The first week in Honduras has been pretty amazing. I have learned so much since my arrival here that it’s hard to believe it’s only been one week. I love watching how the Lord is working in each and every single one of us already in such short time. Please forgive me for being silent but we have no wifi and when we do, it’s not always the best.
I miss my family and my friends, I miss having AC and being able to go online whenever I want. I miss having a phone, the ability to text my friends and my sisters. I miss getting upset at my sister over some stupid thing, but honestly I don’t lose sleep over any of that. They are not things I can’t leave without, I miss them but I know I will see them soon.
We are in Francisco Morazán, in Talanga, Honduras. The ministry we’re working is a non profit organization run by an American couple. They’ve been in Honduras for about 11 years I think. They have rescued so many children, pregnant women, pregnant girls, incest babies, sex trafficked children, etc… The place serves as a justice center, a place of refuge for people who’ve been abused and it also serves as an orphanage.
Currently there are 13 children here and they’re so beautiful. They each have a story and there is redemption in the stories. I want to tell you a little bit about each of the children and then tell you about Carolina.
Two of the girls here have cerebral palsy and can’t walk and do anything on their own. There is a 15 years old girl who grew up in a government orphanage after her grandmother abandoned her once her mother passed away. The second one weight 14ls when she got here. Her mother and stepfather didn’t want her and stopped feeding her. There is a possibility she was raped.
One girl was 6 years old when her brother murdered her dad in front of her. She never went to school and she was being raped by her uncle anally so she wouldn’t get pregnant. Both her mother and boyfriend planned to get her pregnant and take the baby. At 11 years old the little girl got pregnant, she came to leave here 5 months into her pregnancy. Her daughter will be 4 years old in December.
One night they arrested and detained a band of mercenary who were also assassins for hire. The following night the police showed up with 2 starving dirty kids, who they had found sleeping in the woods. The children had been in the woods for several days and had scabies and were basically skin and bones. Their mother was not mentally fit to take care of them. Both the girl and her little brother now live here.
One mom was 10 years old when she got pregnant with her grandpa’s child. The whole family knew and was basically on board with it. They went to trial and the day of the verdict the whole family packed and moved away. Both son and mother came to the children home but she hated her son. She ran with another girl who was living here. The other girl who ran away was sold to another family as a baby. When she found out, the family sent her to be back with her real family. When she got back to her family, the father started raping her at machete point. She has a scar in her forehead from when she tried fighting back. She was pregnant at 13 and gave birth at age 14. Her son lives her but she ran away.
One mom got pregnant by her uncle, so the family kicked her out. She moved to Tegu with her boyfriend who sold and did drugs. She did drugs throughout her pregnancy and gave birth to a tiny baby. She came to live at the house but left her baby behind.
Another woman on her way to work gave birth to a baby girl and after the placenta came out she upped and left the baby in the dirt and went to work. The little girls spent over 12 hours exposed to the elements and hungry. When they found her and took her to the hospital, doctors didn’t think she would make it. The racers at the time took turns to have someone take care of her every moment. They had people doing the night shift just to make sure she stayed alive.
One woman went to the hospital and was asked if she was pregnant she said no. She then gave birth to a boy and got up and left the hospital and never came back. She abandoned him at the hospital, so he came to the ministry when he was just 10 days old.
One mother was mentally ill. Both her father and uncle started to rape her when she was 2 ½ years old. She was 12 years old when she got pregnant and had her baby. The baby was born here but her mom was violent with the other children, she had to leave.
There is one baby I haven’t talked about, but I am saving that for another blog. I think the hardest part of being here is seeing the injustice and the feeling powerlessness. I can’t do anything, I can’t fix it and I don’t know where or how to start. Some of the stories I have heard, are things of nightmare. Yet, there is something beautiful about most of these stories. They tell of the goodness of the Lord, they tell of his kindness and greatness. They speak of the Lord’s redeeming power and His ability to make all things new. I am looking forward to sharing what God is doing through this ministry in Honduras. I am even more excited to see how much I am going to grow.
Please pray for my team 431influence and for the whole squad
Until next time!!!
PS. I will be posting some pictures on my Facebook World Race page. Please look there for more about the kids and Honduras.
