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At first glance, everything under the
bridge seems to be in a state of decay.
Its expanse crosses the
putrid, sewage-filled river that divides
the central business district of
Tegucigalpa from its sprawling, teeming
outdoor market. The thousands
of vendors in the market use the river and
its small floodplain as a dumping ground
for all the trash, rotting vegetables, and
animal parts that are leftover from each
day’s sales.
Amidst the trash under the bridge, there
is human decay as well. Sixty to
seventy kids rot their brains by sucking
in the fumes of yellow shoe glue out of
leftover soda bottles. As the daily
life of this capital city flows across the
bridge above their heads, the addiction to
yellow glue takes a hold of these kids and
brings living to a standstill. Life
is distilled down to the next rushing
intake of yellow glue into their
ever-craving bodies.
The Micah Project has been expanding its
outreach to street kids over the past
several years. Slowly, we have
come to know their names and stories, and
they have come to trust us. We have a
street team that regularly goes to the
market district to reach out to the
kids. On Friday, we rent a soccer
court and invite the youth to play soccer,
enjoy a home-cooked meal, a haircut and
foot-bath, and a time for Christian
testimony. Several boys have
joined the Micah Project due to our street
outreach, including Marvin (pictured on in
the top left picture on the soccer field)
and Wilmer (pictured below in a red shirt
holding a water gun). It has
been a huge blessing to be a part of their
lives as they take daily steps to distance
themselves from the yellow glue and the call
of the streets. Others show up at the
door of the Micah House every once in a
while, needing food, or medical attention,
or just someone to talk with. Often,
we are moved to tears by our desire to help
them beyond what we are able to do. We
appreciate your prayers as God calls us to
play an increasingly big role in the lives
of these precious children!
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