HONDURAS

Finally I am taking the time to write about our awesome adventure in Honduras.  When Kai first said he wanted to go with our church's children's program to Honduras I really did not want him to go.  He has only been in this country for 2 years I thought.  He is still adjusting to this culture and this language.   He doesn't need a trip to Honduras to further complicate his life.  But I guess God had other plans.  

Our trip to Honduras was one of ministry for kids with kids. A small team of 5 children in 5th and 6th grade and 4 adults  shared Bible stories, songs, crafts and games.  I was so excited to share the stories of David and Goliath and Daniel in the Lions Den because they show the power and presence of God so well.  I decided to share in Spanish to save the kids having to listen through a translator.  I’m fairly proficient in Spanish, but it was a hard and humbling task for me.  When I teach in English I will often interject with thoughts or other scripture that pertains as the Lord leads, but I can’t do that in Spanish and it was frustrating.  Sometimes I wondered if it was worth it and if it wouldn’t just be better for the kids to hear the stories translated in perfect Spanish.  But I just felt it was a good way to get their attention and also to relate to them.

Here is Kai with Morgan and Dan during our pretrip preparation(Dan is another adult member of the team--Kai is on his shoulders in this picture) Fortunately for Dan we only needed Goliath to appear once in the 90+ degree heat!

Children from a rural school with their lion puppets

We were in Honduras with CURE International.  CURE is a non profit agency that seeks to help the world's poorest children and their families by providing medical care for surgically treatable ailments such as club foot and cleft pallet to name a few.  They also provide spiritual counsel, love and treatment for the whole family.  Some patients have said their experience with the hospital in Honduras is the first time they have felt loved and valued by those in authority.  

We sang songs and shared games and stories and gifts with the kids:

We also visited a Nutrition center where children are brought who are not thriving.  Here they are cured of intestinal parasites and given nutritional meals 3 times a day.  To see the photo album of before and after shots was amazing.  

I got to hold and feed a little girl who was there to get strong before she was operated on for cleft pallet.  Although she was 7 months old I felt the need to support her wobbly head.  However malnourished she appeared physically I really felt in holding and interacting with her that she had been loved and attended to in her short life.  She made good eye contact and seemed really interested in what was going on around her.  I’d love to see her in another 7 months with her surgery completed, healthy,  and back home with her mom!  About 50% of these children are able to go back to their families, who are given training in nutrition and health.  Sadly, the rest end up in orphanages.  There is currently no international adoption in Honduras.

Most of our ministry was done in schools.  It was so much fun to work with the children and see our team kids interact and play and share their stories of God's power in their lives.  The most awesome gift came in the testimony of a 15 year old school girl.  I had shared how God had answered prayers and provided for us  during our adoption of Sarah-Grace and asked if one of the students had a similar account they could share of God’s goodness. This sweet young girl came to the mike and shared a heartfelt and beautiful personal testimony as well as a theologically accurate gospel presentation sharing with all her classmates how sin separates us from God, but in his love he has made a way for us to come back to Him through Jesus Christ’s death. 

Honduras is a beautiful country:

With beautiful people and beautiful places:

Good fellowship and good food:

There was also much sadness in ministering in Honduras.   From meeting the young mom with the paralyzed infant and the couple with the dying baby to the garbage in the streets and the shanty towns I often felt as though there was nothing much I could do against such hopelessness.  But again, God was good.  In my devotional time God gently reminded me that this life we live in the flesh is not our final end.  Here is just one of the verses from Isaiah chapter 35

       “And the ransomed of the LORD will return. 

       They will enter Zion with singing; 

       everlasting joy will crown their heads. 

       Gladness and joy will overtake them, 

       and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

While no one person or program can solve all the problems, deprivations and sorrows of poverty the Person of Jesus Christ is certainly enough hope and future for all individuals.  

Kai and I at the Maya ruins in Copan on our recreational day.