My first travel day on the race consisted of a 13.5 hour bus ride, riding a “chicken bus” (promising name, right?) and leaving a hostel at 3am. I know, I know – that sounds too good to be true, but allow me to share some specifics of what this really looked like.
We left our missionary contacts, Erv and Sally York with Agape in Action Ministries, on Tuesday, July 30th around 9am. We took a “chicken bus” to Antigua, Guatemala for one night where I had my first stay in a hostel. We explored the city of Antigua, bought a souvenir and ate at a restaurant called Mono Loco (meaning crazy monkey) and tried to catch up on some much needed sleep considering we needed to be ready by 3am.
We took a 1.5 hour bus ride to the capital city, Ciudad de Guatemala, to then begin our 13.5 hour bus ride to Tegucigalpa, Honduras where we are currently living with our ministry contact, Tony, at Zion’s Gate. Zion’s Gate does so much that it is hard to put into words but one of their main ministries is to take in street kids (boys of any age) by showing them love through their actions – clothing, feeding, taking them to school and disciplining them when necessary – and all the while, building them into courageous leaders for Christ. Currently, there are about 15+ boys out here.
Needless to say, I love it here and God is challenging me in new ways every day. My team has been chosen to work in the mornings at a nearby school teaching English to 6th graders and our afternoons differ each week to include playing soccer with the neighborhood children, visiting and praying for those in the hospital, and going on house visits. We are each preparing our lesson plan for the day and coming up with games and skits for the class to do together. I am working with three boys: David (age 11), Fernando (age 14), and Sergio (age 14), and they are all so attentive and willing to learn but I think they will end up teaching me more than I will teach them. This ministry has been a stretch for me but God is giving me the patience and strength I need for each moment.
If you would like to hear more about Zion’s Gate and even sponsor or partially sponsor a child, visit their page here: http://zionsgateboys.weebly.com
