Recommended Reading on Immigration Crisis

Heart to Honduras President, Gordon Garret, shared an article with us this morning from Christianity Today entitled How Churches Can Respond to the Unaccompanied Children Crisis. This piece specifically addresses how Christians, leaders, and entire churches can realistically respond to this issue. If you recognize the need to get personally involved, I strongly encourage you to take 10 minutes to read this outstanding, practical article.

Once you've read it, please share it with like-minded (or even opposite-minded) friends or leaders within your church to see if you can get a conversation started that leads to unified action.

THE Question

Our conversations over the past month have all seemed to drift towards one pressing question, nearly always phrased the same way.

"So... what are you guys thinking about going back?"

Of course there are variants.
"You guys aren't still thinking about going back are you?"

Or.
"Are you really thinking about taking your daughter back?"

A Post About Coffee

Our awesome, well-caffeinated partners at Boston Stoker Coffee Co. have done the legwork to sponsor the Ohio premiere of a new movie about specialty coffee. The best news... it's right here in Dayton! Next month Heart to Honduras will join Boston Stoker to present A Film About Coffee in downtown Dayton's favorite independent film venue, the Neon Theater. With portions of this film shot near where we live and work, we are excited to see it on the big screen. See the bottom of this post for the showtime, trailer and information on how to purchase tickets.

In honor of this news, the self-appointed coffee experts here at Heart to Honduras have decided to review the Honduran brews offered by Boston Stoker, our favorite Dayton coffee roaster. Since Gordon was unable to attend the testing, dedicated readers will have to put up with the unrefined palates of the decidedly less-experienced, although only marginally less-passionate testers, Matt and Kaleb.

Thoughts on the Honduran Immigration Crisis

Photo by Peter Haden / by CC

Not dozens, not hundreds, not thousands, but tens of thousands of Hondurans are expected to emigrate from Honduras to the US in 2014 alone, shattering previous immigration records. Tens of thousands of husbands, mothers, sons, and daughters will leave family and home behind to seek opportunity, safety, and freedom from fear. Some come purely on selfish terms, seekers of fame and fortune that the Fat North has to provide. Others will arrive scarred from near-misses -- carrying jagged white lines on arms, legs, and faces, their eyes and hearts unable to maintain contact. Children seeking parents. The elderly craving rest. Gangsters fleeing a rapidly falling hatchet. Battered girls chasing promises of love and safety like so many vanishing butterflies. Young men hunting the Almighty Unicorn- the American Dream - find only a nightmare.

Alive and Well in Lomitas

During my week-long visit home (Honduras) in June, I drank more than a few cups of Honduran Hospitality (not to be confused with Southern Comfort), especially my first few days. While sipping the coffee-flavored sugary liquid known locally as coffee, the conversation immediately turned towards their Gringos' offspring. Once the pictures of Stacey+Tiny White Baby made an appearance, I ceased to exist for a little while. Once news got out to the community at large that I was in possession of pictures of Stacey+Tiny White Baby, visitation to the house to visit the pictures of Stacey+Tiny White Baby dramatically increased. I acted as priest and gatekeeper of the sacred objects to the pilgrims young and old that arrived to pay homage to the wallet-sized likenesses. Even after nightfall they arrived (dim flashlights bouncing down the path), asking to borrow the pictures to take to show to some grandma out in the sticks. Without fail, Stacey+Tiny White Baby were returned within 15 minutes, gingerly carried by the designated child errand-runner which expressed profuse thanks for their visit.

Mechanic Work = Flowers

About a year and a half ago, Humberto broke down in Las Lomitas on a Sunday afternoon. He had a classic Honduran work truck, a 1980-something 4-cylinder Nissan pickup - frame bent , headlights busted, metal cage around the bed, exhaust constantly emitting a cloud of varying color and rhythm, leaf springs suspiciously unspringy. However the real problem was the front right wheelbearings... or sudden lack of them. The wheel in question would not be turning any longer. I brought down my socket set, and set to work with about 5 other quasi-mechanics. Between the 6 of us, we the managed the know-how, muscle, and colorful Spanish euphemisms necessary to remove the offending rusty thing within a couple of hours. Triumphantly clutching his rust ball in one hand and a motorcycle's flimsy grab bar in the other, Humberto putted on towards Los Caminos on the back of a friend's little one-cylinder motorcycle, promising to return early the next morning.

Don Pedro

Back in January, laying in my hammock on a Sunday afternoon, I heard someone hesitantly call my name.

"Don Kahleb..."

On the front porch, gazing into my yard, I found a wizened Lomiteñan. Don Pedro had come to visit. His garden-ward glance betrayed the reason for his visit. Since arriving in Las Lomitas, we had exchanged pleasantries at community meetings or upon passing each other on the road, but had never really communicated. Now two years later, here he was to visit, if not me then at least my vegetables. We soon began to discuss vegetable gardening. For two years, he had been silently watching the garden and was finally convinced that he might be able to succeed, but he wanted to do it well. Could I come up to take a look at his lot to see if he might have a suitable place to plant?

Alida Fe

After a sleepless night in labor, our beautiful daughter, Alida Fe, was born into a bit of a crisis at 7:42AM on Sunday, May 25. Many people have asked exactly what happened, so I will do my best to explain it briefly here. As it turns out, she aspirated (inhaled) meconium (an infant's first stool) while still in the womb. Although this normally is not much of a concern, the amount that she inhaled threw her into a bit of a downward spiral. She was born full term at 7lbs 14oz, but was not breathing, and even after intensive suctioning by the NICU unit and 100% O2 application, she continued to have very low levels of O2 in her bloodstream.

Lessons Learned

Have you ever been caught by a trap-door question?
"Have you ever been to Paris?" 

Before you can take a closer look at the little red light starting to flash in your head, you answer.
"No." 
You fool.

"No? Well, let me tell you about it. It's absolutely amazing..." 

For the next thirty minutes, not one time will you think "Wow, I think he asked me that question and is now answering that question himself because he really cares about me." Quite the opposite, you will be waiting for the egoist to take a breath or pass out from oxygen deprivation. You probably will not hear or remember a word he said. You will do this because you are a human. Just like the other 7 billion people on the planet, you want to be known and cared about.

We're all poor

Just came across a great article that sheds some light on the attitude that often plagues the average Christian approach to poverty. When we learn to unite under Christ's hope, we will go further.

Read Chase Miller's short article here.