The summer of 2013, Deb and her husband Andy had been called to serve in El Salvador. “We stored a few things, but gave most of our belongings away. All that remained was unloading our nearly 4000 square foot home where we had raised our children, welcomed our grandchildren and fellowshipped with so many friends.”
Following the advice of their real estate agent, they ‘owner financed’ their home to a gentleman whose grandmother was his agent. The deal went through in early fall, 2013, and on December 5, 2013, they began our mission adventure in El Salvador.
Deb shares her nightmare here:
“We could not have imagined what was headed our way. In July, 2014, we learned the gentleman who purchased our home was declaring bankruptcy and payments would cease. A lawyer from our home church in Austin agreed to represent us pro bono, so we could continue to serve. We remained in El Salvador for two years.
We returned back to Texas in January, 2016. We continued to work through the courts to receive monies contractually owed. We were hearing stories from old neighbors who lived there how the S.W.A.T. Team had raided the home several times and how the home was now known as the neighborhood ‘drug house’. Little did they know, that residence was being used for much more than drugs.
This struggle and financial drain continued until April, 2018, when we were able to legally repossess the residence. But still we could not by law walk on to the premises because now they claimed ‘squatters’ rights. It would be more than three months before we could legally take back the property all the time paying the mortgage, insurance and property taxes while renting a place to live. Nothing could have prepared us for what we would see, smell and find when we walked through the front door on Friday, July 5, 2018.
The rank odor overwhelmed us. The entry was almost totally blocked with furniture. The floor was covered with broken glass and animal fecal matter. Within minutes we found drugs and stolen identity papers and called the police to make a report. In addition, we put out a request to friends and family to help us clean out and clean up this once beautiful home now nearly destroyed.
The next day, my husband and I were joined by 19 others to begin the clean up process. Everyone who walked through the door was overwhelmed by what they saw and smelled and with discouraged eyes asked, “What do I do?” Each chose a room and began to collect trash. We filled 4 large dumpsters.
Again more drugs and birth/death certificates, passports, social security cards, money counting machines and tasers were found and the police were called back in. But more horror was to be discovered.
What was found in the master bedroom was terrifying … photos of little girls and boys, young women in costume. There were police grade hand cuffs and other bondage paraphernalia along with adult costuming and sex toys. This was the sex room with tapes and televisions. The home had been wired where people could view what was happening in this room.
My husband found where someone had been ‘kept’ in the attic. Air conditioning ducts had been rerouted to the attic so this person could survive the Texas summer heat. In the garage was unopened packaging which contained video, lighting and photography equipment.
Apparently they were ready to launch porn via video.
Sex trafficking had been going on in this home, in this upper class neighborhood, in the conservative city of Round Rock, Texas.
No one in the neighborhood knew and the immediate neighbors just knew enough to be terrified of who lived next door to them.
They complained to the home owners association. The police had been called on numerous occasions. But no one did anything to stop this atrocity.
It was a dreadful, but I am thankful. The nightmare of its yesterday was passed and the tomorrows promised to be amazing in His light. Many advised we just sell as is, but God called us to remain.
February, 2019 and $100,000 later, we are closing in on finishing the gutting and renovation. We know that what some meant for evil, our God will use for good.”
To read more stories, go here.
To find out how you can help PREVENT this from happening in your neighborhood, go here.
