APOTHECA Update | May 2022
An update from our friends in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
From Clients to neighbors
“I grew up in this place,” said Cristina. “My grandma used to have a small farm around here and sell the produce to this little grocery store. I remember her giving fruits to the girls on the street corners.”
This neighborhood was the center for heroin trafficking and I remember brothels on this block. Now, this community is being transformed and the last brothel closed after the pandemic. I want to carry the legacy of my grandma.” This community is being transformed partly because, as Cristina puts it, “people are not clients, they are our neighbors. And that’s why I want to watch my kids grow up in this store.”
Cristina’s Husband, Adrian has a natural passion for people - for seeing others’ needs and finding a way to help. He is sitting next to her, meanwhile, she can't contain the tears streaming down as she says, “The last years have been extremely difficult; I feel like giving up. We have been in debt for many years to the point of going bankrupt.”
Cristina & Adrian, We (APOTHECA) see you. We see how you carry the burdens of others and how exhausted you are. You are not alone, we want to keep serving the community alongside you and do business together. We believe that this is the way of Jesus, to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Together, we can do it” were the last words we said before starting to create a sustainable business plan with a Kingdom of God purpose to bring the gospel to the everyday life of the people we work with — to put the church in the hands of people through partnership investments.
First, we started with Farmer’s Baskets: seasonal veggies and fruits to promote nearness and fairness between city dwellers and local farmers. This project created a new stream of income for the market store and allowed us to meet and inspire over 75 new neighbors all over the city.
Due to the financial crisis of the pandemic, our second step was to reduce costs - their highest expense was rent.
Across the street, we found an old three-story house with a tiny ground floor that remained as a vestige of a brothel from not so long ago. We decided to put our hands to work to remodel the place and after 6 months, and a lot of hard work, we finally moved in!
During our first meeting in the new space, Cristina again had tears in her eyes; but this time they were tears of joy as she said to us, “As I handed over the keys to the other landlord, I felt a burden was lifted and I was free,” changing the tears for a laugh of rejoicing.
Jesus is in the business of transformation. He has redeemed a brothel that used to oppress girls and transformed it into a place of freedom for one woman.
Through this business partnership and loving our neighbors in Santiago, Spain, we are proclaiming in the midst of sin and pain, that Jesus is among us — to be our Neighbor.