Together for Transformation

Selena's New Family

2011-03-07T09:43:00.001-08:00

By Rey Diaz

We were created for community. God placed in all of us a deep desire to belong to a community. We long and even crave belonging. It’s why teenagers receive a beating for 60 seconds--coming within inches of death--to join a gang. Most of us get a sense of belonging from our families and group of friends. If we do not have that network of family friends, God has not left us high and dry. The church is God’s gift to us to who long for belonging and community.

Selena is a 16 year-old girl who does not have a mother or a father. Better put, her dad is a drug addict who lives on the streets. Selena’s mom left with her dad when she was a baby and has never spoken with Selena since. She was raised by her grandmother until last year when her grandmother became too elderly to care for a teenage girl. With nowhere else to go, Selena went to live with her aunt. But in the evenings she heard her aunt and uncle arguing about how hard it was to take her in and she felt like a burden.

Selena is an incredibly gifted public speaker. She is smart and motivated. Selena loves God but wonders why her life has been so hard. With tears in her eyes she told me that she trust God with all her heart but doesn’t understand what it means to be loved and wanted. AFE has been her only family.

Let me pause Selena’s story for a moment. In the meantime, and in another part of Honduras, an elderly couple watches the son they adopted off the streets graduate with a degree in Engineering. Their daughter is now a teacher at a private Christian school. The couple is Pastor Pedro Macion who leads a church in Catacamas with his wife Hermelinda. With both children grown up, the caring couple find themselves as empty-nesters with so much love left to give.

They contacted Pastor Jeony with the proposition that if AFE ever needs a home for any student, they are available. They wanted to unofficially adopt a student who needs love and they would take on full responsibility (even financially) for their care.

So while Selena was in tears asking for someone to love her, God was preparing a family for that purpose. This Saturday, we drove Selena out to meet her new family. Selena was understandably very nervous. What if they didn’t “click”? What if she didn’t like them? Worse, what if they didn’t like her?

When Pastor Marcion first saw Selena, the words spilled out of his mouth: “My daughter. I have been waiting for you for so long.” He gave Selena a big hug and Selena began to cry again. This time the tears told a different story. These were tears of belonging and community. These tears spoke of grace, love, and God. Selena has been adopted into a family that will cherish her and make her feel like the blessing she is, instead of a burden.
One day, we who have placed our trust in Christ, will hear our heavenly father say “My child. I have been waiting for you for so long.”

Follow Up with Valesca and Katarin

2011-02-28T08:53:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago Pastor Jeony, Rey and I had the opportunity to visit our former students Katarin and Walesca Mondragon in their new home in Catacamas (a small city four hours from Tegucigalpa). Last June AFE helped these two second graders escape forced labor in the garbage dump and move in with an aunt who would care for them in another city (see: “Valesca and Katarin Find New Home”).

Our aim was to check on them, to see how they liked their new living situation, and review their progress at their new school.

When we arrived at their small, well-kept home in the suburb, I had high hopes. The large living room was cared for lovingly, painted in warm colors, and decorated with framed family pictures and pretty tiles. This family was certainly in a better economic situation than the aunt with whom they had lived formally.

When we met Katain and Valesca’s new caregiver (another aunt), she seemed a responsible, middle-class woman. But something was not right.

The aunt called Katarin and Valesca to come out and my suspicions were confirmed.
Three inhibited girls slowly emerged from the door, heads downcast but shy eyes glancing up. I was shocked that a third Katarin and Valesca existed; Angelica was their younger sister, although we had never heard about her when Katain and Valesca attended AFE. Yet, what shocked me the most was the change in the demeanor of my two favorite girls.

I remembered when they used to visit me during recess and huddle around my computer as I worked. They twirled as they chattered, would sass Rey as needed, and their eyes danced too. But something was different now. They seemed bound by invisible chains and reminded me off an abused dog who cowered under his master’s hand.

Their aunt explained to us how difficult it was to care for them (while the girls listened on), but that they would never go back to the garbage dump; it is just not right for a child to be there. She told us how she fed them well and took good care of them (they did seem to be well-nourished). But then we asked Katarin and Valesca what they did on an average day.

“Wake up, clean our room, eat breakfast, tidy the house, sweep and mop the floor, dust the curtains and furniture, tidy the patio, make lunch, do the dishes…” The list of housekeeping went on and on.

Why were they not in school?!

The aunt explained that there just wasn’t enough money to put them in school. Their father sent 100 Lempiras ($5) a month back from the States to support them, which did not even cover their food. It was good that their aunt was providing for them from her own means, but was she also providing love and care? The children knew they were a burden, it was obvious on their faces, and they were working as servants in the home to lessen the load.

Our hearts wept for these girls. But we knew that their heavenly father’s heart hurt even more. We went to work, searching for God’s plan to rectify this situation.
Pastor Jeony thought quickly. It happened that one of his mentors pastored a church in the suburb. And this church also hosted a dynamic Christian school, except only upper-middle class children could afford to tuition.

Pastor Jeony met with the pastor of the Catacamas church and shared Valesca, Katarin (and now Angelica)’s story. His heart immediately went out to them. Although enrollment in this private Christian school was competitive, the pastor pledged to find a place for the three girls.
This situation is better than we could have hoped. There is currently no way for us to place the three girls in another home because the aunt has full guardianship and let us know in no uncertain terms that she did not intend to give them up. But what if we could enlist these children in a local AFE, where they would find loving care-givers who would speak God’s truth into their lives? Would their eyes begin to dance once again?

For each girl to attend the school it costs $50 a month. Will help us find sponsors for them? If you know anyone interested in sponsoring Valesca, Katarin or Angelica, please contact reyangeldiaz@gmail.com

New American Couple Join AFE

2011-02-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

Two years ago we met them…an idealistic young couple with the glint of a dream in their eyes. Like many before them, they told us they wanted to come down and help AFE. Expecting their passion to fade with time, we gave the perfunctorily response: “Sure, sure, that would be great!” But the next time they came down with a medical brigade they were even more determined.

Today AFE is happy to call Adam and Hollie Macenczak part of our family. God couldn’t have chosen a better couple or a better time. Adam’s background is in Christian education – at the junior high level. Hollie has experience in the ER as a nurse. With more and more grades at AFE moving up to higher levels of education, there is a great demand for teachers qualified to teach higher-level courses. With the Miller family’s departure to the United States, a hole has been left in AFE’s health programming. Adam and Hollie couldn’t have come at a better time.

Adam and Hollie first discovered AFE when they came on a short-term mission trip with their friend, Jacobo Solimon. Jacobo Solimon lives in Atlanta and attends Christian Church Buckhead, but he is originally from Honduras. His family, the Solimons, are founding members of AFE’s church, Amor y Vida, and have been faithful supporters of AFE.

Adam and Hollie are supported by their church, Christian Church at Buckhead, and by Snellville Christian Church in Snellville, Georgia. They have come to AFE and Honduras through the missionary organization Soar Ministries in Georgia. Before joining AFE as full-time this January, they studied Spanish in an immersion school in Antigua, Guatemala and La Ceiba, Honduras. They plan to serve at AFE for the next five years and we couldn’t be happier. Pray that God would bless the Macenczak’s for their sacrifice leaving family and friends to invest five years in service to the poorest of the poor in the Tegucigalpa garbage dump. You can follow along with Adam and Hollie’s adventures on their blog, “Poco a Poco.”

"Greater Presence" Proves Successful

2011-01-31T08:12:00.000-08:00

2009 was a great year for AFE. We experienced much success with the students we had rescued from the garbage dump years ago. Yet, only four new students from the garbage dump registered in the beginning of the school year. And each time we visited the dump, we saw more and more children working there*. For this reason, in 2010 we tried a new strategy: “Greater Presence in the Garbage Dump.”

Our new strategy entailed giving classes within the garbage dump itself (as we had done out of necessity in AFE’s early beginnings). Although we now had classrooms and desks

for the students available, our sole purpose was recruitment. We hoped that if we brought education to where the children were working, they would be more likely to attend classes and feel comfortable there, and then catch the vision for education.

In January 2010, our principal (Jesy Ordonez) and a number of volunteers went up into the garbage dump Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week and once again used old tires as desks. They encountered some delightful children who have quickly found their way into our hearts. They also offered adult education to anyone who expressed interest. After three months, we moved our students down to our campus (including the adults into our

adult education program in the afternoons).

In April of 2010 we welcome twenty-two new students to AFE, all of whom had worked hard in the garbage dump before we recruited them. Then began the process of integration. Although the rest of AFE’s students had also worked in the garbage dump, it had been years (for most of them) since they had set foot in that disgusting place, and the difference in them was apparent.

When the new students moved down to AFE’s campus, we started most of them in our special education program since they were behind their classmates in their grade level. This gradual process helped the students to build relationships at AFE and feel more comfortable there. Of course, AFE’s other students received them warmly. Then, one by one, we moved them into their proper grade level. And the results at the end of the year were astounding.

In December of 2010, twenty-two new children from the garbage dump finished their first year at AFE and graduated from their respective grades. We are delighted to have these new children as part of our family. Please pray for these year’s effort, “Greater Presence in the Garbage Dump” and the new children who will join us soon.

* Because AFE uses a government-approved curriculum, we can only accept new students in the beginning of the school year (January), not throughout the year.

God Shows Up at Christmas in Honduras

2011-01-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

By Rey Diaz

Christmas is always a special time in Honduras and especially at AFE. Like many of you, I have helped to raise support for these activities and seen pictures of the events, but never experienced a garbage-dump Christmas first hand. Now that I have, I am so full of gratitude for everyone who helps to support this event!

A week before Christmas, over 700 garbage workers and family members descended the hill from the trash dump to celebrate Christmas with us. Just watching them come, covered head to toe in soot and ash, and arriving in waves like the sea, was an indescribable experience. Jesus died for each and every one of these forgotten-ones. And He was about to share His story and His plan with them through a party!

Several organizations came together in the name of Jesus Christ to make this happen. AFE hosted the event and was support by “Casa de Esperanza” and “Mi Esperanza” among others. Every person who came feasted on a traditional Christmas meal in Honduras and had the opportunity to “shop” for clothes, shoes, and toys in our market. To “purchase” the clothes in our market, each garbage worker received a voucher worth 200L (about $10), which is equivalent to two weeks’ wages for them. I saw moms and dads shopping for their children, and children shop for their parents.

As garbage workers delighted in the opportunity to pick out new clothes, AFE’s children and young adults served them, remembering when they had done the same. They passed out food, helped to pick out shoes, and even prayed for some of the families. It is amazing to see the difference in AFE’s students, who have become servant-leaders in their society, and the people still stuck in the garbage dump.

A week later, we gave AFE’s students the chance to relax and celebrate their own Christmas. The children came dressed in their best attire and eagerly awaiting their chance to come up and receive their present as everyone cheered. Once they heard their names, AFE’s children walked (ran would be more accurate) to the front to receive a hug and kiss from their beloved principal (Jesy Ordonez) and their present, chosen especially for them.

In Honduras, the tradition during Christmas time is for children to receive “extrenos” (new outfits) for the coming school year. This might be the only time they receive new clothes that year and Hondurans, as a culture, take much pride in their appearance. Each child received a new set of clothing including a shirt, pants, and shoes (special thanks to Worthington Christian School, Trash Mountain Project, and Washington Cathedral for fundraising for these items). Thanks also, to the private school in Tegucigalpa, Los Pinares, each child received a shoe box full of surprises ranging from candy to toys and everything in between.

To top off a Christmas of amazing blessings, the Tegucigalpa Mayor’s wife threw another Christmas party for the children of AFE and the surrounding neighborhood. Around 300 children arrived to participate in games, giggle at clowns, and of course, receive a special toy. The Mayor’s wife, Lucrecia, also brought along a couple of famous TV personalities, who were a big hit. However, the best news we received this season came when the Mayor’s wife passionately shared her desire to stop children from working in the garbage dump! This is something we have been praying about for years! Because every time we rescue a child from the garbage dump, a new one enters. Something must be done to prohibit children from working in the garbage dump, and the Mayor’s Office is the one to do it.

When we heard the mayor’s wife express this vision, we were so excited to tell her that this is something we have been praying about and working toward for years! Plans are in the works to solidify this partnership and make child labor a thing of the past. Please continue to pray about this with us.

All in all, it was a Christmas in which we had nothing more to say than: “Emmanuel,” God is with us. If you add up the people served at all parties, over a 1000 individuals struggling in extreme poverty, received food and gifts in the name of Jesus Christ. And to think you are a part of God’s master plan to save and redeem the Tegucigalpa Garbage slum!

Transport to New Worlds

2011-01-11T10:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we underestimate the advantages our children possess by such a simple act as our ability to strap them into the car and take them with us to the grocery store.

The children of AFE (a school Washington Cathedral supports in Honduras) do not have that advantage. They come from a small world that they cannot see past the garbage dump or the ends at their neighborhoods. The younger children do not recognize that they live in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Nor have they traveled downtown to see the beautiful remnants of colonial architecture or the brightly colored signs of fast-food chains signaling a larger world of international commerce exists. I always enjoy watching the children take their first step on an escalator when we bring them to the airport to pick up teams. It is a frightening thing to get on a moving staircase and to feel so out of control of your location. We often cause a bit of an uproar as we attempt to travel up to the second level.

These experiences are priceless. They give the children vision, they learn that there is more to life than the garbage dump community. They see people working in other professions, they visit places that are kept clean of trash, and they begin to dream.

Thanks to Washington Cathedral and all who participated in its “Fiesta de Milagros” auction, the children of AFE will be able to travel outside of their dump community much more frequently now. We have purchased a 15 passenger van (roughly 30 Honduran-passenger), which will serve to take classes on field trips. Trips to museums, the zoo, and the universities are planned. The more we can get AFE’s children out into “normal” society, the more they will feel comfortable and become socialized for something more than dump-life.

The van will transport visiting teams as well, though we plan to continue charging a small transportation fee to cover yearly maintenance.

We are excited about the possibilities in store, thanks to all who have given so generously! If you would like to participate in the "Fiesta de Milagros" this year, please contact linda.skinner@wacathedral.org

Prayer Request

2010-12-13T10:21:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

This Thursday, the Central American Philharmonic Orcestra will perform a special concert to raise funds for AFE! Please pray not only that pocketbooks would open, but hearts as well! One of our major goals to to increase more local support and action. If powerful Hondurans can catch the vision of no more children in the garbage dump, perhaps they would have the means to make this dream a reality!

Summer Break

2010-12-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

In Honduras, students take their “summer break” in December and January. This is because the school year runs from February to November, as opposed to the September-through-June school year in the United States.

As of November 29th, AFE students are officially out of school. We offer vacation activities (mostly to continue providing the one nutritious meal the children receive all day), and of course AFE’s “Gran Fiesta de Navidad” for the garbage dump community. Nevertheless, during this break AFE’s children often find themselves with more free time and sometimes they get into trouble.

Last year, a promising seventh grade student became pregnant over break and decided not to continue at AFE. In years past, gangs have tried to recruit our children, alcohol and drugs have been experimented with, and older children have simply discovered the independence and freedom they crave by working in the garbage dump instead of attending school.

Still, a break is needed. Our children have worked especially hard this last year. Now is the time that AFE’s teachers begin another sort of work, on our knees in prayer for our children as we send them back home. We ask their parents to watch over them, but most agree with a perfunctory nod. The parents believe that their fourteen-year-old is an already an adult....because at fourteen they were already raising two children of their own.

Will you join us in prayer for AFE’s children?

121 Mission Team Connects Deeply at AFE

2010-11-08T09:31:00.001-08:00

By Elise White Diaz

I remember my first mission trip very well. I was seventeen years old and our job was to paint a school for needy children in Guatemala. I started a paint fight then later that evening climbed over the wall to sneak into the boys’ room. Needless to say, I don’t think I quite got the point of the mission trip.

It wasn’t until I was able to connect deeply with a native from the country I was visiting that I really began to consider how blessed I was to be born in the United States. Yolanda was nineteen years old like me but worked as a maid in Mexico while I was studying in a university. I couldn’t speak much Spanish at the time but we communicated with charades and lots of laughter. Yolanda is the reason I serve the poor in Honduras today.

My greatest hope for mission trips is that the participants would have the opportunity to connect deeply with native Honduras, and not just experience the trip as a one-time service project or an opportunity for adventure (as I did in my youth).

Because of the language barrier, it is often difficult to create opportunities for deeper connection between American teams and Hondurans. Yet, under Bob Beams’ leadership the group from 121 Church in Texas did just that.

Bob scheduled some sharing time just between the teachers and the team. We worshipped together, shared our testimonies (with translators), and then prayed together, holding hands in a circle of unity that bonded two nations and two cultures together.

Tears were shed as people got open and vulnerable. Commitments to long-term prayer made. And my heart soared as I’m sure the Father’s did in heaven.

In addition to Vacation Bible School Activities,

the team from 121 Church in Texas built a garbage facility

so that we won't have to burn garbage and pollute

the air right underneath the classrooms.

A Lesson from Mexican History for AFE Today

2010-10-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

By Elise White Diaz

Teaching Honduran history is a fascinating venture; especially with Wikipedia around. I can spend all day researching different names and tangents discovered in the text: Honduras’ annexation to Mexico, the Vanderbilt connection with a Central American revolt, an American businessman who declared himself president of Nicaragua….And it was on one of these internet searches that I learned about Benito Juarez.

Benito Juarez is a famous forefather in Mexico history. But his story is strikingly applicable to my life today. Benito Juarez was the first Mexican president of pure indigenous descent. He grew up in a small village working the corn fields from a young age, and was raised by his grandparents and uncle. He grew up illiterate and only spoke Zapotec until he walked to the city of Oaxaca to attend school at the age of 12 and live with his sister, who worked as a maid. This decision turned out to be a divine appointment in Benito Juarez’s life.

The man his sister worked for was a lay Franciscan named Antonia Salanueva. Salanueva was impressed with young Benito’s intelligence and thirst for learning so he found him a spot at a Franciscan seminary so that he could study to become a priest. But God had different plans for Benito Juarez.

Juarez decided instead to study law, became a lawyer, then a judge, then the governor of the state of Oaxaca, then Chief Justice of Mexico, and finally president in 1858, the first indigenous president of Mexico. He presided over a period of Mexican history known as “La Reforma” (the Reform) and facilitated important changes in the country, such as bringing the army under civilian control, lessening the power of the Roman Catholic Church in public affairs, and leading Mexico into a more capitalistic society. Today he is remembered by the national holiday to celebrate his impact on Mexico and with his picture on their 20 pesos bill.

Great story. What does this have to do with me, an American woman serving in Honduras? I am Antonio Salanueva! The children of AFE are beautiful and brilliant and now something precious is at their disposal: opportunity. Who will take the baton and run with it?

Perhaps it will be Maria Selena Diaz. The initiative, drive, and profundity this young woman displays is at odds with her background. She has never known her father and her mother (a garbage dump worker) abandoned her at birth. Her grandmother (who also works in recycling) raised her until she could not afford to do so any longer. With no one else to claim her, Selena moved in with her aunt and experienced a very dark time in her life. But AFE was there for her, Jesi Ordonez had meaningful talks with her, and the church convinced Selena that we are her family. Now Selena is known as the most articulate girl in the upper grades and gave a moving testimony at a donor celebration. She tries hard in school, is perfectionistic about her work, and asks deep questions in class. The other day I told Selena: “Selena, you could be the first female president of Honduras and make Honduras known world-wide for positive political reform instead of coup d’états and poverty.” And I truly believe that she could.

Daisy Accepts Christ!

2010-10-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

To all who faithfully follow this blog, thank you for your prayers! The week after we posted the story about Danilo, Isis, and Dulce Maria ("New Babies Come to AFE"), their mother, Daisy, came to church and accepted Christ!

New Babies Come to AFE

2010-10-11T10:51:00.001-07:00

They toddle in and wait in line for a hug and a kiss from Jessy, the directora. The come with snotty noses and carrying bags of coca cola, which is quickly snatched away and a bottle of milk put in its place. These are the babies of AFE, who play quietly and sweetly, until snacks emerge; then searching eyes and outstretched hands wait patiently. Rarely is a tear shed, never a fuss made, they are content in their brightly painted room, with their brothers and sisters, and the kind women who take care of their every need. They are the future students of AFE.

If they were not here, in the comfortable cribs of AFE’s nursery, they would be stored in cardboard boxes in the garbage dumps or cared for by nine-year olds in garbage-strewn shacks.

Recently, three new charges joined the ranks in the Guaderia, making the total number of babies cared for at AFE nine. Jose Dario, Dulce Maria, and Iris are younger siblings of a kindergartener at AFE, and only God knows their ages. Their mother, who works in the garbage dump all day, every day, gave birth to her children in her home. As soon as it was physically possible, she had another baby. And then another. She couldn’t care for them. A nine-year old, who looks like a six-year old, babysat all three. They would lie on a bed together instead of learning to crawl because the child couldn’t hold all three.

Since these children were not born in a hospital, there is no record of their birth. Neither is there a record of their mother’s birth. The world does not know about them, but God does. And God created them for a purpose. Now that the three babies are at AFE receiving milk and nutritious, age-appropriate foods, they have a chance at a normal life. And AFE accepted them with the stipulation that the mother would need to take precautions to avoid giving birth to more children than she can handle. Jose Dario, Iris and Dulce Maria are being immunized and receiving proper sleep and care. Who knows what these children will become or how God will use them! Perhaps, they will become influencers and leaders in Honduran society, righting many of the wrongs we see today.

AFE Celebrates Our Partners

2010-10-04T09:34:00.000-07:00

by Greg and Nancy Gibson

On September 16th - 18th, AFE held a three-day thank you celebration for our top supporting organizations. The theme for the celebration was "AFE Evolutions." A child from each grade (Kindergarten through Tenth) represented their classes and showed the growth and development which takes place from kindergarten to the tenth grade. We reminisced about AFE’s past, toured and discussed our current work, and dreamed about what the future might hold.

Thursday night was "noche cultural," in which everyone dressed in typical Honduran clothing and the food was typical Honduran,American, and British food (or at least a Honduran version of American & British food). The topic of discussion was AFE’s past, remembering what happened since Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Pastor Jeony's call in 2001 (the voice of God speaking through his five-year old daughter), AFE's commencement in 2001, and everything that God has done since then.

On Friday, we spent the day touring the AFE campus and listening to the children introduce their classroom and tell AFE's stores.

We also visited the nearby communities where AFE's children live, the Linda Miller community & Amor y Vida church, which supports AFE, and the garbage dump itself. The theme for the day was AFE 2010.
Friday night continued with a big "thank you" celebration for our partners and Pastor Jeony's inspiring message: "God Has Not Forgotten."

Pastor Tim and Jackie White,

senior pastors of Washington Cathedral in Redmond, WA.

Duncan Dyason,
founder of Street Kids Direct in the UK.

Jack and Pat O'Neil
of Hope Teams International in Portland, OR

Thanks to everyone who worked hard to make this great event possible!

Crackdown!

2010-09-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

Poverty is more than simply the environment in which the children of AFE grow up. It seeps into their minds and hearts and grabs at them from every angle. It uses things like their appearance to tell them: from trash they came, to trash they will return. It utilizes bad habits (like coming late and skipping school if they feel like it) to keep them locked into the garbage dump.
For this reason, AFE has set strict standards for its students, so that our children appear different and set apart from the surrounding garbage-dump culture. Our rules were established to develop our students into the servant-leaders we know they are destined to become. Yet, making rules is much easier than enforcing them, especially with a large staff.

Last Friday we had an all-school assembly to review the rules, the consequences, and our new approach. Now the responsibility of enforcement is on the teachers. There will be random classroom checks. If a student is found with a cell phone (even children from the garbage dump have cell phones today!), the student is awarded detention, and the teacher is responsible to stay after and monitor that detention. In this way, the teacher is accountable to enforce the school rules.

These rules include how the students maintain their school (no writing on desks, no throwing garbage on the ground), and extend to their dress and appearance. They must come to school clean, in proper uniform, with shoes on their feet, but no makeup or piercings on their faces. They will look different, too, from the other young people of their neighborhoods who begin promiscuous behavior at very young ages.

We have high hopes for our new strategy. On Sunday, five minutes before the service began; the church was full of AFE students who had arrived on time. At the least, AFE´s campus will be very clean and well-maintained from all of the students´ efforts during their detentions. At the best, AFE´s students will respect themselves, each other, and their environment.

To a Successful Season!

2010-08-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

Most Hondurans refer to the months between May and September as the “rainy season”. Those of us in the nonprofit sector refer to this time as “mission team season.” When summer vacation begins in the United Sates, people board plans and head to Honduras more than any other time of the year. You are guaranteed to see large groups of North Americans donning matching shirts in the Tegucigalpa airport in the summer months. It is a large industry for Honduras.

This season was a particularly busy for AFE. We hosted ten teams this summer, from as far away as Denmark and as close as Texas. The teams built a music/art room, updated the nursery, painted and planted gardens at AFE, build a basketball court and several kiosks outside, organized a soccer camp and vacation bible school, served the medical needs of the surrounding communities, build three homes for AFE families in need, completed the first floor of a new church building, and brought AFE’s kids to a water park for the first time in their lives.

It was a very, very busy, but well worth it. Special thanks to: Bob and Char Dabill, Tracy Duboir and World Gospel Mission teams, Hope Community Church, Washington Cathedral’s youth, the children and families of 121 Church, Bob Beams and Orphan Outreach, Brett Durbin and Trash Mountain Project, and to everyone else who gave to accomplish the work well done this summer. Until next season!

Creating Family for Reina

2010-08-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

AFE´s educational program is outstanding; it helps to provide a path out of the garbage dump for the children here. But AFE also offers something more, something even greater than education for its students. Each member of AFE´s staff serves as more than a teacher. Each teacher was specially selected for their ability to represent God´s love to these children.

AFE´s staff serves as the extended family of God for the children of the garbage dump. When older brothers and sisters are gang members or drug addicts, AFE´s staff serves as the positive influences they need. When parents are inept or guardians are cruel, AFE´s teachers love their children unconditionally and provide a place where they can feel physically and emotionally safe. AFE´s teachers get to know each child personally, they watch to make sure they are eating well, they notice if they come to class with a sad look in their eyes, they visit them in their homes if the child does not show up for school one day. They advocate for the children in every way possible.

This function of AFE, serving as the family of God, will prove especially important in the life of Reina Margarita, a new student at AFE. Reina is a new recruit from the garbage dump, and this is her first experience in school. She is nine years old and in the first grade. She lives with her mother (who also works in the dump), and her older sister who is addicted to yellow glue. Her father died last year when he was hit by a car as he crossed the street in front of her home. Reina does not have much in her life. She no longer has the love of a father or an older sister. All she knows is the trash dump, but she does have an extended family of God in the staff at AFE.

If we can hold on to her, I know what will happen to Reina Margarita. She will feel the consistent warmth and affection here and blossom before our eyes. She will find her place among the other students, who have already made amazing strides themselves. She will discover what she´s good at doing and what she enjoys. She will begin to wonder how such an unconditional love exists, and she will be pointed to Jesus. In a couple of years, a pretty, happy young woman will be unrecognizable from the sad little girl I know today. I know this to be true because we have seen it happen time and again with other students of AFE.

What a joy it is to see God place his hand into the lives of children like Reina Margarita, to heal and transform them from the inside out. And what a privilege it is to be part of it.

How can I get involved?

Valesca and Katarin Find New Home

2010-08-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

They were my two favorite girls at AFE. Maybe it was because of the sassy way they talked back to Rey when he teased them. Maybe it was because they shared my fascination for picture books and loved it when I read stories to them. Or maybe it was because they danced and twirled when they talked.

Whatever the reason, I always looked forward to recess time when Katarin and Valesca Mondragon would come to my office and sit and watch me work on my computer. Today, however, I need to report that they will never again visit me during recess at AFE, and that’s a good thing.

Katarin and Valesca came from one of the most heart-wrenching situations at AFE. Their parents left to work in the United States, abandoning them when they were too young to remember. They left them with an aunt who worked in the garbage dump, along with their older brothers and sisters. This aunt was the only parent-figured Valesca and Katarin knew, but she abused that privilege. She forced her charges to work in the garbage, often at the expense of school, and if they did not bring home enough income, she would beat them.

For a long time, AFE has been working and strategizing to end Valesca and Katarin’s oppressive situation, with a healthy outcome. Recently however, the circumstances deteriorated. Valesca’s older brother and sister had had enough. They ran away to live with another relative in Olancho, a state an hour away from Tegucigalpa. Missing the revenue from the older siblings, the aunt pulled Valesca and Katarin out of AFE indeterminately to work in the garbage dump. Valesca and Katarin were only in the second grade. Despite the promise they were showing at AFE, they had no hope of returning to school. AFE began to enlisting Honduras’ child protective services to seize Valesca and Katarin from their home.

Working with the CPS in Honduras is a risking gamble. Once the children become charges of the state we lose track of them. And stories abound of foster care situations even more abusive than the ones the children were taken from. Yet, there were no other options available for Valesca and Katarin.

Then AFE’s director, Jesy Ordonez received a mysterious call from the United States. The girls’ father had gotten wind of what was happening. He pleaded with Jesy to help Valesca and Katarin escape from their aunt and move in with the relative in Olancho. Jesi graciously obliged.

When I returned to Honduras after a brief trip to the States, Valesca and Katarin were not at AFE any longer. But they also were not living with their aunt. And they were free from the garbage dump. Valesca and Katarin are back in school. The school is not AFE, but it will do. Perhaps they have found another young woman to connect with in Olancho, maybe it’s a teacher who can serve as a positive role model. Although I will miss them, I am happy that Valesca and Katarin will not have to work in the garbage any longer. And I continue to pray that the good work God began in their lives at AFE will continue on to completion, and that they can break free from the cycle of poverty into which they were born.

Washington Cathedral Raises $80,000 in June´s Auction

2010-07-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Every year I comment that this year´s auction was the best ever. This year it really was. Not only did we raise more funds for the children of the garbage dump than ever before ($80,000 in one night!). But also because we worked hard as a team to help people from the church and community in Redmond to really connect with and get to know the project in Honduras.
We hung life-sized posters of the children around the silent auction. We displayed crafts made by the people of Honduras that were available to bid on. We showed a video telling some of the children´s stories. We offered an annual report chronicling the change taking place in Tegucigalpa-with your help. Thanks to Pastor Linda, Cathy Baird, Jannette, and the many others who worked hard and gave of themselves this last year. Thanks to everyone who participated in the auction to make this miracle happen! Not only will we able to continue feeding the 150 children at AFE for one more year, we can also purchase a small bus to take them on field trips to expand their world view. And, perhaps we can now begin to invest legally to persuade the government of Honduras to enforce their law that no child should be allowed in the garbage dump.

Celebration of Miracles

2010-05-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

Every year Washington Cathedral hosts an Auction to raise money for the children in the Tegucigalpa City Garbage Dump. In the past this auction has provided daily, nutritious meals for children who would otherwise eat just one meal a day of rice and beans. With healthy meals, the school “Amor, Fe y Esperanza” has seen its students´ academic progress take off, and the hope that replaces melancholy.

This year´s auction, which takes place on Friday, May 21st, will continue to provide meals for hungry children of the garbage dump, but also raise money for a small bus for field trips. For the 150 children enrolled at AFE, a chance to leave their garbage-strewn communities is a life-changing opportunities. Most of the younger students have not even ventured downtown, where museums, cathedrals, and libraries offer a window into another world. Older students do not believe their teachers who tell them that such a thing as submarines do in fact exist. A small bus will help AFE´s children to have experiences outside of the garbage dump and expand the vision of the world that awaits them.

The Fiesta del Milagros´s Silent Auction begins at 5pm at 12300 Woodinville-Redmond Rd. NE, Redmond. For more information, contact Washington Cathedral at: (425) 869-LIFE

One of the items available to bid on is a Tiger Mountain Paragliding trip. All proceeds from the auction go directly to benefit the children of the Tegucigalpa Garbage Dump.

There is also a elegant dinner party which includes a cruise around Lake Washington.

Whatever It Takes

2010-04-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

One afternoon Rey and I stopped on a bridge to see why a crowd had gathered. It was the rainy season and the Rio Choluteca was bloated and running feverishly. Despite the strong current, a young calf had ventured bravely into the water to meet his mother on the other side, but was being washed down stream. The calf bleated and his mother moaned while the crowd watched, clutching nervously at the railing. “Come on, baby-calf! YOU CAN DO IT!” a little girl yelled. Somehow, after ten minutes of struggle, the calf found his footing and made it to the other side. Applause rang out over the bridge.

Sometimes the children of AFE remind me of that brave little calf trying to cross a strong river current. The number of children who succeed in Honduras’ education system is discouraging. US Aid found that:

“At present, 86% of Hondurans complete sixth grade, but fewer than 45% complete the ninth grade and fewer than 25% complete high school. Only six percent continue to complete a university education. Despite an increasing elementary school completion rate, Honduras has the lowest secondary school enrollment rate in Latin America” (http://www.usaid.gov/hn/alternative.html).

With no more than a sixth grade education, the cycle of poverty continues, as does the fragmentation of families, drug and alcohol abuse, child labor, and the maltreatment of children. The rate of educational success is even more discouraging within the garbage dump community where many parents have no more than a third-grade education.

When a child leaves AFE (for whatever reason) they forfeit more than educational opportunities. They also leave their Christian community, positive mentors, pastors and a church behind. They decide (or it’s decided for them) to take a path that does not have abundant life as its destination. For this reason, AFE does whatever it takes to keep its students in school. This issue of AFE’s newsletter will highlight some of our new strategies to fight the drop-out rate affecting our community. Please pray that AFE’s children will be like the young calf that entered the river with courage, and kept his eyes on the Father as he attempted such a difficult feat.

Back to Our Roots: Classes in the Garbage Dump

2010-04-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

Nine years ago Jeony and Jesy Ordoňez climbed the dusty road to Tegucigalpa´s landfill and pioneered the first classes reaching children of the garbage dump. Their first effort birthed tremendous success. AFE´s bright, successful 10th grade class were Jeony and Jessy´s original students. When they were six and seven years old, these first students sat on discarded tires and used their knees as desks to scratch out their first letters.

Since that time, AFE´s teaching staff has grown to sixteen qualified educators. Its enrollment has grown to 150 children, each connected to the garbage dump in some way, all learning in excellent classrooms and facilities.

Amor, Fe y Esperanza has accomplished so much since its humble beginnings. Yet over the last couple of years we have noticed a startling trend. Many of the children newest to school from the garbage dump have started strong in the beginning of the year, only to slowly drop out and go back to the work in the trash. It is hard to imagine why any child would choose garbage collecting over school. Perhaps it’s the freedom and disposable income (although its miniscule) available in trash-picking. Perhaps it’s the pressure to help provide for their families. Whatever the reason, perhaps it is time for us to refocus our efforts and get back to our roots.

This year AFE has begun a strategy to keep new children at AFE for the entire year, even until they graduate high school. At the beginning of each year we will provide new students with a transition process from the dump to the classroom. By teaching children where they feel comfortable, we hope to show them that learning is fun, necessary and invaluable. Melanie Miller, who has helped teach classes in the dump describes the experience this way:

“Teaching in the dump is neither without its challenges nor without its joys. Daily, the staff is greeted with smiles and hugs of waiting students. Discarded tires and cracked pails serve as chairs, but not one complaint is heard. Needled syringes are a play thing and dingy dogs, an armrest. Any and every activity presented is greeted with rapt attention. Sadly, there are 14 year olds in 3rd grade and 3rd graders who don’t know their alphabet.”

The classes span several different areas, divided by grade level. Adult education is offered. Yet, just over the hill, families opt to work instead of take an hour off for school. Mothers encourage their children to sort through garbage instead of learning how to read and write.

In January this new effort took off. Just three months later, twenty-six new children (who worked in garbage themselves), are signed up for classes at AFE. Twenty-six more children will have the chance at a bright future.

While our new (or rather, old) strategy is bearing fruit, the problem of child labor in the dump continues. Soon it will be time to offer more than simply a carrot. Our prayer is that God will provide the means, perhaps through political power, to urge the government to enforce child labor laws already in existence.

“There is a life of dignity, joy and freedom AFE wants to offer these children. They are beautiful and smart and desperately precious. And while they may not know it yet…it is our job to show them.” (Melanie Miller).

Wendy Figureoa: Case Worker Extraordinaire

2010-04-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

She stands no more than 5´1”, an unassuming woman with soft eyes. She could be any Hondureňa, but there is none better suited to serve as AFE´s new caseworker.

* * *
She picked her way through the dirt to a house on the edge of a busy street, pieced together from garbage, vacant except for dogs milling about the yard. Yesterday one of AFE´s new students, fresh from the garbage dump, came to school but wouldn´t enter class. Sandra was too shy to tell her teacher why. She walked behind Wendy Figueroa as they went to visit her home and her mother. After the first knock on the aluminum gate it was apparent that no one was home. The only sound came from the flies landing on the laundry. But Wendy persisted. And persisted. Until a small woman with a suspicious scowl appeared in the doorway. As Wendy chatted with her, smiling gently, I saw the woman’s face change.

Although Wendy serves as AFE’s “eyes” in the communities, watching for home situations that are suspicious of child abuse, families immediately recognize her as their friend and advocate. At the same time, they know that AFE will come in strong with police and CPS if Wendy has anything suspicious to report to them.

With Wendy acting in this new position, the home life has changed for one young woman at AFE. Last fall the thirteen-year old girl confessed that her drunken father would come into her bed at night, instead of her mother’s, and she was afraid. When she voiced her fears to her mother she denied the problem. Yet, after Wendy’s home visit, the young girl’s mother and older brother have taken an active role in her protection. The young girl once again sleeps peacefully alone in her own bed.

When a tenth-grade boy sent a note to AFE saying that he was dropping out of school to work, Wendy visited his parents to remind them that education is a right owed to every child in Honduras. Jeyson is back in school today.

AFE has high hopes for what Wendy can accomplish in her new caseworker position. Thanks to Orphan Outreach who has donated the salary and helped train Wendy for her important role.

Fun and Laughter Come to AFE with Washington Cathedral Team

2010-04-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

The week before their spring break the AFE children were able to delight in some things they rarely experience: clean water and nature.

In Honduras the week before Easter, “Semana Santa” is one of the hottest of the year. Swimsuits go on sale, beach balls decorate every store window, and every single capitaleño has one thing on their minds: swimming. The crowds in the city dissipate the week before Easter as everyone leaves in pursuit of water, everyone, that is, but the people of the dump, who do not have the means or access to clean water to swim in.

This year a team visited AFE the week before their spring break. They used the excess in their trip funds to purchase wading pools for AFE’s children. The kids placed the pools at the bottom of the slides on the playground and commenced complete and utter ruckus. At the end of the day, AFE’s children were sparkling clean their pool water was a deep brown, almost black.

Additionally, the Washington Cathedral team invited AFE’s teenagers to participate with them on their end-of-the week leisure day. The 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grade classes were able to visit AFE’s national park, La Tigra, for the first time. They went hiking, saw the beauty of nature, and hopefully caught the vision to care for God’s creation.

Updates

2010-04-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

We have officially started construction on our church training center. We want to have a center for rural pastors to train them in the basics of ministry and teach them an income generating skill. A team from Lake City Community Church came to work on the site.

We had a huge party for all of our students at AFE. We placed 5 pools around our campus and had all of our children. Just a time for the kids to enjoy water and sunshine.

After three months in the garbage dump, we celebrated with our children this pass Friday. It was hopefully the last day for the kids in the garbage dump. Realistically, many will return in the afternoons to work after classes. But the first step is always the hardest for these children. They have taken the first step toward an education. Pray that this step will lead to a life out of the garbage dump and full of hope.

We have a new baby in our nursery. Alexandro was dropped off this morning by Anna. We are so happy another mother has made a wise decision regarding her child. Alexandro will no longer have to sit in the garbage dump while her mother scavenges.

Two Nights Without Sleep

2010-03-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Imagine, as you go to bed tonight, that you are lying in garbage. Exchange your soft pillow for a sack of cans, your bed for a piece of cardboard, on top of who-knows-what. The sickingly sweet smell of decomposition surrounds you. This could perhaps be tolerable if your children weren’t there with you, huddled close for warmth and for safety. Drug users, stray dogs, and vultures prowl at night. When the sun goes down over the garbage dump, evil crawls out of its hiding places. This is no place for a mother and her children to sleep.

When Jessy saw Iris at AFE's adult education classes in the garbage dump, it was not surprising that her eyes were read and swollen from lack of sleep. Two nights without sleep. Its amazing how long you can go when the safety of your children is at stake.

Why was this young mother not in a shelter, not in a home? The pieced-together shacks at the edge of the garbage would be better than this! Iris and her children had lived with her uncle, until he recently offended the boss of the Dieciocho gang (6x6x6=18, so named for its satanic inspiration). It was no longer safe for the family to return home. The gang knew where they lived. Now they were in the garbage dump at night and it was not safe for them to fall asleep.

Iris had a friend who lived in the "Good Samaritan" Community (where several of AFE's families live). She was told that 3000 Lempiras ($150) would get them a plot of land on which they could quickly assemble a ramshackle structure for the night from the materials found in trash dump.

Jana Goad, visiting on a mission team with Washington Cathedral, was quick to promise $150 for this family as soon as she heard about the situation. Every spring she divides the plants in her garden and has a plant sale in her front yard for charity. A small thing, but an enormous thing in this poor family's life. Thank you, Jana, for your generosity, and thank you to everyone who gives to the less fortunate who cross their path.

Addressing Physical Needs

2010-03-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

Last week we had two medical brigades come and serve the garbage dump community. Between the two teams we met with over 700 patients many of who waited in the hot sun all day. It was such a blessing to share God´s love through these doctors and nurses from Buckhead Christian Church and Ohio State University Medical School.

Medical care and health is something many of us take for granted. Whenever I have to see a doctor, I just go knowing that either my health insurance will over it or that I can pay out of pocket. When the doctor gives me a prescription, I go to the pharmacy and get it filled, many times not even worrying about the price. I have medicine at home for common ailments for myself and my family. When my son has a diaper rash, I have the appropriate cream to address his needs.

These are resources that most of the world lacks. They do not have access to basic healthcare so a small cut becomes an infection, a sore throat becomes a sinus infection, and diaper rash becomes a bloody bottom. Every time I work with a medical brigade, I am convicted of my lack of gratefulness for all that I have and have access to.

Please keep praying for all the families in the garbage dump community with little to no access to healthcare.

Temptation of Young Men

2010-03-02T07:42:00.000-08:00

Jeyson wrote a note to the director saying that no longer it went to attend AFE. The problem was that he needed to work to finish the construction of his house. His older brother convinced him to leave his studies and to work full-time in the garbage dump. When I received the news, it was so sad because he is one of the only guys in 10th grade. The next day I visited the house of Jeyson and spoke with his mother, Ana. She told us that Jeyson, from the start of the year, no longer wanted to study. But she wants him to keep studying so won’t end up in the dump like the rest of her family.

Jeyson was not home that day but he came to visit me the next day. God gave grace us during the meeting. We found a good compromise where Jeyson would continue studying and work for AFE in the afternoons two days a week. Thus Jeyson will keep studying to be engineer and he can also finish his house.

This story is repeating itself with most of our young men. Sometimes we don´t get the happy ending. These young men are feeling immense pressure to quit their education and start working in the garbage dump. In many ways this option makes sense because by working they could help the families burdened with extreme poverty. But in the long run the cycle of poverty will never be broken.

Please pray for wisdom for our young men. Please pray that God will help them and their families make the best choice.

Prayer Request

2010-02-17T13:26:00.000-08:00

- Our discipleship program would help our kids have a real and deep connection with God
- Our new Case Manager on staff would help us prevent sexual, verbal, and non-verbal abuse among the families we serve
- Our young girls would resist the temptation to run off with a guy
- Our young guys would resist the temptation to leave school for money in the garbage dump
- That our transitional classes in the garbage dump would yield real fruit: new children a AFE and out of the garbage dump
- Our operational expenses. We still have a shortfall to cover this year.
- Jeyson, one of our 10th graders just dropped of AFE. Pray he will come to his senses and return
- Pray for all of our students - http://picasaweb.google.com/reyangeldiaz/AFEStudents2009

Pictures from the Garbage Dump

2010-02-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

Jeony and I spent a morning with the teachers in the garbage dump. It was such a beautiful and inspiring moment. I wish I could have taken all of you up with me so you can experience what I saw. I feel like I was watching hope happen. I was watching the cycle of poverty breaking. I was watching God’s love infuse the children with purpose.

For more pics check out this link - http://picasaweb.google.com/reyangeldiaz/ClassesInTheGarbageDump##

School in the Garbage Dump

2010-02-01T09:41:00.000-08:00

Last week we launched our classes in the garbage dump. In order to stay faithful to AFE’s main calling, namely children in the garbage dump, we wanted to somehow work with all the new children workers. These new children we not around when Jeony and Jessy were having classes in the garbage dump, so although we visit frequently, AFE is something foreign. We also noticed that the majority of the kids who dropped out of AFE throughout the year, were all kids fresh from the garbage dump. When knew we had to do something to help with the transition from life in the garbage dump to life at AFE.

Our solution was to offer classes to anyone in the garbage dump three times a week, Mon, Wed, Fri. These classes would be very interactive with the kids using their hands with art projects, crafts, and games. Slowly we are going to introduce reading and writing. I prayer is that beginning in April, we will have a strong core of faithful attendees who are serious about education. At that point we would invite them to AFE. That is are goal.

Please prayer for Jessy, Jenny, and Melanie as they go up for classes three times a week. Pray that God would send the right children. And pray that God’s love would be evident all in the garbage dump.

First week of Class 2010

2010-01-22T14:31:00.000-08:00

We just ended the first week of classes at AFE for 2010. We welcome some new staff members including Washington Cathedral’s Greg Gibson who launched an exciting computer ciriculum for 3rd -10th grade. We also have a case manager on staff thanks to Orphan Outreach and 121 Community Church, who be helping prevent and monitor abuse, visiting families, and connecting the dots so that the whole gospel is presented.

It was a wonderful and terrible week. We received some news that left all of us stunned and breathless. One of our girls in 7th grade left with a older man to get “married” and is pregnant. Another student is having to pay for the sins of her parents and will no longer be studying. Another two girls were not registered for school because their aunt now needs them to work in the garbage dump – they are in 2nd grade. Please pray as we work to resolve these issues as much as we can.

It was wonderful because Gerson Vasquez and his younger brother have registered for classes after dropping out to work in the garbage dump last year. Another student was not coming to school because his parents were going to make him work in the garbage dump. We intervened quickly and the student returned to school on Friday. He has the highest grades in his classes.

We are confident God and our staff will see amazing transformation through education, spiritual formation, and the mentorship these students will receive. The cycle of poverty will be broken.
Please pray that this will be so.

For more pics check out - http://picasaweb.google.com/reyangeldiaz/FirstWeekOfClass#

Homes in Honduras

2010-01-22T14:02:00.001-08:00

I just visited two new homes that were built for the families this past December. One of the mothers invited us to have a thanksgiving service in her home to “thank God for how good he is.” This is coming from a mother who lived in a six foot shack for most of her life along with her husband and 5 children. Her entire family works in the garbage dump unless her kids are in school. I saw her husband for the first time ever at church this past Sunday. God is definitely doing something beautiful in this family. They are so grateful for the house that AFE and Church at the Mall were able to provide for them.

The other family is led by a Christian grandmother who has a pure faith in God. Her husband and children also work in the garbage dump although the husband suffers with a disability in his right arm. There were 10 people in her home built from wooden sticks and plastic tarps. Now they live in a beautiful home where they can be safe from the sun and rain of Honduras.

We have a dream of building a community for these families in the garbage dump. Since we do not have land yet, we are working on building some homes for the families with the most extreme level of poverty. We have plans on building a few more homes this year.

For more pics check out - http://picasaweb.google.com/reyangeldiaz/HomesInHonduras#

Church to the Rescue

2009-12-21T20:14:00.000-08:00

One of our students has been abandoned by her parents. She was being raised by her grandparents until recently when the grandmother could no longer afford to raise her. This student was taken in to a small home of a nearby friend. Yet this small home already has 7 people so she was regulated to share a bed with 3 other girls or sleep on the floor. The man of the home is an alcoholic and is also experimenting with drugs. The mother fears for her own children and the new one she has adopted.

What a tragic situation. On hearing this we can have so many different responses including blaming God, questioning God, cynicism, and contempt. Or we can respond. That is what Christians have been doing for 2000 years. We respond to the problems that plague this world. The church takes a stand against injustice and oppression.

A church from Minnesota, Journey North, on hearing about our student, wanted to respond. They built a small room adjacent to the house where the children can sleep safe at night on their own beds. They provided furniture for the room including a small desk for homework. I know that in light of all the problems in the world, this is considered a small and meaningless gesture. But it is not meaningless to our student. It has changed her life and her faith in God. What if every church and every Christian responded to our world’s problems?

Later in December, we will be building 2 more homes and hope for more next year.

Christmas 09 (Honduras) - Part 2

2009-12-21T19:52:00.000-08:00

Hundreds of people from the garbage dump arrived at AFE to partake in our “market.” Days earlier we had given away hundreds of vouchers worth 200L. With these vouchers parents could ‘buy’ toys for their kids, clothes, shoes, hats and food. We prayed with people, ate with people, and shared God’s love with people. Eventually we ran out of items and the people trickled home. All the families were so grateful for these gifts. Some left with tears in their eyes. All left with presents for their children.

Afterwards, we gave out the presents to all of our students. I wish I could describe the feelings I had as these kids opened up their presents. The looks on their faces, the joy, the happiness, the contentment, the appreciation, the excitement: these are things I will never forget.

For more pictures, please visit here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/reyangeldiaz/GraduationAndChristmas09Honduras#

Christmas 09 (Honduras) - Part 1

2009-12-21T16:01:00.000-08:00

I know this is dangerous and would probably never fly in the states. But to celebrate Christmas with the children of AFE, we put a kiddie pool full of water at the end of a really tall slide. Then we put soap and water on the actual slide. Then we let the kids slide down and splash into the kiddie pool. A tad bit dangerous but innocent fun.

This would be a semi normal activity for most children but it is a luxury for these children whose lives are defined by the garbage dump. For these children, childhood , innocence, and play time have been replaced with labor, scavenging, and survival. To see them lose themselves in fun and water. It is great to see the change firsthand that God is producing in these children.

SUCCESS: STEP BY STEP, IN HIGH HEELS by Robert Beam

2009-12-19T22:43:00.003-08:00

There she was, 15 years old and about to graduate ! She couldn’t believe it. Her family had worked in the garbage dump for all her life. She had no hopes of going to school until one day she was invited to go to AFE. The years had flown and now here she was. She had been provided with a beautiful dress and high heels to wear. The high heels were the greatest challenge. She and the other girls had been practicing for 2 hours a day for 2 weeks. To her, walking in the heels was becoming a woman, being somebody, a symbol of one day leaving the garbage dump.

The women teachers and friends all met 2 hours early to help her with her hair and makeup. The room was decorated beautifully. A violin was being played for background music. Her name was called on the microphone, her escort took her hand and she walked, or floated, across the room. She walked across the room with admiring glances from the students who hoped one day to graduate. But most of all, she looked with moist eyes at her mom and dad as they beamed with pride.

This was the first time she had seen her mom and dad together in a long time and she knew there was hope. She walked, she walked into the future, with hope in her soul and God in her heart. Yes, success, step by step, in high heels.

Our graduation for AFE

Posture, Persistence, and Pilates!

2009-11-17T07:40:00.001-08:00

As of yesterday, AFE is officially on winter vacation. (November and December serve as “summer break” for Honduras students.) During this break, AFE plans a packed schedule of enrichment courses so the children don’t wander up to the dump since they have nothing to do. The classes range from jewelry making, sculpture and drawing, to sports, and now for the first time – Pilates! Laura Stafford, a volunteer from the Mennonite Central Committee, is bringing her experience teaching Pilates at Curves (a Women’s Gym in the States) to the young people of AFE. Pilates is famous for its use of strength training to build the “core muscles” supporting the spine to improve posture and overall health.

At our first class I shared with our eager young students, “Friends, if you study hard, you will have every door in the world open to you. Someday you may find yourselves in government offices or important places of business, and how will you present yourself? What signal will send the people you meet if you slouch and hang your head down low? No, you will stand tall and erect, confidently look them in the eye, and know deep within yourself: I came from the trash dump, but I am not garbage. I am something more, I am a strong, powerful, child of God!”

We are excited about the possibilities of this Pilates class, three times a week, for AFE’s young people. But there’s one problem. Pilates is formed around floor exercises, which uses the force of gravity for resistance training. The 22 students are laying and doing crunches on a hard tile floor. We are worried about sore backs and possible injuries. Would you be able to help us to purchase carpets for this Pilates class? We estimate that it will cost about $400 to buy 4 carpets, which AFE will then use for its kindergarten class and nursery when it is not being used for floor exercises.

If you are interested in donating to AFE to buy carpets for its Pilates class, please contact elisewhitediaz@gmail.com. You can send checks to Washington Cathedral – 12300 Woodinville-Redmond Rd. NE, Redmond, WA 98052. Byline: Together for Transformation. Thank you!

Computer Literacy

2009-11-12T17:55:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, if you asked the children of the dump what they wanted to do when they grew up, you would get answers such as “drive the dump truck” – the most interesting job they had experienced. Today, the students of AFE have aspirations of being teachers, lawyers, doctors, and engineers.

Less than two years ago, the computer lab at AFE was created. Today, every student from third grade through high school uses the lab several times per week. The computer program, however, is still in its infancy. There is not a strong curriculum, very few programs are available (mostly pirated), and there is no internet access at the school.

Just as the students eyes were opened to new job aspirations through education, we would like to bring the computer program to a higher level. Imagine a future AFE with internet access throughout the campus. Imagine teachers in Spanish, social studies, science, math, and English classes giving multimedia assignments that require students to do online research to complete. Imagine every teacher having a computer and projector in the classroom to assist in instruction. Imagine adults in the community having after-hours access to computers and computer literacy classes. These dreams are very close to reality, but we need some help to realize them.
Starting with the new school year in January 2010, we would like to take the next step towards this dream. First, we have a new classroom for the computer lab in the newly completed building. Second, we have a new instructor with an engineering degree and 17 years experience in the high tech industry. Third, we will be implementing a new curriculum for all ages in the school. Finally, we will be upgrading the computer capabilities, with the most significant addition being internet access at the school. Here are our specific needs:
1. Hardware -- total cost approx $1500
a. One Notebook PC to be shared amongst the classrooms
b. One classroom projector to be shared amongst the classrooms
c. Miscellaneous hardware (uninterruptible power supplies, wireless routers, Ethernet cable, etc)
2. Software – total cost approx $1600
a. Microsoft Windows7 (15 PCs)
b. Microsoft Office2007 (15 PCs)
c. Reading Comprehension Software (3 PCs)
d. Rosetta Stone Language Learning (3 PCs)
e. Math Comprehension Software (3 PCs)
f. Typing Software (3 PCs)
3. Internet Access (Tigo 3G) -- $50 / month = $600 per year

If you would like to help financially support this new AFE initiative, please contact Rey Diaz at reyangeldiaz@gmail.com

Special Thanks

2009-11-05T14:22:00.000-08:00

We have a wonderful Board that is working really hard to make everything we do possible. I just want to thank everyone on our board for the insight, support, prayers, and counsel during these last couple years. I am convinced God is going to continue to bless all of you as you continue to pour you lives into this ministry. Thanks to Elise White Diaz, Greg Clark, Cathy Baird, Sarai Jacobs, Jeremy Ames, Sara Clark, Eric Ames, Sheryl Ames, Daniel Seiden, and Ann Seiden.

As we finish off year two of this experiment, I can look back and see all the change that has occurred at both the personal level and the structural level. I am amazed to see all the connection that has been made which have served as a catalyst for transformation. Even more I can watch as 180 students eat their lunch meals in the cafeteria knwoin it might be the only meal they eat. I can see children reading on our library who would otherwise be picking through trash. And I can watch a group of children pick out the track they want for college in a couple years who would otherwise be stuck without escape in the garbage dump. I know God is working in his place. But I also know God doesn´t do it alone. He requires to work with human vessels. This board, Washington Cathedral, and many others are allowing for God´s work to keep growing.

Micah Project Computers

2009-10-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

One of my personal heroes is Michael Miller. For those who do not know him, he is the founder of the Micah Project that helps rescue street boys and disciples them into future leaders of Honduras. Whenever I get a chance (not as often as I would like), I head over the Micah house which houses over 20 boys. It is a madhouse in a good sense. This ministry uses a family model to raise these children. This means, Micahel and staff, try to function as parents for more than 20 kids from ages 10 to 25. I thought I had it rough with just Elijah. When you walk into the Micah house, you will witness many things – some kids eating healthy meals, some kids playing pool or soccer, some kids reading a book from the library, other kids studying the bible or praying, and the staff intensively interacting with the kids in all areas of their lives. I love the Micah project and so admire Michael Miller.

On of the needs they are facing is computers. The Micah project home schools the students yet they only have one functioning computer. It is difficult for Elise and I to share our two computers (don’t ask) so imagine how hard it is for these boys to share one computer to do all their homework and research. Washington Cathedral has donated 7 computers to the Micah Project as a small investment into the lives of the students. The Micah Project is an exemplary example of a ministry producing transformation.

Prayer Request

2009-10-19T14:37:00.001-07:00

First, I want to thank God because Friday Oct 16 was the one year anniversary of Daniella and Jessy kidney transplant. Jessy had some complications a few months back but she is 100 percent healthy now. Daniella recovery has been a little slow. At first the kidney was not functioning as it should so she had to return to dialysis. The dialysis seemed to kick the kidney into gear as it started working at the appropriate level. Some other issues have popped up in Daniella´s health which seem to be separate than the kidney issue. Daniella is undergoing many tests on her heart, blood, and nervous system.
Not only are these test tiresome on Daniella, I know they are expensive for Jeony´s family. I am always amazed at how happy Daniella looks despite all these issues she is facing. She really is a testimony to my life.

Please pray for Daniella Health. Pray that the test will identify the issues that need to be addressed. Pray that God will help the entire family through this difficult time.

Accepting an Invitation

2009-09-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Last Weekend, 20 people accepted God's invitation. I was privileged to be part of the beautiful ceremony where these individuals made a public decalartion of their love for God.

I have been part of some amazing church movements in the past including Washington Cathedral and Gainesville Outreach. Here in Honduras, it is different. I cant quite put a finger on the difference or even articulate it. It is just different. God is definitely doing something and I am glad to be a part of it at AFE and our church here, Amor y Vida.

About a month ago, I spoke at our church about baptism. In a nutshell, I explained that baptism was our accepting God’s invitation in a public forum. At our first baptism, we had over 20 individuals accept. We have already scheduled our next baptism. We started last year with 3 house churches in our community. We have since doubled and now have six throughout the community. And this weekend, we will launch our first house church across the street from the garbage dump. We are so excited because this has been our goal from the start – sharing God’s good news with those in desperate poverty.

Please pray as God continues to amaze us.

A Work of Art

2009-09-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

My family has a tradition that has taught me the importance of a meal. Elise asked that Elijah and I would always have dinner together as a family. I used to bring everything from books to my laptop to the dinner table trying to multitask. Although it was a struggle at first to simply eat and spend time with the family, I have loved the tradition. Now I look forward to dinner when Elise and I catch up after hectic days and watch Elijah play with his food and babble incoherently.

Most of the students at AFE do not have the dinner time ritual because of broken families. Many eat with their brothers and sister while parents work. Yet, we wanted to offer the students a sense of family at AFE. This was the rationale behind the dining center. We wanted a place where the children and staff could sit and eat together as a family. Around the table they could pray, joke, laugh, and eat. Now we can do this as our dining facility is finished and looks beautiful. We still have to buy some tables but everything is ready.

We have an indoor kitchen that is also an outdoor kitchen. Meaning that our cooks love cooking over fire, so Melanie Miller’s dad built an outdoor stove (inside) with a chute so that the smoke would go outside. Now the cooks use both the fire stove and the electric stove. We have a large storage area for our perishables along with the refrigerator and freezer. We have plates and bowls for all of our kids and continue to feed them at least one full meal a day. Thanks to everyone that made this dream a reality especially Dr.Opp, Street Kids Direct, and Washington Cathedral.

Dia del Nino

2009-09-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we celebrated the Day of the Child at the Presidential Palace with the President and First Lady of Honduras. It was an incredible blessing. Every news channel and newspaper was at the event hearing our story and our hope.

Rene and Jocelyn sat in the Presidents desk! The President told them "If they study hard and follow God, they have a chance to be the next president of Honduras"

Please pray God uses this platform to finish the transformation work in the garbage dump.

What I learned from the Philly Team

2009-09-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

We just spent one incredible week with a team from Philadelphia City Church who came through Orphan Outreach. They were 10 people divided into a medical team and a teaching team. The medical team attended every student at AFE and their families. The teaching teams taught science and VBS to all of our classes. Pretty typical right? Well for some reason, I feel I learned so much from them. For example -

A Smile makes such a difference – One of their members, Ethan, had the biggest and brightest smile ever. Every time I saw him, I felt happier.

Science can be fun – The science team had our students plant gardens and seeds for their science class. I have seen many of our kids returning to see if their plants have grown. They seem to like science which is awesome by atypical.

Just Serve and Love – This team did whatever was needed no matter what. We fed in the garbage dump, worked until late evenings, skipped lunches, painted and varnished and you name it. They barely took any breaks.

Everyone Matters – They brought presents for all the staff but we have two new staff members. You should have seen how concerned and worried they were. They promised to send something down for them. I would have just said “sorry but you guys gave us the wrong number of teachers. “

Language is not an excuse - Although most of the team could not speak Spanish they were always interacting with the students. During meals they did not exclude themselves but sat among the children and somehow communicated.

We receive over 25 teams a year and all of them are special in their own way. But this team had something that I cant quite put my finger on. I just know that I thoroughly enjoyed their presence and feel blessed to have known them. I hope they return and become partners with AFE.

New Babies

2009-08-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year we formed a nursery for babies who would be cared for in the garbage dump if they were not safely in our nursery. We began with the younger brother and sister of some AFE students: Daniel and Yoli. In the couple of months since they started with the nursery, they have changed right before our eyes. They wear clean clothes, clean diapers, and have washed hair. There is a new sparkle in their eyes. They are loved and cared for by many of the capable, loving staff at AFE while their parents work in the garbage dump.

We knew that once we started, God would bring the right babies into our nursery. It did not take long for God to act. We have tripled in size and now have 6 beautiful babies. The 4 new babies are – Angel (11) months, Scarlet (5 years), Carlos (1 year), and Abigail (5 months).
I am amazed at how vulnerable these children are to the environment. I am so grateful we have a place of safety and security for them. Due to 4 new babies, we have had to hire a new full-time staff member for the nursery. Now Johanna and Claudio work full-time in the nursery although you can always catch some other staff members cuddling with the babies or praying for them. It is hard for the teachers to resist the cute babies

Please pray for these new babies. Pray they would never know the garbage dump. Pray they would be loved and know God’s plan for their lives. Thanks to so many who have helped make this dream come true.

A Disquiet Peace

2009-08-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Once it became apparent that Mel Zelaya´s political posturing was nothing more than hopping back and forth over the border, yelling ¨Na-na-na-na-nah!¨ to the press, Rey and I decided that we could safely fly back into Tegucigalpa. When we arrived and began the drive through town, most of the walls and street corners were marked, painted over, than marked again: evidence of the many demonstrations. I looked with interest at the graffiti, correcting spelling errors in my mind, and chuckling at some of the more creative artists: “Pinocheletti,” “Fuera Golpistas” It all seemed a little one-sided. ¨That´s because Mel´s supporters a rag-tag bunch and very poorly behaved,” our driver commented.

The opinions here are as varied as our August weather. “The political protestors are paid off, with Chavez´s money!” “Both ‘presidents’ are ladrones!” “The news is wrong. It wasn’t a coup d’etat. The removal of Zelaya was done legally, in line with Honduras’ constitution, not the United States’ constitution”. I, personally, don’t know what to believe. History will tell, perhaps, what really happened.

In the meantime Honduras enjoys a disquiet peace. Life goes on as normal, giving the weekly political demonstrations a wide margin. The curfew keeps people off the streets at night, when it is in effect. We look forward to the November elections, hoping they will bring back international aid to this poor country. I try to put a happy spin on it to my Honduran friends: at least the world now knows of this small country, south of Mexico. “Yes,” they reply, “they know that we are politically ailing…not of the beauty and greatness that lies within our people.”

Time, Talent, and Treasure

2009-08-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading an incredible book I recommend to everyone – The Hole in My Gospel by Richard Stearns. There is so much I can say about this book because it is simply amazing and challenging.

One of the main questions the book wrestles with is, “What does God expect of us?” What a great question. It forces us to come face to face with our God. It makes us read afresh his words in scripture. And most importantly, it allows us a chance to dream about what God has in store for our lives.

God has saved us. He has chosen us. What does he expect of us now? One thought is the idea that God wants our time, talents, and treasures. These are very real ways we can respond to God. We can give time to his kingdom work. We can invest our lives and families to make sure those around us know the truth and love of God. We can also invest our unique talents to serve alongside God. I believe there are things which only we can do through the unique calling, personality and gifts God has given us. Finally, we can give God from much he has given. Aside from tithing, which is basically giving 10 percent of our income back to God, we can also sacrifice and give offerings. We can give to support God’s kingdom.

Time, talents and treasures.

Dance Video

2009-08-04T22:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the video I promised

In All Things God Works for the Good

2009-07-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

Many times I have had the experience of chatting with my hair stylist and dentist about what I do only to encounter the response: “Honduras? I’ve never heard of that country before. Where is it located?”

When Rey and I first learned of the alleged coup d’état in Honduras, my dad quoted the verse to me: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). I was skeptical. Really Dad, good can come out of a coup d’ état in Honduras, in a region where such military takeovers have been connected with violent oppression, civil wars, and mass disappearances? How could God possibility use the corruption on both sides of the “democratic process” in Honduras to bring forth good?

Well, two weeks, “stuck in the United States,” have brought about very fruitful meetings and times of organizing for Project Transformation, and opportunities to meet with key players in the development process.

And, two weeks later, Honduras is on the minds and hearts of all America…perhaps even the world. What prayer support will grow out of this crisis for Honduras and its people? What new resources will be inspired by this great media attention, brought about by a tragic circumstance?

God can truly work good out of bad circumstances.

Exiles

2009-07-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Psalm 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
Since last Sunday, the Diaz family has been in exile from their home in Honduras. President Zelaya was arrested and deposed as the leader by the supreme court and congress. The embassy has restricted travel unless it is life or death. At first it was only for a couple days. Then the restrictions kept getting longer. And longer. While we wait and wait.

It is not that we don’t like spending some quality time with family and friends. It is not knowing what is going to happen or when we are going back. We are in limbo. Most of our stuff is in Honduras. All of all work is in Honduras. Our calling is in Honduras. Not knowing when we will return has been difficult for us this last week.

Then yesterday, there was a showdown between military and 20,000 protestors. 2 or possibly more were killed and 30 injured as the heavy gunfire was used against the crowd. I don’t know what the best course of action is. I don’t know what will happen between the two sides. I don’t know when it will be safe to return. Thanks God Jeony and all of AFE are relatively safe. There have been no demonstrations or violence in that part of town.

I am praying for Honduras and I invite you all to pray with me. Please pray for peace. Pray for this situation to be resolved quickly. Pray for the students at AFE and their families. Pray for the families in the garbage dump. Pray that God’s will be done.

Psalm 137:4 How can we sing songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?

I can sing because I know God is in control. May his will be done.

Mother´s Day

2009-06-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

Last year´s celebration for Mothers of the Garbage Dump was an amazing outreach event, difficult to top. However, with expanding numbers of participants, delightful additions to the program, and new gifts for the mothers, we may have just done it.

I believe word went around last year about what an incredible experience it was. This year we did not have to go up to the dump and encourage mothers to come. They came voluntarily, by the hundreds, on bus and on foot, some an hour early to get a good seat. 247 mothers showed up, not including the friends and children they brought with them. Some mothers cried with joy when they saw their children perform. They all heard the gospel message, many for the first time in their lives. It was a special day. The mothers had changed from their work clothes and dressed up the best they could. We took a picture of them, with beautiful trees swaying the wind behind them, and printed it out that day to adorn their humble homes with the only photograph they have.

The mothers of the Tegucigalpa Garbage Dump would like to thank Robert Beam, Orphan Outreach, and Washington Cathedral, who worked together to provide this beautiful experience for them.

Turn their Mourning into Dancing

2009-06-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

This afternoon AFE had a dance contest. It was Pastor Jeony´s idea. The kids love to dance and are always looking for excuses to choreograph a “good-bye” dance for mission teams, or an interpretative dance for worship services. They formed their own groups…some called themselves “I can do all things through Christ,” others, “Rockers,” and they began to practice. They danced to Christian songs, some slow and worshipful, others with a Regaeton beat.
When the anticipated day finally arrived, everyone at AFE and friends from Linda Miller filled up the assembly room . Excitement permeated the air. Rey served as the host of the performance, and Vanessa, Fradner and I were the judges. The teachers each had a vested interest because most of them had helped choreograph a team, and they would stop at nothing to butter up the judges.

When the dancing began the whole event became a melodrama. Kids were holding up signs for their favorite performers, cheering and throwing confetti, booing at the judges, and getting up to dance spontaneously. The stakes were high. The grand prize was 1,000 Lempiras! (I´m not sure where the prize money came from, but I suspect Pastor Jeony´s pocket).
It came down to three groups or performers: five third graders, surprisingly talented for their age, the older boys of AFE (who were blessed with Jessy Ordonez as their choreographer), and some of the older girls, who had designed their own dance.

As each group danced, the teachers and leaders laughed with delight to see their shy students breaking out of their shells. I looked around the faces and saw pride glowing from the pastors, who remembered these young people when they were small children, and carried heavier burdens. Some of the dancers were the first to be rescued from the dump. Their faces were once set as stone, due to their work that no child should have to do. But now they were dancing, smiling and laughing. And then, wiping tears of joy from their eyes when they won. (Appropriately, it was “I Can Do All Things Through Christ” who won first place).
It was a day full of joy and fun. And I can´t wait until next year when I can also serve as a choreographer!

March for Non-Violence

2009-05-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

The students at AFE are the future leaders of Honduras. This is our dream and mission – to take the children of the garbage dump and allow them to become what God intended: successful leaders of their country, standing as pillars of all that God is capable of doing.

One of the most exciting aspects of this ministry is the opportunity to see the students grow up right before your eyes, and to begin to become these “pillars.” This is especially true of our older students. They participate in a leadership class in a special afterschool program. As the final project for this class they had to practice leadership in a concrete way. By their own initiative, they decided to organize a march in the community against domestic violence and abuse.

On Sunday afternoon around fifty of AFE´s students walked around the Linda Miller community, united against violence. Other people from the community saw what they were doing and joined the march. It culminated in an informal town meeting as that addressed the issues involved with domestic violence. We are so proud of our students. During the meeting, the young people spoke eloquently against the violence many of them had seen firsthand. For one day, I was able to glimpse the potential of our emerging leaders at AFE: young people who had come from garbage yet will soon change the world.

US Ambassador Visits AFE

2009-05-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

On March 24th, AFE was privileged to receive a visit from the United States’ ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens. Llorens has an impressive track record of social and economic development in the Americas and officially became the US ambassador in September 2008.

AFE feels extraordinarily honored that Ambassador Llorens made it one of his early priorities to visit and help build a partnership between AFE and the prestigious economic-assistance organization, US Aid. Bill Brands, the mission director of US Aid in Honduras, accompanied the ambassador, and was particularly excited about the possibility of aiding AFE’s vocational school.
Both Ambassador Llorens and Brands seemed touched by the program that the AFE kids put together to thank them, and also appeared inspired by the educational milestones these children had achieved. Ambassador Llorens plans to visit again in the spring to donate sets of classic books, in Spanish, to the literacy program at AFE. He also intends to bring the media with him and draw local attention to AFE’s work. Additionally, Ambassador Llorens hopes to help AFE network with the manager of a private recycling company with whom he has a connection.

Thank you to Michael Miller, who helped to facilitate the visit with the ambassador, and of course to Ambassador Llorens himself and Bill Brands, who took time out of their busy schedules to get to know the children of the Tegucigalpa city garbage dump.

Bringing Peace to the Paz Family

2009-03-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

A year ago Washington Cathedral raised money to “finish” the nursery – the structure was up, but we still needed interior elements such as flooring, windows, etc. For a year the room was used miscellaneously, as we had no money to staff the nursery. Finally, our dream of caring for babies in soft, comfortable beds instead of cardboard boxes in the dump came into fruition thanks to some help from Orphan Outreach and Street Kids Direct.

Last week we checked in our first two babies: a brother and sister of a family involved with AFE. The “Paz” family is deeply entrenched in garbage dump life. Both parents work in the garbage; so does each of their children when they leave AFE’s doors: except for these two new inductees to the nursery.

Lilobeth is two years old and though she hasn’t “worked” in the dump, she has spent all of her life there, beside her mother, learning the trade by observation. She bears the ramifications of this life. Her toddler skin is already leathery from overexpose to the sun, and her hair looks like dirty straw pulled into a pony tail. But now is in AFE’s nursery during the day, lovingly cared for by Johanna, who has young children of her own.

Daniel, her brother, is three months old, and the nursery opened at an opportune time for him. His mother took a “maternity leave” of three months when he was born, and was about to go back to work in the dump when she instead decided to put he and Lilobeth in the nursery. Daniel’s skin has a healthy glow, and his smile is easy. He is the eighth child of the “Paz” family and the first to grow up outside of the dump. “Paz” means peace. Daniel will be the first to crawl on tiled floors, sleep in clean blankets…with the sound of twinkling mobile instead of garbage trucks.

Thank you to all of those who helped bring peace to the children of the Paz family. Our prayer is that little Daniel will be the first in the Paz family to never know the garbage dump. The cycle of working in the garbage dump ends with Daniel.

A Little Boy's Dream

2009-03-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

Daniel is a young boy who has never walked once in his nine years of life. His mom and dad are dedicated Christians who have been praying for their son their entire lives. They come faithfully to Amor y Vida in Linda Miller. Daniel’s father has a sewing shop out of his house where he is going to teach some of the young girls from the garbage dump to sew. Daniel’s parents have always kept a good attitude about the state of their son despite the difficulties. They have praised God through it all. They still dream of seeing their son take his first steps, walking and running.

God has worked a miracle. There is a new procedure available that will give Daniel the opportunity he needs to walk. After the procedure he will need some physical therapy as his muscles learn the nuisances of walking. This procedure will cost 28,000 L ($1,500.00).

Daniel mother and father both work to provide for their family. They have saved all they can but there is no way they can afford this procedure. They are asking God for one more miracle. Please pray with the Daniel and his family that God will provide the funding for the medical procedure. If you feel led to help with some or all the procedure, please email me at reyangeldiaz@gmail.com.

The Miracle of Pollito

2009-02-28T21:34:00.000-08:00

If anyone were a poster child for project transformation, it would be Pollito. You might recognize him from his picture – four and a half feet of dusty clothes worn too big, and a grimy smile that spreads from ear to ear. I had heard much about him before I first saw him. He is well known among the garbage sorters as the little boy raised in the trash. His mom is a drug addict and he has been in the garbage every day without fail since he was one year old. Now that he is eight, there has never been a harder worker. The older guys call him “Pollito,” which means “little chicken,” because they think of him as sort of a pet. You can see he takes pride in being allowed to hang around them. I suspect no one gives him attention “at home” – wherever that is.

How long, little Pollito, will you grow up in garbage? Will you ever learn to play instead of lift heavy bags twice your size? For seven years, since AFE began, Pollito has been the subject of our hopes and prayers. Every time we encounter him, he promises to come to school the next day. But for seven years, the next day found him in the trash once more. Until last week.
On Monday, and mouths dropped open when Pollito and his little sister walked through AFE’s doors, clean and ready to learn. They were not alone. Their mother, sober for the first time, brought them and enrolled them in classes immediately. Since that day, Pollito and his sister have not missed one class, have arrived promptly every day, and even came to church on Sunday! There is no other explanation than God’s timing, and we can do nothing but thank God for this miracle.

We thank God…but we still fervently pray for Pollito and his family. While he and his sister are enrolled in AFE and showing good intentions to change, it is still an uphill battle to rescue them from the forces that keep generations in the dump. In fact, Pollito has a particular challenge in education since he has never learned the motor skills to even hold a pencil. He is receiving special tutoring for this, but please continue to keep their family in your prayers. We will keep you updated as to Pollito’s progress!

Incarnational Living

2009-02-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

In a week we will be able to practice a fundamental law of mission work: incarnational living. It means that just as Jesus put on flesh and moved into the neighborhood (John 1:14), so are we to do everything we can to live with and like the people to whom we minister.

The house in the Miller community will still be a step up from the poverty of the people of the dump. But it will be closer to them, in geographic and economic distance. Electricity comes and goes, and water may prove to be an ever scarcer commodity. It will be much easier for our weekly Saturday visitors (the young people of AFE) to find us and I hope the visits will become more frequent. But just as importantly, it will easier for us to share life with the Honduran community around us. I dream of starting a Bible study for mothers of the Miller community, who will then reach out to the matriarchs of the Tegucigalpa Dump. And I know that Rey is especially looking forward to the Sunday evening kickball games!

I am certain that my family will be tremendously blessed through this move. Children greet Elijah in the streets and we will have the best neighbors ever! (The Ordoňez family). Shane Claibourn once said: “I believe that the great tragedy of the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor, but that they do not know the poor.” We feel so blessed that Elijah will have the opportunity to know the poor, who are also our friends. Thank you so much to Michael Miller who has helped us find housing in Honduras, become acquainted to the country and culture, and made this move possible.

First Week of Class

2009-02-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

We just finished our first week of classes. It was an incredible experience. We registered 49 news students all connected to the garbage dump. We were all surprised by the sudden interest in many of the new students. To think that these 49 new students will experience love unexplainable and hope of a new future is really exciting. We all believe 2009 will be a pivotal year for the garbage dump. We plan on starting the nursery this year along with a special education class. We will have a fulltime teacher who is helping the children with learning disabilities. We also started 9th grade this year. We have an English class which will help with speaking the language and a new literature class where we will be reading Honduras authors along with classics such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Uncle Tom’s Cabin. We also started another year of our discipleship program called Impacto Total. This program was such a success last year as the students learned how to practically apply their faith to everyday life. The testimonies were so beautiful as many students spoke of incredible growth in different areas.

Along with the 49 miracles God gave us, he provided another miracle for AFE. Due to the increase in our students, we have had to hire new staff. The problem is we do not have any funds to hire new teachers. All of us were feeling the pressure and stress of not having any funds. I would wake up every morning at 5 am with the weight of the world on my chest. Where would we get about eight thousand dollars in such short notice? One of the students saw me worrying and asked what was wrong. I decided to use this opportunity to grow in faith. I told the student, “I am looking for some money but can’t find any. But let’s pray and God will provide for us.” We both prayed asking God to look out for us. That was Tuesday. On Thursday, I got an unexpected email from Mike Douris of Orphan Outreach which is a partner organization. He told me a group from Florida Baptist Children’s home was giving exactly $8000 towards operations! I was stunned. I know all the stories of George Mueller and William Carey praying and living by faith. But this might be the first time I experienced it. It has taken us a while, but I am realizing how much God cares for this ministry.

We have new prayer request so please don’t forget about us.

Graduation 08 - Slideshow

2009-01-18T12:03:00.000-08:00

Please keep these students in your prayers.

Josue, Milton, Carlos, Paola

Selena, Jackson, Maholy, Gerson, Edwin, Douglas

Graduation 08

2009-01-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

On December 5, 2008 we had a graduation at AFE. Four students finished kindergarten and are moving into first grade. Six students finished elementary school and are moving into middle school. It was the first graduation for AFE I had attended. I was moved by the students who have overcome so many crippling obstacles to reach this moment. Some of the graduates live in the worst conditions imaginable. Others are dealing with serious family problems and abuse. Others have been abandoned by their parents and are being raised by aunts and grandparents. Others have had to work every afternoon in the garbage dump afterschool to provide food for their family. Yet these students have graduated and there were many people congratulating them.

In Honduras, the graduation is dedicated to a person and named after them. The graduation is usually addressed to some who gave a large donation or passed away or did something special for the school. Our graduation was named after Jeki Suge Roca. She is actually a made up person. Instead she is the acronym of all the teachers we have on staff at AFE. This graduation was dedicated to our teachers because for many years they have done all the hard work at AFE. I feel honored to work next to these heroes. For many years they donated all their time to teach our students. They paid for all their material and transportation. This year, we have been able to give them an ‘offering’ for their work. They tremendously gifted and love all our students as if they were their own. These teachers serve as proof that God has the garbage dump in his plans because he assembled an all-star staff of teachers to love and teach these students.

Pride

2008-12-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

I was just at a Forum for Injustice in Tegucigalpa Honduras. Pastor Jeony and I were invited by one of the directors of the forum. They had also asked if we could bring a couple students from AFE to share their testimony. We chose Antonio and Rene. They were nervous about having to tell their story before a huge crowd. Rene’s hand was ice cold from his nerves. Yet they boldly stood up before 100 leaders in Honduras, and shared what God had done in their lives. They shared about their past in the garbage dump, their present at AFE, and their future dreams. When they were finished, the audience responded with a thunderous applause. I was in tears.

Antonio and Rene did not share any new information with me that night. I was in tears because I was seeing a dream come true. I was experiencing the hand of God. I was witnessing a miracle. Our mission is to see lives and structure transformed. Both of these young men are transformed. I know they are only the beginning. There are another 170 students who are in the process of transformation and will one day be walking testimony of God’s love. There are another couple hundred still in the garbage dump but I know they are still in God’s plan. I was so moved because these two young men were shining God’s light that evening. I could imagine the pride God felt, in hearing his two children say such wonderful things about their heavenly father. I could imagine the pride Jeony felt, in that he was the first to respond the heavenly Father years ago to help his children in the garbage dump. I felt overwhelming pride, in working next to God and this amazing team, being part of this unstoppable movement. I know that by ourselves, there is so little that can be done against injustice, poverty, and evil. But for the last year I have been part of this team working in Honduras, whose members are in Washington Cathedral, Amor y Vida, Orpan Outreach, StreetKidsDirect, Bethel Church, and so many other places, and I have seen firsthand transformation. I have tangible, empirical proof that God wants to and is going to transform this entire community. And at the end of the day, God will be glorified.

Future Computer Technicians

2008-12-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

Today I was typing into an Excel file in AFE´s office when I was surrounded by eager learners. “Did you type in all of that information?”
“How do you do it so fast?
“Can you even type with your eyes closed?”
“Yes”, I replied, “And you will learn how to do it too!”

Thanks to generous donors from Washington Cathedral AFE now has eleven computers in its upstairs room. The children are taking typing classes. Soon they will learn how to use the programs in Microsoft office, and then the internet!

For children whose world does not expand much further than their neighborhood, this is a great opportunity for them, and they are excited!

Little Ivan was amazed as he was given the opportunity to type out his name on the keyboard and see it appear on the screen. “Would you like to learn computer skills?” I asked him. He nodded his head fervently. Someday I believe he will work in an office instead of in a garbage dump.

Indulgences

2008-11-21T15:29:00.000-08:00

How do you indulgence yourself after a long day? My favorite thing to do is to take a shower. I love to shower. Especially after spending the day at AFE, playing with the kids outside, and the long, sweaty walk up the stairs to our house. I love the smell of my shampoo and the feeling of the clean water through my hair. In the shower I can’t be bothered; I stop serving others needs for a moment, and spend as long in there as I like. It becomes a spiritual experience for me and sometime I break into spontaneous worship. I love to shower.

Showering is something we may take for granted in the states. Unfortunately, not many of the families of AFE experience this luxury. They do not have running water at their house. They bathe with their clothes on in a stream near their house. Perhaps this is refreshing on a hot day, but miserable on a cold one. I suspect that many of our AFE kids and families do not make it to the stream to bathe that often.

Now, thanks to Washington Cathedral – and others – AFE will have 5 showers on their grounds by Christmas. Not only will the AFE kids and families be able to bathe whenever they like and experience the luxury of a shower, but a new, clean appearance will begin to change their identity and how others see them. If they leave their community they can do so with confidence, that strangers will no longer point behind their backs and call them one of the “dirty ones.”

Elise White Diaz

Shelter

2008-11-11T07:59:00.000-08:00

I walked into the small, cardboard tent , which was created to be a refugee shelter, and pondered: how could this serve as better housing for anyone? In an hour I would find out.

We drove up to the ¨Buen Samiritano¨ community, ironically named. Rey had heard the people in the community called “invaders” because they divided up land that did not belong to them. Some of the families of AFE live in that community, some garbage workers, and some who are just desperately poor.

A man cradling a baby came up to our car. “Please give me money for a doctor, my baby is sick.” And indeed she was…with bites all over her legs, sucking feverishly on a bottle, and crying angrily into my eyes.

Of course she was sick. She lived in one of the crowded “shelters” that dotted the land. A couple of sticks precariously held up garbage bags flapping in the wind. They were the size of the closet I once had in the states. Usually around six people lived in them and received little shelter from the wind and rain which entered as it wished.

The cardboard refugee house, airtight with a tarp covering it´s solid roof, was definitely a better option for these people. Thank you, Aid Matrix, for providing the shelters for thirty families. The need is overwhelming in Honduras - over 100 people lined up for the thirty shelters - but God is at work, moving in the hearts of people like you and me.

“ "A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man's condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I'll pay you on my way back.' (Luke 10:33-25, The Message)

Medical Team in the garbage dump

2008-11-04T18:39:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest needs we face in the garbage dump is the lack of medical attention. In the last month we have taken two people facing death to the hospital from the garbage dump. They were surrounded by garbage dump workers for hours before we arrived to serve some food. We just happen to go by. If not they would have probably just died like the many before them. There is no nearby clinic. There is no transportation to the clinic. And there is no knowledge of the benefits available to them.

We dream of opening a full clinic in the community we will build. We also want to have a nurse on staff who serves our kids in the morning and the garbage dump workers in the afternoon. Until then the only medical attention the garbage dump community receives is through the medical brigades we bring in. This past week we spent a couple days with a medical staff of 30 up in the garbage dump and at the school. The services were available to all the workers and their families. We served over 500 people! We offered general medicine covering anything from warts to respiratory infections to migraine headaches. We also offered vision exams along with glasses. Finally we had dental services of cleaning and extraction of molars. People were lined up for hours as the staff worked all day. It was such a blessing.

New Church Building

2008-10-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday October 25, Amor y Vida inaugurated our new church building. We have officially moved out of the community center and into our own building. We had a huge celebration with many special guests and the whole church. We have so many people to thank including Orphan Outreach, ACEMH, and Washington Cathedral who have been involved in various ways.

The construction team that funded most of the building is from Heritage Family Church located in Fort Worth, Texas. They do not have their own building yet but meet in a school. They were in the middle of a building campaign for their own church when the pastor visited our project in Honduras. On his return to the church, he announced that they would begin construction on a new building. The church began applauding thinking that the building was for them. Yet the pastor told them the new building was going to be about 2500 miles south. He explained our project and vision and the church was in agreement to build our church first. It was a tremendous sacrifice and one we do not take lightly.

Spiritual formation is at the center of the transformation process. We believe that unless God is in the center of the process, it will inevitable fail. Our church is fusing two different communities together. It has not been easy but God has worked miracles which are evident on the first visit to our church. We serve families connected to the garbage dump which most of society has ostracized. But God is doing a work in their lives that is impacting the whole garbage dump community. We have started ‘small´ groups in three different locations but they have all grown to over 50. The new building was a definite need as we were standing room only in our old location.

Please pray for our church, our pastors, leaders, and members.

Update

2008-10-27T14:07:00.000-07:00

We have great news to announce on all fronts. After a couple set backs, Daniella’s kidney is beginning to function properly. All the levels that are suppose to be down, are down and vice versa. The doctor said her levels are the best they have been since before she started dialysis. She is still in the hospital but could be home in a couple weeks if she continues to progress.
Jessy feels good enough to leave the house every once in a while now. She is still weakened by the procedure and all her medication but she came to our new church inauguration. The church was so happy to see her up an about.

Ellen had her hip and leg surgery on Thursday. They put a screw in her hip. The procedure was a complete success. Ellen was sent home on Sunday. She is still feeling a lot of pain but with a month of recover she should be fine. Valesqa is back at school. Her back is still bruised but the doctor gave her clearance to get about. We are so happy to see her walking and smiling like usual.

Transplant update and another prayer request

2008-10-20T15:12:00.000-07:00

Jessy is home and feeling very good. We visited her on Friday afternoon and she looked great. She is able to walk around but has difficulty sitting up on her. She recounted for us the whole story of the operation. She never felt fear until right before she went under from the anesthesia. The last thing she heard was “Pass me the rib-separator.” Jeony and Jessy were able to see Daniella through a window on Saturday. They said she looks like a completely different person.

Daniella had some troubling news today. I do not have all the details but I do know she needs to have a session of dialysis today. Jeony and Jessy are sadden by the news but realize this is sometimes the case after a transplants. Please keep praying for Daniella’s kidney and the Ordonez family.

We had a horrible accident occur afterschool on Thursday. Two of our first graders were hit by a car on their walk home – Ellen and Valesqa. They both spent a day in the hospital. Valesqa was sent home with a bruised spine and has to be in bed for a month while she heals. Ellen was not so fortunate. She cracked her hip bone and broke her femur. She will need surgery which takes place Tuesday. Please pray for her. The family of Ellen is distraught over the situation. Her family is struggling financially and the school has helped.

Thanks

Revolution

2008-10-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

Read a new book and support Project Transformation!

Alex Tamayo Wolf published his first book in 2007. He felt inspired by his grandfather, Georg Wolf, who he shadowed as a little boy and decided to write Revolution in his honor.

As an even more generous act, Alex supports Project Transformation by donating twenty percent of the profit from Revolution. You may purchase his book here from Amazon. Buying the book will provide our organization with a monetary donation; furthermore, you will read a great novel inspired by a man that also helped children escape from the world in which they are living.

Book Summary: In the beautiful countryside outside imperial Vienna, in the years leading up to World War I, a remarkable story took place...Helene Marie Neumann, a vintner’s daughter, spends her youth making wine with her mother and father, soaking up the Riesling sunshine, growing into a lovely young woman. Here she meets Maximilian Rieger, a wealthy boy whose family owns a nearby villa. They become good friends. But dark clouds roll in on this idyllic life. Maximilian is sent away to boarding school. And Maximilian's father, a ruthless businessman, swindles the vineyard from Helene's father, the town drunk. The vineyard lost, Helene is taken to an orphanage in the slums of Vienna, forced into prostitution, and remains there until she is eighteen. On the darkest day of her life, she finds a seed of hope in a childhood memory and begins her long journey home. But she must first confront Maximilian, who has grown into his father.

If you want a good read, check out Revolution by Alex Tamayo Wolf. With each sale, a donation of 20% will go to Project Transformation.

Here is a link to Revolution’s website.
Contact the author, Alex Tamayo Wolf.

Transplant Update

2008-10-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

The procedure took all morning but was declared a success. Jessy is awake but laying down in her recovery room. Daniella is still sleeping due to medication. The latest word from the doctors is that Daneilla's body is reacting well to the new kidney.

Thanks for all your prayer and support.

We will post more updates in the near future.

Transplant

2008-10-13T18:19:00.000-07:00

Although we have faced many delays and obstacles, Daniella’s transplant is finally here. Both Daniella and Jessy were admitted to the hospital Monday morning. They will undergo the surgical procedure Tuesday morning. Jessy will spend the rest of the week in the Hospital in recovery. She will then be sent home to recover for about 2 months before she can resume her duties. Daniella will stay in the hospital until her immune system recovers from the procedure which should take about one month.

Our church, Amor y Vida, has asked the congregation to take Tuesday as a day of prayer and fasting in gratitude for all the miracles God has done and is yet to do in the Ordonez Family. We invite all of you to join us in this prayer and fasting if you are able to.

We will keep updates on the blog but feel free to email us if you have any questions. Thanks for all your help and support. We are all believing God for a miracle.

Future Leaders of Honduras

2008-10-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

The task of turning children’s tasks and attention away from the garbage dump and into educational ambition is easier with some, more difficult with others. There are four young men at AFE who have a particular amount of pressure to continue working in the dump. These are Sergio David Paz Moya, Gerson Vasquez, Jonathon Jeffery Paz, and Ariel Valladares. Although they are only teenagers, as the oldest boys they bear the burden of supporting their entire families from their earnings in the dump. After praying with these students and speaking with their families, we have decided to send these students to El Sembrador.

El Sembrador is a Christian Vocational School in Honduras that excels in producing future Honduran leaders. In fact, about fifty years ago one young man who had spent his life on the street graduated from El Sembrador and later became the pastor of the “Amor y Vida” church, which has birthed several church plants and social action projects, including AFE’s church. The former street boy turned pastor was Jorge Pinto, and AFE owes a lot of what it is to him. We hope for just as amazing results with the AFE children who attend. We have sent two students in the past with great success. Many have heard of Antonio and the work God has done in his life. He is graduating El Sembrador this year.

We have a plan to help the families of these four students while they study at El Sembrador. It is a three year commitment but once they graduate, they will have the equivalence of a high school degree and vocational certificate in a specific field. To send a student to El Sembrador costs about $1,200 per student for the entire year. That price includes room, board, registration, tuition, uniform, school supplies and snack food. There is also a little cushion for extra expenses such as clothing and medicine, etc.

If you are interested in providing a full or partial scholarship for any of these four students, please contact Rey Diaz at reyangeldiaz@gmail.com . Please keep these students in your prayers as we seek God’s will for their lives.

Spiritual Formation

2008-09-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

We strongly believe that at the core of all our students is a spiritual being. Unless they are connected intimately with Jesus, discovering His love and purpose for their lives, no other transformation is enough. They will be restless until they find rest in Him.

“None but God can satisfy the longings of an immortal soul; that as the heart was made for Him, so He only can fill it.”
Richard Chenevix Trench

By no means are we minimizing or not making social justice a priority. We are simply stating that social justice without Jesus is not enough. We know it is hard for a starving child to hear “Jesus loves you” so we feed and with both our action and our words we declare, “Jesus loves you.” We apply this principle to all the areas of their lives where there is disintegration and devastation.

In order to develop followers of Jesus among the people in the garbage dump, we are initiating a new strategy the first week of October for all the students 12 and up. In conjunction with Amor y Vida, we are beginning a ‘church plant’ at AFE with this age group. We have a 3 pronged approach

1 – Weekly meetings where we discuss any of the topics the students deem relevant to their lives. We want to teach our kids how to be a Christian in the everyday life including dating, working, family life, friends, pop culture, etc.

2 – We are dividing up are kids into small accountability groups called ISI – Iron Sharpens Iron. These groups will be following the structure of Life Transformation Groups where the group meets weekly and discuss a series of accountability questions whose goal is to develop deep disciples.

3 – Finally, we have assigned a mentor over all the students whose responsibility will be to have bi-monthly one on ones. These meeting will serve to simply listen to the student about their lives, problems, weaknesses, strengths, dreams, and ambitions. Anything is free game. Our jobs will be to help the students see Jesus in their own lives.

We are beyond excited about our strategy for the spiritual formation of our students. We don’t doubt these are the future leaders of Honduras who will start their own projects, churches, and businesses that will shine a light of God’s love in Honduras. We are also painfully aware of our inadequacy to attempt this great endeavor. We are utterly dependant on God. Please pray that God might be glorified through this new step.

Thanks to Washington Cathedral

2008-09-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Washington Cathedral for all they have done and continue to do for the community in the garbage dump in Tegucigalpa.

A Transformation of the Heart - By Kelly Glenn

2008-09-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

Can you remember the last thing that you worried about? Are you worried about anything right now?

I’ve never been a big worrier in life. When I face stress or struggles, I’ve gotten really good at relying on God to take care of them. So far, that’s worked well for me. But recently, I’ve had a number of experiences and conversations that have shaken up ideas about God that I’d had since I was a child, and made me wonder if maybe reading the Bible from inside a safe, suburban home growing up had caused me to misunderstand a few things. Let me explain.

When I wanted to help the poor, I would go to feed the homeless, but I would make it all about me. I would go to bed feeling good about having volunteered and thinking about how much God would bless me for it. I would not lose sleep worrying about where the homeless people I had met would lay their heads that night.

Why was I so sure that God would take care of my every want, need, or desire, when I didn’t give a thought to how he took care of my homeless neighbors across town?

Somehow, I grew more comfortable with the image of God as one who would bless me for doing good works than one who desperately cared about the poor and wants us to do the same.

When I got into my first choice college, when I could afford to go to physical therapy for my knee because we had health insurance, I assumed it was God’s blessings that had allowed me do those things, as if he was rewarding me for being a faithful follower to Him. There’s just one thing wrong with this view: the unstated assumption. The assumption was that those who hadn’t been blessed like I was must not have deserved it. Most people would never admit this out loud, but it seems that the way we live confirms that we think we are more deserving than other “less fortunate” people.

It is true that God cares for me, but what about the refugees of Darfur, the starving in Haiti, or the struggling inner city student in Detroit? I have to think that God has an even greater hand of protection over them, yet their struggles continue. Does this mean that God is taking better care of me than of them? I beg to differ. Maybe I have been taking too much for granted, writing it off as God blessing me for being such a great person, when really it’s only because I’ve been fortunate enough to be born on the right side of certain political, economic, and social structures. I don’t deserve that, it’s just the way it’s happened. So we must realize that God wants to bless the struggling, oppressed people of the world as much as he wants to bless us, and if something is prohibiting them from drinking safe water or working under decent conditions, it’s probably because of our greed, even unknowingly.

I fear that we have become very complacent as a culture. We justify our comfortable lifestyles unnecessary spending by quoting verses that say that God loves us and wants the best for us. But chances are, those verses were not written to the “salaried and caloried” part of the world, as one writer put it, but to people who were poor, abused, and oppressed. It is true that I work hard and God wants me to take time for myself. But how much harder do the hundreds of scavengers in the dump work every day, looking for food? Why did I always put my needs before theirs?

It makes me sad when I realize that even though I do make a point of giving to the less fortunate, I still live at a level that is above 95% of the world. I am not, as Michael Miller put it, “giving until it hurts.” As the saying goes, there is enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed. And I cannot possibly justify my greedy behavior by saying that God loves me, when there are others out there hurting who God loves just as much. It is only through reading the Bible from their perspective- on the fringes of society- that we will ever begin to wrap our mind around how much God loves and cares for the poor and hurting of the world. Let us strive to understand that, to live it out, and to never forget it.

AFE Website

2008-09-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

After about 6 months of working on this website, it is finally up. Please check out www.afehonduras.org . It gives so much information on AFE. It is not complete but should be done within a couple weeks. We will also have a Spanish version of the website available real soon.

In the future, the website will be the primary way of contacting AFE and staying up to date. We apologize for the delay but hope it will serve you well in the future.

Preventative Education

2008-09-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

As we seek transformation, we see the importance of prevention in this process. Yet we think there must be more than prevention. In the community the AFE kids run in, a downward spiral exists, luring and enticing all of the students into its clutches. It is like a black hole whose center pulls and pulls until all hope evaporates. Most of the people have been in this situation for several generations. It seems they are destined to stay in this context of oppression and poverty. Despite all of their efforts to escape, most have been unsuccessful.

John 1:5 – The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Once God starts moving and shining his light, the end of darkness is inevitable. That is the ultimate reality of the garbage dump and the surrounding communities. God is moving and people are taking notice.

Part of the darkness that is being snuffed out is drugs and alcohol. Today we had a special group of police officers come to teach about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. It was a great experience for our children.

However, preventive education is not enough. How many students in your fifth grade class tried drugs and alcohol after graduating from the “DARE” program? That is why Jesus aims at the heart, and we aim at the heart in our work at AFE. Most of the students attend church together faithfully on Sundays, and have great mentors in their teachers who look at their jobs as ministry.

The other day kids ran after Rey, quoting back his message at church: “Jesus is the only drink that can satisfy.” Yes, we work in preventive education here, but deeper than that, we work at heart transplants.

Washington Cathedral Mission Team forms deep relationships

2008-08-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

The second week of August brought important visitors to AFE. Some of these visitors had been eagerly awaited by the AFE kids; others would form lasting relationships with their new friends.

The Washington Cathedral Youth Mission Trip was an incredible success. We had some new participants – Lily Haynoski and Tiffanee Hunter, who experienced God in a deeper way than ever before. We had some participants with past mission trip experience, but had yet to visit the Tegucigalpa Dump. Their lives will never be the same. The team spent the morning connecting with the AFE students and the afternoons working construction. They made a special trip to the garbage dump to feed about 250 people. The team worked on AFE’s kithchen and some special skills installed electrical outlets, lights, and fans.

Despite this good work, the highlight of the trip was our day at the beach. It has become a tradition with WAC’s youth teams to take the students out on a day of fun. Most of the children at AFE have missed important parts of childhood as they have been forced to work in the garbage dump as an early age. We do these trips to give them all a chance to be ‘kids’ for a day with no responsibility. This time we planned a whole day trip to the beach. A trip to the beach seems simple enough, but it was actually a daunting task to take 130 kids ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade…most of whom had no experience with the water and did not know how to swim. How would we keep 130 kids from being swept away from the strong ocean currents? Fortunately, everyone stayed in the shallow areas and we came back with the same number of kids we left with! JK

There is a Spanish song that says, “Yo se que el vive! Pues lo veo en la risa de un niño cuando voy pasando, y al oír el bramido del mar que me dice cantando, que hay un Dios verdadero que hizo toda la creación.” Translated to English – I know He lives because I see him in the smiles of the passing children and I hear the ocean sing that there is a true God who made all of creation. Now I know what the author was talking about.

Now that we are receiving teams to AFE, rather than bringing them, we have noticed something new. We would never have guessed the depth and sincerity of the relationships formed between the children and teams. Yet for the past couple of months the kids have asked for some team members by name waiting anxiously for their return. Another thing I noticed from this side of the experience is the sacrifice and work the Hondurans put into receiving teams. It is flat out exhausting mentally, physically, and emotionally to host teams from the states. Without minimizing what our teams bring to AFE, I have no doubt that the Hondurans give as much if not more back to the teams. I feel we have formed a beautiful relationship where both sides mutually benefit.

Update on Jeony’s Daughter Daniella

2008-08-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

Many people have heard, followed along with, and prayed for Jeony’s daughter, Daniella, who has had kidney problems since birth. Recently, a turn of events seem to prove that it is God’s time for a miracle in her life and health. An anonymous donor gave a large sum to the Ordonez family to help them pay for hospital expenses. Advances in Honduran medicine have opened a window to having the surgery here. Jessy, Daniella’s mother, is being tested for kidney compatibility. We will know the results in two weeks. Please pray. If the results come back negative, the surgery can be done within a month. And although this surgery is millions of dollars, the doctor has agreed to do it for free! Thank God.

We are still waiting for the results and any prayer would be appreciated.

Imparting the Love of Books

2008-08-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

Books have always been a huge part of my life. They helped form my dreams for the future, made me excited to excel in school, and taught me important lessons about history, culture, and people.

Honduras has not had a history of passing on a love for reading to its children. Perhaps this is part of what affects the astronomical levels of illiteracy and lack of education.

One of the best parts of my last week was to see the 8th grade class of AFE devour Charlotte’s Web and develop a love for reading. They finished the book in less than two weeks and are begging for more. Although we have a library, we do not have sets of books for all the kids to read together. Thanks to a gift by Rebecca White, we have been able to purchase two complete sets of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.

The students began reading The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe today. Since we only have two copies, the teacher uses one to help the students read and one student reads the other copy aloud. Today, as they began The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe, the room became eerily quiet. You could hear the kids breathing. Some have their eyes closed, imaging themselves in the world of Narnia. Others were trying to read over the student’s shoulder. It was a beautiful sight. When we stopped reading they pleaded for more and even offered to skip their break to hear more of the story.

One of our goals in transforming this garbage dump is to increase the level of literacy. The school is a perfect means of doing that among the kids. We hope the students’ enthusiasm for reading will spread among their parents and older siblings. We talk about several areas of literacy: reading, writing and computing. Soon we will open up our own computer lab and teach the students computer skills, giving them more job and educational opportunities.

If you have any suggestions as to what our students should read or where to look for sets of books (in Spanish), please let us know.

You will receive Power!

2008-08-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

Finally we have great news about electricity. Namely, we got it. We feel like we have just finished a marathon after all the work that went into getting AFE electricity. Thanks to all the groups and individuals that helped in one way or another to make this a reality. One donor, who has chosen to remain anonymous, we thank for his support through this process and financing of this project. Last Friday, we went to the power company for the twentieth time with more documents, payments, and everything else they had requested. It was suppose to be a 5 minute meeting but turned into an all day affair. In fact, 5 minutes before they were closing, we sealed the deal and were given permission to turn the power on. We lifted up our hands and danced a jig in the office.

With electricity the options are now endless. We can now have adequate lighting in the back rooms where children have trouble reading. We can now have a full kitchen for the feeding of the children. We can now have computers available to teach the children about technology and the internet. We can now show instructive videos to the children through a projector. We can now offer night classes to adults who have to work in the garbage dump during the day. I could go on and on.

Electricity is just one step in transforming the garbage dump. But it is a vital step and one we praise God for.

Great things in 'store' for AFE

2008-08-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

One of our core values revolves around the idea of self-sustainability. We do not believe in creating dependent organizations which rely completely on us, but rather working with groups so that they become independent. This idea goes way back and has a long background we would be happy to share with those interested. For now, it is suffice to say that we want the work in the Garbage Dump to continue way pass our time.

Our first step towards self-sustainability is our store at AFE. Thanks to a generous donation by Alan and Julie Steif, we were able to purchase Polos, t-shirts, and hats to sell. All the profits would go to re-investing in the store and operational cost. This is a small step and will by no means make AFE independent, yet it is the beginning. Pastor Jeony and Jessy both have the vision to make AFE self-sustained and are working towards making that a reality.

So far the sells are going great thanks to our many visitors and teams. We are brainstorming other ways to generate income. One idea is to hire an alumni, Junior, who has just graduated with a carpentry degree. He would make the wood frames, jewelry boxes, wall decorations, and crosses for AFE which we would sell for profit. We are excited about this idea because it would be a benefit to both AFE and Junior. We dream of one day producing quality items to sell through our vocational school which we could distribute throughout Honduras. Please keep praying for God’s guidance as we seek self-sustainability.

More Appreciation

2008-07-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

We want to take this time to thank an anonymous donor who will be helping Pastor Jeony with his medical bills for his daughter Daniella. Daniella is in need of kidney transplant and is currently undergoing dialysis 3 times a week. Many of you have helped the Ordonez family in countless ways regarding this medical crisis and all of your help is truly appreciated. Pastor Jeony and his family have poured their life into the garbage dump community for the last 7 years. Their only motive was compassion. Pastor Jeony founded both the school Amor, Fe, y Esperanza and the church Amor y Vida. The entire family is wonderful. The medical bills keep piling up for them even as they give everything away to help the garbage dump. Thanks because God has used someone to alleviate this stress on their family.

Project Transformation has networked with many organizations bring about change in the garbage dump but the single most important catalyst has been Pastor Jeony and the vision God has given him. The school is a beam of light, a city on a hill for the garbage dump community. We spend most of our time working out of AFE because of the rapport that they have with the community.

Please keep Pastor Jeony and his entire family in your prayers, especially Daniella who is in need of a major miracle. Also pray for an important meeting coming up next week regarding the master plan for transforming the garbage dump.

Special Forces Arrive

2008-07-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

On Monday, we picked up our newest recruit to Project Transformation – Kelly Glenn. She just finished the first year of Seattle University where she is studying International Studies. Kelly comes from Washington Cathedral where she has grown up. She is a leader in their Student Ministries and Esperanza Service. She is passionate about missions and will be with us for a couple months. We are incredibly lucky to have Kelly on our team because she is a rising star and will one day rock the world.

Kelly is coming at a critical time. At AFE, we have not had a consistent kindergarten teacher. The same was true last year which has hurt this year’s first graders. Their teacher has told me the entire class is behind where they should be because they basically missed learning the foundations in kindergarten. Kelly will be taking on this pivotal spot in the mornings. Hopefully, the next two months will be formative for the kindergarten class with Kelly’s help. Thanks to all of you who prayed for God to send someone. Kelly will also be helping with other areas of Project Transformation including writing, administration, marketing, and work teams.

If you would like more information on joining our new internship program please contact Elise Diaz at elisewhitediaz@gmail.com . She will email you a preliminary application. There is nothing like working in a different country on behalf of the poor.

Gaining Ground

2008-07-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

The first three months in Honduras, we spent many days in the garbage dump building relationships with the children who still worked there. It was a wonderful time and a terrible time. It was a beautiful experience learning their names and stories, yet heart wrenching to say goodbye and watch them continue to pick through garbage.

Our main goal is to see this garbage dump transformed. A major milestone in pursuit of this goal is to get ALL of the children out of that place. We have worked hard to convince these children to leave the oppressive atmosophere of dump work, and many times run across resistance from parents or guardians who force their children to supplement the family income.

The last post explained the miracles of Christian and Sergio David. Today, we want to introduce 6 new students: Maly, Arturo, Fausto, Ariel, Jonathon, and Brenda. Ariel and Brenda are prodigals returning after a couple months but the others are brand new to school. We could not contain our joy when these children showed up on Monday and attended everyday without fail. Please pray that they will keep at school until they graduate and that God may continue the transformation process in their lives.

We are gaining ground in the Tegucigalpa dump.

Suddenly there is an influx of children at AFE, children who would never leave the garbage dump before. God is doing something big here. And he is not just using us. He is using the kids too. This week, when I had ran out of words sharing the good news to a teen stuck in the garbage dump, Jairo (4th grader) jumped in with what God had done and was going to do in his life. Jairo wants to be an engineer. It is a sight to behold God’s good news coming out of mouths so hopeless only months ago. Mysterious Ways are God’s specialty.

Dreaming of Homes...

2008-07-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Tuesday evening we participated in a meeting to brainstorm the development of a new community for those who actually live in the garbage dump[1]. Part of the mission of Project Transformation is to address the whole person with the whole Gospel. This involves helping people to create and own a healthier living environment. We are among a group of dreamers planning how to support the community's creation of new housing structures for these poorest of the poor.

Here is the Dream: Help the community to build 300 homes for people who currently live in the garbage dump. This effort would be similar to the creation of the Linda Miller community - people getting involved in building their own houses and taking ownership of the work.

Visits to their current homes are driving this effort. Jose Ramon and his sister, Ritzy (a student at AFE) invited our team to visit his two children. They were beautiful children even though they were covered in dirt and soot. Their smiles reminded me of my own son, yet saddened me as I saw where they lived. On dirt floors, surrounded by garbage and terrorized by vultures, six people eked out an existence in a six foot by eight foot make shift shack. They had no water, no electricity, and were under constant threat. The health risks apparent from no way to flush waste, no way to clean dishes, and a dirt floor are too numerous to mention.

With tears, Jose Ramon confessed his children suffer from constant sickness from the conditions in which they live. The father felt obvious shame that he could not take better care of his family. Jose is a hard worker. He is not lazy. He is the victim of circumstances and is paying for the sins his parents committed. Caught in a vicious cycle, only God can work a miracle in this family's life.

But God works through people like you and me to work those miracles. That is why we dream.

Imagine moving Jose, his wife and their two children, and his mother and sister who live with them, to a house with clean floors, running water and flushing toilets, light in the evening and a stove to cook healthy meals. His children would not fall ill but grow healthy and strong. No longer would Jose feel ashamed of who he is, but take pride in his family and his God who reaches down to help the least of these.

Pray that our dream will soon become reality.

[1] Determining how many people actually live in the garbage dump is a difficult venture because many people live in squatter settlements just outside of it; they might as well live in the trash. Others have shacks miles away in which they spend the weekends with their families. Monday through Friday they spend the night sleep in the trash.

Miracles

2008-07-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

The unbelievable has happened during the month we were gone. Two young boys from the garbage dump have started at AFE. This is a huge deal. One is named Christian and the other Sergio David. Both of them work full time in the garbage dump. We had been working with Christian every day trying to convince him to come. We tried everything short of bribery. But for some reason, we could not get through. This is the case with so many of the kids in the garbage dump (see note below). We left a month ago to the states. When we returned Jeony had great news for us. He told us Christian had just showed up at the school and asked if he could start. They were shocked but of course they let him in, placing him in first grade although he is 13. Within a couple days they moved him up to second grade and then again to third grade because he is so smart. Next week he will be in fourth grade. He has not missed one day. He has done all of his homework. And he is attending the church. I (Rey) was almost in tears when Jeony told me because this story illustrates what I strongly believe. God is at work. We plant the seeds, water the plant, and then wait. That’s all we can do. Nothing else. God brings the growth. God makes the plant grow. And God worked a miracle in Christian’s life. We are going to get right back to planting seeds in the garbage dump because we know God is going to make more plants grow.

Sergio David was with us for a couple years. He does not have parents and lives with his Aunt. His Aunt has forbidden him to come to school. So he has been working full time for the past 3 months. The good news is that Sergio David is coming to the school now because he has moved away from his Aunt and is living with another Uncle who allows him to come. His brother and sister, Ariel and Brenda, want to come to school but the aunt still will not let them come. Please pray that she will change her mind when we meet with her.

One more Note
It’s interesting to be on this side of the situation. From this perspective, it makes no sense why some kids would choose to work in garbage all day when they could come to our school, get an education, get a free meal, play with all their friends, and have a chance to get away from that lifestyle. This is a no brainer. Yet hundreds of kids have chosen to work in garbage. As I, Rey, was in the garbage dump yesterday, I was heart broken because there are still so many kids working in garbage. Why won’t they just come? I can only bring the invitation but I can not force them. That’s when I realize this is the same issue God is dealing with. He is offering us a way out of the garbage of our lives. He is offering us an abundant life, joy, hope, excitement, adventure, love and so much more. But how many times I have chosen to say no to God, and stayed in the garbage. How many people continue to say no?

Back after a Month

2008-07-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

God is Bringing a Great Team Together

Sorry we have not been able to post our weekly articles but we spent June in the States. I think we were busier during that month than when we are in Honduras. We were able to share a few messages at Washington Cathedral which you can download on their website or as a podcast on ITunes. I (Rey) spent two weeks at school which were simply amazing and will help form the direction Project Transformation will go. We were also able to share our vision with many friends, family, and churches. We are so happy to announce that God is really moving among his people to bring about his work. So many individuals and churches are hopping on board with Project Transformation.

We want to thank Dr. Paul and Jane Huang, Cristie Hettich, Diane Brown, Fiona Monaghan, Rice Broocks and Bethel World Outreach, Bob Beam, Judi Davis, Claudia and the Esperanza service at Washington Cathedral, and all the blog readers who have stepped up to support Project Transformation in so many different ways. We are committed to the highest level of accountability and will use the support to further God’s kingdom. We are excited to see what God has in store for us on this next trip. Please keep us in prayer.

Retrospect -God is the Main Character

2008-06-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

We are visiting the States presently and have looked back at our first 3 months. We are simply stunned at how much God has truly done. The accomplishments are breath taking. We can hardly believe this has all really happened. We have seen substantial transformation in so many different areas. We are in the middle of God’s work and it is exciting. He is bringing together an amazing team of churches, non-profits, and individuals that will work to see this garbage dump completely transformed. We are happy to play a large part.

We are drawn to the idea of us being the heroes. It sounds great to say, “Look at all we have accomplished in 3 short months.” Sure we always begin with a ‘thank God’ but deep down inside, we take credit for the work. Yet as we have looked closer, we have come to an astounding conclusion – we are not the main character in this drama.

A closer inspection will show how wrong we really are to think we were the heroes. You see, we have not been the main characters. Neither has Jeony been the main character. Nor churches, nor non-profits, nor the families living and working in the garbage dump. If we look really close, we can clearly see that God has been the main character of Project Transformation.

Who loved the families living and working in the garbage dump? Who decided to do something about this problem? Who sent Pastor Jeony and his family? Who sent the Diaz family? Who gave us the vision of a transformed community? Who has been providing for us? Who has worked miracle after miracle on our behalf? This whole thing was God’s idea. We are just minor character. Valuable, important, vital, minor characters, but minor characters nonetheless. This perspective changes the way we look at our role. The main character of this story has always been and will always be God. It’s His plan. His goals, and His vision. He is just using us to accomplish His will. And that is just fine by us. For His name and His renown.

God is the main character. That is great news because all the success hinges on Him. He will not let us down because his heart breaks for the poor.

God is the main character, but he is not the only character. God has chosen to work through humans. God works through vessels. God looks and searches for people to work through and most of the time he comes up empty.

Not this time. Not when it comes to transforming this garbage dump with the power of His love. Project Transformation has stepped up to the plate. Here we are, God. Use us.

We are really looking forward to the next chapter. God has some great stuff up his sleeve.

Exposure

2008-06-01T18:09:00.000-07:00

I have been sick the last few days from eating at the garbage dump with some of the children. I must have been exposed to bacteria that have invaded my intestines. Although I am feeling horrible now (especially since I have to travel14 hours tomorrow), I understood the cost in working in this type of environment. I am exposing myself to all sorts of germs, viruses, and bacteria which explains my recent bouts of sickness since moving here. All this exposure is eventually going to catch up with me. Although I am not saying one is above the other in the nature vs nurture argument, I strongly believe I am influenced and shaped by what I am exposed to. I am product of what I have been exposed to. This truth works for both good and bad.

I wonder about these hundreds of children who are exposed to all sorts of evil at the garbage dump. How is that evil affecting them? The children and young adults of who live and work in the garbage dump are exposed to things that no one should ever see. The other day I went up and saw a dead body. Without being to graphic, the person had been killed by both a machete and gun. All the kids I knew were surrounding the body. Afterwards they told me about the body as if it was the norm, with no sense of tragedy. This is their world. This is what they see all the time. But this is also the world God loves so much he sent his Son to save. Somehow, we have to get more of the children out of the garbage dump. That exposure is vexing their souls. We need to expose them to God’s love and to so many of the positive this life has to offer.

The good news is that slowly but surely this is happening. So far we have convinced 6 kids who usually work in the garbage dump, to play on a soccer team 3 afternoons a week. Those are two days they will not be exposed to evil but be surrounded by a team that encourages and challenged them. This is great news but we have so many more left.

The Need for Nursery

2008-05-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

This week, I saw some things that I have had trouble getting out of my head. Since I spent so much time in the garbage dump, I have noticed things I had not notice when I would come up twice a year. One of the issues that stands out is the surprising number of small children who just hang out up in the garbage dump. These are newborn babies to about 4 years old. They are not old enough to work but they don’t really have any place to go. The parents just take them up to the garbage dump with them.

Last week I met David, a 3 year old boy who was with his mom and dad. Little David was sitting in a old sombrero and covered in dirt. He had young parents who were collecting paper products. They would come and check in with David every 10 to 15 minutes. Next to David was another family babysitting a 6 month old baby. It was a baby girl named Juliet. Her mother is 16 year old Carla, a girl who used to come to AFE but is no longer attending. Carla’s Grandmother is in her 30’s and was watching the 6 month old baby full time. Juliet was covered in black soot from all the smoke in the air. I asked her why she doesn’t bring her to our nursery but the baby is still breast feeding. The same is true of two other babies I met. Then I asked if once the baby had been weaned, if she would bring her to the nursery but she did not give me an answer.

Although Washington Cathedral has provided for a nursery, we still do not have the staff to run the nursery. We need the funds to pay a salary and the right worker. Then we need to persuade some of the mothers of the value of keeping their children in a safe and sanitary location. Many of the mothers do not understand why they would need to take their babies to a nursery if they could just stay with them. Please keep these issues in your prayers as we seek the right solution.

Mother's Day in the Garbage Dump

2008-05-12T19:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Washington Cathedral, Orphan Outreach, and Project Transformation we were able to have a Mother’s Day celebration where we honored over 200 mothers who work in the garbage dump. It was nothing short of a miracle.

All week long, I went up to the garbage dump to invite the mother’s and let them know all the details of the celebration. Although I invited mother’s everyday, it was hard to guess how many would show up. Friday morning, we rented a bus that I took into the garbage dump to bring the woman to the school. My jaw dropped when I saw over 200 women ready to get on the bus. We squished in all the women with their small children, and then headed down to the soccer field in front of the school. We had beautiful set up for the mothers where they could sit in the shade during the children’s presentation and then eat peacefully. The mother’s ate among friends while Jeony encouraged them to keep their heads up. They were also given vouchers to pick up some clothes.

Our main agenda was to share God’s love with these mothers so that they felt honored. But we did have another agenda. Most of these mother’s do not have their children in a school but have them work alongside them. Our prayer was to use this event to showcase the children’s progress so that the mother’s would be inspired to allow their children to come to school. So far I have spoken with several mothers who plan on registering their children this week. We are so excited. I have come to realize the importance of reaching the future generation of garbage workers before their identity becomes engrained with the garbage dump culture.

A typical Honduras tradition for Mother’s Day is to present mothers with a basket that has the essentials for the home such as a rice, beans, eggs, soap, etc. These baskets cost about $15 and are nothing but a dream to the mother’s who work in the garbage dump. It would take them about 15 days to save up to buy one but that would mean not eating anything for the family during those 15 days. Clearly impossible. Yet, thanks to all you readers, we were able to sponsor 48 baskets! During the celebration 48 families received the gift of a lifetime. I wish you could have seen the faces of the mothers who would cry with joy over their baskets. It was beautiful.

Please pray for these mothers who each represent a family working and living in the garbage dump. Also pray that we could use the momentum of this amazing event to continue towards transformation.

Teaming Tegus

2008-05-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning
as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” - Romans 8:22

Tegucigalpa’s groans are louder and less subtle than those I have heard in the states. They rise to a crescendo in the streets – the blast of cars, horns, and murmuring crowds in a city teaming with an ever-growing population.

A recent conference on “Child Advocacy[1]” gave numbers to the facts that Rey and I witness every day. Over half of the 7,500,000 people in Honduras are under 20 years old. The average family has five kids and many of them spend their days working to supplement the combined family income of $77 a month.

Poverty, here, is described as not having sufficient resources for the basics: clothes, a balanced diet, school, and safe place to live. Extreme poverty occurs when people do not have enough even to eat and are starving and malnourished. In Honduras, the most recent data (2004) shows that 64.2% live in poverty while 44.6% suffer from extreme poverty. 38.4% of families in Honduras live on less than a $1 a day!

What this means for us is that as we are stopped in traffic young boys come up to our car to ask for handouts. Young girls begin wiping our windshields. Getting kids to leave the dump to come to school is getting harder and harder. And we are down on our knees in prayer every night.
[1] The conference was put on by “Alcanzar – IESH” (the social arm of the Santidad denomination here in Honduras) and Compassion International. It took place on April 25th, 2008.

Family Reunion

2008-04-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

I have some great news. There is a child that could be the poster child of our project. His story captures the tragic nature of this garbage dump and of the children forced to work there. His name is Ariel. He has an older brother named Sergio who no longer at our school. He has a sister named Brenda as well. In February, all three were attending the school and were making such great advances. The change was very clear and visible. Yet once the oldest brother left, the other two seemed less happy at the school. This makes sense because they probably both looked up to their brother, and once he left, they thought maybe that was the cool thing to do. Last month both Brenda and Ariel left as well. This was really hard on me because I had invested so much into Ariel.

On my visits to the garbage dump, I always look for our students. I found Brenda. We talked for a long time and with Jesse’s help, we were able to convince her to come back. She has been back at our school for two weeks. But Ariel was still nowhere to be found. Yet this week, to my surprise, Ariel showed up for school with a big smile on his face. I don’t know why he came back or who talked to him, but I am so glad he is back.

We have worked hard to make sure the students finish their education and escape from the garbage dump. Of the 170 students at AFE, about half still work in the garbage dump in the afternoons and on weekends. The others have been convinced to focus on school or to find other jobs. Ariel and Brenda are third generation garbage workers meaning their grandparents and parents both worked in the garbage dump. It is all they know. But what I know is that God has incredible and amazing plans for their lives and our goal is to help them reach those plans.

Updates – I saw Antonio at the vocational school he is at. Wow, God has really changed this young man’s life. He is a role model and leader at his school. He has dreams of returning and helping with street kids once he returns. He wants to help out the kids who never got a chance like him. Incredible.

The Gospel

2008-04-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

Warning: The following is very sad story

Two Sunday’s ago I had the privilege of speaking at Amor y Vida, where many people who work and live in the garbage dump attend. I gave a simple message about the plot of all the stories in the Bible from Ephesians – “I was dead, but God gave me life.” I explained how God wants to bring that story into being in our lives, our families, and our futures. With all modest, it was a great message with a great response afterwards where many wanted to start following Jesus. In the crowd was a certain family going through tremendous difficulty in their lives. They heard my presentation of the gospel through words and shook my hands afterwards. I had so many people wanting to talk to me I just quickly went by them, not realizing they wanted to talk to me. I went home happy after sharing the gospel with a bunch of people. That family also went home but sad because the mother was out of options.

Let me explain. He husband had left 3 months ago to the states with another woman. She was alone with a year and half old daughter and Samir, an 8 year old boy who is in the 3rd grade at AFE. The mother has tried so hard to provide for her family. It is hard to find a job when there is no one to watch your little baby. She wakes up early and makes tortillas and other food to sell on the street with her son. She allows him to go to school in the morning and then afterwards he helps her sell. She does not want to go the garbage dump to work. That Sunday night was especially hard because her family had not eaten since their last meal at AFE (Friday at noon) and would not eat until the next day because they had no more food. That was what she would have told me if I had not simply shook her had, said ‘God Bless You’ and gone on to the next person.

I do not know what it feels like to have to respond to a son who tells me, “Daddy, I’m hungry” when I do not have any way to feed him. I don’t know what it feels like to be out of options. I don’t know what ‘desperate’ means. This mother does. And on Sunday night she reacted in a horrible way when her son asked for some food. She beat him. The boy you see on the right hand side had a black eye and dark contusions covering his back. The mother wept and wept afterwards. She apologized to him and us. I am not condoning her actions, simply saying that poverty creates such tragedies.

After hearing about these events, we decided to present the Gospel again the following Sunday, but with actions. Project Transformation bought some grocery supplies for the family to help them during this time. We found a donation of clothes for her which she can sell along with her food to make an income. We are also looking into finding her a job as a nanny. She has committed to never strike her children again and to contact us if she is in that situation again.

Almost all my studies have taught me the importance of sharing the good news with deeds and not just words, but this last week that truth became so much more clear in my life. It is very hard to hear the good news when your children are hungry and you don’t have any way to feed them. We want to commit ourselves to always present the whole Gospel with both word and deed. That is the gospel that produces transformation. Please keep this family in prayer.

1 John 3:17-18 If anyone has material possessions and sees someone in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Met Our Match

2008-04-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

Elise and I are pretty confident individuals. There are not many things we feel we can not do. Well, we met our match with the pre-school students at AFE. There has not been a consistent pre-school teacher for over a year now which makes it difficult for the kids to learn. This year’s first graders (last years preschoolers) are still behind in learning to read because of the lack of consistency in their teachers. One of our priorities is finding a teacher who can make a long term commitment.

Until then, I thought maybe Elise and I could help the children. I was by myself the first day and that was the first mistake. I thought maybe we could learn the alphabet that our church had painted on the walls. I asked them to point out the letter their name started in. Another mistake because I could not get them to seat down the rest of school! They just went wild pointing at every letter, ripping down their previous work to show me, and just running a muck. After an hour of trying to get control, I finally was able to with the help of a God send – Tic Tacs. They wanted some of my tic tacs so I used it as collateral. I made them do the letter M and I in their notebooks. I gave up quickly and gave them extra recess. I came home totally exhausted from my endeavor. I was happy to bring Elise because I knew she would help. She laughed at my inexperience as I told her about my day. She said she would whip them in shape in no time.

The next day we came together and walked right into pre-school. The kids were unexpectedly quiet and calm. It was the calm before the storm. Elise made introduction and asked what their favorite animal was. Not only did they tell us their favorite animal, but the acted out the animal the rest of the day. Then they got in fights over their animals. Somehow we got control back. I had to step away to attend to some guest. Ten minutes later I saw all the kids running out of the classroom to the playground about 45 minutes early. I went to check on Elise. I couldn’t help but laugh because she was having just as much trouble as me. I asked why they had gone to recess so early and Elise told me they just left. After recess we tried again to teach them something but couldn’t keep their attention. Finally we used Doritos to bribe them to do work and miraculously it worked.

Elise and I have decided are gifting is not with pre-schoolers. The kids love us now and run to hug us when we arrive but we are hoping they get a full-time teacher really soon. The best part is that they can’t prounce the ‘r’ in Rey so they all call me “Ley.’ Please keep Milton, Josue, Carlos, Paola, and Joselin in your prayers. And also pray we find a good pre-school teacher.

Antonio Update

2008-03-31T16:35:00.000-07:00

On our first trip to Honduras we met Antonio at AFE, the school in the garbage dump. Jeony introduced him to us and we developed a friendship. He was the oldest student in the school and had an amazing story. He had arrived at the school with a mask on, a baseball bat and a knife demanding to be taught how to read and write. Eventually he became a leader among the students, sometimes even using his intimidating nature to make them study. I met him during school hours. A few hours later, I went into the garbage dump for the first time and was shocked to see Antonio there working. He would go to school in the morning until noon when he would go back to the garbage dump to work to late evening. Unfortunately this is still the case with about half of the 160 students at AFE.

At the time of his graduation, AFE was not approved for a Junior High so Antonio went to a vocational school called El Sembrador. He was excelling there until his spring break. On his way back to school, he was robbed at the bus stop. The thieves beat him up and stole all his books, clothes, and tuition money. He came back home broken because he didn’t know how to get back. When we saw him, he was in tears over the situation.

This is where Project Transformation steps in! When Jeony told us the circumstances, we immediately called Washington Cathedral about covering the cost of his tuition. The church agreed and we were able to send Antonio back to school on scholarship. He continues to excel in the school and will finish up a welding program. Next year he plans on coming back to AFE while studying in a nearby school to finish his degree. He will teach some of the younger kids at AFE, now that we are going to have our own vocational school.

Antonio is an incredible example of the power of God to transform anyone. No one and no circumstance is outside of God’s grace. Pray that we would continue to see God transform more and more people. We want to see hundreds and thousands of Antonios break out of the garbage dump and pursue God’s will for their life.

Washington Cathedral: HQ of Project Transformation

2008-03-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

When I met Elise at seminary, I knew that I had a found a great wife but I didn’t realize that God had also connected me with a fantastic base to see His dreams of transforming slum communities into reality. Washington Cathedral’s mission is to become the greatest caring network the world has ever seen and Project Transformation is one arm of that. Without Washington Cathedral (which for one thing, supports our salary!) the Tegucigalpa Dump would not have two people working to bridge the gap between Honduras and the states and funnel resources into such a desperate community.

Washington Cathedral is paving the road for Christians to engage in God’s mission in a more relevant, appropriate way. It does so with a nod to the legitimate Christian communities growing in developing countries, it does so through reconnecting social action with the local church (which in some cases has been reserved to secular humanitarian agencies). It does so through mobilizing the local church to fully engage in God’s mission as a body once more, instead of scattered congregants each involved in their individual missions. I am so excited about what God is doing through Washington Cathedral’s mission both now and in the future, and the possibilities that this new Recreation Center will create.

A building that can build building. A larger space for the auction, quadrupling our fundraising efforts for Honduras. A magnet to the community to learn about this new wave of God’s mission. Though so many miles away, Elise and I are relentlessly praying and fasting that a miracle would occur and God would break down the barriers to the Recreation Center becoming a reality.