This month I’m living in a country known as the murder capital of the world where citizens are fleeing away from this country as refugees to find safety, comfort and opportunity for their family. I’m sharing a room with 14 girls, a house with 37 people, and I have to take cold bucket showers when the water goes out. YET here I am in the heart of the country, in the middle of the mountains, under the stars in a city called The Valley of Angels overcome with GRATITUDE • I’m learning so much about God, Thank you, Lord, for bringing me to your beautiful country of Honduras. There were a few times, I will admit, I was worried I wasn’t going to be funded enough to make it here, but I Am for at least my second month.
I’m thankful, but our ministry this month is hard. This month we are serving adults who have disabilities and who live in an orphanage because they have been abandoned by their families. Many of these adults have been dropped off here as young as 6 days old. One has been dropped off here two weeks ago and he is the only child – 11 years old. The experiences many of these adults have gone through are extremely tough. Many have gone through emotional or sexual trauma and who have been taken advantage of them. Someone asked me, “Do they have facilities like this in the US?” I actually don’t know, but I am aware that many Hondurans can’t afford taking care of another family member who can’t go to work because many families live in poverty.
As sad as this may sound, I’m also so encouraged to get to know, love on and serve on these amazing people. There is beauty in the unseen and the forgotten.
If you have ever volunteered and spent time with people who have special needs, then you’ll know the joy and smiles that come from these valued human beings. There are 6 teams on our squad and their are 6 homes, so we each got paired up with a home to spend time with, to help the caretakers and to show the love of God with everyone living there. My dear friend Sarah Ann wrote a beautiful prayer to God through her blog post about our experience in at the home, and I wanted to include her words in my blog post. So everything in parentheses is a form of her words. Her blog post is included in the bottom.
“In a country where there is already a language barrier, we are ministering to a people who have a language barrier with their countrymen too.” Some cannot talk at all, while the only sounds of some are moans and groans. “But that is what is so beautiful. We may not be able to understand each other easily, but we can still express love: Hugs, high-fives, dancing, painting, smiling, laughing, building blocks, rubbing their backs, playing catch and coloring are such simple non-verbal ways to share life, to share how important they are, and to share the love of God.”
In the process, I’m honestly learning more about God’s love for not just them but how much God loves me and all of us.
I may not know Spanish that well, and I don’t know why Franklin can’t move, walk or talk, and I don’t know why Juan makes those sounds of moaning. “But I know God knows. He loves them and there is still a reason and purpose for their existence even if I don’t know why. I know that while I may only be a piece of their story for this one month, God also doesn’t need me. He just invites me to be a part of their story, to be still and love like Him. I’m not forced into it, but I’m invited to love them and others the way God loves them. And wow, this ministry may be tough, but I’m learning to love them more and more each day. Even though their biological families couldn’t keep them, they were adopted into a community of people who love each other and are being taken care of by workers who are not looking to fix them but rather to care for them, to love on them and to learn their unique language to help them connect to the rest of the world.
They use physical therapy, equine therapy, classes to teach them math, reading, writing, finances, pottery, carpet-making, life skills, psychological therapy, massage therapy, and more. They work so hard to connect. This is such picture of how God Loves us. He speaks to us in so many ways: through scripture, nature, other people, dreams, visions, feeling, a still small voice in our head, impressions, and a knowing in our spirit and so many more ways.
I don’t think there is anything in life He doesn’t use to connect with us.
My prayer for this month, while we simply sit and know You are God with the ones You created to be like children for life, is that you give my squad mates and me peace. Some of the conditions are so hard to witness. But let us love them like You would. Place Your heart in ours.
Holy Spirit overflow in us and in this place. Be the Comforter, the Healer, and the Lover of our souls.”
To read Sarah Ann’s version of her blog post, please go to this website: https://sarahannallen.theworldrace.org/post/letter-to-god
I am learning so much about God this month, and his deep profound love for everyone. I’m learning he doesn’t need me, but wants to invite me to serve WITH him and Not for him.
Thank you for reading!
