YFC Concert

On June 30th, YFC Honduras hosted a concert with Manu in Tegucigalpa.  The YFC crew from San Pedro Sula came to worship and fellowship with us!  It was a day full of worship, great praise, and laughs as we glorified the Lord together.

Here are some pictures from the concert!

Manu's pre-concert press conference

Invitation

YFC Crew dancing on stage with Manu

Some of the YFC Tegucigalpa crew

Update on La Roca

**This post is written from the perspective of Daniel & Laura - as they serve at La Roca for part of their summer internship in Honduras.**

For the last three weeks, we have been spending our days helping at La Roca.  We have grown to love the kids there - they have blessed our hearts beyond words.

Here are some pictures from what the Lord has been accomplishing in us and through us!

On June 24th, La Roca celebrated it's 9th anniversary!  Here are some pictures of that special morning.

9th anniversaty of La Roca

Girls dancing during service

We were able to finish the kitchen a few weeks ago!  Daniel worked hard on sanding/painting the kitchen with the help of a few others (including some of the kids!)  We were so thankful that the Lord provided the means for the kitchen to be completed in June!



Kitchen - before sanding & painting

Daniel sanding down the kitchen

Kids helping sand the kitchen during their recess

Kitchen when paint was finished

Here are some pictures from our classes over the last few weeks!

Learning how to count in English

Making hand prints

"I am __ years old" with their handprint :)

Level One - learning English

Kindergarten friends - counting in English

Playing at recess :)

Kids teaching Daniel some Spanish :)

We have had a wonderful few weeks at La Roca with the kids.  We have fallen in love with their sweet spirits and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for the remainder of our time with them!

Summer Intern Update

This summer, YFC Honduras has had the pleasure of hosting two summer interns. 

Daniel & Laura Peal are from SC and are serving for two months here in Honduras.  Laura, a first grade teacher, has a passion for working with kids.  Daniel, a former Marine and current ministry student, loves to participate in any hands on ministry.  The couple has been serving at La Roca, the City Dump, local schools/orphanage, as well as other local ministries. 

Clorinda

This week at La Roca we gave the kids the option to buy churros and juice boxes for 1 lempira each during recess. We were all surprised when Clorinda came in with 80 lempiras worth of coins from her piggy bank, and she wanted to use it all on churros and juice for the week. We didn’t quite understand why she wanted over ten bags of chips and juice boxes each day, but we let her go for it. It wasn’t until the next day that we realized the motive behind her order…

Clorinda walked happily out of her classroom clutching her ten churros and ten juice boxes. She went up to her classmates one by one and offered them snacks out of her stash. We already knew that Clorinda had a sweet heart, but in that moment we realized how big it really was. It made us so happy to see that Clorinda made her own decision to be generous, and we hope that her classmates learned something from her example.

We were the original surprised ones, but I think Clorinda walked away even more surprised. Although she was not expecting anything in return, we wanted to bless her for her kindness, so we bought her a new piggy bank and filled it with more money than she originally had.

Public School Outreach

---

The following post is written from the perspective of Tom about our recent trip to Instituto Rafael Pineda Ponce, a public high school in an at-risk neighborhood in Tegucigalpa.

---

In public schools in the United States, the Christian worldview is constantly being suppressed more and more as time goes on. It seems like there is always a story in the news about the restriction of the religious rights of students in schools. Because of this mentality I was surprised when I found out that the YFC Tegucigalpa ministry brings gospel presentations to public high schools.

At the end of March I piled into a Toyota 4Runner full of speakers, microphones, and seven other YFC volunteers. We headed to a public high school in Villanueva where we met up with a group of highschoolers from the local church who were going to help us out. Instituto Rafael Pineda Ponce gave us an hour and half in both the morning and afternoon sessions of the school day to put on our event.

As we unpacked I wasn’t scared, but cautious. Five years ago Villanueva was the most dangerous neighborhood in Honduras—a fact that was confirmed to us by Daniel Perez, a former gang member who committed his life to Christ three years ago.

At the end of our program, Dani shared his moving testimony of how God rescued him from a life of crime and violence. He has now committed his life to sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with the same people that he once threatened to rob and assault. It was evident in the faces of the kids that they were impacted by Daniel’s testimony, and we got to follow up with many of them after we finished.

The day ended on a serious note, but things started off fun and upbeat. The kids were drawn in immediately by the break dance and hip hop group that opened up the program. Two YFC volunteers who are friends of Aben performed, and the kids from the local church put on a drama about keeping your heart clean. The students also got a good laugh at my expense, as I played the co-MC “Gringo Loco.”

We had a fun day, and we are excited that God opened the opportunity for us to be there. We saw that many kids were encouraged by the program, and many commented on the response cards that they want to begin a new relationship with Jesus or strengthen an existing one. We are looking forward to more opportunities to put on programs in other public schools!

New City Dump Experiences

YWAM at the City Dump
At the end of January we partnered with a group of twenty-five young people from YWAM Denver on a three-week outreach. One of the most touching times of ministry that we had together was at the city dump. YFC has been many times, but it was a new experience to go with this group of kids who were eager to share the love of Christ through song, dance, and drama.

puppet presentation by YWAM

The YWAM team scattered throughout the crowd and showed people the genuine love of the Father. Despite the various cultural barriers separating them from the people at the dump, the team allowed the Holy Spirit to fill in the gaps and minister to the people.


Humility and Sacrifice
As our time at the dump was wrapping up, it was especially touching to turn and see one of the guys from the group, Patrick, humbling himself in a moving act of service. Patrick not only offered to give away his shoes, but honored his new friend by kneeling down and washing his feet.

It is hard for us to find the words to describe the beauty of this moment. We are reminded of Jesus' ministry when he walked this earth, and the humility that he showed towards both friends and strangers. And, of course, this reminds us of Jesus' ultimate sacrifice on the cross to save us from our sins.


Hope
Every time we approach the city dump, we can see the birds circling overhead from a mile away. They are such a regular part of our experience there that we have learned to go without noticing them. But during this most recent trip to the dump, the birds caught our eye.


You see, we only ever see black vultures at the dump. But this time, we noticed that among a swarm of vultures flew one white dove. The situation that the people living at the dump are in often seems like complete darkness. This dove reminded us that we always have hope in Jesus Christ.

"According to [God's] great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you..."                                                      1 Peter 1:3-4

Look closely in the top, right corner for the dove!

Welcome Tom
We are excited to welcome Tom Lebo to Honduras and our ministry! After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in December, Tom saw the doors open to devote three months to missions with us here in Tegucigalpa. We are excited for the work he is doing teaching English at La Roca, as well as his participation in our other ministries. You can check out his blog here.

Aben and Tom

Tom with some of his students at La Roca

Christmas and Graduation Update

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! I pray that God will bless you and your family this year!

Trip to the US

I’m excited to update you on all that is happening with Youth for Christ in Honduras. As many of you know, I had the opportunity to go to the Youth for Christ International General Assembly in Denver, Colorado at the end of September. It was a great time of prayer and fellowship with brothers and sisters from all over the world. For me I felt a little taste of heaven, having 80 nations in one place, all worshiping our God! After leaving Denver I visited many families and churches all over the States. Thank you to everyone that welcomed me into your home and church. I visited lots of old supporters and met new ones along the way.

Christmas at La Roca
Upon returning home, I was welcomed by many packages of school supplies, clothes, and gifts for the church and school. I am thankful for all your support. Thanks to you, every person at the church and every child at the school received a wrapped Christmas present. Santa even came to deliver the gifts!

Graduation from La Roca

The highlight of 2011 was the first graduation from the school, La Roca! The Honduran school year goes from February to November. We had 13 kids graduate from sixth grade and 18 kids graduate from kindergarten. Here in Honduras, only 1/3 of children are educated past 6^th grade. According to Honduras’ National Statistics Institute (INE) only 58% of school age children reach the 5^th grade; on average, Honduran children complete 5.4 years of schooling.

Another sad statistic for this year is that because of teacher strikes in the public schools, out of 200 scheduled days, the schools were only open for 90 days this past school year. At our school we work through a home school program. So, these kids that could not even go to public school are receiving more education because we did not have to close for the strikes. The graduation was a great accomplishment for these children, their parents, and this poor community. We helped each family with the graduation clothes and prepared a meal for the celebration afterward.

One of the mothers told me proudly, “My son has never been dressed so nice in his whole life; I am so proud of him, and he is so happy.” To be able to provide hope to these families through education, a pair of khaki pants and a nice shirt really blessed my heart. Thank you for helping us through prayer, finances, and supplies this year.

Dump Ministry
The city dump ministry continues to go well. We had the opportunity to work together with a local tv program to bring gifts to the people living and working at the city dump. Through this, we got to share on tv what YFC is doing at the dump and how to contact us to be involved in serving with us.

Prayer Requests

Please continue to be in prayer for the lives of everyone involved in this ministry. Please pray for the families, the community, the school, the church, and the city dump. God has done great things this past year and we want to thank you for being part of the ministry. It could not have happened without your obedience and discernment to God’s voice. The needs for this year include:

• teachers’ salary
• food for the school lunch
• school supplies
• food for the city dump ministry
• transportation (I need a reliable car)

The school has been a huge blessing to all these families, but without the funding to pay the teachers and provide the food, it is hard to continue. We live each month by faith, and God has provided. Please be in prayer for these crucial aspects of the school.


How to Support

• By check: YFCI, PO Box 4555, Englewood, CO 80155(write the Honduras fund number #528.02 or Aben Claros in the memo line)
• Go to www.yfci.org. At the top of the page click on donate. Write 'Aben Claros' in the box marked 'other.' Click 'Add Donation' and then 'Donate Now'
• Email: aben.claros@jpclatam.org

Thank you for loving and serving these youth in Honduras. We are grateful for your prayers and support.

God bless you,
Aben