Sector F. Sector F is considered one of, if not the most dangerous sector in all of Honduras. A place considered to be so dangerous that even the police have pulled out and sent in the military. Sector F is located in a community called “Los Pinos” in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, which is considered one of the most dangerous cities in the entire world. Tegucigalpa is the destination of our ministry here in month 3 of the World Race.
On our very first day of ministry here in Honduras, our host, Toni, took my team on a city tour of Tegucigalpa. Toni took our team all through the different colonies of Tegucigalpa, showing us where his favorite places to eat were, the several different malls throughout the city, the attractions, and where all of the kids (Toni houses 15 different boys at his ministry site, Zion’s gate) come from and where they used to live, and where some of their families still live.
After we had eaten lunch, Toni took us to where 4 of the boys’ mother, Lillian lived. Underneath a cardboard shelter, behind a dumpster. Here, Lillian, like many others in Los Pinos, stays overnight at dumpsters in order to collect bottles and such to sell for around $10 a day. We stayed and talked, well, Toni talked as none of us speak spanish very well, for about a half an hour before Lillian asked one of her friends to come over and talk to us. Her friend was a 13 year-old girl named Liseth. After talking with Toni and Lillian and my team for a bit, she exchanged information with Toni, and promised to come visit the property on the following Sunday. (They just finished building a girls’ dormitory at the site to house young girls and get them off of the streets. A ministry designed by a young lady named Cassie, who works for Toni.) A promise that Liseth kept on the following Sunday.
When we left the dumpster, Toni took us into that dreaded sector that not even police dare to go any more, Sector F. Now Toni has been here several times without ever being involved in an incident over the 5 years he has lived in Tegucigalpa, but that didn’t make us any less uneasy. We drove all the way through the sector until reaching an abandoned highschool at the very top of the area. A highschool that has been abandoned due to the danger. We walked up and sat on the steps of the highschool, as we prayed for God to show us what He wanted us to do there…Well it didn’t take long. After being there for about 10 minutes, a little girl and two young boys came up the steps to sit with us. It wasn’t long before one of them asked for help with his English homework, ran home to get it, and returned with a couple more boys. We played tag, soccer, and bought some fruit to share with the kids. We spent about two hours just sharing the gospel and love of the Father with these kids, and never had to say a word to them.
On the ride back to our ministry site I was pondering all of the stuff that had just taken place over the last couple of hours. It amazes me that no matter where we go, dangerous or not, God goes before us, with us, and after us. He is with us wherever we go, and NOTHING is bigger than GOD.
As we were pulling out of Sector F, I turned to Toni and told him how amazing it was to me that we just went to this abandoned area with no idea what we were going to do, and the children just came, the Lord just shows up. Then Toni responded with something that I will never forget. He said, “Sometimes to do the ministry, you don’t have to have a plan or a purpose, you just need to be PRESENT.” This reminded me, and I hope reminds all of you at home, that you don’t have to go to third world countries to do ministry, you just need to be present in what the Lord has for you today.
On our very first day of ministry here in Honduras, our host, Toni, took my team on a city tour of Tegucigalpa. Toni took our team all through the different colonies of Tegucigalpa, showing us where his favorite places to eat were, the several different malls throughout the city, the attractions, and where all of the kids (Toni houses 15 different boys at his ministry site, Zion’s gate) come from and where they used to live, and where some of their families still live.
After we had eaten lunch, Toni took us to where 4 of the boys’ mother, Lillian lived. Underneath a cardboard shelter, behind a dumpster. Here, Lillian, like many others in Los Pinos, stays overnight at dumpsters in order to collect bottles and such to sell for around $10 a day. We stayed and talked, well, Toni talked as none of us speak spanish very well, for about a half an hour before Lillian asked one of her friends to come over and talk to us. Her friend was a 13 year-old girl named Liseth. After talking with Toni and Lillian and my team for a bit, she exchanged information with Toni, and promised to come visit the property on the following Sunday. (They just finished building a girls’ dormitory at the site to house young girls and get them off of the streets. A ministry designed by a young lady named Cassie, who works for Toni.) A promise that Liseth kept on the following Sunday.
When we left the dumpster, Toni took us into that dreaded sector that not even police dare to go any more, Sector F. Now Toni has been here several times without ever being involved in an incident over the 5 years he has lived in Tegucigalpa, but that didn’t make us any less uneasy. We drove all the way through the sector until reaching an abandoned highschool at the very top of the area. A highschool that has been abandoned due to the danger. We walked up and sat on the steps of the highschool, as we prayed for God to show us what He wanted us to do there…Well it didn’t take long. After being there for about 10 minutes, a little girl and two young boys came up the steps to sit with us. It wasn’t long before one of them asked for help with his English homework, ran home to get it, and returned with a couple more boys. We played tag, soccer, and bought some fruit to share with the kids. We spent about two hours just sharing the gospel and love of the Father with these kids, and never had to say a word to them.
On the ride back to our ministry site I was pondering all of the stuff that had just taken place over the last couple of hours. It amazes me that no matter where we go, dangerous or not, God goes before us, with us, and after us. He is with us wherever we go, and NOTHING is bigger than GOD.
As we were pulling out of Sector F, I turned to Toni and told him how amazing it was to me that we just went to this abandoned area with no idea what we were going to do, and the children just came, the Lord just shows up. Then Toni responded with something that I will never forget. He said, “Sometimes to do the ministry, you don’t have to have a plan or a purpose, you just need to be PRESENT.” This reminded me, and I hope reminds all of you at home, that you don’t have to go to third world countries to do ministry, you just need to be present in what the Lord has for you today.
Me and Anderson (One of the boy’s that lives with Toni at Zion’s Gate Ministries)
