I preached at Los Pinos last night. Los Pinos is not a large church, but it is a healthy, active church. The barrio Los Pinos is well up into the mountains which rim Tegucigalpa. The drive to the church building can be described by a continuing repetition of the word “up”, that is, up-up-up-up. The concrete turns to dirt, the road winds around the mountains in a ribbon barely wide enough for a vehicle, from time to time the washouts make the trip more exciting as the road narrows even more. The cliff drops off severely right next to the road, providing an overlook of the city of Tegucigalpa. About 25000 people live in the barrio. The church has about 70 members with 80-100 children in attendance each week. The church hosts a Sunday noon meal for all of the children who attend, many of whom live in extreme poverty. The church does not receive any outside assistance and provides its own funding for all of its programs to help the community. Eventually the church would like to open a day-care to meet the needs of the single mothers and children in the area, enabling the mothers to work.
Last night the singing was enthusiastic, Bibles were open for the preaching, and faces were bright and receptive. They said they were blessed by my presence and the preaching. As is often the case, it was I who received the greatest blessing. Thank you, God, for the power of your word to transform us into what we are called to be!