Costa Rica/Project Abraham: March Newsletter

Dear Friends and Family,

We are writing to tell you about a new adventure our family will be embarking on.  It all started seven years ago, when Jennie and I decided to quit our jobs and travel, with the goal of studying Spanish. We headed to Costa Rica for four months and towards the end of our time thought about volunteering somewhere.  It was at this point that we met Steve and Georgiana Thomas, missionaries who had been serving in Costa Rica for a few years.  Interested in the work they were doing, we headed out to “Project Abraham”, an organization that serves abandoned children and ministers to the local community.  One of the most exciting things we saw was how they were treating and reusing wood from old pallets to build houses.  It was astounding to see old, nail-ridden wood being recycled, but more importantly was the fact that the houses were being built for abandoned children.  Not only were they constructing homes, but they also had plans for a community center/daycare, church, and more.  It was a huge job and help was needed.  At the time, however, Jennie and I were not able to volunteer. But Project Abraham and Costa Rica stayed on our hearts as we headed home.

Over the past seven years, the idea of going back to Costa Rica to serve has continued to come up in conversation between Jennie and myself.  After years of talking, writing, and praying about serving there more permanently, Jennie and I traveled again to San Jose this past October to explore the possibility of working with the Project. While in San Jose, we had two big questions. Most importantly, was God calling us to move our family to Costa Rica?  We definitely felt the answer to this was yes.  The second question was were there specific needs that our experiences and interests could fulfill? Yes. So our desire to serve was confirmed! Now our plan is to move to Costa Rica in the next year, with a commitment to be there for 3-5 years serving the kids and community surrounding Project Abraham. 

While there, I will be using my business experience to fundraise money and potentially start a business that will help fund the operating expenses of the children’s homes, and I will also help manage short-term mission teams and construction projects.  Jennie will be using her teaching background to develop a program to teach English at the daycare and community center. But we can’t do this without your support.  First and foremost, we want you to be aware of this exciting step in our lives and to ask for your prayer.  We also need financial support since all of the work will be done on a volunteer basis.  Our goal is to have a full year’s support raised or pledged by September of this year.  This comes out to about $4000 a month. Please think, talk, and pray about financially supporting us. 

You can make a tax-deductible contribution to support our work by sending a check payable to 'Tres Rios Project' (which is our project name) at:

Visions Made Viable
17595 Harvard Ave.
Suite C235
Irvine, CA  92614

Or you can set-up a recurring credit card payment by filling out a form from Visions Made Viable (email us at info@tresriosproject.org for this form).  This will allow you to support us every month without the hassle of having to write a check and put it in the mail.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and for your support. If you have any questions, please email us at info@tresriosproject.org.

Blessings,

Joe, Jennie, and Kate