Outreach...
Posted by Amanda , Sunday, February 28, 2010 2:23 PM
At the end of our 3 month lecture phase, we go on to do a six month outreach phase. For my outreach, I’ve decided to go to Jaco which is a beach town in Costa Rica about two hours outside of San Jose. Jaco is basically known for its surfing and prostitution. There is a beautiful beach, but the town is dirty and full of men “looking for a good time.” There is such a mix of wealth and poverty, all in about a four or five mile strip. The main income of the place is tourism, so if you can’t speak English and sell things, you basically don’t have a job. It’s a hard place, a mix of good and evil, and it’s where I feel called for the next six months of my life.
On Friday afternoon, a group of us who are planning to do outreach together set out for Jaco. We spent a good portion of the week observing what was happening there, in order to get an idea of how we could do ministry there. On Friday night, we attended one of the churches there and met some awesome people. After church, we walked down the strip to see what the nightlife was like. It was hard for me not to get absolutely disgusted. I don’t even know how to describe what I saw. There were old men, young men, middle-aged men. They were mostly white, completely drunk and absolutely obnoxious. They were being swarmed by girls prostituting themselves, some sitting around, some heading off in Taxis with the girls. I wanted to punch those men, in all honesty. But God reminded me that He still loves them, which is such a hard concept for me to grasp. He HATES what they are doing, but He loves them and they are broken men who have no idea what they are doing.
On Saturday, we sat down with a lady who had been working with the prostitutes for the past couple years. She gave us some ideas for how we could work with the women, because everyone on our team has a passion to help women out of prostitution. One thing she said really stood out to me. Prostitution in Costa Rica is legal, so one of my classmates asked how many of the girls in Jaco are forced into it and how many do it by choice. Her answer was, “Does it matter? They all need help and none of them do it by choice. They might not be forced into it by a parent or pimp, but they were abused as a child, in poverty or some other circumstance which forced them to that place. None of them want to do it.” It’s so true. She told us a lot of the women will stand across the road from the bar and look for every excuse not to go over there until they run out of excuses. Something has led them to this place and I just want to bring hope to them, that there is something better, they are valuable and have a purpose.
On Saturday our school leader was out surfing and overheard a conversation between an older man and younger boy. The boy was asking advice for how to have a good time here and meet the local girls. He didn’t want the prostitutes, but to meet tourist girls or girls from the area. The older man was telling him, “Just pay the extra hundred bucks, take a couple girls up to your room and have a good time. That’s what they are there for.” He was urging him to just use the prostitutes. What do you do with that?
I’m still not sure, but I do know that we can do something. Outreach there is going to be hard, but worth it. Our team is strong and full of love. We are so ready to get things started there, build relationships and change something. It’s going to be great, but now I need to start preparing myself for what’s about to come.
