It's month one of my World Race, and if you're anything like me, you want to know the details of life and ministry along the way. So I'm going to start a little nitty-gritty series, detailing the….well, details, of life in each country. So here it goes for Honduras:
Ministry:
We are working and staying at Zion's Gate Ministries. It is a small ministry that focuses on discipling young men. Tony and his wife (who started and run the ministry) currently have 7 boys/young men and 2 young girls living in their house full time. These boys and girls were living in the garbage dump and on the streets when Tony took them in. They had horrific lives void of love and filled with abuse of every kind, and addiction to everything from paint thinner to crack to alcohol. Each of the boys are on their own journey of recovery and redemption, and this month we are here to cover them with love, and show them what living out a life with Jesus looks like. On top of living and loving on these boys and girls, we are partnering other ministries this month. Here is what our week looks like:
Monday- Wednesday: On these days, we work on the property. Each team has a different project to work on. Zion's Gate has 10 acres in Tegucigalpa, which need a lot of work and upkeep. This land used to be the WORST place in the city. It was a night club, and the worst one around. Anything you wanted you could get here. It's so funny how God works… the place that once held the worst reputation in the city, now holds one of the best. My team (Hebron) project is to cut 4 acres of jungle grass with machetes. Not exactly what I thought ministry here would look like, but I'm coming to understand and appreciate the importance of the grunt work.
Thursday: We spend Thursday at IHNFA, an organization that takes high-risk girls off the street before they can be sold or brought into the sex industry. Right now they have about 18 teenage girls living in a home. We spend the afternoon treating the girls to fun teenage things. We paint their nails, do their hair, make bracelets, and share our testimonies of how God has taken our past, and redeemed us to become real women of God.
Friday: On Friday's we take it to the streets… literally. We invade a main intersection in the city and do a little street ministry. Our main purpose it to bring a smile to people's faces as they try to rush home after a long week of work. We hand out candies with notes of love to cars at stoplights, talk to passersby, and spread love around the city. When we finish, we get to go to the mall for a few hours to use the free internet (yup, internet access is only once per week for a few hours).
Saturday: On Saturdays we spend time in surrounding colonies. Most of these colonies have only seen American's a handful of times and they are legitimately dangerous for us to visit.. Locals look at us like we're crazy when we tell them we spend time in these colonies, because they would never step foot near them. But God protects, and He provides. So we trek into areas unknown to most, and take over their soccer fields to hold church services.
Sunday: Rest! And church in the evening. Tony is trying something new this month, and letting the boys give the message on Sunday. It's a great way for them to study the bible and share their testimony with us. It's all in Spanish, but we have a great translator.
Food:
So far the food has been very American and very stomach friendly. A typical day of food would be cereal or oatmeal for breakfast, sandwiches and chips for lunch, something warm for dinner (tacos, soup and bread, pizza) with salad.
Locals eat very differently then this, and I'm looking forward to having a few local meals. A typical plate would be rice, re-fried beans, and scrambled eggs with some avocado, fruit, and a few tortillas on the side.
You can't drink the water in Honduras. We are fortunate enough to have a water cooler with a plentiful supply of large bottles. Future racers… bring a water bottle… preferably one you can get your hand in to wash.
And the coffee here rocks. It's grown an hour away, is really flavourful and smooth.
Accommodations:
We are tenting this month. So for those future racers who have been told you will never use your tent, it's not always true. Some squads and teams use their tents a lot. Our whole squad is staying together this month (very rare on the race). We are in a large concrete building with a metal roof, and all of our tents are pitched inside because the fire ants and bugs are so bad here. A few people are in hammocks.
We have flushing toilets… well sometimes they don't flush because the water pressure is bad. Toilet paper goes in a trash can next to the toilet.
We have 2 showers between about 70 people (squad plus leaders, plus a passport team that is here for 5 months, plus the boys and family). There are only cold showers in this country, and the water comes from a large tank that gets filled every 2 weeks, so water conservation is important (showers are NOT an everyday thing).
Laundry is done by hand. I actually enjoy hand washing my clothes! Most teams put all their laundry together and 2 people do it (you do your own underwear). I recommend bringing a rope and clothes pins… this month we need the extra drying space, and a rope will always come in handy.
Exercise is totally possible. A few of us go for a run in the mornings and others do crossfit or insanity on the property. When we leave the property for exercise or any other reason, we have to be in groups of at least 3. The people have been very friendly, but the dogs here are NOT friendly and WILL chase you (one of my squadmates was bitten by a dog on the run this morning, and is at the hospital getting checked out right now).
I think this just about covers the basics. If there is anything you want to know, please ask in the comments and I will get back to you. We only have access to internet every Friday, so it might take a week to get a reply.
And sorry for the lack of pictures. I have lots but no time to upload them.
