Opening my eyes

This week was about Human Trafficking. (Sexual exploitation, forced labor, child soldiers, organ trafficking, etc). I’ve learned so much about how/where it happens, how many are involved, how to investigate suspicious situations, etc. My heart is broken for this…there are no words to describe.

We took a trip downtown late last night to walk the streets and observe. Some of us talked to prostitutes, transvestites, taxi drivers, and locals to learn more about what happens 15 minutes away from us every night. Sex tourism is huge in Costa Rica, unfortunately.

I’m still unsure how to process some of what I saw. There’s an anger, a desperation to fight. There is also a sense of betrayal. That one surprises me. I’ve never been prostituted/trafficked/exploited like that. Why am I taking offense in such a personal way? I wanted to run up to those men and demand an explanation. How can you be so disgusting? Selfish? Blind to the repercussions this will bring? How can you treat a human being, somebody’s daughter, like a disposable object? But I’m reminded of God’s heart for them too. For the abusers, the participants of this monstrosity. He loves them like he loves me. I can’t understand how God still views them as his precious children. That’s hard for me to swallow. Because last night, all I saw was filth. I saw countless, COUNTLESS, white, middle aged men walk in and out of this hotel 20 feet away from me. On vacation, looking to have some fun, some instant gratification to fill their empty lives. How many are married, I wonder? Probably more than half. How many have daughters themselves? They’re far from home and this secret part of their lives is displayed in front of me to see. $100 for an hour, the taxi driver informed us. They can do whatever they want with the girls. Are some of the girls trafficked, we asked? Forced sexual exploitation? Oh yeah, he replied. Tons of them.

Perhaps the most unsettling part of the night happened with a few guys that came with us. They decided to investigate in a bit of a different way, a way that men would have an easier time doing. Pose as the consumer. At one of the bars, they asked around where they could find a place to have sex with children. Under 16, they requested. Sure, was the reply. There’s a place close by. $100 for an hour with as many kids as you’d like. Except it’s not safe to bring the kids to the bar, so we’ll bring you to them. Well, our guys weren’t prepared for this next step just yet, so they told the local that they didn’t have the money right then, but maybe tomorrow. They left with a card, a phone number, to get in touch with connections that would take them to the kids when they’re ready. I’m not sure what will happen with this, but I think they’re planning on finding out more information, a location, and getting the police involved.

Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica, but human trafficking is not. How much easier though, for trafficking to exist in a place where prostitution is all over the streets. How do you know which of the girls are being trafficked, and which have chosen prostitution? And how much easier for a brothel to exist, with a room of little girls and boys down in the basement.

These things might seem far away, or only in the movies, or only in 3^rd world countries where there’s corruption. But the truth is that it’s happening everywhere. Some places in greater amounts, but it’s everywhere. Why does it exist? There’s a HUGE demand for it. More often than not, the demand comes from foreigners, westerners. My eyes were opened this week, in a way that begs for action. It’s one thing to briefly hear about this thing that exists, it’s another to hear the staggering statistics and that it’s happening in your very own city. And it’s an entirely different thing to see it with your own eyes. To investigate for one hour one night, and discover how easy it is to take part in this awful injustice.

There’s so much more I want to share. But for now, I just wanted to process some of my thoughts from what I experienced last night. I recommend watching Human Trafficking, a made for TV movie. It’s really interesting. Hard to watch, but interesting. It gives different situations of human trafficking in different countries, and how people often get trapped into it. Or type in Human Trafficking to google and see what comes up. There’s a lot of information out there. But get ready to learn some heavy stuff. I believe it’s our responsibility to do something. What’s my part, exactly? That’s my question today.

Nicaragua

What an incredible week. Nicaragua was much different than I expected…and VERY different from Costa Rica. As we approached the border last Saturday, the scenery began to shift from lush, green, and mountainous, to empty fields, flat roads, and intense sun. We passed the Lake of Nicaragua which surrounds a huge volcano- so cool!

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, and this was also evident as we were passing through. We had an adventurous journey on three different buses by the time we arrived in Diriamba, Nicaragua Saturday evening.

The currency in Nicaragua is called Cordobas. 20 Cordobas equals about $1 USD. To give an example of how cheap things are there, a ride in a Moto (their form of a taxi) is 5 Cordobas.

Moto!

Ice cream at Eskimo (the DTS’ favorite spot during the week) was about 15 Cordobas. We went with a Nicaraguan to the local market and bought breakfast for 35 people for 6 mornings and spent $50 USD. For 35 people! Crazy cheap.

The week was packed full of different activities led by our DTS: kids ministry at numerous elementary schools, English classes, church services, house to house visits, prayer walks, gatherings at the community park, a cultural/prayer night at the church, and the library- the library was my favorite part. A Nicaraguan man, Mynor, opened up this library a couple months ago and it was so amazing to work at. Each day, the library would be full of kids excited to read books, play games, and learn. A lot of kids don’t attend school and are able to come hang out at the library instead. I could have just sat in a chair at the library each day and watched the kids interact and read- it was that amazing to see! It might seem like a normal thing, to have a local library, but this is so huge for a place like Diriamba! To see these adorable kids so eager to learn and to know how little opportunity they have, it breaks your heart and encourages you so much at the same time. I loved, loved, loved our time each afternoon at the library.

Besides sitting with the kids and reading, we had tons of different projects happening at the library. Some DTS students printed out flyers advertising for the library and walked around town passing them out. (Many people visited the library for the first time last week because of the flyers). Some of the guys built a table, some students taught an English class, and a group of us painted a huge mural on the outside of the building. I was part of the mural group most days, and it was so much fun! I can’t even tell you how many people stopped and watched us. Kids stood next to us for an hour at a time just watching us paint. Adults stopped and asked what we were doing, how much we were getting paid (haha), where we were from, etc. It attracted so much attention and ended up being such an awesome tool for interacting with the community.

Just beginning...

In process (note all the onlookers)...

Finished product!

I still can’t get over the way the students stepped out during this past week. I’m so impressed! We have a lot of maturity, a lot of wisdom and SO much compassion in this group. In fact, we had to have a talk about doing “extra ministry” because our students were planning classes/house visits/etc that weren’t on our schedule! (Of course we encouraged them, we just reminded them of our commitments already made). The hearts of the students were so evident this week. It was a good time to learn for us staff- how we work together as outreach leaders, strengths and weaknesses, surprises for our budget (that was my area- yikes!), and how crazy things get when your group is 35 people large.

Typical staff meeting... :)

On the last night in Nicaragua, a family in the barrio (neighborhood) cooked a typical Nicaraguan meal for our whole team. It was so delicious! We had a couple different meats, fried plantains, “enchiladas” (which tasted nothing like the enchiladas I’m used to, but they were good!), a sort of roll up that reminded me of taquitos, refried black beans, and salad. It was so generous of the family to cook for us! That’s a lot of food, for 35 people.

Everyone came back beaming and so excited to share with people back here in San Jose. Lots of stories, lots of pictures, and lots of memories were made this week. We’re excited that most of our team is returning in about a month!

Off we go...

In the wee hours of tomorrow morning, our team of 33 is heading out to Nicaragua for 8 days. I'm writing this mid afternoon and everything is kinda crazy around the base right now. Those of us leaving are packing, cleaning, running to the store/ATM, etc. Everyone else on base is preparing for about 40 people to arrive starting tonight- teams from the U.S. mostly. There's a lot going on right now! We're all really excited for Nicaragua- here are some of the things we'll be doing:

Working with the local church:
-Leading Sunday service
-Bible studies
-Teaching English
-Maintenance work

Working with a new library:
-Organizing
-Spreading the word about its opening
-Hosting art competitions
-Cleaning
-Kids programs

Of course we'll be doing prayer walks through the community, evangelism, and helping out with the YWAM base there as well. We'll be sleeping on the floors of the church/library for the week, and taking good ole' bucket showers! :) It's going to be an adventure. Please pray for safe travels, easy border crossings, protection, team unity, and most importantly- for God's love to be poured out through us and for people to be drawn closer to Him! Through the several different ministries we'll be involved in, our purpose for going is to spread the good news of Christ. The YWAM motto is "To know God, and to make Him known." This is always the reason! Thanks for your prayers...I'll update when we return.