One of my jobs at the Finca is the Security Coordinator, which essentially means aiding the communication between our onsite director, Lic Lorena, who is EXTREMELY busy, and our security team, which consists of 4 security guards that rotate throughout the week. The scope of the security coordinator’s job responsibilities changes depending on the director and how involved he or she wants to be in the day-to-day managing of the security team. I am extremely lucky right now that Lic Lorena loves to be extremely involved in the management of our security team, so my job responsibilities essentially are being a friend to the security guards and providing any material needs necessary for the job, such as coffee, flashlight batteries, etc. & I LOVE BEING THE SECURITY COORDINATOR!!
The 4 security guards that we currently have on staff are some of my best friends at the Finca and in the surrounding areas, and I am so unbelievably blessed to be able to spend quality time with them almost every single day/night! Our Finca security guards work 12-hour shifts, and they either work 5 days or 6 nights every week (as Selvin and Watchi rotate weekly between days and nights). That being said, our Finca security guards work A LOT of hours, and the job is typically extremely boring, especially at night when there isn’t school, the maintenance workers aren’t working, and Finca employees, missionaries, and kids aren’t walking around and playing in the park or the campo. Obviously, it is a blessing that the areas surrounding the Finca are incredibly safe and we have very few, if any, significant security issues every year. However, that often means the security guards do not have a lot to do besides sit at the front gate and scroll through Facebook or play a game on their phone until their next fence walk.
Due to the long hours and minimal job responsibilities, I have viewed my primary job as security coordinator to be their friend and somebody that they can always talk to and laugh with. I try to talk every day with the security guards on duty during the day and at night, and this significant quality time spent together has led to some AMAZING friendships that I hope will last long past when I decide to return to the US. Our Finca security guards are currently Selvin, Watchi (his real name is Irvin but everyone calls him Watchi), Naín, and Noel.
Selvin has worked at the Finca for almost 15 years, and he is now the Head of Security and has truly seen almost everything there is to see at the Finca. Whenever I am in the need for a great laugh or an incredible story about the Finca from years ago, Selvin is my go-to-guy!! Selvin is truly one of my best friends in Honduras, and I cherish all the amazing conversations and quality time that we get to share in the Finca on a daily basis.
Watchi has only been working at the Finca for about 7 months, but he has lived in Mojaguay (the town closest to the Finca gates) most of his life and his life is intricately connected with the Finca. He even lived at the Finca for a few years when he was a kid while his dad was working as the security guard! Young Watchi LOVED helping his dad control the Finca fence, and that is why almost everybody in the nearby communities call him “Watchi” instead of his real name. Watchi is truly ALWAYS ready to have an amazing conversation about the joys and the struggles of being a missionary at the Finca, and he is a great listener that can give some world-class advice when called upon.
Naín is also one of my best friends in Honduras, and I have gotten the privilege of getting to know Naín on a deeper and deeper level over the past 9 months that he has worked at the Finca. Naín is our armed night security guard contracted from a private company that works 6 nights every week, which is an absolutely brutal schedule that makes it incredibly difficult to be a functional member of society working 72 hours weekly at night. Naín recently invited me to his house for lunch, and it was the ABSOLUTE BEST carne asada that I have had in my entire time at the Finca! I enjoyed the lunch SO, SO much, and I spent hours talking with Naín and his wife at the table and playing with their two young kids outside their humble home in a nearby mountain town.
Noel is our weekend security guard that works every Saturday and Sunday during the day in order to provide a day off for the full-time security guards. Noel is one of the quietest people that I have ever met, so I am still trying to break his shell more and more every weekend in order to have a genuine conversation that lasts more than 5 minutes. POCO A POCO! However, Noel is also one of the nicest people that I have ever met, and he is always willing to immediately drop everything that he is doing in order to unlock the gate to the beach during the weekend.
All in all, I am blessed every single day to have a thriving relationship with our security staff, and I truly cherish every moment that I get to spend daily with the morning and night security guards! I am hopeful that I will stay in good contact with my great security friends long after I decide to return to the US!
Please pray for my goddaughter at the Finca, who turns 18 in two days and will leave the Finca on June 30th. She has lived at the Finca for 15 years, and she is extremely excited yet nervous for the new adventure that awaits her in the world outside the Finca!
Please let me know how I can pray for you!
God Bless!