“Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.” Psalm 105:1-2 NLT.
 

Because of your giving, the clinic has provided care to 4,742 patients. Of these patients, many were seen with subsidies provided by you as the majority of our patients do not have insurance nor are they under the government universal health care program.
Because of your giving, we served 4,580 hot meals to children (105 kids) and our elderly (40 elderly) during the year. These meals are provided when they meet for the different clubs.
Because of your giving, we provided complete school uniforms to 72 children and 125 back packs with school supplies  to children in the Kid`s club.
Because of your giving,  we were able to buy 75 children Christmas presents for the end of year party. A local partner in Costa Rica provided the other 30 gifts needed.
Because of your giving,  we have donated 139 food bags providing enough food for 1 week for a family of five. Costs have doubled as we use to supply the same amount of food for 2 weeks.  Good nutrition can build a healthier, more promising future for each child.
Because of your giving, we have been able to help 5 families remodel or repair their shacks and we worked on the community center in Guararì. We also helped with some major repairs on the only bridge in this area and painted it with the help of a mission team.
Because of your giving, we had 5 mission teams come to serve with us, totaling 110 persons who donated over 2,738 volunteer hours of work, paid for their food and lodging and also brought money to help with the repairs. Praise the Lord!
Our challenge to you – We need you to partner with us. If you’re passionate about helping and bringing the Good News to each family, we encourage you to take a moment to pray about making a significant gift to CEDCAS, helping one family at a time learn about God`s love and give them HOPE.

These are a couple of the pictures taken at the Children`s Christmas party. The joy on their faces is indescribable. You cannot miss the surprise, then the awe and ultimately, pure JOY when they opened their gift. The first picture is of a little girl who came to us a year ago with her 3 siblings after their mother left them with their father. The little girl was still breast feeding and the night they were abandoned, the father rented a one room bedroom in the shanty town of Guararí. This is all he could afford. The 3 older kids slept on a mattress and he held the 1 year old in his arms trying to sleep on a chair. We praise the Lord that we have been able to help this family find HOPE, get governrnent help and after school programs for the kids so that he can work all day. So opening presents and seeing the doll she had longed for, she showed us a BIG smile which was so unusual.  All we saw most days, was a very sad little face but today was different. Thank you for praying for us.

One of our partners, had asked the kids what they would like for Christmas. Some of the kid´s received exactly what they had asked for which I do not think has ever happened for them. One wanted a doll, another a stuffed purple animal, another a lego set, a LOL doll and 3 wanted a bike. These were their smiles of joy. Thank you for your part in making this such a special occasion. 

Sharing the story of Jesus, born in a manger which was not an elegant crib, was understood by these kid´s as this is their reality. No luxuries, justs the bare necessities. Celebration of Jesus birth is the demonstration of God´s love for each of us. What HOPE this gives for us to share.

Our elderly also celebrated their Christmas time together. As they honored me representing CEDCAS, they expressed how grateful they were to have a place to come together, share their hearts and receive much love. Doña Blanca, in the last photo wanted to dance a waltz for me to see how appreciative she is for the group. If you would like to help us continue to share God´s love and salvation, please use the button below. May you have a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas to each of you from our family to yours. This has been a difficult year, but God has been faithful. Family is so important during this time and we trust you have been able to share together.

We were able to catch these pictures of Lucia with a little cousin of hers. She loves to hold, lift and hug any baby. The only problem was that he was 1 year old but double her weight. She struggled to lift him and when this was not possible, he just looked at her in such an understanding way.