Grace Community Church - Indianapolis, IN

We were happy to have a return team with us this past week from Grace Community Church from Indianapolis, IN. The team did a lot of work with the wood, by putting on insecticide and organizing the bodega (the warehouse where we keep the wood).

A couple of the members of the team finished up pressure-washing the roof, so that we could finish painting in order to protect the metal.

The team leader, Mike, also worked on a special project all week. It's a rail for a "big-boy" bed for one of the kids in the Children's Homes.

Due to some VERY heavy rains last week, these guys had to make some last minute travel changes for their fun activity day. Instead of going to the beach, as planned, the team ended up going to the Volcan Arenal and they had great weather there and got to see the top of the volcano.

Faith Community Church - Elkhart, IN

We were so glad to have the returning team from FCC here this past week, led by Dr. Randy Smith and his wife Tammy. This team is the home church of another of our missionaries here at the Project, Candace Brown and her husband Aarón.

While at the Project, the team worked on putting down sand so that artificial grass could be added as a final touch on the playground.

Some of the team members also spent some time welding and others were in the basement of the multi-purpose building putting ceiling tiles in the rooms where the lawyer's offices will be located.

A really great thing that the team did while they were here was an outreach to an indigenous group of people called the Cabécar Indians who live in a remote area in the mountains in Turrialba. While there, the team painted the church building, did a kids' outreach, enjoyed a service in the local church and slept in a three-room house for one night, that had to have been about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the church where the outreach was held. It was, from all accounts, a great experience for the team members and the Cabécar Indians as well.

 

Vintage 242 - Dallas, GA

Last week we hosted our team coordinators (Jonathan and Amy Griffith) home church and close friends. They were a huge blessing to the Griffith's as well as the Project.

Most of the team worked on putting insecticide on boards that will be used later on at the Project.

The rest of the time was spent organizing that wood inside the bodega, once it had the insecticide on it.

A few guys also worked on the roof of the church building painting one side and getting the other side prepped and ready for paint by pressure washing it.

Thanks again for all of your hard-work and support!!!

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Fence!

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We now have a fence all the way across the river side of the property! It has taken a few months and a lot of hours to complete, but it is now finished. From the first pieces of aluminum that were sanded and primed back in January, to all of the effort that went into welding and painting. Many team members played an integral part in helping this fence come to fruition and we are very grateful for everyone's hard work.

The last step of the process was putting on the small roof to help with watershed and give a more decorative look.

Thanks to everyone for all of their hard work!

NGCSU Wesley - Dahlonega, GA

We were blessed to start the month of May with a great group of college students from North Georgia College and State University's Wesley Foundation. There were only seven members of this team, but they moved enough dirt for at least three times that many people. A whole lot of soil was moved from one side of the Project to another in order to level out the playground area. It was a lot of really hard work but they did everything with great attitudes.

They also worked on treating wood, and painting pieces of metal that will be put together to form a roof over the playground so the children can play outside, even in the rainy season.

The hardest part of the week though, was probably for the guys who pressure washed and scrubbed one entire side of the church's roof. Sadly, and oddly, there are no pictures to document the actual transformation of the roof, but trust us, it looks great!!!

Living Hope - Bowling Green, KY

We were so glad to host a returning team from Living Hope in Bowling Green, KY last week. They worked really hard around the Project doing everything from working in the Daycare to running electrical wiring to cleaning drains along the fence.

A lot of time was spent on the concrete mixer: sanding, grinding and priming. They did a great job getting it ready to paint.

We were so grateful to have this team at the Project, working very hard and giving of themselves in huge ways. Thank you all so much for everything!

Wesleyan School - Norcross, GA

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting the Wesleyan School from Georgia here at the Project. A group of high school students and four of their teachers came down and worked with us for eight days, serving with the Children's Homes as well as on the construction site and Daycare. They came with planned games, had lunch with the children from the Children's homes and did crafts with them as well.

On Sunday, the team worked with our local church in a very marginal area called Rio Azul about five miles from the Project. Just over one hundred children came to the church in Rio Azul and they were given bags of goodies and Bibles.

These guys worked on everything from moving dirt to cleaning the professional offices, from sanding to treating wood!

We were very blessed by this group of students, as they worked with great attitudes and worked wholeheartedly.

UGA Wesley - Athens, GA

This week we enjoyed a group from the University of Georgia! They worked really, really hard moving a lot of dirt to level out a wheelchair ramp and the road that will run beside the Multi-Use Building and connect to the bridge crossing the river to the new property.

They leveled out the remainder of the playground area behind the Daycare building as well, which will help us continue to prepare the area for the play surface to be installed.

Mostly, this team moved a whole lot of dirt around! We really appreciate all of the bulldozer-like work that they accomplished!

Grace Community Church #2 - Clarksville, TN

This past week, we had the pleasure of hosting our second team from Grace Community Church in Clarksville, TN! A lot of pieces of tubing were sanded and primed, and there were certainly a lot to do. There were approximately 700 pieces that needed to be individually cleaned. These pieces will be used to create a fence that will surround our newly installed playground.

The team also worked on moving part of the existing playground and leveling out the dirt area surrounding the new playground equipment. This required that they move loads and loads and loads of dirt from another location on the other side of the property. Thanks to all of their hard work, we now have a great foundation to begin putting down a better surface on which the kids can play!

Thanks to the entire team for all of their hard work this past week! We appreciate all you do!

New Playground!

Thanks to some very generous donors, the installation of our new playground has just been completed!

The children from the Daycare and the Children's Homes will now be able to enjoy this wonderful addition to the property.

The wood is pressure-treated lumber imported from Chile that needs little to no maintenance.

The only thing we are lacking to have the play area finished is the flooring (which will be carpet or sand or something similar) and the roof that will cover the area during the rainy season.

We are so blessed to have a safe place for the children to play and enjoy the outdoors!

Love & Truth Church - Jackson, TN

Last week, January 24-28, a group of 14 people came from Love & Truth Church in Jackson, TN. This team did a lot of sanding... They sanded metal railings, desks, beds and baseboards. In addition, they also pulled a lot of nails and moved lots of wood from the location where it is dropped off for delivery, to the area where we store it. Two guys installed baseboards in the offices upstairs in the Multi-Purpose Building, two ladies scrubbed the floors upstairs in one of the Children's homes, and two of the men began the preparation for the area where we will install our Playground.

The team also brought lots of clothes for the kids in the Children's Homes and some things for Steve for his birthday which was on the 26th!

We are grateful for the 377 hours that the team worked last week and for all of the preparation they made before coming down.

Grace Community Chapel - New Brunswick, NJ

During the week of January 10-14, we welcomed our first two teams of the year! Grace Community Chapel from New Brunswick, NJ and Grace Community Church from Clarksville, TN. Both teams worked side-by-side doing various construction jobs at the Project. We were so blessed to have thirty-four volunteers working all week. Seven from the New Jersey team and twenty-seven from the Tennessee team.  The New Jersey team dug a ditch, filled that ditch with rocks, and of course, pulled lots and lots of nails. While they were here, the team shared in the celebration of the birthdays of a couple of kids from the Children's Homes, made an authentic Korean dinner for the missionaries here and donated 119 hours of labor to the Project. We are so grateful to their leader, Jooyoung Choe, and to the entire team for their gracious service to the Abraham Project.

Grace Community Church - Clarksville, TN

During the week of January 10-14, we welcomed our first two teams of the year! Grace Community Chapel from New Brunswick, NJ and Grace Community Church from Clarksville, TN. Both teams worked side-by-side doing various construction jobs at the Project. We were so blessed to have thirty-four volunteers working all week. Seven from the New Jersey team and twenty-seven from the Tennessee team.  The Tennessee team built two fences, cut down a rather large  tree, did a "little" landscaping at the guard's house (see below), sanded and painted beds from the Children's Home, painted an office in the Multi-Purpose Building, painted Candace's laundry room, dug the hole for a septic tank, mowed and weed-whacked the grass, and pulled lots and lots of nails.

 

 

These great folks also brought bicycles to two of our missionaries, Jason and Kerby Harpst. These bikes were such a blessing to them as this is their only form of transportation, in addition to walking!

 

 

What's New at the Abraham Project?

Well, it's been almost two years since our last update and a lot has changed!  Below, we have posted some pictures of our recently acquired "Phase II" property as well as an overview of how we came to buy the property. It is nothing short of a miracle how God provided the required finances to buy the additional land! Phase II:

In July 2009, we learned of a family’s desire to help us purchase a new piece of property.  For quite some time, Steve had been praying for this particular land, along with others.  His prayer was that if God wanted us to have it, then He would provide the necessary funds to purchase it.  At times, it seemed next to impossible as land prices had skyrocketed in this area.  Well, God is a big God.  What seemed impossible, was the very thing God wanted to do. To make a long story short, He provided the funds to purchase the property through the generosity of a family and a business man.

That is not really the end of the story because throughout this process we had to convince the owners (10 brothers and sisters) to sell the land and to sell at a price that we could afford.  From July 2009 to March 2010, we were able to convince them to reduce the price by almost 66%.  God was definitely at work throughout this whole process.  On March 22, we officially closed on the land deal.

Now begins the real work.

The land we purchased is actually a tract that adjoins the property where we are currently located.  It measures a little over 10,000 square meters, which is equivalent to approximately 2-1/2 acres.  This doubles our space at the Project and allows us to expand.

With the beginning of Phase II at our doorstep, this would be a great time to stop and reflect on what God has done.  We have witnessed God’s financial provision in ways that defy conventional wisdom: Steve's father passed away in 1999 and as a result, the church his father founded decided to donate enough money to build the 1st children’s home; the Japanese Embassy donated $89,991 to help construct one of the children’s homes; the many different companies that provided huge discounts on building materials; the company that contributed wood that we recycled and used to build much of the Project, and the list goes on.  the Project has expanded from a small church of less than ten people has grown to over 400 members, the Daycare now has approximately 130 children enrolled, and two children’s homes operating at or near capacity most of the time (full capacity is 20 children).  The lives of at-risk children are being transformed as they learn of God’s immense love for them.

What is the Abraham Project?

Lighthouse Community Christian Church, which is a local Costa Rican church, is spearheading a project called the Abraham Project.  This Project has a God given directive designed to reach out to the hurting and lost.  This Project was initiated with a few local Costa Ricans and very little money.  It has since grown into a major effort as more people have joined arms to complete the task at hand.  The Abraham Project is located in Villas de Ayarco, which is an outlying community of Tres Rios, Cartago, Costa Rica.  This location is only about 25 minutes from San José, the capital of Costa Rica.  The church conducts it weekly services at the Project. Just across the river from the Abraham Project is a very marginal area, which is home to many social problems.  Many of the families in this area are dysfunctional.  Statistics reveal that many of the street children of San Jose originate from these surrounding areas.  It is discouraging to see so many children ravaged by the effects of drugs, alcohol, and physical or sexual abuse.

The Abraham Project is a debt free foundation.  One of the ways that we have received funds to build has been by soliciting help from local businesses.  They have been gracious to give substantial discounts or even donate materials to the Project.  Also, many individuals and organizations, including the local church, have participated with contributions.  It is encouraging to witness all of the creative fund-raising ideas that the local community has realized.

The Abraham Project, when fully completed and operational, will consist of the following five main areas:

1)  Multipurpose Building - This building will be used as the church's main sanctuary and also as a gymnasium to reach out to the youth of surrounding communities.  It will give us the opportunity to conduct evangelistic outreaches in conjunction with sport activities for the youth.

2)  Daycare - This part of the Project consists of a cafeteria and classrooms.  It is used throughout the week as a daycare and on weekends, as Sunday school rooms.  The daycare facilities provide many families a safe, Christian environment in which they can leave their children while they work.  This is critically important, especially considering the marginal areas where these families live.  We can enroll approximately 75-100 children and are equipped to supply meals for the daycare children who do not have food to eat in their homes.

3)  Children’s Homes - There will be a total of 3 children’s homes that will be used to permanently house “children at risk”.  These are children who have been or are in the process of being declared abandoned by the government.  Each home will have a set of house parents that will oversee the daily operations.  Adoption is a viable option and will be considered.

4)  Consultation Offices - It is our desire to a have a series of offices where professionals (i.e. doctors, therapists, engineers) can donate their time (a few hours, 1/2 a day, or even an entire day) to people in the surrounding communities.  Many of the people that live in the surrounding areas are considered low-income families and cannot afford these services.

5)  Life-skills Workshops - We provide training to help people learn specific skills to find a job or start a small business. Some of the classes that are offered include: English, computer, artisan crafts, manicure/pedicure, driving and sewing.

Welcome

We decided to begin this blog to chronicle the constant changes happening at the Abraham Project.  We love keeping in touch with teams, interns, families, and supporters and we are hoping this blog will help us do just that.  Feel free to leave comments for us or pass this website link along to others to help us spread the word. Thanks for reading,

Stephen Thomas