Summary: It Is Well

This may feel formaller than usual, but i'm in brain mode right now more than heart mode:

The 2019 Short Term Trip (STT) to Costa Rica affected me in a way that no other trip I’ve previously taken has. Coming out of the trip, I feel a change in the deep places of myself, which are not always easy for me to access. It isn’t an emotional change though; it’s a structural one. I view myself as brackets with personality, emotions, perspectives, opinions and the like all inside of the bracket. [sam] The changes that usually happen in my life are changes to the things inside. This trip feels like it has changed the brackets somehow. I am unable to tell in what way at this point. Perhaps it will be a function of time to get the distance to see clearly.

To my understanding, the trip originally had two expressed purposes from Fellowship’s Global Team. 1. Assist the church in the city ministry work they are doing, 2. Assess if we believe a longer-term partnership with Fellowship is practical. The trip ended up slightly more multifaceted however as we added helping the church’s campus ministry to the mix, were asked to provide feedback on our view of the health of the church’s ministries, and had a second team from Ohio there at the same time.

The GCLA Campus ministry at the Universidad Nacional (UNA) is called H@ngout. Their model is fascinating in its differences from existing models we’ve worked with. Rather than start multiple small groups, the church has started one on-campus meeting at the same time and place every week. This allows them to focus on outreach instead of follow-up and fits in very well with the Costa Rican culture and style of life (so frequently expressed as “Pura Vida”). I am unsure if their longer-term plan includes starting multiple small groups or not. I hope so, because there is so much power in that type of community, but if they do, I also hope that they keep the weekly H@ngout meeting on campus.

The method of outreach we employed this week was also unique. Rather than pair up and go “fishing,” Carlos Lagos (overseeing the campus ministry) has received permission from an English teacher (who is not a believer, but understands the church’s vision and desires) to bring our gringos into his classroom that week to talk about language and culture and also have time to talk about whatever we want. Carlos Lagos encouraged us to be very open and up front about the fact that we were from a church, with a church and desiring to tell people about Jesus. That way no one would feel tricked or manipulated. It is beautiful in its simplicity. We met students, built relationships, shared about God’s power in our lives, and invited them to hangout with the church. It was simple, powerful, effective.

The city side of the church’s ministry is far more complex and is overseen by Carlos Gomez, the pastor of the church. After spending the mornings on campus, our team would part from the Ohio team (who stayed on campus until 5 PM or so). We would leave around 2 and help with the city ministry until 9 or 10 PM. The city ministry involves outreach to people living in the streets and to ladies who are hoping to leave prostitution. The majority of our work was with the former, though the latter is a big part of the church’s future plans.

There is a vicious cycle of addiction connected to life in the streets. Many ticos (people from Costa Rica) ended up in the street because they lost jobs or left their families because of addiction. Many internationals – both legal and illegal, refugees and immigrants – are unable to get work due to immigration status (if there illegally) or discrimination (if there legally). This discouragement, combined with separation from family and easy availability often lead people to use drugs or alcohol to cope. Thus, the cycle: can’t get out of addiction while on the streets / can’t get off the streets while addicted. The majority of the work we did was to meet and talk with the people in this cycle to help the church determine what kind of help is needed. Our role was to ask the questions and take the risk of being ill-received so that the church could learn how to help without being perceived negatively. Many of the stories we heard were deeply tragic. There were deep-rooted identity issues in everyone we talked to. The same poverty of self was present that all people wrestle with, but amplified and twisted specifically to this circumstance. The answer to that is gospel community. The two men who were our guides are members of the GCLA church who have left addiction but are struggling to find and keep jobs. The connection to the church was a large part of how they escaped their addictions. The plan that the church has is to start a church service in their building (conveniently right in the middle of downtown) for the people living in the street. The separate service is not so that the other church members don’t have to interact with the people from the street, but rather to allow the culture of this “urban tribe” to stay intact and for the gospel to flourish in it.

In order to avoid sleeping in the street and the risks and dangers that come with it, many women (who face an entirely different set of risks, difficulties, and dangers) will turn to prostitution. Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica, but only in certain ways and places. After the women are past the age where this is an option for them, many turn to the more dangerous and less lucrative world of illegal prostitution. The church’s goal (both for women trying to leave prostitution and for those trying to avoid it) is to start a shelter that can provide a safe community and dignified way to sleep in a bed. This is non-existent in the city; the shelters that exist are for men only or are for mixed (but with 85% of the beds slotted for men). The female community in the streets is also incredibly competitive and not cooperative. Women are culturally viewed as too problematic to be worth opening a shelter. The church believes the power of gospel community has the power to change this. In the same way that women from the street bring a unique set of issues and challenges, the church firmly believes they bring a unique set of strengths and giftings that are deeply needed.

In my opinion, Fellowship Church is well-positioned to partner long-term with the church in Costa Rica. I believe we can do a lot to help with their ministries and we can learn a lot from their ministries. Iglesia Gran Comisión has many creative takes on student ministry and Fellowship has a lot of strong experience in this area. There is a trip every year from Ohio doing that work however, so our partnership there would be helpful and good, but not crucial. If we continue to help in this area, I would suggest splitting into multiple teams, maybe even having one, smaller team stay in the church building downtown rather than in the hostel near the university.

In the area of city ministry, I would want to be incredibly selective in the people that are part of the team. It was a difficult ministry requiring tact and emotional fortitude and maturity. The team that came this year did an amazing job, but even the least emotionally-centered of us (that’s me I think) shed some tears during our team debriefs (which were late, lengthy, and daily (and I think absolutely necessary)). I would also like to include people from Fellowship’s 10:01 service (though not make it exclusively one or the other). I think that the depth and stability needed for effective ministry would be easier to find there and I think that the 10:01 service’s members have the stability and consistency in their lives to learn from Iglesia Gran Comisión and apply some of the principles to our own situation in Bryan/College Station.

The idea of future partnership with this church has me very excited and I would greatly desire to lead or be part of the leadership team for any future trips. Overall, the work happening is God's work and he is in charge of it, which is why we are able to have peace in the chaos and not be overwhelmed by the intensity of the need.