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It's
Easter morning here in Honduras and the sun is rising over the
mountain top. The village is tranquil and in the distance birds
sing, an occasional dog barks, or a rooster crows. It seems
like forever since I've written and about a zillion "moments"
have happened. With each passing day, life absorbs us more and
more and it is so very hard to describe, to sit down at the
computer and write.
We
are all healthy and are very happy with the work here and are
doing well. Yes, there are challenges - what part of life doesn't
have them - but we thank all of you for continually keeping us
in your prayers, and we thank you for your much-needed support.
How to remember everything that has happened since mid February
when I last wrote is a mountainous task, but since we are always
taking pictures, I will just post pictures with little stories
to share the moments with you of life in Honduras.
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When
we last left you in our journal, we told you
that we were working with the police, the mayor's
office and the office of the mujer (woman) in
Talanga, to open the first collaborative effort
to combat domestic violence.
Sub-comisionado
Alex Villanueva has a vision to combat domestic
violence and opened an office in the Jefatura
(police headquarters) in Talanga on Feb. 20
called "Oficina Integral de Atencion de
Delitos Especiales - OIADE." (Special crimes
unit). He put Gracie in charge of the
office and the program.
To
the right is a photo of the opening ceremonies,
held at th eJefatura on Feb. 20. Third class
officer Mendez introduced the group and program to
all of the Jefes (chiefs) in Francisco Morazon.
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Mendez,
at podium, hosts ceremony. Sitting
from left, Martha (representative
of the mayor's office), Gracie (coordinator
of the OIADE), Subcomisionado Villanueva,
Olga (director Oficina de la Mujer
Talanga) and Jose(public attorney).
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After
the ceremony, the Jefes and officers, as well
as the media, were invited to see the new office,
which was still physically under construction
at the time. Left, Gracie talks with the public
attorney, Jose, and Capitan Bustillo, who is
Jefe over two municipios (Guaimaca and Orica)
in Francisco Morazan (departamento/state).
You
may be asking yourself how mission work has
anything to do with domestic violence or working
with the police, the mayor and the office of
the woman. This has been a vision in our hearts
since before we came to Honduras and it is proving
to be one of the biggest tools of ministry for
us here.
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Our
involvement is to create the collaborative and establish the
policies and procedures as they apply to Honduran law, teach
the police and the office of the woman how to work together
to apply the law and follow the procedures we've developed,
develop more collaboration among other groups such as doctors,
lawyers, judges, teachers and other churches and ministries and
supervise the growth of the program.
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Every
day Gracie goes to Talanga for several hours
and works in the OIADE office. The program currently
exists only in the Talanga municipio (like a
county), which covers about 651 square kilometers
and 35,446 residents.
Right,
Lee and Gracie, in the OIADE office, point
to where Talanga is in Francisco Morazan.
Talanga
is like the county seat for F.M. Sub Comisionado
Alex Villanueva is over all of F.M. excluding
Tegucigalpa and he wants this program to grow
to cover the entire departamento, which includes
27 municipios (or counties) and 274,547 residents.
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For
a breakdown of Francisco Morazan
and all
the municipios, see this .pdf
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But
the Word of God says, "For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
my ways," declares the Lord. "As the
heavens are higher than the earth, so ar my
ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than
your thoughts." (Read all of Isaiah 55)
On
March 14 we met with the Ministra of INAM (Institute
Nacional de la Mujer) Selma Estrada in her office
in Tegucigalpa. She is in the President's cabinet
and is equal to Secretary of State. She is thrilled
with this collborative program and wants it
to go national.
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Also,
we had the opportunity to meet the Director
General de la Policia Jose Roberto Romero Luna
on March 24 during a special police awards ceremony.
Right,
Sub-comisionado Alex Villanueva, Gracie, and
Director General Luna.
He
seems very pleased with the program and is supportive
of the work we are doing. We are honored to
be serving the people here in Honduras in a
mighty way.
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On
April 25 we have a meeting at the Jefatura in Talanga with the
Ministra, all of the mayors, police heads, offices of the mujeres,
some judges and other government reps from six municipalities
in the northern part of Francisco Morazan: El Porvenir, Cedros,
San Ignacio, Marale, Guaimaca and Orica. This begins the growth
of the program. Please pray for us as we do God's work.
And
just what is God's work in this program? This program not only
rescues abused women, but it also helps the woman or child who
is a victim of rape, rescues abandoned and abused children,
and street children. There are strong laws here to protect them,
but no one knows what to do to protect the women and children
who are victims of violence. There's no vigilance, no counseling,
no follow up, no help, no hope. But Jesus says, "I am the
Way the Truth and the Light," and he is empowering us to
help the helpless and bring hope to the hopeless.
And,
unlike many programs in the U.S., we are able to minister to
these victims spiritually, as well as physically, medically
and mentally. We are able to tell them they are children of
the Most High God and that He does not want them to suffer
any more.
A few
of those we have served since Feb. 20:
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17
yr old abuse victim
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- Every
hour, 11 women are beaten in Honduras.
- Every
20 days a woman is murdered by her husband
or ex in Honduras.
- Only
37.7% of abuse victims seek help, and only
5.5% of them go to the police for help.
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3
yr old abandoned baby
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"Is
not this the kind
of fasting I have
chosen:
to loose
the chains of injustice
and
untie the cords
of the yoke, to set the
oppressed free and
break every yoke?"
Isaiah 58:6
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abandoned
4 yr old boy
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The
Spirit of the
Sovereign Lord is
on me
. . . He has
sent me to bind up
the
brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom
for
the captives and
release from darkness
for
the prisoners."
Isaiah 61:1
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Abused
14-yr old girl
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"To
proclaim
the year of the
Lord's favor
and
the day of vengeance
for our God,
to comfort all who mourn."
Isaiah
61:2
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14-yr
old street boy huffing paint
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To
provide for those
who grieve in Zion -
to
bestow on them
a crown of beauty
instead
of ashes . . ."
Isaiah 61:3
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Victim
of abuse
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"
. . . the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment
of praise instead
of
a spirit of despair."
Isaiah 61:3
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"I
am so glad you were here to help me,"
abuse
victim. "I didn't know there was help."
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"They
will rebuild
the ancient ruins
and restore
the places
long devastated;
they will
renew
the ruined cities
that have been
devastated for generations."
Isaiah
61:4
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Elderly
abuse victim - not all victims are
young
women and children. The elderly are
also
victims of violence and many suffer
until
they die because they have no hope
for a
better life.
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"Instead
of their shame
my people will receive
a
double portion, and
instead of disgrace
they will rejoice
in their inheritance."
Isaiah 61:7
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Abuse
victim
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".
. . and so
they will inherit
a double
portion
in their land,
and everlasting
joy
will be theirs."
Isaiah 61:7
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neglected
7 yr old child
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"For
I the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery
and iniquity.
In my faithfulness
I will
reward them
and make an everlasting
covenant with them."
Isaiah 61:8
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abused
woman
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"Their
descendants
will be known
among the
nations
and their offspring
among the
peoples . . ."
Isaiah 61:9
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".
. . All who see them
will acknowledge
that
they are
a people
the Lord has blessed."
Isaiah 61:9
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Policias
Alvarenga and Borjas, right, have been assigned
to work with Gracie in the OIADE and they're
doing a wonderful job of caring for the victims
of violence and abuse.
God
has placed them in the position of being the
models for what we hope to be a program that
will impact a nation and rescue thousands of
women and children from darkness and despair.
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The
responsibility of the OIADE is to assure that all legal avenues
have been followed to protect the victims of violence and neglect.
For example, on Feb. 13, a week before the OIADE opened, a woman
came in and filed a domestic violence charge. The law states
that they can look for the abuser for 24 hours. If they encounter
him, the police arrest him. If not, then they move on to other
cases. This woman's abuser was not encountered.
Victims
are supposed to return the next day to receive a protection
order. If they don't return, no one is thinking about them and
the case is abandoned. She didn't return the next day and her
case died.
But
on Feb. 27 she did return for her protection order and she came
into our new office. When asked why she didn't return Feb. 14,
she replied her husband came back and threatened to kill her
and kept her captive at her house. When asked why she came in
this day she replied, "because he was arrested last night
for robbery and I was able to leave to come here because he's
in jail." She got her protection order and is now living
free of his abuse.
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This
is just one example of the inherent problems
and difficulties in the system here. The collaboration
between the OIADE and the Office of the Mujer
in the mayor's office is addressing the flaws
and filling in the gaps.
Olga
is the director for the Office of the Mujer
in Talanga. She partners with the OIADE and
her office's job is to provide all other resources
the victims need. For example, a mother needs
food or clothing, help getting her children
into school, or maybe she needs a doctor or
counselor. The Office for the Mujer is charged
with advocating for the victims and finding
the services they need after the legal process.
Outside
of the capital, Tegucigalpa, and a couple of
the other major cities, there is no social services
system, no foster care, no advocates for women
or children. This program is blazing the way
to meet the needs of God's children physically,
spiritually and emotionally.
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This
program needs some help with support. We might be able to get
a vehicle through the government (Please pray God expedites
this) for Gracie to do her work with the growth and serving
the women and children locally for this program. But we need
about $200 a month to keep the office running and to pay for
gas when we do have a government vehicle. This country is so
poor that the officers, who make a very small wage, have to
buy their own supplies, including their bullets. There is no
money for paper and ink and office supplies. Or for gas if we
do get a state vehicle.
More
reports and updates on the church, the women's conferences,
our guests and the people we serve. . .
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