Special Education Ministry Site

Special Education... Our Newest Ministry Site! 

Meet Rebeca, she is our newest national (Costa Rican) staff member to join our SICR team! She is the site leader for our newest ministry site: Special Education. 

Our Special Education ministry site partners with the elementary school in La Capri.  In the education system in Costa Rica there are numerous children who need a little extra assistance in school, but do not qualify for the special education programs for a variety of reasons.  These children often slip through the cracks as they pass from grade to grade in the regular classroom, often not learning much.  Since they are in the regular classroom the teachers are not able to give them the attention they need. The special education site works with these students one-on-one or in small groups to help them succeed in school often focusing on literacy, math, and life skills. 

We are so excited to be able to offer this ministry site and cant wait to see how God will used this ministry to further His kingdom. 

Growth & Opportunities at the Woodshop

Our Woodshop ministry is growing and prayers are being answered. Joshua and Jehudi are doing a tremendous job of guiding the Woodshop as it grows.  Here is Joshua's perspective of what is currently going on at the Woodshop.

 "We are seeing growth in various areas of the ministry, and most importantly in our focus on the Gospel. Due to all the new students at the shop we have had to implement a more formal schedule as up to 15-16 kids have been showing up every day. We now regulate the schedule according to the student's school schedules if applicable. These kids often ask just the right questions to get into the good news of Jesus' work and resurrection, and through prayer the door is open for the gospel to go forth.The Lord has provided for the shop step by step and it could hardly be more encouraging to see how the Lord has been investing in this ministry through His people. I give thanks daily for this opportunity to be involved in what the Lord is doing and I am grateful to be able to share this blessing with our many supporters. " 

INA

One of our dreams has been to be able to partner up with INA (Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje), which is the Costa Rican national trade school in hopes to be able to offer nationally recognized certifications. This is something that we are in the beginning stages of investigating, but hopefully one day this dream can become a reality. 

Opportunity to Buy

We have been renting the Woodshop building for the last four years, and now there is the possibility to buy the building! Being able to buy the  Woodshopbuilding means extra space and freedom of ownership which would really streamline the  Woodshop's ability to maintain the facility and modify it according to our needs. It would also allow us to grow into a trade school to be able to potentially offer more than carpentry. Some of the ideas are: graphic design, baking, sewing, business, etc.

But we cant do it with out your help! In order for us to buy it, we would need the extra help from our donors. We lack $60,000 to be able to purchase the property free and clear.  However a generous donor is providing the opportunity of a $30,000 matching gift.  This means we only need to raise an additional $30,000 and we can purchase the woodshop!  This is a tremendous opportunity to double your gift.  Click here if you would like to help make this dream a reality!

La Casa Verde en Las Fuentes

Welcome to the NEW Social Service House! This last week our social service site celebrated their BIG move to their new house by hosting an open house. SICR has dreamt about having a house in Las Fuentes and being able to have more kids/teenagers from the neighborhood come. And that dream has now become a reality. 

There was a lot of work, money and time that was spent getting it ready. And now it's up and running and the turnout has been amazing. Here are some pictures from the Open House! 

 

Welcome to the Community House :) 

Before the party started 

A weekly schedule 

Breaking in the Foosball Table 

Rebeca (SICR Staff) with some the kiddos 

Some of our semester students playing Jenga

Some of the kids enjoying the snacks 

The Social Service would like to Thank everyone who helped make this dream a reality. 

THANK YOU

to all those who donated your time, talents and to those who donated financially.  

We are excited to see how God is going to use this house and cant wait to share the stories of lives being effected by this new change! 

If you would like to donate to the Social Service site for the house, you can do so here :) 

Semester Program

Six students arrived August 27th for our first fall semester program!  They are are great group of students from Northwest University (Kirkland, WA), University of Northwestern (St. Paul, MN), and Fresno Pacific University (Fresno, CA).  They are currently studying Spanish, and will soon be working alongside our staff members in our Ministry Sites.  While they are here they will also be taking classes on the culture of Costa Rica and Incarnational Ministry.  We pray that not only will they be a help in the ministry sites, but that God would speak to them in powerful ways as they encounter Him in new and different ways.  If you are interested in spending a semester studying with us please contact Darin Mather, the Students International Director of Academic Programs, at matdarm@gmail.com.

New Blog. New Season

And we are up an running.... the SI-Costa Rica blog that is :)

For those who dont know much about us, here is the link to Students International (SI) website. :) There you can find out all the information about the different countries SI works in, our mission statement and how you can take a team on a outreach.

We also have a Facebook page that you can like and get the lastest and greatest news from SI Costa Rica or you can follow us on Instagram!  If you would like to receive a SI Costa Rica newsletter, you can sign up here :)

There are lots going on with SI Costa Rica and we are excited to be sharing with you all the things that God is doing here. Our hope and prayer is that you will feel encouraged and feel as though you are apart of the ministry here in Costa Rica.

Also dont forget to check out ministry tabs! There are a lot of information on what each site does, what to wear and a donation list. If you are bringing an outreach team, this is a great place to find specific information for your sites!

Blessings!