After ten minutes of driving I spoke up. “I haven’t seen a single white person for the last several blocks. Is that normal?”

“Yeah, most white people avoid these areas. I grew up here. It’s zone three so it’s considered one of the most dangerous places in Guatemala.” Oscar Fernandez nonchalantly replied.

The next day Bruce went with Oscar to his community to capture some video footage for Oscar’s testimonial. As Bruce was taking videos a group of gang members started coming out of the woodwork, they began chatting amongst themselves.

They however stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Oscar. They asked him in Spanish if the gringo, Bruce, was with him. As soon as Oscar said yes they backed up.

Oscar later told Bruce the gang members were talking about a way to jump (steal from) Bruce. But once they knew Bruce was with Oscar they backed off.

Now how was a young YWAM missionary from such a place? Well Oscar grew up in a Christian home with a healthy family unit. His family however didn’t have a lot of extra resources and lived in a sketchy part of town. But rather then succumbing to the ways of many Oscar has chosen to follow God. He did his DTS (Discipleship Training School) and joined staff with YWAM Guatemala. His passion is to serve kids in his neighborhood and to see the 8-9 year olds do a DTS some day instead of choosing the gangs.

If you’d like to hear his testimony you can watch it below.