Building for Eternity: Equipping Young Men

Greetings in Jesus’ name our Savior, who makes us overcomers. I am Uryas Apuy, from Costa Rica. Seven years ago I came to Shining Light to work as a caregiver of boys ages 10-12. Now I’m married to Leanna and we have two baby girls, Ashlynn and Astrid. We also have four boys in our family that we love as our own. They came as little toddlers between the ages of 2-4 to the children’s home many years ago and are now ages 13-18. Their names are Alfredo, Guillermo, Angel, and Rigo. I would like to share a little about my personal testimony in reference to building for eternity.

The Call

I have felt the call of God for our lives to continue the work the children’s home has started in building for eternity. The children’s home has done an awesome job with the childhood and teenage years of the children. I feel my calling is to help mold courageous youth that are around 18 years of age and older. At Shining Light, the children go to school and are kept busy with their caregivers.  If they do not have goals and dreams for the future, they grow up without purpose and without vision.

The Mission

Youth girls have the opportunity to work as cooks, caregivers, and teachers. Now I feel the need to help the first of the young boys who are coming to the age of independence. I want to provide a family unit for them and give them work and a sense of purpose and accomplishment that comes from having a paying job.

Youth need personal responsibilities as well as opportunities to help people and the community around them. If the youth do not have opportunities to work in our community, to feel valued, and to have a sense of belonging, then they start looking for this in other, and often unhealthy, areas. They find jobs in places that are not Christian- based and they begin to fall back into the same generational chains their parents were in and continue the cycle of destruction.

The Goal

My goal is to be a mentor who walks beside them in life and in work. I want to teach them how to be responsible adults, honorable, stable, and secure. I want to be an example in my own life of how to face difficulties in work and generally in life, showing them that not everything is easy but there is always a solution for those who have an open mind and do not give up. I want to help them have open minds that are able to learn and find solutions for life’s challenges. I want them to see life requires lots of hard work but that work is a blessing. I want them to enjoy life, develop healthy friendships, and enjoy God’s creation and all the beauty He has placed on this earth for us.

More than anything, I want to show them the love of God, teaching them God’s way and the principles He has for us. For me, it is important to invest in eternity, giving the best that I can to help these young men succeed. My greatest desire for them is that they become courageous men in God’s Kingdom, workers in his fold, men firm in God’s work, and secure in their convictions. I want to help develop youth with valor who are a light in this dark world. I ask for your prayers to remain strong in this work and also prayers for the young men to choose life over death. Thank you to everyone for your support in our work here.