Father’s Love

Our time here in Honduras is at an end, and I have to say I’m so very sorry to say farewell to these amazing people.  If I ever get the opportunity to return you can be certain I’ll be here in a heartbeat.  I’ve had an amazing time this month, feeling God’s presence and love in a completely new and amazing way, and a huge part of it has been Tony and Nidia and the boys.  Tony asked us this last week to focus on four young men he’d have with us all week on the farm: Henry, Cristofer, Ariel, and Roni.

Roni is the fourth young man I want to share with you all, and at 17 he’s one of the oldest of the young men Tony has visit the farm.  He’s Ariel’s older brother, and he comes from the same home situation: father drinks heavily, hard time at home in Los Pinos, etc.  Tony met Roni nearly a year ago, when he was helping with some construction work on Cristofer’s home.  Tony needed to hire some workers to help him haul cement up to the top floor of the house, and Roni was one of the street boys he hired.  At the time, Roni was, like so many boys on the street, addicted to paint thinner.  He would haul cement upstairs with one hand, and with the other hand hold a thinner-soaked rag to his face.  He had an attitude problem as big as any of the boys and coupled with that was a laziness that meant he didn’t even work a full day when Tony was offering good wages for decent work.  Tony spent time with him, and like he has done with so many other of the boys here, kept loving him despite his problems.  Roni accepted God in his life and cleaned up his act.  He quit thinner, and began to read the Bible, taught younger children at church on Sundays, and spoke excitedly about the God he had come to know.  Then, a few months ago, something happened.  Tony doesn’t know what it was, but Roni started to fall back to his old lifestyle.  Today he’s a friendly young man, excited to do life with us – but he’s also lazy.  When he comes out to the farm, he’s more interested in eating Tony’s food and watching TV than he is helping out with chores or studying for school.  Tony has a friend in the Honduras navy, and Roni wants to join to learn a trade – working on boats or planes – but before he can get there, he has to finish 6th grade.  The challenge Tony faces is now twofold: teaching Roni enough discipline that he won’t immediately wash out of military training, and drawing him back to God.  It’s a long process to be sure, but even in the last week we’ve been here I’ve seen change.  Instead of going immediately to the couch after dinner, Roni has started picking up the dishes and taking them to the kitchen to be washed.  Instead of lounging around all morning, I saw him the other day at 8 AM repairing a brick and cement flower bed.  He couldn’t be with us Easter Sunday afternoon because he wanted to work in town on Monday, but at 5:30 AM we had an Easter sunrise service and Roni was one of the boys who joined us.  God’s not done with Roni yet, and I wish I could stick around a while longer to see what He does!

There is a peace about this farm that is unlike any I have ever known, and I can see the effect it’s had on each of these boys even if they’re only here for a few days.  Henry is the most earnestly polite young man I’ve ever met – when he says “thank you” you can tell he means it from the bottom of his heart.  He’s eager to establish trust with us, not so that he can abuse it, but because it’s exciting to him to do so.  He borrowed a few bucks from me on a day in town to do some shopping, and when he paid me back later in the day he had a huge smile on his face and said, “Mi palabra es vale.  (My word is valid.)”  This is no longer the same boy who used to mug people for drug money while he was living on the streets. Ariel and Roni are dramatically nicer people now at the end of the week than they were at the start, but the biggest change has been in Cristofer.  He talks more, and is finding things to do on the farm that excite him.  Tony put him in charge of the flower garden we planted the other day, and he’s very excited.  He’s more friendly, and spends more time hanging out with us and the other boys and less time being sullen on his own.  He’s been free of paint thinner for nearly a month now, without withdrawal symptoms and without needing medical help of any kind – you would have a hard time believing that he was ever addicted to the stuff!  God has been nothing but good to this young man this month.  Last week Tony was talking to us, in English, and a young boy came over to listen.  This happens a lot in Honduras – people are eager to learn and practice English whenever they encounter an English speaker.  Tony struck up a conversation with him, about his family, his school, etc. – and when the boy left with his family, Cristofer sidled up next to Tony.  He asked about the school the boy had mentioned, and really wanted to know more about it.  He asked about the work, the kinds of things he might learn at a good private school and whether he could learn English.  Tony told him about the increased workload, the increased opportunities, and all the ways a private school differs from the public education in Honduras.  Cristofer then said he’d like to attend a private school.  Tony, excited, took the conversation one step further.  He asked him, “Cristofer, if you were making the plans, what would you want to do?”  Cristofer answered, “Tony, I’d like to go to a good school.  I’d like to live on the farm with you and Nidia and Henry, and I’d like to learn to play piano.”  I want to stress that less than a month ago this young man was buried under garbage, high on so much paint thinner that he was bleeding from his nose, totally and completely wrecked.  Cristofer is the young man of whom was said to Tony, “you’re wasting your time with him.  He’s hopeless.”  Cristofer has experienced a complete life change, and it’s because of God’s love for him lived out by Tony.  After years of just doing life with this young man, of loving him the same way God loves him, Tony has become a positive influence for Cristofer’s entire life, and Cristofer has encountered the Father’s love in such a powerful way that he’s hardly recognizable from the person he was three months ago.

Praise God for the amazing things he’s doing here at the farm!  Please keep praying for Tony and Nidia and their ministry with these boys.  Tony is constantly looking for additional people to be part of his ministry, whether through prayer, financial support, or just coming out to visit and share life with him.  If you want to help any of the boys in particular, there isn’t one of them that Tony can’t bless a little more.  The coolest thing about Tony’s idea of life-as-ministry is that there isn’t a cent that goes to administrative overhead – grocery money for Tony goes to feed him and Nidia plus however many boys they have with them that day, and it’s been anywhere from two to eight even in the month we’ve been here.  All of these boys are wonderful young men – I’d personally recommend coming out for a month or two and just living with these boys to see the truth of what God’s done here at the ranch through Tony and Nidia.  I’ve also got Tony’s contact information if you want to help him out financially.

And speaking of finances: I still need another $2100 by the end of June to be fully funded for the Race – please pray and consider if you or a person or organization you know might be willing to partner with me to reach the final funding deadline.  God’s been so faithful so far – won’t you take part in the miracle He’s doing with me?