This was my first, M-F week trying to grasp a routine and schedule between spanish classes, meetings, ministry and tutoring. I have started 5 days a week of spanish classes for 5 hours a day, which if it sounds like a lot, it is. It is one-on-one which is really nice and completely in spanish if that wasn't obvious. I get along great with my teacher who is just a few years younger than me. I have taken a week of spanish classes, why am I not fluent yet??
This week there was tutoring in the afternoons. My greatest contribution to this was playing basketball and fútbol with the kids after homework. I can play, homework help, not so much. Now they have like 2 months off (winter break) so I don't know what our afternoons will be like. On fridays we have a more formal ministry in the park with handing out food and playing games with the kids. This week we went in the morning so some of the kids that work in the park were at school. It was mostly the littles like 5 and under who are with their moms who are selling snacks, fruit and etc. Some of the women walk around and others have carts they stand by. Talk about working moms! In the afternoon you see the older kids maybe 8-12 years old helping their mom. The shoe-shine boys are a bit older and around off and on all day. German is trying to get a fútbol team together of these older boys that work in the park for a tournament this month.
2 heartbreaking issues important to me.. Child abuse/ Human trafficking and Addiction.
My first two days we had a training on child sexual abuse and human sex trafficking. Talk about a vocabulary lesson! It was put on by a great organization that works with youth who come into Mexico without papers and are sent to detention centers in Mexico. As you can imagine this is a very vulnerable population. Anyone, but especially young girls without resources or away from their family are specifically targeted by predators who manipulate them and exploit them. They do it by earning their trust with gifts and empty promises, basically appearing to be the man of their dreams before forcing them into prostitution through violence. They are sociopaths, really. It is a sobering reality that is no longer happening somewhere else, "out there" but a risk for girls in my backyard. I am forced to confront the gut wrenching burden of fighting and bringing awareness to this injustice.
I mentioned a friend of the team who is addicted to glue and literally wasting away. I amend my statement that their are not many good places for rehab. For her, there are NONE! There are several for men and one for women who struggle with alcohol but who won't take her due the vicious withdrawal symptoms of drugs. She needs help, wants help and there is no where for her to go. It is so hard for me to believe and accept this reality. What does she do? What does our team do to help keep this from killing her? In Karla's words, "We trust God and we fight for her." This is such an emotional burden on my team because they have known her for years. Our only option is detoxing her at someone's house which is INSANE, but not impossible. I'm sure she is not the only female in the whole city who is addicted to drugs and wants to get clean. Such a lack of options and resources because she is a female!
Being here is part, what we "do" the first part of this blog and part "how" we love and care for those we meet who are vulnerable or who would ordinarily go unnoticed. I am blessed greatly by both.
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