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

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.

FELIZ NAVIDAD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



This is a photo of Luis and his son.

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

Resting in His Peace,
Rodney and Cindy

New Connections

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

A "Long Termer's" Perspective

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

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

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

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

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





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


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


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

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


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


Blessings to All,
Rodney and Cindy

Dear Harvest Hands Friends,

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

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

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

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

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



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

Blessings to all!
Rodney and Cindy