I left for town around 8:30 this morning. I had a long list of errands. It was cold and rainy and I would have rather stayed home. Stayed in my house shoes and had another cup of coffee.
Matt left for the feeding center shortly after I left.
I was dealing with the usual stuff in Tegucigalpa. Traffic. Lines. Six different pharmacies. Waiting. It was rainy and cold in Tegucigalpa, too. I was waiting and as I waited, I was thinking I have so much to do today, why can't we move things along. I am not ever going to finish and get home to my house shoes. As I waited, my phone rang. It was Matt. He says, "hey Terri, I have a situation." For some reason I thought he had been robbed or in an accident. I asked, what is it?
A fourteen year old girl had come into the feeding center with fresh bruises. There was a place in the front, above her shirt, where she had been hit with a belt buckle. Her mom had been dead for four or five years. Her dad is an alcoholic and lives far enough away that he in not in the picture. Ever. Since the mother died, this child and her brother have been living with an older sister. The sister is 22. That means she was 17 or 18 when the mother died. She was trying to keep her family together. Trying to raise the brother and sister. Understandably, the 14 year old wanted to get out of there and get her brother out.
The lady that works in the feeding center said they could stay with her tonight. But what about tomorrow? And the next day?
After talking to Matt a few minutes, we hung up. I was through waiting and was taking care of my business. Then I went on to Larach. Matt called again and said he was taking them to IHNFA. He had talked to Marc and Marc said he had to. We can't know of a situation like that and not do something. I told I Matt I would pray for him and the boy and girl immediately. And, I did say a little silent prayer. I then called Matt right back and said I can't do much but I will meet you at IHNFA and least be with you for support.
Matt and I had talked about this possibility. But is that the best solution for a 14 and 13 year old? We didn't know and wisdom eluded us.
In a few minutes, Matt called back and said they will not go. They are scared of what will happen to them at IHNFA. If it was a 5 year old, that is one thing, but Matt could not pick up a 14 year old girl and a 13 year old boy and force them in the truck. I told him he still had to go to IHNFA and report it.
I have not seen the girl, but I have seen the pictures. The bruises are horrible. And there may be more of them tomorrow.
I am in no way justifying anything that happened. The big sister should not be parenting siblings that are 13 and 14. The big sister is parenting in the way she was parented. Physical abuse is so common in this country. The 14 year old was seeing a boy that the big sister did not think she should be seeing. I don't know this next part for a fact, but if big sister was telling her not to see this boy, and 14 year old, being a 14 year old, began to talk back and sass, what might we have done? When there is not enough food in the house to feed 3 mouths and everyone is hungry. When you are really poor. When there is not a parent in the house, what might any of us have done? We don't know until we are in the exact same situation. Perhaps we would have become mad and yelled back at 14 year old and swung a belt and screamed, "you will listen to me and you will obey me. I am the only parent you have. We do not know what we would have done, do we?
Since the kids did not go to IHNFA with Matt, nothing may happen. IHNFA has a huge backlog. And, it gets worse everyday.
Please pray for this little family. We do not know what will happen to any of them.
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