A Tough Season – Ministry with Teenagers in Honduras
By Kike Vega
That time of the year has come, when if it wasn’t for the grace of God, for believing in his promises and knowing he is in control and working in the lives of those he has placed for us to walk with, we would have already left this ministry, or to not be so dramatic, our attitude would also change.
Let me explain: The end of July, August, and September are difficult months where the motivation of the majority is overshadowed by tiredness and the lack of desire. Most are waiting for the October holidays when they can “recharge,” the kids are tired of classes, homework, and other activities that they have been doing during the year.
This part of the year has been like this since we started outdoor youth ministry in 2021. During this time, many stop seeking, stop trying, stop going the extra mile, and begin to spiral into discouragement, complaining, and conformity.
We see it in different ways in the young people we work with: they are more irritable, have bad attitudes, their grades in school have dropped, they stop coming to our meetings, the number of weekly participants is decreasing, added to that, for many, the daily practices to participate on the parades on September 15, the day of the independence of Honduras, make each day more tiring.
It would be very easy to suspend the meetings for these months, sometimes we would like to, but what motivates us to continue is knowing that the Word of God does not go away empty, that it is God who is giving the growth, that it is God who is in control, that is why many times even when we are tired and discouraged, we see the value of continuing to persevere, to continue to being present and constant, in the lives of our young people and volunteers.
We know that it is worth every effort, every word, every activity, every coffee, and most of all, every time we help them to turn to Christ.
The last few months have also been interesting in our team. We began a study on Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, and as expected, the relationships within our team have been tested, starting with Belinda and me. We have not yet finished the study, and our enemy increasingly wants to destroy the communion within our team. We continue to fight and pray for God to work in the heart of each one of us so that we can show the love that only comes from God.
We thank God that the United States embassy extended Belinda’s visa and granted Levi’s visa. We are happy about this news.