Last day at the Children's Home

Wow, where to begin...

Today was an emotional roller coaster. I can think of no other way to describe it. I will do my best, but I know that words cannot do justice for some of today's events.

It started with a lot of hard work by our Ridge team and I can report that the fence is done. Well, at least as done as it can be. We finished cementing the remaining posts and helped put up the chain link to connect it. We had some mechanical difficulties and unfortunately there was a large tree that was growing straight across the line of the fence. It took longer to cut down than we anticipated which cut our progress a little short. But after many, many shifts with an axe our team was finally successful. The guys here will finish up the last little bit and the fence will be a huge improvement for the property. Everyone was excited to be done with work and pleased with our accomplishments this week.

After working, we had siesta and some of us spent this time with the kids from the feeding program. There is a group that visits the home twice a month and they led the kids in an activity. Dilia told me that this group provides produce for the feeding program and sometimes brings the kids things like toothbrushes and other necessities.

Once the children left, we piled into the smaller bus with our food that we purchased on Monday to deliver six packages to local families. Our packages contained dry goods, a whole chicken, a watermelon, and an assortment of toiletries. We drove into one of the poorest areas where the roads are narrow, with deep ruts, and many could not be navigated by the bus. A stream of water runs alongside in what we would consider a gutter in America. Here in Honduras, this 'gutter' was a two foot wide trench with a putrid stream of water constantly running through it. It contained trash and other unpleasantness. To cross this into their homes, families have a board to walk across if they are lucky.

Our first stop was to a family that recently lost their home due to rain. It was an old mud hut and the roof collapsed, leaving the family with a small piece of land and little else. When we arrived the construction of a new hut was underway but it is obvious that this will take time. After praying with this elderly man, who was our friend Alex's grandfather, we then continued onto an area where most of our feeding program kids live.

The stories of the families connected to the feeding program were tragic and this is where the blog cannot express the emotions felt by our team. One woman recently lost her husband when a group of masked men raided their home, taking him away and murdering him, leaving her alone to care and provide for many small children. Another woman recently lost her son in a tragic accident. He was part of the feeding program which hits especially close to home for us. Some of the other families have a home of some kind, but no belongings inside - not even a bed to sleep in. None of the homes we stepped foot in were larger than a single car garage and most were constructed from mud and sticks. To reach them, we had to navigate up steep alleys that were even rockier and more rutted than the streets. One home we visited belonged to a woman who only had one leg. She lived in the highest and most isolated hut along her alley and I am amazed at the spirit this woman must have to live this way.

The encounter that was probably the most powerful for the team was also the one that was not planned by us. But God always has a plan and knew what we needed to see - leading us where He intended. One of the women we had delivered a package to came and found us farther along in our journey. She asked if we would come and pray for a man she knew who was ill. We had no idea what to expect but gladly agreed. Upon arrival at the hut, we found a bed ridden man who was paralyzed from the waist down. He had fallen from a tree three years before and now had two children who helped care for him. We prayed over him and took a collection of money among the group to help provide for him. We were told that he had accepted Jesus and the people of his church come to get him every Sunday and take him to service. The path to his door is steep and rutted just like everything in this area and I cannot imagine the amount of work required to get the man in and out. But I praise Him for providing this man the opportunity to worship.

Tonight, we helped the kids with their Bible tabs and took many photos. We are leaving the children's home in the morning for a day of rest and unfortunately we cannot take the kids with us. This meant we had to say good bye which was hard for everyone. Tomorrow we will spend the night in San Pedro Sula so that we can catch our early flight out on Friday morning. Today was a day full of emotion, but really the entire week has been a life changing experience. None of us will ever be the same after witnessing the events of the week and I pray that we will continue to share our experience with others. He has given each of us a gift and it cannot stop with us.