Back from Honduras!

I have been meaning to write for some time now about my recent trip to Honduras, but I have been going non-stop pretty much since I got home last Sun. around midnight! I really want to take a nap right now...however, I want to let all of you know about our time in Honduras. Today I actually got to share with the 7th, 9th & 10th grade girls in Sunday school so that was such a blessing! I'll try and break it down by day...here we go:

Day 1

Nate was so sweet and took Jeremy, Lisa & me to the airport around 3:45 a.m. and hung out with us for a bit before we went through security. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:40 a.m. so once we had boarded the plane they told us we would be a bit delayed because of the O2 tank. We sat on the plane for 1.5 hrs. (we had already missed our connecting flight in Atlanta by that point) and they finally announced they were de-boarding the plane because there was a leak in the O2 tank. We went to check with the ticket counter about a flight going out later in the day, but were told that Tegucigalpa isn't exactly a booming tourist destination this time of year so only 1 flight a day flew there. We were re-scheduled to fly out the following day at 5:40 a.m. The rest of the team that we were supposed to meet in Atlanta on Monday barely made their flight to Honduras because their flight from Birmingham to Atlanta was delayed. God is faithful though and they made it without incident:)

4 in the morning!

Lisa & Jeremy

Day 2

Nate again was a doll and repeated the same schedule of events as the day before to get us to our departure gate on time. We made it out of San Antonio and safely arrived in Houston, had a 3 hr. layover, then flew to Tegucigalpa. I will admit, I was a much bigger fan of the plane we flew on with Continental vs. our previous plane with Delta the day before...that's just a side note;) We arrived in Honduras, went through customs, were met by 2 of the men who work with Forgotten Children Ministries (both N. American), and headed to the mall for lunch. After lunch we stopped by the shelter (where we stayed the rest of the week) to drop off our luggage and headed to Grace Farm (where the team and boys were) about 30 min. from Tegucigalpa in Monte Redondo. We finally arrived at the farm around 3 p.m. or so on Tues., and everyone was outside just kicking soccer balls, throwing footballs & hanging out. We spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out with the team and getting to know some of the boys. After hanging out at the farm for the afternoon, we went back to the shelter with the younger boys, had dinner, sang songs and shared about the day's adventure.

4 a.m. - 2nd day in a row!

L & J stoked to finally leave!

Game time with the boys

My new friends - Deybi, Ever & Luis

Gina, Lucio, Jeremy & Lisa

Day 3

We started the day with breakfast, then went to the grocery store to buy food to give to those in need. We bought 60 bags of beans and rice, tons of milk, sugar and flour. We took the school bus to an area where there are "squatter" houses, which are pretty much wooden shacks that people construct to keep themselves and their families out of the elements. They sometimes house up to 10 - 15 people. Hoards of women and children came to where we had parked and got food and clothing for their families. I was also given the amazing opportunity to pray over the health of 2 of the women who had come - Marta and Suyapa. One of the translators, Danny, translated my prayer for them and it was incredible to see the Lord at work. We finished giving out the food and clothes, and when we had nothing left, we went to spend time with the older boys at the farm. We had "gringas" for dinner and they were delicious! It is a pretty well known food in Honduras, and one of our other translators, Katia was telling me about how good they were. She was definitely right about that! After dinner and games, we went back to the shelter to get cleaned up and to change for church that night. Stan - one of the founders of FCM - asked if anyone would be willing to give their testimony at church and also asked if anyone would like to sing. I was sort of volunteered by Jeremy and Lisa, but also felt like it was an amazing opportunity that I didn't want to miss out on. Stan and I talked and I decided to sing 2 of the songs that I had learned the year before in Spanish for our trip to El Salvador. Stan played the guitar for me while I sang and all I kept thinking about was how awesome it was that the Lord knew the year before when I was learning those songs, that He would use me to sing them in more than 1 country!!! How great He is! Jeremy & 2 others gave their testimony, as well, so it was a powerful night! We also had a fun ride back on the bus with some of the families we picked up to take to church and their adorable children!:)

Squatter house

A mother with her children

Precious little soul
Giving out food & clothes
Praying over Marta & Suyapa
Singing at church
Adorable cousins we met on the bus

Day 4

Our day began with breakfast, and after that we stopped by one of the barrios of one of the boys who used to be part of the ministry. He actually left Grace Farm to try and help his mother financially. It was one of the poorest neighborhoods I have seen. I had suckers that I was giving to the kids and they literally inundated me and started grabbing for the suckers saying: "Dame una paleta"..."Give me a sucker". I tried to ask them to wait and take one at a time, but literally, they did not understand the concept. These kids/families have NOTHING so if something is being given to them...they take it in desperation...almost panic mode, as if they won't get anything if they aren't very assertive about it. It makes sense though. When we ran out of what we had, we headed to Grace Farm again, played games with the boys and got to know them better.

Utter desperation

My boy David!:)
Finca Grace = Grace Farm

Day 5

The day was fast and furious because it was our last day in Honduras. We went down to the center of Tegucigalpa and got to experience some of the small shops and what-not to buy souvenirs. We spent the afternoon walking around and finished by eating lunch. We then went to Grace Farm to have a pizza dinner with all of the boys and say our goodbyes. I became friends with one of the boys, David, which was a little more difficult with the older ones since they aren't as apt to come up to you like the younger ones. You have to approach them. David (pronounced Dah-veed) and I got to be friends by playing baseball and making jokes so that was great! He is such a sweet boy and God laid him on my heart to sponsor him for the next year. I had also been praying about sponsoring my younger boy, Deybi, but was told that he had many sponsors right now so wasn't really any need of any more at this time.

Deybi!!!

My sweet David!

** The ministry of Forgotten Children is absolutely vital to these boys. I can't even put into words how bad it is because we will never in our lifetime see the kinds of things that go on there here in the US. Yes, there is poverty, yes there is violence, but it isn't even comparable to the darkness that is rampant in Honduras. Here are some stats I didn't even know until I got back from Honduras:

1 - Honduras is the 3rd poorest country in Latin America (74% are below the poverty line)

2 - There are 7 million people in Honduras, which is 1 million less than New York. New York has 600 homicides in 2006, Honduras had 3,000.

3 - In the last 17 years there have been 44,000 murders, 32,000 of them haven't been prosecuted or even had any arrests.

4 - Over 50% of the population of Honduras are 14 yrs. or younger

5 - There are 75,000 gang members vs. 14,000 police

FCM needs prayer....consistent, fervent prayer for the staff, the missionaries & the boys they are ministering to. Most of the boys have done drugs, stolen, been in jail, have been sexually or physically abused....it's the norm. It's sick & sad, but it's reality for the vast majority. Please please please stand in the gap for this ministry...it is desperately needed. You can also check out the website at www.forgottenchildrenministries.org.

Day 6

We said our final goodbyes to the young boys, got on the bus & left for the airport.

Lisa & I did not want to leave!

My last photo with Deybi before leaving
Honduras from the plane

You can't walk away from a trip like that and not be changed. God's heart is for the nations and each country I go to, He makes that more and more clear to me. We are called to be a light in the darkness & I am so thankful He chooses to use me to bring Him glory. Our God is an awesome God!

I sincerely thank you for your prayers & financial support. The Lord provided through you & I cannot thank you enough. If you want to see all of my pictures from Honduras you can check them out on my Facebook page. I have 3 albums so the links are:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031557&l=996f2&id=61800734

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031558&l=b7f7f&id=61800734

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031584&l=e3e06&id=61800734

En el amor de Jesucristo, Gina<><