For almost all of us, our last month in Central America will have gone out with a bang. We have had just one week of ministry, and yet, we already know it. Our ministry contact is Tony Deien, an American who has lived in Honduras for about five years. Tony is very passionate about his ministry here and wants us to seek out ministry opportunities that stir our hearts. He doesn’t want his ministry to be a check list of tasks; he wants to live life while enjoying ministry. Tony is an awesome ministry contact and wants us to work alongside him and not for him. Month 3 of The Race is all about taking advantage of numerous ministry opportunities and being able to pursue ministry that we are individually passionate about.
The path our squad helped build within the first couple days of being here
We, our squad of 38 Racers, arrived in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on Thursday, March 15 and will leave April 6 for Romania. Our time here is short because we spent time in Valles de Angeles (just outside Tegucigalpa) for Month 2 Debrief from March 9 to March 15. Debrief was a time of analyzing and reviewing our first two months on The Race with our entire squad, three squad leaders, and two squad coaches from Atlanta.
The view of Tegucigalpa from atop a mountain
Tony’s ministry is Don't Miss the Opportunity Ministries at Zion’s Gate, or in Spanish, Ministerios Puerto de Sion. His grand vision is to create an international retreat center for missionaries. The ministry site used to be a bar, but Tony is slowing turning it into a retreat center. The original vision for his ministry was to house street kids who were drug addicts, homeless, and/or in very bad situations and needed a way out. Right now, there are 11 street kids (aged 12 to 21 yrs) living with Tony and his wife in their two-story house at the top of the hill on the ministry property. Working with street kids is incredibly rewarding but very challenging at the same time. The kids have pushed every boundary that has been set by Tony, and often times, they do not respect the property and buildings. However, these kids have never had healthy loving relationships, and it is so cool to build rapport with them and show them God's love.
The exterior of our ministry building Some of the street kids playing outside
Our ministry building (an old bar) The main room of our ministry building
We are blessed with numerous ministry opportunities. Tony wants to transform the ministry property as well as impact the youth of Tegucigalpa. Tony allows us to pick ministry that we are passionate about and get after it! The following is a list of ministry we as a squad are involved in:
1. Landscape improvement and creating gardens for the ministry property
2. Teaching elementary school English classes
3. Performing dramas at church
4. Singing songs in elementary schools and church
5. Teaching English and praying with the street kids who live here
6. Making and selling cookies with Fernando, one of the street kids
7. Making and selling popcorn with Carlos, one of the street kids
8. Remodeling Tony’s kitchen with another American missionary
9. Cleaning Tony’s house (you would be shocked at what 11 street kids can do to a house!)
10. Evangelizing in Los Pinos, a gang community
11. Evangelizing at the city dump, home to 2,000 Hondurans
12. Evangelizing with Pastor Armando, a dedicated pastor trying to change Honduras
13. Painting the inside of the ministry building as well as adding artistic design
Tony's house at the top of the hill as well as some of our tents
(the rest of us are tenting inside the ministry building)
