11daysjourney's Blog

Freedom Street Ministries believes  in the power of prayer. To live out this belief, I head up a group to stand in front of  San Jose’s largest brothel every other Friday night to pray against the darkness, injustice and brokenness there. We are usually there for about 4 or 5 hours each time.

During our time there we also have the opportunity of praying and visiting with pimps, traffickers, drug dealers and johns, the men who are coming to the brothel to buy a woman (or girl) for a night or an hour.  These beautiful opportunities to share of God’s love and mercy are full of surprises. Each vigil is different. Each person is different.

While we know our prayers are ‘availing much’, there are times when we wonder if we are truly making a difference by being there. Two weeks ago these were my thoughts.

For the first several hours of our time there, no one seemed interested in talking to us. Normally we have several people who will come by and visit, often leading to prayer. Well this particular week it was different. Our corner seemed very quite while the brothel was bustling and busy, American and European men in droves coming and going.

While I stood there I thought, “God, are we really making a difference?” The question came and went but God did not take long to answer my question.

Several minutes later, a older man came and stood in from of me and said, “I have a question for you.”  Before I tell you his question and all the comments that followed, you need to know that I had never seen this man before in that evening or any other.  I had never spoken a word to him.  He simply appeared in front of me and started talking.

“Am I supposed to just go and sit in church and tell them about all the horrible stuff that happens in my life?” He asked as his eyes continually looked down, raised only for seconds at a time as he talked on. “I feel like you are meddling in my life.”

“Listen, more women die in domestic violence than any other way. Marriage does not work, but this does,” he said as he waved his hand in the direction of the brothel. “Men and women were not meant to live together. It just never works. We always end up hating each other.”

“But this works. Listen, these women have it good. They go home with some money in their pockets and I get what I need. So, I feel like you are meddling in my life. You shouldn’t be here.”

As the man went on and on for some time about how men and women are not meant to live together and how no woman “has ever been killed in this place,” I realized God was answering my question.

Just by the fact that I was standing on the corner, without saying a word, (I truly could not get a word in even if I wanted to), the spirit of conviction was working in the heart and mind of this man. Just by our presence. Just by him seeing a group of people who love God, neither buying or selling, he was convicted.

Our presence was making way for the Holy Spirit to move in that place. As I walked away that night I knew I would return the next time. But this time I have no questions or doubts.

God told me very clearly, “Elizabeth, your simple act of obedience is opening the way for me to work in that place.”

So, yes, we are all going again tonight. It’s Friday afternoon as I write this. Please pray with us during this time.  We will be on our corner from 8 p.m to 12 a.m. We need your covering.

People frequently come by and tell us how dangerous it is here. One man told us several times, “You all really should not come here, it is h— in there.” I told him that that is WHY we are here, but he continued  to emphasize the danger and the ugliness of the situation.

Yes, we need your covering. We need protection for our physical bodies but also spiritually from the oppression and heaviness that fills that place.  We know we are called to be in that place, where there is not light. We are the only light that goes there.

So as you pray for us please pray for the pimps, drug dealers, traffickers and the empty old men who feed the industry. They are lost. They are broken. They too need to find and know the glorious redeeming and healing power of the Cross.

by Elizabeth Gilroy

When you are involved in an intense ministry like Freedom Street Ministries, there is constant need to hear confirmation from God. So every week when our ministry team goes to the streets of San Jose to visit with young men and women who sell themselves in prostitution, we ask Him to go before us, to show Himself in the people we meet.

This is a story of one such night.

Most every week we stop by the Parque Nacional, a public park across the street from Costa Rica’s highest court house. A group of young men, ages 14 to 21, stand on a corner of this park.

Last week we stopped and visited five young men who were glad for conversation, a cup of té frio and some cookies. After we chatted or rather they gossiped with us for about 20 minutes, we decided to ask them if anyone had anything they wanted us to pray with them about.

In the group was a young man we had not seen before. His name was Jon and he looked very sad. Typically, these young men laugh and joke a lot, covering up their pain and insecurities of which there are many.  Jon could not hide his pain. He sat on the damp, stone steps leading into the park with his head bent low.  Jon was quiet, not saying a word or laughing.

When we asked if someone wanted to pray, Jon instantly raised his hand and practically jumped off the step on which he was sitting. Once he realized what he had done, he recoiled in embarrassment and offered to let everyone else to go first.

We assured him that we had time for him as well as the others. One of our team members took Jon aside, as he told her about his the weariness of his life and how he wanted to get off the streets. “I am just tired,” he said. “I can’t do this any more.”

We did not know Jon’s exact age but we are guessing he is about 17 years old.

My heart was heavy. All that week I prayed for Jon and Daniel. Their words “I am tired” rang through my head over and over.  Young men I know do not typically fall in exhaustion unless they have been playing a long game of soccer or running a race.  The only young men I know are full of energy with  life full before them.

In response to my cries, God took me to a scripture that I had seen many times but had new meaning and a profound impact.

So we know the task we have before us. We don’t know how it is all going to happen but we hope to see these young men soar high on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and no faint. Right now that seems impossible to them and us, but our Lord is the everlasting God, creator of all the earth!

The names in this blog are fictitious to protect the young men who are our friends.

by  Elizabeth Gilroy

It’s official. A small group of people with a passion and vision to heal the brokenhearted, set the captive free and pursue justice has become a full-fledged ministry. I remain in awe at how God has unfolded the orchestration of this transformation.

As many of you know, Steve and I came to Costa Rica not sure what God has planned for us here. We knew only that He was sending us. Well for the last year and a half, He has continued to unfold His purposes for us. Here is the story of how He has unfolded a ministry I have helped pioneer – Freedom Street Ministries.

It all began for me about a year ago while sitting in our DTS classroom listening to a woman talk about the global holocaust of human trafficking. I remember asking God as I sat there, “How can a home school mom from Alaska make a difference in this tragedy?” Without a second’s delay He responded, “You know how to teach English, don’t you?”  He asked me that because our teacher had just told a story about how she taught English to trafficked prostitutes in Thailand when she first embraced the tragic problem.

I knew at that point, God was directing me into something much greater than I could ever have imagined at that point, and that I would be doing things beyond teaching English. About 4 months later, a small group of us from the YWAM San Jose base connected with a similar vision and started taking coffee and cookies to the prostitutes and transvestites ten minutes away in downtown San Jose. Once I stepped on the streets, I knew I have found my place.

Then when our family went to Alaska for our annual missions conference last year, God continued the unfolding. Steve and I were visiting with Pastor Dave and LaRae in their home in the waning days of our visit. With just two minutes left before he had to leave, Pastor Dave said, “It would be a good thing for you to get training in ministering in the streets, Elizabeth. Why don’t you submit a special projects request to the board by Dec. 5.” He was out the door while Steve and I sat in awe of what God was doing. We submitted the request and it was accepted.

Amsterdam, Holland is known around the world for its Red Light District, a section in the city where prostitutes stand in windows selling themselves . More than forty years ago a few YWAMers went there with a vision to demonstrate the love of God to the homeless and prostitutes there.  Today there remains an active prostitution ministry and House of Prayer directly in that section of town.

As a part of God’s unfolding, this past March I stepped on a plane and flew 6,000 miles, one-way, to attend a conference on human trafficking and prostitution ministry in this very spot. My experiences there were extraordinary. I joined the two other young woman who are pioneering this ministry with me.

This link tells you about our time in Amsterdam and what it held for our team. It also tells all the details of Freedom Street Ministries and what God has laid out before us.

http://freedomstreetministries.blogspot.com/2011/05/released.html

We are excited because God is going before us as we are following at His bidding. Please pray for us.

by Steve Gilroy

Our team headed to the northwest province of the Costa Rica known as Guanacaste. Several years ago a YWAM couple directing the YWAM Nicoya Base felt a call from the Lord to distribute a bible to every home in the province; about 94,000 homes with a population of nearly one half million people. By the time we completed our visit, we would deliver 719 bibles while entering approximately 685 homes (not everyone was at home when we arrived). This allowed the Nicoya project to eclipse the 10,000 bible mark. Not bad progress at all!

Its difficult to summarize the full breadth of tools and skills a person develops while doing this form of evangelism. The students have to be able to present themselves to strangers and articulate their purpose for coming to their doorstep. They need to have or develop conversation skills centered around the individuals as they encounter them. Discussions about their family, complimenting their home are common starting points.

Costa Rica is officially a Catholic nation (approximately 76% of the 4.6 million people in the country associate themselves with Catholicism) and we find people to be extremely open to the gospel message. Once inside the home, or while seated with them on their front porch, the students must learn to articulate their faith as they explore the heart issues of the people they are encountering. It is often not short of amazing how open most people are as they explain recent losses of health, friends and family members who have passed, needs for employment or education and a wide array of spiritual, emotional and physical needs.

Many of them cry as they experience the love of God that has come through strangers arriving at their door. Many have never received personal prayer before. During these times students share favorite versus or those they feel best suited to their personal circumstances. Hebrews 4:12 states; For the word of God is alive and powerful, it is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between bone and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. As scripture is shared this is when the miracles really begin. We have witnessed healing, family relationships restored, addictions broken and a wide range of burdens released in the people’s lives.

As for the students, they were full of enthusiasm, growing in their comfort level and abilities each day. The area is notoriously hot at this time of year (often exceeding 100 degrees) and when it gets extreme, walking dusty dirt roads under the full mid day sun allows them to discover that you don’t need to be a martyr nor imprisoned to suffer for the gospel!

by Steve Gilroy

They came glowing and rightfully so. And no one was more proud of the students than our staff who serve at the YWAM base in San Jose. To see the sparkle in their eyes, to hear their testimonies, we could only cry out with thanksgiving to God for all that he deposited into their hearts , minds and spirits over the course of 5 months.

Running a school requires a full time commitment with responsibilities stretching across 5 to 7 days each week. My staff of eight ranged from 21 to 33 years of age. Not once did we have a single conflict – a clear testimony of their commitment to Christ and the humility they each possess.

Moving my family to a foreign culture continues to present many challenges. Health issues. Parenting, education for our three children, and the ever present need to raise more financial support. Yet when I look into their eyes and see the uncontrollable joy they now exude, I am quickly reminded of Jesus words; “not my will but your will be done.”

by Steve Gilroy

Following the 12-week “lecture phase” of the DTS, I had the pleasure of watching the students and their staff leaders divide into three separate groups. Each group would ultimately join of of the three teams heading to either Columbia, Ecuador or Peru After much packing and preparation I drove them all to the airport and bid them well on their Final Outreach.

These teams saw many many lives come to Christ. One team was particularly challenged to take over church conferences, including healing services, with little to no preparation. They learned that the less prepared they were, the greater they needed to see God reveal himself in miraculous ways. Other teams focused on preaching the Gospel in churches and city parks while still other spent considerable time working in schools and with orphanages and other children’s ministries.

As I had hoped EVERY STUDENT returned a changed person, being with joy and a level of deserved pride in their achievement – 5 months were committed to growing themselves in God, and after all the financial sacrifice and the overwhelming challenges, they did it! Now they were ready for graduation.

by Steve Gilroy

Our time along the Caribbean Coast of Panama was rich and adventurous. To get there we had to take a series of buses, pickup trucks and motorized boats. The highlight was staying on one of the many small islands in the area called “Bocas del Toro”.

Aside from some community service projects we visited the only senior center on the island, did street evangelism and had an amazing time visiting a small indigenous community. The indigenous people of the area still live relatively primitive lives. Small wooden shacks with dirt or wood floors are typical. They paddle dug out canoes. Sadly they don’t know how to swim even though water travel is the way of life. It was not uncommon to see a seventeen-year-old mother paddling her canoe with three of her children on board! Our friends who are based in the area full time have offered swimming lessons as part of their ongoing ministry.

Our students had a few minor setbacks; several got stung by jellyfish and discovered the local remedy really works – applying urine to the affected are! A couple of them narrowly missed getting stung by scorpions. Others got bitten badly by “chiggers” while several fought off stomach ailments common to third world travel. I was particularly struck by their adventurous spirits and positive attitudes during every segment of our time there.

In the end we saw many come to Christ and had the privilege of fixing a “talking watch” for a blind man we met in the nursing home.

DTS Phase: Jan 8 – April 8

by Steve Gilroy

Our YWAM base in San Jose continues to expand. Each year we add ministries and each year we add schools. The Discipleship Training Schools (DTS) are the foundation of everything we do. While Jesus directed us to “Go and make disciples of all nations”, we have the pleasure of having disciples from all nations come to us!

I had the pleasure of directing the largest DTS we have hosted here in San Jose. By the time May rolled around 28 students from 13 different  countries graduated (see blog posted  after this one). I had 6 guys and 22 gals, ages 18 to 32. They embraced a deep call to meet with a personal, living and loving God and they responded to the challenge.  I was especially blessed by several of the young women who confided in me as they would with their dads back home!

12 Week-long classroom sessions focused on week-long themes that included;  Intimacy with God, Character and Nature of God, Biblical World View, Godly Relationships, Destiny by Design, Leadership and more. We had “Giving Days” when they learned to the blessing that giving to others can bring, even when giving hurts. We had a “Foot Washing” ceremony where myself and the other staff washed the feet and prayed for every student. They had daily work duties, two hours each day as well as weekly outings participating in various forms of outreach; feeding the poor, campus evangelism, community cleaning, children’s ministries as well as mercy ministries to the street prostitutes of the inner city.

by Elizabeth Gilroy

I love Costa Rica! I love the people, the culture and especially the weather! But more than these I love the reason why God brought us here.

One of the most common questions we get from people when we first meet them is “So how long do you plan to stay in Costa Rica?” Every time I am speechless. I have no idea what to say to them.  I secretly ask myself can I say “forever!” It is not something that I think about.  It is their question that awakens any consideration  of it in my mind.

Life is so full and our vision so grand, the idea of leaving is mute.  The very thought fills me with dread. I guess this is a good thing as it serves to confirm that we are in the center of God’s will. I know there will come a day when God says, “It’s time.” and we will have to move on. But for now, we are enjoying our own personal whirlwind.

Here is what it looks like. Look quickly! It may disappear as quickly as time is passing for us here. I believe my last update was last December or November. The holidays have come and gone and and we just had Valentines Day!

YWAM Discipleship Training Schools (DTS) – 2011 started with welcoming 33 news students to Costa Rica for their DTS. I think Steve made 10 trips to the airport in a 2-day period. Young men and women from all over the world were coming our way for a life transformation. Steve is leading this DTS and a part of it is a Photography DTS. Eight of the 33 are photography students. He has found his niche and is enjoying the logistics and teaching aspects of the task.

I have played a small role in the DTS by participating in the Plumbline or inner healing (confession) week with Vanessa Pavely. Vanessa and I have found that God has put us together to help these young women find true freedom and healing. We teach on the Cross and its power in our lives to free, heal and restore. I absolutely love this ministry. I truly believe this one ministry is the whole reason God put us in YWAM. Here are some photos of that week.

The group pours love and affirmation over each girl.

Vanessa takes a break.

Everyone plays a part.

These girls become very close during this process.

These girls are awesome!

On the last day of the week, I played a crucial role in the deliverance of a young woman who had made a pact with the devil and the spirit of suicide dominated her life. I worked alongside a woman who has more experience in this area than either Vanessa or I. It was so thrilling to see the power of God overcome the power of the enemy in this beautiful young woman’s life.

Steve and I are also participating in one-on-ones, or discipleship relationships, with a few of the students. This is our opportunity to speak into their lives in an intimate and personal way via our relationship with them.

Prayer needs:

1. We need wisdom in all that we do with the students in our relationships with them and leading them.
2. God is doing amazing things on our base. Pray for His continued blessing, presence and protection over all families, staff and students who are here seeking the heart of God in their lives.

A Street Called Freedom – This is the new name for our prostitution/human trafficking ministry. Our team is still going to the streets two times every week.  The darkness is great. We are experiencing attacks and oppression from the enemy every time we go out. We are meeting new players in the trafficking world in downtown San Jose each week. We have relationships with several of the prostitutes and transvestites who are seeking friendship and a new direction in life. Their lives are full of fear, brokenness, hopelessness and control. As we interact with them, we come up against these realities.

Here is our ministry team Anabel, Ingrid, Paola and I with our friend Lia.

Prayer needs:

1. Spiritual and physical protection – as I mentioned above, we are being attacked spiritually every time we go out. I need wisdom on how to prepare our team for these attacks. We are fighting a spiritual battle here although our physical well-being is also at risk. We are going into the enemies territory. We have had a few situations where team members feared for their lives. God has protected and nothing bad came out of them but we need your prayers for protection.

2. Direction on the documentary – I have mentioned earlier that I hope to produce a documentary about the realities of child prostitution here in San Jose. I believe God has asked us to do this but right now I need direction on His timing for it. I need to know that this is His project and not mine.

• I need a team. I cannot do this on my own. I need a team of video producers that speak both English and Spanish. I need men who will help in the investigation.
• We need a prayer covering over the project. The Mafia is very big here in Costa Rica and our lives and families could be at risk once we start this.
• We need financing to help make it happen. Church on the Rock has given us money to purchase a spy camera for the project. We just need finance for expenses along the way.

3. Prostitution Conference in Amsterdam, Holland – I am heading to Amsterdam, Holland on March 19th to attend the last 2 weeks of a leadership school for ministering to prostitutes and in human trafficking.  Please pray for protection and that God will connect me in ways He sees best. Also, pray for my family as I go. I so thankful to Church on the Rock for giving me the money to go. God bless Church on the Rock!

If you want more detailed info on our ministry A Street Named Freedom we have a Facebook group page and a blogspot http://www.astreetnamedfreedom.blogspot.com. On these you will get some awesome details of our time on the streets.

Family Life – our family life is flourishing as we move forward in ministry but keeping the girls and their education our top priority. The juggle of keeping family first is sometimes difficult but we continue to work at it and the girls are burgeoning into godly young women. I have a separate blog for more details of our homeschooling life. You can catch up in more details there. http://www.commissionbound.blogspot.com.

Something new God has put in our lives is a new daughter. Geri and Kevin McCann has blessed us with their daughter Kaitlyn. She has been a joy to have in our home. The girls are enjoying having a big sister in the house. She loves working in the kitchen, concocting new and elaborate dishes.  She will be with us at least through March. She will be a particular help while I am gone to Holland.

The other huge blessing God sent our way was the Bashor family staying with us for 3 weeks. Wow! what a blessing they were. Jennifer helped with the girls schooling so that I could take Spanish classes at the same school that Vern studied. She also did ministry on our base for the base kids. It was so wonderful for these kids to have something special just for them. Costa Rican school were on break so all the kids were hanging at the base while their parents were working. It was perfect time.  Our house was full to the rim but we had such a great time with them.

Prayer needs:

1. Monthly supporters – this is a main concern as we remain committed to the work He has for us here.
2. Protection over our family – the various ministries we are in have their own spiritual challenges and our family is easily attacked. We need a prayer covering. Every time I go to the streets I know my family can be attacked spiritually.
3. Educational opportunities for the girls.
4. Our resident visas – these are in process. Without these we have to leave the country every 90 days. We have submitted them but they have yet to be approved and granted. Pray they will go through quickly and easily. While we love the mini-vacations, they can get expensive with a family of five.
5. Personal and spiritual refreshment as we give to others.
6. That God continues to bless Steve and I’s marriage. We often get pulled in separate directions in ministry but know time for our marriage is paramount. Pray we keep it all in balance.

So, here is a glimpse of our whirlwind. Life could not be fuller and I am grateful. One thing I am learning in the midst of this whirlwind I am in is that I must be in tune with the Holy Spirit. He is my source of life and revelation. Without Him I can do nothing, but with Him I can do anything!

Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk Him out of it saying, “I am the one who needs to be baptized by You” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”  And Jesus answered saying to him, “It should be done for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John baptized him. Matt 3:13-15

During every Discipleship Training School (DTS) the majority of our students choose to become water baptized. Their reasons are as varied as their backgrounds. Some felt they were pressured to do it in years past. Others were baptized as babies and feel it should be a decision made as a result of their own free will and personal convictions. For others the teaching during the DTS lecture phase helps them discover a relationship with an intimate and personal God and they simply want to surrender everything to Him in a deeper, more real way. Still others have been introduced to the powerful effects that follow acts of open confession, earnest repentance and humble forgiveness and they can’t hold back their desire to bury their old self any longer.

Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined Him in death? For we died and were buried with Christ in baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Romans 6:3-4

And so it was that during Week 3 of  my current DTS (the school runs 20 weeks total) that 23 students chose to be water baptized ! It was a joyous day for me but a far happier day for all who entered the Pacific Ocean that day!