I just came back to America a little over a week ago and had some of the craziest experiences of a lifetime. I traveled to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Nepal, and India.
I slept on the floor at a bus station in Bangkok, Slept in tents, in 5 star hotels, in hostels, in churches, and in airports.
I ate fried baby frogs, fish eyeballs, goat liver, water buffalo, and even killed my own chicken.
I got to travel to the top of a volcano and look down into the crater, I had a dance party on a boat and fed monkeys on a little island in Nicaragua, I got to hitchhike in the murder capitol of the world just so I could get a soccer jersey, I got to play with tigers, ride on an elephant through the jungles of Thailand and even take part in the nation wide new years celebration called “Songkran”, I learned Khmer dancing and even helped raise over $2,000 for kids who need heart surgery in Malaysia. I got to dress up in traditional Rwandan clothing and attend a wedding with people I never met before, I got to stay in a little cabin that over looked the Nile river and watch the sun go down over it, I got to hop on the back of a motorcycle and ride through the desert in the villages of the Turkana Tribe in Kenya, I was flying in an airplane and looked down and saw the Himalayan Mountains below me, and I even got to crash and Indian wedding dressed in sari’s where I was pulled up on stage and danced in front of hundreds of people I didn’t know.
To say that I had an adventure of a lifetime is an understatement. I traveled with 50 of the most craziest, fun-loving people in the world and I met people who will forever be in my heart and I have seen God work in ways I never thought were possible. I thank God every day for this experience and even though I am grieving the loss of it, I am rejoicing and excited for what’s to come next.
In March, I was in the country of Honduras. The first day I was there, I turned to my teammates and told them this was the country I was going to fall in love with, and it wasn’t long until that happened. In Honduras, we partnered up with a ministry called “Zion’s Gate Ministries”. This ministry brings hope to others by living out the Gospel. One of the colonies they focus on is called “Los Pinos”, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Tegucigulpa. It is so dangerous here that even the police won’t go into it. This ministry focuses on the teens in this neighborhood. These “street kids” are or have been involved in gang activities and usually have drug addictions, and the ministry provides discipleship for them. There is now a group of teens living on Zion’s Gate property, where they are poured into daily, and attending a bilingual school. For many of them, this is the first time they have been at school in their entire life. Now, in their free time, they go back to the streets they came from and minister to others.
Ever since March, I knew that one day I would return back to Honduras and serve long-term with Zion’s Gate Ministries . I want to walk side by side with the kids and watch them grow in Christ daily, help them with their struggles, and support them in everything they do. This is a tough ministry; some of the stories don’t always have happy endings. It is going to be hard and tiring, but I know the Lord has called me to serve here and my job is to be joyfully obedient to that calling.
If the teens of Honduras are on your heart like they are mine, and you would like to help me respond to the calling I have, please consider supporting me financially and/or through your prayers. My goal is to go to Zion’s Gate Ministry for two weeks in either January or February. While I am there, I will be able to visit the teens I fell in love with, and revisit why I fell in love with Honduras in the first place. I will also set up a long-term ministry plan to figure out what my time in Honduras will look like in the future. In order for me to go in January or February, I will have to raise $950. That will cover airfare, lodging, transportation, and food. I am asking you to prayerfully consider joining me in this next journey God is calling me to.
If you feel led to give, please send a check to 513 Perinella Dr. Erie PA 16505. If you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected]. I would love to answer any questions you have, and just talk about more of the love I have for Zion’s Gate Ministry.
