“For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.” Luke 19:10
He's just a kid. I thought to myself.
"He's just a kid," I said. "Are you sure that's where he went?"
This was the second time that week that Mario went off with his friends to go get high. The first time it happened my stomach sank when we were told the news that the reason why he wasn’t coming with us that day was because he had left to go get high. He’s 14 years old, he’s just a kid, what does he know about that stuff?
I don’t think Mario was a kid for very long, he told me that 5 years ago his mother left and took his younger brother leaving him and his older sister with their dad. He hasn’t heard from her since. I asked about his father he told me drives a bus and is usually gone –he doesn’t talk much about him. Left alone with no one to raise him he started hanging out with the kids down the street. The kids that ride bikes and get high, these kids are also older than him.
“I saw him leave with his friends and go down the street that way.” 12 year old Fernando informed me.
“I’m going after him.” I told him.
“No, no –it’s dangerous, there are gangs.” He warned.
“I’m going after him.” I decided.
I told Tony (the man who started Zion’s gate ministry)that I knew the direction he had gone in, and he told me that if I felt like I needed to go get him to go. And so I did –I took my teammate Wes and Sammie Jo with me and for 2 hours we searched the communities from him asking anyone and everyone if they had seen Mario on his bike heading this way. One person led us to the next and we ended up in a community where I recognized some of his friends from the soccer field. We asked them where Mario was and with a smirk on their faces they said, “No sey,” (I don’t know). We searched for him until it began to get dark and we knew that it wasn’t safe to be out on the streets at night –Honduras is especially dangerous at night. Feeling defeated I turned around and caught a taxi back to the house. We didn’t find him that night, but I was reminded of the parables in the Bible, the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son –the emphasis contextually is not on what was lost but on the person whom the things lost belonged –the woman, the shepherd, and the father. In a book by G. Cambell he writes that the parable of the prodigal son should better be called the parable of the Father’s heart, for in this parable we see the broken heart of God revealed. This father was actively watching, waiting, and yearning to be reunited with his lost child. That is exactly the way God feels about every one of his children who are lost and separatedfrom him.
First thing the next morning Sammie Jo and I went up the hill to where his father lives. He knows the rule at Tony’s house: he’s not allowed to come back to the property when he’s high. And so he usually goes back to his dad’s house for the night and then returns to the property in morning. We found him there and just began asking him where he was yesterday. We told him that we searched for him for hours –asking everyone if they had seen him –we also told him he that apparently he was pretty well known in these communities because everyone knew who we were talking about –and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. But for twenty minutes we stood outside his door and called him up to great things. We told him that he had a future, that God has made him for a specific purpose, that he’s better than this way of life. Sammie Jo shared a little bit about her past with him and told him that she’s a completely different person now that she is following God. We told him that if was ready to change that we’d bet waiting for him back at the house. 30 minutes later he walked in the door of our property.
Mario is one of the smartest kids here –one thing that he is dedicated to is his school work. He goes to special tutoring everyday for 2 hours because he’s never gone to school, and after his tutoring I always see him up at the house working on homework. He’s just a kid that needs attention, he needs love, he needs people to call him up into greatness –and that’s what he’s getting here at Tony’s house. Tony was recently telling us that the cost of Mario, Fernando, and Carlos special tutoring was $400 a month and that’s coming out his and his wife’s own pocket because they don’t have supporters back in the United States. He came to Honduras to start a ministry to help these street boys and for the past 5 years he’s been investing everything that he has, his time, his money, everything into them. If you’re interested at all in helping Tony’s ministry, or helping pay for Mario’s education you can e-mail Tony Deien at: [email protected] also this is the link to his facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tony.deien
One of the things we are doing this month for his ministry is building a website –so once that is finished a post a link to the website where you can find out more about this ministry.
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me so far, as of now I only need $3,326 until I am fully funded! My next deadline is July 1st. Thank you again!
Mario and me
Fernando, Herman, and Mario
Los Pinos
Los Pinos
Painting the house of the sister of the kid Ronald who stole a World Racers camera last month
This is Kenny. He's one of the boys from Los Pinos who Tony knows and helps.
(Credit for all above photos goes to my squad mate Rose Huber)
Christopher playing soccer with guys from the community down at the soccer field.
Just 6 months ago Herman was on the streets getting high on paint thinner and robbing people at gun point, and now he's following Jesus and is a great example of a leader for all the new kids living with Tony
Mario and Wes
(Above photo credit goes to my teammate Wesley Vickers)
The night we took Mario out for chinese food.
Sammie Jo and Mario
