The mission to Honduras was incredible. We spent 2 weeks ministering in 2 cities, Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. I've tried to capture some of my most memorable experiences into short stories. The first is about a girl named Yensi who I met on our first day at a girl’s teen detention center called Mujeres Adolecentes.
Our team was hosting a craft making bracelets. We passed out the materials and watched as the girls happily started on their jewelry. All but one.
Yensi sat at the corner table with her head resting on her folded arms, staring past the beads and string. I made my way over, sat across from her, and in my broken Spanish asked if she needed help. Without looking up, she said no. Fumbling through our language barrier, I asked what was wrong and understood only one word of her response. “Triste”. It was enough. One of the few words I remembered from high school Spanish class. Triste means sad.
I called a translator to help me continue talking with her and found out more of her story... Yensi was 14 years old. She was in the detention center for protection. The police arrested her mother on drug charges and found Yensi had been sold by her mother to a man for sexual purposes in order to feed her habit. Yensi lived with this man for 3 months before the police found her. She spoke very stoically about this until she explained how much she missed her sister. That’s when the tears came. Her 12 year old sister was living with an aunt and Yensi desperately wanted to see her.
I tried to comfort and encourage Yensi with the scriptures that tell of God’s love for her, that He sees all, and that He has a purpose for her. She quietly listened as the translator shared my words. I prayed with her asking God to reveal Himself clearly and have His way. After we prayed, the girl next to Yensi began helping her make the bracelet and the translator and I moved on to check on the other girls.
Her story echos in my head and heart standing in stark contrast to the tame life I live. I am reminded that the light shines brighter in the darkest places. And Yensi has been in terribly dark places. God’s grace and healing power are magnified in the deepest pain and the most heinous sin. That is my hope and prayer for Yensi. That she would embrace the magnitude of God’s grace and healing through His son.
