Behind the bars, behind the tough looks, behind the round the clock surveillance, these people were well- people.
Our first Sunday in Costa Rica was not spent in church, but in prison (a juvenile correctional facility actually). That’s right, we traded pews for cells. Not to worry we went willingly to hang out and build community. Diego* as our guide since our very own Bernadette was too sick to come with us. Alone, (kind of) we set off to prison, nerve-wracked in every sense but I remained calm in the backseat.
Before the race started, I was sure my heart was tugging towards the sex trafficking niche of ministry but now I don’t know. I know in my heart there is a trail of pain that leads to prison, and when I walk through those cage-like walls I am welcomed by warm smiles and just an eagerness to engage in some sort of communication with the outside world (& sometimes catcalling but ya know).
We spent the afternoon playing indoor soccer in a big concrete gym and talking to the inmates on the sidelines. It was my first time in that kind of environment but I loved every minute of it. In the back of my mind, I was thinking of what someone could be incarcerated for but those thoughts were blown away like fog in the morning when I started to get to know them. The group that we were with was the 18+ section, I was a little surprised to hear how long some of the sentences were. The main guy we spoke to- let’s call him John*, now 21 had begun his sentence at 16 and is scheduled to be released in a few months on good behavior! Hallelujah! I didn’t learn until the ride home some of the reasons our new friends had been sent there. But let me be the first to say, their testimonies are powerful!
In self-defense on behalf of his sister, John who was from a jungle tribe deep in Costa Rica already known for its marijuana cultivation, killed her assaulter before he could strike again.
Another guy, let’s call him David*, was a hired hitman as a young teenager. He ended up killing 35 people before he turned 16. His nickname in the streets was ‘Devil’ and people avoided him at all costs because he was very good at his job. Winding up in juvie, David continued to be destructive even to the point where he aged out and was transferred to adult prison where he then started a gang- himself as the leader of the whole operation. This all changed when Diego started volunteering every week, playing soccer, involving himself in their lives and bringing the Good News with him. Now, David has started a Bible study, leading men in prison to the Lord! Praises! What a testimony!
A girl, Belinda*, and her younger sister were prepared to rob a taxi. At the last minute, after they had already pulled a gun out, the cab driver pulled a gun to her sister’s head claiming to shot her before they rob him. Instinctively Belinda pulled the trigger. Her sister was safe but she just bought both of them years in juvie. Her sister is now out and living her life but Belinda is still trapped. Sentenced longer because she was the one who actually shot the gun and not just an accomplice.
I also learned that if one of the female prisoners happened to be pregnant, they are allowed to have and keep the baby but only until their third birthday. Then the child becomes a ward of the state, jumping from foster home to foster home or adopted out. These mothers are never to be reunited with their children unless they get out in the tiny window after their third birthday. My heart breaks for these moms. Their only joy in the barbed wire cage ripped away. It’s not the giving up that gets me but the fact that they are unable to have a relationship after they are adopted out or put into a foster home. No contact. Ever.
Something has to change.
Our team will be visiting this and other prisons during our time here in Costa Rica so be on the lookout for more blog on this topic!
*Names changed for protection & safety reasons.
