To say that prison in Costa Rica Is different from prison in Alabama would be an understatement. In Alabama all the inmates wear white. That is what distinguishes them from the officers. In Costa Rica inmates wear their own clothes including caps, bandanas and clothes of all descriptions. In Alabama jewelry (except watches) is strictly forbidden. Not so here. If you have jewelry feel free to wear it. In Alabama inmates are fed by the State. Families are not allowed to bring food into the prison. Here, families bring food once per week on a regularly scheduled day. These are but a few of the differences between the two.
Unfortunately, there are also many similarities, especially among the inmates. They are for the most part young and uneducated. There are two men we’ve gotten to know. One can read and write a little bit; the other man can do neither. Drugs and alcohol compounded by violence have a great deal to do with what brings these men to prison. The drug culture is just as much a problem here as it is in Alabama. I’ve heard these stories so many times now that I’ve lost count.
But there is one other similarity between here and Alabama; many of these men know that if they stay on their current path it will result in a dead end (perhaps literally). They know they need to change and Kairos gives them that opportunity. Only God knows whether or not genuine change will happen in their lives. That is not for us to worry about. Our task is to love as God loves and to show them that there is another way available to them in Jesus Christ. Hopefully they will take that way because it is the way to life, peace and hope that will change their lives forever.
I’m glad I got to go with John and Tom today because it is sometimes easy to forget the sacrifices that our missionaries make. They (John included) will tell you that it is worth it in order to do the Lord’s work. And I certainly believe him when he says it. But it is a sacrifice none the less. Let us be thankful for missionaries like John Elmore who have heard God’s call to serve and said yes. Let us be thankful that they do so even when it means sacrificing many of the things that we take for granted. May God richly bless John and all missionaries who have answered the call to make God’s kingdom visible in their places of service.
One of the joys of coming to El Vergel is also one of the most important reasons for doing so. That is to meet people from a different country and culture. By doing so we get to have some limited understanding of what the lives of others are like. When this occurs we gain some Insight into both how we are different from them and how we are similar them.
Then there are other differences that are small but interesting. For instance, when purchasing ice cream you pay and order first, then you hand your order ticket to the server who fills your order. It’s just the opposite of how we do it. Or, when you use a credit card to make a purchase you are asked whether you want to charge it all at once or break it into four separate monthly charges. That’s an option some of us might like but it isn’t available to us. Here, buses play a much bigger role in transporting people than they do at home. There are several bus companies. Intercity buses are coming and going all the time. The buses are comfortable and customer friendly. These are small differences which help us to understand that other people see the world differently. Things get done. They just get done differently.
Like our outreach ministries at home, there is often little money for basic upkeep and repair of existing facilities. Like at home, volunteers are very important when it comes to getting some of the basic upkeep and repair work done. Much of what we do here is to help with the upkeep and repair of the facilities of El Vergel, which takes some of the pressure off of their budget and frees up more resources for the school.
One thing that has struck me during this time in Costa Rica is something that strikes me every time I travel in the developing world. When I travel in the developing world I’m always reminded of how high our expectations are as residents of the U. S. We expect to have our own room. We expect to have meat at every meal if we want it. We expect that the electricity will always be on unless there is an emergency. We expect to have these and many other needs met as a natural and ongoing part of our lives and if they aren’t for some reason we feel as if we’ve been shortchanged. Most of us are blessed because our expectations are almost always fulfilled.
The Kairos weekend got off to a great start on Thursday evening (May 22). Today (May 23) was the first full day of the weekend. As we’ve been spending time in the prison I’ve been noticing some things . There are definitely some differences and similarities between our prison culture and the prison culture here.
Tom Duley and John Gates arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica last night, a little tired from travel but none the worse for wear. We have settled into the Hotel Franco which is a bed and breakfast in the heart of San Jose. San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica with a population of 2 million. It is a busy and bustling place. Hotel Franco is an urban version of the Hostal at El Vergel we stay in when we go to Chile.