La Carpio

Hola!

I have a break between activites now, so I´m taking advantage of this time to update you all a little more about how things are going here. Overall, I really feel like it I going well. My family is awesome, and I am so thankful for them. They are just super loving and hospitable, and I just am amazed at how much they love me. This family has already asked me more questions about me and my day than my other family did in 8 weeks. It´s unbelievable how different every family is! I am truly thankful for this family though. Praise God for this!

I am learning a lot at my internship, and I´m hearing a lot of different stories and hard realities. It is difficult to see these conditions here, just because the girls were born into a bad neighborhood. Many of them are in this condition by no fault of their own. I want to explain this neighborhood a little more.

My neighborhood is called ¨La Carpio.¨I am not living here though as it is not safe to do so. I am ¨safe¨during the day because I walk on the main road (the only road) and it is usually with someone else. No one really knows for sure how many people live here, but the estimates I´ve heard are between 5,000 and 15,000. This is one of the poorest areas in San Jose (probably in all of Costa Rica actually), and it is 90% Nicaraguan immigrants.

In the morning, I am helping with English classes. The school system here (especially for the kids in La Carpio) is extremely lacking, and this is really a challenge for me to be helping with these classes that are so different from classes that I´m used to. It´s hard to know what to think about them, but I´m trying to be open minded and have an attitude of learning. Some of the kids really want to learn, and I cherish those kids. Others could care less, and they don´t really want to be in class. This may sound like a typical classroom, but I assure you that the dynamics are totally different. If the kids don´t go to school here, they have no chance of getting out of this poverty. If they don´t go to school, their parents many times won´t make them go. Education is not required, so there is no law mandating that they go. If they do go to school, the schools in La Carpio are over croweded, and they have 3 waves of students a day to fit more in. This means that the students might get 3 hours of classes a day. Then if the teacher has an appointment or is sick, they just don´t have classes. Some of the kids are able to take a bus to a better school where they might get 5 hours of classes a day, but many families can´t afford the uniforms and books for these classes. It´s really a frustrating school system, and I could go on for a lot longer about it…but I´m probably losing some of you :)

In the afternoons, it is always something different. Today we have Kid´s Club (only on Wednesdays). I´m not sure what that consists of, but I´ll find out!  I´m getting to know some of the other missionaries here, and its really good to talk to them. Even though I´m talking in English with them more than I would like (it´s hard to force yourself to both talk in your 2^nd language), I realize that Spanish is not the only thing that I´m supposed to learn here. I am learning a lot from these missionaries just about La Carpio and also about tough issues in general (short term missions, charity, etc). These are good conversations, and I´m thankful for this chance to get to see their perspectives too.

Tonight, I am going to church with my mom and sister where we have some sort of mission for kids. I don´t know what it is, but I´m guessing some sort of ¨controlled¨chaos with a Bible story and games. Not exactly my forte (chaos, a million kids, noise, etc!), but I pray God gives me his grace. I am willing to try these things and see what God wants me to learn.

When I get up in the morning, I bring myself before God and recognize my inability to get through the day without his help. I cannot possibly do what he wants me to do, and I cannot show his love to others on my own. I am totally dependent on his grace to get through these days, as I am faced with so many challenges daily. God is the only one who is able to sustain me, and I pray that he continues to do this each day. I pray that he shows me his love and that he allows me to reflect that love to others. I pray that he is faithful to me, even when I doubt that he is going to come through for me. I pray that God would take away the lingering doubts that are in my heart, and I pray that he would transform my heart into a heart of service and love for others. If you would, please join me as I bring these requests before God.