Girls Going Against the Grain

Did you know that approximately 25% of girls in developing countries are not in school, and that of the world's 130 million youth not in school who should be, 70% of them are girls?

I see this inequality in the education of girls in La Carpio. It seems to be more important for parents that their boys go to school and get their education, but that their girls stay home and help them around the house and raise younger siblings. One of my 11-year-old girls yesterday told me that she came here from Nicaragua 2 years ago, and she didn't get enrolled in school until this year. Most of the primary-school-aged girls I know have repeated multiple primary grades, and most of the secondary-school-aged girls I know have dropped out of the system. They're just too far behind, the broken system hasn't served them well, they can't afford to go anymore, and it's just too humbling to be a 7th grader when you're 19 years old.

That is why I am so impressed with the girls that come to the Institute of Life at the Christ For the City facility in La Carpio where I've been teaching. Their male counterparts are spending the day sleeping, doing drugs, hanging with their gang buddies, stealing, or playing soccer. But while the government system doesn't serve these girls, they are willing to try our alternate system and continue their education. They WANT to learn, in a community where girls are not encouraged to do so. They are persistent in their studies, taking tests 2 and 3 times before passing a grade, in a community where others give up and figure "what's the point?" They will not accept that they are dumb, in a community where those around them literally tell them so and treat them as objects. I have realized how much courage it takes them to live a life that is so out of sync with their surroundings, and it makes me love them fiercely and feel more proud of them than probably most of their own mothers do.

It is with this pride that I share with you that all 5 of the girls that took the government tests from my math class last semester passed their exams!!!!!!!!! Why is this such a big deal? What does helping some girls pass one more year of math have to do with sharing the gospel as a missionary?

First of all, math is what holds all of them back. They have holes in their past education that bars the path forward in this subject and it's the big, scary monster for most of them. Most of them have tried and failed in the past. They are learning some important character lessons about perseverance, diligence, honesty, and prayer, and I get to be there to encourage them in it. By helping them with this very practical need that they have, I earn the right to be a part of their lives and share spiritual truths with them as well. And THAT'S what I'm really in it for!

Secondly, Jesus taught about meeting practical needs in Matthew 25 when he said that when we feed the hungry, clothe the poor, visit those in prison, and show mercy to the needy, we do it to HIM. He commands us to help the poor, and warns that he takes it personally if we don't.

Finally, according to studies of the developing world, here are some of the amazing consequences for impoverished girls when we minister to them:

• An extra year of secondary school raises a girl's eventual wages by 15 to 25 percent.
• When a girl in the developing world receives 7 or more years of education, she marries 4 years later and has 2.2 fewer children.
• Medical complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death among girls ages 15 to 19 worldwide.
• Girls who marry before age 18 are twice as likely to report being physically abused by their spouse as girls married later.

So you see, this victory for these truly extraordinary girls has a ripple effect through their whole lives: their physical health, their ability to make good choices about who they marry, when and how many children they should have, and their ability to provide for their families one day. But it's not just the girls themselves who are affected:

• Research in developing countries shows that there is a consistent relationship between higher levels of education among mothers, and better infant and child health.
• When women earn income, they reinvest 90% of it into their families, compared to 30-40% for men.

Are you getting the idea? These girls' decisions to push forward affect the future generations of their children, making it more likely that they can stop the cycles of poverty and abuse that are so rampant in their community. Don't we think this is what Jesus wants for them?

I share this not out of a desire to show how "important" the work we are doing is, but to connect the dots for people far away from our work on why we bother doing it and how we think it impacts the kingdom of God. To show how truly great the victory is for these girls when they do something seemingly insignificant like pass a math exam and move on to the next grade level. And to tell you how admirable each of my students is for going against the grain in La Carpio.

For each girl who sticks with it, though, there will be 3-5 others who drop out and give up. Please join us in praying that God would strengthen the resolve, educationally and spiritually, of the girls of La Carpio, give them success and confidence, and the encouragement and power to go forth and change their world!

Peace, Andrea

Why don't I feel you, God?

This was one of the responses last Saturday when some of my girls, aged 8-11, were challenged to write down their questions for God. Each week, the girls at The Refuge journal a response to a question of my choosing. It helps me to get to know them better individually (because I read each entry and give stickers and comments of encouragement each week), and it is good for them to practice writing and spelling, which can be a challenge for many of them. They wanted to know why they couldn't see or feel him, why their parents or bad people act in certain ways, and why Jesus died on the cross for them, among other things. Man, this is my sweet spot -- I saw a great opportunity to share the gospel with them in a way that answered their questions at the same time!

This was not in my lesson plan, but reading their questions touched me and led me to create a series of studies called "Questions for God." Many of the girls don't even realize that the answers to their questions are in the Bible if they just search for them. Many of them are from nominal Catholic families who see the Bible as something the priest reads, not them. Some of them see it as a boring book of commands and rules, not as a source of life and wisdom. I wanted to show them that the Bible is accessible and full of truly useful information to begin to grow a love for God's word in them.

Today, we studied verses that tackled the nature of God. We answered the questions "What does God look like?", "Where does God's power come from?", "When/where was God born?" and "How did He create the world?" I think their attention was as rapt as I've ever seen it during the lesson today, because these were answers to questions that they themselves had posed, so of course they were interested!

Next week, we'll tackle how to know God, why Jesus died on the cross for us, and how we can feel his presence. And the final week, we'll talk about evil and why bad things happen. Each week, the girls memorize a verse to earn points toward going to camp in January, and I'm thrilled that they are cataloguing God's word in their hearts and minds in this way so that the Holy Spirit may use it to reach them, convict them, and encourage them in moments when they desperately need it.

Please join me in praying that this series will be a rich time of study for us together and that the girls will develop a thirst for God's truth that will drive them to search out all of the answers to their questions in the Bible.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8

Peace, Andrea

Learned helplessness

One of the hardest things for me to understand in the lives of the young men I'm working with in La Carpio is their fatalistic worldview. Nearly all of the boys I encounter on a daily basis have little or no desire to work, to learn or to improve their lot. Most eat maybe one meal a day. Besides a shower, the only other activity they have day after day, is playing pick-up games of soccer. A psychologist would likely diagnose a majority of them with "learned helplessness."

Learned helplessness is (from the Encyclopedia Britannica): "A model of depression in which exposure to unforeseen and adverse situations gives rise to a sense of helplessness or an inability to cope with or devise ways to escape such situations, even when escape is possible. Learned helplessness often occurs in children who are raised in harsh social environments where success is difficult to achieve. They suffer motivational losses and are very resistant to training."

Ironically, Andrea and I are both engaged with trying to instill training and discipline of one type or another (be it academic studies, vocational preparation, pursuing God, following rules, etc.). We have definitely noticed these characteristics strongly present in the youth of La Carpio.

Two sad examples of those "unforeseen and adverse" situations occurred last week. Alex (one of the young men in the carpentry program) was the neighbor of 9-year-old Stuart. Last Monday night, Stuart was playing in the street with a group of kids when a gang fight broke out. Stuart was shot in the eye and died shortly thereafter in the hospital. A woman, also an innocent bystander, was wounded. Later in the week, around noon on Friday, a 12-year-old girl was shot by a boy a year or two older than her.

When I talked to Alex about what happened, he told me the details matter-of-factly, almost as if he was reporting something on the news. His face was impassive and blank. I couldn't get a read on his emotions. Besides wrestling with anger, the combination of the randomness of the violence, its senselessness and the young age of the victims made me feel sorrow. It dawned on me that being raised in such an environment, would inevitably lead to feelings of despair and a fatalistic worldview. These kinds of events happen with regularity in Alex's world. It must be so easy to conclude that it's really not worth trying or persevering in life when it can all end in a random, harsh moment.

However, despite the sorrow I feel over these two recent killings, I know there's hope for the boys in the carpentry program, the girls in Andrea's classes and other young people in the community. Besides the growth I've seen in the boys as they've learned to work and devote themselves to something, and begin to take pride in the work they do, I've also seen them grow in the knowledge of Him in whom we place our hope.

Peace,
Seth

A Day in La Carpio

Hi there, sorry we haven't written in so long. After illness, moving house and entertaining visitors from the States, we're finally getting back in the writing saddle! Thought I'd write some detailed images/reflections of what it's like to work in La Carpio, where I teach math to teenage girls on Mondays and help run a girl's club on Saturday afternoons...

Driving across a land bridge to an outcropping of earth in the middle of a rock quarry/garbage dump, you notice piles of garbage on the sides of the road and charred spots in the grass. You realize what these are for when you see people jump on the garbage truck right in front of you (smells terrible!) and start pulling out bags to scavenge. Some of these people are kids. I once saw a kid of no more than 12 do a stunt that involved jumping on the moving truck, climbing up the back and walking across the top of the truck, all while the truck continued moving. They pull bags open on the side of the road and look for useful items or (among other things) metals that they can extract by burning. They can sell copper, aluminum, etc. for pennies per pound.

Gangbangers stand at each bus stop and stare at you with hard faces as you pass by. They don't threaten you, but rather stare through you. It's hard to tell what they're thinking and if they would want to harm you. There are 5 gangs in La Carpio, one for each bus stop. The bus stop you live closest to is by default your gang.

Everything seems broken in La Carpio. Ramshackle houses look like they are sliding downhill into the ravines on both sides of the encampment. Walls made out of corrugated tin sheets, bars everywhere (but this part is normal for Costa Rica), foam mats to sleep on inside houses. Mud walkways are the only way to get to many of the houses. If there IS a road, it's full of potholes. You don't see policemen or taxis. The small of garbage permeates everything and the lack of greenery to hold down the dirt makes it fly up and stick on your body. "Palsy dog" welcomes me as I enter the CFCI gate. Goats eat out of the trash dumpster outside. The bathrooms may be out of order, the water may be off, the internet for the computer lab may be down, your cell phone may not get reception, the ladder may be broken, your things may be stolen if you're not careful about locking them up, the whiteboard markers may be missing -- no telling what kinds of obstacles may fill your day today, but they certainly have a mysterious way of multiplying in La Carpio. Sometimes each day seems like a battle just to do the simplest things that we would take for granted in the plentiful U.S.

You work with kids that are so different from you in some ways that you may as well be from different planets. This is a place where kids are not like the ones you know: eight-year-olds who don't know their own birthdays, 10-year-olds who still can't spell their names, girls who have babies themselves, sisters who take care of their siblings and keep the house clean for their moms, brothers dead or in jail, young men with no motivation to do anything because they have no hope for a better life. Ages of students don't match up to grade levels due to multiple dropouts for jobs, babies, sibling care, illness, etc. Abuse of all kinds is normative. Girls are taught that they exist to take care of kids, clean, cook, and satisfy men. Boys are quickly ground down by the lack of opportunity, and fall prey to a mass learned helplessness, believing "it doesn't matter what I do, so I may as well _________."

Here are some of your students:

While other students doodle boyfriends' names in their notebooks, Nazareth doodles "Jeremy" with a heart around the name. Jeremy is her 3-month old son. Sometimes I get to hold him during class so that Nazareth can work. Tania and Surjen, other children of students, also hang out and occasionally demand the attention of their mothers or others. I won't forget the first time that Karen started breastfeeding her baby in the front row of my class without covering herself, though now I'm used to it!

Kassandra has to leave now at lunchtime to care for her 3 younger siblings in the afternoon. She misses study time and the valuable opportunity to have a hot lunch (which we provide every day for our students), when most of the kids in Carpio get only one meal per day. Her head is always down like she's waiting for me to yell at her.

Dayana has trouble concentrating because she is hungry in the mornings from not eating breakfast. I've taken to bringing birthday snacks and food prizes to have an excuse to give them something to eat during class.

Marjorie has recurrent headaches that make her miserable and send her home from class every now and then. I think she suffers from migraines, but doesn't have access to medication. She also frequently sleeps during breaks, leading me to believe she doesn't get much rest at home.

Ana Cecilia had to drop out of my class because she found a job in a hotel to help support her 4-year-old daughter Tania. She is 21 and was in my 7th grade math class.

Jareth stares off into space during break times and cites "problems at home" as the reason she looks so sad so often. I hope one day she'll confide in me what those problems are.

These are just a few of the girls I work with and a sampling of the problems they have. I love each of them, and I'm amazed at how they all do 2 things at the same time: (1) mess around, laugh, sing, dance, giggle, and have fun like the kids they should be, and so desperately want to be, and (2) be hard, grown up beyond their years, and pessimistic in their outlook.

I know that many of you have been wanting some specifics about what our life/work is like here, so I thought that describing the smells, sights and people would be an interesting way to share part of it with you. Am I complaining about how hard it is to work in La Carpio? Not at all. Just trying to describe the facts of the matter. I love what I'm doing, and I know that God has me there to be an agent in the process of bringing earthly hope and eternal hope to the girls and young women in this community. I also know that I am learning as much as my students are! Perseverance, patience, contentment, generosity, and thankfulness are just a few of the lessons that they teach me every day.

Humbly, Andrea

Divine encouragement

This morning I went to visit the Abraham Project, an orphanage outside of San Jose that's run by a missionary couple I've been wanting to meet. Unfortunately, the couple had just left on furlough, but I sought out the foreman of the construction project they have going on because I heard they might be willing to donate some wood for the carpentry program in La Carpio.

I approached Orucu and introduced myself. I asked him if they had any leftover wood. He said no. He explained that most of the campus had been built using recycled wood from pallets. I began to think the entire trip had been a waste of time. Then he told me that they were going to give us some wood from what they had in order to be a blessing to us. I was encouraged, and he and I began to pull some pine and douglas fir scraps from an immense pile of wood, taking care to avoid the multitude of rusty nails.

Before becoming the construction foreman for the Abraham Project, Orucu had been a pastor in the South of Costa Rica. He began to question me about the youth I'm working with in La Carpio and what kind of challenges they face. I confided in him that oftentimes it's difficult work because the young men in La Carpio have little or no desire to work, and trying to motivate them and build character is a difficult, lonely endeavor.

Just as I finished talking, I saw a man walk out of their woodshop, about 50 feet away. He walked right up to me and without introducing himself, began to talk. He told me, "Everything you do in ministry for the glory of God is known. It is written down in heaven. The work you do is for the glory of God and it is known to Him."

I thanked him and we shook hands, and then he turned and walked back to the shed where he'd been working. I turned and looked at Orucu. He'd taken off his hat and was cradling it in his hands. He said, "This is from God." He smiled and blinked back tears. "This is from God. Years ago this man came and prophesied about what would come to be here at this location, what we see now, what he's working on."

I replied that I was in need of encouragement and marveled at how this man who didn't know me came and gave me what I needed. Orucu just smiled and praised God. Praise God that He knows us intimately, knows our very needs and wants to meet them in practical, unexpected ways.

Encouraged,
Seth

Pray, for peace

On a recent trip into La Carpio, I stopped at Rener's house to pick him up to take him with me to the workshop. He beckoned me inside and I could tell from the look on his face, something was wrong. I went inside to find his mother, Claudia, sprawled on the couch and his grandmother pacing nervously.

Claudia had a heart attack three days prior to my visit. Her heart had stopped. The paramedics revived her on the way to the hospital. After two days in ICU, she was discharged. She has no insurance and I guess they figured she was stable. Clearly, Rener, Claudia and grandma were hoping I could do something.

I pulled a chair next to the couch and placed my hand on her shoulder and we prayed together. I prayed for healing. I prayed for provision for the family. I prayed for peace and comfort. Rener and I left a little later and we continued onto the workshop in silence. Throughout the day, I thought of Claudia's situation, and also the lives of some loved ones near and far who are going through tough times. I began to feel angry and impotent, wishing there was something I could do practically, immediately and see some results. I didn't want prayer to be my first and only response in the face of a lot of suffering.

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul exhorted the saints to, "... not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

God has really been challenging me to turn to Him in prayer, with thanks, as my first option, rather than when I've exhausted all my futile efforts. So selfishly, I'm trying to pray, for peace, and to honor Him as the giver of all good.

Peace,
Seth

A Glimpse of the Puzzle

Isn't it a beautiful thing to see pieces of a puzzle fit together when you didn't even realize they were pieces to the same puzzle?

Recently, we have focused our teaching at The Refuge in La Carpio on preventing drug and alcohol addiction. These girls are at-risk of abuse, addictions, early pregnancy, you name it. I realized that some of the women at the addict home I visit for Bible study might be an encouragement to them. These women have powerful testimonies of what it is to make mistakes and lose everything, but to be found and loved by Jesus and learn that He is enough. The past 2 Saturdays of the program, I have taken my friends Maria-Eugenia and Clara to share their testimonies with the girls.

It was a special time for both groups. The first Saturday, Maria-Eugenia shared the pain and disappointment that her alcoholism and life on the street has caused her and her family. She poured out her broken heart after having fallen again into temptation after 9 years of sobriety. She wept as a mother would and pleaded with the girls not to destroy themselves and make their situation worse by abusing substances as an escape.

The second Saturday, Clara echoed many of Maria-Eugenia's exhortations. She shared her estrangement from her entire family even now after her battle with drugs. She warned the girls that it all begins with one little cigarette, one little drink at a party, a friend or boyfriend who pressures you to try something. Most importantly, both women testified to the power of God and the love of Christ in their lives, to their dependence on Him in every moment to see them through.

Our girls, about 30 each Saturday, ages 12-18, sat transfixed and taking to heart every word that they said. We were able to discuss some concerns that some of their girls have for their friends that are beginning to get into drugs. We shared and discussed several bible verses about how to resist temptation and the tools that God gives us to do so.

The beauty of seeing this unfold was witnessing the mutual blessing that they were to each other. The women were touched by the youth and potential of the girls, and by the knowledge that many of them would see or are already seeing many trials and pain due to substance abuse. Maria-Eugenia and Clara saw that they had something to offer in ministry because of their life experiences, not in spite of them, and that God could use even those painful memories to declare his glory to others and show them victory in Christ. The Holy Spirit used them in a way that He could not have used me because of where they've been, and He gave them words to minister to those hurting girls.

The girls were supportive of the recovering addicts and encouraging, one of them even giving Clara her craft for the day as a gift (if you knew how much these girls treasure their crafts, you would understand how special that is!). I know that they will not quickly forget the genuine love and compassion that was shown for them by these amazing women, and that they will remember the hope and forgiveness that Christ offers them even when they do fall and make mistakes.

It was awesome to see God put together people in 2 completely unrelated ministries in a way that was used for the mutual edification of each. His ways are mysterious and beyond understanding, but perfect in every way!

Thankful to be a part of it,
Andrea