HONDURAS UPDATE
Summer 2017
An Angel Watching Over Us
Part of our job as mentors is opening the eyes of our team
to what is really going on around them. Over the years, we observed
that the proverbial blind eyes see once a person is taken out of his
or her daily environs. Becoming inured to suffering is easy to
understand in Honduras. From birth, our kids unspeakable misery is
played out daily in their own front yards. Averting ones eyes
becomes a defense mechanism for them to survive.
Poverty has a way of lulling the senses to sleep. While we
Gringos are flabbergasted at the suffering we see in the villages
where we work, oftentimes, it barely causes our team to wince.
Asking pointed questions helps our mentees gain a new perspective
in the ways they might help alleviate suffering around them. Yet,
having their eyes opened without input from us, has had the most
impact in effecting real change. This story from the past has a direct
tie to the present and fills us with hope for the future.
In June of 2006, our staff heard about the 16-year-old girl
pictured above. They wanted to visit her. Lidia Dinora was in great
need. Abandoned as a child, Lidias mother left for the North Coast
of Honduras where she began another family. After that, her father
turned her over to the care of an aunt.
The day we first met her, Lidia was so weak she could
barely support herself, but sat up during our entire visit, refusing to
lie down or complain. Her bed took up at least 1/4th of the living
quarters, which was shared with her aunt, uncle, and their two
children. Her cousin slept in the bed with Lidia. The box next to her
held Lidias few possessions. The only airflow, or natural light,
came through an open front door. The space, while neat as a pin,
was hardly bigger than a jail cell for the five people inhabiting it.
Big tears rolled down her face when Lidia learned that we
came just to see her. She was astonished that complete strangers
would bother. When asked what was happening to her physically,
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the tears started flowing again. Finally regaining her composure,
Lidia looked down, folded her hands in her lap, and described her
worsening condition in a voice that was barely audible. She could no
longer walk and her vision was reduced to silhouettes and shadows,
especially in the dark room. No one knew why.
A bright young woman, who loved to read, Lidia did well
academically before near blindness and lack of mobility took her out
of school. She missed it terribly, and told us she wanted to learn
English. She had a good ear for it, too. It was painful to even
imagine Lidia spending all her time in that suffocating room with no
windows and nothing to occupy her inquisitive mind.
Before leaving that day, we asked the family what their
immediate needs were and learned that Lidia was almost out of
diapers. The family had no money to buy them. Lidia refused to eat
or drink that day until just before we arrived at 5:30 pm to make the
few she had left last as long as possible. As we prayed for Lidia
uncontrollable weeping overtook our teachers. Jose and I were also
mopping away tears.
The second we left there, we ran out to purchase diapers
and food for the family. Lidia and her aunt both sobbed when we
reappeared with everything
needed to help the family survive
another week. A short time after
that, we had a wheelchair for
Lidia and a CD player with
English lessons. Lidia studied
diligently and loved practicing
what she learned with us.
The day of our first
visit to see Lidia, something
shifted in our team. Their eyes
were opened and they had to help
her. Instead of asking us to raise
the funds, they saw an urgent
need and began knocking on
doors of churches, businesses,
and even a Telethon. They
obtained months of supplies.
In the early fall of 2006,
Lidia was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and given steroids to
boost her strength. Soon, she could sit up in bed without assistance,
and even stand up on her own. With the wheelchair, we could finally
free Lidia from her back alley confinement in Danli.
For her first adventure, we took Lidia out to lunch and
then to our childrens center in Linaca. There she held a computer
keyboard for the first time. Ever curious, she was not in the least
intimidated and asked how to use it.
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 Because of the steroids, her eyesight had improved and
Lidia dreamed that someday she would learn to surf the web.
Franklin hooked the keyboard up to the computer and gave her the
first lesson.
Next, Lidia
attended our Teen
Council meeting
where she was
unanimously
approved as an
honorary member of
the leadership
committee. With a
huge smile on her
face, Lidia thanked
the group saying, Being accepted as a part of this team, and eating
chicken, made this one of the happiest days of my life!
As was our custom, we had a lesson for the Teen Council
the day of Lidias installation to the group. Much of the teaching
was built on prior knowledge, to which Lidia had no exposure. I
wondered how much she understood. On the way home, we asked
Lidia what she learned. She paused to think before answering. A
bright child might parrot back some of the key phrases. But it is an
exceptional child that imparts the entire teaching in her own words,
creating examples of how she will apply what she learned going
forward. Lidias intelligence and wisdom left us with mouths agape.
We parted that day with hopes for many more such occasions.
By Christmas, Lidia was strong enough to go visit her
mother. But, when she returned in late February, she had regressed
physically, suffering with multiple infections. Ultimately, we
learned that doctors had over-prescribed steroids, severely
compromising her immune system. Her organs began to shut down.
Her body was so swollen that her skin burst. She bled all over.
Never have I met a person with more grace in affliction.
She understood the importance of expressing gratitude, not common
among the poor. She always asked us to thank donors who helped
her. In death, Lidias thoughts turned to others, hoping her
wheelchair would give someone else freedom. In her final hours,
Lidia called for all of her nurses, thanking each one of them by
name. Then she asked her mother to climb in the bed and hold her.
Lidia forgave her mother for abandoning her all those years. In the
last terrifying hour of her life Lidia cried out, fighting dark spiritual
forces in the room that only she saw. Finally, with arms raised, Lidia
called to Jesus, thanking Him for her life. Then her hands dropped,
her head turned away, and Lidia took her last breath.
Losing Lidia was devastating to all of us. She inspired us
and opened our teams eyes to the fact that they could do great
things with few, to no, resources. All
they had to do was seek.
In May of 2008, just over a
year after Lidia died, I was at the
Linaca Center one afternoon when
Nidia pointed out an adorable little girl
with long braids and a shy smile. Her
name is Ixa, Nidia said grinning from
ear to ear.
What took my breath away
were her next words, Ixa is Lidia
Dinoras little sister! The girls had the
same father, but Ixa had no idea Lidia
existed. This is not uncommon in the
villages where we work. Sadly, many
half-siblings dont know, or relate to
one another, as family.
In Ixa I could see, the sweetness of Lidia, her shyness, her
humility, and her intelligence. Six years old at the time, Ixa lived
with her mother, and loved coming to our center, as Lidia had.
Through the years I kept an eye on Ixa, making sure she
was okay. The team was especially fond of her. From time to time, I
would ask Ixa if she knew anyone named Lidia Dinora. The answer
was always no. I didnt want to be the one to break that news to her.
The picture below, of Ixa eating an apple, was taken in
November of 2010 at our end of the year Christmas fiesta. I didnt
know it existed and it gave me chills to come across it the other day
just as I started writing this newsletter about Lidia and Ixa.
As usual, our funds were tight in November of 2010 and
apples were a rare treat. The kids loved them. Our team searched
hard to find 600 apples we could afford. The staff counted each
apple when they bought them and
counted them again when washing
and repacking them, insuring that
they had enough for the party.
On the day of the fiesta
over 750 children showed up! When
it was time to give away the apples,
the children were lined up in age
groups. Sadly, the older kids and
teens were told not to expect an
apple. All the boxes were brought
out and the giveaway began. As the
last box was running out, there were
quite a few children left in line.
Nidia asked one of the
guys to go and get the last box of apples. There are no more
boxes, he insisted. I know. I brought them all out by myself! But
Nidia persisted. Shaking his head in resignation, the young man
entered the room where less than an hour before he had carried out
every last carton. But, lo and behold there was one more box, nearly
overflowing with apples! He fell to his knees in shock.
Not only did every fiesta attendee get an apple, but our
staff took home an extra five, each! Finding that picture of Ixa
reminded me, that out of nothing, our team believed God would
bless their efforts to meet Lidias needs and He did. And on the day
of the fiesta, we had another miracle from nothing. Jesus didnt just
multiply the apples in the boxes, He made a whole new box appear!
Years later, we still talk about The Miracle of the Apples.
Coming across a picture of Ixa when I did, makes me think it was no
coincidence. Perhaps an angel named Lidia Dinora was telling me
and all of us something...
Fast forward to March of
2017, due to our expansion and visiting
numerous centers, I had not seen Ixa
more than a few times since that day in
2010. Now, Ixa was part of our teen
scholars, tutoring our elementary
schoolers in exchange for transportation
and anything else she needed to attend
High School. That day, I asked Ixa once
again if she knew or had ever heard of a
girl named Lidia Dinora. This time the
answer was yes! I think she was my
sister, she said shyly.
Finally, I had the chance to tell
Ixa how extraordinary her sister was. And, how proud Lidia would
be of Ixa as the newest member of our teen leadership council, who
was also elected unanimously. The next time I see Ixa, I will show
her the picture of the Christmas apple and let her know that back
then, as today, a very special angel watches over her and all of us!