Luis Otoniel Bran

In a week (last week) where 3 celebrities died, I found myself growing more and more frustrated. While I don't know enough about any of the celebs to comment on their life, I can say that it makes me nuts to hear people go on and on about their deaths. As one friend wrote, "Anyone else find it ironic that folks are all concerned with how Michael Jackson died, but so few of them really cared about how he lived?" Is one person's death more important than another persons? 17-18 people are murdered every day here in Guatemala (murdered, not just died from things like a heart attack) according to the WHO. Guatemala...a country that has roughly the same number of square miles as the state of Virginia and almost double the population (per Wikipedia).

Below is a blog entry written by Ginny Holmes about a young man named Luis that was murdered Sunday, June 21st. Since that day, approx. 136-144 more may have been murdered. I've written additional comments at the end of Ginny's blog.

If you've been checking my wall on Facebook lately you would have read about an all too common occurance here in Guatemala. Luis Otoniel Bran, who was 19, was shot and killed two days ago, along with two other boys aged 13 and 22. As is often the case, we don't have many details. It is thought that there was a fourth boy who was taken by the shooters. Needless to say, there is no one left to tell us exactly what happened.

Luis was an exceptionally tall teenager by Guatemalan standards, and as Rachel said yesterday, he always smiled like the picture you see. He came to the ministry each day after school to help in the kitchen carrying bucketloads of dishes for the cooks, cleaning and working in the carpentry shop. Graduation from high school was in sight, leading Luis to possible employment as a mechanic. The word 'gentle' comes to mind when I think of this tall, but quiet young man.

The people of Guatemala are shaking their fists at the government and police for the escalating violence in this country. Drug trafficking, extortion, poverty, gangs...all lead to violent crimes, which all too often are against innocent victims who are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The government says it is working on changing this situation, but it's pretty hard to do when the police and lawmakers are corrupt and less than 3% of the over 6000 homicides per year are ever brought to justice. Villages throughout Guatemala are beginning to take the law into their own hands with vigilante groups seizing suspected wrong-doers and killing them on the spot. Unfortunately, with the level of corruption in the government and law enforcement, there is little chance of the situation improving any time soon.

Sounds pretty hopeless, doesn't it? But no matter where you live, your hope can't be placed in the government, in law enforcement, or in any human, for that matter. Reading the newspaper or hearing from someone we know that yet another relative or friend was murdered could make us never want to get out of bed in the morning. But we can't live in fear that something might happen to us sometime. I mean, is God in control of every single thing that happens in this universe or not?? If we really believe that, then we need to trust His eternal love and sovereign will. What happened to Luis and his two friends is tragic and seems to be senseless. Why so young? Why such a nice kid? But nothing is out of God's sight. He knew this was going to happen and He is even now surrounding Luis' family and friends with His loving arms of comfort and strength. We pray that everyone who was touched by this horrible event will draw closer to the only true hope which is found in the Lord who never changes, always loves, and has given us the absolute assurance of eternal life with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.


And Luis? Why he is forever in the arms of his God and Savior! Can't get any better than that!!


I appreciate Ginny allowing me to post her blog here.
The details of his death are unclear, but I guess the details aren't overly important and won't change the fact that Luis and at least 2 other friends were chased and gunned down (killed). We'd heard rumor that a 4th boy was also involved, and today we were told he's in the hospital. Today we went to visit with Luis' mother and the parents of one of the other boys (only 13 yr old!) Luis' mom was obviously hurting, but her faith was so strong! She has not lost faith or hope in her God and His sovereignty. I could only hope that I would be that strong in such a circumstance.

My understanding is that Luis is his mother's only son. Perhaps his mom was looking forward to the day when Luis would marry and bring his bride to live with them in their simple home, as is the tradition in this culture. Perhaps she was looking forward to grandchildren. Perhaps she was hoping Luis would find a good job and be able to care for her as she grows older. Ginny mentioned to me that when she hears a siren, she now thinks of Luis. I wondered if Luis' mom and the other families are haunted by sirens. During our visit, I heard the loud pops of fireworks (the kind we hear multiple times every day and night....the kind that stay on the ground and make lots of noise...eerily similar to gunshots). And I wonder if she heard the gunshots that killed her son. And I wonder if she thinks of her son every time she hears gunshots or fireworks....multiple times every day. My heart breaks for her and the people of Guatemala.

During one of our visits, Oscar shared a similar story of 3 brothers that were killed at one time. And it dawned on me once again that our ministry workers have seen and lived through so much. Each one could render countless stories of similar tragedy. It really does bring me to my knees in prayer. It brings me to a renewed sense of urgency that we would all know and share Christ. I think Ginny said it best, " We pray that everyone who was touched by this horrible event will draw closer to the only true hope which is found in the Lord who never changes, always loves, and has given us the absolute assurance of eternal life with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ." Amen