Honduras Day 3

The first stop of the day was a girls halfway home, a safehouse for girls who had special needs, and those who were abandoned, abused (including raped), and those who chose to be in there rather than out on the streets.  There were 5 single mothers, as young as 13, and one pregnant girl as well.  We began by performing some praise songs and concert pieces for them, giving short testimonies in between each song.  The best part of the morning, however, was not our songs, but the worship that we participated in with them.  They sang several familiar songs (in spanish) like “From The Inside Out” and “Came To My Rescue” which were really touching.  Despite the language barrier, we were able to sing in our own language, and worship the same God.  Many of us mentioned that this was the best part of the trip so far.  These girls are able to relate to the lyrics “Everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades” a lot more than someone like me, who has not gone through half as much as these kids have.  After connecting with these girls, we toured the facility, painted their nails, wrote letters, and fellowshipped more with the girls.

  A great opportunity was our second stop, The Genesis Center.  This 10-acre plot of land was used before Orphan Helpers, but abandoned.  The government gave Orphan Helpers the chance to use this land, which already had buildings and a few furnishings.  We were able to tour this future center and could envision the potential plans for the center.  The Genesis Center will include an elementary and junior high school, along with vocational studies.  It will provide multiple dormitories and buildings, including a clinic, and will be able to support 300 kids in maximum capacity.  However, Orphan Helpers is still in great need of labor and materials in order to finish the center and open it up for its first occupants.  Being able to tour this center firsthand and envisioning the children’s success, we cannot help but wish we could stay longer to provide some workforce.  (We’re already talking about a second trip with labor as priority, crazy huh? must be the humidity...)  And to finish off the tour, we found a gymnasium with crazy acoustics.  We were able to take the time to sing (and record) two of our songs, which sounded AMAZING in there... we’re talking heavenly.  Then we were off to El Carmen. 

We finally arrived at the final stop of the day.  We stepped into a dimly lit hallway wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. A line of boys ranging from the ages of 13 to 18 sat along one wall as we entered. We were in a boys detention center, a stop on the mission trip that all of us knew was coming but none of us knew what to expect. Many of us were scared of the “what ifs.” But we had a secret weapon. Armed with several 3 liters of Coca-Cola along with cups full of ice, we knew that this was something that they were excited about. As we passed out the soda, thousands of thoughts flashed through our minds. “What is he in here for?” or “Will they even listen to what we have to say?” Not having much time to think, Eduardo (our guide) began to talk to the boys rapidly in Spanish (none of us in our group, besides Mrs. Pelletier of course, can speak it very well, but we are improving). After a few minutes, He asked Kayleigh and I to share our ages and what we enjoyed doing. Needless to say, it was hard enough to express just those few words let alone what he wanted us to do next. Eduardo then asked us to share our testimonies. Simple request, right? Wrong! I began to hear my heartbeat in my ears even though I knew this was coming. I will admit that I stumbled over many of my words but I was able to convey to these boys that we are all the same when it comes to our deserving of death due to our sin. I stopped every few seconds to listen to the wonderful translations which Eduardo gave; this gave me a second to think of what to say next. Kayleigh also shared her testimony a lot more cleanly then I was able to. Afterwards Eduardo opened it up to the boys to ask questions which they did. One question in particular struck me though. “Have you gone through trials since you accepted Christ?” We were able to express to them that we both had and that the devil was very active in trying lead God’s children away from Him. We also were able to convey that it is not what trials you may have in your Christian walk, but how you deal with them. I am sure that all of One Voice would agree with me when I say that none of the mistakes that we have made in our walks with the Lord are important but what’s important is the choices we make in the future. One thing I know without a doubt is that as long as I am here, I will continue to love every child or orphan I encounter and I will continue to share the message that God has commanded us each to go out into the world and share (Mark 16:15).

                                 -Kayleigh and Roberto

(Note:  Will publish Day 2 as soon as we can)