Treasures of God Children's Home: Safety.

It's funny how things change when kids are in the picture.

On Thursday afternoon I arrived at my house with the kids from the Bible Club. We had been playing in the front yard for about 15 minutes when I heard a vehicle slam on his brakes and skid. This was quickly followed by 3 gun shots very close outside my gate. I looked at Keena and said "inside" and she started to pull Joshua off the trampoline while I tried to herd the other two from their favourite activity: soccer. As we were rounding them up we heard at least 3 more shots, still very close.

I have become accustomed to hearing gunshots, they don't bother me as much when it is just me. When the boys were there, I was really scared! I had visions of stray bullets coming through the gate. I had already had one bullet hole in the gate patched up when I moved in.

I know I live in a dangerous country. Theft is expected. I have seen several dead bodies on the side of the roads. And there area areas in Guatemala City that I will likely never go to. I've been on buses that I wish I hadn't been, and I've sat next to people I wish I hadn't had to sit next to. I've done countless hours of driving by myself (which is no big deal in Canada, more so here). I've had friends tell me their kidnapping stories. Other friends told me their stories of being held at gunpoint while being robbed. You get the idea.

Through all of this, God has kept me safe. I know that living here and being a missionary does not mean that God will keep all bad from happening to me. I remember hearing a story about a couple who had just moved here. They were involved in a car accident and the wife died. The husband stayed. He knew they were called to Guatemala, and contrary to many peoples opinions, he wasn't going to leave. I don't have a free pass to safety, but if something happens to me, I'd be a lot more okay with that, than if something happened to my boys, and the girls who will soon be mine.

Story from Thursday (which I take with a grain of salt) is that a guy stole a bicycle, was riding away, someone caught up with him (still don't know if it was the police or the owner of the bike) and shot into the air to scare him. So the guy was fine. And apparently he was taken in BY the police, or TO the police. Then 10 minutes after it happened my doorbell rang. I didn't know the story yet, and had visions of some guy out there bleeding to death in front of my gate. My gate which I regularly leave unlocked during the day!!! I don't have a camera to see who is ringing the doorbell, just a phone system (which will likely change now. I originally bought the phone system instead of the camera because it was cheaper) so I didn't want to answer the door. I called a friend and of course she told me not to answer it! Later I found out it was the guy that comes by on his bike sometimes selling slices of pizza. What timing!

So everyone is fine. And I still don't feel unsafe here, as it was a random event. But know that when I am asking for the ever generic prayers for "safety", it is for a reason. :) And it made me re-think a few things for when the girls get here.

I'll leave you with some cute pictures of what we did later on in the day. :)