Safe House

            It’s been a good week. I’ve been staying busy with preparing for the group to get here on Sunday, church events, and plenty of other things. I’m still struggling to communicate, but it’s getting easier. The other day Sharlene said “I really hope you learn more Spanish at language school,” which I thought was funny. At least I understood her! There have been a handful of developments this week, like the fact that we figured out where I will be living…. Oh, and that I have a baby for a roommate.

            Here in Santa Rosa (all over Honduras, actually), one thing that we see way too much of is how common it is for girls to be sexually harassed, raped, or for girls to feel like they have no option besides prostitution. You certainly can’t count on the police, and nothing ever gets done about it. When Jon picked me up from the airport last week he told me about the opening of a safe house for sexually abused or at risk girls. Already there were a couple of girls who have been moved out of their homes because of urgent situations, and are staying with people for now. This house will have rules about who can come inside, curfews, etc. There are still details to be worked out, but the point is that there will need to be someone there who isn’t at risk, who hasn’t been abused, who can serve as a sort of “mentor.” So, that’s me. Not because I’m worthy of being a mentor to anyone, clearly, but because I am close to their ages, and I will be able to form relationships with the girls that live there. Also, because I need a place to live. Haha. Anyway, we’ve been praying about it and I think God is opening a door for a really cool opportunity. So, be praying for the house, for the future inhabitants, and for me that I will be equipped to handle whatever situations arise. This opportunity has potential to be an awesome ministry as long as we let God shape it into what it can become.

            I went to see the house with the other gringos after church last Sunday, and I really like it! It’s really pretty nice, and it’s in a guarded neighborhood. It has 3 bedrooms and maid’s quarters. There will definitely be more girls than that living there. Seeing as I will go insane if I don’t have a way to escape, our solution is that I will be living in the maid’s quarters. It’s small, but I will have my own room and my own bathroom. (I may or may not have to walk outside to get to my bathroom and into the rest of the house, but hey, it’s the third world. I wasn’t expecting such a nice house anyway!) The size and the fact that I will basically have an outhouse is a small price to pay for the privacy. Plus, the whole thing is fenced in, so it’s not like anyone can wander up to me as I’m trying to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

            Ok, so the new roommates. At first I thought it was God’s joke on me because of my slight distaste for children.. Haha but now I realize it doesn’t have much to do with me. My newest roommate is 16 years old, and she has a 3-month-old baby boy. He is precious. I actually really love him! She was living at home with her mom, her mom’s boyfriend (or whatever he is), and her half siblings. I’m not clear on all of the details, but the step-dad has been abusing her. Now she and the babe are staying at the yellow house with the rest of us, and I’m pretty sure she will be one of the girls (and the baby) living at the safe house. Since she is a baby herself, the other girls and I are getting a LOT of parenting experience, while we all learn how to care for a baby together. BONUS: I WILL be teaching this kid English. He’s going to be my own personal baby genius translator.