Theodore was kicked out of his mother's house when he was 16. No money, no job, no friends, and no hope led him to join Honduran Air Force. For three years, the army not only taught him to be a gunner, it also taught him how to drink and how to smoke pot. Before long, causal use and abuse of drugs and alcohol turned into a full blown addiction. Hard liquor, marijuana, gasoline, and glue were his go-to's to get high. For 15 years, this was his life--a constant fight to stay high. One day, Theodore sat in a large house, completely empty except for one bed. On one side of the bed was all the marijuana he could want. On the other side of the bed was a bottle of glue good for sniffing. In his hand was a bottle of liquor.
Drunk, high and alone he sat pondering the last 15 years of hell that his life had turned into.
Drunk, high and alone he heard a voice tell him that he was created for more than the cheap thrills of substance abuse.
Drunk, high and alone he stammered into a church where he heard that God loved him and desired a relationship with him.
Drunk, high and no longer alone, he turned his life over to Christ on that day.
The next 15 days were the hardest days of his life. Detox. Withdrawals. Cold sweats. Migraines. Every passing second the Devil was screaming at him, reminding him where his drugs and alcohol were, making him keenly aware that the pain, the headaches, and misery could all disappear with one sip, one drag, or one sniff. But he also heard God whispering to him, "I am better. I am worth this. I have plans for you." Spiritual warfare at its toughest.
But Theodore persevered. God was enough. The addictions that plagued him for so long had been crushed by Christ. Theodore has since attended seminary and served as a missionary high in the mountains of Honduras. He told me of the next-to-impossible living conditions in those mountains, but this was not the first time that he had nothing but God to depend on. I asked him if, despite the living conditions and the spiritual depravity, God was enough. His face twisted as if surprised that I would ask such a dumb question.
"Absolutely," he answered.
Rudy was a popular guy. He frequented dance clubs during his younger (and thinner) days and won people over with his breakdancing. But as it turned out, all the friends and attention in the world didn't satisfy him. He knew there was something more. He tried alcohol, but still nothing. He tried women--nothing. Emptiness consumed him. Emptiness continued to consume him until the day he heard the words from Joshua 1:9. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." That was it. That was the hope, the significance, the meaning that Rudy so desperately longed after. He went on to quote 2 Corinthians 5:17 to tell me how his life completely changed after coming to know Christ.
He is now an incredible mason, tile layer, and all around workhorse. He considers himself a national missionary because he shares his faith unashamedly with as many people as he can. He has shared the gospel with gang members, assassins, addicts and everyone in between. He now has "grandchildren" in the faith as some of those that he helped lead to Christ are now doing the same. His love for God and his joy in life are inescapable and contagious.
Alex was a runner. When both parents walked out, he and his 8 brothers and sisters were forced to fend for themselves. He was the first one to try to make it to America, so he took off running. He eventually made it, became a legal immigrant, and planned to stake his new life in Texas. He arrived to America not knowing a single word of English, but he was determined. He read the newspaper every day and soaked up every bit of English that he could handle. Not long after he set up his new life in America, through events that could be orchestrated by none other than God himself, Alex became a Christian. Then, not long after that, he felt God calling him back to Honduras. He didn't want to though, so he took off running again. This time, in the opposite direction, Canada. It's no wonder that Alex calls himself a modern day Jonah.
It didn't take but a few years in Canada for Alex to realize that God still wanted him back in Honduras. This time, instead of running away, Alex obeyed. He returned to Honduras where he is now a pastor. He studies God's word diligently and is currently in the process of translating commentaries into Spanish for use in discipleship. He believes with all his heart that Honduras' greatest need is the gospel, and so he has devoted his life to proclaiming it to his national brothers and sisters.
These are three incredible testimonies of men that I have the privilidge of serving alongside. With each one, the gospel becomes more and more real to me. Our death and depravity discussed in Ephesians 2 only becomes more real. The power of the saving blood Christ discussed in Hebrews 9 only becomes more incredible.
Like the sunrise, which every morning brings new mercies, our God is forever offering irresistible, life-changing, scandalous grace.
"Home for the weak. Home for the poor. Home for the broken. Home for the angry. Home for the bitter and confused. Home for the broken. Home for the hurting. Home for the cynic. Home for the addicted. Home for those who've lost all the words to all their songs. Do you not know? Have you not hear? Your Father does not get weary of you."
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