Christmas is 5 days away. I’m currently lying in a hammock wearing shorts and a t-shirt and watching the sun set over Lake Nicaragua. Although this Christmas may not be filled with wrapping paper, stockings and candy canes, I feel more blessed than ever. As I lay here and count my blessings, my mind wanders back to last month in Honduras. What is Christmas going to look like for the kids we met there? Specifically, what is Christmas going to look like for Ariel?
From the moment I met Ariel, I knew God was going to wreck my heart for him. This 16 year old boy exudes joy and is very gentle despite the hard life he has been dealt.
Ariel lives in Los Pinos with his mother, older brother and two younger sisters. Los Pinos is a colony in Tegucigalpa that is known for its drug use, alcohol abuse, poverty and violence. While visiting Los Pinos, Ariel showed some of us the one room shack, made from discarded wood, where his family lives. The shack has no kitchen, no plumbing and no electricity.
Instead of spending his Friday and Saturday nights on the dirt streets getting high on paint thinner and shooting guns with his peers, Ariel boards a public bus and spends the weekends on Tony’s property (Zion’s Gate). Luckily for us, Ariel spent almost the entire month with our squad at Zion’s Gate. Somehow his morning hugs were well worth sleeping on rocky ground and getting woken up every few hours by passing trucks and barking dogs. He was always smiling and it was easy to see that the younger boys at Zion’s Gate looked up to him.
Tony and his wife, Nidia, have known Ariel for 3 years and they truly believe in him. Last year they invited him to return to school after a one-year lapse (as his family could not afford it). While we were in Honduras, Ariel graduated from the seventh grade. In order to keep Ariel on the right path, it is Tony and Nidia’s goal to enroll Ariel in a private Christian high school (Escuela Gran Comision) for four years as the public high school he currently attends is a one-hour bus ride from his home and is located in a gang infested area. They are seeking people who want to partner with them prayerfully and financially for Ariel. A sponsorship of $120 a month would cover the cost of books, materials, uniform, tuition and special events at the school.
God didn’t only put Ariel on my heart, He put Ariel on each of my teammates’ hearts as well. Each month our budget allows for a ministry gift and this month we all agreed that we should pay for a month of Ariel’s schooling. Our last night in Honduras, we sat down with Tony and Ariel and explained to Ariel what we wanted to do for him.
We also learned that God has been sharing a dream with Tony to offer Ariel and his family the opportunity to leave Los Pinos and live permanently at Zion’s Gate. The estimated cost to construct a simple home would be about $4,000. The idea is that each member of the family would help out on the property as well as go to school.
So, my dear friends and family (and anyone else reading this blog)….All I want for Christmas is to find sponsors for Ariel’s schooling and help raise funds so that he and his family can have a safe place to live.
If you’d like to learn more about Tony, his ministry or how you can donate money to Ariel, please e-mail Tony Deien at [email protected]
Also, click on the link below to visit the blog of Cassie Schoot, a World Race alumni who is moving to Honduras to work full-time for Tony’s ministry. The blog contains more information about how you can help these awesome kids.
http://hopeinhonduras.blogspot.com/2011/opportunity-for-private-education.html
Bring on the Christmas miracles!!
Our team with Tony and Fernando (one of the other boys who lives with Tony)
