Today was a full day at work. We did the parenting class in the morning for parents whose kids have scholarships through Impacto Juvenil. The kids have to maintain an 80% GPA and attend school 90% of the time. We had to talk to parents about not putting their (underage) kids to work when they should be in school or studying.
After the parenting class I walked with coworkers from the community center to the office. It's only three blocks, but they never let me walk alone. It was funny, they didn't say a word, but suddenly my coworkers surrounded me and we quickly crossed to the other side of the road. I realized what was going on. There were a bunch of gang members hanging out on the street. Later the lady who is a leader in the community told me it is good I said good morning to them. She said one of the psychologists who is not from that area never says good morning and it makes them mad.
A different coworker was robbed nearby so I asked where that occurred. She said it was right where we saw those gang members. It was surprising because the gangs know him. He only lives three blocks in the other direction. That's why she was so protective today. She had been walking on my right, but she cut behind me and walked purposefully between them and me. They all know who she is and respect her, so they won't mess with her or anyone accompanied by her. She even got my coworker's phone back from them!
Once she was walking with a group of North Americans. The gangs didn't see her and they tried to steal the shoes off someones feet! When she realized what was going on she went back and got the shoes back from the gang.
At lunch she pointed out her house. It sits across the mountain from the office. She said that once she sat in our office and watched in broad daylight as people attempted to break down the door to her house and rob her. She called her neighbors and they stopped the break-in. Then she got a metal door.
People have still gotten in though. Once, unbeknownst to her, someone hid a gun in her house. The gun had been used to kill a neighbor boy. She still tears up talking about it. She didn't know the gun was in her house until much later when gang members came to retrieve it. They tried to break in at 2 a.m. but she had everything locked up tight. The next day they barged in and pulled it out of the box spring where they had it stashed. It was covered in a bloody towel so she knew it had been used for something.
As they were retrieving the gun it discharged and almost shot her in the foot! She couldn't eat for a long time and couldn't sleep for months because she felt like she had unwillingly participated in the murder. She asked God to pardon her if she had somehow unwittingly been involved.
My other friend said the gangs used to always come and turn her house upside down searching for someone. It turned out that her mother shares the same name as some infamous woman from a different gang. Apparently it took the gangs several visits, each time destroying my friend's house, before they realized the person they were looking for doesn't live there.
Someone asked if they tied her family up while they tore her house apart. The discussion turned to various ways my coworkers have been tied up or chained while they were robbed. One lady still has this scar "H" shaped scar in the middle of her ankle 13 years later from trying to get herself unbound.
Needless to say, I could not participate in our lunch conversation today. I just sat there listening, trying to comprehend it all. Thank God I've never lived experiences like these. Of seven people at my lunch table, I was the only one who hasn't experienced these things. Even after five years of living in Honduras, it is unfathomable to me how people can live in such circumstances. To them, it's almost normal, which is sad.
A rival gang from Los Pinos recently moved into the neighborhood and took over a house near my coworker. I asked how they were allowed to move in. She said the gang in that sector wasn't strong enough to keep them out, but the Los Pinos gang doesn't have a very strong presence yet either. She said the local gang will have them out within the week. Meanwhile, it is very dangerous in that area.
The Los Pinos gang is trying to be really friendly to my coworker. They've figured out she is a leader in the community and are trying to win her over. She's in a tough spot because if she is friendly toward, or even seen near them, the local gang will be angry. But for the moment it's the Los Pinos boys who are in control, so she has to be respectful to them. It's a very precarious situation. I hope she is able to stay safe as they fight this out.
A couple of days ago a North American friend asked me for prayer. Her experiences of church as a child turned her away from God, instead of toward Him. She never considered herself Christian. But lately she sees the way I try to live in faith. Her boyfriend is also Christian. She is thinking she may like to build a relationship with God. So she asked me to pray for her. She said that she is praying too! She also said that she is going to stop smoking today, on her 47th birthday. Over the years she has tried to quit smoking but has never been successful. She believes that only God can help her stop smoking. My prayer is that this time she'll quit for good, and her testimony will be that she found God when she quit smoking.
I prayed for her throughout the day and sent her birthday wishes tonight. She said she is doing well so far, praying and not smoking. If you'd like to pray for my friend to build a relationship with Christ (and quit smoking), her name is Kim.
