I am falling in love. Madly, deeply in love. May I share the story of the family responsibly for captivating my heart: Every day the list of those who captivate my heart gets longer and longer, and every day I can feel God expanding my heart for more and more of his children. Good gracious I love it here. Lord, you are beginning to wreck me. I can’t fathom doing anything but this…and I love that. More stories to come!
e local dump. Every day she rummages through piles of trash searching for metals and anything of value to sell. Her shelter is shared with her four “boyfriends� leaving her boys to live alone in Los Pinos, a community 30 minutes away. The boys live in a three-walled shack in Los Pinos with no running water or food. The boys have abused paint thinner to mask the ache of hunger that is constantly with them. No hope, no knowledge of the love of Christ, and no relationship between mother and sons.
building Tony wants to restore into a community center. It is the same building where only 6 months before and young boy had been murdered in broad daylight for supporting the wrong soccer team. This is the same building our team gathered in on Monday, hands clasped together, in prayer for revival. Lillian’s boys led us in prayer over reclaiming the building -and Los Pinos- for the Lord.
Lillian and her boys are rising up as leaders in thatmovement.
Meet Lillian, mother of four. Eight years ago she made a decision to leave her four boys (Christopher 15, José 14, Carlos 13, and Fernando 11) for a life beneath a cardboard shelter in th
That changed a year ago when Tony, our contact, met Carlos at a gas station- high, dirty and lying in the fetal position. That meeting was a God-ordained call to pursue and invest in the life of this family. Tony has become a father figure to these boys-giving them unconditional love, structure, and the truth of Christ. Beautiful transformation has happened in their lives because of Tony’s relentless pursuit and God’s unwavering love.
Just to capture of glimpse of the transformation in action, imagine Lillian at church this past Sunday, hands raised and praising the Lord like there is no tomorrow. Tears in her eyes and hands raised, she is captivated by the love of her Savior. Christopher, the oldest, was beside his mother with eyes closed and praying – not worried about the thoughts of anyone around him. The boys have been clean of thinner for months, and come to the farm in El Horno (where Tony lives & we are staying for the next month) twice a week to work and earn money to eat.
This family is transforming, and we are having the opportunity to witness and be a part of God moving in their lives. Not only are we witnessing God change Lillian’s family, we are experiencing God change their town as well. The section of Los Pinos that the boys live in is the poorest, most hopeless, and most dangerous sector of the entire community. Literally the darkest place God could have called us to serve. There is an abandoned, graffiti stained school
Oh the plan God had for that day! Hondurans came out of the wood-work to see what these North Amerian “gringo’s” were doing in their city. The whole day was spent pursuing relationships with the community- through playing soccer, throwing the football, holding kids in hugs & piggy back rides, and talking with families about the change they wanted to see in their community. Over and over I prayed that through our time & physical affection these people would experience the love of Christ. That day we seriously poured out as much God-given love as humanly possible; and I loved every second of it. Whew. It is so apparent that God is moving and has a plan to bring hope and life to that community, and the most beautiful part of it all is that
Talk about redemption.
This is simply one story out of so many stories I could share about the people I have fallen desperately in love with here in Honduras.
I still have to share about beautiful Alexandria who has taught us to dance, and precious Franklin who likes to show us “his pigs� and have us chase him around his front yard. There is also quiet Katie, who has a depth to her I am excited to see unfold, and Selvin & his sisters who live on the farm with us. There is also Elizabeth and Sandra who live in situations that will break your heart, but have the most entrancing smiles you’ve ever seen.
