Just a little preview...

Alright guys, I’ve never really blogged before, but I feel like that’s going to be the easiest way to share what’s going on in Honduras this summer with everyone. And I really do think it’s important that people hear about God’s work through Tony’s ministry.  I'll be leaving for Honduras May 23rd for two months, and I'll try to update weekly-ish. But first, a little intro in case I haven't bombarded you with all these stories already.

Last summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend two months with Tony Deien, his wife Nidia, and their ministry with kids off the street, particularly from an area of Tegucigalpa called Los Pinos. I had the privilege to serve side by side with them and love the boys who they were involved with.  Now living with a bunch of teenage boys is never easy, especially when they’ve grown up in an environment with little love and in an environment where they have to always keep up a strong front and fight for everything they have. Many of these kids are living with little to no parental involvement, whether it’s because their father has directly told them they don’t want to be involved or because their mom is living in the dump to find a living instead of in their house. Some have been abused, many have done drugs, and they’ve all grown up in a community run by gangs where fear, I can only imagine, must be an everyday thing. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see a boy, so incredibly young that he looks no older than 10, high out of his mind on paint thinner. Or to hear about a boy who had met with Tony, and was thinking of trying to turn his life around, that had been killed when he tried to rob someone on the street. And it’s crazy to think that there are so many faces, so many stories out there that I have never and will never meet, with stories just as heartbreaking.  If you look into the situation with wordly eyes, then yeah, there probably is little to no hope of injecting love, freedom, and life into Los Pinos. But, Jesus. 

In a situation like this, there is literally only one way for change to ever occur and lives to change, and that answer is Jesus. I am so incredibly thankful for the work Tony and Nidia are doing in the city of Tegucigalpa. They introduce a love into these kids’ lives that they’ve never seen before. They do the physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting job of showing God’s love to these kids, every second of every day and in every situation, even when the boys may disrespect them, push them to their limits, or reject them and go back to the streets again. I can’t put into words how witnessing this love has changed my own life, but you’ll hear plenty about it in the coming months. They work with so many kids and its absolutely INCREDIBLE the changes in their lives already. I won’t tell you about each boy and each story now because there is so much to say, but again, you’ll hear plenty about them in the coming months. For now I’ll stop writing and leave you a few of the faces of Gods’ precious children that I absolutely can’t wait to see again. Pray over these faces guys, for their families and for their hearts.