A Time to Give Thanks in Honduras

By Kike Vega

This is Emerson, a 16-year-old young man. He comes from a low-income family. His father is a builder, and his mother is a housewife. He has several brothers; one is younger than him, and the others are older.

When we started the ministry in 2021, Emerson was one of the most challenging teenagers. He was known for bad behavior and showed little interest in what we did. For a while, he stopped attending our meetings and other activities. A few weeks before we started the meetings, one of his older brothers died in an accident. Hence, his attitude of not wanting anything to do with God and church people was unsurprising, even though his father is a pastor.

During all this time, our job has been to constantly “be there” in the lives of young people. We support them, give words of encouragement, and pick them up at their homes to attend our activities. We enjoy pushing them to dream of a better life, and above all, we preach Christ to them.

Emerson is also a goalkeeper in a soccer academy (sponsored by someone else). His comments when he failed were constantly disapproving of himself. He had low self-esteem and had a hard time recovering emotionally after making a mistake that resulted in his team losing the game.

This year, he has been more consistent in attending our meetings and activities. Emerson also formed a friendship with Ari, one of our volunteers. Ari became a good role model and friend; they both love soccer. When Ari was the same age, he played the same position as Emerson. Listening to Ari’s advice and encouragement helped Emerson’s confidence grow. Now, he no longer feels like a failure.

He currently works with his father in construction. More significantly, he is studying and faithfully attends his team’s training sessions. Emerson always has conversations with Ari and other volunteers. He has begun to ask more profound questions about his life, relationships, and God. 

There is still much work to do, but these last two years have seen much growth for him. 

It is because of young people like Emerson that we believe that God has us in the right place. He has brought young people who need those meaningful relationships to our ministry. We know we must continue to be faithful.