When you are immersed in a somehow circle of ministration such as trying to provide a home environment to the abused children that the government entrust to your care, it also precludes you, again, somehow, from going out and personally see the everyday occurrences that become the fertile soil for the systematic erosion of every moral values in our societies.
You could probably think that in a country like Nicaragua there is a vibrant upsurge of adolescents concurring to the universities to become the hopeful future of the nation. But if you watch carefully as I did some days ago, the ingredients for corruption are omnipresent even at the doors of such centers of higher education, and the adolescents fall as easy prey to its enticements.
A few weeks ago, while getting ready to go back to our family in Guatemala and El Salvador, I had to run some errands and decided to use public transportation to get a final glimpse of what I was leaving behind.
The main bus stop where I had to make the necessary connections was precisely what is known as the UCA UNIVERSITY bus stop. This is the university where 2 of the formerly entrusted to our care adolescents are attending classes. This arose even more my curiosity, as I witnessed how so many girls, in a ratio of 10 to 4 in relation to boys, flocked and mingled before entering its gates.
And the mingling made them walk among the many vendor stalls offering all types of food, bracelets, fruits, posters, and DVDs. Yes, DVDs that I thought it would be despite being illegal copies, musical ones, or movie ones. But I was surprised to see that the offering consisted of pornographic ones. I curiously counted and got the figure of 65 and no music or movie theme among them but all types of perverted sex.
I had a digital camera with me, but I stopped myself from using it because I could be confused as a leery old man taking pictures of the gorgeous girls in their very short miniskirts and all types of enticing garments. But I could not stop thinking about how the constant exposure has got its subliminal effect on all those young ones.
At the same time God provided me with some glimpses that He is present and ready to assist those who render themselves to His mercy and grace.
While I was waiting for another bus I sat beside a dark skinned, by the sun rays effect, fruits seller young woman. She was talking to 2 young girls and counseling them as a seasoned evangelist in her own way. She was sharing her own difficult experiences in life, and how through finding God and surrendering to Him, even if she does not have time to attend church, she has been protected and blessed with chldren who respect their elders and are intent on studying to support her when old.
It came about that these 2 girls were complaining that the bus drivers did not allowed them anymore to climb into the buses so they could sing and get some money for their food and take home needs.
I asked them if they had already had lunch. It was 2 p.m. and they told me that they only had breakfast, lunch and dinner about 6 p.m. if the day had been a good one.
I was shocked and gave them money so they could have lunch and then more money if they sang a song for me. I was expecting a Christian song as many like them use to sing but they told me they only sang rancheras because there was too much competition with all those phony, their words, children and even adults who make their living that way.
I could not stop thinking that the older girl looked so much as one of the girls we took care of when we came to minister as tutor parents back in 2002. She made me remember Diana María who is now living with her mother, who sells fruits at the market as the mother of this 11 years old girl, Selena Palacios, does too.
What a repetitive cycle of needs and potential for abuse! I talked to her about Diana María, the girl who was also 11 years old when we met her, and she told me how lucky she was to find people who adopted her, her words, even if for just some period of time. I asked her and she accepted and I took a picture so I could pray for her.
Here is Selena. See her way of looking at you while resting her arms on her guitar which is presently her livelyhood and family support.
Please pray for her as all my family is doing every night before going to bed.
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