Una Noche Loca

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Tonight was so surreal. I was playing soccer with some boys before I went to my hora de estudios (study hour) with colegio, and then I saw this woman stumble out of the Comodor (dining area), and I saw that it was the mother of the family that I know the best. She was sobbing hysterically and looked like she was in a lot of pain, so I asked her what was wrong. I didn’t really understand her answer, but she had fallen to the ground at this point, so I ran to get the doctor, who thankfully had not left yet. I brought the doctor to this woman, and then I saw a few of the six kids wandering around close to their mom, sobbing. I gathered up the youngest girl in my arms, and took the second youngest girl by the hand led them away from their mom to calm them down. By this point, there were a ton of people surrounding the woman, and everyone else at the Center had been locked into the Comodor so they couldn’t ambush her. Then, someone unlocked the door and of course they swarmed around the woman. I had to leave the kids to do crowd control, and then an ambulance came, which caused the crowd to get riled up even more. I think they were more curious than concerned, but the amount of people just standing and watching and trying to get closer was ridiculous! I saw the youngest girl crying out of the corner of my eye, and then I saw the oldest girl sobbing hysterically, so I left crowd control to gather up the three girls and calm them down. Thankfully the oldest son was calm because then I saw the other two boys and they were also sobbing hysterically. One boy started hitting himself and the other boy ran away, and meanwhile the three girls are still sobbing hysterically. There were still a TON of people around, just watching, as the mother was taken on a stretcher into an ambulance and the father went with her. So these six kids were left in the center, two of the girls on my lap, the other girl holding my hand, and the oldest boy holding the two youngest boy, 5 of them sobbing, without their parents, having no clue what was going on and if their mom was ok, and there were still SO many people there causing a scene. These poor kids… All I could do was hold them and say that everything was going to be ok. Finally, another volunteer helped me and we got the kids to their aunt and uncle, who took them (with their own 5 kids) back to their house for the night.

I have no idea if she is ok. I am praying that she is ok. Someone told me she got hit by a bus. Her friend told me she thinks her leg was fractured. Another person told me that she was simply crazy and nothing happened. Who really knows… but what an ordeal these kids had to go through tonight!

I really don’t know what to think. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the problems of these families, especially when you encounter them face to face, every single day. Please keep this family in your prayers.

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