6:8 Ministries Update: 'The Refuge' Men's Shelter

We are excited to announce that "The Refugio", the new men's rehabilitation center is up and running. We have welcomed our first four residents. Their names are Thomas, Ali, Gerson, and Roymax.



Each of these men appear to have a genuine desire to change. However, we are not so naïve as to think desire alone is sufficient to bring true change. True life-change and rebirth can only be found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Will-power, self-discipline, and self-confidence are feeble and ineffective in comparison to God's redemptive love. So that is what we are going to try to give them.




The plan is to shower these men with the love, support, and spiritual direction they need. The hope is that they come to truly know Christ, and He will break the life-stealing addictions in their lives. Mauricio (Chichi) is our local Costa Rican overseeing the project. He has already built a great relationship with each of these men. Brian and Amanda Blalock are the 6:8 Missionaries that are coming alongside Mauricio to provide direction, counsel, and support. Together this ministry team will provide daily devotionals, group prayer time, weekly church services, and ongoing accountability.(Click here to check out the Blalock's Blog)




The ministry team has decided to use the word "family" to describe the kind of environment and relationship they intend to have with these men. The intent is that these men will grow together to become a family. As they go through the process of rehabilitation the hope is that they will all become true brothers in Christ.


God is using Brian, Amanda, and Mauricio to produce much fruit. One night after the group bible study Thomas gave his life to Christ! Brian and Amanda led the study and Mauricio led Thomas through the prayer. Ali has found gainful employment as a taxi driver, which explains a lot about the taxis in Costa Rica. Trust me, if you have ever ridden in a taxi here you know what I'm talking about! Plus, Roymax and Thomas have upcoming job interviews! All the men are making progress in their sobriety, and are truly becoming brothers in Christ!

Please join us in celebrating what God is doing in and through 6:8 Ministries. I'm incredibly excited about the life-change God is bringing though this ministry. I also ask that you would pray for my new brothers Thomas, Ali, Gerson, and Roymax. Also, pray that God will continue to provide funding for "El Refugio" to stay in operation for years to come.

Love in Christ,

Spencer

Ramblings - Death

Juan Carlos is dead. It’s a sad day here, because a precious life has been taken. Some of you may remember working alongside Juan Carlos on mission projects in Juan Pablo. He was a tall, ruggedly handsome guy, with several tattoos. He was a hard worker, and always seemed to be smiling. He was well-liked and will be dearly missed by the families of Juan Pablo.

It was about dinner time last night when the phone rang. I answered and immediately recognized the voice on the other end. It was Cynthia, but her voice sounded shaken and weak. It was easy to tell she was struggling to speak though the tears.

She explained that there had been a death in Juan Pablo, and they needed my help. They didn't have the money for a funeral service, a casket, or a tomb. She went on to explain that Juan Carlos had been arrested again and rather than returning to prison, he chose to take his own life. His life of crime had resulted in previous stints in prison, and he had vowed never to return.

Arriving in Juan Pablo, I found what seemed to be the entire neighborhood in mourning. Many houses had people gathering to mourn the loss together. It’s difficult times like these that I'm at a loss for words, a language barrier of a different kind. As a result, I gave long, deep, hugs, quietly praying for each person embraced.

After a while we left Juan Pablo to go make all the necessary preparations for the funeral in the morning. In Costa Rica, the embalming process is different, so it’s vitally important to act fast. My understanding is that most funerals are conducted within thirty-six hours of the time of death. For this reason most of the morgues and funeral homes are open twenty-four hours.

The funeral was early this morning. The casket was set-up for viewing in the community center. Friends and family gathered to remember Juan Carlos, and comfort each other. It was during the viewing that I was asked to be an honorary pallbearer. Hesitantly accepting, I soon learned it’s a much larger responsibility here in Costa Rica. In Costa Rica they have funeral processionals, and you walk, and carry the body to the cemetery.

So, we all started walking. The most direct route was impassable because all the rain we have had lately has completely washed out the road, so we had to go around the long way. It was a long but beautiful walk. We walked in honor and memory of the dead. We walked contemplating our own mortality, knowing that there would be a similar end for each of us. The processional moved slowly and reverently through the winding streets of Alajuelita. There were small children and elderly adults, mothers carrying babies, and six men carrying a box containing the empty shell of a man.

When we arrived at the cemetery Pastor Miguel delivered a short eulogy. Then we carried the casket and placed it in the tomb. Everyone stayed and watched as they sealed the tomb with bricks and mortar. It seemed to bring an indescribable finality as the last brick was laid in place.

It’s a tragedy because Juan Carlos is dead, and this time there is no victory. I suspect that all there is left for him is an eternity of pain and suffering. While walking and struggling under the weight of death; I thought about how his death was the direct result of a fallen and broken world. I'll never forget my walk from Juan Pablo to the cemetery. Carrying his body on my shoulder, I thought about how horrible it must be for Juan Carlos, how he is no longer wearing that beautiful smile.

My raced to memories of my broken conversations with Juan Carlos. I tried to tell him about Christ, but he would not listen, he wasn't interested. His death somehow feels like a defeat, but I'm reminded that I can't make people listen. Only the Holy Spirit can soften hearts. However, this experience has motivated me all the more to tell others about this precious gift of life.

The walk also reminded me of my own victory over sin and death. My Savior, Jesus Christ, has paid the ultimate price, so that I can look at the grave with confidence. I can smile at death knowing that I'll spend all eternity in an endless love affair with God, my Father.

In closing I ask that you would pray for us ministering here in Costa Rica. Pray for God to soften hearts, and lives will be changed in this life and the next. I'm sure that I'll have the opportunity to walk in more funeral processionals here in Costa Rica, but next time I hope it’s more of a victory march.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
1 Corinthians 15:54-56 NIV

Ramblings - ChiChi

Chichi prayed! The other night Chichi prayed before dinner! And you are probably wondering who is Chichi and why is this a big deal? Allow me to fill in a few details... Chichi is an amazing young man. Although he is only twenty years old his life has been full of more adversity and hardship than most of us can imagine. He lives with his grandmother in Juan Pablo, which is one of the poorest communities here in Alajuelita. He is not sure who his father is, but his mother thinks he may be one of two men. One of the men died last year in a shooting and the other is a drug addict that lives in a box just outside the neighborhood.

As you can imagine this is a very difficult situation for Chichi. His mother lives with his grandmother and stays at home to take care of his five younger brothers and sister. He also has two older brothers, but both have followed in their father's footsteps and only come home to sober up and then leave again. One of his younger brothers was severely burned and disfigured when their house burnt down about 10 years ago. This leaves Chichi to be the primary bread winner for the family. He doesn't have a steady job and can't get one because he hasn't finished the sixth grade. Therefore, he picks coffee, paints, and does other various jobs to earn what money he can. When I met Chichi a year ago we bonded immediately. He was starting to lose hope and had began to slip into a life of drugs and alcohol to escape reality. I started spending time with Chichi almost everyday, and even though we couldn't understand each other, our friendship grew.

Soon he started coming over to the house from time to time and now it's everyday. I started inviting Chichi to help me in my everyday tasks. Together we would prepare for mission teams, deliver food to poor families, pray with sick people, eat with homeless guys in the park, assist with different church events, shop for the feeding centers, and all the other things that fill up my days. Slowly, he has grown to understand more and more about why we are here and why we are doing what we do. Over the past 8 months the gospel of Jesus Christ has transformed Chichi. It has given him grace and hope to escape his life and sin. He truly is transformed and watching this has been very motivating to me. Lately, he has been going to church regularly, asking spiritual questions, and growing in his faith.

Last week we set-up the projector to show a movie at the church. Chichi watched intently and I could tell his mind was racing as he left for home. The next day he shared with me that he dreamed that he was a pastor of a church. He said it was a nice dream that he hope could come true someday. Well, later that evening he sat with us to eat dinner. Rita, Emily and Angela were over as usual, and I jokingly told Chichi if he wanted to be a pastor he should pray before dinner. I was joking, he was serious and started to pray! For the first time in his life he was praying out loud in front of other people. It was a simple and short prayer, but somehow I think all of heaven was listening.

Ramblings - Alex

It has been an exciting few weeks here in Costa Rica. I've asked Molly to start writing the family updates, as I'm going to focus on the ministry. Rather than just give you a report I've decided to share how God has challenging me to grow in my faith. It's my prayer that you will be encouraged, inspired, and possibly challenged as I have.

I'm awed by the calling and ministry God has given me here in Alajuelita. It's an awesome privilege and responsibility to carry forth the gospel of Jesus Christ to such a dark and dying world, and we realize that without your faithful prayers and support it would be difficult if not impossible! While here, many of the scriptures have a new and exciting application as I'm learning to live them out in new ways. God continues to place me in situations where my spoken faith has been challenged to become faith in action.

This week I would like to share one area in my faith that has been challenged. I've come to realize that I often I take the awesome blessing of God the presence in my life for granted, which causes me to be judgmental or simply uncompassionate. I would like to tell you a person that God brought into my life.

He is a middle aged man named Alex, who lives in a small box on the outskirts of Juan Pablo. (Juan Pablo is a small very poor barrio of Alajuelita.) He is the father of eight children from a couple different women. He is homeless largely due to the fact he addicted to crack cocaine. He has been in and out of Drug Rehabilitation Centers for years, and his addiction prevents him from holding down a job, or providing support to any of his children. He spends most of his day laboring to scrape together enough money for his next fix.

At this point you may be wondering how God could use a person like Alex teach me anything! Well, the first thing God convicted me of is that without the presence, and the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, I'm a lot like Alex. Listen to the words of Romans 3:9-12 "What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jew and Gentiles are alike under sin. As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have become worthless; there in no one who does good, not even one."

It goes on but I think that is enough to get the point. I like to think that I'm somehow a better person than Alex, but the truth is that apart from the presence of Christ in my life I'm just as lost, weak, broken, and deceived.
I've also realized that I've been more like a Pharisee than Christ in my attitude toward the lost and dying. I, like the Pharisees, have found it's much easier to sit in judgement than it is to love the unlovable, plus judging others make me feel better about myself. Part of me would rather stone the adulterous woman, it's a lot easier than loving her, and if I act like I don't see wounded sinner, and cross on the other side of the road I won't have to deal with them. Plus, if I do stop and get involved I might get dirty or worse be associated with sinners.
The good news is that by the grace of God, and the power of Holy Spirit dwelling in me I'm and recovering Pharisee and starting to look a little more like Christ each day. I don't say that to boast or sound super spiritual, I'm simply excited that I think I one the right track. As I come to realize that apart from the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ I'm just like Alex, or worse a self-righteous Pharisee.

So now I try to spend a little time with Alex each week. We sip coffee and talk about family, football, and local politics, we had a conversation about what causes a gringo to decide to hang out with a crackhead in Jaun Pablo. Alex has shared through teary eyes that he is scared, scared of the future and because has started to doubt the existence of God. I've reminded Him that God does exist. Pray that God will open Alex's eyes to the truth and the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that God will continue to use Alex to open my eyes as well!

Thanks for taking time to read this email and listening to my ramblings. I hope that I've painted a small picture of a lesson God is teaching me as I try to live for Him here in Costa Rica. I would love to hear your feedback and I'll try to keep you updated on how God is using your support to make a difference for His kingdom here in Alajuelita. Please continue to pray for us! We need your prayer and support like you can't imagine. I feel as though I'm on the front lines a lot of the time and the only thing holding me up is your prayers. Also, if you know someone that may be interested in supporting the ministry please let me know.
Now to Him who is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine!