This month has been the longest of the race…I’ll explain. Typically, we stay in each country for about 3 weeks, this month we’ve been blessed with 4! The relationships built this month have been like no other. We’ve been able to see the boys from Los Pinos nearly everyday which has brought many ups and downs.
Steven, Carlos and Fernando 🙂
Fernando, Carlos and Steven – we took them to their first movie! Yogi Bear in espanol for my bday 🙂
Los Pinos – an earthquake destroyed a huge part of the city so the gov’t put them on buses and dropped them off on the side of a mountain. The people never received help in setting up a community so they’ve been living in and alongside garbage for their entire lives. Tony’s been spending the past few years building up and empowering those living in Los Pinos.
the view from Los Pinos – beautiful
i have absolutely LOVED loving on the kids here *
Going into Los Pinos, you never know what to expect. Some days the boys are extremely smiley, affectionate and caring while other days they look at us like they’ve never seen us before. We’ve driven in and seen some of them sitting by the dumpsters sniffing paint thinner. We’ve driven in and have some of them pretend they could care less about who we are and why we were there. We’ve had those same boys then get in the car to head to the farm for a few days and as we drive through their neighborhood they ask Tony to roll up the tinted windows and they literally duck so that their friends don’t see them in the car with us. Most of the boys that come out to the farm get teased big time by their friends…many of these kids that receive the teasing used to be the teasers until they were taken in by Tony. Because not everyone can be taken out to the farm, I think some use it as a defence mechanism so they don’t feel left out.
climbing up to the houses in los pinos is quite the adventure. the is one of the only places stairs are found, usually you’re left to climb, or scale rather, the mountain till you reach the top! the boys always help us although sometimes it’s hard to keep up as they pull us along 🙂
me and fernando <3
me, carlos and jenny 🙂
carlitos and jenny 🙂 sweetest kid ever. proof that love transforms.
One of the boys that used to talk garbage about Tony decided to come to the farm and we have seen him transform into one of the most loving and loveable boys we’ve met. His smile is infectious and he has an endless supply of hugs for each of us. He’s even apologized to Tony for what he’s said in the past.
all the boys packed in Tony’s car…there’s typically about 10 in a car fit for 5. we make it work!
fernando…love this boy.
fernando posing in front of some of the artwork from the last WR team in the abandoned school
hector and aroni making signs for bible verses around the farm 🙂
sanding down the wood for the signs
Jimmy 🙂 love this kid…heck, i’m pretty sure at this point you can tell i love them all
At one point or anotehr, we’ve had most boys take 1 step forward and then take 2 steps backwards. While talking with Tony over the past few days, we’ve been discussing what it means to have unchanging, unfailing, CONSTANT love for these kids. Jesus is constantly loving us, pursuing us, chasing after us…yet He also allows us the freedom to make our own decisions and choices in life. Of course, He’s always there to guide us if we seek that guidance out, but He never forces us to do things we don’t want to do. This month has taught me a lot as far as these ideas go. Tony brought up the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Prodical’s Son. How are we to know when we’re supposed to chase after the lost sheep and bring him back to the flock and when are we supposed to let him go and wait patientily with open arms for him to return? Sometimes chasing after someone only pushes them away further or brings them back in for the wrong reasons – praise from someone instead of making a move forward because they want the change for themselves. Of course, every person is different and each situation is different so we must pray for the discernment of what to do.
*henry and hector* we tye dyed tshirts with them…they’d never seen anything like this before and were so excited to show them off 🙂
painting the front gate 🙂
oscar scaling the top of the gate – thank the Lord no one fell off and broke an arm!
eating some fresh baby oranges together before they had to head back to los pinos 🙂
Some of the guys that have taken a few steps backwards have had the opportunity to decide for themselves what they’d like to do going forward. While allowing them that space and freedom, yet still showing love to them when we’ve seen them, they’ve started making their way in the right direction.
we made a 2 hr trek to an island in the ocean for the day 🙂
Tony, Carlitos, the President of Honduras, Roni and Henry 🙂 Love it.
that mountain across the water is actually a volcano in el salvador!…we’ll see ya soon el salv 🙂
playing soccer with some of the locals
Yesterday was an amazing day. We drove into Los Pinos and the boy that used to talk crap, and hide from his friends when he was talking to us stood at the top of the mountain with his friends yelling and waving as we drove by. He then ran to the bottom and waited for us to come back around where he excitedly gave us all hugs and kisses on the cheek. Another boy that was going down the wrong road looked completely cleaned up and happy to see us. They talked with us for about 15 minutes, not at all caring who was looking.
aroni and i 🙂
When I was at Dunkin Donuts checking my email, one of the boys from the first week we were on the farm was riding his bike down the street so Henry yelled out for him to come over and say hello. I got him and his friend a couple of dunuts and we said goodbye. As I kept typing, I looked up to see him peeking in the window at my computer. I brought up the pictures from when he was at the farm while we were making signs, playing frisbee and having fun together. This 12 yr old boy, living on the street, yelled for his friend to come look in the window at the pictures with him. Aroni lit up as he explained what was going on in the pics. Whether we meet people once, spend 5 minutes with them or spend everyday with them – when we allow the Lord to move through us and our actions, the love that we show them makes an eternal impact.
My gosh. Transformation. Love transforms. Sometimes it’s necessary for us to step back and remember what’s bringing the change. It’s nothing that we’re doing, it’s what the LORD is doing through us. If we don’t see someone for a while, our thoughts of them can lead to prayer and THAT is what transforms. Words we say are empty unless we are allowing the Lord to speak through us. Our actions show them that we love and care for them. The more we allow the Lord to love us, the more we’ll be able to pour that overflow onto those around us.
enjoying one of our many evenings spent by the bonfire 🙂
tony and nedia…amazing couple that are living out their faith everyday <3
God has been so good. I cannot wait to see the changes that continue to take place long after we’re gone. Prayers for the boys, Tony and Nedia and Los Pinos are greatly appreciated.
ps special thanks to jenny hill and ashley van for letting me steal some of your pics. love you girls! 🙂
