Men with guns!

After the biggest event the mission has ever seen in Orica (346 gifts given) we headed to a home nearby for lunch. It was the home of Sanchez, an officer who used to be assigned to Gracie. When they would go out to rescue women and children, Sanchez would always be there. He also helped with the Christmas events the first few years. Unfortunately, Sanchez was later moved to a new posta. He and his family still keep in touch with Gracie though. It was his family that we went to visit and have lunch with.

Here is a photo of Sanchez and a fellow officer at an event in 2008:

Lunch was delightful. Unfortunately, Sanchez wasn’t able to attend. Police officers in Honduras only get to visit their families two weekends per month.  Depending on how far their posta is from their home, they may only get to see their families for a matter of hours. Some have to travel an entire day home, have a short visit with their families, and take the long bus ride back to their posta.

During lunch, Sanchez’s three children received gifts. They all loved them & immediately opened them and begin playing with them. We travelled daily with stuff to make sandwiches for ourselves. Lots of people offered to feed us, but it was much safer for us to stick with a bland diet. We didn’t need to chance anyone getting sick. When we arrived at the home for lunch, we were greeted with smiles and hugs. Not only that, but they had gotten us coca cola to drink, chips, and watermelon. During lunch and at other times during this trip, something struck me. As little as people have in Honduras, they still want to give… They all wanted to give out of their nothingness. They would offer coffee, cookies, or juice. They would always find a chair for us to sit in, even if it meant they were all standing. Their sincere hospitality was so touching. Here are some photos:

 Lee helped put together a football figurine.

 I think they got it working!

The man on the right is Sanchez's brother who lives just a few houses down. He was a very nice Christian man. You can see him looking at Shari's leg. He told her that she too was created in the image of God and was no less of a person than any of us just because she was missing a limb. I thought that was very sweet.

Bye, Sanchez's family!

After we left their home, we headed toward Guaimaca for our event scheduled at 2 PM. Earlier on we had already seen a truck with men with big guns standing on the back going up and down the road. Did I mention they had big guns? I have to admit that being in a third-world country and seeing things like that is a little disturbing. I got tense a few times over seeing such things. I always wondered if they would stop us, try to harm us, etc. No one ever tried to stop us, until...

On the way to Guaimaca we go driving past this little wooden shack. We almost always rode with the windows down. It was usually cold in the mornings and hot by the afternoon. Obviously, by this time of the day, the windows were down. As we drive by this shack, men with big guns start yelling at us. Gracie was looking in her rear view mirror and began slowing down. At this point, they weren’t just yelling. They were running after us! So, what does my dear friend Gracie do? She stops, puts the truck in reverse, and starts backing up toward them! I looked out the back window and saw men in army fatigues still running toward the vehicle as we were quickly backing toward them. I didn’t have a clue what was happening. I think I was concerned, questioning our safety, and definitely questioning Gracie’s sanity!  

It turns out that these four guys were just military guys wanting a ride. They didn’t have a vehicle. I suppose they always hitch a ride from here to there. They ended up hopping in the back of the truck, guns and all.

 I snapped this picture from the back seat as we were riding down the road:

 All of the boys were very young:

 They even posed for me so I could take their picture.

 They obviously weren't so bad, since they were willing to have their photo taken with me. : )

After dropping them off, we were back on the road to Guaimaca.

Oh, Guaimaca!