June 7, 2007
Dear Friends and Loved Ones,
As the head of AIM wrote in describing our departure last fall,“Charles and Sarah Kaye jumped off a cliff yesterday. They and their two young children left on a jet for Nicaragua…, having boxed up their earthly belongings and selling off much in garage sales. So today, they woke up in a remote part of Central America re-invented as missionaries”. And so we did. Not quite like this photo, but that’s what it felt like. Leaving behind what we knew, moving forward into the unknown. Nearly nine months have passed since we departed. So much has happened and so much is on the horizon that it is hard to know where to begin. An easy place to start though is to thank you for your prayers and financial support that have helped launch and sustain us on this adventure. Because of your generosity we were able to say ‘yes’ when called to go. By sharing your resources, lives are being changed. Groups working through this base have made a profound difference already. Families livi
ng at the dump in Diriamba experienced food and friends. The orphans on the island of Ometepe had love, perhaps like they had never felt before, pored out into their tender hearts. An old man in Costa Rica, who had been shunned by his community for 50 years, experienced that Jesus loves him and cares for him. Our team of young people described how the dam of 50 years of hurting was broken and tears of sorrow were eventually replaced with tears of joy. You may not be here to see all these things but you need to know they are happening and that you are part of this adventure with us.
Looking out over the next six months, we already see 5 short-term mission trips planned for here and/or Costa Rica with 20-30 participants each. The World Race, 50-60 strong this time, will be back later this fall. There is talk of a medical mission trip and a business associate bringing his entire office down, as well as friends and family coming to pitch in. Also, we recently heard from a friend who visited in March, that she and her husband are considering moving here to join the “base” team.
In addition to all of this AIM volunteer activity, we are feeling called to enter more deeply into the life of this city. Granada, a town of about 100,000 people is located on one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world and in the shadow of a once mighty volcano. It is the oldest mainland city in the Western Hemisphere. Today, the city is one of the best preserved colonial towns in all of the Americas and as such draws many tourists. But Granada is a town of many faces. Beyond the wonderful adobe and tile buildings and cobblestone streets, one finds poor barrios where there is no electricity, running water, or schools. And it is into this strange mix that we are called. We will be bringing in a team of 10-15 college students for several months next year to begin reaching out to the dispossessed in the barrios. The pastor of a local church has asked us to help him start an English language service to reach out to the large ex-pat 
community here. In addition, he has asked us to think about helping to start a new bilingual, Christian school, of which there are none in the country. Finally, Sarah has discovered that this town is plagued with pedophiles and is a popular destination for child sex tourism (CST). The crime is often fueled by weak law enforcement and ease of access on the one hand and poverty on the other. It has been noted by experts that “the sexual exploitation of children has devastating consequences, which may include long-lasting psychological trauma, disease including HIV/AIDS, drug addiction, unwanted pregnancy, social ostracism, and possibly death”. We are beginning to work with local leaders to find a way to stop this trade. There is likely to be vigorous push-back as this will cost many influential and/or well connected people a lucrative source of income and others, time in jail. Sarah recently interviewed the 
author of an article written over a year ago about the CST problem in Granada. He told her that of all the articles he’d written, that one generated the most anger. Many local establishments went so far as to pull the paper from their racks. Despite the reluctance to face the problem here, what these kids need is protection, healing and hope.
We want to ask you to continue to be a part of this great adventure with us. We covet your prayers, emails and calls and thank you for your financial assistance which allows us to continue to
serve.
One last thing you might like to know. Despite all our “busyness” and God’s great blessings here, there are times we really miss Virginia, our farm, our church and especially our friends.
Blessings,
The Kayes, Charles, Sarah, Banks and Willa
