Once again I find myself at a loss. How can I describe the wonderful place God’s put me this month? I’m in the mountains, and every morning I pause for just a moment to remind myself that I’m not actually in the Rockies (the place that will forever have a part of my heart) and that I’m only a few hours from the Pacific Ocean. I’m in Honduras, a country I never expected to visit, but one that has completely swept me off my feet. God has been so undeniably faithful, and every single day, as He gently caresses me awake (usually about 5 minutes before my alarm), I am overawed by the immensity of His love for me. This place is completely saturated in rest and peace, even when there are eight young boys running around playing with soccer balls and puppies. For this last week of our time here Tony has decided to focus on just four young men: Henry and Cristofer who are living here, and Roni and his brother Ariel.
Let me tell you about Ariel. Ariel is one of the most polite young men here at the farm. He visits on most weekends, and he’s always got a kind smile on his face. He loves to help us – more than once he’s been down in the kitchen helping cut vegetables, and he has really taken to the handcrafts we do to pass time. Twice I’ve gotten up before 7 AM to see him washing Tony’s car without even being asked. He’s helpful and friendly, and Tony tells us he has the best track record of any of the boys on the farm. Unfortunately, he’s also one of the only boys Tony works with who doesn’t have a sponsor right now, so he’s got some difficulty getting Ariel in a good school. Other than that, he’s a wonderful 16-year-old boy, and honestly I’ve known many young men his age back in the States that come from well-off families that are much less pleasant to be around. His parents are fortunately still together – extremely rare here – but his father is a serious drunk. Tony’s had difficulty connecting with him, because although he’s a great guy when sober he rarely is. Tony’s been responsible for getting Ariel to go back to school, and he’s done a great job there – Ariel is a bright kid with a great future if he can get just a little help. I’m very excited about this week we get to spend with these four young men – more about Roni next time.This Sunday I also got to attend church for the first time in a couple of weeks. It’s been house church at the farm for most of us this month because Tony has limited room in his vehicle, especially when he has 3-8 boys with him every time he goes into town. We went to the church of pastor Nicolas, the pastor who facilitated the baptism last week. After the Dominican, where dancing was taboo, and Ecuador, where the church only rarely even clapped to the beat, this was an incredible blessing to me. I don’t know quite how to explain this without sounding as though I’m espousing one form of worship over another, and I’m not going to say there is any ‘right’ way to praise God – but after three months of very conservative churches it’s a breath of fresh air to be able to laugh and dance without being out of bounds socially. Tony also took us to another church, that conducts services in English, for evening worship on this Palm Sunday. Another blessing there – I was able to sing along in church with familiar songs in my native tongue for the first time in a very long time! It’s incredible to what lengths God will go to show us how much He loves us.
Speaking of how He loves us, how’s this for a winner: Thursday we all piled into a big van and headed west to the coast. Tony knows the owner of a local restaurant on an island about half an hour off the coast, and we got to experience the most wonderful ‘free day’ I’ve had yet. I say that in quotes because there’s really no such thing as a day off for Tony – he lives his ministry completely. He doesn’t have set goals, a schedule or a quota, or any sort of accountability to a parent organization. He told me that this makes it hard to find people to sponsor the kids he works with because he doesn’t have any strict ministry program to point to. I was shocked to hear him say he doesn’t feel like he does anything, and to hear that other people feel the same way. How you can see Henry, or Cristofer, or Ariel, or any of the other boys he’s taken off the streets and invested his life in, transformed by the power of the Father’s love living in him from street brats to responsible young men; how you can see five young men pulled from despair and addiction in the streets baptized and committed to a life dedicated to God, and not say Tony is doing an absolutely incredible work on behalf of God’s Kingdom is beyond me. Tony lives his ministry in a way that even we on the World Race don’t – he doesn’t hardly have a moment to himself. So of course, when we went to the beach, Cristofer and Henry came along. We had a great time, relaxing and exploring the seashore (seeing jellyfish, pufferfish, and a couple good-sized stingrays the local fishermen brought in) while Tony hung out with us and the boys. One of his mottoes is ‘don’t miss the opportunity’ and that day was an incredible opportunity to get Henry and Cristofer to deepen their relationship, and of course to give us a relaxing day at the beach. The water was warm and calm, the beach was almost completely empty, and sunset over the Pacific was an experience I thought couldn’t possibly be topped. Then came the boat ride back, rolling in a very mild surf and completely lit by an almost full moon. I’ve never in my life felt so completely at rest in God’s love – my squadmate Tiffany said, “what more proof could you possibly need of how strongly God romances us?” and it’s true. Every day here has been more beautiful than the one before, and my Savior and my God and the Lover of my soul continually calls out to me with a voice of love sweeter than anything else in the world.
