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Love them to Jesus: Prostitutes and Orphans


Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:34-40.

The hardest part about living in Costa Rica is knowing I'm going to leave. It's not that I'm not missing people or things or life in Texas, but it's hard to truly grasp the essence of living in a country when you know that as soon as you truly begin to get accustomed, you're leaving. While those that know me deeper than surface level know I love to travel, this is also the longest I've ever been out of the States. My heart is having a hard time getting attached to these people because I know i'm going to be packing up and leaving before I know it.

"You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart always will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place." - Miriam Adeney

That quote is constantly playing in the back of my head. Where am I? Where do I want to be? Where, what, or who defines home for me?

Yesterday, (Monday) I went to training for a ministry in San José associated with YWAM (youth with a mission)-or JUCUM in Spanish. The ministry I trained for is called Freedom Street Ministries. Freedom Street Ministries is an organization based in San José that aims to "affect the injustice of prostitution and exploitation through sharing God's love with the victims and sex workers in San Jose". In essence, the organization goes out to the streets at night and loves, cares for, gets to know, prays for, and gives free coffee and cookies to the people involved in this sex industry. They also have Casa Agape-a ministry that provides work and hope to those trying to get out of the sex industry.  This isn't an openly evangelistic mission, rather a way to love "unlovable" people in attempts to show them the value of their life and their identity in Jesus Christ. We aren't forcing the gospel on them, but are instead loving them to Jesus.

I will be heading to the streets from about 8-midnight or so on Thursday night. Please be praying. This obviously isn't the most safe situation I could put myself in, but I fully trust that God will provide protection and I am praying for wisdom and the spanish words to say to the friends I will encounter.

Friday night we will meet at the largest brothel in San José and will be praying for the enslaved girls as well as the other individuals that participate in the sex trade. My heart is already hurting for these people to know the love and peace of Jesus.

On a lighter note, I found out my internship for the month of November and following will be in an ORPHANAGE! 
I'M SO STOKED! (:

By orphanage, I mean "albergue del PANI". PANI stands for Patuonato Nacional de la Infancia. Basically, it's Costa Rica's version of CPS. They don't really have "orphanages" as we think of, instead they have mas o menos boys and girls homes.
These homes provide housing and shelter for both kids whose parent's have died, as well as kids whose parents are deemed "unfit" to care for them. 

All I know so far is that it's really difficult to work there and that the "I can't wait to love on orphans and have them love me" mindset can't come with me to the city of Cartago because many of the hearts of these poor children have been hardened. It's going to be tough, but good.

The only setback I'm having about this albergue is something I learned at my YWAM/JUCUM training... When the girls and boys get kicked out of these homes at age 18, they have nowhere to go. Very frequently when they are released from these homes, they find themselves broke and living on the streets. As a result, they are often forced into prostitution.

A never-ending, horrible, and vicious cycle. 

It's going to break my heart to not be able to rescue these beautiful children. 

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