Loved this. Had to share.

This is from the blog of Mike Pettengill, our team leader:

Oh These Kids

I love working with Honduran kids. But, some of these kids are so naughty. Some days they are disrespectful, rude and flat out annoying. Some of them steal just because, lie more often than they tell the truth, and have mouths like sailors.

Some days I am at my wits’ end and the last thing I want to do is see another Honduran kid. But, then I remember things like this:

- The average Honduran makes $3,000/year
- 50% of kids are born to single parent homes
- The average age for first time moms is 15.3 years
- 80% of birth certificates have no father
- The average Honduran has 6.1 years of school

Then I remember the reason they act like animals is because most of them raised themselves and nobody tells them they are anything better. The reason why they don’t behave is because they don’t know their dad and their mom is always working. The reason they don’t know how to play fair is because they have been raising their baby brother and they have no experience playing with other kids. The reason they all turn to the streets is because nobody they know has ever done anything else.

These cute little monsters own my heart. I want to adopt them all and take them away from the poverty, pain and abuse. But, that is not the answer. Many people have told me, “If I could only take this kid back to the U.S. with me.” Happiness is not found in an SUV, in the Walmart or in the suburbs. I know plenty of unhappy people who live that life. Happiness comes when these kids learn their only true joy comes in Christ. If they have hope in Christ they have everything…even in physical poverty.

Today, please pray the following for the kids of Armenia Bonito, our hearts and this ministry:

We remember these kids are God's gift to us. (Psalms 127:3-5)
We train these kids well. (Proverbs 22:6)
They continue to desire to know the truth. (Matthew 21:15-16)
That these kids are saved by Jesus Christ. (2 Timothy 3:14-15)