So this month we are staying on a farm in Honduras with another team. There’s no internet access unless we go out to town which is a rarity. We are working with Tony who reaches out to the teenagers and kids in Los Pinos. Los Pinos is the 3rd most dangerous area in Central America. A few years ago, after the Hurricane Mitch, the government brought bus loads of hurricane victims to this area, gave them a little money and a little land, and then just left them there. Teenagers here do drugs, smoke pot, and are addicted to paint thinner. People scurry around in the garbage dump looking for things to sell that would bring a little money.
Tony has been in Honduras for 5 years. He first got connected to Los Pinos through another church who had a ministry in Los Pinos. He started off with a breakfast ministry feeding 50-70 kids and teenagers everyday. By ‘ministry’, I actually mean just him alone. He didn’t speak any Spanish when he first came. Everyday he would drive to this town with his window half down, park his car in the same place, until people got used to him. Slowly, he gained the confidence of the people. His heart is to bring the kids out from this darkness, to help them get out of their addictions. Churches and people here say he is doing a crazy work, telling him to give it up. But he persists on, focusing one kid at a time. These children grew up not having a parent figure in their lives. They have not been disciplined, not fed at home, but just hang out on the streets all day. But Tony doesn’t let them run wild on the farm. He disciplines them as a father disciplines his child. And today, Henry, who is 18 years old, lives on the farm like his son. He has a calender with his responsibilities written on; he fixes his bike so he can go to school the next day; he studies on his own; he respects people; he is a great help around the house. I can’t imagine how much he has changed from his early days until now, for he is such a different person now.
Tony personifies God’s love to us. His love is persistent. He doesn’t give up even when the child turns his back on him. But he goes back again and again everyday. He disciplines the child because he loves him. The child knows that he loves him.
This is God’s love for us.
This month we are focusing on Christopher, whom Tony has known for 2 years, and he is addicted to paint thinner. He is 17 years old. And he has been invited by Tony to come and live on the farm for a month so he can get out of the environment and out of the addiction. Tony doesn’t force him to come, but he gives him the option if he so wants to. It is by his own choice, and he is ready to come and live with us. Please pray for Christopher that we would know how to reach out to him and just live life with him. That he would be able to come clean at the end of this month. With God anything is possible, I firmly believe that with all my heart.
