Marge at Large

Andrea, myself, Steph and Mette putting the finishing touches on a house.

You know you’re on outreach when your sunburned, wearing clothes you cant remember the last time you washed and too busy to get online and write a blog saying that you’re too busy to get online and write a blog.

Welome to my outreach life.

I am currently soaked in my own sweat, typing this in a tiny café with the hopes that the power – which is out along the entire main street of Jaco, Costa Rica – will come back on at some point long enough for me to post. If you’re reading this than the afternoon was a success.

Our time in Costa Rica has thus far been a test of flexibility, with our ministries starting between one hour and two days late and ranging from construction work to children’s programs, and just about everything in between.

While in San Jose, we passed out food, coffee and a little old fashioned Jesus love at a homeless shelter and on the street. We volunteered at orphanages, creating programs geared towards teaching the children about their own value and the value of others. We spent many hours providing soccer, games, nail painting and music for an underprivileged neighborhood to offer positive alternatives to drugs and alcohol for youth, during their week off school.

It was a full, challenging and strengthening two weeks – and not just because of the trips to Taco Bell. We learned to work and live together as a team and became adjusted to the culture, climate and language.

Poas was a change of pace. The town located at the base of the Poas Volcano, was devasted by an earthquake in early January. The reconstruction work that still needs to be done there is overwhelming. We spent our time at working on two different homes, both for families still displaced. We also spent a few days working in both chili and strawberry fields that were damaged after the earthquake, which serve as the only source of income for several families there. During this time, we stayed in “containers” – trailers equipped with three tiny rooms and a bathroom, where we occasionally took showers when they weren’t already occupied by the bugs. Which was almost never.

Although our time in Poas was perhaps the most physically challenging, it was also extremely rewarding. Working alongside those that have lost everything, as we were able to work alongside those that have lost everything and really see that as we moved rocks and plastered cement we weren’t just building a home, but rather a hope. A hope that what is lost is nothing compared to what is found and life will always conquer death. Always.

Okay stop gagging I know that was cheesy. Sometimes even I can be heartfelt. Sometimes.

From Poas we piled everything we have into the typical missionary vehicle – a van without air conditioning and seatbelts that broke sometime in the 80s  – and took off for Jaco, a small town located right on the coast and the prostitute capital of the country.

Jaco is a quiet community based around the surf culture and tourism. The streets are lined with slightly sun burned gringos looking through shops of cheap coconut jewelry, amazing coffee and every water sport you could imagine.

Until nightfall.

After the sun sets Jaco becomes one big party, where crack heads and coke addicts fill the countless bars and rich men come to buy some of the most sought-after prostitutes in the whole world.

Walking the main street at night, we saw countless women selling themselves and heard about countless more using the local brothels and bars as their places of business. Oh and if it’s children you’re after all you have to do is ask the manager and for a special price he will take you to the ones in the back.

And you thought the beetles in the shower thing was gross.

Some of the women are here by choice, while others have been trafficked.  They make up about 5 percent of the population.

So the question is, what are we doing about it?

To be honest, right now we don’t know. But we refuse to ignore it. We have been volunteering at a health fair in the area as well as with the Christian Surfers here, and have been meeting with locals to see how we can help with efforts already started to fight prostitution, and empower locals to do the same thing after we have leave.

This weekend will be Alejandro’s and Andrea’s last with the team, as they need to return to Switzerland to start preparing for the school’s graduation. I will be leading the team on my own for the remaining two and a half weeks, and have nothing but high expectations for the team and our ministry.

But we’re all sure to miss Alejandro’s tacos.

As if we needed another excuse to go to Taco Bell.