Lilian Walking Out Her Faith!

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. (James 2; 14-17, NLT)

All the dedication that missionary Tony Deien has given to this family, continues to yield fruit as they walk out God’s constant blessings. The head of the family, Lilian, is taking back her place as such. It has been an amazing blessing to watch her making different decisions to follow through in her commitment to God. She has decided to change working schedule at the garbage dump, so she will dedicate more time to her children during the night time.

Some of the changes we have observed during the last 2 weeks, since Lilian has been making different choices for their lives, are:

Purchase of clean water for the house. The family now has clean water available to take a shower, cook, wash clothes. There is no piping for the city’s water system to be available to the whole community, so everyday a cistern truck comes in and sells at $1.50, each barrel of water that may last between 1 to 2 days.

Lilian has purchased a small gas burner, to be able to cook the basic rice and beans meal and sometimes heat up water to have some soup.

There has been a breakthrough in Lilian’s commitment to go to church, for two Sundays in a row, the family has walked up to church as their own personal decision.

It has been two difficult weeks! At times Lilian is overwhelmed by trying to discipline 5 boys, 3 teenagers and 2 about to hit the teens. Lilian is trying hard to form good habits in her life as well as her boys and they are also trying to get rid of bad ones.

Please continue to pray that Jesus restores this family completely as well as for this ministry and for missionary Tony Deien, for wisdom and courage to carry out the vision, guidance and continuous provision!

Girls Just Hanging Out!!!!

Today we had lunch at Popeye’s with Dania, Roni’s sister, Nicole and Sandra, Lilian’s nieces, and Vivianne my niece. We spent a wonderful time having fellowship, sharing and just being free to hang out in a safe environment and be girls! Its such a blessing to be able to have moments like these! Thank you Jehova Jireh!

While Nicole and Sandra enjoyed the freedom of playing feeling safe, Dania, Vivianne and I began brainstorming ideas for a simple way to teach 4 adults, who live in Dania's same block, how to read and write.

Dania, as we have written before, dreams of becoming a teacher; the idea of being able to explore her talent, is just beyond her wildest dreams; she is so excited she can’t wait to start!

The 4 students will be: Olivero, Dania’s father, Lilian (35) the single mom that works at the dumps, Doña Josefa (60aprox) and sister Manuela(32), all Dania’s neighbors. All aspiring students are excited with the project because: 1- They get to support and help develop Dania’s talent of teaching and 2 – They will receive an opportunity to learn how to read and write.

So basically the plan is to start the read and write program by January 8^th. To achieve this, Dania, Vivianne and myself will be making different poster boards with the alphabet, consonants and vowels. Also we will be using construction paper to build ladders combining consonants with all vowels. We will purchase books of the collection of “Aprende Conmigo” (Learn with Me), where they have each letter of the alphabet per page and the student can do 25 repetitions of each letter.

Will you partner in prayer with Dania so that this program becomes a reality and for its success ? For her adult students to be consistent and committed and press on specially when it gets hard. With ideas on how to make it easier and faster for adults to learn how to read and write. In finances supporting this small project with teaching materials, notebooks, pencils, erasers, black or whiteboard, etc.

Small Glimpse Into Lilian’s Life at the Garbage Dump!

Every day she wakes up to the reeking smell of putrefying garbage; having slept the whole night on a dirty mattress thrown on a dirt floor, under a “tent” made of plastic bags; does not know what or even if she will have something to eat that day. Still she thanks God for one more day of life she has been given.

Her world is surrounded by paint thinner and glue addicts; who would rather spend the night at the garbage dump and on the streets, risking their lives, rather than going back to a home where a violent stepfather awaits to beat them up and take whatever money they were able to make during the day, so he can go out and get drunk. Unfortunately there are also young girls who have been raped at an early age, put in harms-way by their own mothers and/or family members; men at these dumps act as if they have the right to have sex with them; they become a type of public property; these are young girls who grow up not knowing that they have a right to say no. Violent men who at night get into fights out of rage and take a machete out and in anger try to kill each other. The worth of a life seems to be just an idea in places like these!

Her son Criston fer (14), joined her today. He is the one that dives deep into each garbage trunk and pulls out the most recyclable material. By the time he is done all his clothes are completely dirty, his skin has the rancid sticky black spots from the liquids of decomposing foods, he has impregnated on him the stinking smell of garbage; under his nails he has the black accumulated dirt; to make matters worse, it can be days before Criston Fer can have access to clean water to be able to clean up. He takes food into his mouth, with hands covered with the filth of all the stuff he has touched. Paint thinner and glue addictions become a way to escape the bleak reality that teenagers like these, face everyday.

Will you partner with this family in prayer? In finances so you can sponsor one child /teenager to go to school? Help sponsor this mother to buy clean water and food so that she will be able to meet her family's basic needs?

How Can You Help!

We have just updated two pages within our blog - Behind the Scenes and Los Pinos A Colony with Little Hope. Our main purpose of an update is to present opportunities to those who wish to help us during this season of giving. We need your support so we can make 2011 the year of HOPE, CHANGE and TRANSFORMATION! Go to our updated pages to learn how you can join us!

... And We Say RESTORE! In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

Lilian Sierra is a 35 year old single mom struggling to raise four teenage boys. Her story is filled with tragedy, survival, sorrow and anger but she holds on tight to her faith in Jesus Christ. She currently tries to “make a living” out of collecting plastic bottles, during the night, at a local garbage dump. Every night she dives into huge dumpsters that smell horribly and are disgustingly filthy, located on extremely dangerous streets filled with violence, drugs and more. Living beneath basic human conditions, in something that can be described as a “tent” made with plastic bags, with no access to clean water, a toilet nor electricity and even worse, not knowing if she will live to see the next day.

Lilian’s dream is for all her children to obtain a good education, for them to aspire to a better life than the one she has been able to provide.

Criston Fer (15) – dreams of becoming a lawyer. Currently, struggles with a full-time paint thinner addiction. Josue (14) –likes school but was asked to leave for lack of financial support and logistics. He wants to grow vegetables around the house, “I want to have something to eat every day” says Josue. Also struggles with paint thinner addiction, but has managed to stay clean up to 3 weeks Out of the four brothers, Josue was originally believed by many to be the most challenging. Today he is the one God is transforming the most! Carlos (12) – dreams of the possibility of going to a school nearby his house. Fernando (11) – wants for mom to live at home and take care of them. Wants to play and be like any other kid.

Until a year ago all the boys were also working on the streets with their mother. Futhermore, until three months ago all four teens went for days without having anything to eat. No parental supervision or proper nurturing; living inside a dirt house with a collapsed wall, no clean water, no electricity and no restrooms. They are living beyond extreme poverty, they are living in misery.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west. I will say to the north and south, ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the distant corners of the earth. Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.’” (Isaiah 43: 5-7, NLT)

Will you partner with this family? In prayer, in finances, in hope. Give them an opportunity. Soon we will present to you opportunities on how to provide aid and ways to give this family HOPE!

An Update of Lillian's Family from the Colony of Los Pinos

As many of you know we continue to be sharing our lives with Lillian's family from the colony of Los Pinos located in the capital city of Honduras - Tegucigalpa. Here is an update of each of the family members:

The mom, Lillian has made two promises since the construction of the home: 1) To give her home to God as a temple for the community and 2) To return home to be a Mother to her family. These two promises are huge and will take time as she is trying to change her behavior of five years of being on the streets, living with a man in the city dumps and not being home nightly with her kids. The process has begun but it will take time. Please pray for Lillian to have the courage and strength to become the mother God wants her to be with her boys.

Two of her youngest sons (Fernando 11 and Carlos 12) are continuing with their daily studies for over one month. Before they were on the streets almost 24 hours a day and now they are going to school five days a week. Both are in the first grade. They are so excited to be able to write their names.

Josue (14 years of age) is been clean from paint thinner for over three weeks. This is a miracle from God as thinner is a highly addictive drug and Josue one day made the decision, NO MORE! He was a daily user for more than one year. It is so much fun to see the real Josue...he has quite the sense of humor and loves to laugh.....Please be praying for him as he continues to be the example to his brothers and the colony of Los Pinos. Many people are telling us daily how they cannot believe the changes which are happening in this young man's life.

Cristofer (15 years of age) is our biggest challenge at this point. He is struggling with the addiction of paint thinner. He is using almost daily and in heavy doses. Almost every day we are picking him up, loving on him and praying with him. It is heart breaking to witness this daily as when he sees us he begins to cry furiously. This is the Spirit working within him with conviction. Please pray for us to have the patience, compassion and wisdom in this serious situation. We are hoping his younger brother (Josue) will have a huge influence in his life demonstrating his daily decision not to use thinner anymore. Out of all the boys, Cristofer is the one that will not miss one church meeting - high or not. He insists to be there. This is encouragement for all of us.

In conclusion, there continues to be 'good strives' happening overall. As we continue working closely with families we need to remind ourselves we live in a broken world. As a friend of mine shared, "Two steps forward and one step back! Don't give up!" Keeping these two things in mind always - we continue to push forward putting full trust in God! Join us in daily prayer for the radical transformation of Lillian's family!

Roni's Family: A Family Full of Smiles

Even in the darkest places, there is always a light of hope – and the Rodriquez family is just that. Despite a dreary forecast and bleak circumstances, their smiles shine brightly in Los Pinos, a dark neighborhood of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. They cling to faith. They cling to hope.
Inside four children is a dream, waiting to be ignited with an opportunity.

Olivero and Noemi Rodriquez have one wish: for their children to have a good education in order to get better jobs, support themselves and have an opportunity to have a home one day. Today, the family lives in a one-room shack on a steep mountain in Los Pinos.

Olivero is an independent, freelance construction worker. He doesn’t know how to read or write. Noemi is a street sweeper for the municipality of Tegucigalpa. She has a sixth grade education and can read and write. They have six children, two who are grown and married, the other four remain at home. They’ve managed to get their kids as far as sixth grade but beyond that, education is too expensive.

Roni (17) is a temp worker, taking whatever job is available to contribute to the family’s minimal income. He would like to pursue becoming a doctor. Roni worships with intense passion and is already a leader within his community, setting an example of faith. He also enjoys drama.

Ariel (15) wants to be a mechanic and also loves to draw. Dania (12) aspires to be a teacher and also likes to draw and paint. Amalia (10) dreams of becoming a nurse (she gives her dolls shots) and enjoys singing and dancing. Amalia is involved with the praise and worship ministry at the family’s church, Cantico Nuevo - A New Song.

Though a strong family, they struggle. Olivero is an alcoholic. The addiction is powerful. But Noemi refuses to leave him, saying over and over again that would be too easy.

They don’t have the possibilities to expose their children to better things, like the ocean. Roni and Ariel accompanied Tony and a group to the ocean. Olivero and Noemi couldn’t stop thanking him. The simple things are impossible. Olivero and Noemi can’t take their kids on a boat ride, in an airplane or to a different city. But with an education, their kids can make a different future for themselves.

Ignite their dream, give them an opportunity. Soon we will be sharing how you can become an important part of this family's life.