7pm. Dark outside. I head
over to my good friend and neighbor Marianne’s house and we begin walking with
our friend Matt to the JUCUM headquarters. San José is arguably the most dangerous city in the country.
Typically, I shy away from the idea of walking the streets after dark at 6pm.
We load up in a van with 7 other people and head to big, dangerous city. I
don’t know what to expect. I don’t know how to prepare. I remember the words
from John 8:7 as I pray that God will show me how to love these people. “Let
him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” They
are broken just like me, I remind myself. They just don’t have the hope of Jesus.
The
van stops and a few people get out and start talking to some of the women.
They’ve been doing this a while and have formed relationships with them. They
hand the girls some hot coffee and cookies and re-enter the van. My nerves calm
a little just in time for the van to stop again. It’s my turn. It’s hard to
distinguish if I approach 3 women, or 3 transvestites. I’m told to talk to them
how they dress. 3 women. The street we are on is busy and I’m not quite sure
what to say. I hand them cookies and some iced tea, but I have a hard time
understanding them. My heart drops as we get back in the car. I decide my
Spanish knowledge isn’t prepared for this. The van stops a few more times as I
sink back in my seat. I’m saddened by the knowledge that I can’t really help
these women. I ask God to help me to be able to listen and understand the next
person I talk to.
I
get out of the van with a 20something year old Nicole and approach a 35ish year
old woman. Maritza. She takes cookies and coffee with four packets of sugar and
three packets of cream. She stirs her coffee for what seems like hours as I try
to think of how to make small talk. Then, regardless of the fact that we’ve
never met her, she begins to tell us the story of her life. Maritza tells us
how she travelled from Nicaragua with her two daughters to help her sick mother
and find honest and good work. She talks about the different jobs she’s had and
how slowly they each fell through. She talks about the man she met on the
streets and ended up marrying so she could have a place to stay. She talks
about the way she’s tried time and time again to provide for her family and how
they live on next to nothing. She talks about the Rahab ministry and how they
have helped her work for her mani/pedi certification that she will finally
receive this week. I hold back tears as Maritza ends her story with, “Yo hago
esto como un sacrificio para mis hijas” (I do this as a sacrifice for my
daughters). As I get back in the van, I
remember my prayer to understand the words of the next woman I talk to and I
thank my gracious and powerful God.
It’s
crazy how one night can change your heart. You think to yourself, “there’s no
way there could ever be a good reason to prostitute yourself” and then you meet
a mother who looks at you and says, “Yo hago
esto como un sacrificio para mis hijos”. There she was giving up
everything-everything she had-as a sacrifice for her girls. I wish I could have
spent the whole night in “the most dangerous city in Costa Rica” and listened
to the cries of these beautiful women. They just need to be heard. They just
need to be loved.
This is the biggest brothel in San José. Prostitution is legal for women as long as they don't have a pimp. On friday nights, the JUCUM ministry gathers outside and prays for the women. Most of these women are slaves to prostitution. If they try to escape, their lives are endangered.
This is my group! We graduated from our spanish class! 84 hours of tutoring!
This is my really great friend Marianne. (:
Pura Vida.
Costa Rica's used clothing stores are called "Ropa Americano". Ironic...
I went with Mama Rosy to the fruit and veggie market on Saturday morning. It was really interesting!
I'm headed to Nicaragua in the morning at 6am for the next week and a half. We're going to be in the capital for a few days and then we're going to be living with host families for a week. I won't have internet until I get back. Thanks for your prayers!
If you get the urge to make my week... (:
Ashley Settles
Sabanilla, Montes de Oca
San José, COSTA RICA
Latin American Studies Program Apdo. 54-2070
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