As we left Virginia’s house, we didn’t know where we were going or what to expect. It turned out to be a short trip. A quick half mile drive (maybe less) and we were there. We parked on the street that appeared to end at a bend in the river.
There was a narrow one-lane bridge going across the river to our left. Kathia informed us that a little girl had recently fallen out of the tree next to this bridge and broken many of the bones below her waist. This was a rather unsettling way to begin our first visit to a squatters village. To ensure our minds were properly aligned, we huddled up next to our cars and had a moment of prayer before crossing the bridge. We then divided up into teams which included one or two Costa Ricans and two or three Americans. Then we set off with paper and pen to determine the needs of each home we would visit. Our entire group stopped at the first dwelling. Kathia spoke with a gentleman that came to the entry and asked permission to visit with them. He stated that his wife was washing her hair and would be available in a minute. She then came to the doorway and invited us inside. Heather and I went inside with Andrea (Kathia’s niece) while Kathia took the rest of the group on to the next “house”. Andrea began explaining to this family who we were and why we were all there. She very graciously interviewed this sweet lady regarding the family’s living conditions, food supply, and financial/work situation. As we walked through this home and tried to piece together what was being said, it became apparent that Andrea had done this kind of work before. The husband, who was outside with their 3 children, had been in an accident of some kind and had an injured leg. He is unable to work much. They had a partial bag of beans and rice in the house and that was the extent of their food supply, other than the scraps that lay strewn across the dirt floor. We walked to the back of their home and saw that the river was just a few feet away.
This was definitely a first for us. I've never seen anything like it before. Are there worse living conditions? I'm sure there are. The amazing thing, however, is the stark contrast between how these people had to live and their general demeanor. These were not unhappy people. Sure, some looked a little wary, but that's understandable when a large group of people invades your space (especially when "your space" is technically the electric company's land). But on the whole, these people were inexplicably pleasant.
When a group would finish at one house, we would leapfrog to the next house and follow the same procedure there. This continued through all the houses in the village.
Jeremy and Sarah arrived in a home and met a young lady with a couple children. They went through the same process of investigating the needs in this house. When they asked her what they could possibly do to help her and her family she requested that we pray for her husband, that he would be healthy and find work. She didn’t ask for food or clothes or anything else. She simply wanted us to pray. It was at this point that the rest of us walked in. Jeremy quickly filled us in on her request and then lead us in a prayer for this family.
This encounter came to our minds after we returned home. Someone spoke at church about the Centurion in Mathew 8 who came to Jesus requesting that his servant be healed. In verse 7 Jesus tells the man that he will come and heal his servant. This Roman soldier informed Jesus that he felt unworthy to have the Lord in his home. He said "but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed". At that moment Jesus turned to those around him and said "Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." This young lady believed that a bunch of strangers coming into her home and praying for her family was enough. Clearly this was not because she had great faith in our abilities. In our effort to minister to the physical needs of these families this meek, quiet lady reminded us that God is a very present help in trouble and that we can cast all our cares on him because he really does care for us.Mathew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
As we went through this village, we were always careful to ask permission before taking pictures so as not to offend anyone. These people were so kind and were always happy to have their picture taken. There was one little girl, however, that was especially excited when she saw our cameras. She went to her mother and told her that she needed to go inside and get ready to have her picture made. She proceeded to redo her hair and get fixed up, then came out and we were informed that she was ready.
She was all decked out in her school uniform (which all the children wear to the public schools) and was so adorable. This led to a mini photo shoot for some of the other kids as well.
Below is Jonah's new friend. I think his name is Kenny.
Standing in the middle of all these adults and young children was a 13 year old girl. Unfortunately I never learned her name, but she left a lasting impression on me. Maybe it's the fact that my oldest is around the same age, I don't know. As we had helped the families gather clothes from the line this young lady stood back and watched everything. She never spoke up, never asked for anything, she just observed. Heather tried to get her to go look at the clothes and she refused. Finally she led her by the hand and helped her go through the remaining items. She found one shirt that was her size. Then as we took pictures of all the children she once again stood back and watched. But she seemed a little more interested. We asked if she would like to have her picture taken. She bashfully declined. But when we offered again, she accepted. We are glad she did!
Obviously, there were children running around everywhere. This was prime hunting ground for little Jonah (Jeremy and Sarah's 5 year old son). The boy spent all his time in Costa Rica hunting for a stranger. As best I could tell, he never found one. He looked all over this little village and all he found were friends. At one point he was standing at the "back door" of a house and he made some kind of loud noise. He may have been singing, or just yelling; whatever 5 year old boys do. When he would shout out he heard an echo. He was amused by this and kept doing it. He finally pointed out this phenomenon to an adult. It was quickly determined that the echo was not Jonah's voice. Turns out there was another little boy around the corner of the house that would mimic whatever sound Jonah made. This little boy was Kenny. And from all outward appearances, he and Jonah were long lost friends. Somewhere in the day Jonah determined that the things that had been brought to this village were just not enough. He remembered he had brought along some toy cars to play with during the trip and he didn't need all of them. He felt (very strongly) that Kenny should have some of these. So Jeremy and I made a trip back to the car to retrieve these items. As I've stated before in this blog, we could all learn a lesson in generosity from the children in our lives.
When we finished up at the river, Kathia and her family led us to a restaurant for a late lunch. We used this time to look over our notes and make a shopping list.
As usual, Leia was a big hit!
After lunch, we went to purchase some of the things these families needed (clothes, undergarments, flashlights, food, etc.). We loaded everything into our cars and said good night to Kathia and her family. We took all the food and supplies with us and spent the rest of the evening dividing it up by household (numbering the houses was a great idea!).
This was a long day, filled with many emotional highs and lows. But the thing that kept coming back to me was that if things had gone according to our plan, we wouldn't have been there to do those things. None of it would have happened. I suppose it would be easy to take the idea of divine leadership a little to far. But I can't help but look back on this time and believe that there is a reason Psalm 31: 3 was written. It says "For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me." That is our continual prayer for this work.
John
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