So picture this (literally you can since there is pictures)…Listos? (that means ready in Spanish)
We go to where our ministry host really serves; we haven’t been able to go there because of current safety issues. However, we were able to go after church because he felt it was ok (especially with 32 of us). So we had a gringo parade through Los Pinos, which is known for violence, crime, and poverty. The kids that are staying with Tony are from there and they say it is not good. It is different here because in America the rich people live up in the mountains and the poor in the city. Here it is too expensive to get water or electric lines up in the mountains so the poor live in them, and oh man is there a lot of houses built up there. The view is AMAZING!
But the life there is not so pretty. The roads are all dirt and you get a work out just visiting your neighbor because of the hills. I asked a girl if a big blue metal can was for trash (because it would be in America) and she giggled and said no it’s for water. She then pointed to the gutter above it and I realized that their water supply is from the rain. Well let me tell you, it has not been raining much. Rain here is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because they have water, but a curse because it makes it very difficult to walk up the mountain to your house. This is a path up to a house and old navy flip flops are terrible for climbing up and down, there were a few slips going down. People carry food and children up these monsters.
The only reason me and a few other people are up there is because one of the boys who randomly stay with us wanted to bring us to see his house. I so badly wanted to go up to see where people were really living and God totally blessed me (He knows I wanted to be there all month and not with kids teaching). It took me by surprise because his mom put her arm around me and we started walking together to their house. It was the most humbling and difficult situation I had yet…maybe ever.
Their house is made of wood, thin wood, with cracks in it. Some of the walls are covered in cardboard for a little insulation. The house had no kitchen or bathroom…it was only one room about the size of my bed room (probably smaller, I am beginning to forget I have a bedroom at home). Never again will I complain that my room is not big enough to move in.
So you may be wondering how many people live in this house…a total of SIX! They have two twin size beds for the mother, father, four children and a baby.
They asked us to come in and sit on their beds and we sat in amazement. How in the world do six people live in here, no wonder Tony has two or three of their children living with him right now, where do they go to the bathroom, I am so blessed, this Christian family is so strong, their joy is truly from the Lord, they are not even embarrassed of the size, America is such an abundance seeker…just imagine the number of thoughts that went through my head.
Ok this is really long, bear with me. This is where I was truly blessed and we all had a hard time accepting this gift. The mother asked if we were thirsty and she wanted to buy us coca (that’s what they call coke). We are thinking…you have nothing and you want to buy us soda…what the deuce…I don’t want to use your money…I have a drink down the mountain at the church…keep your money. We literally discussed this question for a minute and finally decided that we NEED to accept this blessing. This is just a small way that this family could bless us (which really isn’t small). It was such an amazing experience and has really challenged me on what it means to bless people and to receive blessings.
Ok so challenge for you…It is the holiday season and many of you have some spare change or items around that you can bless others with. I know that many of you reading this can give so much more than you do (me included). Sponsor a family, talk to me about giving 100 buckaroos so a child can get a decent education for a month in Honduras, don’t pass by the Salvation Army bell ringers, bring a meal or take a homeless person out to eat, help out a struggling neighbor. Maybe you have a lot of free time…volunteer that, give of your time if that is all you have. We are so blessed in America and I know that we can give more out of our abundance when people are giving out of nothing.
My month in Honduras is over, went by soooo fast. I am in Nicaragua and I am living in straight up paraise on an orphanage on an island called Ometepe which is in Lake Nicaragua. I cannot explain how beautiful it is. We are able to watch the sun set every day over the mountains of Nicaragua across the lake (as we sit in hammocks). God truly gives his children good gifts. We have become extrremely grateful for tables and chairs to eat at and play cards at (ast month we had none).
