the countdown continues

 Well I’ve been running this race for the last ten months, and now I feel like I’ve been trying to dig my heels in to try and slow down the pace, but it’s inevitably still pushing forward quickly.

Leaving Honduras was a tough transition for most of the people on my team and the team we were working with. Each of us had different connections and children that were difficult to leave, and we’ve had that for the previous nine countries too. Some countries just stick with you more than others.

And then the conversation turns to the endless possibilities we’ll have of embarrassing ourselves when we’re back in real life, back with the people we left, and back in situations so comfortable it will be harder to discern the Spirit.

We made cards for the kids we worked with in Honduras, the kids that touched us in various ways. The cards were literally a piece of teal cardstock with an individual picture of the kid, a group picture then on the inside of the folded cardstock were scripture and notes from each of us.

May not seem like a big deal because we have tons of pictures of ourselves and pictures to remember each moment of our life. (I think I’m up to like 10,000 pictures through the race) But they do not have many pictures of themselves because they do not have cameras or money to do things like that. They do not even have money for food, or bathing water.

This community began after an earthquake hit and the government did not have a place to put people. So they were dropped off in Los Pinos, they never received help and since then they have been living in houses that they scrounged up, in one of the dirtiest, garbage filled places I’ve seen and I’ve been a lot of places.

Our time in Los Pinos was always unexpected. Our contact has a huge heart for that town and literally lights up when he is there. It was sweet. We worked with several kids and sometimes we would go in and they would be happy to see us, sometimes they would be so high, they didn’t recognize us, sometimes they would be ‘too cool for school’ and pretend not to know us, as shame encompasses them.

The problem is some want out but they also feel loyalty to their friends and neighbors. Some kids would hide as we dropped them off from being on the farm. We’d roll the windows up and drop them off discretely. This was much more common at the beginning of the month, but towards the end. There was so much love between us all; it could not be stifled by shame, guilt, or fear. 

When we handed out the pictures they were proud to show them off. We had to seek out some that were lost along the month but they were so touched to know we had still been thinking of them. I will never forget praying for Oscar. Oscar only came to the farm once, every other time he was either high or had a reason not to come. We walked up to his house (hiked up) a hike worthy of much more than my $1.00 flips flops that I had on my feet.                              

We walked up and the atmosphere was thick, some people did not want us there, and were very loud when we were trying to talk to him. He was on the brink of tears when given his card. We translated all the messages to him and the spirit began to shift. We prayed for him as a group and all of the sudden all the loudness stopped and the spirit rested on that ‘house’ we also prayed for his cousin Theol. Theol was stabbed when trying to rob someone, now he needs a boot to walk for the rest of his life.

His church supported him at the hospital and were working to raise money to allow him to have another surgery to help him walk. Reality check: if we knew someone had tried to rob someone and got hurt, would your church help him still, would mine?

Anyway, Tony then invited him to the farm as well. I’m not sure if they will take advantage of the opportunity but Theol did get out of bed to watch us walk down the hill, his heart and the hearts of the people in that room shifted since we first walked in. It was incredible

I made friends with three beautiful girls down the road, Annabel, Ruby, and Adele. We played “Pelota” played with the Cochinos, watched movies and spent time together. One of my favorite things is when a child, any age, runs up to you arms wide open waiting for a hug. And it’s in those moments; all the hard times of the race disappear. All the sickness, tiredness, and cravings disappear.

Their church service was incredible. The first half of church they moved all the chairs to the side of the room to dance, jump and sing. The song “YO SOY LIBRE” resonated among the church, “I AM FREE” as children and adults lost all inhibitions and lived out the scripture of being drunk off the spirit and not off of wine. Every other person had a catcher and they would circle up around people to hold them from running into other people. It was crazy and a great worship session.

We crammed 15 people in a five seater and over 12 kids came with us that morning and we were one huge family joyfully praising our God. It was magical and beyond description, as so many things on the race are.

We left, broken hearted and changed. Honduras posed a lot of challenge on my heart about giving, and giving cheerfully. Challenges through hard team talks, and it also challenged me about whether I’m really allowing myself to be filled up by the Lord, as I was just so exhausted and battling another bout of belly problems.  But the Lord brought sweet redemption and I would love to return someday.

Romans 8: 35-39: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angles nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus OUR LORD!”