One day in June of 2011, Shannon (the missionary from my previous post) sat in her kitchen working on her laptop, making legal preparations to open Puerta de Esperanza. She heard the
jingle of the doorbell from the gate outside her house. Like all middle-class
homes in Honduras, Shannon’s had a gate surrounding the perimeter of the yard
to protect the home from squatters and burglars. Swinging open the front door
and arriving at the gate, Shannon opened the latch. Staring up at her from
dirt-smudged faces were two young boys, no older than 7 and 9. “Do you have any
work for us?” The older one addressed her in colloquial Spanish. “Um…no….”
Shannon’s heart broke for these small children who begged odd jobs to earn
money. What was their home life like?
At least, she thought, I can offer them some food. A few
minutes later, while watching them clean off plates of food from her kitchen,
she learned that their names were Ever and Kevin and they were two of eight
children. Their dad had abandoned them, and their mom, though hard-working,
struggled to support them and their six siblings. Over the next several weeks,
Ever and Kevin continued to come around. A friendship blossomed between them
and Shannon. They became her little buddies. Shannon washed their clothes and
gave them food. Sometimes they brought their friends around and attended church
with her. Ever and Kevin were too poor to attend school. Yet clearly, they had
an appetite to learn, work hard, and were thirsty for friendship. Eventually, Kate
joined Shannon’s missionary team and started a project to help Ever and Kevin
and other boys like them who had little-to-no education and who were vulnerable
to malnourishment, abuse, and gang-influence.
Started in 2011, the Peter Project, as it was named, has helped dozens of impoverished boys in a country that has the highest murder rate in the world (and has thus been called the "Murder capital of Latin America"), and where 2/3rds of children are malnourished, and lack access to safe clean drinking water, sanitation, and education. (According to UNICEF, retrieved HERE.)
To help these children, the staff of The Peter Project intentionally spend time in the poor parts of the city of LaCeiba, getting to know street boys. The boys are not exactly homeless; usually they live with their family in a hut of some kind and are too poor to go to school. If the boys prove to have an interest in going to school, the Peter Project offers to help enroll them and pay for supplies. Conditions are that the boys must regularly attend school and come to the Project facility after school hours to receive a meal, a Bible lesson, tutoring, and meaningful friendship. Currently, 12 boys are enrolled in the Peter Project. A few of their pictures are below. Email me (audreyj275@gmail.com) if you would like to sponsor one of them for $35/month.
After 4 years of investment, love, and meaningful relationship, Ever accepted Christ into his heart last year. The missionaries testify to his life's radical difference. Praise be to God!
To read more about this ministry visit: The Peter Project Blog
Started in 2011, the Peter Project, as it was named, has helped dozens of impoverished boys in a country that has the highest murder rate in the world (and has thus been called the "Murder capital of Latin America"), and where 2/3rds of children are malnourished, and lack access to safe clean drinking water, sanitation, and education. (According to UNICEF, retrieved HERE.)
To help these children, the staff of The Peter Project intentionally spend time in the poor parts of the city of LaCeiba, getting to know street boys. The boys are not exactly homeless; usually they live with their family in a hut of some kind and are too poor to go to school. If the boys prove to have an interest in going to school, the Peter Project offers to help enroll them and pay for supplies. Conditions are that the boys must regularly attend school and come to the Project facility after school hours to receive a meal, a Bible lesson, tutoring, and meaningful friendship. Currently, 12 boys are enrolled in the Peter Project. A few of their pictures are below. Email me (audreyj275@gmail.com) if you would like to sponsor one of them for $35/month.
After 4 years of investment, love, and meaningful relationship, Ever accepted Christ into his heart last year. The missionaries testify to his life's radical difference. Praise be to God!
To read more about this ministry visit: The Peter Project Blog
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