One of the more common questions I get from people back in the States is “What have you seen that has really touched or broken your heart?”
I want to take a little time today to answer one half of that question. I believe most people would expect an answer along the lines of circumstantial or environmental things, such as the fact the people in our area of ministry do not have running water, electricity, trash disposal, or transportation down the giant hills they live on. Maybe some people would expect the answer to be something about the living environment, for example many of the houses are just a few poles with tarps over them, or perhaps something about the malnutrition, or even the addictions to drugs like paint thinner. What about the violence, the theft, or the gangs? While many of these things can really make you look up and wonder, one particular issue has been circling chamber to chamber in my heart. It has been brought to my attention from the direct contrast of the two communities we are working in and the time I have been so blessed with around the kids.
The issue I am referring to is a combination of broken families and the loss of time. What our team has encountered here in Honduras are 2 communities in similar financial situations, but on complete opposite ends of the spectrum in the health of their families.
When you walk down the streets of El Horno you feel welcomed, and the joy of the people in the community is evident. You will often see father and son or mother and daughter walking hand and hand and playing in the streets. The kids in this community, although having nearly no material possessions, are able to live out that precious spirit of a child because they have what matters the most, the love of a family.
This brings us to what has stirred up the inner core emotions of my heart, the fact that they do not have this in Los Pinos. The thought that kids 19 and 20 years old have never had the opportunity to experience any sort of childhood is difficult to handle. These are God’s little children, who he holds so dear to his heart as seen in Matthew 18, that have never gotten to live in or release that precious spirit God puts in each child. The kids in this community are thrust into adulthood because of broken homes with no fathers, or even often completely abandoned and left to fend for themselves. They do not have shelters or government checks to run, but are left to scour the dirt road hill torn streets of Tegucigalpa.
Now picture yourself for a moment in a circle hand to hand with the sweet little girls who live in that same community. They grab your hand and begin to sing a familiar little song in a different dialect. They begin to skip around in a circle and before you know it you are playing “Ring around the Rosie.” They are experiencing and living in that precious spirit of a child. You circle around a few times singing the tune and a new person goes to the middle of the circle. You can see the joy in the girls faces as they skip around with an ear to ear smile. They are not thrilled they are playing “Ring around the Rosie” but that you cared enough to be there. Now you have played through a few rounds and there is a gentle tap on your shoulder. You turn to your side and to your awe it is one of those 19 or 20 year old street kids who has never had that experience. You open your hand and he clutches it tightly. The song begins and that 20 year old man-child begins to experience that childhood spirit he never knew. The timidity in his step soon becomes a radiating smile and before you know it you are hand in hand with over 10 more street kids playing a simple schoolyard game.
I found myself in this exact situation only days ago in Los Pinos. It not only
broke my heart but made me realize only their Father, our God, can redeem the time they have lost. Blessed are we though for I believe our God to be a Father to the fatherless and Healer of the heart. So I hope you will join with me in prayer for the people of this community and around the world who have never had the opportunity to experience the beauty of childhood.
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
“A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.” Psalm 68:5
“All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.” Isaiah 54:13
