Why I was happy to see people running and screaming in the streets.

Dear friends and family,

After a total of six and a half months here with Micah, I (David Hawthorne) thought that I had figured out a few grounds rules about living in Tegus:
1. Don't run, yell or do something else to draw too much attention to yourself while in the streets. Creating a commotion can result in unwanted attention.
2. Don't expect to be able to freely roam Tegus at night. It can be fairly safe to make short trips, but long evening walks can leave you very vulnerable to being mugged.
3. Don't ever expect people to appreciate you for being a gringo.
So, imagine my own surprise this past Wednesday night to find myself running, soaking with sweat, half-way across Tegus at 9:00 PM, leaping and screaming, pumping my fist, exchanging high-fives and whoops with strangers and receiving hugs and cheers while the entire city poured into the streets. No, I hadn't suddenly lost my mind or become a national hero. No, Wednesday night, Honduras qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the entire country was in a mood to celebrate!! To explain, please allow me to back up earlier into the evening.

Wednesday evening, while I ate dinner away from Micah, the U.S. soccer team was losing 2-1 to Costa Rica and time was rapidly waning. Honduras had defeated El Salvador earlier in the day and was temporarily in position to clinch a World Cup appearance. However, unless the U.S. was able to defeat or tie Costa Rica, Costa Rica would unseat Honduras and instead advance to the World Cup. As I climbed into a taxi for the ride home, both mine and the taxi driver's moods were gloomy. With less than two minutes left in the game, it appeared that Costa Rica, not Honduras, would be in the World Cup. However, as we drove through Tegus, people in bars and homes began yelling and screaming and a few cars began speeding while honking their horns. After a hurried conversation with some other taxi drivers and a phone call to Micah, we learned that with 15 seconds left, the U.S. had managed to score the tying goal, and that Honduras was going to South Africa and the World Cup!!

The taxi driver and I quickly lost focus of getting to Micah as we rocketed through the back roads of Tegus. He was hitting the horn over and over as I banged on the roof and yelled out the window. People poured out of buildings, yelling and cheering. A police car pulled up next to us and hit its lights - but rather than pulling us over, the police officers being honking their horn and turning their siren on and off, over and over again in celebration. Other police officers were in the streets hugging other people as children and teens ran by waving flags and soccer jerseys in the air. We eventually arrived at Micah, where I was almost knocked over by a wild combination of a high-five, hug, and chest-bump from Miguel. Some of our guys were running wildly in circles yelling. Others were simply standing there grinning. A few raided the kitchen, and with a cup, a spoon, an empty water jug, and a couple of pot lids, began to noisily lead some cheers and chants.

Soon, the guys were able to convince Michael to go let them go to the Boulevard Morazan, one of the largest streets in Tegus and located almost in the center of the city. That is how I found myself running through the streets of Tegus at night, yelling and screaming, desperately trying to keep up with our guys, stumbling over obstacles in the dark, pumping my fist in the air, leaping into the air and hearing hundreds of car horns as vehicles packed with celebrants sped up and down the streets, all while fireworks exploded overhead.

As we drew closer and closer to 'the Morazan,' the crowd became thicker and thicker and traffic almost stopped. On 'the Morazan,' thousands of people cheered, waved flags, whipped jerseys around and around over their heads, screamed, danced and chanted "Yes, they could!" or "Long Live Honduras!" Others even thanked Michael, John Bell, and I for being gringos and for how the U.S. had just helped Honduras!! Honestly, there are few words that can capture the scene there in the middle of Tegus. An entire city had poured out to wildly celebrate an event that had not happened in over 25 years! All I can do is ask you to imagine the most intense and heavily attended Superbowl party that you have ever attended and then expand that party over an entire mile. At 10:30, the party showed no signs of stopping. Even 24 hours later, an air of festivity still hung over the city as school was canceled and the president declared Thursday a holiday.

I know that the United States famous for its national disinterest in soccer. However, internationally, soccer is a matter of national pride and a chance to assert a nation's status, even when the nation lacks political power. In Honduras's case, it has just received the opportunity to hold its head up high in 2010 and remind the world that it is a sovereign nation that demands respect. For Hondurans, this is long overdue. Their last World Cup appearance was in 1982, and the chance to claim some respect is very welcome. Also, because soccer is such a weighty national matter, the joy and celebration of Wednesday night can easily be transferred into the political arena. As Honduras continues to swirl in the midst of an exhausting, terrifying, and polarizing political crisis, any glimmer of hope is welcome. Hopefully, the goodwill and joy of Wednesday night will carry over to the negotiating tables. Still, if not for anything else, Wednesday was an opportunity for the entire nation to forget about whether a neighbor was pro-Mel or pro-Micheletti and to just celebrate being Hondurans. We here are Micah are excited, not only because Honduras has something to celebrate, but also because the Lord was able to work to bring about hope, closer relations with our Honduran neighbors, and just a small measure of healing for the entire country. We are excited to see how our awesome God will use this event in the future of Honduras!
¡¡¡Viva Honduras and three cheers for our God!!!

Still dancing,
David Hawthorne

P.S. I apologize for the poor quality of our pictures, but all we had were camera phones with us on 'the Morazan!'