"Baptism by Fire"

I have heard this phrase several times in the last week. I have been assured that these events are not normal. We had to let some house parents go last Thursday. These house parents have been at the Oasis for 3 1/2 years and so it was not an easy parting as the girls have become very attached. There have been ongoing problems with this couple and they really had a powerful influence on the girls in a negative way. Needless to say it was not a peaceful parting. The next day the girls of the house decided to protest and locked themselves in their room and were making all sorts of accusations and threats. Unfortunately, one of the young ladies became violent and injured one of our missionary teachers. Thankfully two missionary men were there to help defend her. (Unfortunately Esther has since filed a physical abuse claim against all three.) The police had to come up to the site to help keep things calm. It was not a pretty picture. The girls completely trashed the house and even destroyed a door and tore down the false ceiling.

After two of the independence girls decided to leave with the house parents we thought things would calm down a bit, but we were not so lucky. The one girl who became violent found a way to cut the electric razor wire and escape over the wall. Throughout the day we had strange men with weapons lingering outside the Oasis. For safety we had two security gaurds come on the property for the next two nights. Thankfully there were no more incidents.
The remainder of the girls involved are still not conforming well, but we are slowly moving in the right direction. We have had to mix up the houses a bit to separate the girls and so unfortunately it has really affected everyone.

Most importantly I ask you to

PRAY...

• For the houseparents Carlos and Claudia
• For the girls who have left: Miriam, Marita, and Esther
• For returned order at the Oasis
• For girls to settle into new homes and new house parents
• That nothing becomes of the physical abuse claim filed by Esther against Patricia, Doug and Mark (the missionaries involved in the incident)
• For all our safety