My team spent the 14th through the 16th at Heart of Christ high up in the mountains. Gracie didn’t know when God called her to Honduras that she would be working with special crimes. One thing led to another and before she knew it, she was connected with the colonel and had her own office at the police station. When she got an office at the police station so many more cases got terminated in court than ever before. Gracie didn’t fool around with the cases that were put in front of her. Because she actually fought for the people, many Hondurans gained confidence in her and more began reporting their cases because they knew there was a real possibility of their case being investigated. Honduran government is so corrupt that on the rare occasion that the case gets reported, it seldom ever gets investigated and almost never makes it to court. If the case does get reported, investigated, and makes it to court it is only a very small likelihood that it will get terminated. So let’s just say that Gracie really shook things up in her county. Eventually it became too dangerous for her to work there because the very same cops that she was working with were the ones trying to kill her. Gracie was actually giving real justice to the people and putting away criminals and the corrupt police didn’t like that. Witness protection, special victims unit (handles unique cases that deal with sex crimes and abuse), abuse awareness programs, special needs care, weekly radio broadcasts, Christmas gift giveaways, food drives, and her work as a prosecutor.
She lives and takes care of 3 girls with cerebral palsy, 2 toddler boys whose moms have abandoned them, 1 toddler who had a tumor the size of himself and wasn’t expected to live, and 3 teen girls and their babies who are all victims of rape/incest. During our stay there we helped the nannies by watching the babies and playing with the boys and sometimes feeding or playing with the girls who have cerebral palsy while the moms were in school. Then at night we would play hide and go seek with the moms, who were really also children. I had trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that the same 13, 15, and 17 year olds who were breastfeeding during the day were the same children rolling around on the ground under the stars laughing with us at night. Part of their childhood had been stolen from them. They are mothers, but still children themselves. I am glad we could help them have some fun and still be kids at night when all their responsibilities were done.
It was hard to watch a 13 year old, who was raped by her stepfather, breastfeed her baby. But I was really thankful that this mom was brave enough to carry the baby to term and take care of her. Michelle is one of the best moms on the property; she loves her baby so well and constantly tends to her needs. They both are such a pleasure.
All the girls here have been raped by either family members or friends of their family and were in danger if they were to stay home. Milagros, who was raped by her dad’s friend, had a gun held to her head by her own dad, telling her that if she didn’t get an abortion he would kill her and her baby. She ran away and is taking care of her baby under the protection of Gracie.
Gracie’s job isn’t easy. While we were there, one of the girls was actually on punishment for making threats against another girl. Among the four teens, all of them, except the one making the threats, were scared. The threats escalated and she was found with a tool that Gracie thought could have been used as a weapon. Even though Alicia was like a daughter to Gracie, she couldn’t keep her on the property and have the lives of her other girls be in danger or leave them feeling so afraid. When the situation heightened, Gracie had one the racers, who spoke Spanish and had talked to all of the girls involved, write a report of everything that had gone down the few days that we were there. Gracie herself also wrote a report and next thing I knew, Gracie, a fellow racer Becky, and the three girls were off to the police station to make statements about what had happened. It was so weird packing up this teen girl and her baby’s things. I worked with her roommate Heydi to put all her belongings in sacks.
These girls have lived hard lives. They are all victims. The one who would soon be leaving saw the father of her baby shot in front of her and has three bullet scars in her arm. She did hard drugs for seven months of her pregnancy and her baby is most definitely suffering the effects. The one making the threats was escorted by the police to the state orphanage and her baby is still living at Gracie’s.
Gracie works hard to create a safe environment for these girls and every one living on her property. She fights the hard battles. She is currently only working out of her home since her office was shut down at the police station. She hopes to eventually resume work but she doesn’t want to be stupid either and go on investigations with the very people who might try to take her life. Her personal cell phone is the 911 for most people in her area. You never know what might happen while you are staying at Gracie’s. During our orientation she said that authorities called her and were looking for a place to house five women who were being hunted to be killed. So she warned us that at any time a heavily armed vehicle could pull up and drop off five women who she would house until after their court case. I am telling you Gracie is crazy, but she is doing some courageous ministry and I was so glad I could learn about what she is doing and develop relationships with the girls.
I was so blessed by this ministry experience because as I held Christopher, Heydi’s son, one night, and as he fell asleep in my arms I couldn’t help but think that in the states and many other places a baby of rape is easily aborted. The sad reality is that no one wants to mother a child who is the product of rape, even though that baby is still a precious life. However, the few here have been shown extreme grace and God had brought them in to the world to some young moms who will take good care of them! I pray that each of these children and their babies comes to know they are loved by God and comes to salvation and relationship with Him.
