This month, my team and 3 others are all working with a beautiful and raw ministry called Heart of Christ right outside of Talanga, Honduras. I’m honestly having a hard time putting this ministry into words because there are so many facets and it’s impact is so far reaching and intertwined that I get tongue tied trying to write about it all. But I’ll do my best.
Mama Gracie and Papi Lee are an incredible couple from Alabama who accepted God’s invitation to live recklessly abandoned to His will and His heart and it is changing the nation. When they first came to Honduras it was to pastor pastors, but God turned their attention to the suffering of the people and the injustice of the country. When they decided to let Him lead, He empowered them by His Spirit to be the change.
I don’t want to focus on the darkness, but I know that I was ignorant of it before coming here so I want to shed some light on the situation, because it’s not pretty.
Honduras is the murder capital of the world apart from war zones. Living conditions are terrible, food is scarce, and most people have never had the opportunity to get an education. Incestual rape is common, teenagers are giving birth to their fathers and grandfathers babies, and family feuds result in hundreds of murders, most of which never even make it to court. The family is almost non-existent and fathers are usually absent or abusive. Orphanages are overwhelmed, understaffed and unable to meet the needs of many of the children and the medical system is often useless, lacking the experienced doctors, equipment and sanitation to be effective. Corruption erodes the justice system like cancer and many people have lost hope because of the evil that thrives throughout the country. Many people don’t know that there is anything different.
So what do you do?
What do you do when the head of the police department in your village is also the head of kidnapping for the entire region?
Where do you go when the protector of the family is the one you need protection from?
What do you do when your baby has an 18 pound tumor running the length of his body and the doctors all expect him to die from it?
What can you do?
You introduce them to Jesus. You bring them Hope.
Not the false hope that says, “hopefully everything will be alright”…
The kind of Hope that declares and knows that Jesus paid a high price for their life and He died to set them free!!
This month I saw Jesus touch a woman and wipe out her arthritis. I could see it in her eyes, as indifference during prayer turned to disbelief, then to joy, and then indescribable hope as a daughter of God was healed by the touch of God.
I’ve held and laughed with baby Moises, a miracle baby who survived a surgery (in a Honduran hospital) to remove an 18lb tumor the doctors thought would kill him. God reached down and guided inexperienced hands in the midst of filthy conditions to heal and restore His son. Moises just recently celebrated his 3rd birthday and He is going to change Honduras for God’s kingdom!
I’ve seen the power God’s restoration as a 16 year olds story brings hope to villages where hope has long been forgotten. She was raped by her father, gave birth to his child at the age of 14 and now ministers to rape victims who come to the refuge for help. Her baby girls name is Genesis: a new beginning, and together their story ignites hope in everyone they touch. Only my God can turn such tragedy and trauma into triumph and life!
Those are just three of the stories that have greatly impacted my life since debrief only 5 days ago.
I encourage you to read my teammates blogs this month as well. God is doing radical miracles among us and while I don’t have time to write about them all (yay for internet café’s once a week!), the testimony of our entire Squad together will give you a fuller glimpse into the work of the Lord through us in Honduras!! He’s blowing my mind!
Amidst all the darkness, God’s light shines so brightly through His children, bringing hope where all hope has been lost. The stories of the girls and children who live with Papi Lee and Gracie are incredible. In addition to their refuge home, Gracie works with the Honduran police and communities across Honduras to empower the people to be the change. She also has a radio show that broadcasts to a quarter of a million Hondurans every week. Their focus is relational; building relationships with people so that people can have a relationship with the living God.
Check out their website! http://heartofchristhonduras.org/home and please consider supporting them financially and through prayer.
Daily I am experiencing the power and grace of God through this amazing family and I am proud to call myself one of “Gracies gringas.” Each of their lives are testament to the impact that just one person can have in this world. Like a pebble dropped into still water, every day they pour out the love of God and it ripples across the entire nation, touching the lives of thousands and thousands of people. Literally.
