We’ve been in Honduras for just over 2 weeks now so I wanted to share exactly where we are and what it is we’re doing here.
We’ve been placed at a ministry about an hour and a half outside of the capital city in Honduras called Heart of Christ. Heart of Christ orginated as an advocate and safe place for victims of sexual crimes in Honduras. The head of the ministry has a huge heart and passion for seeking justice for the underserved here, and the ministry has grown to also encompass a small children’s home. One of the unique features here is that the children’s home functions more like a large extended family because it is so small and has grown organically out of necessity.
The 12 children on site are a delight. They live, play, and go to school here so we see them all the time. I can’t officially speak for my team, but I feel safe in proclaiming, they have ALL stolen our hearts. Consequently, all of their stories also break our hearts as many of them were abandoned by their mothers (often just children themselves) who were once under protection here or rescued from bad situations. Our hearts broke when we heard the story of one two year old left to die on a mountain the night she was born. She, and all the children here are thriving now. It’s an interesting juxtaposition of the heartbreaks that stare us in the face everyday, yet the joy of how they were saved and are now loved and safe.
Day to day looks different for each of us depending on what job we’re assigned to. Everyday we have one person on “house duty”—they help with cooking and cleaning for the 20+ people now on site. We’ve spent several full days caring for the children, as trainings for the staff have taken place. We have gone out into the surrounding villages to pray and share the gospel. A couple of us have helped with media and a new website. And we have been helping in the construction process of the new children’s home on site that is nearing completion. There has been lots for us to do and we will continue to be busy throughout the rest of our time here. No matter the assigned job for the day it’s always our responsibility and honor to share as much love with the children and staff here as we can.
Our living space is great, but a little rustic. There is no running water and all water for showers, cleaning and flushing toilets is collected in rain barrels. That means the time honored World Race tradition of bucket showers is alive and well here. [Future World Racer it might behoove you to find room in your pack for a pocket shower. Just sayin ] We’re in a very rural area and it’s not uncommon for us to see cattle pulling carts, neighbors on horseback, and other free roaming animals. (Literally, we moved out of the way for a herd of cattle during village ministry and beckoned two piglets to come closer later that day.)
As I referenced in my previous blog we do have limited electricity and WiFi onsite but it is out often. Today for example the power and internet was out from 8am to about 4:30pm and as of right now (6pm) the internet is still out. Considering before we arrived I didn’t think we would even have it internet this is really a minor inconvenience and a reminder of how scarce WiFi is in the third world.
To be completely transparent it’s been a challenging month in many ways, but also a really good month. Our hosts care for us well, and the work we are doing is fulfilling in the moment. We know where both planting seeds and continuing a long legacy of racers before us. All is well with us, we are challenged here as individuals and as a team.
Here are some ways you can be praying with us:
- Physical, emotional, and spiritual health…the weather is rainy and sporadic. We are contained with children, we’ve all been fighting some sort of cold in addition to the trials our body takes on changing countries every month. We’ve been hit hard physically this month as a team and an emotional toll has been taken as well. (Nothing serious, just persistent)
- Pray for the twelve children here. That they always feel the love of Christ around them and continue in good health. Many of them have been abandoned but because of a backlog in the Honduran child welfare system the process to declare them so and get them adopted has been held up.
- Pray for the staff, there are two new staff members and several who have been here for awhile. Pray that they continue to have a heart for the children here and are filled in their rest days.
- Pray for Gracie and Papi Lee that they continue to have a heart for the people and children of Honduras. That they are always safe and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Thank you for taking the time to read. I can’t tell you how appreciative I am of your continued support and I’m constantly in awe of it. I couldn’t be here without generous donors and I’m almost 75% funded. I still need about $4,000 to stay on the field through the end of June. Would you prayerfully consider joining me by making a one time or monthly donation of any amount? If you are interested or have question feel free to reach out to me. I love answering your questions. All donations are tax deductible, just click on the “Donate Now” button at the top of the page.
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Here are some pictures, sorry they are not in the body, but blogging from my iPhone limits my formatting abilities.
On the way to the chicken party…what is that you ask? They slaughter their own chickens once a week. We’ve witnessed two of these parties So far.
Rachael and I discussing very important painting concerns.
Cattle herd we came across during village ministry.
Piglets…so cute.
