About Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Faithful Servant Missions in Costa Rica
Following a mission trip to San Ramon, Costa Rica, we deeply felt God’s call to make a difference in the lives of the people of Bajo Tejares, a small barrio outside San Ramon. This community is primarily Nicaraguans who fled political persecution and economic instability, seeking a better life for themselves and their children. Initially, the Costa Rican government provided for them; now they are considered “outsiders” and a burden for the people of Costa Rica. Abandoned and poor, these people subsist under the worst physical conditions—wooden shacks with dirt floors. The unemployment rate is around 80 percent, with most surviving on day labor, prostitution or drug trafficking.
Faithful Servant Missions has identified three major areas of intervention to break the cycle of poverty: physical, educational and spiritual. The Board of Directors purchased four acres of land at the entrance of the barrio, and completed construction of Centro Comunidad Cristiana in August of 2008, a multipurpose/church building, a parsonage, recreational facilities, and an education building to run after-school tutoring and mentoring programs. FSM addresses the physical needs of the community on a case by case basis, ranging from hosting vision clinics to home repair for residents of Bajo Tejares. Educational needs are met through one on one academic support programs for over one hundred-fifty children from Bajo Tejares, as well as recreational time and homework assistance for all students. Centro Comunidad Cristiana ministers to the spiritual needs of the community through weekly support groups for mothers, pre-teens, teens, as well as a Children’s Church and Mission Church services on Sundays. We look to the future with great hope, as we are already seeing Christ’s love begin to transform Bajo Tejares. Worship is taking the place of despair, academic success is displacing failure, and instead of living as outsiders we are finding our homes together in Christ. We are tremendously blessed to serve Christ and share His love and life with His children in Bajo Tejares.
We have recently been blessed with an opportunity to begin working with an orphanage (“Hogarcito de Santiago”) just outside of San Ramon, to help them with building repairs, grounds keeping, and potentially the construction of a new facility that would house more children in need of a home. We praise the Lord for opening doors to allow us to serve more of His children in the San Ramon area