Honduras Tuesday: Champions of the King

Before I begin, I want to tell you that all photos can be enlarged by clicking on them. 

When I sat and thought about how I should start updating about my Honduras trip, I decided to start at the very heart of what Compassion International is.

Compassion exists to help children in poverty. That is why this organization was created over 60 years ago. The main focus of Compassion always has been and always will be on the children.

On the very first morning of our trip, we traveled to a local Compassion project. The project we visited was HO-372: Los Campeones del Rey. This translates to Champions of the King.

This is exactly what these children are. They are Champions of the King. They are fiercely and unimaginably loved by God. And guess what? They totally know it! These kids live in the most horrible of conditions. They live in homes made made of iron sheets and cardboard boxes. They eat when they can. They don't always feel safe at home. They may or may not have shoes on their feet or the best clothes on their body, but they completely and utterly love God and know that He is in control of their lives.

When our bus pulled up in front of the project, we were immediately surrounded and greeted by sweet, beautiful faces. I was hugged by children almost instantly. No shyness. Just love.

(Photo Credit goes to the Schmitt Family)

We were ushered into the church at the project and asked to sit down. We were introduced by the pastor of the church and then we shared in a time of worship with the children and some of the parents. I have never in my life seen a child praise God with their eyes closed and their hands up. It was beautiful. 

After worship, we were invited to the courtyard area of the project. Here, we were greeted even more with some great dance performances. A group of girls performed a dance they had created and then a group of children did some traditional dances for us. Let me tell you, it was over 100 degrees outside at this point, but I would not have moved from my spot if you had paid me. I loved watching these children dance.

When the dancing was done, we did what children know best. We played! We played and we played and we played. We had various ball games going on, we blew bubbles, we played with stickers, we smiled, we laughed, we took pictures, we did group dances, and we just let the love pour out. We did all of this without really talking to each other. The language difference doesn't matter at all when you're playing. Fun crosses all language barriers.

After a wonderful morning of so much fun, it was time to gather inside to settle down a little bit and have some lunch. Each child received a nutritious lunch and a special drink full of vitamins and minerals. For some of the children, this may have been the only meal they would receive that day. 

After lunch, it was time for the children to start making their way home for the day. Some of the children were picked up from the center by their parents. The children that lived closer, started their walks home. Even better, some children stayed. I learned that the children are asked to stay for the few hours in the morning for activities, but they can stay longer. The staff at the project won't ask them to leave yet, if they are not ready to go home. I do wonder how many children typically stay. I think the group of boys who chose to stay were mainly just interested in watching us. They sat on the stairs and watched us eat lunch and talk for about an hour. 

After seeing this project and learning more about it in our group meeting after the children left, I am even more grateful for Compassion and the work that they do. They really are interested in every area of development for each child. Each child's progress physically, emotionally, socially, academically, and spiritually is tracked in detail. Anything they can possibly need, is provided, and noted in their file. It's just amazing how much the small staff at the project is able to accomplish. They truly love these kids. 

There are still children at this project, HO-372, who are waiting for sponsors. I brought back home one packet for a little girl from this project. I encourage you to take the details you have just read about this project and to look at the photos of all of the good that is happening here, and prayerfully consider sponsoring this little cutie. 

I want you to meet Debora: 

I sponsored Debora. Yay!