Tegucigalpa

World Race rule number one is BE FLEXIBLE. We never know when we're going to have Internet, we don't know what we'll be fed, we don't know the next time we'll see a store of any kind, and we generally have no transportation beyond ministry. We live on minimal money. We meet new people of many races and have no clue what the Lord intends to do that day before He does it and often blows us away. We are amazed by the ways that He works in us and through us. Our homes are our tents and our beds are floor mats. We wear the same sets of clothing every single week or swap clothes to change things up. When someone needs to hear about Jesus or is sick and needs prayer, we circle around them as an army of warriors and lift them up before the Father. We make up songs and sing our favorites to the Lord throughout the day. Bus rides mean holding on for dear life as we're crammed with seventy people around us. We don't understand the foreign languages but communicate through our actions. We miss our family and friends and because of it grow deeper in relationship with Jesus and each other. With all this in mind, imagine my shock when my team and I were given the day off to find some Internet!

This is my life. I'm out here not because I desire to travel the world, but because I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good; and out of a calling that He's given me to spread His love, I'm here. I get home sick and I miss American conveniences, but…I believe that there is joy in following Jesus and leading the lost into His arms. I'm here because there is no doubt in my mind that God is a loving Father, so being in uncomfortable circumstances to share that Love with those in pain is worth it. As Rend Collective put it, "I've counted up the cost, and You are worth it".

Today I don't have a way to share many pictures on my blog, so I will write a separate blog just for pictures. I am with four teams this month, including my own. Each team has five to seven racers, and we operate like a family, helping each other grow in the Lord and doing outreach together. This month we are living at a ministry called "Zion's Gate". Tony and Nidia have nineteen street kids living with them there. Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, has an incredible number of gangs. As Tony was taking my team through the city, last week, he pointed to a magnificent church on a hill, and followed it up with the statement that he doesn't ever go behind it. In that district, he told us, white people are hated and many are murdered if they go there. So we turned off to the left and entered an area called "Los Pinos". In my mind, that was the name of the milk company we've been buying from for two months. In Tony's mind, however, it was his field. This is the poverty-stricken, gang-infested area that his kids came from. Many were living in dumpsters and hanging out with older boys who were giving them drugs when Tony met them. Nineteen guys and girls have decided to stay with Tony and Nidia now, but Tony wants more impact. So he goes into Los Pinos and just sits there, talking to whoever will come up to him. When he first arrived, he used to drive through the area with his window cracked just a little bit to let people begin to recognize him. It took a year-and-a-half of doing this before he was finally able to gain some trust.

As we drove through Los Pinos, I sat at the edge of my seat. I wanted to see what would happen when we arrived. Homes were lining the mountain-sides and people coming out of them were glaring at us. Or was that my imagination? We turned right. Tony explained that we had just entered Sector F, the most dangerous area in the country. I squealed inside with delight. Dark places are incredible because when we hold up His Light there, the contrast is undeniable. We have been given authority over darkness. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation. Love people, even in a dangerous place like this. His Love is our Light, so let it shine.

Check out my next blogs for more photos…