When the company moved us to Honduras in 2006 I rebelled against the bodyguards that were assigned to us. Being independent, I wanted the freedom to drive myself and go places alone. I wanted to shop and buy what I desired without another knowing. Not that what I bought was inappropriate; only that much of what I bought was considered extravagant to one who lived on very little. They knew if my lunch cost $3 or $10 and waited outside every restaurant we frequented. If I went to the Dr., they knew and were concerned. They even knew how many times I used the bathroom while away from home!
Yet, with my husband being the General Manager of the largest company and exporter in Central America, I had no choice. Amidst the death threats he received, the constant kidnappings and other violence, plus Chiquita saying they would not take responsibility if something happened while I was out without my guards, I reluctantly agreed. Not that they weren’t nice men. The always treated me with the utmost respect and kindness.
Soon, Nicolas and Leo became my constant companions. With time, I became grateful when one would drop me off at the door of the store and the other would wait in the car. I never feared going to the bank to withdraw money. They watched my back constantly. They carried in my groceries and helped me decorate for Christmas. They were like children wanting to use every light and ornament I had to adorn as much of the house as possible. The eagerly found a solution for every problem. I didn’t have to worry about my kids going out as they were well taken care of. When I trained for a marathon, that meant one of them had to run it with me and therefore shared in the special connection that only marathoners know as they train and run together. They even brought me more and more animals of every kind, knowing I loved any critter!
My ministry became theirs. They loved the girls at the orphanage that I visited and took an interest in every little life. They accompanied me to the public hospital in San Pedro Sula and soon knew every child’s case. They would make sure I knew if there was another child or family that could use help. They would anxiously await news on surgeries and mourn with me at the loss of one of the kids.
I began to have dreams that one of them would get shot while protecting me and it would be my fault. I would awake, my cheeks wet with tears, from visions of holding one of them in a pool of blood.
Nicolas and Leo became a part of my daily life and, by the time we left, they were no longer only bodyguards, but they were my friends.
When news came that we were getting transferred our three body guards and the house guards gathered around us and thanked us. They said we were the first employers that treated them as people; who took an interest in their lives and the lives of their families, who treated them fairly and lovingly and who trusted them with money and important tasks.
When Nicolas took me to the airport as we flew off to Mozambique, he said, “I’ve spent two years watching you and your friends as you serve God and help the poor. I now know that my life was meant for more than being a ‘guarda espalda’. I want to serve people too.
The day after we left he was employed by a missionary family with a mission station that hosts a church, a feeding center, and computer, sewing, woodworking and mechanic classes to help get kids off the street and away from the gangs. Nicolas is not only a bodyguard but pretty much runs the mission as the missionaries now spend about six months of the year in the US due to medical issues.
As I look back on that time, I realize how I too easily could have rejected, not only the security, but the blessing of friends. In refusing my guards, I would have been limited in much of what I was able to do in helping others. They enabled me to go to many places I would not have dared go alone. And, the life of Nicolas might not have been changed so dramatically.
I made a list a few months after we left of all the things I missed about Honduras and I just found it. Guess what was on the top of the list? You got it!!! My bodyguards! What I fought at the beginning soon became one of my biggest blessings.
When my daughter and I returned a couple years ago to interpret for a medical team, some of the first people we sought out were our guards. These photos were taken at that time.