For Good Men to Do Nothing

I went to Tegucigalpa the capital yesterday. I drove through Tegucigalpa to get to a little place known as Nuevo Esperanza, or New Hope. It is about an hour on the other side of Tegucigalpa. I left early so I could spend some time with Esmerelda, a girl who used to be in our center. It was great spending time with her. She has grown into such a beautiful girl, inside and out. Doris was my traveling companion this time and we had a wonderful lunch with Esmerelda. We started our feeding frenzy after that. I don't know why travel beckons you to eat continually without ceasing.

We spent the night with Angela Flores, one our first girls to graduate from PTC. She is now engaged and she is planning her wedding. It was good to get to be involved in some of the preparations for that great event. We were trying to plan how we are going to get the older girls to town and where they are going to stay while we are there. I know God is going to work it all out.

I also was in the Honduran capital because I needed to get my passport renewed. I had to make an appointment on line to get into the US embassy and bring photos and the exact change needed in one currency only. WEll my professional photographer in La Esperanza said he knew the correct size. He didn't. It is exactly 2 inches x 2 inches. I didn't have the exact change either, but our embassy here is wonderful and they helped me get through it all. I had never done this before. Brett always had done stuff like that before, so I was in new territory.

I had left really early from Angela's house, because I didn't know how traffic would be and I didn't want to miss my appointment. I left her and Doris sleeping. I didn't know if when I got there if I was going to have to stand in a huge line. Thankfully, traffic was good and I could go in when it was close to my appointment. Since I was so early, I went back to my car and sat and read the newspaper.

While I was reading the bad news, I heard a little boy crying and and older voice yelling at him to "walk!!!" I thought maybe the little boy was out to early, didn't get his nap out or something, but the dad was marching him up the hill as the little guy was crying all the way. The little boy had on a dark blue shirt and khaki shorts. The man was dressed in a white shirt and black pants. He looked like a successful businessman. He opened the back door of his sedan that was along the side walk. He took the little boy, who seemed to be about 3 or 4 years old and put him in the back seat. I thought he was putting him in the car seat and that they would drive off, but then I didn't see the man and I just heard the little boy crying more and the father continuing with his threatenings. Then I saw the car move like it was being shoved or pushed, and then it kept happening and I couldn't see the father but I know he was in the car beating that little boy. I was horrified when I realized what he was doing. I kept thinking it is going to stop, and it didn't. Finally, the man stood up and he saw me, with my horrified look. He immediately changed his voice tone and started cooing to his son in a syrupy sweet voice, "Okay now you are going to be a good boy, Right?" "You need to obey your Poppi". I know I did not school my next look at him, and I admit it was judgmental. I had to look away, because I know my look was screaming what I felt at that moment. The little boy got out trying to breath correctly and sniffling at the same time. The father gave him a pair of sunglasses to put on. Their side of the road was in the shade of the 30 ft wall of the Embassy. All the while the dad was talking sweetly to him that he needed to obey and be a good boy.

I just sat there. I couldn't believe I absolutely did nothing. I guess I was in shock. I thought about why I didn't take my tire iron and go over and do some damage to his very nice car. I wondered why I didn't go over and ask, "Is there a problem?" Is your son having a seizure??? ""Are you having a seizure?" You can think of so many "could have , should have, would have" solutions, but the bottom line is that I didn't do anything. I could have thought of tons of reasons, why I shouldn't have gone over to the car, but I know that I should have done something, anything, to alleviate this little boys suffering. Please be praying for that little boy, God knows who he is, and pray for his father to be a kind father and filled with the love of God, but pray for me too. There was a man who lived during the time of the Nazi take over and he said something like this. "All that it takes for evil to overcome the world is for good men to do nothing". I want to be courageous and not faint or shrink back or be fearful. Fear is a paralyzing quality to a walk with God because it is the opposite of faith. Faith says I can do all things, while fear says I can do nothing. I want to learn the secret of encouraging yourself in the Lord like David did and launch ahead with no fear of man or animals.

I know many of the children in our center had similar circumstances. I am thankful God put them here at the farm surrounded with folks that love them. But I want my legacy to the girls to be that of being strong and courageous and standing for right, and not sitting while wrong is overcoming even one of His little ones. Thanks for all the visitors that helped this month and all the work and words of encouragement to my girls and to me. BLESSINGS, the Overcoming Honduran Mom.