They’re Hungry.
In 2012, Honduras had 88 homicides per every 100,000 people.
The worldwide average was 8. This one statistic was good enough to mark Honduras as the
most dangerous country in the world.
A few years ago, there was a military coop and the president
of Honduras was thrown out of office, leaving the country bitterly divided and
rendered dangerous.
Recently, the Peace Corp withdrew all of their volunteers
from the country, a move that made national news in the United States.
It’s simply a well-known fact that Honduras is a dangerous
country.
But there is a hunger here. A hunger for God.
Gangs and drug cartels are a major problem here in Honduras.
But what’s most striking about the atmosphere of the gangs is this: the only
way out of a gang is to become a Christian. Once you give your life to God and
start going to church, the gang respects that and won’t touch you.
Another thing that struck me was a simple graffiti wall. The
wall was covered in profane images and words, but smack in the middle of it all
was a bible verse, painted in big bold letters. The verse took up half of the
wall at least. What was unique about this verse was that everything else had
layers and layers of graffiti, except this verse. This was the only area that
no one had dared write over. No one had dared cover up. It stood,
uncontaminated for a year and a half.
These people not only have a hunger for God, they have a
reverence for Him.
Out of everything that I have seen and heard so far, there
is one fact that stands above the rest. Simply put: the gangs here protect the Christian
missionaries. They PROTECT them.
Two stories illustrate this point. First, a man came to
speak to us from the government. One time, he went to this woman’s house to fix
something that was causing the air to be polluted and her health to decline.
When he arrived, four gang members were standing on each corner of the roof.
After a few minutes, they entered and shook his hand, telling him not to worry.
They had let the neighborhood know that no one was to mess with him because he
had come to help their mother. They were there to protect him.
The second story is a story not yet finished. The week
before we arrived, another World Race squad was staying here. On one of their
last days, they went into Los Pinos, the most
dangerous section of Tegucigalpa. While one girl was taking pictures, an
18-year-old named Ronald ran by and snatched her camera. The neighborhood threw
a fit. It was wrong to steal things, especially from missionaries who were
trying to do the community some good. A few days later, one of the storeowners
called Tony, our ministry contact, into his store and handed him the stolen
camera. He refused to mention how he’d gotten it back; he only mentioned the
seriousness of stealing from a Christian.
Tomorrow, our team is going back to Los Pinos. We are going to Ronald’s house. We’re going to
paint his house. Because he may not know it yet, but he has a hunger. A hunger for God and
a hunger for love. And we’re here to show him both.
So yes, Honduras is a violent country. Yes, it is dangerous.
Yes, there are more murders here than anywhere else in the world. Yes, the
poverty is great. But there’s a hunger and a reverence for God that I haven’t
seen anywhere else. Not in El Salvador. Not in Honduras. Not even in
the United States.
