Blessing a Server

Sometimes you meet someone who touches your heart in a special way.  Luis Lopez, or Don Luis as he is known to many of us, is just such a person.  Many of you reading this have been touched and served by this loving man.  He remembers how you like your eggs, he might know that you like jalapeños, he remembers just how you like your iced cappuccino or White Faced Monkey, he made your kids feel extra special, and many of you have watched the show when he served you those awesome flambé desserts at The Falls Garden Café.  Many of you have had your picture taken with him prior to your departure from The Falls Resort at Manuel Antonio.  Many of you have shed a tear because you felt like you were leaving a family member after just spending a few days here.  Don Luis impacts many people through his hard work, gigantic heart and admirable work ethic.

Luis lives outside of Quepos, Costa Rica in a little community called Inmaculada with his wife Johanna and sons José, Justin, and Andres Esteban.  Luis is a great father and a great role model as well.  Luis has brought his son José to work in the restaurant, not to get paid mind you, just to get experience!  Luis is loving and tender with his autistic son Justin, who has one of the most beautiful singing voices I have ever heard.  Luis beams when he shows off and talks about his newest addition at just over 1 year old.

This donation request is made in the hope that you might consider a small contribution to help out this wonderful man and his family.  $5, $10, $25 or more from just a few of the people who don Luis has served over the last two years will have a significant impact on the quality of life for Luis and his beautiful family.

Here's the "not so Reader's Digest" version of the story.  I am happy to share more if you need any clarification. 

This last week, Luis went to see the doctor as he was experiencing some shoulder and chest pain.  The doctor at the hospital told him that he had to take a mandatory 3 days off from work to rest and recover.  The initial diagnosis is that his condition is stress related.  As we quietly inquired a little deeper we uncovered a large source of the stress. 

In order to take care of his growing family, don Luis has been working slowly (a couple of years) to add onto his house.  At times he has worked two jobs and when he is not working, he is fixing and improving the house for his family.  He has scrimped and saved over the last several years to finally be able to expand their humble home. 

Unfortunately, the expansions, completed in the dry season, in conjunction with some neighborhood drainage problems have created a situation that could be quite dangerous if not addressed quickly.  The house is experiencing significant flooding and the structure of the neighbor's retaining wall is at risk of collapsing if we have another significant earthquake in the area. 

We sent our resident construction guru, Diego, over to the house to survey the situation.  It was much worse than we thought.  The water is flowing through the house and eroding the area around and under the home.  The more erosion, the greater risk that the neighbor's wall could collapse on Luis' house.  To correct the situation, proper drainage needs to be put in place and a new wall with proper foundation and columns needs to be built.  The materials cost alone to build the new wall and address the drainage is almost $3,000.  Labor will be at least 2 weeks for four men. 

We have a donor who is willing to match 20% of every dollar raised for materials.  That should come close to covering the labor.