Today we went back to el Refugio (the women's shelter). It was a long day but in many ways a good day. It was fun to reconnect with the women and there children. Part of the afternoon was spent hearing some of the women's stories, which was a good experience but it was all really hard to hear. One of the women who shared her story told us about how she had been beaten most of her life but didn't have the strength to walk away from it until she found out that her husband was molesting her 15 year old daughter. While we have been here their family has been waiting to see if the courts would send him to jail or let him go free. Hopefully justice will prevail and he will spend the next 21 years behind bars but they are not 100% sure the judge will not change his mind.
As you can tell we are being exposed to a lot of hard realities. This world is full of pain and suffering, and most of the time we can close that reality out. However, when we are put into situations like this it is hard to keep the feelings and emotions ignored. I think that many in the group are searching for ways to process this whole experience. What I've observed both here and in our culture is that for many it's easier to push it aside and ignore it. For others unexplainable emotions pop up and often at first do not seem related to the real issue at hand, but in reality are directly connected. Still others seem to want to talk about it, write about it, or simply be upset about it. All these responses are valid, but not all of them are beneficial. Please be praying for all of us, and specifically that we would process all we she through the eyes of Christ.
We ended our night with worship and a short talk. As we looked out over Guatemala city we song the song "god of this city". If you don't know it you should check it out. God is God and no matter what he is and always will be the God of Guatemala city.
Blessings.
Doug
Sent from my iPhone
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