I am going to take you back to month 3 on the race….back when I was in Honduras….
As I got off the bus that brought us from El Salvador to Honduras I was welcomed with a cold breeze and a handful of teen boys. They grabbed our packs and moved them from the bus we were on to the school bus parked across the street. As all 41 of us piled into the building we were greeted by Tony who pointed us to the homemade cookies and informed us the coffee would finish brewing shortly. Boys ran about…some hugging us, a few wrestling in the corner, another flying through the room on his bike shrieking of excitement. To most it was a moment of uncontrolled rowdiness and loud noises. For me I was overwhelmed….overwhelmed with excitement and joy that I could not explain. As I stood there in awe I just knew this month was going to be amazing. As I sipped on my hot coffee, one of the boys, Herman, was chatting with me sharing his life story and how God rescued him. We were only there 15 short minutes before we piled on the bus to drive us an hour away to a hotel where we would have a 4 day debrief with our squad. As I sat in the bus, I stared out the window with a huge smile on my face. I didn’t know how to explain it, I couldn’t even tell exactly what it was, but I was so excited for Honduras! I knew that this month was going to be different and it was going to be AWESOME.
Tony’s heart is in Los Pinos, a small yet dangerous community just outside of Tegucigalpa. He helps in the community and he gives the boys on the street an opportunity to give up their lifestyles of drugs, gangs, and theft and gives them a place to live, food to eat, school to attend, and shows them how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. He gives them an opportunity the world would never say they are worthy of. Tony see’s they are worthy because God see’s they are worthy. Tony and his wife Nidia’s heart for the boys are amazing. Words cannot even begin to express the passion and compassion this couple has.
As I spent the month in Honduras, I fell completely in love. In love with Tony and Nidia, in love with the street boys and girls, in love with the ministry they do, in love with the vision Tony and Nidia have for Zion’s Gate. I felt at home there, as though I had been living there my whole life. My heart broke for the boys. The lives they have come from are far more than any person should ever have to experience. The vision for the ministry excited me and I felt that my heart was exactly in line with Tony and Nidia’s. One day I sat alone for some God time on a swing in the park. As I looked around watching the boys, girls, and Tony interact something tugged on my heart. I felt that somehow I needed to be a part of this longer than just this month. As I opened my bible I prayed that God would show me what he wanted me to do about this new found passion for Zion’s Gate. I opened to Psalm 113:6-9 and read:
“He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth.
He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people.
He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother”.
My heart skipped a beat…wow! I’m really going to do this huh?! And ever since that moment the passion for Zion’s Gate, for my street boys and girls, has grown immensely.
In 2013 I will leave my life as I know it in America and head to Honduras. I have committed 1 year to live with Tony and Nidia on the Zion’s Gate property and I will do life with them there. I will pour my love into the boys and girls, I will help with the ministry in Los Pinos and I will help with the World Race squads that come through. I am so incredibly thankful that God is calling me to this! Never would I have thought that one day I’d be full time in missions but I have discovered that God’s plans are always way better than mine. The people of Zion’s Gate have stolen my heart and God has given me an immense passion for each and every person there.
Please join me in prayer as I pray for the timing of when to move there. As of right now I’m praying for March or May. Please pray that God will guide me in the direction of His perfect timing. Also, I will start fundraising in the next few months so please also pray for provision. If you are considering sponsoring me, please email me at [email protected]. Donations cannot be giving through this blog or through AIM. Thank you all so much!
Check out this video made by my squadmate Rose Huber about our time in Honduras. Also, you can read more about Tony, The boys, and the ministry at Zionsgate.org or keep up with daily life by “Liking” them on facebook.com/zionsgatehonduras
