Day 7 in Costa Rica

Okay, so sometimes I go too fast and hard! Shellie hit the wall yesterday and so I made the decision to have her stay here at Mike’s and enjoy the cool, the quiet, and the beauty. I have to admit that I am pretty tired too; tired of all the travel in traffic, tired of the heat, and tired of going from one meaningful conversation to another and not being able to “fix” everything right away. But He knows much better than I do what I can and cannot handle. And I apologize that I have no pictures for today! I guess I'm hitting the wall too...

Of all the days for Shellie to stay home, I write this a bit disappointed that she couldn’t be with me. Steve Mean came and got me and then dropped me off at the AMCA house at about 8:00. I spent some time on the computer and calling the states, awaiting the arrival of Craig and Shelley Rice, who have been here with LAM for almost 25 years! Craig is a quiet but lovable guy who works with IINDEF, our Evangelism in Depth ministry here in Costa Rica (If you want to know more about Evangelism in Depth, google it). we walked to the IINDEF office and he showed me a database that he is building that will hopefully one day have every Christian organization and missions agency listed in it - a huge project!

After some brief conversation, Shelly came by and picked me to go to the RAHAB foundation, a ministry dedicated to helping prostitutes find Christ, get off the streets for good, and work for better lives. I have to admit I was not looking too forward to the visit and “sitting in on a small group meeting.” Shelley talks faster than a Venezuelan, looks and even has gestures like my sister Cindy, and yet has learned all the different “tico” gestures and tones in her voice. I was quite impressed. We travelled a short distance to downtown San José to what is considered one of the main “red light” districts. We stopped in front of a gate that looked like it opened into a junk yard. To my surprise, as the gate rolled back, I was looking at a beautiful 3-story building in the final phases of construction. I am sorry that I didn’t take any pictures. I just totally spaced on pictures all day! The building is the new center for the foundation. It houses classrooms, a fully commercial kitchen, a sewing center, a computer center, meeting rooms and offices. It perhaps is the most american-like building I’ve seen. Shelley took me on a tour of the entire property and showed me everything; and I mean everything! I saw closets, I heard the stories of individual doors and ovens. I was beginning to feel that I might be held captive all day and night until I knew every nook and cranny and every piece of equipment they had! Fortunately, the director of the center showed up with some coffee and we talked for a while about the ministry of the foundation. I couldn’t help but think of the days when Cara was working with gals at risk and a couple of afternoon drives to the secured shelters to help her find protection for a couple of young moms. I am going to try and put them in contact, because I think Cara has a lot to offer them. They are a relatively young ministry and have the vision to not only help prostitutes, but all victims of sexual commerce, including the very large population of transvestite men here in San José.

At about 10:30, the director received a call and she ushered me up to the second floor where we walked into a small group in progress. You can probably well imagine how I should have felt - a pastor walking into a room filled with prostitutes. But the Lord had somehow prepared me to “let go” of preconceptions and discomfort, so I actually felt quite relaxed. The director introduced me and had each gal introduce herself, how many kids she had and a little about her life. There were, I think, twelve women from 22 to 40 something. Most had at least two, if not three kids. Their stories were enough to fill several “60 Minutes” programs. They were a bit tense and quiet when the director asked if they had questions for me. After some awkward silence, one of the gals asked what she should do about her relationship with her mom who stood by and watched as she was abused by her father and uncles and others. She left home, hit the streets and is now trying to straighten up her life. With tears in her eyes she desperately wanted some hope for restoration with her mother. I shared with her that often we have to make the decision to follow Christ, even in the face of rejection, but that God would most likely give her the opportunity in time to reconcile with her mom. Somehow that broke the ice and one-by-one, all the gals opened their hearts and shared some of their stories. As I write these next few lines I am tearing up when I think of the desperation mixed with faith. One of the gals looked me in the eye and said that the night before (Wednesday), she was standing in front of “Rey” (the Hotel Rey in downtown) ready to slip back because she didn’t have any money with which to feed her three kids breakfast this morning. A man offered her 1,000 Colones - about $1.80…yes, that’s one dollar and eighty cents, for her services. She said that at that instant she recognized what the staff at Rahab had been telling her for weeks; “You are extremely valuable to God!” She turned, walked away and found herself going home and loving her kids. I was left wondering if God had not only spoken to her, but if He had also provided breakfast for her.

I spent about an hour with the gals and we finished the time standing in a circle, holding hands and praying. I can’t help but think that, as a result of my time this morning, I won;t be able to look at these women with disdain or judgement, but as younger sisters who are desperately in need of the unconditional love of Christ and His followers. I take a risk in saying this, but this associate ministry of ours may be on of the most strategic we have!

The director and Shelley thanked me and by that time, Craig had driven to meet us at the center. We walked a couple of blocks to a health food restaurant and enjoyed fresh fruit drinks, healthy chalupas and some great conversation. After lunch I said goodbye to Shelley and Craig drove me a few blocks to the stained glass studio of Jaime Cabezas, the second generation son of missionaries. Jaime speaks perfect english but really is “tico.” He is a member of the LAM board and knows just about every influential person in San José. He is most proud of his business, which helps people learn how to do stained glass, mosaics and glass fusion. He has just received word that the University of Costa Rica (the largest) is finishing up the details on an agreement that will give students university credit for studying at Jaime’s shop! His mother walked in on our conversation and I got yet another perspective of the high times of the LAM in Costa Rica. I am so impressed with this generation of missionaries.

Jaime took me by car to the Roblealto headquarters, where I met up with Steve Mean and we travelled to the Lincoln School, an international American school that Steve and Gay’s son attends. It was beyond belief! Millions been spent on this school which is state of the art in every way. Getting into the parking lot is as difficult as entering an embassy I would think and, as a matter of fact, I was told that the Department of Homeland Security had just installed high voltage wiring above the beautiful stone walls and dozens of security cameras all over campus. It was not too far from Mike’s house and the trip with Steve saved me money and gave me some wonderful “filter” time with Steve. We called a taxi from the school soccer field where Steve’s boy was playing and fifteen minutes later I arrived at Mike’s to find a completely refreshed and relaxed Shellie!

I had about an hour of down time before having to get ready for dinner with the grandson of the founders of LAM, Harry Strachan and his wife Sandy. We called a cab and rode to the extreme opposite side of San José to Escazú, which is in essence little America. The streets are lined with every chain restaurant you could name, including the high end ones. After getting a bit lost, the taxista dropped us off in front of a five-story building up on the hill overlooking the entire valley. We were warmly greeted by Harry and Sandy in their fifth-story penthouse that had almost an entire glass front with a view beyond description. We sat for a half of an hour and learned each other’s stories. Harry did begin to follow the family call to missions. After being raised here in San José, he attended Wheaton College and then began to question the faith of his parents and the call in his life. He ended up at Harvard and ultimately graduated with an M.B.A.
He quickly rose up in the investment world and began teaching at Harvard, while serving as one of the founders of the Baine Capital group out of Boston. Needless to say, he has found great wealth. Sandy is his second wife of almost 15 years and they appear to be quite content with their lives here in San José and on the road (they travel several months a year). They have formed several foundations that keep them busy doing compassion kind of work. While they have had some involvement with Camp Robelalto, they have had essentially no relationship with the LAM for many years.

Harry drove us to a beautiful upper end hotel in San José called the Grano de Oro, where the four of us enjoyed a dinner that would rival the best of restaurants in every way. I asked Harry to share his journey and he spent the majority of our dinner time confirming what many had already told me. His journey has led him away from the Lord into an agnostic life, looking for the divine in every potential religion or philosophy. My heart sank as I heard him describe how he had become so successful in business, yet so confused spiritually (my words). We did share some moments discussing LAM, it’s history and vision and there is no question it has been a big part of his life - just not now.
After a couple of hours, we said our goodbyes and Shellie and I took a taxi back to Mike’s grateful for a wonderful dinner with new friends, but sad with the realization that all three of Kenneth Strachan’s children (The founder’s son) are not walking with the Lord. There’s a word from the Lord in all this for those of us who consciously or unconsciously put ministry before our relationships with our families!

A bit awed, sad and disturbed by the days events, I prayed and then “escaped” to “the Greatest Game Ever Played,” one of my favorite feel-good movies.