Sexual Abuse Prevention Campaign

A couple of friends have written to ask how I am doing since I was held up at gunpoint last week. I kept really busy and that has made things easier. Yesterday I realized I am not as "okay" as I thought I was. I was traveling home from work, feeling relaxed and safe in a car with a driver and guard. A construction guy stood in the middle of the road and stopped our car so the other lane of traffic could pass. It was a very normal experience. However, my heart stopped and I felt terrified for a moment. For some reason I thought the guy was standing in the middle of the road to stop our car and rob us, although it was clear that we were in a construction zone. My mind is not back to normal yet. I think it will take a little while.

I am functioning fine at work. We had a campaign about sexual abuse prevention in one of the public schools this week. It was fun! But as soon as my mind is free I am really mad at myself for being so stupid. I should have never had my purse with me and I shouldn't have been carrying cash or all of my ID inside of that purse. That was just dumb. I made myself a perfect target.

I lost my phone, $225 in cash, my credit and debit card, my Colorado driver's license, my Honduran driver's license and my residency card.

Thanks to one of my friends in Salt Lake and my pastor, I got a new phone today. My SLC friend ordered a phone with his Amazon Prime and even paid for more than half. He sent to my Pastor's wife who was visiting the US this week.

Monday the head of security from my work heard about what happened. He sent a driver and a police officer with me to file a police report. Then we were able to get my Honduran driver's license and my residency card all in one day, which is a miracle. Sometimes the residency card alone can be an all day affair.

It was super comforting to have them with me, and helpful to have the police officer by my side. There were several things she was able to pull off that I couldn't have accomplished alone. At the DMV there was literally no parking. The lot and the streets outside were full with people who were in an all day class. An officer who works at the DMV took my keys and parked my car in a place that would have been off limits to me. Being accompanied by a uniformed officer was extremely helpful that day. I am grateful to I serve an organization who cares for me so well.

My credit cards were all cancelled with no problem. There was no fraudulent activity. I did learn that my USBank card needs to be cancelled with a phone call, which doesn't work when your phone is stolen.

The thieves who robbed me were after phones, cash, and jewelry, not credit cards. They put their hands down my shirt looking for necklaces. I was happy to be wearing no jewelry, but not so happy to have a man's hand down my shirt.

The only thing that's still lingering is how I'll get my Colorado driver's license. I need someone to sign my name on a one page form and mail it from outside the state of Colorado to the Colorado DMV. Then the DMV will mail my license to their address.

I'm grateful to have most things already replaced. I never realized how much I loved my wallet. Sounds silly, but it was so perfect for me. I miss it.

Of course I am grateful the whole situation was not worse. They could have stolen my car and they could have physically harmed us. But they didn't.

The thieves threw my keys over a wall and down the side of a mountain so they would have time to escape and we could not chase after them. I figured the keys were gone forever. It was so dark and steep. We climbed over barbed wire fences through chest high grass in the pitch black to find the keys. My friend walked directly to where they were, bent over, put his hand down and picked them up. To me, that was a miracle.

In some ways I'm fine. In other ways it will take a while to recover.

The sexual abuse prevention campaign went well and was a nice distraction. Here are some photos:

Learning private and public parts of the body

Good touch/bad touch

Playing games

Security Plan: Say no, scream, and run
(Of course, this doesn't work if someone is pressing the point of a gun to your back.)
The kids found my rendition hilarious

Check out what is under the monkey bars

The swingset

Soccer during recess

Other volunteers

Cute boys, gorgeous background

Burning the garbage at the end of the day

Girls cleaning the "playground"

This boy is mute. He found a friend in my coworker
and never left his side for three days.

The morning group

Festival at the end

Preparing for the festival

Great snacks!

Festival

"I can do everything in Christ"

"I love my body"

This boy shyly asked for a photo. How could I say no?
"Take care of your hygiene"

Then all of the kids wanted a photo!
"Protect your body" "Say no to drugs" "Care for your body always"