Unexpected truth hit me during the time I spent with the women in Alajuelita, Costa Rica this past month. I finally understood what it means to love unconditionally. I get it! I opened myself up to everything God had planned and this time it was without my limited human understanding.
Did you ever hear how we actually met these fantastic women? From just knowing the name of the city and the church (CCA) a couple of us jumped on a bus and headed out in faith. We saw a CCA sign above a home the bus drove by. When we got off the bus and approached the home we were greeted with a colorful collection of old Spanish speaking men. They were happy we stopped by to say hi but instead of answering our question, “Where is the church?” they pointed us down the block to another house. “Mujeres, Mujeres.” They were pointing to the woman’s center. We walked over and this is where my heart began to change.
This first day both our group of Americans and their group of Costa Rican women were very confused. Not knowing each others language was only the first hurdle. They wanted to know why we were there and who told us about them. I honestly couldn’t give them an answer that made any sense. While the other Racers joined in on the women’s craft time that we invaded Grace, the director of the women’s center, handed me a phone with an English speaker on the other line. Um, how do I explain that we were just a bunch of hodge-podge missionaries and after getting the name of your church just wanted to stop in and say hi? I spoke with Rocil, whom I later found out is the pastor’s wife, about who we were and she invited us to see the church later that week.
So, we’re still in this house of theirs all awkward and new. But they get it! These women understand partly because of their warm culture and partly because they live as the Body – they welcomed us in and were grateful for our conversation and willingness to come and see them. They graciously invited us to sit and stay for coffee and bread. We tried to talk more with smiles and nods than anything. After some time they arranged for the church van to take us back to where we were staying – free of charge. That’s the Church.
There was no science to this new friendship. Nothing that obligated me to spend time with these women. No
one was expecting me to head into Alajuelita every morning returning burned out and stressed late each night. No, that’s not how it worked. A couple of days each week I could grab a few Racers, sometimes just one, and when God opened the doors for a visit we were there. We shared more than one pot of coffee. We laughed a lot at my bad Spanish. We shared in Church with them one spontaneous afternoon – prayer, tears, and fellowship. We came once to help make bracelets that they sell in their store front. We helped clean some storage. We met and sat next to them at the church service each Sunday. We spent time as friends and sisters. We asked about family and had the privilege to hear some women share testimonies. Have I mentioned that the women of this center are drug addicts – the center is a nine-month rehabilitation center.
We heard the stories. The majority of the women come straight off the streets. They haven’t showered in weeks nor know what a decent meal tastes like. Some have sold themselves for their addictions. Some are coming from abusive relationships and seek shelter. Some women’s stories started with abuse at a young age. After being abused they fall into drugs, alcohol, homosexual relationships, prostitution, crime, and/or homelessness.
Yet this center and the churches mission is to invite these women into an opportunity to be loved and cared for while the women get help in choosing an alternate life style than the one they came in with. There is freedom to come and freedom to leave. Most of the reasons I heard for staying though caught me off guard – they are there for their kids sake. These are mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends. They are more than a face and stale statistic for the poor and wrecked community they live in.
Alright – so I may not have even known that this was a rehab center for about the first two weeks I knew these women. But it didn’t change anything. Nothing. Nothing inside me changed, God’s truth of who these women are didn’t change. I cared and loved them just the same. Their delightful smiles and hospitality were still wonderful to be around. The first day they became family and nothing could change that . In fact, I never thought of them as drug addicts. God’s love in them and their tender spirits were too bright I couldn’t see/judge their past. God gave me new eyes and a new heart to see how He sees and feels. Whoa, does He love His people!! I’m so blessed to have been a part of it.
The last day we got to spend with these girls was the afternoon things just clicked within me. Kari and I went over late in the morning to help them prepare lunch. We all got to share in a (very large) delicious stew and rice. We sat and talked some more as they were cleaning up. It was raining but getting late so Kari and I tried to say good-bye. The women surprised us once again with their genuine hearts and kind giving. They had a cake for us! Ok, the cake lasted about 20 minutes but what those dear women shared with us over the cake will stay with me forever. They took turns telling Kari and I how
much it meant to them that we came to visit, how important it is that we are serving the Lord in our youth, how special we are to have faith in the Lord that brought us to them. It meant so much to them that we sought them out and showed them love. (Trust me, they taught and showed me so much more.) But it was how they said this: it meant so much that someone would come and spend time with them because people don’t normally want to hang out with drug addicts. This broke my heart and when it was my turn to share I told myself I wasn’t going to cry. I told them thank you. Thank you for welcoming us and really being the Body of Christ. I said thank you for being our friends – and around this table I don’t see drug addicts at all. I see daughters and princesses of the King. That’s when most of us lost it.
I’m going to miss them all: Sally, Grace, Saida, Yolanda, Elsie, Ana, Deyli, Ines, Viviana, Keylin, and Kattia.
Through them God taught me how to focus on the person as an individually created being in the image of God. God doesn’t label His kids or put them into cool groups. He loves them all.
They are women each with a story of God’s redeeming love. Please pray for them all. Pray for new girls that come in seeking a real change in their life as they lean on the Father, pray for the women at the center now that they press into each hard day with endurance, pray for needs to be met and God’s provision and blessing to flow upon these women. And pray that I may have the chance in July to go to a double wedding of two of the women – I’d love to see them again soon!
