Honduras: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth?

Recent news articles have named Honduras as the "bloodiest nation in the world" and say that it is currently the "most dangerous place on earth" but before we take these reports completely to heart, let's do some soul searching:

       In June 2009 an uprise occurred within the democracy of the Honduran government and President Manuel Zelaya was escorted out of his home in the middle of the night wearing his pajamas. Overnight, the media expanded the story into much more than it was recounting tales of war and violence on the dirty streets of Honduras. Unbeknownst to them before, the American people now became aware of what and where Honduras was and suddenly became educated on the situation: in a coup d'état the people had overthrown their government, rioting and havoc are characteristic of the country, United States citizens were going to be pulled out, the country is too unstable to let anyone in or out, etc. These events caused the UN to condemn the country and forced Honduras to temporarily withdrawal themselves from under the protective wing of the UN. Since 2009, the UN has not allowed the Honduran president to be an active member of decision-making committees/processes or make requests on behalf of the Honduran people. Since this confusion started in 2009 the country has seen violence, murder rates and drug trafficking activity skyrocket.
         I challenge you to step one foot into the horrific monster of a country, as so it's portrayed by international media, talk with the people for 5 minutes and you'll see the story for its true worth. The former president was ousted in 2009 as a desperate, last attempt to save their country from the president's dictator-like tendencies. Zelaya's foreign policy was ruled by the Honduran government to be illegal and his close friendships with Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and Raúl Castro of Cuba worried politicians in Honduras and the allied Latin American countries. Zelaya was warned and advised against these alliances, but upon his attempt to unlawfully change the country's constitution, the Honduran Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for Zelaya and the military was ordered to bring him in before he attempted to escape.
       As I compared U.S. and Honduran media coverage of the situation I quickly understood why I had begun to receive calls and emails questioning my safety in Honduras. The U.S. media, fed information by Chávez's people, was blowing the situation out of proportion. The riots and chaos that frequented American T.V. screens was not of regular occurrence in the country, nor had it enveloped the country as had been portrayed. The turmoil was centered on a single street in the capital, the rest of the country, while concerned for the integrity of their government, went on with life as usual. 
       CNN Presents aired a 30min segment on the problems of violence in Honduras and Guatemala called Narco Wars in January. I watched as the CNN reporter walked the same streets that I have walked and reported all that he saw only able to interpret it from his personal experience, void of any cultural understanding. His coverage only revealed the worst of the country and its people, small things such as recess locations for students and barred windows were misunderstood and twisted to fit different meanings, and I listened to his mistranslations as he spoke with people on the street. Once again, the U.S. media failing to portray things correctly and appropriately. 

       Extreme poverty and illiteracy are at their highest in Honduras and people desperate to stay alive have been caught up in the drug traffic that runs through their country's main ports. For this reason I am not denying that there is violence in Honduras and I am not denying that the amount of violence has risen in recent years but I am quick to defend the innocent people, those suffering most from this outcry against their nation. To step off of a plane and onto Honduran soil does not signify immediate mugging, rape, murder, or other life threatening violence. Just as there are certain neighborhoods that you wouldn't walk into or people that you wouldn't get involved with in the United States because of the dangers they could bring to you, so it is in Honduras. Approximately 25% of the country's population resides in the country’s two major cities; the other 75% in predominantly rural areas are not prone to everyday violence.
       So before you cancel your mission trips, pull out your Peace Corps volunteers, and get refunded on your family vacations, take a second look at what's really going on and be smart in where you go and what you do. Their status as an impoverished nation has not changed and in this time of heightened violence and pain is when God's children need Him the most, to be shown that there is hope for something greater. Instead of giving up on these beautiful, helpless people and allowing the devil to discourage our efforts, shouldn't we continue to be a beacon of light in a world of darkness?

What Does Your Measuring Stick Look Like?

    Whether it be monetary wealth, wealth of intelligence and knowledge, wealth of friends and family or wealth in leisure, abundance is our measuring stick for success. It's a cycle that never ends, sucking in everyone and everything along its path. As a part of today's society, everyone of us longs to be successful and every time we think we've reached success, someone else trumps us, putting us back into the race to fight some more only to be disappointed all over again. We are aware of the consequences of our actions and the likelihood that we will never be the best or the most of anything, but we continue on through the blood, sweat and tears.
    Why then is it so hard for us to give up? Why is it so unpopular to sit back, relax, let it go and measure our success by other standards?
    In the Christian life we are asked to think in the opposite direction. Christ directs us to go against the grain, to not conform to the ways of the world and to not adapt to their ways of thinking, all of which seem to point towards a hopeless cause. But it doesn't have to be if our goals are based on other foundations. Success is not abundance in the way that the world refers to it, but an unseen heavenly abundance. When we break out of the worldly cycle, we focus less on ourselves and our achievements and more on Christ and the blessings that we receive from Him, to no credit of our own.
    Why then is this seemingly 'easy' plan so difficult to follow? Because as we take a hold of this concept and force our way through the crowd, with every step we are confronted and challenged, told to turn around and go with the flow. But if we turn our eyes upon the one who knows what success truly is, we will get through all of the pushing, shoving and suggesting of others and end up on the other side with something that is immeasurable.
    A values centered life, in a world that is constantly measuring us, is one founded on Jesus Christ.

Community

An ideal community would be just that: a community. A place where people help each other stand up instead of pushing them down to get ahead; a place where people work together instead of against each other; a place where people realize that the consequences of their actions not only effect them, but those around them as well; a place where people know their neighbor’s name; and a place where there is always someone to rely on. No, an ideal community is not like Pleasantville, one of wary perfection, because in perfection there is no room for growth. An ideal community is one of hardship and triumph, happiness and sadness, and selfless service.

In an ideal community, people would be conscientious of the world around them, aware of the suffering and pain going in far away places, not allowing themselves to just stand by and let the world turn. Life wouldn’t have to be so hard; it could be cushioned by the reliability of the family and friends around us. Instead of hoarding our monetary and intellectual wealth we would share it in whatever form suits each particular situation. We would invest our time into teaching the poor how to escape from their current realities and how to create new ones; and orphaned children would be feed both food and knowledge and be given the opportunity to be wanted and loved.

The existence of such a community would be based not upon the increasing individualism of our reality today, but upon the simplicity of a world without disruptive media. Morals and values would be upheld and played out in every day life and selfless service would not come out of obligation, but out of want and desire to help their fellow neighbor.

Churches and community centers would be a main focus. In these centers, soup kitchens would be organized, homeless would be housed, abandoned children would be cared for and counseling would be offered for those wanting to be heard. Different community service projects would always be on schedule, as well as classes on how to organize your finances, find and keep a job, and other life skills.

Such centers do exist today, but are in low attendance. In an ideal community, this would be the center of the community, the home base for neighborhood barbeques and town hall meetings, linking each member of the community into the web of diverse individuals.

This sense of community would not be exclusive, but inclusive, with its members yearning to spread their knowledge and care. It would be regular practice for these community centers to become a mobile community that would not only focus on its local members but also on potential members of other worlds; giving them the opportunity to experience a sense of belonging within their local communities.

Everyone would be of unique importance, with no one overlooked or forgotten. Absences would be noticed, because of each individual’s role in the community; in hardships, an individual would know that they are not alone and would have others to turn to; family units would be pertinent, the birthplace of morals, values and service; and religion would be a part of daily life.

A community like this may seem life a far stretch compared to the world we live in today, but it wouldn’t have to be if we focused more on the sharing message of Christ instead of our individual motives. Fortunately many of the aspects of this community do exist, but apparently not simultaneously. But that is not to say that we can’t continue to do our part in moving forward towards such a community: a place where poverty can be overcome with the power of community and selflessness.

Where Art Thou Satisfaction?

What does it mean to be satisfied?
What do you base your satisfaction on?

Think about this:
What would happen to our personal levels of "satisfaction" if we were to stop focusing on only ourselves and what we want, and started focusing on others, putting others before ourselves and serving our family and friends around us?!

Try it.

Eres Bella

Dear Friend,
I can't say I know how you feel.
I can't say I understand.
I can't tell you it will be better,
But in the storm, I promise to hold your hand.
Broken is what you are, I can't do anything to fix that.
Pain is ever present, I can't make it go away.
All the love in the world can't make time go back
But you're still loved - You're beautiful anyways!
I don't know where to go from here.
I don't know what to say.
I wish you knew that I love you,
and that your beauty still remains.
Damaged is what you may feel, but He can mend the soul.
Hurt is in your heart, but He can make you whole.
All the love in the world is nothing compared to His.
His arms are open wide.
My friend, you are beautiful
I just wanted to let you know.
Don't let the world tell you differently
For the blame is not yours to tow.
Let Jesus carry your heavy heart,
I'll be right here by your side.
Call me whenever you need me,
It doesn't matter, day or night.

Te quiero mucho, aunque no lo sabes y por eso me duele pensar en tu dolor. La unica cosa que se hacer es orar a Jesús nuestro y es lo que estoy haciendo, fervientemente. En sus ojos é en los míos, por siempre sos bella, no importa las circunstancias. No lo dejes cambiarte... segui confiando en Dios. Con mucho cariño, te quiero, te quiero, te quiero.

With all my love,
Mandy

48 x too much = ???

48... that's a comfortable number to fit in the little bus. 7 seats on each side, roughly two to a seat, sounds about right, we should be good.
Tonight is a special night. We are picking up kids and their families (those that want to go) to go to the church for the final program of F.L.A.G. Camp. It's a night where all of the kids, who have been going to camp all week long, have the chance to share what they have learned with their family and friends; a very big witnessing opportunity.
As the sky grows dark, we noisily rumble up the mountain, coming up over the hill, 10 sparkling eyes, contently following the bus as it squeaks to a stop. O Good! I'm glad that this family came. I wonder if any other families will come?
We continue on, picking up this kid here and that kid there. Before long, I turn around and a small crowd has gathered by now in the bus.  Nothing too serious, we'll be fine, maybe a little squished...
Two kids turn into four, small families, become larger. The bus is filling, quickly. Will we all fit?
It's gotten to the point now, I think we might have to start turning people away... would Jesus turn people away?... should I just get out and walk?... I'm one person, it's not going to make that much of difference.
We finally arrive at the bottom of the mountain. Not physically being able to turn around, I have to rely on the mirror to see the sea of people standing, sitting and squatting behind me. All of us awkwardly invading the personal space of another.
At the church, I step off of the bus, hot, sticky, drenched in my sweat and that of others. I want to see just how many people we got on this bus.
1 honduran, two hondurans, three hondurans, four...
five hondurans, six hondurans, seven hondurans, more!...
We counted for a number of minutes. I like math, but this was nothing to be solved by an equation, it was pure magic: 116 sweaty people stepped off of that small bus meant for 48!!
On the return trip we took a normal, long bus. Even in the big bus we were packed, people standing in the aisles, definitely still invading the personal bubbles of their neighbors.
On our way back up the mountain, I stood at the front of the bus in awe, shock and unbelief, not quite understanding how we had managed to fit all of these people on the first, much smaller bus!
Discussing it later we could only come to one conclusion: Heavenly Intervention!
I don't know if the bus suddenly became elastic or we all got magically skinnier, or neither of the two, but there was a definite hand of power.
Whether God touched each and every one of those 116 hearts in the church that night, only He knows, but His presence was without a doubt revealed and His power once again un-measureable!

Agape Feast Feeds Thousands

This week was the last week of school. Everything was hectic as usual, with chores to be done, food to be made and most importantly, exams to be studied for. With all of the chaos surrounding us, I came up with the idea of an Agape Feast. It seemed to be a good way to bring not only the crazy week to an end, but also the school year and of course, a peaceful way of bringing in the Sabbath.
It had been in preparation all week, different ideas churning in my head, trying to figure out the best way to attack the situation. After a interesting week, a couple shopping trips to San Pedro and a lot of time spent in the kitchen, it was time! The food was ready with a full on spread of breads, fruits, vegetables, crackers and spreads. It was exciting, something a new experience to share with my Honduran family. Everything was perfect, nothing missing. Even the tables were set up just the way I wanted!
On Friday nights it is the schedule to have vespers first with dinner following. The song service for vespers was great, the participation excellent, everything was going as planned!
While the short devotion was being given, without notice, they started coming. First one, two... that's not too bad, it's ok.... three, four, five... a little more than I would like, but no worries... six, seven, eight... hmmm we're going to have to change something... nine, ten... yikes... eleven, twelve! Twelve visitors, twelve people uncounted for. Twelve extra people that I had to figure out how to feed. In preparing for our special Agape Feast, it had never occurred to me that guests might come. Because the food was so special and more expensive than normal, an exact amount had been bought and prepared, there was no way we could feed 12 extra people!
Vespers ended and I quickly went into the kitchen, coldly calculating my next move. I started sending out trays of food, telling the kids to put one of each on each plate, starting with the guests, each time looking at the tray and knowing good and well that there was no way there was enough for 70 some people.
Then a miracle started happening! One by one the kids started coming back, but instead of telling me they had run out, they diligently reported that there were extras! I couldn't believe my eyes, I was in shock. While sitting in vespers I had counted and recounted that food, it was impossible!
In the end there was plenty to eat, so much so that there seemed to be an epidemic of fullness throughout the entire hogar after the meal was done. To say the least, the feast was a big hit and a lot was gained from experiencing it.
Reflecting on it later I realized that this was my version of the well-known two fish, five loaves story. God had created a miracle right before my very eyes! Who was I that I should deserve such an honor? So maybe the Agape Feast didn't feed thousands, not even hundereds, but the fact that a miracle took place is what's most important, the most incredible part about the whole night!
That's the second time this week that God has personally come down and worked in the kitchen with us! He sure must like to cook! haha
What's on the week next week God?...