Vác, Hungary, 1996
Jimmy Carter Project
As President, Jimmy Carter had returned Hungary’s national crown jewels, which had been taken by the Nazis and later confiscated by U.S. forces to keep them out of Soviet hands. He also wanted to provide more than just the crown. He wanted to give the people of Hungary what the crown represented: hope. A hope for a return to a life before the dominance of Soviet oppressors.
He proposed that Habitat for Humanity return to Hungary to a little town at a bend of the Danube River, north of Budapest called Vác and build homes. We participated in that project, as well as 12 other Carter projects over the years, taking a team of volunteers each time. These experiences changed us and our family forever. 500 volunteers from 23 countries joined us in building 10 homes in one week.
Alexander
Carole and co-worker Linda left the worksite one afternoon to take a walk around Vac They encountered a man standing in the doorway of his home, with the aid of two canes. He spoke English, which very few did. He asked, “Is your work over for the day? If you have five minutes, I’ll show you my garden and tell you about Vac.”
His name was Alexander Vigh. He had no legs . . . just two peg legs. When he was five years old, he stepped on a mine, which exploded and took both legs and an eye. They talked. And invited him to the worksite.
The next day, he came to the worksite, dressed in a suit. He brought pears from his garden for the team and took a tour of the house. Before he left, he invited me to come visit his house.
“Does Your Vision Include Me?”
On Friday evening, we stopped by Alexander’s house. While it was pretty outside, with the garden, it was dark and smelly inside. His mother was there, speaking constantly, but we couldn’t understand her. I said, “What is she saying?” He said, “She’s saying God sent us.”
We talked. He was well-educated, self-educated . . . he spoke five languages and knew more about American politics and history than I ever will. We talked about Jimmy Carter, Habitat and our work. At one point, he got very serious, and he asked, “Does your vision include me?”
What do you say to someone who’s lived his whole life under the weight of an oppressive society or disability?
I said, “Absolutely. Our vision DOES include you! The goal is not to build a few nice homes for a few lucky people. Everyone deserves a simple, decent place to live.”
Fortunately, I was able to describe several accessible homes we have built for people in the USA. This was definitely good news for Alexander. It is also a lesson learned that we carried forward to this day.
Jesus Doesn’t Put Limits On Those He Loves!
Our focus has been and continues to be children and families living in urban slums. According to the UN, one out of six people live in an urban slum, although only one out of 6000 missionaries serve there.
We began working in Costa Rica in 2004, and it was then that we saw the need to embrace a broader community development mode. We began addressing the needs of education, health and nutrition, youth ministry, discipleship as well as housing.
There are people all around us who are living in unacceptable conditions, suffering from malnutrition and hunger, sick and dying, living without hope and Jesus Christ. There are children, mothers, the elderly, the disabled, the lonely and forgotten. If there’s someone like an Alexander or, more recently, Alberto, who’s not receiving the care they need, we’ll help them. Because Jesus doesn’t put limits on those that He loves and neither does this ministry.
A World Where Poverty Is No More!
Habitat’s vision is “a world where everyone has a decent place to live.” We agree with that. But we would put it this way, “A world where poverty is no more” . . . poverty housing, for sure; but also educational, hunger, health, economic, relationship and spiritual poverty. We envision a graceful world where there are no dark corners, no forgotten people, where all are loved and cared for.
A Kingdom Vision
God has a dream for the Alexander, Alberto, for the children, for the urban slums, for the world. . . that Jesus called the kingdom of God. God created us to play an important role in this Kingdom vision. It’s not going to be actualized in its fullness until Jesus comes again. But between now & then, with your help and the help of thousands of others like you, millions of people will be delivered from poverty . . . not for a day or a week or even a year, but for the rest of their lives.
This shall be the kingdom.
Everyone will have a house to live in.
A decent house that he himself participates in building. Everyone will have a job and
enjoy the fruits of his own labor.
Everyone will be healthy and children will not die in infancy.
Old people will live their lives with perfect health.
It is the kingdom of God. Isaiah 65:17
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We know you will be uplifted and inspired. As you view our website, see the latest photos, read about our plans for the coming year, hear our kids’ stories and much more! God is on the move in Costa Rica!