Month 10 has already started off to be quiet the adventure. It is completely unlike any other month that most racers EVER experience on the World Race, but it only happens if you have the opportunity to come here to Honduras.
If I’m just being honest (I feel like I say that a lot lately), I was not excited about coming to Honduras again. I was here in 2007 for a mission trip over Spring Break, and although I loved it and it completely ignited my heart and desire for missions, I was a little disappointed that I was going somewhere that I’d been prior to the race.
I currently find myself sitting in my tent, on the mountainside, over looking Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Tegucigalpa is the capital city of this beautiful Central American country. Our ministry this month is unlike anything else you experience on the World Race. This month we are working with Zion’s Gate Ministries which is owned and operated by Tony Deine. Tony moved here 5 years ago after God rocked his world on a trip to Honduras. The ministry here is one of my favorite ministries that I’ve ever worked with on any prior mission trips. Here in this incredible country, Tony runs a “boys/ girls home”, if you will. Basically, Tony has worked with a few communities here in the city and as a result, he has made lots of relationships with folks in the area. His ministry here is to take boys, and a few girls, off of the street, out of the slums, and give them a refuge, also known as, his own home. Most of the kids have families, but their home lives are in shambles, so they come here to the ministry to have a better life.
One of the coolest things about the ministry is the way that Tony works with and disciplines the kids. He is very laid back, but his reasoning is because it gives the youth here the ability to choose to make better lives and better decisions for themselves. Tony is trying to take the youth here at the ministry, teach them to be leaders in the community, who love, fear, and follow the Lord, and then go out and change their worlds. It’s such an incredible opportunity for locals to reach out to locals.
Most of the youth here are very desperate for affection and love. The majority of them have never been held or told “I love you.” Part of Tony bringing in groups here, is to be influences to the youth and just being able to love on all of them for the month.
Along with that, one major detail I left out…
OUR ENTIRE SQUAD OF 40 PEOPLE ARE
ALL HERE TOGETHER THIS MONTH!
Yep, it’s a little bit crazy. All 6 teams, and both of our squad leaders, here in one location. Not to mention all the youth here at the ministry, Tony’s family, and the staff. One really cool thing this month is that my friend from back home in Franklin, Molly Hornsby, is working here with Tony, so seeing a familiar face was a huge blessing!
Oh yeah, something else… There is also a “Passport” team here. Passport is for younger students, 18- 22 years of age, who aren’t quite old enough for the World Race or don’t think they are quite ready to leave for 11 months. It’s usually a 2-4 month program, so it is much shorter and this is their only country, so they will spend their entire time here with Zion’s Gate Ministries.
So here we are, all of us tenting for the month, sharing 1 bathroom, with 2 showers, and 3 stalls… Good times! Haha
A really cool fact about the property here, and more specifically the building we are living in, is that they just received this property a few months back. Before becoming a refuge and base for Zion’s Gate Ministries, this building was an old bar/ dance club/ party joint. When they got the property, inside the building there were many things on the walls, and even 2 “dancer” platforms. I don’t think I need to give specifics, but I’m sure you can tell from the picture, what kind of dancing took place. It wasn’t a good place, that’s for sure. So it’s so cool to see the redemption that has been brought to this property and what God is doing here to reach out to the community and city of Tegucigalpa.
This month since there are so many of us, the majority of the time we will be working with the youth here, but in the times that we don’t do that, we will be visiting community centers, dumps, prisons, playing soccer, doing street evangelism, and a few other things that Zion’s Gate Ministries has their hands in.
I’m really excited to be back here in Honduras. Like I said, at first I wasn’t looking forward to it, but having followed the ministry here and having a prior knowledge of this incredible place, I’m ready to see what the Lord has planned for this month.
One last note. Since there are so many of us here this month, it means a lot less personal space, and A LOT smaller food portions. It’s getting better, but the first few days, we were pretty hungry. Last month we ate like kings where we were at, so coming here was a big change on our systems. The food here is wonderful, but there just isn’t a lot of it. The other night we were all talking about how hungry we were, and about that time somebody announces that there are left over fried plantains on the table from the night before, and without hesitation, my squad mate, Britni, and myself take off in a dead sprint for the bowl while pushing and play fighting to see who could get there first. As we reached the table and grabbed the plantain, we both said, “It’s like The Hunger Games Honduras!” HAHA… Then I got this really funny idea for a video, and as most of you know, I LOVE to make videos! So, Jess and I set down and came up with a plan.
So, that gives you a little bit of an idea to what ministry will look like for the month. Continue to keep us in your prayers and know that we are doing the same for y’all back home. Hope you enjoy the “video trailer” that Jess and I put together!
Love y’all.
One last note… August 5th… only 51 days!
