The Methodist Children's Home – Project History
2015 End-of-summer Update
The Home hosted its final work teams of the year in early October, and we thank God for another blessed and productive season of progress. Below is a panoramic photo of the multipurpose building, which now has the first floor raised, the floors partly poured, and some walls for the second floor already finished. The urgent wall at the bottom of the property has also seen great progress, and we hope to have it finished by the start of next year.
The twenty-two children living at the Home continue to find the love, support, and protection that they deserve and that their Heavenly Father wants for them. Please keep praying for all the workers at the Home, the office staff, and especially for the children. Just because teams are gone until next year doesn't mean the important work of caring for them ceases, and we trust our Lord to continue to provide for the Home's needs.
The Home hosted its final work teams of the year in early October, and we thank God for another blessed and productive season of progress. Below is a panoramic photo of the multipurpose building, which now has the first floor raised, the floors partly poured, and some walls for the second floor already finished. The urgent wall at the bottom of the property has also seen great progress, and we hope to have it finished by the start of next year.
The twenty-two children living at the Home continue to find the love, support, and protection that they deserve and that their Heavenly Father wants for them. Please keep praying for all the workers at the Home, the office staff, and especially for the children. Just because teams are gone until next year doesn't mean the important work of caring for them ceases, and we trust our Lord to continue to provide for the Home's needs.
2014 Update
On April 10th we joyously cut the ribbon on the second house, "Casa Fe" ("Faith House") in the presence of many folks from Costa Rica and the United States. After a few more weeks of final work, by early June we'd moved some of the babies from the first house into Casa Fe, as well as received several new children into the Home. Please pray for the new caregivers who will work there, as well as for the other children who should soon be placed in our care. Two full houses! God is good!
We then spent the remainder of the year beginning work on the multi-purpose building. You can see the progress made by our visiting teams on the "Team Pictures" page. 2015 will begin with continued work on this building.
Project History
The Home began as a dream of the Costa Rican Methodist Church and of our partners, Ray and Lidia Zirkel, who for years hoped the Church would have an opportunity for social outreach ministry to abandoned children. After conversations with the Methodist bishop, in 2006 land was sought and several promising plots were found towards the end of the year. The initial contract for the land purchase (about seven acres) was signed in December 2006, and in May 2007 the various plots of land were completely paid off. This was due to the generosity of many churches and individuals, and we thank God for His provision at the very start of this endeavor. 2007 was spent with architects and engineers to draw up a master plan for the complex, as well as some initial budget figures. Thanks to grant money from a few churches, we were able to hire heavy machinery and prepare the entryway to the property. Throughout 2008 our partners and we began to host church teams who came as volunteers to help begin building the first parts of the complex. We also worked to obtain all the necessary building permits from various government offices. This process was long and complicated, but God was good to open doors for the project.
In 2009 the project hosted nearly twenty work teams from churches in the States. We also continued to seek project partners, be they churches or individuals, for the work of raising funds for construction and an endowment for the Home. Throughout 2010 our local workers and the teams from the US made remarkable progress towards finishing the first house. On March 16, 2011 we had a wonderful ribbon-cutting celebration to inaugurate "Casa Esperanza" ("Hope House"). Then a few more months were spent obtaining final health and occupancy permits.
Then, in July 2011, we were overjoyed to receive the very first children placed in our care. Since that time we have received more children, until by October 2011 the house was full of eleven beautiful children, ranging in age from nine months to nine years old. In April 2014 we inaugurated the second house, "Casa Fe" ("Faith House"), and soon began receiving children to live there. Our next major project is to begin work on the multi-purpose building, mostly with church work teams, throughout 2014 and 2015.
We would love to keep you updated on this project, especially if you or your church feels led to come down and help build. We thank you for keeping this vital ministry in your prayers!
In 2009 the project hosted nearly twenty work teams from churches in the States. We also continued to seek project partners, be they churches or individuals, for the work of raising funds for construction and an endowment for the Home. Throughout 2010 our local workers and the teams from the US made remarkable progress towards finishing the first house. On March 16, 2011 we had a wonderful ribbon-cutting celebration to inaugurate "Casa Esperanza" ("Hope House"). Then a few more months were spent obtaining final health and occupancy permits.
Then, in July 2011, we were overjoyed to receive the very first children placed in our care. Since that time we have received more children, until by October 2011 the house was full of eleven beautiful children, ranging in age from nine months to nine years old. In April 2014 we inaugurated the second house, "Casa Fe" ("Faith House"), and soon began receiving children to live there. Our next major project is to begin work on the multi-purpose building, mostly with church work teams, throughout 2014 and 2015.
We would love to keep you updated on this project, especially if you or your church feels led to come down and help build. We thank you for keeping this vital ministry in your prayers!