Today is my 24th birthday. This time next year I will be in Honduras loving on children and serving the people of this culture my heart belongs in. I’m asking for people to give $24 today for my 24th birthday to go help me serve the people I’m called to serve this next year. Thank you for partnering to send me.
HONDURAS
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Geography: Honduras is bordered by Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. The country is mountainous with lush farmland in the basins and on the sides of the volcanoes. Coffee, bananas, corn, beans, and rice are the primary foods grown here. This is Central America. We will not want for good coffee or fruit.1
Size and Climate: Honduras is about the size of Tennessee.
The mountains are cool and comfortable and the lowlands are described as “oppressively hot and humid.”1 We will also be there during the rainy season unless we are on the Caribbean coast, which is rainy all year round. (The coast gets an average of 80″ of rainfall a year… that’s almost two times as much as we get in Atlanta.)
Language and People: Hondurans predominantly speak Spanish. I’ll be in my element here, although it will have been two years since I set foot on Spanish-speaking soil by the time I get back here. Let’s hope I didn’t forget too much…
97% of the country are Roman Catholic; again the challenge of the cultural knowledge of Jesus without necessarily owning it in their hearts.
Honduras is a little crazy right now. It’s one of the poorest countries in Latin America and has the highest murder rate in the world. It’s population of 8.5 million people are predominantly young and their population is projected to keep growing just like Guatemala. Their population pyramid looks like this:
Strong base, predominantly young people, growing really really fast. An average of 3 children are born to a mother of barely 20 years old and 60% of the population lives below the poverty line. Somehow the GDP per capita is $4,700, but if 60% of the population lives below the poverty line, there are some really rich people skewing those numbers. Slightly more than 4% of the country is unemployed, but about a third are underemployed, meaning they must work two jobs or don’t make enough where they currently work to sustain a family. 7% of the children are underweight and 16% of children under 14 are forced to work to help sustain their families. Nearly half of the adult population cannot read or write.
Why I’m Excited: I love this culture. I love these people. My heart is here. I will be seeing and serving the real Honduras, and arguably, the real Latin America while I’m serving here. There is a lot of poverty and internal stress in Honduras. Neither jobs, political peace, infrastructure, nor opportunity are enough on their own to fix what is so broken here. Honduras needs Jesus. I’m being asked to be Jesus to the people of Honduras. We all know “go into all the world and make disciples of all nations” but if you can’t go due to work, family, or other obligations, will you help send me? If everyone who looked at my blog gave $15 I would be fully funded. Click the SUPPORT ME tab above and help send me to love on the people of Honduras.
1 – http://geography.howstuffworks.com/central-america/geography-of-honduras.htm
2 – All other information from the CIA World Factbook for Honduras
