I can’t believe I am really on the race. I can’t believe that I’m really spending the next year traveling the world and preaching the gospel. I’m so blessed! Reality is that today was the first day that it hit me that I wasn’t going home. This wasn’t one of my other short mission trips and then I returned to my life. I was sitting in my favorite spot on Zion’s Gate property where we are ministering and swinging in the tree, (Yep I know I am NEVER growing up and I have accepted that!) and I looked around and saw my squad mates in various activities and realized this was it. This was my life and I wasn’t going home. Tears started stinging my eyes because I love my family and friends and do miss them already but I know this is my destiny. I started thinking about all the people who I’ve already loved on this week and how many more there will be and excitement reignited within my soul. I may get used to this life and never come back. I guess only time will tell.
This month my whole squad is staying at Zion’s Gate ministry in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The property we are living in is actually an old nightclub that was the most notorious one in the area. We’re camping out in our tents both inside and outside. My team decided to stay together inside. The ministry we are working with has 10 street kids living with them that want to change their lives. The kids actually choose to live here and are from the ages of 12-19. There are 8 boys and 2 girls. These kids have lived in the dumps literally and done drugs and alcohol. They want to turn their lives around but not without struggle. I love chatting with these kids and using my Spanish. My team is responsible for cleaning out the front of the property by the road. We spent yesterday pulling weeds and grass up. It was difficult with hoes, machetes, and pitch axes. We had several people honking at us and pulling over and stopping and staring at us. I guess that Gringos cleaning on the side of the road are worthy of gawking. It was back breaking work but seeing this place become a sanctuary is well worth it. We will be working cleaning up the property on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Thursdays we will be working with teenagers, babies and disabled kids at ENICA. Fridays we will be doing street ministry and evangelizing on street corners. Saturdays will be spent either on property or running day activities in the ghetto. Sundays will just be a chill day for us.
This week we also had the opportunity to go out to a park in the center of Tegucigalpa and have lunch. We also spent time praying for the city. The view was amazing and as I prayed I saw the heavens open and blood pour down covering the city. God loves this city even though it is one of the most dangerous in Central America and He wants healing and redemption to reign here. It’s nice to be a small part of this. Please be praying for us and our time here so that we are listening to God and being used in everyway possible here.
