Since arriving here in Costa Rica we have attempted to learn
how to live like those around us. As FMC missionaries we are called to live in
solidarity with the poor. This started two years ago when we sold many of our
things, or gave them away, as we prepared to leave our home, families and
friends to move to Louisiana and become foreign missionaries.
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| The girls sleeping in our house in KS after selling most of the furniture. |
In the Philippines we were humbled on a daily basis by the
poverty that was all around us. A trip to the store was always accompanied by
someone asking for food. Sometimes it was the children who lived on the street
with no parents to care for them. We encountered people who couldn’t even
afford to buy a kilo of rice for their hungry family for less than what we
would spend on a coffee or ice cream in the United States. Our decisions about
what to buy for our family to eat or use was challenged by the knowledge of
what our friends and community could and could not afford to buy for their
families. It was a constant question in our minds (should I buy this?) and an
opportunity to sacrifice and have true empathy for our brothers and sisters who
suffer in poverty on a daily basis.
There were days when we were asked to give what we had (even
what we needed for ourselves) so that we could give not from our surplus but
from our own need.
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| Maricel and family in front of their new house we were able to help build in the Philippines. |
One of our most memorable experiences in the Philippines was
the day we bought rice and some other things for our friend Maricel. As we were
walking with her to her home Donovan accidently dropped the bag of rice into
the dirt and the bag busted open. Our immediate reaction was that the rice was
ruined and we would have to go buy some more. But as we turned around we saw
Maricel bending down over the rice gently picking up each piece of rice and
putting it back into the bag. What I saw as a little inconvenience she saw as
her entire weeks’ worth of food in jeopardy. In her humility she wasn’t willing
to waste the food that had been provided to her.
Now in Costa Rica we don’t see the poverty all around us in
the same way as we did in the Philippines. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not
here. It just looks different sometimes. Of course there are people here in
great poverty living in makeshift homes and living off of very little. In the
rural area where we live there are several different kinds of houses. Some are
made from only wood slats with windows cut out. Others are made of cinder
blocks and wood and others just cinder blocks. Some homes use fire to cook with
and others have gas burners or even a full oven with stove top. Air
conditioning is rare and many homes don’t even have screens or glass windows.
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| A log truck delivering wood from the farm. Most jobs are manual labor in our town. |
I was talking recently with someone about the average wage
for people who live in this area. It turns out that most workers find jobs
working the local farms (palms & wood) and make a little under $1.70 per
hour. They work 12 hours a day and 6 days a week if there is enough work. When
work is slow they don’t have a job and don’t get paid. For those who have
full-time work it comes out to about $525 per month! Now this sounds low and
especially because in most families only the father is working. Then add the
fact that food costs about double here than it does in the states. So, for
example, a carton of eggs costs $3.20 and a quart of milk $1.
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| Picadillo and rice served at a fiesta. |
To better
understand what kind of prices these are I thought about what it would cost
someone in the states working minimum-wage to buy the same items. So if you
make $7.25 an hour and work the same amount of hours your monthly income is $2,244.60
before taxes. To buy a carton of eggs would be like spending $13.63 and a quart
of milk $4.26 (a gallon would be $17.04), a loaf of bread $12.05 and a jar of
Jif Peanut Butter $24.11! It makes sense why so many people eat mostly rice and
beans with some vegetables, eggs and meat added as sides. It also makes sense
why many people in Coopevega don’t have cars and walk or take the bus. Gas costs about $5 per gallon so that would be like paying over $20 per gallon!
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| Carne asada is a special treat because meat is so expensive. Our family eats mostly vegetarian with an occasional chicken or ground beef once a week. |
Again the Lord is humbling us by asking all of us: What
choices are you making when you shop for food? Do you appreciate what you have?
Do you really need that? What can you give up so that you can give to someone
who is in more need than you? Are you only giving from your surplus? These are
questions I ask myself and struggle with.
And most importantly:
Do you know how much I love you and will provide for you
what you need? Can you trust me to take care of you?
Humility is realizing that I cannot control everything.
Humility is turning to the Lord and knowing that He is in control of my life.
Humility we need you.
