3 days. 72 hours. 4,320 minutes. 259,200 seconds. 2000 years ago that short amount of time changed the world forever. Because of those events, that same amount of time changed the life of an 18-year-old Honduran boy. I want to introduce you to Herman, a young man from Los Pinos, one of the poorest areas in Tegucigalpa. It is an area that is infested with drugs, mainly huffing paint thinner, and alcohol. Herman has been living on the property at Zion's Gate for several months. He had lived those months free from the influence of the streets. Several days ago he went to a soccer game back in Los where he is from and never came back. While he was there he dove back in to the drugs and alcohol that had held him back for so many years. Last night he came back to Zion's Gate and shared with Tony, the other boys that live on the property, the men from the Passport team that were here (they left today to return home) and us men of G Squad that those days he spent in Los Pinos were the most miserable days that he had ever experienced. As he shared the events of the previous several days I could see on his face and hear in his voice the relief that the felt to be back on the property, this time for good. He had come to a point where he realized that if he was move forward with his life he needed to be with Tony. He also realized that during this long fight he was missing something, something way more important being sober. He was missing Jesus. As we sat at the base of the Prayer Wall Herman gave his life to Christ. Herman became a child of the King. For Herman there is a long and troubled past but he no longer has to worry about it. He is free and he has a bright future ahead of him.
Nothing sums up the last 3 weeks here in Honduras better than this story. It is the perfect way to close out my time here. This is why I came on the World Race. This is why I came to Honduras. This is why going in to areas like Los Pinos are so important. This is why people like Tony and Nidia are so important. This is why their work in Honduras is so important. This is why ministries like Zion's Gate are so important. The culture of Honduras is changing and it's because of kids like Herman and the influence of people like Tony and Nidia.
