Home, The Place of Tears

Lepaterique, Honduras

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Welcome to Lepaterique, Honduras. Some of us call this place our second home, but why?

The power goes out in the middle of dinner. Roosters begin crowing at 4:00 a.m. You can't flush the toilet paper. You can't drink the water. You can't find a Starbucks. We call Lepaterique home because of the people.

I don't know how to spell their names, let alone pronounce them, yet for some reason the highlight of our year and theirs is our annual visit.  

We've made this trek to Lepaterique now for 12 years. Some might say this is about a chance meeting. We believe it's God ordained. Who would have thought that a Lutheran congregation in Colorado would hook up with an independent church in Honduras (thanks Compassion International!).

But we're family. Tears are shed when we arrive and more tears when we say goodbye (even tears as I write these words). We cry when we hear stories of pain and poverty. We cry when we hear stories of graduations and conversions. Tears are our common language.

Paul wrote to his friend Timothy, "As I remember your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy." (2 Timothy 1:4 New English Translation) As Paul loved Timothy so we love our brothers and sisters in Honduras (not just Lepaterique), and we long to see them.

We remember their tears and they remember ours. Tears are the prayers of family.

Today's Challenge: Think about the tears that you have shared with others. How have those tears drawn you closer to each other?

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You can listen to the Praying With the Eyes broadcast on The iB Network Internet radio station every Sunday at 8:00 & 11:30 am, as well as, 1:00 & 8:00 pm MDT (www.ibnetwork.us). You can also listen to the show using the Tunin app on your mobile device.  

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2015 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.