Exiles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.