Tag Archives: God’s protection

Protection and Guidance: Part 2

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As I waited for Gerber to come fix my tire in a dangerous location outside of Guatemala City, I remembered a time when I came home and noticed a white powder-like substance on the tile floor. What kind of animal leaves something like that? I looked up, and there was a small hole all the way through the ceiling and roof. I checked the floor and found a bullet slug that had rolled under the couch. This happened twice, with the second one coming through the ceiling and hitting the metal kitchen sink. I did some research on the internet and read that “terminal velocity” is when a bullet is fired straight up and then falls to the earth again, accelerating until it reaches a point where its weight equals the resistance of the air. This gives the bullet enough energy to bore through materials like a roof. Yes, people have been hit, injured, or killed by this act. I don’t know if the neighbor liked to celebrate or practice shooting his gun, but I have two 9mm slugs in my jewelry box that didn’t get me.

The Lord gave me protection and guidance just as He promised. Two dear brothers-in-the-Lord, Gerber and Raul, determined that I needed to move, and a few months later, a house became available for me to rent. Listening to their wisdom, the Lord guided me to a place that offered more security, no steep stairs, and a living area that was all closed in with an automatic garage door. This house even had a full set of kitchen cabinets. Something I never had in my past homes.

My thoughts continued while I waited to be rescued. Lord, it is my fault that I’m in this situation. I tell our missionaries that they need to travel with a companion, and I didn’t follow my own advice—Ms. Independent. I knew about the safety of traveling in pairs. I looked out the side window, and there they were. Two police officers in their black pickup pulled up beside me. The stern faced passenger rolled his window down with his rifle ready to aim and fire. Oh, Lord, help me to know what to do. I saw an alertness that would be followed by action if I didn’t do something. I remembered that they could not see me through the tinted windows. Against my resolve not to communicate with the police, I rolled my window down halfway. The seriousness on their faces changed to relief when they saw this white grandma facing them. I sighed when the rifle lowered, and the driver said, “Señora, you need to move your car. This is a very dangerous place to be.”

“I understand that, Señor, but I have a flat tire. My friend is on his way to help me,” I explained.

“No, Señora, you do not understand how dangerous it is for you to be here alone,” insisted the driver. He opened his door, signaled to his partner with the rifle to watch the highway, and came over to the car. He looked at the tires and found the one with a hole in it. Feeling a peace settle over me, I climbed out of the car. The officer told me he would change the tire, but I needed to get back in the car. I obediently did that. Watching the younger police officer guard us made me feel safe. The testimonies from my earlier remembrances encouraged me as I recognized the protective hand of God. He used these two men to guard me and change the tire. My trust level went up greatly on the scale.

With the cute little donut tire replacing the flat tire, I could now meet Gerber in the next town. “Thank you for helping me, Señor. I believe that the Lord sent you, and I truly appreciate all that you have done.”

“You are welcome, Señora. It’s a privilege to help you.” With those words and a slight smile, he signaled to his partner, and they hopped into the truck. I drove onto the highway, rejoicing that something so dangerous ended well. My two angels wearing badges followed me all the way to Jutiapa, where I met up with Gerber.

As a child of God, I see God’s protection and guidance on a regular basis in my life and those around me. I’ve grown greatly in trusting my life in His hands. One will probably never reach the “Perfect Ten” in trust, but I desire to get as close as I can and not allow fear to dictate to me.

Trusting the Lord for Protection

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Two days after receiving the three girls from the early morning call, an article appeared in the paper about an attempted drowning. The children’s father had put the girls in a canoe sometime in the night, telling them that they were going swimming. He rowed out into the lake and started shoving each one into the water. The girls screamed, and a nearby fisherman heard their cries coming to their rescue. Able to get the girls away from the father, he went to the shore with them and contacted the police. They found that the father had seriously injured their mother with a machete, in their house, when she tried to protect the children. I felt sick to my stomach when I heard the story, and the “mother bear” in me took over. We would protect these little ones and love the hurt right out of them. It consoled me that the father landed in jail. The article said that their mother had received medical attention in the hospital but did not indicate her current status.

Later that day, Yonith, the Shadow of His Wings’ social worker, said that the court called and that the mother wanted the children back. We needed to take them to the Villa Nueva court. “We can’t do that,” I told her. “Look at the change in them? They are laughing and look so peaceful being here. Has there been an investigation to find out what happened?”

Yonith replied, “No, they haven’t done that.”

“Call the La Procuraduría General de la Nación (the PGN include human rights people) and talk to them about this. It isn’t right that these children have to go back, and we don’t know if they will be safe or in more danger.”

Yonith made the call and then contacted the court to see if we could wait until the following Monday to bring the children into the children’s court. The court official agreed, and this gave more time for the PGN to investigate. Not thrilled that the children only had a few more days to be in a peaceful environment, I realized we had to work with the court system. We did not have a voice in the matter. We knew we just needed to make the best of the time we had to express love and counsel with the children.

Lord, you are their protector, and I pray that every decision made on their behalf will be the plan you have for them. My heart ached as I fasted and prayed for these three little ones. God wasn’t going to allow them to be put back into danger. He brought them to us, and He would protect them wherever they went. I could accept this and trusted in the Lord. They had a destiny with God, and I declared that in Jesus’ name they would walk out that destiny. During prayer and with my eyes closed, I could see a huge form with arms around all three girls. I knew it was the Lord confirming that He had them in His arms. Maybe they wouldn’t be staying in Shadow of His Wings, but they would be safe with the Lord. I finally felt peace for the first time since I received the middle-of-the-night phone call.

The children were taken back to their mother the following Monday. The PGN investigation indicated that the mother would find a safe place for all of them while the father remained in jail. The mother and girls went to live with a family member in a place not known by the father. When released, he wouldn’t be able to find them. The social worker, who had taken the children to the court, saw that the biological family dearly loved the children, and the mother bore the cuts on her body to prove that she fought for them.

This time of trusting the Lord for these children, even when it didn’t turn out the way I thought it should, made me stronger in the area of trust. The Bible says that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are good. I know in my heart that the Lord continues to protect and guide those girls wherever they are living.