Covid, coffee, and construction could sum up the happenings at The Nest these last few weeks. Firstly, the covid caught me off guard and flung me into my bed for a hard week of misery, thankfully I’m mostly recovered and Karina was able to stay out of its reach.
In the midst of it, we had planned on delivering and planting 250 coffee plants into the Nest soil, and by God's good fortune we summoned the help of 16 YWAM youth to help us in this task. With most of the baby crops now safely planted about the Nest land we have the hope of seeing them grow over the next couple of years, ready to harvest as the Nest mission is built up and populated around them ready to yield their fruit.
We’ve also had another major breakthrough in managing to access a beautiful artisan well and run a thousand feet of hose, bringing fresh water to the Nest site. Construction is moving along nicely, with the main house nearly complete and ready for the next big phase which is building the bathroom facilities. This will require hauling 300 blocks of cement across the river in dugout canoes, and then up into the jungle. We have volunteers of a men's group from a local teen challenge house to help with this monumental delivery of heavy stuff. This is the same group of men I’ve had the pleasure to lead in Bible studies every Monday night.
The realities on the ground here continue to challenge us.
As we build relationships with the indigenous, our heartbreak along with them in their poverty and struggles. Seeing the great needs that daily face our team, we long to provide them the continued employment of building the Nest, but we also pray that God would give us all the endurance and peace of mind to see this project through to its fruitful end.
As we watch and work alongside the BriBri, we are reminded that none of this work belongs to us, Karina and myself. That all of it belongs to the BriBri and the passion that God has laid in their hearts to build this sheltered community. To see it provide a safe haven, and sustain a place of hope and healing for the women and children who’ve been damaged by the dark injustice of generational incest and abuse. Meeting this truth head-on with the hope and joy of God's love is not always easy, but we’re encouraged through your prayers and gifts that we are indeed where God has planted us, and are filled with a purpose that this is where we are supposed to be.
If you are reading this and want to get more involved we have 3 avenues for you to choose.
1. We need continued monthly supporters, for if we weren’t here on the ground the work would not be moving forward
2. Buy a house! We are building ten houses that will shelter and house four children each and a caretaker at the Nest site. This is the heart of our mission. We are asking for donors who would buy a home for these kids. Each home will cost $4,000 to build. the sooner we build them, the sooner we can fill them.
3. We want you to come visit us! Bring your family, church youth group, or team for a unique missions experience. You’ll stay at our beautiful property at the Bambu Base, which houses up to 18 people. From there you’ll cross the river and up to the Nest land where we can tailor fit a hands-on tour and expose you to the missionary life of working with the indigenous BriBri.
Thank you for reading this far, thank you for your prayers and concerns, and may God bless and equip you for the good work He has given you to do today.
With love and gratitude
James Beach
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