Mark is an unassuming man. He is in his mid fifties and has gray hair. He reminds me of being the reserved and respected neighbor you say hello to as you are picking up the morning newspaper. However, there is nothing ordinary about Mark. He is definitely among a rare group of people I have met in my life. He is a true disciple of Christ.
I have been raised in church, and pretty much heard every sermon you can think of. I have heard words like disciple, Christ follower, and Christian thrown around to the point where they have become words of fluff that no longer have much meaning. Looking from where I am now, a slum in Costa Rica, following Christ has started to look a bit different than what I am used to.
Mark and his wife quit their very comfortable life 12 years ago, moving from the Chicago area to Costa Rica. Their intention was purely simple: spread the Gospel and fulfill the great commission by knocking on the doors of one of the most impoverished and violent slums in Costa Rica. Here we are 12 years later and Mark and his wife Meg have planted several churches, discipled numerous people, and opened a feeding center for the children of the slum.
The most interesting thing I have discovered when talking to Mark is the fact that so many people have tried to tell him not to come to this slum. I sadly admit that many of these people call themselves Christians. One of his teachers at his language school told him he should never go to a particular area of town because of the violence and danger in the slum. He then went home and told his wife that God clearly told him they need to go to that slum because someone had told him to stay away from there.
The faith and obedience of this former Walgreens manager has rocked me. He has willingly put his safety, comfort, and well being aside for the sake of the Gospel. To put it in perspective, the area of town where we are staying and his ministry is located would make high crime areas in the States look safe. Within this community there is so much darkness with 80% of children being abused. Most of them taking care of themselves while one or both of their parents are addicted to drugs. The amount of drugs, illegal arms dealing, and sex trafficking here makes you sick. Literally most of the children we come in contact with at the feeding center are being abused and according to statistics will end up in drugs, or the sex and arms trade. You can literally feel the darkness here. But there is light in Los Guido.
Walking down the street a few days ago on our way back from painting in a school, I finally noticed something. It took me over 3 weeks to realize that Los Guidos is beautiful. The colorful shanty’s, the fog that settles in over the hills of this slum, the children laughing, and the people that say “Buenos” to you as you walk down the street all make this place beautiful. While this may not be the safest place in the world, I would be mistaken to continue to overlook the fact that God is here and Los Guidos is beautiful. Thanks to Mark and Meg, their obedience has brought the light and hope of Jesus Christ to this slum, and it is becoming more beautiful everyday.
