Homelessness
An orange hue of light glided cross his face as the darkness of the night surrounded him. Rainwater fell from the bottom of his curly hair; landing onto his broad shoulder blades. With a hand eagerly stretched towards me, he received the hot cup of coffee with no hesitation. I smiled and looked into his eyes. The black shadows made it difficult to see if there was any spark of hope dwelling inside of him.
Manuel had been living on the streets for 14 years. He lived in a rough part of the city of San Jose. It didn't take long for his friends to gather around when they saw the white YWAM van parked on the side of the road. In seconds, at least ten DTS students jumped out of the van to offer each one of them a harm drink. As I stood outside of the van and listen to Manuel's story over a cup of coffee; he told me about the brokenness in his heart. He explained that he use to have a home with the woman of his dreams. They were together and lived in a comfortable apartment for 25 years. In that moment a smile appeared on his face. However, his smile slowly faded away as he expressed how his partner told him one evening that she didn't want to be with him anymore. So, the love of his life decided to kick him out of the house. All at once, he lost the woman of his dreams and his home.
Daily, Manuel suffers to make ends meet…he often sleeps on the cold cement at night, while the rainy season in Costa Rica has no mercy on him. As I stood there listening to his story, my heart felt heavy and I thought to myself, "God how do I show Manuel Your mercy and love?
The Willful Widow
There she was-sweat dripping from her forehead. She looked exhausted as I noticed her struggling in an effort to pull one large piece of luggage (behind her) through the puddles of mud and dirt. With her left hand she carried a heavy bag filled with so many items they where spilling over the top of it. Only a half of a mile and she would be past the border of Costa Rica and into the country of Nicaragua. She had already made it through customs and managed to slowly pass through all the long lines. A big part of her journey to Nicaragua was already over. Yet, there was more one challenge she had to face....and that was getting all her belongings pass the border. As I looked at this woman, she appeared to be in her late 50's or early 60's. She was a widow, traveling alone on an extremely humid Saturday afternoon. And by the worrisome look on her face-I could see that this last part of her trip seemed to be the hardest.
Kevin ran up to her and asked (in English) if he could help carry her luggage. I quickly followed his lead and translated his words into Spanish, so the woman would understand his gesture (and not think he was trying to steal from her). With a huge smile, she agreed and handed over her luggage to Kevin with no reserves. As I gently took her other bag and wrapped it around my arm, I asked her why she was going to Nicaraguan. She expressed that she was going to visit her mother for the holiday weekend since it was Independence Day for Costa Rica.
As her and I spoke with each other, we walked down the road getting closer and closer to the border. I was very surprised by the first question she asked me,
"Eres una Cristiana?" My eyes beamed with joy as I responded with a confident, "YES!!" She looked at me and then said, "Are you a missionary?" How could she know this? My heart couldn't have been more excited at that moment! I then had the privilege of telling her why I decided to come to Costa Rica. "I came to Costa Rica with the group of people in front of us. We are part of an organization called Youth With a Mission. We are here because we desire to know God personally and make Him known to others." And GET THIS!! She asked me where my church was/is in San Jose. Once I told her the name of the church, she then asked if she could come and visit us all. Soon after, I found out that she has been living in San Jose for the last 20 years.....doesn't God work in really neat ways?:) This encounter was the highlight of my entire week!
Where Will my Team be Going on Outreach?
For several months now, none of my teammates (nor I) knew where God would call us to go for outreach. The lecture phase is coming to a close...this is our final week of classes. As our leaders have prayed and asked God for guidance, they feel that God is calling each one of us to be a light to the people in Europe (specifically France and North or South Holland).
I will have to admit when I heard the words, "Europe" all I could think was..."You have got to be kidding me? God you sure have a sense of humor. I came alllllll the way to Central America and now I am heading back to Europe? This cannot be happening."
However, as the weeks have been passing by, I have been realizing that sometimes in life...God wants to take us to our Nineveh. Slowly God has been transforming my heart and ridding me of all my pride.
Also, I know that if there is any place where God will really stretched my faith it is in Europe. To me going to Europe will be much more challenging than staying in Central America. People here tend to be warm, open, and friendly. Yet, in this part of the world (Europe) a believer must be able to defend: their faith, God's truth, and ask the Lord to give them boldness as they speak.
I don't know about you? But when I think of a missions trip, "France and Holland" are not the two countries that come to mind. However, as I have been praying and researching these two countries for the past several weeks; my heart has slowly becoming less hard. To the point now where my heart is starting to ache for these people. God desires to have a relationship with each person He has created in His image.
There is so much more I want to share about the Netherlands (North or South Holland) and France....but it's getting late and tomorrow is a new day. I hope you are all;) Feel free to write me. I enjoy getting emails and hearing about your life at home. I hope to share more in detail what we are planning on doing while in Europe in the next blog....
With love, Tiff
220 E. Birch St. Lancaster WI, 53813
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