This upcoming week we are going to be travelling to Roatan, Honduras in order to be introduced to various ministries there. We will be working in a school for a day, doing work outside for a ministry there, helping with missions at a church, and working with an after school sports ministry. Of course, we are also going to be relaxing a bit.
Roatan is an island off of the northern coast of Honduras, and it is BEAUTIFUL. Along with our group, we are also hoping to bring some if the boys from the property so that they can have a nice vacation while we are doing ministry. Since they are street boys, they really haven't had any sort of opportunity to go on a trip like this, so we're trying hard to raise funds for them. The ride from the coast to the island is a $50 round-trip cost, and it will be around $25 for food...so $75 all together.
Our main goal is to raise money for one boy in particular, Josue. He is one of the boys who we have been ministering to in La Kennedy, and he has been staying at the property for 4 days now drug- free. Tony is hoping that Josue will eventually be able to move to the property, but we are taking little steps first so that there is assurance for him.
Additionally, we are going to try and raise money to support the trips of all of the boys who are going...5 in total including Josue. Two of the boys are Josue's younger brothers (Carlos and Fernando), one of the boys is a neighbor of the property (Hector) and little Anderson is the 5th boy.
If you would like to help send Josue and the boys to Roatan, here are some links!
For those who have Chase bank, you can send a donation directly to Tonys account using this email address: tdeien@hotmail.com
To donate using paypal,use the following link:
www.bit.ly/zionsgate.com
The receiver for each donation vessel is Tony Deien.
Thank you all so much for your continued support! I will give an update as soon as possible!
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
God pulls us through all challenges!
This past week has been pretty challenging in a few ways, and God has definitely pushed me.
Sunday we went to a North American church in the afternoon, which was so refreshing to worship and hear the Word in English (not that I'm sick of Spanish!...) Most of the boys from the property came too, so since there are so many people to transport we had to ride in the bed of a truck again. However, unlike last time, it wasn't a pickup truck...it was an 18 wheeler with a completely flat bed. It was such a blast to get all dressed up and then be transported like chickens to the 'gringo' church. Below: Dressed up for church!
The challenges began when I found out that I wasn't going to La Kennedy for the week (later I found out that it was supposed to be 11 days) because of the rotation of the group. The community of La Kennedy had been so heavy on my heart for the previous week, so I was super discouraged and frustrated to find out that I wouldn't be able to see them for so long. At the time, it felt like God had called me to minister to the community and then just ripped it away. Of course, He had other plans.
After talking with the leaders about switching everyone in the group at the same time and how it probably wasn't the best idea, it was decided that I would go on Monday. So, I went! Caesar wasn't there that day, but I was able to talk with Jose quite a bit. He ended up bringing up the Bible to me, and he showed me a couple of passages that he kept in his wallet that had been given to him by various churches. It was the first time he and I had a truely deep conversation, which was so awesome to realize that I was making progress. On the flip-side, it was a HUGE bummer to tell him that I wouldn't be there for the rest of the week and the following week. When I told him, he put his arm around me and said over and over 'estoy triste, estoy triste,' meaning 'I'm sad, I'm sad.' It broke my heart! Now, not only was God taking away La Kennedy for me, but he was showing so clearly that I was forming pretty solid relationships. Below: Doing ministry in La Kennedy. Jose is in the blue shirt with the hat on. I am behind the Honduran girl.
At our mini debrief that day, I mentioned what Jose had said to me, and Tony was pretty upset. Later in the day we had a group meeting to go over our schedule for the remainder of our time here and to work out some kinks in our ministries...one being La Kennedy. After almost 3 hours of slightly stressful conversation, there was an executive decision to send a core group of people to La Kennedy everyday and to send extra people only once in a while. Because of the relationships I have been making, I am one of the core people. Yay God! I had been so upset about missing even a day, let alone a week, and He proved that he did want me to be there...and everyday!
Yesterday (Thursday) was the first time I have seen Caesar since last week. We talked for a while about where he had been, and he mentioned that he was bummed that he hadn't been around while we were there because henwas looking forward to reading the Bible with me. So exciting! Unfortunately, he didn't pop out until about 30 minutes before we left, so he thought it would be a better idea to not rush and start our 'Bible study' next time. Instead, we talked about astronomy(!) for a while and he gave me a bracelet that he had made for me. When we left today, he made sure that I would bring a Bible, a camera, and something astrophysical for him to read the next time I'm there. So many great things!
Aside from the challenge of La Kennedy, we are also reaching the point where the team is starting to rift a bit. There are no specific problems with any one or two people, but there is still a sort of weight that everyone has felt for a few days. After three weeks of being together 24/7, a little bit of impatience and irritability penetrated the group. Luckily it was addressed fairly quickly, but it still dampered some spirits for a day or two, and I could feel our group as a whole losing unity, especially unity in the Lord. After a bit of time alone and one or two more deep talks, we are finally starting to climb back up again. Please pray for team unity for us!
Teaching English at the school is still going super well, and I have inherited another student! Now I have Wilfredo (13) and Santos (14). They are both extremely smart and so happy to be learning. Each day they hug me hello and goodbye and thank me for teaching. So far, they have mastered numbers, colors, basic conversational phrases, and the alphabet. Today we made a huge leap and started verbs. Teaching is definitely another area where I am being challenged here, but it has been a blessing as well to see the boys make so much progress and to know that they will continue to learn even more.
On the property, I have been working on the cactus garden, painting rocks, and playing with the bunnies. There is a brand new rabbit house that we have progressed a bunch, but the rabbits (6 right now) need to be held and played with pretty often so that they are ready to be sold. I volunteered for that tedious job. :) Because of all of the other big projects I haven't been able to make a lot of progress on the soccer field yet. The area is macheted and ready to be revamped, but I think it'll be a little while before any major steps are taken. I have moved my tent over and am sleeping on the 'field' for now...it is much squishier and more level than my previous tent locations, and I am lulled to sleep by the cars and trucks on the road all night.
So many little things are starting to come together and really take shape here. I feel completely at home wherever I am...every place in which I find myself is exactly where I feel like I want/need to be. Praise God for Honduras!
During the week of July 14-20 there is a national 'event' called One Nation, One Day in which the whole world is going to be praying for Honduras and the gospel will be shared across the country. The idea is that NO part of the country will be unreached. I encourage you to look into the event and pray for those of us who are here as missionaries as well as the native Honduran people.
Thanks for reading!
PS I did watch the Honduras/US soccer game...I cheered for Honduras. :)
Sunday we went to a North American church in the afternoon, which was so refreshing to worship and hear the Word in English (not that I'm sick of Spanish!...) Most of the boys from the property came too, so since there are so many people to transport we had to ride in the bed of a truck again. However, unlike last time, it wasn't a pickup truck...it was an 18 wheeler with a completely flat bed. It was such a blast to get all dressed up and then be transported like chickens to the 'gringo' church. Below: Dressed up for church!
The challenges began when I found out that I wasn't going to La Kennedy for the week (later I found out that it was supposed to be 11 days) because of the rotation of the group. The community of La Kennedy had been so heavy on my heart for the previous week, so I was super discouraged and frustrated to find out that I wouldn't be able to see them for so long. At the time, it felt like God had called me to minister to the community and then just ripped it away. Of course, He had other plans.
After talking with the leaders about switching everyone in the group at the same time and how it probably wasn't the best idea, it was decided that I would go on Monday. So, I went! Caesar wasn't there that day, but I was able to talk with Jose quite a bit. He ended up bringing up the Bible to me, and he showed me a couple of passages that he kept in his wallet that had been given to him by various churches. It was the first time he and I had a truely deep conversation, which was so awesome to realize that I was making progress. On the flip-side, it was a HUGE bummer to tell him that I wouldn't be there for the rest of the week and the following week. When I told him, he put his arm around me and said over and over 'estoy triste, estoy triste,' meaning 'I'm sad, I'm sad.' It broke my heart! Now, not only was God taking away La Kennedy for me, but he was showing so clearly that I was forming pretty solid relationships. Below: Doing ministry in La Kennedy. Jose is in the blue shirt with the hat on. I am behind the Honduran girl.
At our mini debrief that day, I mentioned what Jose had said to me, and Tony was pretty upset. Later in the day we had a group meeting to go over our schedule for the remainder of our time here and to work out some kinks in our ministries...one being La Kennedy. After almost 3 hours of slightly stressful conversation, there was an executive decision to send a core group of people to La Kennedy everyday and to send extra people only once in a while. Because of the relationships I have been making, I am one of the core people. Yay God! I had been so upset about missing even a day, let alone a week, and He proved that he did want me to be there...and everyday!
Yesterday (Thursday) was the first time I have seen Caesar since last week. We talked for a while about where he had been, and he mentioned that he was bummed that he hadn't been around while we were there because henwas looking forward to reading the Bible with me. So exciting! Unfortunately, he didn't pop out until about 30 minutes before we left, so he thought it would be a better idea to not rush and start our 'Bible study' next time. Instead, we talked about astronomy(!) for a while and he gave me a bracelet that he had made for me. When we left today, he made sure that I would bring a Bible, a camera, and something astrophysical for him to read the next time I'm there. So many great things!
Aside from the challenge of La Kennedy, we are also reaching the point where the team is starting to rift a bit. There are no specific problems with any one or two people, but there is still a sort of weight that everyone has felt for a few days. After three weeks of being together 24/7, a little bit of impatience and irritability penetrated the group. Luckily it was addressed fairly quickly, but it still dampered some spirits for a day or two, and I could feel our group as a whole losing unity, especially unity in the Lord. After a bit of time alone and one or two more deep talks, we are finally starting to climb back up again. Please pray for team unity for us!
Teaching English at the school is still going super well, and I have inherited another student! Now I have Wilfredo (13) and Santos (14). They are both extremely smart and so happy to be learning. Each day they hug me hello and goodbye and thank me for teaching. So far, they have mastered numbers, colors, basic conversational phrases, and the alphabet. Today we made a huge leap and started verbs. Teaching is definitely another area where I am being challenged here, but it has been a blessing as well to see the boys make so much progress and to know that they will continue to learn even more.
On the property, I have been working on the cactus garden, painting rocks, and playing with the bunnies. There is a brand new rabbit house that we have progressed a bunch, but the rabbits (6 right now) need to be held and played with pretty often so that they are ready to be sold. I volunteered for that tedious job. :) Because of all of the other big projects I haven't been able to make a lot of progress on the soccer field yet. The area is macheted and ready to be revamped, but I think it'll be a little while before any major steps are taken. I have moved my tent over and am sleeping on the 'field' for now...it is much squishier and more level than my previous tent locations, and I am lulled to sleep by the cars and trucks on the road all night.
So many little things are starting to come together and really take shape here. I feel completely at home wherever I am...every place in which I find myself is exactly where I feel like I want/need to be. Praise God for Honduras!
During the week of July 14-20 there is a national 'event' called One Nation, One Day in which the whole world is going to be praying for Honduras and the gospel will be shared across the country. The idea is that NO part of the country will be unreached. I encourage you to look into the event and pray for those of us who are here as missionaries as well as the native Honduran people.
Thanks for reading!
PS I did watch the Honduras/US soccer game...I cheered for Honduras. :)
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Power in Prayer
Aside from street ministry, we have started to teach English at the school that is near the property and we are continuing to do manual labor on the property itself. I actually only have one kid, Wilfredo, out of the class, so I am working one-on-one with him, which is such a blessing. He is so eager to learn and gives me grace when I can't always find the words to explain things well to him in Spanish. Work has finally begun on the soccer field, but man is it slow. Turns out machetes are A LOT HARDER to use than I ever thought. The boys here make it look so easy, but it is possibly one of the most tiring things I have ever done. I also have a nice big blister on my hand now which makes it tough to keep on, but God has really given me the strength to not give up on the project. This week I am planning to clear out all of the big rocks so that we can start to till the ground.
I have also been spending some quality time with all of the boys on the property, particularly Rony. In case anyone has forgotten, Rony is 19 and is the oldest out of all of the boys. This past week he shared his testimony with me, and it was such a beautiful story of redemption. He has just recently (about 3 months ago) fully accepted the Lord as his savior, but he has come such a long way in his life. In the past, Rony was in 18, which is one of the largest and most dangerous gangs in Honduras. He used to use multiple drugs and alcohol daily and was in such a place of frustration and anger in his life. Through Tony's street ministry a few years ago, Rony was introduced to the Lord and now is dreaming of becoming a pastor. In order to preserve his story and his privacy, I will leave it at that, but he is truly a miracle of God. It is even more miraculous that he told me everything in Spanish and I followed along the entire time. God is great! After he shared his story with me, Rony prayed for me for about 5 minutes and then I for him. It was such a powerful night for both of us and our relationships with each other as well as with the Lord.
I have also been spending a lot of time with Ariel and Anderson as well. Anderson (7 years old) and I had some solid bonding time the other day when he got a splinter in his foot and no one else could understand him to get it out. I was the only one around who speaks Spanish, and he was so frantic and in pain that everyone else was clueless. The only thing we had around to remove it were finger nail clippers, so it was a rough 10 minutes for him while I poked and prodded in his foot. It eventually came out and he gave me a HUGE smile and whispered 'se fue' which means 'it's gone'. Anderson is usually a small terror because he has so much energy and he always wants to joke around and fight people, but since that day he gives me significantly more hugs and significantly less bites & punches. Ariel is the shyest boy on the property, but I have really been trying to get to know him more as well. Last night we had some bonding time because he had to sit on my lap on the bed of a truck for about 20 minutes. And with that... more street ministry from last night!
Last night we all rode down to La Kennedy in order to do street ministry at one of the intersections. We fit 22 people in the bed of a truck and about 8 people in the cab (hence Ariel sitting on my lap)...Woo! Earlier in the day we had cut out little messages and taped them to candy, so we handed those out to people in their cars while part of the group sang songs and held up signs. It was so awesome to see the Lord working through everyone as we all were crazy and shameless on the street trying to make people smile. We even ended up going into restaurants and singing the song we had prepared...and we didn't even get kicked out of anywhere! It started raining about 20 minutes into our ministry, but everyone stayed out all night and we all had high spirits the whole time. There were even four boys to which we have been ministering in La Kennedy that found us and started to tag along. Three of them were on thinner most of the time, but one of them, Bryan, chose to go inside with us each time and actually did not do thinner for the whole night. I think he MAY have even sang a little. :)
I am so excited for this next week of work on the property and continuing to build relationships. God has shown me so clearly the power of prayer here in Honduras, and I know he will continue to grow me throughout this trip. I am continuing to wake up at about 6 each morning to sit on the prayer wall and just be at peace with Him for a while. Pictures! (In order) Rony, Olivia and I; Ariel, Amalia and I; the prayer wall
Until next time!!
I have also been spending some quality time with all of the boys on the property, particularly Rony. In case anyone has forgotten, Rony is 19 and is the oldest out of all of the boys. This past week he shared his testimony with me, and it was such a beautiful story of redemption. He has just recently (about 3 months ago) fully accepted the Lord as his savior, but he has come such a long way in his life. In the past, Rony was in 18, which is one of the largest and most dangerous gangs in Honduras. He used to use multiple drugs and alcohol daily and was in such a place of frustration and anger in his life. Through Tony's street ministry a few years ago, Rony was introduced to the Lord and now is dreaming of becoming a pastor. In order to preserve his story and his privacy, I will leave it at that, but he is truly a miracle of God. It is even more miraculous that he told me everything in Spanish and I followed along the entire time. God is great! After he shared his story with me, Rony prayed for me for about 5 minutes and then I for him. It was such a powerful night for both of us and our relationships with each other as well as with the Lord.
I have also been spending a lot of time with Ariel and Anderson as well. Anderson (7 years old) and I had some solid bonding time the other day when he got a splinter in his foot and no one else could understand him to get it out. I was the only one around who speaks Spanish, and he was so frantic and in pain that everyone else was clueless. The only thing we had around to remove it were finger nail clippers, so it was a rough 10 minutes for him while I poked and prodded in his foot. It eventually came out and he gave me a HUGE smile and whispered 'se fue' which means 'it's gone'. Anderson is usually a small terror because he has so much energy and he always wants to joke around and fight people, but since that day he gives me significantly more hugs and significantly less bites & punches. Ariel is the shyest boy on the property, but I have really been trying to get to know him more as well. Last night we had some bonding time because he had to sit on my lap on the bed of a truck for about 20 minutes. And with that... more street ministry from last night!
Last night we all rode down to La Kennedy in order to do street ministry at one of the intersections. We fit 22 people in the bed of a truck and about 8 people in the cab (hence Ariel sitting on my lap)...Woo! Earlier in the day we had cut out little messages and taped them to candy, so we handed those out to people in their cars while part of the group sang songs and held up signs. It was so awesome to see the Lord working through everyone as we all were crazy and shameless on the street trying to make people smile. We even ended up going into restaurants and singing the song we had prepared...and we didn't even get kicked out of anywhere! It started raining about 20 minutes into our ministry, but everyone stayed out all night and we all had high spirits the whole time. There were even four boys to which we have been ministering in La Kennedy that found us and started to tag along. Three of them were on thinner most of the time, but one of them, Bryan, chose to go inside with us each time and actually did not do thinner for the whole night. I think he MAY have even sang a little. :)
I am so excited for this next week of work on the property and continuing to build relationships. God has shown me so clearly the power of prayer here in Honduras, and I know he will continue to grow me throughout this trip. I am continuing to wake up at about 6 each morning to sit on the prayer wall and just be at peace with Him for a while. Pictures! (In order) Rony, Olivia and I; Ariel, Amalia and I; the prayer wall
Street Ministry: La Kennedy
Most of my ministry this week was done in the Colony Kennedy
(La Kennedy) in a community of about thirty people which is located right on
top of a dump site. This was our first
full week of ministry and jumping into everything on the property and with teaching,
but the entire past couple weeks I have felt pushed by the Lord to do street
ministry. This was even more evident to
me when I was put into the first group to go to La Kennedy. Initially, we had planned to do two groups of
six and then switch after a group had been there for two days. After the first day, Tony realized that
wasn’t going to work.
Our first day down there was a lot of formalities, getting to know each other, and letting the community decide whether or not they wanted us to continue to return. The people who live there are wonderful and incredible, but there is also a very evident aspect of danger that is present. If outsiders go down there unwelcomed, it is very uncertain what will happen. Almost every male (about 20) in the community is doing paint thinner for the vast majority of the day, so their actions are generally not well thought out and emotions, usually anger and sadness, are strong. Because their lives are so inconsistent, Tony decided that one group needed to go to La Kennedy for the entire week, and then another group would switch out the following week. At this point, we are trying to make it even more consistent and switch out only one person at a time. So far, I have been blessed enough to go there each day because of the relationships that I have been forming.
The main people that I talk to in La Kennedy are Caesar and Jose.
Caesar is 29 years old and has lived there consistently for about a year and a half. He went to a 4-year police academy, became a police officer, and later was in the Honduran Special Forces. Because he lived with a ‘gringa’ for seventeen years while he was growing up, he speaks almost perfect English and also knows a bit of French. Caesar loves to read, and he usually picks out National Geographic magazines from the trash for reading material. He quit the Special Forces a few years ago because he thought it was too dangerous and he didn’t want to hurt people or kill people, but he quickly started getting involved with drugs and alcohol, and he has not been able to pull himself out of the rut of drugs yet. He has a 5-year-old child who lives with the mother in San Pedro Sula because of Caesar’s involvement in drugs.
Jose is 22 years old and has lived in the dump for many years (he doesn’t actually know how long). He has a huge heart and loves to smile and joke around. One of his favorite things to say is that Caesar is Jackie Chan and he is Eddie Murphy. It is so much fun to watch them joke around together, especially because their character assignments are so appropriate! Out of the four days that we went to La Kennedy this past week, Jose was sober for only one of the days. Like many of the men, he does paint thinner almost all day long.
While at the grocery store one day, Jose was a few people behind me in line and he called my name to say ‘Hi’ and shake my hand. I asked him what he was buying and he sheepishly held up a case of beer. The next day he told me it wasn’t for him, but I’m not entirely sure if that is true. However, I did teach him how to say ‘How are you’ one day while he was pretty bad on thinner, and the next day he came up to me with a huge smile on his face and he said, ‘Jennifer! How are you?’ I could tell he was trying so hard and he was so proud of himself, especially because he saw how proud I was of him. I smiled and laughed and told him I was SO GOOD. This was the first day he gave me a hug! It was so awesome to see how excited he was to learn, especially because the day after I taught him he was completely sober.
One of my biggest successes this week with street ministry was with Caesar on Thursday. We had been talking for a while like we usually do and I asked him more about what he likes to read with the intention of possibly bringing him a book from the property to borrow. He totally surprised me when he said he really enjoys reading the Bible. He quoted Psalm 91 for me and said that he thinks about it every night before he goes to bed. We talked about church and the Bible for a while before he asked if it would be possible for him to come to church with our group some weekend. Of course I said yes! It was so great to see that I was reaching someone, even if it was just by small conversations each day. I later found out that one of my teammates had prayed for me while I was in La Kennedy that day so that I would form a deeper relationship with Caesar specifically. How great is our God that he heard her prayer and answered it that same day!!
I also successfully prepared my first Honduran spaghetti (spaghetti sauce made with coca-cola) for the community on Tueday, and they LOVED it. ‘Muy rico!’ they said. People even asked me the next day when I would make it again; I was so proud!
Our first day down there was a lot of formalities, getting to know each other, and letting the community decide whether or not they wanted us to continue to return. The people who live there are wonderful and incredible, but there is also a very evident aspect of danger that is present. If outsiders go down there unwelcomed, it is very uncertain what will happen. Almost every male (about 20) in the community is doing paint thinner for the vast majority of the day, so their actions are generally not well thought out and emotions, usually anger and sadness, are strong. Because their lives are so inconsistent, Tony decided that one group needed to go to La Kennedy for the entire week, and then another group would switch out the following week. At this point, we are trying to make it even more consistent and switch out only one person at a time. So far, I have been blessed enough to go there each day because of the relationships that I have been forming.
The main people that I talk to in La Kennedy are Caesar and Jose.
Caesar is 29 years old and has lived there consistently for about a year and a half. He went to a 4-year police academy, became a police officer, and later was in the Honduran Special Forces. Because he lived with a ‘gringa’ for seventeen years while he was growing up, he speaks almost perfect English and also knows a bit of French. Caesar loves to read, and he usually picks out National Geographic magazines from the trash for reading material. He quit the Special Forces a few years ago because he thought it was too dangerous and he didn’t want to hurt people or kill people, but he quickly started getting involved with drugs and alcohol, and he has not been able to pull himself out of the rut of drugs yet. He has a 5-year-old child who lives with the mother in San Pedro Sula because of Caesar’s involvement in drugs.
Jose is 22 years old and has lived in the dump for many years (he doesn’t actually know how long). He has a huge heart and loves to smile and joke around. One of his favorite things to say is that Caesar is Jackie Chan and he is Eddie Murphy. It is so much fun to watch them joke around together, especially because their character assignments are so appropriate! Out of the four days that we went to La Kennedy this past week, Jose was sober for only one of the days. Like many of the men, he does paint thinner almost all day long.
While at the grocery store one day, Jose was a few people behind me in line and he called my name to say ‘Hi’ and shake my hand. I asked him what he was buying and he sheepishly held up a case of beer. The next day he told me it wasn’t for him, but I’m not entirely sure if that is true. However, I did teach him how to say ‘How are you’ one day while he was pretty bad on thinner, and the next day he came up to me with a huge smile on his face and he said, ‘Jennifer! How are you?’ I could tell he was trying so hard and he was so proud of himself, especially because he saw how proud I was of him. I smiled and laughed and told him I was SO GOOD. This was the first day he gave me a hug! It was so awesome to see how excited he was to learn, especially because the day after I taught him he was completely sober.
One of my biggest successes this week with street ministry was with Caesar on Thursday. We had been talking for a while like we usually do and I asked him more about what he likes to read with the intention of possibly bringing him a book from the property to borrow. He totally surprised me when he said he really enjoys reading the Bible. He quoted Psalm 91 for me and said that he thinks about it every night before he goes to bed. We talked about church and the Bible for a while before he asked if it would be possible for him to come to church with our group some weekend. Of course I said yes! It was so great to see that I was reaching someone, even if it was just by small conversations each day. I later found out that one of my teammates had prayed for me while I was in La Kennedy that day so that I would form a deeper relationship with Caesar specifically. How great is our God that he heard her prayer and answered it that same day!!
I also successfully prepared my first Honduran spaghetti (spaghetti sauce made with coca-cola) for the community on Tueday, and they LOVED it. ‘Muy rico!’ they said. People even asked me the next day when I would make it again; I was so proud!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
La puerta de sion y los chicos salvados
It has officially been one week since I flew out of Chicago
to go to Atlanta... Wow! The days have just blurred together. I already feel
like I have known my teammates for months now...some even years. Zion's Gate feels like home to me, and I'm so
exited to be here for another 7 weeks.
Training camp was pretty incredible. I was nervous at first
that I would be impatient for the three days and that I would just want to
leave already. It was really helpful,
though. I feel like I grew closer to the
Lord in just those few days and I gained a pretty solid understanding for what
the next two months would look like.
We left training at 2 AM on Tuesday morning to drive to the
Atlanta airport (that's our group in the picture). Our flight left at 8:20
so we hung out a while and got to know each other a little better...especially
in all of our exhausted glory, since no one had slept since Sunday night. We flew down to Miami and had about a 40
minute layover before we boarded a plane to Tegucigalpa, the capital of
Honduras.
We were greeted after customs by a group of smiling boys and
girls, each carrying a sign that said “Welcome to Honduras...(various names)”
for each of our group members. A few
boys grabbed our bags and took off outside for us all to eat together. After a quick meal, Tony took us to the bank
to get our money exchanged and drove us up to maintain the property.
Tony is the leader/owner of Zion's Gate. He is from the
states and has just been living here for the past 5 years. He found the Lord about 8 years ago and
visited down here on a mission trip about a month after he had first become a
Christian. After visiting once, he felt
convicted enough to move down here eventually. His property is called Zions
Gate, and it is essentially a refuge for boys that Tony has ministered to while
they were living on the streets and in the dump (literally). Right now there are 13 boys that live and
work here on the property. Each boy has
a vastly different story, but they all have been redeemed by the Lord and are
working so hard to turn their lives around. The oldest, Roni, is 19 years old
and has been on and off the property for a few years. The youngest, Anderson,
is 7 years old and just came here within the past 6 moths. I'll go into detail about them in a later
post in order to prevent information overload!
These past few days we have just been sort of relaxing and
figuring out which areas of ministry we would each like to take part in. We are going to all be teaching English to 6th
graders at the Christian school right next to the property for about an hour
each day of the week and we will each do street ministry in an area called La
Kennedy two days a week. Aside from
that, we will be going out of the city a few times to visit other Honduran
ministries for a few days at a time. Additionally, we each have the freedom to
begin our projects here on the property and with the boys that live here. I have decided to 'make' a soccer field on
the property, so I will be doing a lot of cultivating and chopping down grass
& weeds with the machete. It will be a tough project, but I know the boys
will appreciate it since they usually just kick the ball around in the
dirt. Hopefully I'll be able to start on
Monday when everything has settled down.
In the meantime, we are just doing little things, like
painting rocks, in order to make the property look nicer. Tony wants to make it an Eden, so a lot of
groups have made paths and little gardens already.
Thursday night, I went to Los Pinos with Maria (one of my
teammates), Tony, Anderson, and a few of the girls who are ministering on the
property. Los Pinos is a community right
outside of the capital. It has a very bad reputation because there is so much
violence and poverty. In particular, we went into Sector 7, which is a part of
Los Pinos which is widely known to be so dangerous that the police don't even
go there.
After scaling a small mountain that was at least a 50 degree
incline, we sat with Anderson's family for a while. One of the girls who lives on the property
had made a cake for Anderson's mom, so we all celebrated together and just
talked for a while. It was pretty
incredible to see this family of 6 people living in one tiny room made from
scraps of tin and wood. Anderson's mom
is 26 years old (as of Thursday) and she has 5 kids ages 8,7,4,2, and 8 months;
the kids are from 3 different dads. Even
in these circumstances, they all continue to have faith that God is good. It really makes me reflect on my own life and
how unbelievably blessed I have been.
Yesterday a couple of the boys took our whole group down to a nearby (45 min walk) river to hang out. We stayed for a while just cavorting around, and on our way back we saw a few of the other boys. Instead of going back, Victoria (one of my teammates) and I went with the 3 other boys back down to the river. We ended up walking/hiking/swimming another mile or two miles up the river to a spot that they go to pretty often. There are a couple HUGE rocks that they jump off of into the water. I was super nervous to jump in..it was about a 20 ft rock and the river was only about 6 feet deep!! Eventually I ended up jumping in (of course) and it was a blast!! So much fun to hang out with them where they actually are comfortable and are having a good time. We ended up having to hike back to Zion's Gate a few miles...of course I had worn my flip-flops, so it was a bit rough, but definitely worth it. Pray for my stomach & immune system since I swallowed about a liter of river water...whoops!
I have been practicing my Spanish (and my patience) everyday
with the boys. They are pretty awesome
teachers! I am also learning how to climb trees, shower in ice cold water, jump
of giant rocks into rivers, and sleep outside. Right now, all of the other 8
girls sleep inside and I sleep outside in my own tent next to the boys'
tent...mostly so that I can look at the stars before I go to bed. Plus, the sun wakes me up at about 6 in the
morning, so I get some solid quiet time before things get crazy with the boys.
God has done incredible things already on this property and
with the boys, and every day is a new adventure here! I am so excited for all
of our projects and ministries this summer and to grow more in my faith. Please continue to pray for me while I am
here, for all of the boys on the property, and for the entire country of
Honduras. It looks like I will be able to go to the mall about once a week to
get internet and post on the blog. Thanks for keeping up!
¡Adios!
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