No Matter the Cost

This morning everyone was shocked to see me at work. I don't leave until Wednesday for my trip to New York, but coworkers have been asking since last week if my suitcases are packed. To go to the United States is such a big deal for them. They can't imagine that I wouldn't pack all of my best clothes at least a week in advance.

When I said I hadn't packed yet, one coworker said, "Oh, I see. You haven't packed because you're going to buy everything new once you get there." In her mind the US is a land of abundance. Everything is better and cheaper than whatever Honduras has to offer. She knows me well and knows I am "thrifty" with money. I was surprised she thought I'd go to the US with nothing and buy a whole new wardrobe for the two weeks I'm there. I assured her I am not doing that.

In our devotional we sang a beautiful song. It was a prayer pleading with God to change the problems of Honduras. The words were really touching. My coworker said, "This is a really sad song. Look, people are crying." I looked around and realized I was sitting there with the very people who are fighting hardest for Honduras. Many of them were crying for the state of their country.

One line of the song was "No matter the cost, save Honduras." That is exactly how they think of what they are doing. Their lives continue to be threatened. As recently as yesterday one of them received a death threat. They have moved their families to undisclosed locations in other countries. (Most say they are in the US. I don't know.)

Through programs that function within my organization, Honduras is changing. The school system is changed. Teachers are being held to a higher standard. Kids are receiving over 200 days of school instead of less than 100 days. That is remarkable.

The health care system is changing. They are making sure medicine is not stolen or horded, but that gets to where it's needed and that people who are on the payrolls actually show up to work for their check.

They are also changing the way that rapists are prosecuted, as well as the way children who are victims of sexual abuse are treated during the trial process. They've cleaned up so much already.

But the hardest fight of all is the fight against the corruption within the police. That's what brought death threats as well as armored cars and swarms of military police to protect my coworker.

I can't believe God chose me to work for this organization. I can't believe I have the honor to sit next to these people, to hear personally their prayer requests, to pray with them and cry with them as they fight for their country. No matter the cost.