Hotel Del Rey

*note: this is long and not the usual feel-good post*

Ellen:

There’s a big pink hotel in downtown San José. It’s a little hidden from the main road, but it’s still near the heart of downtown. Its colonial architecture and the quaint park nearby make it seem like a beautiful place for tourists of all kinds to stay (you can check out their website here. In the park people read, musicians perform, dogs play.  And nearby Hotel del Rey seems like a sleepy old hotel, like most do during the day. 

But let me tell you something. Come nightfall, Hotel del Rey is anything but beautiful. Once it’s dark, business begins. The crowds of people in the surrounding brightly-lit bars somewhat disguise the darkness of what Hotel del Rey is. A brothel. The largest in Central America, in fact.

“Hotel del Rey” in English is “Hotel of the king”. King with a lowercase “k”, not King with a capital “k”. Because the king of that hotel is not our King.

“In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4

Hotel “of the king” breaks our capital “k” King’s heart. Hotel del Rey is ruled by this king of the world and it does not have the light of our King Jesus. You can feel the darkness as you near the hotel, even when you’re in the park (you can read more about that below in Kelsey’s section).

I heard about this hotel and what goes on inside in the fall from a local ministry called LightForce International (more info about this ministry is below in Christy’s section), but I hadn’t seen it. All I knew about it was that it was somewhere downtown and it was pink. I had completely forgotten about it until about a month ago when we were headed to La Carpio for ESL. I turned around to ask my friend something on the bus and I saw it. And it was huge. Last week I finally remembered to look it up. I didn’t know what to search so I just typed in “Hotel del Rey San José Costa Rica” into the search bar. Near the top I saw a website with hotel reviews so I went with that one. 

I’ve never had to do hotel research before because my parents always take care of it. But now that my eyes have been opened to the complete publicity out there, it’ll make me think a lot before booking a hotel. I read this link: TripAdvisor's reviews of the hotel. Now, before you click it, I’m warning you that you will read things that make your jaw drop. It’s absolutely sickening to read what men are so proud to post. Single men, married men, ignorant men, lost men. There are a few negative reviews about the service and bills, but there are no complaints about the brothel part of their stays. A few people didn’t know it was a brothel, but they stayed anyway and didn’t care. Upon reading all 72 reviews, my heart sank. It still hasn’t risen back to the surface.

  It’s a known fact here that gringos come to Hotel del Rey for the sole purpose of sleeping with a prostitute. They walk in, pay for a room, have a few drinks, and choose a girl. Sometimes they take them on a date to a bar or restaurant next door. Gah, just typing that made me sick. I think what I hate most is that all but (6-8) reviews are in English. All but (6-8) reviews are from gringos. Men from the United States. Men from my country. That kills me. Someone told us that the hotel was really busy for a few nights last year when Obama came to Costa Rica. Apparently Obama stayed in a different area, but Hotel del Rey was packed with our politicians. Isn’t that something that people deserve to know about? I think so.

I continued researching Hotel del Rey, and unfortunately I only found worse things. Among those was this Costa Rican website called Tica Secrets. I thought I may have finally found the site disapproving of it, but as I kept reading, I found I was wrong. And I kept being wrong. There wasn’t anything exposing Hotel del Rey in a bad light. It’s all portrayed as positive. Here’s another link to an article about what Hotel del Rey is all about. 

This is what people see on the Internet. There are tons of brothels all over the world, but the majority are secret. But Hotel del Rey isn’t some underground effort. What goes on there is 100% public. And those reviews are taken into account and followed by countless men visiting Costa Rica.

I think most Costa Ricans are ignorant to the presence of the hotel, and if they know about it, I can’t find many efforts to stop it (Besides LightForce. Read on in Christy’s section to find out more about it). And the gringos that know about it are the thousands feeding it and the few working against it. This blog post is a compilation of the four of us who went to see the hotel up close on Friday.

Kelsey:

As Ellen said, four of us went to Hotel del Rey on Friday. Lisa, Christy, Ellen and I walked from the bus stop through the park in downtown San José. Walking through this park toward the Hotel, the closer we got, the more you literally felt the presence of darkness. We stood across the street for a few minutes looking at the building. We saw only men. Standing in the door ways of that building and the surrounding ones. The surrounding buildings consist of casinos, bars and restaurants that we had read about on the internet. We could point out the businesses and say, “that one has good food that he brought one of the girls to” or, “He brought three girls from that bar back to his room in the hotel”.

The four of us stood across the street from the hotel in front and surrounded by the casinos and bars. Broken. Broken for the broken hearts. Surrounded by darkness. Surrounded by lost people. Surrounded by emptiness crying out for fulfillment. 

And we prayed.

Speechless, I opened my mouth to pray, but no words came for a few moments. The presence of darkness, Satan’s foothold on that whole place was remarkably tangible. We felt the pressure of it on our chests.

But, we stood there together as one body of light in the darkness. Crying out to God for the empty men and women that were behind the walls and barred windows. Fitting, that the windows are covered and barred. These people are trapped. Like a jail. In chains. In bondage of the desperation for a Savior. We prayed that God would rescue these people, tear down the bars and walls of their hearts, open their eyes to see that their ways of life are going to leave them unsatisfied. Empty. Wounded. Hurt. Yearning. Searching. For something more. For both sides: For these precious women to see their value and worth. For them to see there are other ways to make a living. For them to come to know their Creator, to experience true love and fulfillment. For these lost men. For them to think about the consequences. For them to value these women and the other ones in their lives. For them to come to know Jesus. (You will read in Lisa’s section how hard it was and is for us to love both sides of this).

We asked God to take these places out of business. To show Satan that he has no power over Him. Jesus has defeated the grave, death itself. He has defeated Satan. Jesus is The King. He has reigned, He reigns right now and will reign forever. The TRUE, Holy, Just, Sovereign, Righteous King Jesus has already won the war. It hit us that the name of “Hotel del Rey” that “Hotel of the King” is not the hotel of the real King. OUR KING. The things happening in that building and in that whole area break the True King’s heart. We asked God to show us if there is anything that we could do to fight this. God have given us the opportunity  to learn about and become friends with some of the people from LightForce International which you will read about in Christy’s post. 

Lisa:

As you can gather by now, this whole injustice completely sickens us. Once my eyes were opened to the blatant perverseness of Hotel Del Rey, it seemed my eyes were opened to other darknesses that surrounded me as well. There were nights my chest was so tight praying for this broken world it was hard to breathe, nights resulting in endless tears realizing what was going on in these girls’ lives as I slept comfortably in my bed, nights of angry prayers to My Father as I was confused and incapable of seeing His big picture-because there is a big picture. So, after God sorted my emotions and gave me refocus I as well as the rest of us were faced with the question: What is a righteous reaction to this, and as the Body of Christ, how do we respond? The response part of this will be found in Christy’s section (yes, it’s next, we’re done alluding to it). After talking to Life Force’s Anna Carrol, we received a realistic perspective, one that isn’t as hopeless as we make it seem.

First of all, we’re called to take every thought captive in obeying Christ. If we go about this completely emotion driven, we will get burnt out and therefore be ineffective in our ministry. But getting involved in other people’s lives means you have to allow yourself to be vulnerable to an extent. Cry for these lost broken people, yell at the injustice of it all, but return to the conclusion that God is Sovereign over all things and our flawed human perspective will not grasp His eternal, all-knowing one. I can yell at God all day asking “why?” and nearly drive myself mad, or I can step back, breath and ask Him to steady my heart and give me His eyes.

Second, it’s important while tackling any darkness to build a solid foundation of the goodness of God. A lot can read past this rather quickly thinking, “Of course I know God is good.” But do you? Seeing one human take advantage of another, hurt each other emotionally and physically while pursuing a selfish degrading life…can we gaze upon such a godless world, one that at times appears to have no light and the end of the tunnel, look up to the heavens and proclaim “You are a good God”?

Yes. Through His Holy Spirit we can. God is a God of grace, a God of justice, a God of mercy and love and is ready and willing to work in any way He sees fit to receive the most honor. Stories from encounters on the streets have encouraged us, as through the ministry of His servants people are being exposed to the light, and God is being glorified.

And thirdly, in dealing with the “Johns” or the buyers of sex, and the pimps-what about them? In my flesh, I despise these men and women(women run a lot of brothels as well). I am frustrated and angry and disgusted. No way can I love such people. And this is where it gets crazy, because we as the hands and feet of Christ are called to do just that. Love them. They are just as broken as the women they buy and sell. It’s a cycle of brokeness, a cycle of de-valued people seeking fulfillment in a temporal pleasure that will not last. Anna compared it to MSG, how its consumed with the intention to satisfy but does no such thing and leaves the consumer wanting more. So it is with this lustful trap. These men, picking a woman and taking her on a date fills them with a false sense of value, because in some area of their lives, (past abuse, marriage, family) they have been robbed of their value. A surprising note was that a portion of these men are past war veterans, men going through divorce, or men that were bullied in school. And here’s where we take heart. This cycle of brokenness doesn’t intimidate our Savior, and it shouldn’t intimidate us. We walk as victors in this world, Christ defeated death and in fact reigns as King. Love with the same abandon Christ did as he hung there bleeding on the cross for the sin we were once slaves to. Walk in that truth, and continue to speak of the truth that is setting people free.

Christy:

Ok, so here is the part about one of the ministries here working in Costa Rica to help these broken people. One thing Anna said about the Johns here is, “Hurt people hurt people.” If that is true, and it is, then the opposite should also be true. Healed people heal people. Now, no one is whole or healed without Christ, and He is the true healer. Healed people are the Christians that have Jesus’ Holy Spirit working through them. The true healing comes when He decides to make it happen. He is good. He really is, and He loves the men and the women. Light Force goes out at night and gives these men (yes, men sell their bodies too) and women coffee and cookies. They love them right where they are at. If someone shows interest in getting out of that life, they help them. They send them to a psychologist and help them find jobs. They give them a place to stay and offer them love. They also do many more things that I just don’t know about. You can find their information here. To support them can be as little as buying your coffee from them (it is good Costa Rican coffee), but you don’t just have to support them. 

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:44

Those are the Johns, pimps, and brothel owners. Broken humans in need of a savior.  

“You must also help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:11

Pray. Never stop mentioning these women and men in your prayers. Pray for the ministries. Pray for the  prostitutes. Pray for the johns, pimps, and brothel owners. Pray, pray, pray. But don’t just pray for the ones in Costa Rica. This is a global epidemic. A sickness that has been happening since the beginning of time and happens right in the United States. In Denver, pimps make close to $50 million a month, while in Atlanta, GA it was reported that sex trafficking brought in about $350 million dollars last year. Pray. 

This plague of their minds starts from devaluation. Just like the johns are hurting men from totally different backgrounds, these men and women have been devalued. They have been told they are not good enough. They walk into school, they get judged and devalued. They hurt, and they think this is the only way. Give the people around you value! Just like Light Force goes to the prostitutes where they are, we as Christians must love people where they are. When you see someone who does’t look “presentable” to you, love them anyway. We don’t know their story, and if we devalue them without knowing them, we are continuing the cycle of brokenness. Jesus made friends with the prostitutes. Maybe He was thinking of His lineage, and Rahab the prostitute He came from, who saved the spies in Jericho. Obviously God finds value even in the lowly. Love the unlovely. Stop prostitution before it happens. Anna asked us, “Who is socially awkward, withdrawn, bullied?” Love them! They have lost their value. Jesus wants to use us so that He can restore it in Him. 

Also, know the government and laws. It is extremely important to know what is going on to help these people. Look into children’s groups for prevention. Volunteer at a homeless shelter or rehab facility. Be the hands and feet of Jesus. Educate your children. Pornography feeds this evil industry, and many kids start viewing it at the age of 8. Know what is being viewed and educate those around you. Share this post, and/or more importantly, share the link to Light Force’s page. There are many things you can do to help eradicate this. Remember, God is good, and He loves these people more than you or I do. There is hope in Him and Him alone.  

Hace Un Año

January 27, 2013.
My life got flipped, turned upside down.
It was a big day. 
I made a big decision. 
And being an 18-year-old high school senior, it was (and still is) probably the biggest and best decision I’ve ever made.

I decided to not go to college in the fall.
*gasp*

Four days or so before, my friend gave me an article about this thing called a “gap year”. A man had written about the benefits of taking a year off before going to college so that you have a better idea of the real world and what you want to do in it.

“I think I’m going to Africa for a year before going to college,” my friend said.
I thought she was crazy, but I was happy for her to get to experience a place she had never been, living among the people and bound to learn so much from her experience.

But as for me? “No way. I’m going to college. Because that’s what people do. So that’s what I’m doing, too.”

I wanted to want to go to college. And well, it took about four days for the gap year idea to kill me on the inside, and without saying a word to anyone, I made up my mind that I was not going to college in eight months.  I started researching organizations all over the US and Latin America. My goal was Guatemala, but I had some stateside fallbacks. But I still hadn’t told anyone anything. And being the melancholy introvert that I am, I printed the article and left it on the kitchen counter for my parents to read and I left for church for a leadership meeting. I told my friends there, then I went home and faced the parents. They were semi-surprised (they said they thought I wanted to join the Peace Corps earlier in the winter), but the immediate response was “that’s an idea… But Central America? Alone? For a year?”

I had researched everything from schools to orphanages to camps to teaching opportunities and I had absolutely no idea what I would choose. I started ranking my 80+ bookmarks on the computer based off the information I got from their websites.

The next week at church, the middle school youth pastor at my church said his friend did a gap year in the Dominica Republic with an organization called SCORE International. I had heard of it, and I was pretty sure it was in my bookmarks, so I went home and looked it up. It was somewhere in my top 10. But I didn’t know much about it and I spent all day on their website, looking up videos of it on YouTube, and decided to apply. It seemed legitimate and it looked fun on the videos. The application had two options: Dominican Republic or Costa Rica. I checked Costa Rica because it’s much closer to Guatemala, where I really wanted to be. I sent in the application, had a phone interview about 3 weeks later, and was accepted on the phone. 

So, I had finally found it.
I was going to spend a school year in Costa Rica with some amount of students from all over the country, learning Spanish and taking Bible classes. It wasn’t until June when a Facebook group was made so I could see who I was spending the following year with. And once I was added, I have to admit I was a little scared. People kept getting added to the group and I kept being the only person who had gone to a public school. I also hadn’t ever been on a SCORE trip to the D.R.

I didn’t know what to expect at all, so I hopped on my plane exactly 5 months ago today, met two of the girls in Dallas, and we flew down to our new home.

I’ve tried picturing myself as a college student this year countless times, and I can’t see it. I would not trade this time here for being there for anything.

I have 50+ new friends that I would have never met. I would have made other friends there, but there’s something about this group of new friends from all over the United States, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. There’s something about having friends who don’t speak your native language that motivates you to learn and study (I’ve never been a studier) so you can speak to them.

I’ve learned what its like to live in a house with 36 people and share a room with four.
I’ve learned more Spanish than a book or class could have taught me.
I’ve learned how to go months at a time without having alone time.
I’ve learned how to have an intelligent conversation about the Bible and theology.
I’ve learned what it’s like to deal with a gluten-free diet on a pre-set menu (it’s really not that hard, but I thought I was going to die in that first month).
I’ve learned not just how to get out of, but how to live out of my comfort zone.
I’ve learned that all types of personalities can live in one house and get along. ALL types. It really works, guys.

There’s something about living together in a foreign country that makes you close, no matter how much time you’re stuck together. 

People I probably wouldn’t have been friends with in high school are going to be my lifelong friends now. 
People who live here will continue to reach their country, and students in this program will end up serving the Lord all over the world.

That blows my mind. I wouldn’t know any of them if I had gone to college. If God hadn’t flipped my plans and my parent’s hearts upside down, where would I be? Thankfully, my plans won’t ever succeed against God's. I’m so grateful He opened my heart to His call and turned my plans around to agree with His. 


“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.” Proverbs 21:30

Turrialba Camp!

We just got home from a week of “camp” in a town southeast of San Jose called Turrialba. It’s the perfect town! It’s quiet and in the mountains, but still has a lot of things to do. We helped out at Primera Iglesia Bautista de Turrialba with their VBS and youth group all week and lived with Costa Ricans in their homes.

This is the view from the top of the mountain we went to on Saturday morning!

The church was AMAZING. Everyone there was beyond hospitable and helpful all week. They were SO nice, I can’t even explain it! The leadership in the church was so solid and involved! The adults especially, but even among the high school and college students. They all played such a big part in pulling off the VBS and I couldn’t be more thankful to have spent the week getting to know them. 

Each weekday, we got to the church at 8 (which means around 8:20 in tico time) for breakfast. We had gallo pinto, pancakes, fruit, eggs, and more depending on the day! And they don’t do small breakfasts- it was a heaping pile of food each day for every meal (luckily we had hungry boys who were always willing to help). We didn’t have much to do in the mornings, so we helped the church members prepare some things, prayed as a group, did devotionals, read, slept, and talked. We did that until lunch at noon, filled our stomachs to the top (then gave the other 90% of the food on the plate to the guys again- not kidding, it was SO MUCH food). Then at 1:30, kids started coming in for VBS at 2!

In our free time in the mornings, we hung out at the church, but we also went to the park a few times!

On Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, I helped out in a class of 10-12 year-olds (except we had three 13-year-olds and two 14-year-olds). And get this. There were 17 boys and 4 girls. And man, they were rambunctious. All but 6 of them lived in a neighborhood called Noche Buena, which from what I’ve heard is similar to La Carpio where we work on Thursdays. They loved talking, but they didn’t feel quite the same way about paying attention. And causing trouble? Their specialty. I was pretty discouraged to see them acting like that, and sadly it didn’t stop all week. They did, however, improve on their willingness to dance. They didn’t move on the first day while we sang and danced in the crowd, but once they heard the threat to make them sing and dance on stage, they started busting out all the dance moves they had from the pews. The only time they were calm was when they did their word-searches (they’re called “sopa de letras” in Spanish, which means “letter soup”. I just think that’s funny). Even though I didn’t see any improvement, I can’t see into the hearts of those little guys. Maybe something they heard this week will stick with them so that they can take it back to Noche Buena. Please be praying for their well-being in their homes. I don’t know any details about any of them, but I could see enough that they don’t haven’t grown up in homes with a solid Godly foundation.

This is my friend Vero. She was hilarious and so patient when I didn't understand her Spanish! She and I were in a constant tickle war for the week... She didn't really tickle anyone, though. It was more poking my sides.

On Wednesday and Thursday we went out into the community. Wednesday we went out to the UCR campus and played basketball. “Played” might be a stretch… I played one game, shot 5 times (and missed every time), then watched the rest of the games. The university students we played with were hilarious and had no idea how to play basketball, so at least we were on the same page. On Thursday we went to an albergue (like an orphanage, but the kids are there because they were taken from their homes). We all partnered up as soon as we got there to make balloon animals. I was with a girl named Leticia who was really quiet, but so nice. We had no idea what to make, and we decided leaving them straight and calling them snakes wasn’t good enough, so we tied them together to make a heart last minute. Then we went inside and had snacks and drinks, then sang some songs. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would! Hopefully whenever we go back to visit, we can go there and see everyone again! The afternoons out in Turrialba were short, but I really liked getting to see other places!

I stayed with a young couple whose names were Lynn and Manfred. They lived close to the church in a cute little apartment. Lynn’s brother Luis Daniel is staying with them while their mom is in the US and he very generously let me sleep in his room for the week (gracias, Luis!). Since we were at church all day, we didn’t spend much time in the apartment, but I got to practice quite a bit of Spanish! Manfred taught me TONS of “costaricenseismos” (CostaRicanisms) that I could use. Fun fact: they also say “it’s raining cats and dogs”. I can also call people sassy and a few other random things that I probably won’t end up using, but oh well. It’s fun to know!

About half of the GAP students went to the VBS, and after that week, I feel like we bonded more than we would have in a week at the Villa. It was just a really fun week of hanging out and getting to know each other more. We also learned new kids songs and dances (and that’s always something to bond over). There will be a video on Facebook soon with all the funny video clips I got while we were there!

Prayer Requests: 

-Noche Buena kids. There were about 50 of them. They live in some crazy home situations.

-One of the girls in my group, Vilma. I don’t know her story, but there were always three girls around her. One on either side and one either in front or behind of her. And it wasn’t like a middle-school girl clique where some girl was escorted by her posse, though. They looked like they were guarding her. She was really quiet and sweet, but something was wrong with how the other girls stood around  her.

-Tomás. We went to Cosechas one day and while we waited outside, we talked to a very drunk man named Tomás for about half an hour. He spoke English and we tried asking him where he learned, but he was too far gone to give an answer that made any sense. One of my friends tried to ask him about what his beliefs in God were and told him that he doesn’t have to suffer or cope like this, but still he gave no answer. At the end of the conversation, he said he would stop drinking, but the chances of that are slim. Just pray that God brings someone to share Jesus with him when he’s sober so he can be fully present in the conversation.

-Focus. Now that we’ve left Turrialba, it’s easy to wish we could go back. It was fun, relaxing, and we felt like we learned a lot. Coming back to the Villa is nice, but there was something so peaceful about a small group in a quieter town. Also, it’s easy to be distracted by what’s going on at home with my family and friends. I want to enjoy these next few months completely!

The Battle Cry

From 10pm on Sunday night until 10pm on Monday night, groups of students went to the pool room in two-hour shifts for 24 hours of prayer. Throughout the week, there was a "Goblet of Prayer" where we could put prayer requests. It was full of small white squares with prayers from fellow students and leaders. 

My room had a morning slot from 8-10 on Monday. We sat down, opened in prayer, and went around the circle drawing requests out and praying for them out loud, then the added requests on the board, then over the praises people wrote down on the board across the room. 

My roommate and I loved it so much, that we stayed for the following shift with three other students.

The four hours seriously felt like 30 minutes. And it was the most humbling thing that we have done here at GAP so far. I'm not speaking just for myself when I say I felt extremely convicted of how little I've cared about all the things going on in people's lives. I didn't know about the vast majority of the prayer requests. Some of them were small and others were heart-wrenching. Finding out about the things people here are struggling with was so hard to learn from a slip of paper. And I could have known about it all if I just asked people how they were doing. 

I realized one of the biggest things I take for granted here is everyone's openness and vulnerability with each other. No one would hesitate to share their prayer requests if we just asked. But most of us don't.

Someone put Acts 4:31 in the bucket, and so far everyone I've talked to about the Battle Cry was moved by it.

"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of god boldly."

God revealed the power of prayer to me and the other students through this verse and the 24 hours of prayer. One of my friends described everyone leaving the pool room after their shift like Moses coming down the mountain with a glowing face. It was the most moving thing that I've done since I've been here. 

The joy in the Villa yesterday was so AMAZING! I pray that we all keep this compassion and genuine concern for each other as we approach next May, and also when we go home after GAP ends.

University Trip!

Sorry this is so short! I just realized I haven't blogged in a while!

We got to go to UCR Friday morning during Spanish class! Our purpose was to practice Spanish with college students on campus for an hour or so. Some guys were sitting around and we asked if they would give us a campus tour, and they said yes! Then another guy and girl joined us a few minutes later! We walked and spoke Spanish the whole time (well, pretty much- they asked us to speak English slowly so they could see if they understood... and then told us they don't like English, so we started back up with Spanish). 

Since I don't talk to many Costa Ricans outside of church and ESL, I felt like it was the most real conversation I've been a part of since I've been here! We just talked about whatever random things came up: school, other places in Costa Rica that we've visited, what we came for, etc. They taught us some new pachuco (that I don't remember now), but hopefully we made some friends that we can keep hanging out with and talking to as the year goes on!