5:34 PM
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20th 2019
Hey hey hey!! A little over halfway done with Costa Rica! Things have been insane so hunker down for this one.
Overall amazing week full of painting light posts and murals and endless sunny days interacting with people on the streets of Jacó.
(I am unable to name the people in this blog for privacy and safety.)
On Wednesday night, a few of us, around 7 people set out for night time ministry with the intention of being a presence down the Red Light District (an area very heavy with prostitution and drug deals, know to be the spot to get anything under the table.) Right in front of a known prostitution ring. As we arrived at our meeting spot, the rain began to come down fairly heavily. That means runny paint and catching colds. So, we huddled into a little coffee shop and talked about the game plan for the night. One of our hosts, Rita, sat us down and prepped us. Instead of painting nearby the brothel, we were going in. Everyone was confused, what were going to do? Buy a woman’s time and convert her into a Christian? But I knew. It was time to show people who He was.
So, we go in as pairs to the lobby of a casino/hotel. I went with Josh, so that no one would mistake him for a patron, and we were on our way. We walk through a dead casino and into a bar area that goes in a continuous loop. Sticking out like sore thumbs, we split up into our pairs and find somewhere to sit. Josh and I sit down at a couch and are immediately approached by the staff there who are making it very clear they are confused and we have to buy something. So, we order a soda and sit and wait. Every man and woman in the room is fixated on us, stealing glances of confusion, amusement, even annoyance and anger. I tell Josh I think we need to sit at the bar and we walk around the loop until we find one open seat.
A tall pretty woman calls us over with a thick accent. “Come sit here,” she beckons. We walk over and I ask if the seat is saved. She says it is not and I sit as Josh stands next to me. She turns to the clearly intoxicated men she is pursuing and looks back at me. “Do you know where you are?” she asks us. “Yes.” I say with a small smile and nod of encouragement. She furrows her brows and looks me over once more. “I don’t think you know what this is. This isn’t the place for you, girl.” I mustered as much acceptance and love into my eyes as I could and told her, “I think this is where I’m supposed to be.” We begin making small talk and she tells me random things about herself, during which, she occasionally looks back at the men next to her and tries to keep their attention. They look over at us a few times. Once, very clear, the older man looked at me sadly and shook his head almost ashamed. When the religion subject gets breached, she makes is very clear. She believes in God, but still has to do “bad things” here on Earth. She says she knows God but He is not in that place, the devil is. He doesn’t come here. She tells me in Spanish, “The darkness comes at night, and it the morning the sun rises and it goes away. Then you start again.” I told her that He is everywhere. She gave me her phone number and told me she has to go make money now.
A few moments later, I speak softly with a woman in a beige dress, who knows no English, about herself and her hair. We have an unspoken understanding. That we are there for different reason completely, but something about our talk was inexplicably pure. I see a woman in a red dress who I feel extremely pushed to speak with. A moment after finishing my conversation, two girls on my squad, Halston and Erin, call me over. As I walk over, they tell me they very much want to speak with someone, but don’t know Spanish. Who? The woman in the red dress. She walks away, but we nod and pursue her taking the route we know she will come out onto. I quickly get her attention by complimenting her dress. She stays with us and we speak with her. Clearly knowing we didn’t come there for simple small talk, we begin to ask her about herself. She tells me she hates this work and she’s only here for a while, but she has to feed her sons. Her tattoo of a woman holding two young boys was her and them, as well as their names tattooed on her collarbones. She says she has no friends here, she only wants to come make money and leave. We talk more and I speak sincerely and sweetly until she looks me in the eyes and tells me, “I would love to speak more, but I have to work now.” I tell her I understand and watch as she walks over to men she doesn’t wish to be around.
Walking out with Halston, we notice a woman walking with a man on each side of her. The woman in the beige dress, taking men to the rooms to do her work. As she walks past us with them, time stops. Her gaze locks with mine, full of pain and dullness, and what she wished to say was evident. “I don’t want this, but I have to do it.” I attempt to nod with assurance and understanding in the short encounter.
We walk back out and see a woman sitting. She looks at us and I tell her I like her dress. As it is very short, she eyes my baggy clothes and says to me, “You mean you like the color.” I laugh and tell her she looks pretty. We begin to chat in Spanish and she opens up about her daughter briefly. When we express interest, she looks flabbergasted and instantly pulls or her cellphone to show us photos and photos of this sweet child of hers. And it was very clear to me. The people she meets don’t want to hear about her family or her life. They want one thing from her and don’t wish for her to talk before or after.
Soon the group comes and tells us it’s time to leave, so we do, speaking to another woman on the way out briefly about some after party some people wanted us to come to.
I found out very quickly that this is the ministry I was called to. That Jesus pursues the unpursuable and finds the lost.
A bit of light fun at surf ministry yesterday, the powerful waves of Jacó beach being not exactly ideal to teach kids on, but still a great time.
We had a beautiful church service today full of great stuff. Continuing to hear the clear command from God. “See others as I see them.” Towards the end, I walked to a couple and they prayed over me. Struggling lately with where God wants me, they prayed that I don’t take my past into new relationships and soften my heart to people. They prayed for direction and if missions is on my docket, then understanding that God has plans for me that only work if my heart is fully for Him.
From the mouths of devoted followers of Jesus on Sunday morning and prostitutes in the dark night, God wants me to love. How could I doubt?
That’s all for now!! Check you later people!!
