Tim Stromstad

The thieves broke in by cutting through the dense living fence (trees & Indian Cane) that surrounds our seven acre property. Our merciful God protected the children, the staff, and my family from physical harm, for which I am extremely grateful. But in recounting our losses, I found that the thieves had poisoned our guard dogs and my 4x4 ATV was gone. That was the wakeup call in December of 2008 that highlighted the seriousness of our situation. Upgrading security for Home of Life in Costa Rica became a high priority.

The government of Costa Rica subsidizes one-third of the operating cost of caring for the children, but contributes nothing toward basic infrastructure needs such as security.  As a non-profit ministry, we are dependent upon the Christian community to provide for basic infrastructure.  Visiting mission teams and gifts-in-kind keep us going.

We praise God for the matching fund drives conducted by Children of Promise in 2009, designating $24,000 toward our security upgrade.  We're also thankful for Jeff Wood, Co-Leader of the Volunteer Support Team, who is a security planning professional.  Jeff was invaluable in helping us develop a layered and prioritized security plan that provided the maximum security possible with the limited resources we had available.

New Maintenance Building

To date, we have replaced our guard dogs, constructed pens for them, and hired a night guard to ease the trauma the thieves caused. We've installed motion-activated lights and indoor cameras in sensitive areas, and beefed up doors and locks.  The mission teams who served in 2011 built a secure maintenance building where valuable tools and equipment are stored. 

In an earlier newsletter, I made mention of a Costa Rican who offered who to donate prefab concrete walls to encircle the entire campus.  The estimated cost of materials alone would exceed $150,000.  Unfortunately, after waiting nine months, we realized that this "too good to be true" offer was, well . . . Nothing had happened and it was time for the one-year Stromstad family sabbatical, so the project had to be put on hold.   

Front Security Wall

Immediately upon our return in 2011, we tackled our mission's serious financial crisis.  All praise to God, He sent support through generous givers and teams to get us out of the danger zone.  Then in November, the Lord introduced me to a new member in our local church who is a construction foreman.  This Costa Rican brother gave us a good deal on building the first phase of the security wall.  Near year-end, a prefab concrete wall, 325' long by 8' high, was constructed along the front boundary of our property.

We are so very grateful to the generous donors and missions teams who have made our improved security at Home of Life possible. With Jeff Wood's help, we have been diligent to achieve the most we could with the sacrificial gifts you have given. At this time, our security fund has been drawn down to $4,000, but there is more to be done.

1. Maintenance Building ($1,000) - complete interior finishing.
2. Front Wall Drainage ($2,000) - the March team will close the gaps under the wall with fill and construct a concrete drainage ditch to divert rainwater to the border of the property.
3. Front Wall crown ($1,000) - Construct a steel-reinforced concrete crown at the top of the wall to tie the vertical posts together that will strengthen the wall and make it more resistant to earthquakes. Metal barbs will be embedded in the concrete crown to deter anyone attempting to scale the wall.
4. Stucco the Wall ($750) - Apply an attractive stucco finish with a rough outdoor texture.
5. Front Gate (design expertise and estimate needed) - Install new front gate with industrial grade door opener with code activation and intercom.
6. East Wall ($12,000) - protect the vulnerable east border with a 600' - 700' foot long by 6' prefab concrete wall topped with barbed wire. This may take more than a year to accomplish as we won't expend money that is not designated for this project.

With the help of teams scheduled for 2012, we plan to finish the front wall and continue to build walls along the sides of our property.  Would you prayerfully consider what the Lord may have you do to help us finish the job of securing the Home of Life and its precious contents? Just mention the Costa Rica Security Project with your donation.

Blessings,

Tim

Tim and Dena,

Abbey and I were recently married.  In May of 2009, we served at Home of Life on a missions team from the University's Lutheran Chapel in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Since then, the Home of Life has touched us and has been in our thoughts and prayers, so much so, that we have been sponsoring little Emmanuel.

While planning our wedding, we were frequently struck with how truly blessed we are.  We also wanted to witness through our wedding and pass on some of our blessing to others. We decided to do this by making a donation to Home of Life instead giving the traditional party favors to our 300 guests.

We have sent a check through our Children of Promise account for Emmanuel's support. I know you will find a great way to use this gift. I have attached a sign that was posted at the guest book table at our reception.

Thank you so much for touching our hearts.
 

God bless. 

Tim and Abbey Ockinga