Honduras! Month two!
This month our whole squad (all 52 of us) are being hosted by one ministry – "Don't Miss the Opportunity."
Our host, Tony, bought a property that formerly housed the hottest bar in Honduras – the Cotton Club. It used to be the place to go for anyting and everything you could imagine. It was the home of not only drinking, partying and dancing, but also sex trafficking, drug deals and more.
But now through Tony, his wife and others, it's being transformed into a place of light, life and truth.
Tony and his wife work to get boys off of the streets in Los Pinos. They go after the kids that no one else wants. That others have given up on. These boys have been called
hopeless.
worthless.
trash.
But that's not what Tony and Nidia see in them. They see
POTENTIAL.
WORTH.
LIFE.
And as for what they call these boys… they call them
HIJO.
SON.
Though they have not formally adopted them, they treat them as their own. They pour into them. Show that they are trustworthy. Teach them what love is not by what they say, but by how they treat them. It is a blessing to have an inside audience to this adventure.
It's also been really cool to listen to Tony speak, both to the group and one-on-one. He is all about relationships. That is his first priority when it comes to ministry and other people. People first, projects second. His philosophy is that our projects are just an excuse to be here so that we can build relationships with people. I'm with him 100%.
If you know anything about central america, you know that time is much more fluid than it is in the states. We're always operating on "Honduran Time" which usually isn't the time you plan to meet, leave, or begin. And our squad is learning a lot about being patient, sitting in the middle of an opportunity that might seem like waiting on a late bus or a locked church, and finding ways to capitalize on the moment.
To build a relationship.
To take advantage of an opportunity.
It's a concept that can be tough for Americans, but has been really good for us. Try it. In the midst of your to-do list, your routine, your life, what opportunities are you letting pass you by? Slow down. Keep your eyes open. Pour into the people around you. It's better that way.
