My husband has a niece from hell

Dear Pastor,

I am not doing very well, but I am not physically ill. My mind is not at ease due to some problems that I am facing.

I am living with my husband, and one of his nieces is living here. This girl wants to ruin my life. Her mother walked away from her father. The girl has no behaviour. My husband has tried his best to help her. He sent her to school. He spent a lot of money on her. She got pregnant when she was 18, but she had an abortion. The man who got her pregnant told us that. My husband cursed him and told him that he wanted to disgrace his niece. But one of her friends told us that the man was speaking the truth, because she told her that she was pregnant. She eventually admitted to her uncle that she had got pregnant.

We forgave her and we were trying to make her walk the straight and narrow. When we thought that she was back on track, we realised that she got involved with a gangster who lives in the community. She was taking money from him and whenever he wanted to see her, she had to go. The guy started to come to our gate and my husband had to speak to her about it. One day the guy came to our gate and my husband tried to warn him. He said that my husband couldn't warn him because he is in charge of her. So, my husband told her that she would have to leave his house. She packed up her things and left. We didn't know where she was. One day she called and spoke to my husband and asked if she could come home. He did not answer. She came back and told my husband that she was sorry for her behaviour and wanted his forgiveness. She said the guy became a pimp and she had to be on the road having sex with other men. Every cent she made, he took it.

This is a pretty girl, but she does not have any sense. I have never seen my husband cry, but when she told us what she had to go through with the guy, he broke down and cried. But she has not changed, because neighbours told us that when we are at work, men were coming to the house. This girl told us that she was downtown in the market and a man told her that somebody obeahed her, so she can't change. The girl is still fooling around with different men. We don't know what to do. She is not behaving. We do not believe that anybody has worked obeah on her. She is just bad.

My husband got her a job at a gas station. Now she is involved with men who come there, especially mini bus and taxi drivers. We don't know what can be done to get this girl to behave. We started attending church, but she says she is too tired to go. Please give us some advice. We don't want to ask her to leave again. People are calling her a whore and we are very embarrassed. Tell us what to do.

D.W.

Dear D.W.,

This young woman is an adult. Your husband and you have tried to give her guidance.

It is amazing how some young people don't think. She has a good home, but she has a wild spirit. She wanted to have her own way. Many times when a girl wants to have her own way, the only time she stops is when she gets into trouble with the law, and she realises that she would end up in prison. Then she would make a change.

These types of women suffer at the hands of men. They beat them and treat them badly. It is alleged that this girl got pregnant and terminated the pregnancy. She asked your husband to take her back and she returned, but she didn't change. He got her a job at a gas station and she became every man's woman, so much so that people call her a whore. I hope that your husband will not ask her to leave again.

I know for sure that she will get herself into trouble. She may get pregnant again. Don't even force her to attend church, just pray for her every day. This foolishness about someone working obeah on her is nonsense. Just continue to pray for her.

Pastor