The small-town firemen that lose limbs while fighting to save children…
The nurses that make personal donations to help patients in need…
The hotel managers that will let a homeless family have a room for free on bitter cold nights…
The restaurant owners that intentionally give any food at the end of the day to the homeless in the back alley…
The 5th graders who seek out and have lunch with the biggest nerd in school, even though they know they will now be made fun of too…
The families that take in troubled teens and show them grace and love, even when it means risking their own reputations, possessions, and plans…
For those of you that read my Kisses from Katie blog, you know how hugely impacted I was by that book. Reading about a girl whose daily life is truly reflective of what Christ called us to do had me really examining my own commitment to my faith. And while I still hugely admire Katie for her devotion, on the reasons her story is incredibly powerful is because it is being told.
And since being in Honduras, I am realizing that the world is full of unsung heroes.
The contact here at Zion’s Gate where we are staying this month is living his own all-in story. Tony moved to Tegucigalpa, the capital city of the country with the highest murder rate per capita in the world, and began taking in street children. He purchased an abandoned old restaurant property (complete with really cool old house) and is in the process of turning it into a host site for mission teams.
Several boys have been taken in by Tony and his lovely wife, Nidia, since moving here. One of them was told he would be killed within two weeks by an opposing gang when Tony took him in. Another has an “awful” reputation on the streets….and that is really saying something in Tegucigalpa. Still others have witnessed more violence in their few short years than most do in a lifetime, being forced to “act like a man” since a young age. Sniffing glue, gang violence, stealing, drinking alcohol, and so many other horrible things are daily activities for many of the kids in these communities.
And although it is definitely a process, these boys lives are already being transformed. Beginning the first grade at age 14 is not easy, and some of the temptations of the street life still must be battled against. But under Tony and Nidia’s loving care, they now live under a roof that provides food, safety, education, acceptance, and above all, shares the love of Christ. Tony wakes up every day with plans to love and serve the Lord in so many tangible ways, and he actually follows through on these dreams. The teenage boys that can be seen doing homework for the first time in their lives are evidence that Tony and Nidia are living their own Kisses from Katie story.
This time last year, one of the newest faces to call this property home was on her own World Race. Honduras was her first stop, and she spent the next 10 months looking forward to returning as soon as possible to begin to follow the call of the Lord to mother forgotten children. Shortly before we arrived here, Cassie showed up and began the process of adopting one of the street boys, in addition to a beautiful 1 year old baby girl. These children have absent or negligent parents, and before the Lord sent her here to parent them, they were facing a life saturated by drugs, violence, and poverty. Cassie is a real-life Kisses from Katie story.
And these are just the two most tangible examples of people like this that God has shown me. Our biggest enemy would love for us to believe that people like Katie don’t really exist. Only seriously radical, crazy, over-the-top people are making efforts to do all that stuff that Jesus said to do, so why even try? And there is no arguing with the fact that this level of commitment takes a lot of courage, denying of ones self, and trust.
But the truth is that millions of people are letting Christ shine through every day, all over the world, and it doesn’t have to be that hard to join in with them. Everyone has their own story to write, and it doesn’t have to mean that you drop everything and start adopting street children. I so greatly admire the ones who are willing to take on a radical life change, but God can use all circumstances for His glory.
I truly believe that God cheers and grins when one of His kiddos makes a point to go out of their comfort zone for His sake. To take coffee and a donut to the smelly homeless man that is normally ignored. To mow the yard for the elderly widow across the street. To bring a birthday cake to work for the forgotten housekeeper. Sometimes God uses faithfulness in these little moments to create enormous divine appointments.
As one of my awesome squad sisters reminded me the other day: those who are faithful with little will be faithful with much. And although I may not currently (or possibly ever, depending on His plan) adopt tons of impoverished children, God is still thrilled when I see a moment to serve and I jump right one it. I don’t want to waste another day by failing to see all the hundreds of little ways I can make God smile.
