In a Van Down By The River…

Most of us probably know the old skit done by Chris Farley where he says he lives in a ‘van down by the river’.  It’s a funny SNL paradoy where he says that because of how he lived his life, he now lives (say it with me), ‘in a van down by the river.  He’s telling these kids in this skit, as a motivational speaker, not what to do in life so you don’t end up living (one more time), ‘in a van down by the river.’  You get the jist of it.

Well, this week, we visited a community that is right on the river here in Costa Rica.  Now, when you think of living by the river, you might think, ‘well, prime real estate.  It’s beautiful.  It’s nice.  You can hear the waters serenley serenade you to sleep each night.’  Trust me, that’s not the case here.

Realistically, those that live by the river here are usually some of the most impoverished.  For example, everything runs down hill toward the river. And I mean everything; rain water, flooding, trash and even raw sewage.  As we are going through this neighborhood one of my friends says that this river is probably the most poluted in the whole country.  Trust me, you could smell it and realize all the bad stuff flows towards the river.

Also, the homes, are just crazy poor.  In fact, Chris Farely’s van would be luxury compared to some of these homes.  Some of these are built on the edges of this river bank and I have no idea how they don’t just fall right off into the river.  In fact, this past week, the rain was so bad one evening, about 6 homes where completed washed away.  All you can see is the remnants of trash and rubble that once were homes.  If it’s not bad enough having hardly anything in a shack, it’s got to be worse to have it all washed away with nothing left.

So, we get out of the car and we see a feeding station in progress. We kind of had the impression from others in the area that there may not be much of need for a feeding station for this community.  We thought that was a bit odd just by knowing the poverty in Costa Rica.  And here was the need and the hurt being playing out right in front of us.

We found two people who were directing this center. Trust me, it was a God thing.  We talked with them to find out what the need was.  In their opinion, the need in this river bario was huge!  In line were about 150 kids being served some food.  And apparently this was a new location for feeding the kids.  Why?   Because the area that they typically used was washed away in the flood this past week.  In addition, the house they were temporarily using was also known for, in the evenings, as a place to buy or sell crack.  Wow!!!

So, we spent about 25 minutes just talking to them and finding out what the need was there.  They felt called there  because of the great need.  And for them, all they could do was feed these kids one time a week.  Long story short; it really was an affirmation of God calling us to that bario.  It was a God thing to show us again that the expansion for this ministry belonged in this river community.  It was a reminder of what 6.8 is all about and why God called our family to this country.

So, the next time you see that Farley skit, go ahead and laugh out loud.  Belly laugh when he talks about ‘living in a van down by the river’.  It’s hilarious!!!

But I’m hoping the next time you see that skit or hear someone refer to it you will also remember the needs of Las Anonas here in Costa Rica.  I’m hoping maybe you will pray for those people and for God to continue to open doors.  I’m hoping you will possibly pray for our family and 6.8 as we expand into that area.  Maybe you will even give to help the Gill family make a difference in the lives of those families?

Because after all, don’t we all have it better than a man living in a van down by the river???

The Gills