Teaching the children of the trash heap

One of the most memorable stories of our time in Honduras comes from Pastor Jony who teaches children whose families live in a trash dump outside of Tegucigalpa, the capital city. Jony's daughter who was only five years old at the time began asking her dad, "What about the people at the trash dump? I've been praying for them, are you going to help them?" In Honduras, taking the advice of a child is rarely considered, especially when it comes to spiritual matters. So Jony did what many would probably do in his shoes, he told his daughter, "I will in a little bit." His daughter's prayers did not stop, and neither did her constant reminding that the people living in the trash dump needed help.

Finally, Jony decided it was time to listen to God's voice even though it was through the lips of his young daughter. He began by bringing food to the people of the dump. Many people have promised to help these families, numbering roughly 400, but most if not all have failed to follow through, therefore, before Jony could begin to minister to the people, he had to earn the right to be heard. After about six months of doing this, Jony brought some of the kids from the city and set up a breakdancing competition against some of the children at the dump. The kids at the dump won the competition and afterwards Pastor Jony took just a few minutes to declare the Gospel. The whole ordeal must have been quite a sight.

Soon after that, he and his wife began teaching classes to some of those children at a location about a mile from the dump. For months they taught outdoors under a tin roof that was held up by a couple of sticks. Now, the school has two large buildings, nearly a hundred students and classes that go all year round. School is free to those who attend as long as they come to class cleaned up. Not only do they receive an education, but they also get two meals a day. Jony and his family teach every day except weekends and are entirely committed to helping the families of the dump. Their work and dedication had a profound impact on us and humbled us greatly. -- Ben