We've arrived safely in Honduras! 15 hours 44 minutes of total travel time on the bus! I clocked it myself!
My entire squad is sharing a lodging site just outside the capital city, Tegucigalpa. Ironically, this building used to be the most popular bar in the city. There was a saying about the Cotton Club: Whatever you’re looking for (drugs, alcohol, sex), you could find at the Cotton Club. Now, it’s home to Tony, Nidia and their ministry. They do a lot of things for the city of Tegucigalpa. But they concentrate mostly on the kids who are on the streets, the one’s caught up in drugs (paint thinner being the number one drug in Honduras) and even gang members. They provide a safe place for those who want to change their lives to come during the day. A few of them have made such an incredible turnaround, that they have been invited and now live here full time.
This is Tony (left) talking with our squad leader, Mike.
It’s amazing how such a place that was full of darkness as the Cotton Club was, can be used for such a divine purpose now. People pass this place on the street and wonder what’s going on here. The looks we get are amazing! Tony said, “You’re gonna stick out, and we want you to stick out. People are looking at this place and asking what has happened to the Cotton Club and why are these Americans flooding into it like there’s something good there?”
Even though there is enough space inside the bar for everyone to sleep on the ground, most have now set up tents outside. A couple nights ago, Jaime woke up with a scorpion on her sleeping bag. Once word spread around, the girls started heading for the hills to set up their tents with the rest of us.
It didn’t take long for the squad to develop a bit of a routine here. We wake up, have breakfast, pack a lunch, and each team heads to their respective ministry for the day. We come back to camp around 3 or 4, have worship, debrief the day, cook, laundry, ect. It’s really a utopia, being with the whole squad for a month. Everyone’s looking out for one another. Trading favors here and there, praying for each other, blessing one another on a random basis (making sure Courtney has enough Reece’s for the week)! I’ve realized how, as believers, this is how we’re supposed to live. Everyone plays a different role. Everyone has different spiritual gifts and it’s been great to see every piece of the puzzle fit together to show what a family of Christ is all about to Honduras. It’s like God assembled his very own Dream Team (with all due respect to Jordan, Larry and Magic).
Playing some soccer with some of the neighborhood boys.
And here's my new Mohawk. I know I don't pull it off but I thought I'd give it a try.
For Kayla's birthday, our Pastor took us out for Chinese!
Here's my home!
PS – Sorry for the late reply to everyone. Good internet has been an absolute struggle to find. I'll let yall know how the ministry is going soon. But I wanted to pump out this blog first to give yall a brief heads up on what's going on.
