Rough.
Tough.
Street Kids.
(From left to right: Mario, Carlos, Fernando, Herman…my boys)
Most people would call them by those
words…I just call them my Brothers. To truly explain Honduras, I’d
honestly have to write a novel. But for now, let me tell you one
simple truth:
I…LOVE IT HERE!!!
This last moth we’ve been working at a
ministry called Zion’s Gate in the city of El Tizatilla, Honduras.
This place captured my heart the second our contact, Tony, started
explaining his heart for this nation. Zion’s Gate’s seeks
redemption and restoration in the lives of young boys and young girls
who’ve spent most of their lives on the streets. These boys and girls
have come from pretty much nothing. Most of them orphaned with no
parents, no shelter and no direction in life. And by no means have
these kids come from gentle backgrounds. By society’s standards, they
fall short every day.
Hondurans have one word for these kids: Garbage.
But I have an even better word: Beautiful.
Of course I know they’re using drugs
and alcohol abusively. Of course I know they’re stealing money and
other possessions, sometimes threatening lives and taking what’s not
theirs. Of course I know Honduras has the biggest homicide rate in
the entire world, and for good reason. I’m not naïve, I know these
things are happening.
….But I also know what God has shown
my squad about these kids, about this country. I know what He’s going
to do through us and through His Holy Spirit to bring a revival to
this nation. Because Jesus doesn’t see these kids the way most of the
world sees them. He doesn’t see the sin and the mess. He doesn’t see
their garbage and just turn His face away. No way. He sees something
so much more you guys.
While the rest of the world might give
up on the kids of Honduras, God still sees an opportunity and a
destiny for each and every one of them. He sees exactly what He saw
in me, in you, in every single person when He called us
to be His children. He saw Himself-nothing less. God does not weigh
their sins or our sins and He doesn’t call one of us more or less
worthy than the next person. It just doesn’t work like that. We like
to think it works that way though. I can’t tell you how many times I
think of myself as so deserving of us His grace, when in reality, I
deserve absolutely nothing. None of us do.
We
all deserve nothing.
Yet our God is so gracious, He is such a good God! He gives us grace
every day, not because of anything we’ve done or not done. He just
gives it!
Jesus
you astound me!
And trust me. I know these boys have
come from nothing. They’re not perfect, much like me. Yet they’re growing in so many ways, much like me. They’re forgiven…much like me….funny how we’re not that much different, isn’t it?
And I’ll just say it: Don’t even think
about talking smack about them. Don’t even think about laying a
finger on one of them.
….These boys are my brothers. They
are my family now, and I will fight like hell as their big sister to
protect them. So watch out….
because they’re about to change the world.
🙂
