In order to help you understand a little more about why my squad and I are here I thought it would be helpful to share some additional information about the nation of Honduras, the city of Tegucigalpa as well as Zion's Gate, the ministry that we are partnered with.
The location and national flag of Honduras
The information below about Honduras is from CIA World Factbook.
History: gained independence from Spain in 1821. spent 2 1/2 decades under military rule until freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982.
Economy: second poorest country in Central America, suffers from unequal distribution of income, nearly half of activity tied to US.
Problems: shipment point for drugs and narcotics, major producer of cannibis, major corruption and money laundering activity
Capital: Tegucigalpa
Area: 112,090 square kilometers, slightly larger than Tennessee
Ethnic Groups​: Mestizo (American Indian/European mix) – 90%, American Indian – 7%, Black – 2%, White – 1%
Languages: Spanish, American Indian dialects
Religions: Roman Catholic – 97%, Protestant – 3%
Population: 8.3 million (July 2012 estimate), 65% below poverty line
Age Structure: 0-14 – 37%; 15-64 – 60%; > 65 – 3%
Median Age: 21
Urbanization: 52%
Growth Rate: 1.8% (2011 estimate)
Infant Mortality: 20 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy: 71 (male: 70, female: 72)
Literacy Rate: 80%
Unemployment rate: 7% (male: 5%, female: 11%)
Governemt Type: Democratic Constuitutional Republic
Suffrage: at 18, universal and compulsory
Gross Domestic Product Per Capita: $4,300 (2011 estimate)
Inflation: 7% (2011 estimate)
Currency: Lempira (19.5/$1)
Has highest murder rate in the world. mostly from gang violence.
Minimum wage is $1.40 when enforced, most families live on about $2/day but it's enough.
The information below about Tegucigalpa is from Encyclopedia.com
National capital and largest city located in a valley in the south central part of the country.
Founded in the late 16th century as a silver mining town.
Became the national capital in 1880.
Served by international airport but no railroad.
Population: just over 850,000 (2001 estimate)
Zion's Gate Ministries: www.zionsgate.org
Non-profit organization that is fully funded by supporters from the United States.
Built on land that used to be the most popular and dangerous nightclub in the city of Tegucigalpa.
Houses 11 boys and 3 girls from Los Pinos, a village outside of Tegucigalpa that has very high poverty as well as rampant drug and alcohol use. Tony and Nidia Deien work with the boys and girls to help them recover from these influences and teach them the Gospel.
Built a house for the family of one of the boys and use it as a base for evangelism in the community.
My squad is working in teams to improve the property as well as partnering with local pastors to share the Gospel in the streets of downtown Tegucigalpa. We also have had the opportunity to spend time at the Honduran Institute for Kids and Families (IHNFA).
