Mission: Honduras – Day 4

Although our day today was spent in worshipping with our Honduran brothers and sisters, something else happened that has motivated me to focus this post on children.

The children out in LaCienega are not consumed with wearing the latest stylish clothes, or where they want to eat fast food for supper, or having the latest video system/game.  So, in that way, I believe the children of LaCienega are to be envied.  They haven’t been contaminated by the world like most of our children in the U.S.

What the children do enjoy is laughing, having fun, and receiving attention from “the Americans.”  As hard as it may be to believe, they enjoy “toe-sack races” immensely.

The hillsides echoed all afternoon on Saturday as the children were introduced to this game that children in the U.S. used to play fifty years ago.  They even find discarded boxes entertaining!

But not all children in Honduras are as fortunate as these.  Many in the capital city, Tegucigalpa, find themselves in desperate situations.

This is 9-year-old, Norman.  A bright child with an even brighter smile.

But Norman’s life has not always looked this way.  He has known some very, very dark times.  When he was two years old, he and his sister were found alone in a house.  Their mother had abandoned them, for how long no one knows for sure.  There was no food in the house.  Norman was so hungry that he was eating his own bodily excrement.

At that moment, caring christians swooped in and whisked Norman to safety and placed him in Jovenes En Camino, a home for homeless boys.

Our mission team went to visit the boys this afternoon.  There are 63 boys living there currently and all have similar stories to Norman’s.  But now, because of the grace of God, these boys lives have hope for their future, a future that they could never have dreamed of.

It’s very humbling to me to see how this home has grown.  I was part of a group that worked on the facility years ago, before there were any dormitories or boys living there.

All of the boys are taught a trade – carpentry, welding, plumbing – or are given the opportunity to attend a university to further their education.

If you would like to help sponsor a child or to learn more about Jovenes En Camino, this a link to their website.  They also have a Facebook page.