Camp Carpio

It’s no wonder our kids love to RUN.

La Carpio – the only home they’ve ever known – is a crowded, isolated community on the outskirts of San Jose, Costa Rica. More than 35,000 people inhabit a strip of land flanked by two rivers and a gravel quarry. Families (often including multiple generations) are squeezed into tiny dwellings made of corrugated tin or simple concrete block.

Even the streets offer no place to play, as garbage trucks pass through constantly, taking a daily 700 tons of garbage to the municipal dump at the far end.

We praise God every day for our tiny oasis of grassy fields in which they can run freely… and begin to understand a new kind of freedom life in Christ.

Hundreds of youth pass through Project Renuevos every week to take advantage of the recreational, educational and vocational options offered by Christ For the City International. Project Renuevos teaches these at-risk youth a new way of life. We encourage them to RUN away from alcohol, drugs and gangs, and ultimately toward Jesus Christ.

“I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free” (Psalm 119:32)

This spiritual race that we are running is a marathon, not a sprint. And it is vital for all our youth to go on a retreat once a year. At January Camp, we put everything aside for 4 days, to focus our eyes on Jesus Christ. Away from La Carpio, away from their dysfunctional families and the daily grind of poverty, the campers open up to the counselors. Secrets are revealed, struggles are released, questions are answered, and hearts are set free.

You have been faithful witnesses to the work of Project ReNuevos, and we are so thankful for your ongoing support. We need you more than ever now. We need praying partners to lift up the leaders and campers. And we need financial partners to continue making January Camp a reality. Would you, your family and your church join us by partnering with Christ For the City International to sponsor a child (or two or three)?

Just $100 will offer a new way of life to one of our campers.

Come, be part of the renewal that is taking place in La Carpio!

Pavas Ministry

The area of Pavas is home to 117,000 people, and is one of the most dangerous areas of Costa Rica in terms of gang violence, drug and alcohol abuse and poverty.

Christ For the City International runs six ministries out of our building in Pavas, with many sub-ministries including:

The Art House: A crafts and sewing ministry for women. For over 25 years, our missionary Damaris has been training women in arts and crafts as a means to make an income, and bring in support for their families. This ministry provides food for the often hungry mothers and their children, as well as fellowship, prayer and the opportunity to hear the Gospel.

A feeding program for over 250 people each week including children, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We have dreams to expand this ministry, as hungry children still come to receive food the rest of the week.

“The Lion of Judah Congregation” meets in our building, and is a church led by our CFCI missionary and pastor, Christian Leon. The church is made up almost entirely of people that Christian himself has evangelized and taken off the streets; out of drug and alcohol addicted lives and into the freedom of the Gospel. This church congregation runs a youth group, as well as street ministry (evangelism, clothing, food and haircuts for the homeless among other things). In 2015, the church also spearheaded a crusade in which 8,000 people attended each night, and many (including gang members) came to the Lord. Pastor Christian also leads teams to do “extreme evangelism” to gang members. They go into drug dens to practically show and speak the love of Christ. They take youth that come out of gangs on camps to get away and be with one another and the Lord.

Pastoral training and alliance. Under Pastor Christian’s leadership, 40 pastors in the area of Pavas have come together to receive training and teaching for the purposes of uniting and working together. The dream is to build a second floor on our existing building for the purposes of providing pastoral training, as well as English and other classes.

Alturas is a children’s ministry for kids living in poverty. The kids come for a games and Bible programs, as a means to give them a community and discourage them from entering the gang life.

These are a few of the many and expanding ministries that we operate out of our Pavas location in Costa Rica.

Where Most Needed (El Salvador)

Surrounded by Honduras and Guatemala, El Salvador boasts the most densely populated country in Central America. Of its more than 7 million people, nearly 90% are of mixed Indian and Spanish descent. In 2001 El Salvador adopted the US Dollar as its currency along with the colon.

During the past several decades, El Salvador has faced many trials, from civil war to natural disasters. Despite this, the country has a growing economy. It is not uncommon to see lavishly developed shopping centers right next to severely impoverished neighborhoods riddled with gangs and violence. CFCI is working within these areas to empower community development through both holistic and evangelistic ministries.

Judith and Valentin Herrera

In 2017 Judith entered CFCI NICARAGUA as a volunteer in the School of Hope Program. That same year she was accepted as a missionary. A year later VALENTIN also accepted God’s call and applied as a missionary.

Both are now serving full time, Valentin as the coordinator of the youth ministry who is in charge of training and directly supporting the youth ministry of Nicaragua to bring the message of salvation to the youth of the country; and Judith coordinates the School of Hope program that supports Christian schools with educational mentoring for teachers, psychological care for children and families who belong to the schools, scholarships for low-income students, and medical care.
Both are grateful that God uses them as instruments to support the youth and schools of their country and above all for having the opportunity to share hope of life through the message of the cross.

Contacts:
(+505) 8100 0195 valentin.jovenescfcinic@gmail.com
(+505) 8571 1476 judith.educacioncfcinic@gmail.com

Enrique Carrillo & Kattia Marin

Enrique is a missionary in Tirrases. A community in the eastern part of San Jose, Costa Rica. He is a Costa Rican and has been married to Kattia for 27 years. They have 2 children, Daniela (22) and Gabriel (25). Kattia and Enrique oversee a Discipleship program called Nueva Vida (New Life Discipleship) and The Multicolor Robe (La Tunica de Colores in Spanish) where they collect clothing for the homeless and others in need. Enrique is also teaching Basic and Conversational English for advanced students and leading the Youth group (Youth of Hope). He is a certified counselor helping the youth and works with drug addicts (Charlas ministry). Enrique is also part of the Translators Team and has helped with several short-term teams in Costa Rica. He also hosts a monthly Popcorn and Prayers Nights ministry, a night to watch a Christian-oriented movie and pray.

Veronica Perez

I am the mother of 2 children, David and Johana. I like to evangelize women for the reason that when I met Christ I began to experience that with Him we have everything. God showed his love for me, and his mercy, and he wiped away all my tears and all my burdens as I am now a renewed woman. I have been so blessed just to have Christ in my life.

Alvin y Rocio (Chio) Navarrete-Vargas

Alvin and Chio have been serving in La Carpio for more than 17 years, carrying out sports, recreational, cultural, educational and technical training programs, seeking to promote better life opportunities in children, youth and adults of La Carpio.

But above all presenting the Gospel in each one of the projects of Renuevos.
Alvin and Chio have two sons: Caleb and Lucas, who are also involved in community programs.

Sergio & Juanita Acevedo

Sergio was born in Costa Rica in 1957 and Juanita in Mexico in 1962. They met in C.R. on a short-term trip that Juanita attended as a CFCI Mexican missionary. Juanita is a graduate of the Latin American Seminary with a degree in theology with an emphasis in Christian education and a degree in Social Work, and Sergio is a graduate of the School of Pastoral Studies and has a Diploma at the University of San Buenaventura in Medellin Colombia as an Addiction Counselor. Today they are a married couple with two beautiful daughters, Ariana, 21, a psychology student at university, and Tamara, 19, a nursing student. Sergio and Juanita have served in Costa Rica for 25 years and are co-founders of Ministerio Renacer and serve as General Directors. During the last years they have had an arduous work and valuable contribution to the Costa Rican society in the integral attention of adolescent women with active consumption of psychoactive substances. This work has entailed important efforts to provide an input in the implementation of strategies aimed at the child and adolescent population that is going through this problem as well as all the associated factors.

Contacts information:
Chris For the City International
(402) 592-8332
Cell (506) 8865-8812
reborn06@gmail.com

Youth Ministry

Camp Carpio

It’s no wonder our kids love to RUN.

Pavas Ministry

Where Most Needed (El Salvador)

Judith and Valentin Herrera

Enrique Carrillo & Kattia Marin

Veronica Perez

Alvin y Rocio (Chio) Navarrete-Vargas

Sergio & Juanita Acevedo

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