Day 5 in Costa Rica

The day began very early. Steve Mean picked us up at Mike Yoon’s about 6:45 and took us to a lovely hotel that was tucked away behind a gate and tall walls inside the city. You would never know it was there were you not ushered in behind the gate that closed tightly behind you. Another unsafe part of town we are told. Steve met with the president of the Board of the Roblealto Foundation, Mike Garrett (an associate ministry of LAM), while Steve Mean showed me around the hotel. I learned that Steve is a master gardener among his many other gifts. He and his wife Gay, lived (and still do have a home) in Washington State where he was a businessman. They have been here 3 years and he is passionate about the Camp and the sister ministries of Roblealto. They live not far from Mike, and since Mike is going to the States for 3 days, and we do not have Internet connection here, upon Steve’s invitation, we are moving to the Mean home. I don’t believe that is a literal translation! Steve is a charismatic, sensitive, intelligent person who has wonderful people skills. I am looking forward to getting to know Gay since I have spent no time with her while being in Costa Rica.
The LAM Roblealto team met around the pool for a buffet breakfast, and Steve and I were able to hear (in Spanish) how each person was ministering. Margarita Weir appears to be an elderly, frail woman. She has been in C.R. with Roblealto for almost 40 years. She is a great prayer warrior and has the energy of a young woman. I am learning that many of the “older” LAM missionaries are still going strong. More about that later! Margarita runs up and down the hills of the camp like she most likely did 40 years ago. Vera Brenneman, who MC’d our time with the missionaries last Saturday, is another older lady. But once again, the passion for the ministry and the Lord Himself, have kept these two going strong. Also at the table were Susana, a single, Southern woman about 40, who is the medical supervisor over all the nurses, etc. for the Foundation. She has been there 20 years! She adopted 2 “Tico” (Costa Rican’s) boys who are now 7 and 9. Also at the table was Senia, the Director of Programming at the Roblealto Camp. So with Steve and myself that made 8 of us at the table. After a short, but sweet time in prayer, we said goodbye and Vera took us by car to see several of the Roblealto ministries.
To help you understand better, Roblealto is really a conglomerate of ministries that stretches back 77 years – a series of daycare centers that minister to at risk kids around downtown San José; el Hogar Bíblico Roblealto (the Roblealto Bible Home) that is a resident program (on the property of Camp Roblealto) that ministers to about 150 children with all sorts of serious home and psychological challenges (60% that come to the Hogar are medicated); Camp Roblealto a 200-acre, fully functioning campground able to serve several hundred; and a farm that focuses primarily on raising and selling chickens. The incubators that we will see on Friday alone are under a roof that is almost the size of a football field!!!
One of the Daycare centers, a preschool that we only drove by, is located in a poor part of the city, underneath the headquarters of the foundation that runs all of the Roblealto ministries. Interestingly enough, the property was donated by the Costa Rican government and is sandwiched between the main police academy of San José and the offices of the CR Ministry of Defense. Like the other centers, it is a ministry to parents and single parents that need to work but can not afford childcare. Vera then took us past the largest center, serving 250 kids preschool-5th grade, and then actually gave us a tour of the third for ages toddler through third grade. We walked through this center, meeting children and workers, even sitting in on a class where the children “performed” for us by singing several songs. Pictures to come! Once again, it is located in a poor part of town where there is much drug trafficking and prostitution. Vera pointed out a white cross on top of a hill overlooking the city. She told us that many bad things happen beneath that cross, things that she would not even speak with words. But she said that cross is symbolic for her. Few people notice it unless pointed out, but it is always there. Like Christ, always there, watching over the city, mostly ignored while defiant and ugly sin is practiced all around, His presence unnoticed but always there. My stomach turned as I thought of what must go on just feet from that cross, but really how different is that than when any of us defiantly act out our sin . . . . even those of us that know Christ and His very Presence is within us! A sobering visual.
I was humbled as everywhere we have gone we are treated like “traveling dignitaries”, always introduced with respect as “ El presidente del LAM y su esposa”, a title that still feels uncomfortable. But as you can imagine, Steve takes every opportunity to make people feel comfortable and relates to them on a peer level; in action saying “ I don’t take myself too seriously, so please, you do not need to either.”
Vera then took us the 45-minute drive to the Roblealto camp. This camp is 77 years old, birthed by the Strachans themselves (founders of LAM). There are 200 acres and it consists of old and new buildings, as well as a “hatchery”, where thousands of eggs are hatched and then sold for profit in the city. There are several homes on the property that house 7 – 10 children each, with house parents. These children have at best difficult home lives and live during the week at the camp. 60 – 70 % of the children that enter the program are on one or more psychiatric drugs. By the time they leave the program many of them are off ALL drugs! Love, consistent boundaries, good nutrition, not to forget the Good News of Jesus Christ given, have helped to bring immeasurable healing to these children. There is a school on campus where they are taught and they share lunch in the great cafeteria while having breakfast and dinner with their “family” every day. There are thousands of children that have passed through over the decades and it is impossible to humanly factor how many lives of children and even families that have been positively affected by this ministry.
Steve and I ate lunch in the camp mess hall with several of the missionaries then took about 45 minutes to rest our weary bodies on couches in a ‘departamento”. The storm clouds moved in and by the time that Dave and Marilyn Longworth (a second generation LAM missionary couple) came to escort us to our afternoon events, it was torrential rain. The Longworths took us to see David’s parents who are retired LAM missionaries that began in the 40’s . . . they are now 90 years old! We heard the story of how Dave’s mom died of encephalitis when he was just 8 years old and how difficult that was for them. 3 years later Donald married his present wife, and they have been married almost 60 years. It was such a privilege to visit with them and hear some of the stories and also for Steve, on behalf of the LAM family, to express to them how grateful we are for their many years of service and sacrifice. We gathered in a circle and prayed together before leaving. I couldn’t help but tear up as I thought of this amazing couple and how they represent what has been termed as “the greatest generation”, and for good reason!
We ran to the car, balancing umbrellas, but still getting significantly wet. Our next trip was to Doris and Steve Stevens’ lovely home in the hills overlooking Camp Roblealto. Like almost everyone else we’ve met of the former generation, they both graduated from Wheaton College when Billy Graham was there. Ruth is John (Juan) Stam’s sister and has every bit as much fire and intelligence as her brother. They served the LAM for fifty years in many different ways. She was a teacher and supervisor at the school at Roblealto, he started the farm and hatchery. We drank tea and ate goodies for a while, once again hearing the almost miraculous stories of God’s provision for the mission and it’s family in years past.
Darkness was setting in and we had a long drive back to Mike’s, so we prayed holding hands and then once again darted out through the torrential rain into our limousine – a 1972 Nissan Pulsar with 220,000 miles. As we headed down the mountain into San José, I began to really fell the cold and wet of the rain – the rear window seal was gone and water was dripping down the back of my shirt. That gave a good excuse to move over and cuddle Shellie for the rest of the 45-minute drive into town.
We were supposed to meet Mike on the outskirts and have dinner, but he couldn’t get his electric gate opened because of the rain, so he sent Steve Mean who met the Longworths and us at Doña Loleta’s, a Costa Rican knock-off of Rain Forest Café. We sat, ate and talked for about an hour drying off and allowing the rain to finally subside. The food was, well, let’s just say we’ve eaten better. After a twenty-minute drive back to Mike’s, who had finally been able to open the gate, and fifteen minutes of great conversation with Mike, Shellie and I fell into bed and quickly asleep. We really don’t know how much we can keep up with the itinerary. Shellie is wearing out physically. And yet, every stop and every conversation has been both a great blessing and a great help to Steve in understanding the inner workings of LAM. One more thing…we miss our kids and grandkids!!!