Bright Paint on a Dark City

Hey y’all! I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while. But… here’s a blog I wrote about 4 weeks ago about my time in Jaco Costa Rica!

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After 3 weeks in Jaco, Costa Rica, I’ve seen a bit of the second face of this tourist town. Prostitution, homelessness, and drug use aren’t obsolete and are brought to attention the more you hang around. From working women lined up outside of massage businesses to men offering drugs amidst the streets, it can be hard to find the light of Jesus. 

 

Once the glamour of living over seas faded, I found myself in a state of distaste at living here. It unsettled me how I was sleeping safely at base while unimaginable practices happened a walk away.

 

The largest project we have been working on in Jaco is painting light posts across the city. The government hired and provided the supplies for us to go across the main city streets and bring some color, wildlife, and positivity to a town yearning for it. Our squad split up and tackled the project head on. Very quickly, the posts were painted bright colors as a base with vibrant animals and flowers drawn and adorned on them. The government was so impressed, we got hired to work on the skate park as well.

 

Fast forward a little, I was helping my team leader Marissa paint a sun on the side of a ramp. Previously, a dragon with flames coming out of its mouth covered the wall, but naturally, we wanted something a little more life-giving decorating the park. As we put several coats of yellow paint on, I started thinking about the similarities between painting and faith.

 

As many of y’all may know, it’s hard to cover a dark paint color with a light one. If you had a black bedroom wall and wanted to paint it white, it’s going to take quite a bit of time. You can’t glide on a single coat of white paint and expect it to look pearly. In fact, it may look gray at best, with bits of black still poking through. So, you’d wait for that coat to dry a bit, then add another. Then, you’d be closer, but, let’s be honest, it’s still not quite there. Still a bit gray in places, and, gosh darn it, someone left the brushes out. So you come back once more with your paint and brushes and try again. This time, the wall is white. Any trace of black is gone, it’s smooth across the board and bright.

 

This may be similar for faith. The looming darkness of sin brought upon Jaco isn’t going to change on its own. This place could use a painter, some paint, and brushes. The Lord, Jesus, as our painter, His love as the paint, and Gap I/Ocean’s Edge Ministry as the brushes is a chance for change to occur. As we paint, we talk with the people, we pray with them, we invite them to church, all in efforts to bring lost children home and to glorify the King and the Kingdom.

 

Jaco is experiencing some hardship in places. One act of service or ministry isn’t going to change that. It’s going to take time. I may not be here when Jaco is bright and pearly, but it doesn’t mean that Gap I and Ocean’s Edge Ministry isn’t going to try and leave it a bit brighter than we found it.