November's Story of the Week

As Thanksgiving approaches, many of us take the time to be thankful for all the blessings God has given us.  For many of us, those blessings often include a gratefulness for our families and how their love has helped us become who we are today.  For many, the thought of a family’s support is a foreign concept. Can you imagine what your life would look like if you had no one to support your dreams?

Through the Jeremiah House, we can be that support system for young men who need to see God’s love and the blessings He has for each one of us! Each young man has a story to tell, and we would like to take the next few weeks to share a few of their stories.

This week we bring you the story of Erick Ariel.

Erick’s father died when he was only 4 years old, and after that his mom fell into a deep depression which began to steal the joy and innocence of childhood from Erick and his brothers.  Shortly after the death of their father, their mother was hospitalized with terminal cancer and within a year Erick’s mother was gone too.  Erick’s loving grandmother did the best she could to care for her grandsons, but living on only 150 lempiras ($6.37) a week was impossible.  She had to go out looking for more work, but this left her young grandsons home alone during the day.  Besides the fear of what could happen without adult supervision, she knew when the authorities discovered this, the children would be taken away from her and she would have no control over where they would go.  One day a friend of their deceased father, a lawyer, told their grandmother of a place that could not only meet their needs of daily care such as food and clothing but could help provide the boys with a good education.  With no other options and an aching heart, she sent the three boys to GSCH to give the boys a chance at a future.  Erick went in fighting and often had a bad attitude, but the staff and missionaries kept loving him, sharing about Christ, and providing for his needs.  

After his time at GSCH, Erick tried to move out on his own, and he quickly realized that without a little family support the world was a big and scary place with little options. He contacted the Jeremiah House and asked if we still had the spot we offered him when he left GSCH.  He had dreams and realized that he needed an education to get there.  In the last 2 years, Erick has finished high school and has started medical school.  He dreams of becoming a doctor to better severe his country.  Erick takes off one semester a year to work as a translator for BMDMI medical teams, and he loves to learn more from the doctors who serve the poor in his country.  Erick is constantly searching for ways to help his family.  His grandmother who is sick and elderly now is still a part of his life.  He not only finds time to visit her outside of her dangerous neighborhood run by gangs, but he sends her money to live on each month.  He visits his brothers and is also trying to find ways to encourage them in life.  In the Jeremiah House, Erick is a responsible young man who studies hard, is a great cook, and is a good friend. Erick recently told me that even though he is a Christian he has lost focus on God and that he was glad to be participating in our weekly Bible Study. We are all excited to see the future God has planned for Erick as he continues through medical school.  

Erick is a great example of what happens when people around the world both in Honduras and the United States join to share the hope of Jesus.  Just this week Erick said, “I am now grateful for all you have done for me for helping me to be a better person, and for teaching me about God because I realized that everything that happens is the plan of God.”

As we enter this season of Thanksgiving, let us remember that November is also the month we recognize Orphan Sunday to bring awareness to those in the foster care system around the world and Giving Tuesday as a way of giving back in our time of recognizing our blessings.  We ask that you take time this month to pray for the young men of the Jeremiah House as we continue to pour into their lives.