I’ve safely arrived in yet another country. After 2 days of
traveling, a nasty stomach virus, and an interesting hostel stay, I am so
pumped to be with Team Arrow and Team Rooted 1930 outside of Tegucigalpa,
Honduras for the rest of this month.
The 2 teams have done an absolutely amazing job here in El
Horno and in Los Pinos building relationships with the youth and sharing the
love of Christ with them. Their contact Tony has a heart that bursts with love
for the youth of these communities and within 10 minutes of arriving here it
was so clear the Lord has mighty mighty purposes for this man and this ministry
in this place. Two things confirmed that for me.
The first was a statement Tony made when he was describing
to us what he does here in Honduras. He spoke of radical changes and a vision
of community that could only be from the Lord. I felt my breath catch in my
chest as he said, “We’re doing things everyone, even Christians, said
couldn’t be done. They’re happening.” Whoa. That is what The World Race is about. That is what
these 61 S-squaders signed up to do. That is what Jesus tells us we are capable
of in Matthew 10:7-8. And that is what is happening here through Tony’s vision
and the teams. Even when Tony arrived to Honduras, everyone here told him there was no way he could reach the youth in most of these areas of town. But now, not only can Tony walk into these neighborhoods by himself, but he’s bringing in entire teams to love on these kids and these families. Walls are coming down; new ground is being claimed in the name of the Most High God through the work being done here every single day.
been living with Tony for the past 12 days. He was addicted to sniffing paint
thinner and came to live with Tony and the teams here to break that addiction.
A friend of Tony’s had warned him that the 10th day would be the
roughest for Josue and that was precisely the day that I met this young man.
But when Tony thought about it, he realized that this was actually Jose’s best day since he had stopped sniffing. The Lord is
changing this kid’s life every single day and transforming him from the inside
out. And it’s all from love. The love Tony pours out on him and the love this
team exudes is changing Josue’s life. And he is loving in return. Now Josue is
filled with so much joy and energy. He instantly makes you feel loved and
included. He makes us feel safe and protected in a place that, by the world’s
standard, would be considered dangerous and would say we’re stupid to come to.
But it’s Josue that makes all of this worth it. He has reminded me of the
redemptive power of the love of Christ and the power within me and within you
to actually change lives in the name of God. And that the kingdom of heaven is
actually a lot closer than we think.
——————–
“As you go,
preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the
dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have
received, freely give.” Matthew 10:7-8
