back in honduras
My first week back in Honduras….was different. Instead of Siguatepeque, I was in the bustling city of Tegucigalpa, visiting two different ministries: Association for a More Just Society (AJS) and Christian Stewardship Ministries (MCM in Spanish). It is good to be back, but it is stressful trying to learn a new city—an errand to the bank takes an actual 2 minutes in the bank, but about 45 minutes of getting there in taxis, buses, walking, getting through the security guards with big machine guns….
AJS: Honduras changed from a dictatorship to a democracy in 1981. The evangelical churches are growing. So is violence, drastically. Why? It is a good question—but it was good to hear how AJS is working for justice, too. Right now, the police are starting a pilot program with AJS help, using some of the AJS strategies. AJS works in Nueva Suyapa, which used to be one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Tegucigalpa. Murders have fallen 80% since they started working there.
During this time, I saw my first dead and not prepared and fixed up by the mortician body today. A motorcyclist had been killed and not taken care of when we drove by. However, good to note that police were getting on the scene. Yet, this highlighted something that one of the AJS staff people had told me when I had asked him if he had noticed the differences in the increasing violence personally, or if he just saw the statistics. He replied that he is not shocked any more when he drives to work and sees a murdered body on the side of the road anymore. Oh.
Garden projects: I walked up red dirt “streets” that were ridiculously steep to visit two community gardens, in Los Flores and 19 de septiembre, two neighborhoods. Women gather together to plant the typical Honduran vegetables (plantains, cilantro, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, yucca, peppers, etc.) They walk 15 minutes up steep red hills to bring water to their gardens. The group in Los Flores begins work at 5 am each morning, well, after a time of prayer for their community.
On another day, I was able to visit their end of the year celebration. I was amazed at their sense of gratefulness for this chance, for the ability to receive basic food, for the blessings they have in the midst of their difficulties. The word I heard most was “blessed.” This is in a community with a huge amount of unemployment. 60% of the households are single mothers, who have the difficult choice of whether to work or leave their children alone in their house. More than 60% are below the poverty line.
Peace and Justice project: I went with a psychologist to house with children who have been sexually abused and removed from their families. Two are victims of trafficking, and the psychologist works with them specifically. At least two are pregnant, one appeared to be barely 11, and the other about 14 (the average age for a first pregnancy in Honduras is 15.3 years of age). One thing that stood out—the psychologist read the statistic in group therapy that 133 to 275 million children are abused in their houses. She proceeded to ask the group of girls sprawled out on the floor for their response. I was thinking, “This is a huge number!” However, to my surprise, the girls said it was so small a number, pocito. They said that there were a lot more cases—girls, children—that are not reported, and that this was a small number…..What have they seen and heard?
Gideon Centers: AJS has three legal and psychological aid centers situated in different communities. They emphasize that the people who “work” there (they receive a small stipend) are members from the community, thus the persons tend to trust them more. The persons who work there are trained from the community to be paralegals and lay counselors. Professional psychologists and lawyers employed by AJS visit once a week to take care of the hard cases and to continue training the workers. I like that model. I spent a lot of time thinking how that could be adapted, especially for local churches…. Who knows how God will use these seeds and visits. I know I am here for a purpose.
Bank project: I was also welcomed into the houses of five or six different Honduran women who have received a small micro-loan to expand or create a business. What a privilege to be there with them, and pray with a couple of them. Houses vary depending on how much money they have—in one, all I had to sit on was a stump (and usually we are given the best), in others I sat on couches. Some had a few trinkets, others were pretty bare.
My house: This week I am living with Dona Juanita. I helped her cook in the kitchen the other night; my job was to fry the tajaditas, or green plantain chips. I also went to church with her on Friday. It is beautiful to hear her story, to talk with her, to get to know her. Her daughter with her son-in-law and their two children (Paolo, age 5 and Hector, age 2) live with her. She is a single mother, unable to work anymore due to health reasons. Once again, I get to fill up on tortillas and beans, fried plantains, bananas, and eggs. I even had another fried fish—this time, the tail instead of the head!
AJS: Honduras changed from a dictatorship to a democracy in 1981. The evangelical churches are growing. So is violence, drastically. Why? It is a good question—but it was good to hear how AJS is working for justice, too. Right now, the police are starting a pilot program with AJS help, using some of the AJS strategies. AJS works in Nueva Suyapa, which used to be one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Tegucigalpa. Murders have fallen 80% since they started working there.
During this time, I saw my first dead and not prepared and fixed up by the mortician body today. A motorcyclist had been killed and not taken care of when we drove by. However, good to note that police were getting on the scene. Yet, this highlighted something that one of the AJS staff people had told me when I had asked him if he had noticed the differences in the increasing violence personally, or if he just saw the statistics. He replied that he is not shocked any more when he drives to work and sees a murdered body on the side of the road anymore. Oh.
Garden projects: I walked up red dirt “streets” that were ridiculously steep to visit two community gardens, in Los Flores and 19 de septiembre, two neighborhoods. Women gather together to plant the typical Honduran vegetables (plantains, cilantro, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, yucca, peppers, etc.) They walk 15 minutes up steep red hills to bring water to their gardens. The group in Los Flores begins work at 5 am each morning, well, after a time of prayer for their community.
On another day, I was able to visit their end of the year celebration. I was amazed at their sense of gratefulness for this chance, for the ability to receive basic food, for the blessings they have in the midst of their difficulties. The word I heard most was “blessed.” This is in a community with a huge amount of unemployment. 60% of the households are single mothers, who have the difficult choice of whether to work or leave their children alone in their house. More than 60% are below the poverty line.
Peace and Justice project: I went with a psychologist to house with children who have been sexually abused and removed from their families. Two are victims of trafficking, and the psychologist works with them specifically. At least two are pregnant, one appeared to be barely 11, and the other about 14 (the average age for a first pregnancy in Honduras is 15.3 years of age). One thing that stood out—the psychologist read the statistic in group therapy that 133 to 275 million children are abused in their houses. She proceeded to ask the group of girls sprawled out on the floor for their response. I was thinking, “This is a huge number!” However, to my surprise, the girls said it was so small a number, pocito. They said that there were a lot more cases—girls, children—that are not reported, and that this was a small number…..What have they seen and heard?
Gideon Centers: AJS has three legal and psychological aid centers situated in different communities. They emphasize that the people who “work” there (they receive a small stipend) are members from the community, thus the persons tend to trust them more. The persons who work there are trained from the community to be paralegals and lay counselors. Professional psychologists and lawyers employed by AJS visit once a week to take care of the hard cases and to continue training the workers. I like that model. I spent a lot of time thinking how that could be adapted, especially for local churches…. Who knows how God will use these seeds and visits. I know I am here for a purpose.
Bank project: I was also welcomed into the houses of five or six different Honduran women who have received a small micro-loan to expand or create a business. What a privilege to be there with them, and pray with a couple of them. Houses vary depending on how much money they have—in one, all I had to sit on was a stump (and usually we are given the best), in others I sat on couches. Some had a few trinkets, others were pretty bare.
My house: This week I am living with Dona Juanita. I helped her cook in the kitchen the other night; my job was to fry the tajaditas, or green plantain chips. I also went to church with her on Friday. It is beautiful to hear her story, to talk with her, to get to know her. Her daughter with her son-in-law and their two children (Paolo, age 5 and Hector, age 2) live with her. She is a single mother, unable to work anymore due to health reasons. Once again, I get to fill up on tortillas and beans, fried plantains, bananas, and eggs. I even had another fried fish—this time, the tail instead of the head!
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