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  March 27, 2019
• Dear TJO2 Supporters, Once again, this month has held some interesting events. After three months of efforts we finally got our dryer replaced.  About three weeks ago they came out and replaced a part and got the heat to work; for as long as it took them to walk from our apartment to their car.  Last week they came back out and looked at the dryer and confirmed it was broken.  So, finally, three days ago they exchanged it for another new dryer. When we went to do a load of laundry so we could see if the dryer worked, we found that we had no water!  We are right at the end of dry season.  We were told that ‘sometimes’ there is no water towards the end of dry season.  Well, it’s true.  We only had water for a few hours a day for about four days.  Most likely it will happen again because the rainy season normally doesn’t start until, at least, mid -April. Jamie now has five adult students in her evening English class with possible a sixth starting next Monday.  I really must remember to video them next Monday.  Jamie is teaching them that song “Head, shoulders, knees and Toes”.  It’s hilarious. For my part on class nights I go back and forth to the gate to let the students in and out.  I also perform teacher aide duties and pray for Jamie during the class.  I was listening to Jamie teach the other night.  During part of the night she was teaching them about words that are spelled the same but have different meanings depending on the text.  English really is a hard language to learn. As I noted last month, I go with Jamie on Tuesdays to the Red Zone.  My service is manning the door.  Yesterday, as I was letting the women in and out, I was also observing the activities of the street.  As I review what I observed I remember that I was surprised, aggravated, felt deep compassion, confused, disgusted, dismayed and at a loss for words.  I will share more about my observations in my weekly posts on our Facebook and WordPress sites. Manning the door also gives me the opportunity to observe Jamie and the other servants serve the ladies of the Red Zone.  One of the servants was sitting with a Red Zone lady near the door.  I could not hear what they were talking about.  They were speaking Spanish, so even if I could hear it, I would most likely not understand most of what they were saying. It was obvious that the Red Zone lady was upset.  She was crying and had a hard time sharing her news with the worker.  Later, after Jamie and I got home, Jamie told me that the night before she was walking the street at night with her three-year old son.  The police found her and the Costa Rica version of CPS took her son from her.  Apparently, it was at least the third time they caught her walking the street this late with her son. Regardless of how she got this way, what she was doing or why, we know she loves her son.  She understands why they took her son, but she is heartbroken.  The son is definitely better off.  We are not promoting women walking the streets at night with their children.  But we do have compassion for a women who doing all she knows how to survive.  The worker tried every phone number in the Red Zone lady’s phone to contact a family member or friend who could help her contact the CPS office to get information about her son, but every number was out of order or changed.  As I wrote in one of my recent posts, this is a hard ministry to be called to.  A person must be hard enough to deal with what they see and hear, and yet compassionate enough to truly love and care for these ladies.  Please pray for Jamie, and the other workers for Christ who minister to the Red Zone ladies. Concerning Juan Pablo, (the family our Bible Study is helping).  One of our members managed to get Juan an interview at a gas station close to his home.  Juan was able to get a job!  Praise God for His provisions.  Juan is able to provide for his family, thanks for God and all your prayers for him. Last month I reported that Jamie and I were experiencing difficult trials in all aspects of our life here in Costa Rica.  While the trials are on-going, our faith in God’s protection, provision and guidance is strong.  We attribute this to your prayers.  Thank you for continuing to pray for The Journey Of 2 as we strive to completely obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit as He works through us to do the will of God. As always, if God leads you to start or continue supporting us financially, TJO2 is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit tax-deductible ministry.  We would really appreciate your monthly giving or a one-time donation. You can use the PayPal option either through our email or blog or mail your donation to:  TJO2 at PO Box 1196 Springerville, AZ 85938 Email:  Thejourneyof2@gmail.com                          Facebook:  Jamie-Ron Rich-McDonald Blog: wejourneyedsouth.wordpress.com (there is a PayPal button on this site) If you have specific or personal questions for us, please email us and we will answer your questions. =) Always, In Him, Ron and Jamie Viviendo el Sueno
  
  Ronald L. McDonald

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As I wrote in the post from March 18^th, I started going to the Red Zone with Jamie on Tuesdays.  I went again last Tuesday and, God willing, I will go with her tomorrow.

Today I want to share another, continual, observation I am having.  Looking out through the bars of the door I observe all sorts of things happening on the street.  Mostly it’s the pimps and boyfriends either trying to get into the women’s center or trying to get the women to hand them stuff through the door.

There are many other things too.  One Tuesday I happened to see one of the young women who had just a little while earlier had been in the center.  Now she was across the street standing in front of one of the sketchy motels on this street.  As she was standing there a guy walked up to her, opened her purse, took stuff out and walked away.  I stood and pondered that for a while and it has come to my mind a number of times since.

A couple of weeks ago I notice a guy sitting on the sideway a couple of doors down from the center, across the street.  My eyes fixed on him and I observed several things about him.  He was extremely dirty.  It appeared that he had either camouflage or dark green fatigues with a big coat.  His clothes seemed to be about three sizes to big for him.

As he sat on the sidewalk with his back leaned up against the wall, he kept patting one of the two really big, black trash bags.  Each looked to be a 55-gallon bag.  The way he was patting the one bag for a second, I wondered if there was a body inside of it; (haha my crazy imagination)but as he moved it around, I could tell it was full of either rags or clothes.

He had matted hair and he kept fluttering his fingers across his forehead.  He seemed to not be able to sit comfortably because he kept fidgeting around as he sat.

My thoughts went to wondering how long this man had been living on the street?  How long does it take to look like that?

As I stood staring at him through the safety of the bars of the door my mind went through all sorts of scenarios as to who this guy was and who had he been before.

Then a thought came to me.  Is this guy an angel?  Stay with me here as I explain this statement.  I truly believe that angels visit us.  God tells us this in Hebrews 13:2.  I can testify to at least twice when, I believe, I was ‘entertaining’ an angel. 

Anyway, the thought of him being an angel came to me and I wondered if God was testing my compassion.  I know that at times in my life I have not been very compassionate.  It is something I have tried to be better at.

I thought about it and I prayed about it, then I unlocked the door, stepped out, relocked the door and then walked directly across the street to a small tienda (store).  I bought two pieces of fried chicken and some tortillas from the very grumpy lady.  Then I walked down to Mister Dirty Street Guy.  I know that’s not his name but at the time that was the best way I could describe him.

I asked him if he liked chicken and gave him the food.  As I was looking right at his face, he answered me in a language I can’t even describe.  It wasn’t Spanish and it certainly wasn’t English.  All I could do was stare at him as he took the food and hid it under one of the plastic bags.

After a few seconds I just smiled at him, then turned around and walked back and locked myself back inside the women’s center. As God leads me I will relate to you my experiences with trying to minister to this guy.  Until he tells me his name, I plan to call him Leroy

p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER IN LAW CHRISSY!!!

• Tomorrow I will be going with Jamie to the Red Zone in San Jose.  I started going with her on Tuesdays.  On Tuesday’s Jamie, and other ladies, serve the women of the Red Light District; known here as the La Zona Roja. I was asked to come help on Tuesday’s specifically to man the door.  Only women are allowed into the center.  This gives the women a few hours to be out of the lives they live.  Jamie, and the other women who serve these women, minister to these ladies.  I will go into more detail in other posts about how these RZ ladies are ministered to. Today I want to share what I observed and experienced last Tuesday.  As I mentioned earlier, I was asked to come and ‘man’ the door.  Recently, men have been trying to get into the center.  These are ‘street’ men.  Some are the pimps of the ladies being served.  Some are husbands and boyfriends, and some are guys who just want stuff. They asked me to stand at the door to unlock and lock the door as the women come in and go out.  This frees up Jamie and the other women who serve to concentrate on their serving; and they don’t have to deal with the men at the door. So, as I was performing this task I observed Jamie and the other women as they went about serving these ladies. Again, in future posts I will go into more detail about the women being served.  For now though I wan to share about the servers. In a nut shell, a person has to be called by God in order to effectively serve in this ministry.  My observances: These servants of God devote themselves to paying attention to these ladies. They don’t judge them.   They listen to them.  They serve them a meal.  They hand out donated clothes; when they have them.  They share God’s Word with them and pray with them. As they are able, they go out with the ladies to buy them medicines and other items as God leads them.  For example, recently one of the ladies came in with a swollen face due to an abscessed tooth.  The dentist had told her the tooth could not be pulled until she had taken antibiotics.  Michelle and Jamie and another server took the lady to the pharmacy to obtain the medicine.  There’s a miracle in this part of the story too but I’ll share this one another time. As I observed I thought of these Red Zone women.  They did not start life this way.  Each of them was someone’s daughter.  God created them.  How and/or why they ended up selling their bodies for $4, or less, on the street God only knows.  He loves them and tells us to love them too. So Jamie, along with the others, use their God-given gifts to show them the love of God and the light of Jesus. Please continue to view our posts and read more of how God is using The Journey Of 2 in Costa Rica.
  Ron McDonald Jamie Rich-McDonald
• Viviendo el sueno
  
  

​morning Scripture: 
We wait in hope for the Lord;

    he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice,

    for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,

    even as we put our hope in you.
– Psalm 30: 20-22

• Last week Jamie and I made an ‘immigration run’ to Guatemala.  Since we do not have residency here in Costa Rica, we must leave the country every 90 days for at least 72 hours. It is not just the cost of obtaining residency, it is the overwhelming amount of people applying; mainly Nicaraguans, who are trying to escape the turmoil in their own country.  There are pros and cons of traveling every ninety days.  I will write about this in a future post. Concerning Guatemala, Jamie and I are grateful for the opportunity to visit there.  It’s a small country with a surprisingly high population of over 17 million people (Costa Rica has a population of just over 5 million). We spent two days in Guatemala City (the first and last day) and three days in Antigua.  On Friday and Saturday, the traffic in Guatemala City is best described as horrendous.  Horrendous, yet very well-organized with polite drivers. Antigua is well worth visiting.  There are numerous places to stay with a wide variety of choices.  Jamie and I stayed at an Airbnb in the southwest area of the city.  One of the great things about Antigua is that you can easily walk anywhere in the city.  There are many taxis and ‘tuk-tuks’, and even Ubers, if you chose to use them.  However, walking is more fun. There is also a vast number of places to eat with just as many varieties.  Overall, we enjoyed our short stay in Guatemala.  I have more to write, not only of our journey to Guatemala, but other journeys and experiences of The Journey of 2.  I have recently made a commitment to post every Monday.  

The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.

– Psalm 19:7-10

​Evening Prayer: Lord, you did not give us a spirit of fear, but rather a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Today I relinquish my fears to you, I renounce feelings of insecurity and anxiety, and I receive a calm and stable spirit and will walk in the freedom you freely give. I put my trust in you.