It's Christmas in Honduras!

Those keep up with what I do here in Honduras know that I have so much love in my heart for Asmin and Anderson. They’re my babies, and while I would never claim to be their mom, I’m their mom away from home while their real mom isn’t in a place care of them.

 I love them to death, but I also love their family: their three sisters, mom, grandma, and uncle. This whole year, I’ve been in Los Pinos every week discipling, sharing a meal, loving them to the best of my ability, and doing life with them.

This being my first Christmas in Honduras, I was so excited to not only give Asmin and Anderson a great Christmas, but also to do something special for their family. I don’t know exactly what Christmas looks like in their home, but this is a family that on any given day doesn’t have sufficient food to keep the children healthy, so I can only imagine that it looks way different than any Christmas I’ve ever had.

I decided I want to celebrate Christmas with the family, and to have Asmin and Anderson go shopping for their family. We went out to go shopping for everyone, and it went well, but I now realize what I’m sure any mom anywhere already knows: don’t take two young kids to a toy store right before Christmas and tell them they can’t buy for themselves, only for someone else. So we talked a lot about sharing and giving, and they ended up picking some really good gifts. One moment will stick with me though. When I was trying to get ideas of what to buy for their mom, I asked them what does your mom need, what does she not have in the house. Anderson thought for half a second, and then said “Comida!” (food). He’s 8 years old and his first Christmas gift idea is food, so his mom and sisters can have a meal on Christmas. So we bought the girls dolls, toys, a portable stovetop for the mom, and a big basket of food. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon, and God used these gifts to bring His joy into their lives that day. 

In the words of the grandma, “siempre benediciones.” (always blessings). God has so many blessings to pour out on this family, and every single one of us. I think most people that read this blog, myself included, are so blessed that we have never once had flour, spaghetti, beans, rice, oatmeal, eggs, etc. on our Christmas list. I know that Anderson and Asmin’s family will have food on the table this Christmas, but there are so many that wont. I just pray that everyone has an incredibly blessed Christmas, and remembers that this is a big world with lots of stories, and Christmas looks way different for different people. Because of Anderson’s words and a lot of realities that I didn’t understand a year ago, but that are now right in front of me, this is a Christmas that will change my perspective forever!