Labe: orphaned at 5, mother to 12, forever a daughter of the King

Today begins the first of what I hope to be an ongoing series on the lives of the different people we serve here in Villareal. We've decided to make a concentrated effort to visit those in discipleship with us, as well as those in the church who have impacted us greatly. We desire this to be a ministry for our whole family, as we will pray for the families we visit throughout the week and work on a small gift (something handmade, cooked, or drawn by a member of our family to take to them when we visit.

Yesterday, we began this new aspect of our ministry as a family. We visited with Labe ("Lay-bee") and her family. Labe and her family are Nicaraguan immigrants living in a small wooden home. Labe and her six brothers and sisters were orphaned when Labe was about 5 years old. Labe's dad got sick and when her mother realized that her dad might not get any better, her mom split, leaving the kids with a sick dad and no one else to care for them. Her dad did recover from the illness, but became depressed that his wife had left him and abandoned the children and began a life of drugs and alcohol. Labe's oldest sibling was about 13 when this happened. They had no place to go so they would wander to a friends house and play for a while, and then just hang out there until they were told they needed to move on. This is the life they lead for many years.

Labe became pregnant with her first child at 13. She went on to have 5 more children with this man. At some point, she made her way to Costa Rica with her children to find work. She stayed in Cost Rica for some time and then went back to Nicaragua. She met a man along the way, and has had six more children with him. He lives with her and his name is Hector. Labe's oldest child is about 27 and her youngest is a seven month old baby boy. Labe is about 41 years old.

Labe lives with her husband and six of her children, including one grown daughter, Noeheli. Noeheli has two children of her own that live with her as well as the father of her two boys.

Eleven people in a home about the size of one of your bathrooms. They live in a beautiful area, surrounded by fruit trees, open fields and beautiful vegetation of Costa Rica. But they rent the lot their house is on. They own all of the materials of their home, but not the land their home is on.

In the city of San Jose, the land not owned privately is owned by the government. A person has squatter's rights to a piece of land after they have had a residence on it for 90 days. What we've discovered living here, is that most land has an owner and therefore those squatter's rights are not applicable. For this reason, land is coveted and expensive to purchase, as more and more buyers from more developed countries continue to migrate to this area and build more and more expensive homes that are used for a fraction of the year.

Labe and her family are facing homelessness in the future because their landlord is right now marking off lots of the property Labe and her family live on to sell. The owner told Labe the sale price was "Very, very expensive."

If there is one thing we have learned from working and serving the poor, it is that those who are truly destitute, who lack basic resources, who live the best they can using their little resources to make the best life they, often are the most content, happiest, and fulfilled people.

The flip-side to that is those who are desperately poor, have little resources, but the world and the desires of the flesh have gotten ahold of them and they use their resources in ways that do not meet their basic needs, but do meet their material wants. They often seek more and more from others around them who they believe have what they too want. They never seem content.

Either way, the poverty of their lives is evident, it is real, it is unmistakable.

We've seen both sides to the story. We've prayed though difficult times with people whom we love who live both ways. Neither one is easy. No matter what, is is devastating to see the depths of poverty that exist in the world.

This isn't a post on they way to live, decisions you should make, or how to use the resources you have been given. Although we are called to live holy, pleasing lives and are called to use our resources in a manner glorifying to God.

Labe is one of those truly humble people who works hard to provide for her family in the best way she can. She always has a smile on her face, and I'm not joking- always! She works almost every day from about 3 PM until about 1 AM. She also cleans the church every week with her family, without ever seeking any recognition from anyone. She is content with her life, despite literally having nothing. She is not worried about where they will go if their lot is sold- she said she trusts in the Lord.

Her family (her bothers and sisters) no longer keep in touch. In fact, she does not know where some are living now it has been so long since she last talked with them. There was a hint of something missing from her life in her voice as she told me that. The same as when she spoke of her parents. Yet, the Lord has magnified her joy in her life with the blessing of her children. She admitted to me that her life has been a hard one, yet the joy she has in her life from the blessings of a big family are unmistakable.

I know what my thoughts would be if I were living Labe's life. I know my flesh. I get tired and worn down with three children (whom I love with all my heart...). I have the blessing of a husband who loves me and cares for me and loves our kids and helps me in life. Labe has had twelve children - a physical feat in itself. But emotionally, something I am sure I am not strong enough. Labe's husband has no steady job.

We had a wonderful visit with Labe, Noeheli, her boys, and some of the kids. School started here about two weeks ago, but Labe's daughters Vanessa and Josselyn have not yet started because they have no teacher yet for their grades. They were hoping to be able to start today because they had been told that a teacher was being sent from San Jose. Even though it is no fault of their own or any other student, each student is responsible to make up the work they have missed these last two weeks (and for however much longer it is until a teacher is found). There is no system of ending the year a little later (as in the snow day system of the states). The curriculum is not adjusted to make up for this lost time- the student simply has to learn what would have been covered, despite not having been properly taught the material.

We were able to help this family with school supplies this year thanks to the offering we received for school supplies. Praise the Lord!

It is an honor to serve the Lord with this family and to be part of the family of God with them. I have learned much from Labe already and am sure that my learning from her example will continue.

Please pray for Labe and Noehli and their families this week.