If you ever have to spend Month 10 with your entire squad in a ministry location on The World Race, let me tell you, Zion's Gate Ministry in Honduras is a great place to be. My attempt to describe it won't do it justice, but, I can tell you that we have landed in a very loving community with an emphasis on building relationships. Along with hanging out with the 9 boys who live here, we also travel to other ministries in and around Tegucigulpa throughout the week. On Fridays, we visit a local mall to get internet, and that's when I'll try to post about some of this month's happenings. (As well as call my fiance, call my parents, send emails, read emails, reply to emails, update Facebook… oh, I long for the day when going online doesn't require a laundry list of items that need to be accomplished!!!)
I'm writing this blog on Thursday. Today we visited a program called INFA. As far as I can tell, it's basically a government-run residential program for teenage girls off the streets. We set up stations around the room to engage them in some activities. Dance, art, games, a beauty station… plenty of opportunities to practice broken Spanish and share a smile or two. I end up at the beauty station painting the nails of a 14-year-old girl who is constantly startled by the kicks of her unborn child. She picks a bright fuchsia color and I get to work. After I exhaust my Spanish skills learning her name and how old she is, I spend the rest of the time silently praying for her and her baby.
She disappears and returns. She wants me to do it again, this time in black. (The black polish was being used by another girl the first time her nails were done.) Well, okay, I figure, more time to pray for her. After we're through, she stays at our station and starts painting our nails. She clearly likes designing with bold colors, as evidenced by my own nails, currently exhibiting shades of red, pink, bright orange, and green. We ask her if she's like to come back and help us paint nails when we return next week, and she says yes.
As she's putting the finishing touches on my 10 fluorescent masterpieces, I'm distracted by the beginning of a fight near us. I might not speak Spanish, but, I've been reading the body language of these girls from the beginning of the afternoon. I start to look around for the adults with the INFA program, wondering where the Spanish speakers are who know them and can stop things before they escalate. I breathe a sigh of relief when one of the workers comes over to find out what's happening.
But, I've relaxed too early. All of a sudden, a girl is shoved across the room and the biggest brawl I've ever seen starts. It's truly awful. But the end, some girls are hurt, many are sobbing.
I look around for the girl who was painting my nails. She's fled to the back of the room. When things calm down, she makes her way back to me. She's clearly panicked: out-of-breath and eyes bright with fear. I desperately wish that I could speak with her, reassure her in some way, let her know that I am sorry that things are like this. In place of words, I put my one hand on her shoulder and my other hand over hers, cupped over her pregnant stomach. I hope that this gesture speaks of the compassion that I'm so desperate to convey.
Eventually, we gather the girls together again and Kat gives her testimony. It's powerful, and some of the girls ask for prayer during a time of worship at the end. But many of the girls are distracted by the scene developing outside the room's open door, as the police have arrived to take the instigators of the fight away. Some of the girls tell us that they are scared here, that it's so violent, that they don't want to be here anymore.
We get on the bus, and return home. I understand a little bit more about why the community at Zion's Gate is so different and so attractive to the boys who are living here. It's not perfect, but, there is security. In the arms of Christ, there is peace that passes understanding, and you can sense its power when you are here. The love of Christ is so different from what the world offers.
And so, next Thursday, we return to INFA, offering what we have to girls that have nothing. Your prayers for them, and for us, are greatly appreciated.
