costa rican modern day Heroes. ASART Asociacion Artistica para Niños

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Sylvia Ketelhohn and ASART "children art"

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Promoting heroes that are working to help others to improve our society.

Today I understood that even though I did not necessairly chose God, God had already chosen me. And the truth of my story is that I have never known exactly what I am doing, but I do it anyways!..
Sylvia Ketelhohn Gron.

"I asked God to please make it clear again" Roberto's new house by Hope & Brian Hilstad.
"The Refuge of Love" A sustainable orphanage established by Osa Mountain Village.
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"I ASKED GOD TO PLEASE MAKE IT CLEAR AGAIN"

<bgsound src="/asartpics/robertohouse.wmv" loop="1"> We appreciate your interest in the Lord's work in Los Guidos Desamparados, Costa Rica.

Brian & I and our two children moved to Costa Rica 6 1/2 yrs. ago. We came not knowing what we would do but we did have a clear call from the LORD to move here.

While in language school I asked God to please make it clear again....and that we would like to have a mission statement. He impressed on my heart Ephesians 2:10, which I looked up in the bible. It says...We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which he has prepared before hand.

Brian & I knew then that even though language school was difficult, God had a plan. Our home is in Patarra, we live on 21/2 acres, it is located 10 minutes from a poor area called Los Guidos. For a few months a man named Roberto, would come by our gate asking for rice & beans. One day he said his wife told him not to come home until he found work. Roberto is a gardener and a very hard worker. We didn't really need another gardener but thought we could help him out. After two years or so of him working for us and us getting to know the family, and saw their living conditions, we felt that one day maybe God would want to give them a new house. I waited on God, talking to him, praying, seeking and asking.

One day He said it was time. I felt again impressed with two scriptures that was His direction on the go ahead. Also, I called my pastor's wife to have her clarify too, what she thought. One scripture was Neh. 1:4-11. I prayed the same prayer for these people. God truly provided the hands to make it all come together.

We had two teams, not from our church, we are independent missionaries, but one team was from our kids youth group and one from United States a group of 35. During the project, I again, asked God for clarification as it was a challenge in many ways as we had never done anything like this before. Well, an amazing thing happened...God showed me again that he was providing. A friend, Linda, whom I had visited in prison here for a year and a half, sent my father-in- law a check for a funny amount. Linda said it was what God was impressing on her heart. The amount was $104.11 from Neh. 1:4-11. Yes, I was so thrilled again to witness HIS HAND.

Three weeks before Roberto's house was to be finished, I talked to David, Roberto's son, who was usually always high on crack, about going to a recovery center run by a friend of ours in Coronado. He said he would but the day I went to pick David up he had been on the street for days. He was at home but very sick, without shoes and very ragged clothes. Well, I told him he said he would come so we got him in our car and I drove him first to Pequeno Mundo to buy some new clothes etc and then to meet our friend who would then take us to the clinic to wait for shots for David's recovery to start.

David was not very happy at the center. He only stayed one week but we had paid for three months. Our friend called us to say he had left but David does not read or write so I asked John if he could pick him up for me and bring him to our house. I talked to David in my broken spanish but there was no way he was going to change his mind. On the way back to Los Guidos I remembered that in Costa Rica people are very aware of bringing shame on themselves or their families.

So I told David that his family would be very embarrassed as we had paid for three months and the money would now be wasted. I couldn't believe it when he said O.K. I will go back and try it again. David returned for two more weeks, but that was the end of it for him. He found his way back home and that night his mom and himself came to our house to say that he was at home.

David is now completely recovered. It was been a year and a half. God worked a miracle in this young man's life. At one time we would not allow him on our property because of his state of mind. Now he works with his dad, Roberto, twice a week in our garden and on the hillside. He is a joy to have around. We love him dearly.

Each week we hold a bible study in their home and a study for the children. God has provided two wonderful ticas to teach the women and I am hanging in with the children which God is blessing.

It is good to serve the Lord together.

Thanks again, Bill & David.
Hope & Brian Hilstad

"A sustainable orphanage established by Osa Mountain Village."

Osa Mountain Village Would Like to Graciously Introduce and Welcome You to:
The Refuge of Love is a sustainable orphanage established by Osa Mountain Village. Refuge of Love is an organization committed to providing a haven for abandoned and homeless children, providing them with the love, support, education, life skills and opportunities necessary to become productive members of society and the future leaders of their generation.

At the Refuge of Love, we do not take our responsibility of shaping the life of a child lightly. Due to Costa Rica's incredible biodiversity, the Refuge of Love has the unique opportunity to be a sustainable orphanage, using permaculture, vertical hydroponic agriculture systems and tilapia ponds to supply nearly all of the food needed for the children. Additionally, the children of the Refuge will learn how to operate these systems, grow their own food and utilize these programs in their communities as they develop into sustainable, conscientious adults. This unique opportunity allows the Refuge to easily feed the children with very little cost, ensuring that donations to the orphanage will directly support their education and medical expenses. This assures that every dollar goes further and provides our children with the best life we can possibly give them.

We do not intend to simply put these children up for adoption, but to raise them with the morals and values which will allow them to be successful in the world of today and the future of tomorrow. As these children grow into young adults, they will receive the education they need for a bright and prosperous future that otherwise would not have been available to them. The Refuge will work with universities, employers and the government to create scholarships and job-mentoring programs, ensuring that these children will be successful adults with prosperous futures.

For daily operations, the Refuge will hire adults who may be unable to have children of their own, but are passionate for the cause. . .to help the children of the Refuge, to serve as mentors and creating family units within the orphanage, providing the children with support and love.

This is truly a unique concept designed first and foremost with the idea of a proper upbringing and future of the children in mind.

To achieve the highest level of love and support for these children, we are asking for the support of any and all who are willing. This includes all those who are part of Osa Mountain Village, have visited or will be visiting Osa Mountain Village and the support of everyone's friends and family. They say it takes a village to raise a child. In this case, it will take the love of everyone to build and sustain the proper place for these children.

We have secured a property donated by Jim Gale of Osa Mountain Village to locate the Refuge facilities and need your support to raise the money necessary to build the facilities. Initial plans will include a 2,000 square foot main facility, including kitchen, restrooms, a playground, a 2,000 square foot vertical greenhouse and tilapia pond. In addition, we would like to raise the initial 3 years of operating expenses. This will assure that we have the available funds to sustain the Refuge while we put into place a suitable and detailed annual fundraising plan designed through the collaboration of fundraising professionals and Osa Mountain Village resident, Jessica Shannon. As you can expect, the initial costs of creating the Refuge of Love is not cheap and it won't be easy. Building something this amazing rarely is. . .but it is worth every penny. (This is the actual land on which The Refuge of Love will be constructed)

Communicate our cause to your pages on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Linked-In, etc., and encourage your friends to pass this info along to their friends.

Continue to return to our website where we will post news and updates about our progress towards building our facilities, obtaining 501c3 status, hiring our staff and bringing in our first group of children.

We will need supplies for our children. . .books, clothes, school supplies, etc. We have goals and will work hard to reach them. We hope you will bring some of these supplies for them when you and your friends and family are visiting Osa Mountain Village.

And finally, get involved! Get to know our program and our children. Take pride in making these children an extension of your heart and your family while knowing that they will look forward to every second you spend with them and are grateful for everything you do for them. Seeing them smile will certainly touch you in a way you never thought possible. To Learn More About the Refuge of Love Visit: www.refugeofloveorphanage.org

"add your voice"

We want to hear from you. Your testimony and help to other, will inspire many people to do the same. Please contact us and tell us your history. You are our heroe.

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