Honduran Reunion

“… We had read the statistics before… and they were staggering. Millions of orphans in Africa, a number that is rising dramatically as a result of the AIDS crisis that is currently taking the lives of moms and dads across the sub-Saharan plain. Millions of orphans in Asia, many if not most of whom are destined for lives in crimes and prostitution if they are not adopted. Millions of orphans in Europe, Latin America, and the United States.

As overwhelming as these numbers were to us, I have to admit they were still just numbers to us before we traveled… It’s not that we didn’t care… But the numbers still seemed distant, removed from our daily life…

But everything changed when we made our first trip to the orphanage… We saw children playing outside. We walked past their rooms inside. Suddenly those numbers on a page came alive in our hearts.

We realized that it was Christian and Jeffri who were sleeping in one of those cribs, and it was Alison and Osman who were included in those numbers. All at once the numbers became real and personal.

We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces.

It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.”
(Direct quotation from David Platt’s Radical, with Honduran children’s names substituted)


Everything changed. Indeed, it did. This time last year, we believed we were finishing our work at the New Life Children’s Home in Jalaca, Honduras. When we returned to Columbia, South Carolina, we were different people. Those orphans’ eyes gazed into our dreams; those sweet voices captured our hearts. 

Yet, the mission continued. Just last week, we returned. 
Twenty-six men, women, teenagers and children traveled from Spring Valley Baptist Church last Saturday morning at 2:00 a.m. to catch a plane to one of the most extreme airports in the world. We navigated through customs, praying that our limited Spanglish would suffice, before taking suitcase upon suitcase to the children’s home. Over 150 new Spanish reading books for the library, more new Spanish Bibles to distribute, hairbrushes and shampoos, toothbrushes and toothpaste, school supplies, birthday gifts, shower curtains and socks, diapers and medicines, hair clips and sports equipment, even brand-new shoes for every single child! God miraculously worked throughout Columbia and our church members those last few days – and He abundantly provided! The focus of our mission this year involved major work projects around the complex (among them - building another house for the girls), Bible stories and experiences with the children themselves, and the feeding brigade. We could not wait to get our arms around those precious children we so lovingly remembered – as well as those sixteen new children who had joined the family. Ten of the new ones were preschool age – and brought along their older brothers and sisters. What an amazing family God has created at the New Life Children’s Home.

Once again, we were the recipients and witnesses of miracle upon miracle. One more time. And, once again, you can expect to read about our miracles in the days and weeks to come…