Verbana…
One of my favorite memories from costa rica was our time spent in a neighborhood called verbana. It's one of those hidden away neighborhoods that everyone is ashamed of and the government pretends doesn't exist. We first went there to help with a feeding center the church does every Saturday. We had been warned that it was one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Costa Rica. But when we first got there I didn't see it. I immediately started plying with the kids and fell in love with their sass and joy.
Then we were told it was time to go walk around and tell families that food would be served in 10 minutes. So up the hill we went. And I was stunned by what I saw. Shack after shack after shack. All made of tin and scrap wood. Make shift walkways of pallets and cardboard. Sewage running throughout people's houses and in the walkways. Trash and filth everywhere. In my mind there was no way that this place could be considered home to hundreds of families. But as we walked, little kids would stick their heads out of the shacks and we could see moms trying to clean as best they could. I saw the poverty. I saw the danger.
Verbana is run by drug lords. They hold all the money and power. But I soon saw the hand of The Lord working in that place. 6:8 ministry was given permission by the drug lords to have feeding centers and do ministry there. Because of their yes, the ministry is able to feed around 100 kids and adults each Saturday and provide medical treatment to this in need. This has opened so many doors to invite people to church so they can discover Jesus.
We were given permission to hold a 3 day vbs there for the kids of the neighborhood. On the first day we only had around 25 kids show up, but by the end of the week we had 85. We played games with the kids, did arts and crafts with them, sang songs with them, taught them about Jesus, and loved on them for 3 days. It was amazing to see them open up to us. To see them smile when we sang about how much Jesus loves them. To watch their faces light up when they got to make crafts of their own that they got to take home. At the end of the week, all 80 kids stood and said they wanted to know Jesus. He planted so many seeds when we were there. Seed of love and hope for a better life than what they know. I'm so excited to see what god does in that place over these next few years and through this next generation.
