The Mule and more

The chapel at our Center in Grano de Oro.

The last week in June 30 adults and youth from a church in South Carolina came to our Center in Grano de Oro. Each afternoon the team played games, sang silly songs, made crafts, acted out Bible stories, and memorized verses with more than 30 kids in the community.  Most of the children were hearing these Bible stories for the first time. My (Bridget’s) part of the team worked with the 4 and 5 year olds. They liked the candy they earned for saying their Bible verse, but their favorite activity was playing with bubbles. It was great to see so many kids at the center laughing and learning God’s Word.

One of the pastors that came in March.

Paul has been repairing the bathrooms and upgrading the water system at Sikua Ditsa School on the Cabécar reservation close to Centro Emanuel.  The school is on the end of the waterline and frequently without water.  He is helping the school prepare for teams of young people coming from three different churches in San Jose who will stay at the school and build a kindergarten classroom during the students’ July vacation. Pastors from the churches visited the school back in March to plan this project. 

The trainings for the Puentes de Vida maternal and infant health promoters continue to be well attended.  The importance of this project was evident this week when a pregnant Cabécar woman was in distress and carried from the mountains in a sling. Walter, a gentleman in the community who helps with some of the ICDI projects, and Dr. Alekcey Murillo, the director of ICDI, were asked to evacuate the woman and drove the Kawasaki 4x4 utility vehicle (called a Mule). After examining her, Alekcey realized that she was ready to give birth.

The Mule after a trip to the reservation.

So there on the ground in the dark, he assisted her with the delivery of her healthy baby boy and, thankfully, there were no complications.  Fifteen minutes later, the mother, the baby, and his grandfather got in the Mule and traveled on the muddy roads up the mountain.  What usually takes two hours, took almost 4 hours as the three men winched the vehicle out of the mud. Meanwhile the baby was warm and being fed by his mother in the Mule.  When they arrived at Walter and Maribel’s house the ambulance was called.  After showers and getting something to eat, the mother and the newborn were transported to the hospital (another hour’s drive) for immediate newborn care and for the mother’s post-delivery follow-up.  It is a long distance from many parts of the Cabécar reservation to the nearest hospital and the health promoters are there in the reservation to help the women and babies get the care they need.

Thanks for praying for and giving to the work God is doing here in Costa Rica.  You are an important part of our team.

Blessings,

Bridget and Paul Abbott