night teaching on “Hearing the Voice of God and Healing Prayer” for the youth of Los Anonos. We are very excited about this teaching, because we will be joining with another church in Los Anonos.
The team will be ministering at both the men’s and the women’s rehab centers, working in the school in Los Anonos and doing some planting in Jasmin. Also, they will doing some work in the local gym and working in 25 de Julio.
July 1 – July 8th Vineyard Columbus Youth Group, Ohio
This team will be attending a worship conference at LaVina del Este, prayer walking in Anonos and doing some work in Jasmin. They will also be taking our Los Anonos youth to the conference
July 11 – July 19th Two or three people from a church in Ohio will be with us to do a
scouting trip to see if their church would like to send teams.
July 18th – 27th New Life Church from Gahanna, Ohio (part of Columbus)
This group will be coming to build the first yellow house in Los Anonos, which
we and many of the people in the community are excited about. This house is
being built for a man who has a mentally disabled son and who is one of the most
needy persons here in Los Anonos.
July 30th – August 8th The Summit Church from Madison, Virginia
They will be working with one of the local churches doing teachings and doing
work on the church.
August 11th – August 19th Mountain View Community Church from Culpepper,
Virginia.
A children’s program is in the works for this group. And more planning.

All of these fellowships are returning groups, which is exciting for us and for the people in the community. It sends a message of care, love and a desire to build deeper relationships, which helps in the process of transformation. Each church has its’ special uniqueness in creating a fullness for what needs to be done here. And we are thankful for their participation with Harvest Hands, who they truly are.

We ask that for the next nine weeks that you would please pray for us and for these teams, that we would continue to be the hands and the feet of the Lord and bring glory to His name.

Thank you for your donations and your prayers.
If you would like to make a donation to Harvest Hands, make the check payable to:
Harvest Hands and send to:
Harvest Hands
c/o Vineyard Christian Church
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256

Blessings,
Rodney and Cindy LaFrance

Jesus said, "The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn't you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I'm telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what's right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It's harvest time! John 4: 34-35

These are the men with addictions, with whom we work. These men are ripe!

2009-05-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Harvest Hands friends,

Since the beginning of the year, so much has been accomplished! The teams who have come from various churches have been awesome. Yellow houses have been built in Jasmin; work has been accomplished in Anonos and in Veinte Cinco de Julio for FundaVida.

But this month I would like to tell you the story of two women.

These women are from Los Anonos. They are two women with broken lives, two women who MUST come to know the Father.

Theresa is the wife of Rafa, a crack addict. Her husband doesn’t live with her. She, herself, is a crack addict. She has two sons, both of whom are crack addicts. Tony, on two separate occasions, has been shot in the eye and stabbed in his stomach. He also has a punctured lung from a stab wound. His brother is named Luis. Luis is typically in the Quebrada (the road where all of the drug addicts live) with only a pair of shorts on…. no shirt, no shoes. Isn’t it interesting that “quebrada” means broken. These are broken people.

Theresa begs on the corner every day. For the whole day, she stands with her hand outstretched to passing motorists. She will go into the grocery store to buy a little food for her two addicted sons. She feels responsible for her family. Neither of her sons have a job.

She hasn’t wanted to go into rehab, because she is the only one who will care for her sons, but I heard recently that she is considering going. Please pray that she would follow through with this.

While prayer walking on one of the streets of Anonos one day with our friend Luis and another lady, Marianne, who was visiting us from Hawaii, we had the privilege of leading Theresa to Jesus. Jesus is her only hope. She may never be rich by our standards, but she can know the peace and the richness of having a relationship with Christ that God can give her through knowing His Son. Please pray that she would come to know His riches and peace.

The second woman is Sandra, who we have talked about before. Sandra is the mother of 8 children, one of whom was just born this week. She lives in a two room shack with a dirt floor. She is a jolly soul, always laughing at her situation. She had no stove and was cooking on a fire. So the last team that was here from Mechanic Falls, Maine bought her a stove and a gas bottle and installed it for her. She, however, now has no money to buy food. We did send some to her house and hopefully, she will get by for awhile. There were a few who were there with Rodney who had an opportunity to pray for her. At that time she was in a destitute place because her partner had left her. Her relationship with him is not good. We are not sure of her marital status. Most women will not acknowledge if they are not married. They call their boyfriends “husbands”, whether they are married or not.

Recently there have been a few homes that are in a dangerous locations that the government has removed. Theses two families also live in physically dangerous areas, where there could be mudslides. Hopefully, they will be able to be relocated to another place with new homes.

This will certainly be a blessing to Theresa. Perhaps it will get her away from her environment of crack.

And to Sandra, a new home with a dry floor and no holes in her roof … She will no longer have to trudge up a muddy path during rainy season to get to her home. She will no longer have a muddy kitchen floor in the rainy season, peppered with buckets to catch the rain that drips through the holes in her roof.

Please pray that these two women will be on the list for new homes in which to spend their lives.

In the photos: Sandra’s house with one of her sons and a photo of Theresa.

Blessings to all and thank you for your support!
Rodney and Cindy

2009-04-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

This month’s newsletter is written by Chuck Vincent, better known to all of us as “Carlos Vincente”. Chuck was a member of the last team that came to Costa Rica and a member of our sending church, The Vineyard Church of Mechanic Falls, Maine. Chuck does a great job here giving a detailed account of the very full schedule of a team that comes to build houses. So here is Chuck’s very colorful account of their time.

Monday, 3/16: We arrived at the airport in San Jose. As they were checking our bags, Juan was pulled to the side, so that one of the team’s bags of supplies could be inspected. He was able to go on. It must have been his shifty eyes or that he had 10,000 bandaids and gauze in the suitcase that made the customs people suspicious! We then went to the Harvest Hands house. Before bed we needed to thank the Lord for getting me through with a passport that had less than two months left on it and that we were able to bring all the supplies we needed into country. We watched a short video on building a yellow house and then “nighty-night”.
Tuesday: After an awesome breakfast, we were off to CCA, a church in Alajuelita, to get tooled up to build a big house, but found that everything had changed. Over the years we have learned that the key words on a mission trip is flexibility. The focus changed to building a small house first. So, because we were not expected until Thursday by this sweet lady, many helping hands took down the metal box she lived in. The cement, pre-cast pylons were cemented in place. Not quite as simple as it sounds, digging in polluted ground!!
Wednesday: Floors and walls and prayer walks through Jasmin. Some of our ladies found out what it is like to not have running water and to have to haul it in 5 gal. buckets up the hill. Our Cheryl who intentionally worked out for this trip carried two. I was impressed. The leadership of the church in Jasmin were a huge blessing to us. As we ate with them, they served us. They brought us fruit and drinks throughout the day as we worked. Pastor Carlos, Maximo, and his wife Rebecca were true examples of the Fathers love.
Thursday: Roof, electrical and painting were finished so that the little house was ready to move into. We helped this excited lady, named Alva, move her bed in and her couch. While some did this, others were off serving in other areas - visitations, serving lunches and playing with the children at a small school.
Friday: The big house in the city was still on hold, so instead of taking time off at the end of our trip we left for the Volcano Arenal. We went to the lava fields and worshipped, as we watched this active volcano erupting over and over. Thinking about the fire of God in us, we need to be bubbling over with the message of God. I’ve included a photo of the team at the volcano.

Saturday: Some went to church at La Viña. Many of the team became sick with different ailments. A call went out to our home church for more prayer coverage. Praying for those who are on a mission trip is as important as being there doing the work.
Sunday: Off to CCA church at 8AM. It was a great service, interpreted into English. Then off to make concrete and pour a foundation with our Costa Rican friends from CCA. On Sunday night we visited the Linda Vista church, where our church from Maine first started ministering in Costa Rica. We saw a lot of old friends and worshiped with much vigor.
Monday: The walls went up on the big house. There will need to be much prayer over that house as God sees fit to use it. Pray for the children that need Jesus, because they live in a mixed up situation. We left the job sight tired, but we had another stop on our way back. It was the Men's drug rehab center. The men were so open with their testimonies, as Maximo interpreted for us. The most perplexing thing was that at the end of our time there, they circled us and a elderly man prayed for us. Some of us heard it in Spanish and others in English. We went back to the house and packed first aid kits for Jasmin, 150 of them counted several times over.
Tuesday: The roof, the painting and the window casings were finished on the big house. We went back to Jasmin for the dedication of the small house and the story of how this house was built in memory of a sweet lady in our home church, who had recently gone to be with the Lord. The photo that I have included is of this very emotional dedication. Alba wept and was thankful to God for her new house.
Wednesday: We left Costa Rica with worship to a great God, prayer for those we were honored to work with, Rodney ,Cindy, Rebecca, Joy, and Luis. They are family to all of us. What a wonderful blessing to do a mission trip with people like these. We thank God for a safe trip home.

2009-03-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

It’s always good to ask questions. I’m constantly doing so. When I read scripture, I ask questions. For example….. (get out your Bible and look these up)….
Luke 6:35 & 36……. What does this look like?
Acts 20:35……. Do I truly like giving more?
Luke 14:12-14….. Who have I recently invited for dinner?
Mark 14:7…… Any time I want Him?
1 Samuel 2:7…. Why do you send poverty?
Luke 16:19-21 Who is outside my gate?
The one who is addicted.
The one who is rejected.
The one who is afflicted.
The one who is hungry, thirsty, naked and homeless.
The unloved.
The unlovely.
The one who persecutes us.
The crippled.
The blind.
The one in shackles.

Everyday it seems we have to make choices. Often we have people come to the house from the community of Los Anonos asking for money, food, etc., much like we read in Jesus parables and teachings. We often can reason, “Oh, if I give him food, he’ll take it and sell it for another hit of crack.” It is the same as if we were to give money.

We get calls for clothing, school supplies, etc. We see the poverty daily and so need to keep a willing heart to give and to know what and how to give.

Our friend, Luis, recently had an encounter with a man who struggles with alcohol. He was outside of our gate and came to ask for money to buy alcohol to use for cooking. Luis said that he would drink it and not to give him the money.

When I answered, “I’m sorry, I can’t give you money,” the man became angry with Luis. He said, “Luis, you’re poor just like me. You know what it is to be in need.”

Luis responded, “No, no I am not poor like you. I have Jesus in my heart. He is my Savior. I am rich in Jesus.” At this the man turned and left. I wrestled with still wanting to give money to him. However the truth is that this man was poor, but even more so, because he didn’t have Jesus to make him rich.

It is true, as Luis said, that we, who have Christ in the center of our hearts are incredibly rich and have the opportunity to give so much more than just money or food.

So, I end as I opened, with a question that is also a prayer. “Oh, God, is it you who stands knocking at the door? Is it you that comes to our gate? How are we to help those who are in need?”

This is something we must all ask ourselves: Lord, if we have been given so, so much, and we have, then how should we give and when should we give? We hear you say silently, “Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour it into your lap. For by the standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.” Luke 6:38 The Message puts it this way: “Give away your life, you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back – given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting is the way. Generosity begets generosity.

And a small update on the happenings in Los Anonos:

About 12-15 young men have been meeting every other Friday night with Rodney and some men from La Vina. The last meeting was about prayer and the video “Transformations” was shown. These young men decided that they needed to have a prayer time for Anonos. So, the attached photo shows you what they did. A number of them went to the top of the Anonos Bridge and prayed over the community. They asked for the Lord to come and transform their barrio. The next evening, the police were combing the area for drug sellers. We don’t know the results of that, but we do know that it was the results of the prayer that brought the police in. Los Anonos is in a transformation period!

Blessings and Thanks,
Rodney and Cindy LaFrance
Harvest Hands

2009-02-28T11:16:00.001-08:00

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

Before Christmas of 2008, I awoke early one morning and a question popped into my head, a question asked by many during the Christmas season. “Do you have the Christmas spirit yet?” Or “Are you in the Christmas spirit yet?” As I lay there, the thought came to me that we should all be in the Christmas spirit 365 days a year. So, here it is, February 11, 2009, almost two months after Christmas and I’m still thinking about the Christmas spirit!!

This same spirit of Christ should be carried on daily. We, as Christians, have the Spirit if the living God dwelling within us every day of the year. He is here and we can give of His unselfish love year round. We can hug those who never have hugs. We can give a bag of rice to a hungry person. We can give a coat to a cold person. We can give a smile to a sad person. We can build houses for the ones in need. THIS IS A YEAR ROUND THING!

We have had three teams come during January and February, two from Mountain View Community Church in Culpepper, Virginia and one from New Life Church, Gahanna, Ohio (currently here), who have passed on the love of the Lord to others by building three homes for three families in Jasmin, by loving on the ladies at the rehab center, by serving dinners to the addicted and by serving the children here in Los Anonos.

We have served dinner to the drug addicts of Los Anonos twice and are planning a meal for tomorrow night. It reminds me of the verses, Luke 14:21-23, “'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.” We did exactly that. Three went down the dirt road into the area called “The Quebrada” (the broken) and invited the addicts and some others to join us for arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) and a Tico salad, cake, cookies, juice and coffee. These wonderful people came and blessed us. We went home with such a wonderful feeling of the peace of Jesus.

The second dinner that was held for the addicts was during the month of January. One of the major drug dealers came and asked for prayer, because he wants to change his life. He hung his head as we prayed and when he lifted his face at the end, his eyes were watery.

And for those of you who heard about the earthquake in Costa Rica, we praise God for his protection. It was very strong. Many people, about an hour from here, lost family members and their homes. Our home sustained no damages. A few things fell off of shelves and our nerves were a little frazzled, especially with all of the aftershocks.

A child that Rodney met before the earthquake told Rodney that he had had a dream about Jesus visiting Costa Rica… Perhaps the earthquake was His footsteps? Who knows? The power of God is even greater than an earthquake! We feel the peace of Christ in this situation. And we know that Jesus is moving here in Costa Rica. People are seeing the Lord in the faces of the teams that come to work. And the teams are seeing the faces of the Lord in the people who they serve. The teams come here to bless. They are blessed and they bring the blessings home to those who sent them.

I have included three photos here. One is of our friend and helper, Luis, with two of the addicts. One is of Maria, a sweet lady who crack has hold of.

And the last is of Johnny, a man from Anonos, who has been clean from drugs for about a year. He is an electrician, who helps wire the yellow houses that are being built in Jasmin.

Thank you all for your financial support and prayers.

In Him,
Rodney and Cindy

2009-01-18T13:55:00.000-08:00

This month, Dave Jefferson, one of the team members from the Mechanic Falls Vineyard Church shared with us his experiences as he and the team visited us here in Costa Rica........ Here is his letter.

A team from the Mechanic Falls Vineyard served in Costa Rica from December 3-14.

Our team was: able team leader Laura Vincent , Sonny Morgan, Ron Perrault, David Colby, Courtney Colby, Josh Brown and David Jefferson. Our small group got a lot done and experienced many unexpected “God moments.”

Down in the community of Los Anonos we helped La Vina from Escazu with a birthday party for Jesus at La Planche, (the outdoor gymnasium by the school at the river). It was such a swirl of activity that there was no way of counting kids, but we cooked 300 hot dogs and didn’t take any home. A talented and energetic clown showed up with lots of fun stuff for the kids to participate in. After his performance he gathered the kids around him and we witnessed 51 young decisions for Christ.

The women of our group, along with Rebecca and Joy, (now interning with Rodney and Cindy) put together a number of craft projects and gift bags for the women of the community.
(I, Cindy, am adding the photo of our very own Martha Stewart's to this. Even the men pitched in and helped to assemble the decorations for the wreaths)

Every day saw some activity at the new Casita ( the store front meeting room in Los Anonos) for Moms and kids. There were two visits at the women’s rehab center, where the gratitude for the bags of simple Christmas gifts was overwhelming.

The men of the group were made aware how out of shape we are as we lugged materials up the hill in Jasmin to help build two of the yellow houses. Despite the hard work, we appreciated the genius in the simplicity of design of these houses, which can literally go up in a day.

The men also spent one afternoon at the men’s drug rehab house. We sang happy birthday to 10 men out of 36 who had never experienced a birthday party of their own. The drug centers and the yellow house project in Jasmin were both started by the CCA Church. Our meeting with their pastor, Alberto, and his personal testimony of how he embraced Matthew 25:31-46 was inspiring.

Toward the end of the week we took part in a Christmas party at the kinder school in Los Anonos, and got serenaded with Jingle bells in Spanish and English. For most of us it was our first experience watching kids (and Sonny Morgan) whacking away at a piñata. The mood went from wild and crazy to quiet and reflective we helped the kids make their own nativity scenes.

One day we went with Eladio to Venticinco de Julio to see the new community facility that is almost complete. We had a sweet prayer time and a walk through this section of San Jose that has seen so much darkness. We went to church in Linda Vista and learned from Laura how much of a difference the church has made to that community.

It wasn’t all work. One early morning we went to the open air market, to carry home the fresh fruit and vegetables for Cindy to prepare for us. In mid week we went for a horse back ride at Roberto and Patsy’s outside the town of Pursical. It was fun picking a few coffee beans from the trees and riding through a grove of bamboo plants over 100 feet tall. It’s sobering to see the poverty, alcoholism and drug abuse every day in this country that in its weather and fertility is truly a Garden of Eden. What a privilege to visit, not as tourists, but as Christ’s hands and feet.

2008-12-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-25T17:45:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

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

2008-09-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-06-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-21T08:11:00.001-07:00

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

2008-02-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-13T09:36:00.000-08:00

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)

2007-11-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Los Anonos, Costa Rica!!

As we look out at Los Anonos and it’s makeshift dwellings of tin sitting on the side of a very steep hill, we wonder how they have not been swept away during this heavy rain season. Each morning, as daylight comes, we look to see if everything is still in place. At this point in time, there are one to three homes that have been affected, one completely destroyed. Several others are on the verge of collapsing.

One of the walkways that leads up the hill has also been damaged, making it very difficult for both mothers and their children to go to their homes.

Coming back to wondering how many of these homes have been spared from disaster, the answer is prayer. Gods grace has kept these homes from sliding. As I was sitting this morning looking out at Los Anonos, I could hear in my heart the prayers of the single mom’s living in these tiny tin shacks. I could hear them say, “Por favor, el Dios, nos protege y nos mantiene seguros.” (“Please, God, protect us and keep us safe.”) Simple prayers ---- and once again this morning, God has answered their prayers.

As it is in any place in our world, there are needs. Here in Los Anonos, true conversion, that manifests transformed lives is what we want to see. Our prayer is to see this transformation in our time.

A prayer: Lord, just as you’ve heard the cry of the people for protection from the heavy rains, hear the sigh in their hearts for a better tomorrow, for a hope for a future, so that they too can be involved in you Kingdom here on earth and be a part of your Kingdom for eternity. Set the captives free, bring freedom! Amen!

Here in Los Anonos, it has been good working with La Viña, Escazu, helping with their Wednesday afternoon program. With the help of some donations from generous people, we were able to install lighting for the gym, which is where we meet with about 100 children, 20 young adults and 20 mothers.. Having lights there has been great for the whole community. It will help with the work that we would like to do in the future. The lights have made the gym a safer place to gather, as well. God is on the move and we are looking forward to what He is going to do!

It’s wonderful to have a church here like our own church at home to work with. Some of the ladies from the church have been getting together with the mothers in the gym once a week for a doll-making project. The mothers then stay on to hear the Word. It has been a great opportunity to build friendships.

Marsha just started teaching English 2 days a week at the kindergarten in Los Anonos. We hope to develop more English teaching classes in the future. There are two more long term girls who are coming to stay with us. One of them has training and a lot of experience teaching English as a second language.

Now that the rainy season is coming to an end, we have been doing a lot of cleaning around the house, and getting ready for the next teams. We have the Mechanic Falls team coming at the beginning of December and from that time on, it looks like we will have teams until the end of March. Then we have two more teams in the summer.

Right now, we are looking to fill in a few more weeks with teams. We now have an extra week in February to fill.

Lately, we have been having some problems with our twelve passenger van. Finding a good, honest mechanic has been difficult. Being North Americans, a lot of times they assume that we have lots of money, which isn’t the truth.

We appreciate all of your support, both prayerfully and financially, especially because we are seeing the Kingdom being advanced, here in Los Anonos and other communities.

We love you all!
Rodney and Cindy

Back in Los Anonos

2007-10-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

It is the end of October and we have all returned and settled back into the Harvest Hands house here in Los Anonos, Costa Rica. It is a comfortable and welcoming haven. And it's definately time to update our blog!

Our stay in Maine was a busy, but awesome time. We spent our time with family and friends. Our ten year church celebration was a wonderful church family party, which brought back many memories of our church plant and how our church family grew to the blessed body that it is today.

Here in Los Anonos, it has been good working with La Viña, Escazu, helping with their Wednesday afternoon program. With the help of some donations from generous people, we were able to install lighting for the gym, which is where we meet with about 100 children, 20 young adults and 20 mothers.. Having lights there has been great for the whole community. It will help with the work that we would like to do in the future. The lights have made the gym a safer place to gather, as well. God is on the move and we are looking forward to what He is going to do!

October has been an extremely rainy month here. It seems that just about everything is moldy (not quite) and the trees and flowers are flourishing. Because of the amount of rain that has fallen this month, many homes are in danger of mudslides, which is true here in Los Anonos. There is a place across the river that we can see from our house, where there was once a home, which is no longer there because of the rain. Los Anonos has faired well compared to other parts of the country. There are many people who are homeless (over 3,000), or they have homes that they can’t get to, because of water.

One of the things that has been difficult and frustrating is seeing the young people who are addicted to crack, alcohol or other drugs. Sometimes when they go into rehab, they last only two or three days. They then return to Los Anonos, to their old habitat and habits. We know that God doesn’t give up and we thank Him for that!

One of the young men, about 20 years old, that Rodney brought into rehab recently is an orphan. He uses paint thinner to get high. It is so hard to see the young who have no hope and to know that there really is hope for them in Jesus, but they haven’t seen yet. Please pray that God would pour out his love and mercy on Los Anonos.

We're in Maine!

2007-10-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,
I can’t believe that it’s time for another newsletter! The time goes by so quickly. Rodney and I are in Maine for a time of reflection and rest, though we haven't had much time to rest. We are enjoying our family and church family and friends. We will return to Los Anonos, Costa Rica by the middle of October.
I am using a letter sent to us from John Brigham, a pastor friend of ours from Vermont, for our newsletter this time. John and his wife Edie brought a team of 20 to Los Anonos. We had a very blessed time with this wonderful group. Here’s John’s letter, along with his report to the two churches that he pastors.

To Rodney, Cindy, Marsha and the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Mechanic Falls, ME;

            Sunday, September 30th, the Costa Rica mission team gave a presentation to the local Vermont towns and churches that supported us with prayers, encouragements, money and many way of supporting our first mission trip. ......... God was all over every part of this trip, every person on the team was hand picked by Him, Harvest Hands was God directed to be the place we would go and even after we have been back in Vermont for a month He was still working with the team.
            In August 2006 we thought it was time for our first mission trip from our churches. We planned to go the Lima , Peru to work in an orphanage but within a month the director of the mission needed a break before he broke down. God reminded me that my childhood friend, Rodney was in Costa Rica working in short term missions and the rest is His-tory. Had we gone to Lima , Peru we would have been there during the earthquake or would have had to cancel at the last minute. God is sovereign.
            Harvest Hands is a chosen place run by chosen people called to the Lord’s work. It was perfect for us as rookies in short term missions..............
I felt like I and the team were living in the book of Acts. In many ways we were and still are. I’m seeing fruit in the lives of many on the team from our time at Harvest Hands. Many adults and teens expressed desire to return to Harvest Hands in the future as God leads.

            This is part of my report to the leadership of the two churches that sent us out from Vermont :

-Participated in Mission Trip to Costa Rica with 19 folks from Whitingham And Readsboro Churches from August 17th -27th. The Team served the Lord well in two locations . Activities of the team included:
       - Conducting Vacation Bible Schools- 5 times in two locations
        -Working with children
         -Games and Soccer
        -Working in Soup Kitchen with local Christians
         -Did a post card presentation of maple sugaring in Vermont and served maple syrup on ice cream
         -Work Projects that included:
         -Refinishing tables and counter top at Soup Kitchen
         -Replacing a large tile kitchen sink
         -Painting Kindergarden Rooms and Hall in local School
         -Cleaned streets
         -Cleaned a drug hangout, fixed fences, painted a beautiful
mural on a open air wall
         -Worked in a Local Church, refinishing a Sunday School Room and Pastor’s Study with partitions, sheetrock and
ceiling
        -Working with single mom digging ditches for water drainage and expanding dirt floor.
         -Worked with City of San Jose’, Los Anonos Municipality in a Health Care Day. -Set up in morning, worked with
children, clowns, donated new soccer balls, our teens played in a soccer tournament , helped pick up and cleaned streets.
         -Helped a Local Church with a Weds. Night outreach program.
         -Team member share his testimony of past drug addiction
         -Local visitation by team members sharing the love of God with people, prayer with people.
-Lots of little things happened that only God planned and someday we will know how people were blessed and
effected by the things our people did.

It was an amazing God ordained mission trip, without a single problem. God was all over this trip. His grace was amazing. We lived in this verse:

    “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Eph 3:20-21 (NIV)

God bless the works of Your hands in Maine , Vermont , Costa Rica , all the earth, Amen!
Thanks to my close friends and brother and sisters, Rodney, Cindy, Marcia and the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Mechanic Falls, ME. and to God be the glory, forever!!!!

Pastor John Brigham of the Community Church of Whitingham , VT and the First Baptist Church of Readsboro , VT

Thank you, John, for this wonderful letter! We hope to see you again in Costa Rica!

God is here in Los Anonos

2007-09-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

I am watching the Escazu mountains being slowly covered with extremely black clouds. Each time I see this, I think of Mt. Sinai.......”On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.“ Exodus 19:16-19
I always look at those mountains, covered with clouds and think, “God is up there.” But, I know better. Yes, He is there, but He is here as well. He is here in Los Anonos. He is here in each and every poor shanty that is existing down in the barrio below our house. He is walking down the washed out path from Sandra’s house. He is living in the house of Rubin and Ruth; the house that many of us would not put our goats in. My goodness, He was born in a place like that......why wouldn’t He live there? Oh, but if only Rubin and Ruth would know that He is living there!
Moses led the people to meet with God and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Los Anonos is at the foot of these mountains. And when there is a thunderstorm, the whole valley shakes. And the lightening and rain fall heavily on us all. We want these people to meet with God. We want them to experience God’s grace and love and mercy.
Our addict friend Martin experienced this. I’m not going to put his story here. It’s the same one that I put in our blog. So if you would like to read his story, you can read it on our blog at....... harvesthands.blogspot.com
Our last team was a group of 20 from Vermont. The pastor and his wife are long time friends of ours. Even though the house was filled, or we should say overflowing, it did overflow with generosity and love for the people of the communities that they worked in. It was a wonderful experience for us, as well as for them, to work together doing the Kingdom stuff, for the glory of God. We want all to know that they did an awesome job, laminating tables, painting walls, children’s programs, etc.
It has truly been a joy, yet hard, as we are new at this. We are thankful to God for the church that we are a part of, the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Mechanic Falls, Maine, and for their vision to be a support to other organizations here in Costa Rica that are already at work, such as La Vina Escazu and FundaVida. Thank you all for your support, financially and prayerfully. May the Lord continue to bless you all.
Please pray for stamina for us, especially in learning the language. And please pray for traveling mercies as we return to Maine next week for a visit. And please continue to pray for the transformation of Los Anonos.

Martin

2007-09-07T13:33:00.001-07:00

I thought that I'd add a photo that Rodney just took of Martin and our friend Luis. Martin is on the left. For his story, see the previous blog.

A Mercy Drop on Martin

2007-09-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

Mercy Drops are falling. I once heard David Ruis speak at a conference. He spoke about God dropping His mercy like great big raindrops upon the lost and hurting people of this world, not only because we cry out, but because they cry out, “Oh God, help me!”
About two weeks ago, God dropped His mercy upon a man who we know. His name is Martin (pronounced Marteen in Spanish). Here's a photo of Martin (on left) with our friend, Luis. Martin is a crack addict, who lives here in Anonos. Martin often comes by for food. We used to give him food all of the time, but now we don’t, because we found out that he sells it for crack. Instead, we now give it to his mother, with whom he lives.
Rodney, Luis and John, our pastor friend from Vermont were walking down the dirt road in Anonos, when an addict came running to them for help. They had pulled Martin out of the river, where he had been wedged between two rocks for about an hour and a half. Martin had taken 5 hits of crack and had decided to go for a “swim in the pool”, which in reality was the river which runs through Anonos.
When Rodney and the others finally saw him, he was having a convulsion, foaming at the mouth, with his eyes rolling in his head. The other crack addicts were furiously at work, taking his wet clothes off with a large knife. Rodney and the men were praying for Martin, when the ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital.
For three days, he could not be located and we all thought that he had died, but God had mercy. Martin joined us at a festival that was held here in town last Saturday. He said that he’d been clean for a week. Mercy dropped on Martin. He has another chance to allow God’s love to give him strength. Please pray for him!

2007-09-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, once again, I walked the muddy dirt road in Los Anonos with our friend Luis and his two children. I went up one of the washed out pathways where the sewerage runs and the rains have taken away the places where there was once sure footing. It is very steep and slippery, because of the abundance of rain. I consider it difficult, and when I think of the mothers carrying their children and their groceries, I wonder how they do it.
My sneakers are caked with mud - not much left to this pair of shoes. As I pass by the homes, most of the doors are open. And I hear the sounds of music and children and even angry voices that come from these homes. I’m also thankful that the doors are open. It think that this says something spiritually.
Many of these little tin shacks have dirt floors. And I know that many of the people are concerned if their house will wash away during this rainy season or if the house above them will slide into theirs.
Also during this rainy season, it seems like the use of drugs, alcohol and violence increases. As I look around, and as we’ve come to know some of the people here in Los Anonos, there are those who are not affected by living in poverty, because of their relationship with Christ. Then there are those who are affected by their poverty. This poverty is the lack of knowing God’s love. Many of these turn to desperation, drugs, prostitution, violence, domestic violence, alcohol, etc., much like in the States, but it seems more extreme here.
We know that God’s love is here. It just seems that they have been blinded and their ears are deafened and their minds have been bent towards hopelessness. It can be so depressing at times.
I’m reminded of several verses; Luke 6:35 & 36, where it says “He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (paraphrased).
So we ask for prayer on how to reach the blind, the deaf and the hopeless that are not able to comprehend the love of God and His ability to transform. We ask for prayer to show God’s mercy just as much as we ourselves need it. We also ask for prayer for endurance and perseverance, because at times, seeing so many hopeless victims, it can be overbearing.
Again, I’m reminded of Romans 5:1-11. Worth the read.
We rest in God’s promises. We want to bring glory to the Father. I know that I can speak for Cindy, as well, and Marsha, who lives with us.
I’m reminded of ten years ago, when the planting of the church in Mechanic Falls, Maine, happened. Isaiah 58 and Isaiah 61 were the two chapters of scripture that were given to us to remind us of the kind of church we would be. We are seeing this unfold, more and more, both in Mechanic Falls and here in Los Anonos, Costa Rica.
We want to see the last part of verse three of Isaiah 61 more and more. It says that “the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified.” We know that God is the one who does the planting and in this He is glorified.
I leave my muddy shoes outside by the doorway for another day, for another walk into the community of Anonos, where God has brought us for this time in our lives.

Greetings from Los Anonos, Costa Rica

2007-08-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

I've spent some time today, setting up this blog (glob or blob, as I've heard it called by some.) I've done a little research and I see that some blogs are very fancy, some are very heady, some are short and to the point and some are very artsy. I hope that I can make this blog simple and to the point and a blessing to all who read it.
We have just finished with our fifth team this year. The Vermont team was a group of 20 and we were so very blessed having them. I'll be writing a newsletter, which I will post here as well, with some of the God stories. God's mercy continues to fall on Los Anonos.
It is important for all to know that Harvest Hands is supported by The Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Mechanic Falls, Maine.
At the present time, every Wednesday, from 5-6pm, we have been working with the local Vineyard Church here, of Escazu, ministering to around 120 people. Eighty-five are children. It is such a blessing to watch this grow. It really has the makings to be a church.

Newsletter, July 2007

2007-08-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

July 2007
Greetings! Enjoy these updates from two of the teams that visited Costa Rica and worked with Rodney and Cindy at Harvest Hands during the month of July.
John Manning from the Seacoast New Hampshire Vineyard writes,“ The Seacoast Vineyard team was able to help completely repaint one of the Funda Vida kitchens. This was a blessing to the team to see the results and expressions of the local people as they expressed their gratitude for the hard work. Our team also had the privilege of working with the LaFrance’s as they establish themselves in Los Anonos. Our team was able to repair the roof that was leaking and begin repainting the front of the school. In addition we were able to participate in Harvest Hands ongoing outreach to the community by attending a local church service, participating in prayer walks and helping host an outreach to the community children.
Several members of our team reported this trip as a life changing experience. Many seem to be moved by the contrast of our materialism as Americans and the contentment of the Costa Rican people in the little that they have. Some reported a deepening of compassion for the poor. One gentleman received a deep healing after suffering from the pains of divorce.
Chris Traut of the Vineyard Church of Columbus reports, “ I don’t consider myself the most prophetic person in the world, but when we first arrived at the Harvest Hands house Rodney and I went onto the deck which overlooks Los Anonos. In the village I saw a cross and sensed something like an invisible bomb radiating out from that cross into the entire village and echoing again and again. The power and reality of our message hit me in a way I had never experienced before. Here in the midst of all the pain, poverty and hopelessness, the resurrection life of Jesus was doing a new thing.
Another day we went to the soccer court. There we met a young boy, maybe about one and a half years old. This boy was very dirty, his clothes needed washing, he had stains on his face, big brown eyes, olive colored skin, and the gentle frame of a toddler. He had obvious boogers crusted around his nostrils. I looked at this little boy and marveled at how absolutely beautiful he was.
I looked at what was crusted around his nose and I knew all that it meant about this little boy and so many like him there. Images came to my mind of my wife and kids back home, how tenderly my wife cares for our boys, hugging them and kissing them, wiping their hands when they’re done eating and wiping their noses when they are runny, reading them books, teaching them how to pray, and just playing with them all day long. Everything about this little boy told me before I knew anything about him, that he didn’t have people around him to do that. I asked him to look at me and took a corner of his shirt, Momentito (one moment), I wiped his nose, it was more difficult than I thought, they had been there quite a while.
For the next hour I marveled at our team and the kids there, did we know what we were doing? Our simple presence there with them, painting their faces, giving them piggy back rides, holding them, it all told them you are valuable, you are worth someone’s time and attention, you are fun, you are beautiful. Before we left we gathered all the children, probably 30 or so, in a circle and held them, prayed over them, spoke words of life over them. Rodney took some time and shared some prophetic words for several of the children and as he did, to me, it was as if love and joy and gratitude for the children’s lives was radiating from his face and eyes (I don’t know if I’ve ever known anyone who could communicate more love from their expression than Rodney).
This is truly the heart of God manifested in the flesh for the people of Costa Rica. Thank you for your prayers and your support.
Debbie Martel for the Harvest Hands Team

Newsletter, June 2007

2007-08-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Harvest Hands Newsletter - June 26, 2007

Dear Harvest Hands Friends and Family,

Dick shared our monthly Harvest Hands newsletter with you last month. And now, I have a few updates for you. I’ve written this three times and it keeps getting longer!
First of all, the “thank yous”. I (Cindy) want to thank all of my family and friends for supporting me during this time of my dad’s death, or I should say, my dad’s beginning a new life in Heaven! To all of you who visited Fred and Dot during my time here in Costa Rica, thank you! To all of you who spent time in the hospital with us, thank you! To all of you who helped out with the memorial service, the prep time and the wonderful buffet afterwards, and to all of you who came, thank you! And to all of you who have visited my mom and who will visit my mom in Ledgeview Living Center, thank you! The body of Christ is truly a body and I could not have gotten through this time without my body parts! Thank you for your prayers. God is faithful to pour out His grace.
It is now summer in Maine. Here in Costa Rica we are coming into “winter” or the rainy season. It’s just about always sunny in the mornings, and it’s almost always guaranteed that we’ll have rain in the afternoons. As I sit here, the beautiful mountains are slowly being covered by clouds. We’ll start to hear a little rumbling, our “chicken-dog”, Biscuit, will come into the house to shiver and hide and then the rain will begin! It’s so very refreshing, even when it is raining so hard that it’s like a liquid blizzard! The rain falls like God’s grace.
It is not unusual to have people stop at our door asking for food. Some, such as a lady who visited last week are in truly desperate need. She, her husband and two daughters moved from Nicaragua three months ago. Her husband had been looking for work and will be starting tomorrow. They have been three months without an income. She asked if we had any beans that we could give her. Fortunately, we did, but no rice. But we were able to give her some other food, as well. We would like to have a little extra on hand for times like these.
The ministry in Anonos is going well. Last week we had our first meeting in our new location. It is an open air gym next to the river. We had two different teams who came to clean and prepare it for our first night’s fiesta. We had about 85 children, 28 teenagers and about 15 adults. We played games, served hot dogs and a blessed time was had by all. Children and mothers alike were ministered to.
As time passes on there is more and more favor with the people and with the local government.
On Father’s Day, Rodney and our friend Luis had an opportunity to share Dick’s Father Day message in one of the small homes, here in Anonos. A drug addict and his father and mother-in-law came to know the Father in a whole new way. They received Jesus as their Savior! Javier, the addict, who is 23 went to rehab the next day and is doing very well. Our hopes are to start a Bible study in this home. This was a great Father's Day gift for us all, especially for our Heavenly Father! Isn’t is amazing to think that we can be a gift to God!

While our son Josh and Jim Gaunder were here with us, we had an opportunity to minister to a 17 year old crack addict. When we entered the little tin house, there was a man who saw us, the three Gringos and a Tico going in. Our friend Luis stayed outside. The man must have asked Luis what we were doing. After we shared the Lord with the 17 year old crack addict, Jim and Luis had an opportunity to lead this other man to the Lord.

There is not a time that when we visit the community of Anonos that there is not an encounter. Whenever we visit Anonos something powerful happens.

We are close to wrapping up a week with our first big team. There are 11- 9 teens and two leaders. Oh, they have been a blessing! These kids are workers, who love the Lord deeply. Their devotional life may put many of us to shame! As of tomorrow, some of them will have spent three full days digging dirt out of the basement of a church here in Anonos. This is such a witness to the community. And they want to finish what they’ve started. The pastor of this particular church plans on making the space into a bathroom and shower for the addicts and the homeless in Anonos. Keep the Columbus Vineyard youth group in your prayers. May God bless them richly for their hearts!

We also know that prayers are being answered. The people of Anonos, at least most that we meet are hungry, thirsty and expectant. I think of Isaiah 55, where the Lord gives an invitation for those who have no money to come and buy. Strange, how He says to come and buy, without money and without cost. It sounds like an oxymoron. What do they use? How do you buy wine and milk without money?

The local government is considering the relocation of many of the homes in Anonos. Many of these homes sit on the steep riverbank and in danger of sliding into the river, if there was a mudslide. Also, there are all bunched together and if there were a fire, they would all burn. It would create great damage and probably injure many. Many of the people here are from Nicaragua and don’t have papers. The one without papers will be the first to go.

The photos that I’ve sent were taken at one of our outreaches in the gymnasium.

Thank you all, once again for your prayers and your financial support. If anyone would like to support us financially, checks may be mailed to:
“Harvest Hands”
c/o Vineyard Christian Fellowship
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256

Love,
Rodney and Cindy

Newsletter, March 2007

2007-08-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

March 4, 2007

Dear Friends of Harvest Hands,

It has been two months since we’ve sent an update and there is so much to write to you about. Our last letter covered our time here, up through Christmas, 2006. And now, here we are 2 months into 2007!!

The Harvest Hands house is quickly becoming a comfortable home and we are settling in. We now have an almost sufficient amount of furniture. The bunk-beds are finished and we had a Costa Rican friend build us a lovely, simple kitchen table and chairs. We only need some small tables and clocks in the bedrooms, more sheets and a clip on lamp for each bed.

Six of these bunk beds were occupied for two weeks in February by our team from the Mechanic Falls Vineyard, our first official team in the house. It’s amazing how much six people can accomplish! The “comedor” or soup kitchen in Concepcion de Alajuelita got a nice, bright, fresh coat of paint. During that time the kitchen ladies had help and the water tower was repaired, as well. Also, a new shower and a set of outdoor steps were installed here at the Harvest Hands House. The yard was raked and groomed. Visitations were made into Anonos and a children’s craft and teaching were done at the weekly meeting. It’s wonderful to see the interaction between team members and the local people.

As relationships are made, there is a growing trust between those in the community and us. During one of our trips into the city, there was a young lady, named Anna, who we have all gotten to know, on the same bus. And when Terri, one of the team members, twisted here ankle, Anna accompanied us to the hospital and spent six hours with us. Thank you, Lord, for providing help, because the hospital system here is so very different from the states.

Yesterday, Rodney worked with a group of high school students, who are here with Joshua Expeditions. We will work with them on Monday and Tuesday, as well, in two separate communities. We will be offering our time to other teams, when needed.

Our times visiting the community of Anonos, the barrio that lies on the hill below our house are becoming more frequent. Rodney often visits people with a man named Luis, who speaks English and is able to help with translating.

One of our more recent visits brought us to a home of a woman addicted to crack. She is a very pretty young woman, who has very sad eyes and I could say that she even has a sad smile. She is very thin and in need of clothing. Her home sits on the side of the river. It has simple, corrugated metal walls and roof and a dirt floor. On the inside is only wooden framing with no walls. Her floor slants towards the river. It is probably the worst and the dirtiest home that I’ve seen since coming here. Her name is Ruth, but we call her Mary Magdalene, because of her soft heart and her need for deliverance. She is in desperate need of Jesus. Her husband or companion is the brother of her previous husband, who was killed. This man’s face was very swollen from an infected tooth last week. Now that the infection is gone, we will be bringing him to the dentist this week to have it pulled. He, too, is a crack addict.

We also have been working with LaVina in Anonos on Wednesday nights. We use the space in a small Pentecostal church. There is a “program” for the children and another for the mothers. The numbers of children seem to grow every week. I believe the average is about 100 and the room where they meet is very small. Please pray that they would be able to find another building that will meet the needs of the group. Three rooms are needed: one for the smaller children, one for the older children and one for the mothers.

We are sad that our friend, Ellen Martel, will be leaving us next week. She has been going to language school, helping out at the FundaVida center in Concepcion de Alajuelita and with the weekly outreaches in Anonos. It’s been a blessing having her here. Our other long term person, Frank, from Ohio, will be leaving, as well. We look forward to having others who would like to learn Spanish, while helping minister in the poor neighborhoods.

Our language skills are improving, though not as fast as we would like. I (Cindy) have an opportunity to trade off hours of teaching English for hours of learning Spanish. It’s a good way to save money and help a Costa Rican to learn English.

Rodney, Ellen and I had to make a trip to Nicaragua last week. If you are not a resident and are living in Costa Rica, you must leave the country every 90 days for 72 hours. So, we took a three day trip to a lovely beach in the south of Nicaragua. It was a time of rest for us, because we haven’t stopped since coming in November. Nicaragua is lovely and the people are gentle and kind.

I want to leave you with a couple of quotes from “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers. This is from his devotional for March 4th.

“It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure-hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad; you will no longer be able to work for Him on the common sense-basis. ......Practical work may be a competitor against abandonment to God, because practical work is based on this argument--Remember how useful you are here, or--Think how much value you would be in that particular type of work. That attitude does not put Jesus Christ as the Guide as to where we should go, but our judgment as to where we are of most use. Never consider whether you are of use; but ever consider that you are not your own but His.”

Chamber’s prayer for that day, March 4:
“O Lord, by your grace open my vision to You and Your infinite horizons, and take me into Your counsels regarding Your work in this place.”

Blessings to All,
Rodney and Cindy

Newsletter, December 2006

2007-08-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Loved Ones,

December is almost over and we have been here in Costa Rica for a month! It’s been quite a whirlwind at that! I don’t even know where to begin, but to praise God for all that He is doing and all that He will do!

I’m sitting on the deck of the Harvest Hands house, looking out over Anonos. We have bouganvilla on the railings, but through that beautiful flower, I am able to look down at a home with different colors of sheet metal on the roof and a crooked, three tier stairway going up to the door. Someone was quite sick yesterday there, which we were able to clearly hear! We also hear, from our deck, music, children playing, dogs barking, roosters crowing, traffic and horns blowing. A big city bus is now driving by. There is also a hammer pounding and I can hear Rodney in the back yard sawing wood for our coffee table! At night we add to all of this “bombas”, firecrackers and kareoke. For two country bumkins, this is quite an adjustment! There is such life to all of it, however, and we like it! We are even able to sleep through all of the noise!

We were able to serve at a couple of the FundaVida Christmas parties; the children’s party and the teen party in Concepcion de Alajuelita and the mother’s party and the kids party in Anonos. Between FundaVida and LaVina, there were over 1,000 people served and it was such a blessing to participate in these events! We were blessed to have some of our Maine friends join us during these events. These friends also helped us to do work on the house. Thank you John and Shaun, John and Emily!

On Saturday the 24th we attended the annual Christmas dinner at LaVina, a casual “Noche de Paz”, like we have at our church. The on Christmas Eve we were blessed to go to our friend’s home for dinner. She asked me (Cindy) to cook a turkey, because she had no clue how to cook it. As a matter of fact, she sawed her 22 pound, frozen turkey in half with a bucksaw! We had a great time with her and her family.

On Christmas day, we cooked another turkey and shared it with Eladio, Blanca and family. They are the coordinators of the FundaVida soup kitchens and computer centers here in Costa Rica.

Blanca has been such a help to us since we moved in. She has been helping us with translating at the lawyers and helping us to get a cell phone. We need to go back in January for that. She and one of the soup kitchen ladies, Olga, also did a very long day of gardening around the house! She just loves to do that and it was a load off of us!

Many of you may be wondering how the house is coming along. When we moved in, we had no bed, stove, washer and all of the essentials, etc. The first couple of weeks here were for shopping. Thank God that this has slowed down! Trying to find the best “deals” here is always a project, because of the traffic, especially before Christmas! We still need a kitchen table, chairs, a desk and some end tables. Rodney is in the process of building bunk beds with William, our “Tico” (Costa Rican) helper. He asked for 1,200 colones per hour, which converted into dollars is $2.32! He’s been helping us paint and repair, as well, and will build our kitchen table and chairs. All of the rooms have been painted in great colors, except for one, which will be finished by the end of next week. Plus all of the bunk beds will be finished.

On one of our shopping trips for furniture, we went to a little shop that sells furniture from Guatemala. There was no one there to help us, so we looked around for a few minutes. We thought that the furniture (muebles) would be perfect for our little lobby. Finally a young boy came out. Kids are difficult to communicate with, because they don’t seem to realize that they need to talk slowly to “Gringos.” This child was dressed in a faded tee shirt with many holes. He was very dirty and had brown furniture stain on his hands. When he brought us out back to see more furniture, a man came out of the house. We asked him about the boy. He said that he was eleven years old and an orphan from Guatemala. He said that he actually is not an orphan, but his mother lives in Guatemala with four younger children. This child is here in Costa Rica working to support his mother and siblings! Both Rodney and I left feeling that we were looking at a “slave labor” type of situation. Please pray for this kid. He seemed so sad and the man did not treat him very well at all. There are so many children and adults in Costa Rica, who are here earning money to provide for their families back in Nicaragua. The barrios of the Nicaraguan people are the poorest in the country. There is also a very heavy prejudice against the Nicaraguans here.

I (Cindy) started Spanish school almost immediately after arriving. It was good to have a little break, even though I was only in school a couple of weeks. I start back on the 8th of January and Rodney will start on the 15th. Please pray that we will get this language down. It can be so very frustrating to not be able to communicate!

One more wonderful experience that we have every Saturday is going to the “Feria Agricultura”. It is the open-air vegetable market not far from our home. It is such a great place to purchase our produce. They take a long street and close it off to all traffic. The vendors line both sides of the street with their colorful produce, flowers, meats and fish. There are a few little food stands as well, where you can buy breakfast and “pupusas”, little bean, meat and/or cheese filled tortillas, cooked on a grill. There is a little lady, who must be about 80 cooking them. All of this is bordered by an awesome view of the mountains. It’s a pleasure to get up early and shop here. And when we spend $25 we get almost enough food for the week. There is even two Chinese vendors, who sell prepared egg-rolls and tofu for vegetarians! Yes, you can laugh!

We are excited about the future knowing that God is advancing His Kingdom and we are thankful for the church in Maine and for all of the support, prayerfully and financially.

As for prayer requests:

As I mentioned before, grace to learn the language
Time to finish the furniture before our first team comes in February.
We would like to see at least 10 teams coming for 2007.
Continued health - God has blessed us with good health since we’ve been here.
And that we would not lose vision of God’s purpose for us here. In all of the busyness, we haven’t had much opportunity to visit and get to know people in the neighborhood. That will come in time. I keep telling myself that getting the house ready for teams is all part of the vision.