Fighting the darkness

I’m sorry I have slacked lately, but I really have struggled to make time to write or keep track of anything lately. I think often I don’t even know where to start when I write. But I’ll share something I shared with someone recently…

I’m often overwhelmed by the pain I see around me – from a teenage boy getting raped on the street because he walked too late at night, to a 5-year-old girl who has not only been molested but also doesn’t know the love of a mother even though she lives with her.

From a young man who has lived on the streets since he was nine and just can’t believe we want to love him. To a homeless kid asking us to help him with a bullet wound he got because he was so hungry he stole some food.

But I’m also moved by the sheer joy I see in the deepest of darkness. From the little boy who says he comes to our shelter, “Because you hug me.” To an 80-year-old crippled woman on the street saying “Blessings” because I gave her 50 cents.

To a handful of formerly street kids succeeding in school because we told them, “We believe in you, and so does our God.” To that same 5-year-old girl saying, “I love you,” with a hug that could take your breath away.

I have never felt a greater joy than when I can show the unconditional love of our Savior to someone who had altogether given up that it existed.

Our God is here, and I see him fighting the deepest of darkness. Among the drugs, the prostitution, the incredible pain, the Almighty reigns in me and I’m thankful I can put on my boxing gloves and help.

Help lead these kids out of poverty

Arol enjoying our Amapala trip

Our BC team prays our kids will have a monumental year in 2012. They each get the chance to retreat to a great school away from the chaos that their young lives have become. They will start at Corey’s school, a local bilingual school, in February. We are excited to see how it will affect each child and their future.

Arol started at a transition school this past month to help him catch up so that he can start second grade at Interamerican School next month.

We have seen Arol change since he began school. He’s had some behavior issues in the past, and we wondered how he would handle a completely foreign culture to him, those with money. But now he’s so much happier and better behaved around us. And he’s barely even begun his education.

Ornery, little 5-year-old Dayana

Arol still struggles with getting used to this strange environment and foreign language, but he loves it and the time away from life at a homeless shelter. I can’t wait to see what’s next for him, and I thank God for this precious change in this sweet boy. Please pray he succeeds in school and continues down this bright road.

Thankfully, God has already provided a generous family to support Arol’s education. But Dayana, Jonatan and Escarleth need your help too. For three of these remaining kids to attend school, we need sponsorships for each of them.

Loyal, 6-year-old Jonatan

Each child needs $50 per month for transportation, food and field trips. Then they each need $500 one-time for books, school supplies, uniform, etc. We know it sounds like a lot, but any donation helps their futures.

However much you can give, even just $20 one time, will go along way toward helping provide for Escarleth, Jonatan and Dayana’s education. You can sponsor them monthly or help with a part or all of their one-time needs.

If you wish to help, email me at michael@bchonduras.org or my partner in crime at corey@bchonduras.org. Look for profiles for Escarleth, Jonatan and Dayana on our BC blog and here to learn more about each of these great kids. Thank you for loving our wonderful kids and leading them out of the cycle of poverty.

Sweet, 8-year-old Escarleth

A blessed Christmas and New Year’s…

“I have never felt more relaxed,” our friend Belkis said. She sat looking at a calm beach and her children playing. “Before I came here, I was so stressed. Now, my back doesn’t hurt any more; my feet don’t hurt any more. I’m so relaxed. Thank you.”

Belkis accompanied our team and nearly 40 others living in our building to the beach for our Christmas celebration. Many of our BC friends said this Christmas was the best they had ever experienced. I heard countless thank-you’s from smiling faces who just opened their presents, who just swam in the ocean or had just enjoyed a relaxing nap away from the problems at home.

We left the Monday after Christmas and spent the next two days in Amapala enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of the beach. We couldn’t have asked for a better time.

We ate, we laughed, we played, we swam and we opened presents. We had everyone sit in a circle with one chair in the middle. We picked out a gift and called out who it was for, and then that person came to the middle to open their gift. Each time we would call a name, the rest of the circle would cheer for that child or adult.

Thirty-nine of our friends opened gifts for themselves with two mommies opening presents for their babies as well. We also gave small gifts to the family we paid to cook four meals for all 45 of us. All in all, forty-five people opened a total of 125 packages, leaving sheets of gift wrap covering an 8×8 portion of the beach.

Together we enjoyed the sun on a beautiful beach in the shadow of the mountains of El Salvador and Nicaragua. We expected all of this fun to be a part of the trip, but the results were much more than just those.

We created a family while at the beach, cemented friendships and built new ones. Families and teens, who rarely interacted with each other except when they had to, now laugh together, now speak to one another.When you’re talking about any group of people, that’s special. But when you’re talking about a group of once homeless people, that’s a miracle. God created bonds on that beach, and we pray it will lead to fewer arguments in 2012.

We are all beyond grateful to all of you for making this trip happen. You blessed lives in ways you will never know and in ways we never saw coming. You gave a vacation to parents who needed it, and you provided a family and a special Christmas to many kids who have never known either. Thank you for blessing our Christmas and kick-starting a better new year.

Many blessings to all of you in 2012! You also helped us take our friends to the Tegucigalpa Carnival on New Year’s Eve. We had money left over from Christmas, and we wanted to celebrate the new year together! So, you helped in more ways than just Christmas! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

To see the full album of photos, visit us on Facebook. We have over 400 pictures of our fun times at the beach.

Searching for help for a Shine Christmas…

Dayana still needs a sponsor!

Many of you know I’m also involved with another nonprofit here in Tegucigalpa. I serve as the director for Shine Honduras, a program that seeks to provide a good education to kids who just couldn’t afford it otherwise.

December with Shine! Honduras includes all kinds of events to keep us busy. We’ll have the usual activities like our after-school program, hopefully have the funds to find a few new kids to add to the program and celebrate Christmas with the wonderful kids in our program.

We want to do something special for our Shine kiddos for Christmas. We want to get each of the kids a gift, including the college students. We want to have a special lunch where we give them the gifts.

Most of all, we want to have a special event, where we include their families as well this year. If our goal for Shine is to create kids that grow up to change their world, we need as much involvement from their parents as possible.

Escarleth still needs a sponsor!

So, we have a party planned for the kids and their parents. We’re going to take the kids and their families to a nice dinner and enjoy some fun time together. Our two Shine college students, Michelle and Arnold, will be a part of the fun too, and so will our older student Mariela who is a Shine student but isn’t a part of the tutoring program. Then we’re all going to play putt-putt! I’m sure none of them have ever played mini-golf before; so, we thought it would be something different and fun for all the ages that will be there.

We’re excited to spend some time with our kids and their families, away from school, our house and other responsibilities. Our kids are amazing, and their parents love them dearly. All our students have worked hard, and we’re thrilled to give them all a special night.

Claudy still needs a sponsor!

We would love your help to make it happen. We need $100 each still for Claudy, Escarleth and Dayana to sponsor them and their families for Christmas. Michelle and Arnold only need $20 each because they are already partially sponsored for Christmas, and Mariela and Jose are fully sponsored for Christmas. We are asking for a totally of $340 to give all of them, including five families and two college students, a special Christmas.

If you can help in any way, please let me know at michael@bchonduras.org. We will gladly except any donation you can make. Please make checks payable to Shine Honduras (as always donations are tax-deductible) and send them to:

Shine Honduras
3126 S. Boulevard #168
Edmond, OK 73013

Thank you for your love and support of our program. We are so grateful for your belief in our beautiful kids. Many blessings to you and your family this holiday season! And merry Christmas!

For other updates on Shine, see the Shine blog at shinehonduras.blogspot.com.

Original Estefanoi…

Entry written by Amber Foster

When we first met Estefanoi over a year ago her name was Carolina, but when she started coming back around recently she was telling everyone her name was Estefanoi. So one day I asked, “Why did you tell me your name was Carolina if it’s actually Estefanoi?” Her response, “Aw Ma, my real name is Carolina, but everyone has that name. I want to be original!”

Let me tell you this girl is an original. When I asked all the kids what they wanted to learn about in youth class,I got a lot of expected answers like self-esteem, drug abuse and life skills. But from Estefanoi, “I want to learn about animals.”  You never know what to expect out of her mouth. It is often cause for laughter and rarely hurtful to anyone. Estefanoi has a heart of gold and loves to care for others.  She is a bit awkward and sometimes not well received by others, but her intentions are always to help.

Estefanoi is 17 and expecting a baby any day now. I truly don’t know what will happen once the baby comes. In the past she has shown that she has a hard time staying in one place, but pray we will be able to find her a stable home she is willing to maintain so that her baby can grow up in a safe and happy environment.  In the meantime it is our daily goal to fill her life with love and let her know that she is God’s precious child with a world of possibilities ahead of her.

Blessings for the new year…

Write the soul you sponsored a blessing!

As Christmas gets closer, I become more excited about the wonderful plans you made happen this year!

We are still collected funds now. But when we have more of the money together, we will be shopping, posting pictures of it and writing about the amazing experience we will have! All thanks to several generous souls that want to share our Savior’s love with our friends at Breaking Chains.

We have already asked many of you to write notes of blessing to the children or adults you chose to sponsor for Christmas. But for those that we haven’t, please consider writing one to go along with your donation.

We know our BC friends would love to hear about your families, your connections with Honduras, your kids, why you wanted to sponsor the people you chose, etc. You could even write he or she a simple blessing for the new year. They will love whatever you say.

We hope this gives you a way to connect further with that sweet child or adult and give he or she a simple way to connect with you also. This is another simple way to show the unconditional love of the Almighty to your new friends this year.

We will translate the note for you and include it in the gift, and we’ll make sure to take lots of pictures when the time comes.

We would really like every person to get a note also. So, if you decide you would rather not write one, that’s completely alright, but let us know. We will ask someone else to write it that maybe wasn’t able to give financially but still wants to help.

Please email your blessings to me at michael@bchonduras.org. Thank you for loving our loved ones at Breaking Chains in a way we could not. And blessings to you and your family this holiday season!

Other sponsorships…

All our wonderful friends are sponsored for Christmas!! Wow, what an incredible blessing to see so much giving happen in less than five days! We have some unbelievably generous and loving friends and family connected to Breaking Chains. We thank you over and over again!

We can’t wait to shop for all the gifts, to see all the gifts pile up, to wrap them all with the BC team, to see the sweet faces when our friends experience a Christmas like never before. We love our BC family, and we can’t wait to give them a Christmas! A Christmas that’s all thanks to each of you.

If you still wish to help, we have a couple Christmas wishes still to fulfill. Mirna has a new baby boy that we would love to shower with a few Christmas gifts as well. When we go to beach, the same family always cooks for us. They have six kids, and we would love to give them a gift for each of them. We could also get a few more decorations with any extra money or just to have, in case of emergency, for our beach trip.

Any extra funds we receive will go to one of these items. So, if you still want to feel a part of our Christmas, you can still help.

Above all, thank you for making our month in so many ways. You are making Christmas special for several kids and adults that need your love. Thank you, God, for sharing so many generous people with our friends at Breaking Chains!

Three beautiful souls left to sponsor!

Sponsor Herminia! Comment on her entry!

Wow, we have only two kids and one adult left to sponsor after only four days of asking. THREE PEOPLE LEFT – Herminia, Jorge and Angi.

We are amazed and excited more than we could ever explain to watch all our friends share Jesus’ love with our friends at Breaking Chains. I check to see if there’s new sponsors every second I can, and new ones bring tears to my eyes pretty much every time. Amber asks me all the time how it’s going or scrolls through my blog to see the updates. God is good, and he provides. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

We can’t wait to tell all our beautiful friends at Breaking Chains about all the people who sacrificed to give them a wonderful Christmas! We’re so looking forward to seeing their faces.

Jorge (right) with his brother Arnol. Sponsor Jorge! Comment on his entry!

The team and I and I have a big job on our hands, but what a blessing it is. We get to pick out gifts for each blessed person you have so graciously sponsored. Doesn’t that sound like the best job in the world?

We only have three our friends left that need someone to make their Christmases special. We have no worry one of you will jump at that chance, and your generosity moves and inspires us.

Thank you to each of you that donated for your beautiful donation and for granting a hurting soul a Christmas wish. You’re showing the selfless love of Jesus to someone who has had few experiences feeling it. Many blessings to all of you. And merry Christmas! May your Christmas be as wonderful as ours will be.

Sponsor Angi for Christmas!

A Christmas wish…

The BC team with several individuals that live in our building

Christmas at Breaking Chains!

Our team has talked for weeks about how we should celebrate Christmas with those involved at our Breaking Chains ministry. We want to give the kids, teens and adults the chance to have a Christmas they wouldn’t have otherwise.

We’re very excited about what we came up with! We’re having a Christmas celebration with everyone that lives in our building by taking an overnight trip to the beach! A few of us plan on going ahead of everyone else and decorating with a Christmas tree, lights and have all the presents wrapped. We want to give each person at our building a gift.

Then, the rest of our team will bring the BC families, teens and other adults to the beach. Only our team will know what’s happening; it will be a complete surprise to those in our ministry. When the group arrives, we will surprise them with food, gifts and a lot of love. Our kids and adults have spent many years feeling like no one cares about them on Christmas, but we can make this year different.

How you can help:

Over the past month, I hope you have felt a part of Breaking Chains. We wanted you to get to know our ministry on an individual level. We hope that you will want to help us make Christmas special for some people who really need that kind of love! We need sponsors for everyone living at our building, $100 each. If you want to fulfill a Christmas wish for someone in our ministry, you can co-sponsor or fully sponsor a child, a teen, an adult or several if you are able.

We hope that you have felt moved by one of our stories, that you have felt a connection to someone in our ministry when you heard their story. We know we have, and we urge you to pick that soul to sponsor. If you feel a connection to him or her, we want to foster that connection. We trust God can use that connection to show his healing love to that soul in our ministry.

We would love to be able to give a child or adult your picture and say, “They wanted you to have a good Christmas because they love you so much! They believe in you!” And we would love to give you a picture of that child or adult and say, “You are responsible for their Christmas grin. You showed them love where we could not. Thank you.”

Your $100 goes to:

1. Buying a Christmas gift for that person
2. Transportation to the beach
3. Meals at the beach
4. A small part goes to buying decorations we’ll use at the building and later at the beach
5. A small part goes to a dinner at the building on Christmas day for all the homeless in the community we serve regularly

Finding who you wish to sponsor:

If you haven’t yet made a connection or just don’t remember when the entry was written, all those living in our building are listed by family or group in the previous entry (you can click the link to take you there).

How to tell us who you wish to sponsor:

When you decide who you wish to sponsor, please find his or her blog entry and comment on it. Tell us in the comment box, “I wish to sponsor (insert name here).” If you only wish to co-sponsor, tell us,” I wish to co-sponsor (insert name) for (insert amount you wish to contribute).” This ensures that no one thinks someone is open when they aren’t.

Also, if you don’t mind, please include your email address so that we have it to send a thank-you and a picture of the individual you’re sponsoring. If you don’t wish your email address to be listed on the blog, you can email me at michael@bchonduras.org and give it to me that way.

Hint: Be sure to look both at the top of their entry and in the comment section to ensure someone isn’t already sponsoring the person you want to sponsor.

Sending us the donation:

Please make your checks payable to Breaking Chains Honduras with Christmas in the memo line. Send them to:

Breaking Chains Honduras

14301 Middleberry Rd.

Edmond, OK           73013

If you would like, you can make a donation online instead at bchonduras.org. Keep in mind that Paypal takes around three percent of the donation for the use of their service. So, if you donate online, please include an extra $5 if the initial amount is $100 so that we don’t short anyone for Christmas. Thank you!

If you decide you want to give to the general Christmas fund, please email me at michael@bchonduras.org and let us know that’s what you decided so that we know to look for the funds.

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Reminder: As we have explained before, our ministry serves wanderers, and some have addictions, which means there’s a possibility the person you wish to sponsor will leave before Christmas. It’s unlikely with most of them, but it’s not impossible with a few of them. If that happens, we will be sure to email you, and hopefully you will understand even further why our ministry is important and also why it can be so difficult for us.

Most of all, thank you for your interest in our Christmas plans. Your support means so much to us and those at our ministry; it would not be possible without you. Please pray for Christmas at Breaking Chains and for the precious souls we serve.

Making connections…

To help you make connections between families and ages, here is everyone living at our building, listed by family or age group. You can click on each name to see the entry about them. I hope this is helpful and rewarding to see how everyone is connected.

Eugene and Eddy’s family

1. Eugene - “A relationship to witness” - SPONSORED
2. Eddy - “A loving mom” - SPONSORED
3. Genesis Nayeli - “Sugar and spice” - SPONSORED
4. Escarleth - “An innocent in the rough” - SPONSORED
5. Melvin - “The silent, heart stealer” - SPONSORED
6. Eddy’s sister Mirna - “A girl with a captivating smile” - SPONSORED

Belkis’ family

1. Belkis - “Our own reality TV star” - SPONSORED
2. Carina - “Our little quinceañera” - SPONSORED
3. Pamela - “Far beyond her years” - SPONSORED!
4. Arol - “A teacher’s dream student” - SPONSORED
5. Jonatan - “Giving a little boy an opportunity” - SPONSORED
6. Dayana - “A one might call borderline hellion, little girl” - SPONSORED

Ricardo and Suyapa’s family

1. Ricardo - “A father with dreams” - SPONSORED
2. Suyapa - “A hardworking mother” -SPONSORED
3. Grandma C.C. - “A grandma with a servant heart” - SPONSORED
4. Yahira and son - “A young mama and her sweet boy” - SPONSORED
5. Brian - “Wordless expressions of a beautiful boy” - SPONSORED
6. Axel - “A loving brother” - SPONSORED
7. Angi - “Looking for her place” - SPONSORED

Older single

1. Erminia - “A quiet presence” - SPONSORED

Younger singles: teenagers

1. Jorge - “Another smiling face with a sad past” - SPONSORED
2. Antonio - “A boy to believe in” - SPONSORED
3. Joel - “Grace by the Messiah’s empty grave” - SPONSORED
4. Jose de la Cruz - “In need of healing” - SPONSORED
5. Escarleth - “A neglected daughter” -SPONSORED
6. Miguel - “Finding family” - SPONSORED
7. Rosa - “A sweet girl with a hard shell” - SPONSORED
8. Arnol - “His smile melts your heart” - SPONSORED
9. Joselin - “Seeking community” - SPONSORED
10. Milton - “A sparkling treasure with a dim past” - SPONSORED
11. Cristian - “Finding a light among darkness” - SPONSORED
12. Ronny - “Breaking Chains, one at a time” - SPONSORED
13. Giovany - “The up and coming leader” - SPONSORED
14. Osman - “A friendship renewed” - SPONSORED