Central America has turned out to be my favorite stretch of the race. I love the people and the culture and the language. At church every person comes up to you and greets you with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. In America, most people stand at least a few feet away from each other and give a nice handshake. Leaving Honduras was more difficult than I anticipated. I adore the ministry and the young boys who live at Puerta de Sion. These boys have lived on the streets most of their lives and have been exposed to more drugs and seen more violence than I could imagine. But they have grown into the sweetest, most caring, Christ-following boys I know. They taught me what true redemption looks like.
The last night in Honduras we had a sleep over outside. Luis was admiring my pillowcase my mom made me for the race. It has colorful giraffes on it and my mom stitched on it “Night Maria, Love, Mama.” I cried when my mom gave it to me before I left for the race. It has been a great source of comfort for me when I’m feeling homesick. He told me he loved giraffes and hinted at me giving it to him. I said, “Luis, my mom made me this pillowcase.” He responded with a smile and in Spanish but the English translation was “You can tell your mom a little boy in Honduras needed it.” After that I knew I was going to give it to him. He said, he will always remember me and the rest of Z-squad whenever he lays his head on it. As our bus drove away from Zion’s Gate I knew I would be coming back at some point in my life. Part of my heart was left in Honduras.
I am now in Nicaragua, be expecting a blog update soon!
