We were just walking down the street. . .
I feel like so many stories from the race start this way. We really were just walking down the street. We were on our way to witness a Hindu festival, but something stopped us in our tracks. All of a sudden, this little girl, probably seven or eight, just ran out of a house sobbing and screaming. Erin, Lauren (a squad leader) and I just stopped. We didn't know what was going on, we didn't know what to do. The mother of the little girl came storming out of the house, clearly angry. It's in those moments when I walk away, I let people deal with their own problems and I feel like it's not my place to barge in. But Erin was worried, she stuck around. And because she did, we got involved.
At about the time when I turned away, Erin saw the mother heave a huge rock at the girls head. She screamed, and I turned around in time to watch the mother literally drag her daughter away from us by the pigtails, and grab a huge stick. The woman was about to whack the girl with it when Erin stepped in. She communicated the best way she knew how to please, please don't hit the girl. The mother dropped the stick and we continued down the street, but after we turned the corner, the stick made contact and we heard the little girl's wail. When we walked home, we passed the house again and saw through the open door, the same sweet child tied up to a pole in the middle of the room.
Later that night, we and the pastor got to go to the girls house, miraculously the mother let us come in and pray for the girl and the family. No one spoke English, but pastor translated a quick word from Erin, explaining to the mother about discipline and love. Erin was so respectful, but firm (I was super proud of her in the moment!)
It makes me so sad though, we hope to visit the family again, but really who can you turn to in situations like that? We can't just call Child Services here – it doesn't exist and no one of authority cares because stuff like this is so common. It takes people like Erin to turn around, watch for just that extra split second and to do something. But it also takes trust that as we leave, our prayers are going to do something. It's hard, when there are still situations like that in every country we visit, to be able to leave at the end of the month. It takes trust that God's still going to be working as we leave. I know that family will always be in my prayers.
