The first time I ever heard about gangs was through a 7th Heaven episode. I knew there were gangs in my town when I was in high school, but no one really talked about it. Gangs were something far away and not really anything I ever tried to learn about. They just didn’t affect me or my life. Until this month.
This month, we’re in a community in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Our neighborhood, Los Piños, sits on top of a mountain overlooking a main road. It’s the most dangerous part of one of The World’s most dangerous city. We usually have to take several modes of transportation to get back home since most drivers are too scared to take us to our neighborhood. The reason why it’s so dangerous is because we live on top of a mountain, and as we climb to the top, we have to go through multiple gangs’ territories. Now before you buy me a plane ticket home, know that I am safe. Some guys from a gang are actually our guards since they respect the church so much. And we aren’t allowed to leave the church property unless we have church members with us. We are safely locked inside the church before dark. We haven’t had any incidences, and we will finish the month without any too.
About an hour before sunset, the gunshots start. Some are pretty far away, some seem freakishly close. But there’s never just one shot.
One night, we had enough. After hearing about a dozen gunshots every night, we wanted silence. So we prayed. And we asked for no gunshots that night. We asked for a silent night. And we got it. Even the dogs didn’t seem as loud.
Being on The Race, I’m seeing the power of prayer. I’ve prayed more these past 9 months than any other time in my life. It’s not because we’re super lame and that’s just the typical Christian answer. It’s because it works.
A few days later, I was wondering why that was the only night we didn’t hear gunshots. That was the first time we asked not to hear them, but it wasn’t the last time we asked either. If God has the power to stop guns, why doesn’t he? Forget about gun control for second, He could literally silence this whole mountain, heck the whole world, if he wanted to. Because these aren’t just gun shots, these are people being shot. These are people dying.
I know God is good. Like I really know. And I’ve always wanted to see the worst in The World and still believe in an insanely good God. I don’t want my faith to be shaken by evil I can’t explain, rather I want to believe that “the ugliness I see is evidence of who we need.” But this isn’t an experience. This isn’t a cool story I get to write about. This is the reality of thousands of people. Kids are growing up and their only hope for family is joining a gang. Mothers worry about their children being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the whole mountain is living in fear.
But as soon as my questions started coming, God answered them. He knows me well, and instead of a few words or a cliché, he showed me who he is. He’s the Prince of Peace so of course his desire for peace is infinitely greater than mine. He loves the people beyond comprehension, whereas I don’t even know these people. And if my heart is broken by this violence, I can’t even imagine how much this hurts the Father.
About a week after our silent night, we had another one. No gun shots. It was the night I asked questions rather than asking for silence. And I’m rather certain it wasn’t a coincidence.
You see, there is power is prayer. But there is even more power in my God. Who loves it when I ask him to change the world, but doesn’t need me to do it. I think that second silent night was God showing me how much more he cares about these people than I do. He was showing me that He is here. That this mountain isn’t forgotten about, and he truly does hold the power to make the violence stop. He doesn’t need me to come here and tell him what to do or try to fix things in my own strength. Rather, he allows my world view to grow and in return my faith and trust in him.
God is here, and he will always be here. There’s going to be revival in this community. It’s not going to be because we are here or because the church here is dedicated to spreading the gospel to the ends of their community. It’s going to happen because God is deeply in love with the people of Los Piños. And if he can stop gang wars each night, there’s nothing he can’t do.
