I was travelling on a bus recently in Honduras – we were on our way into San Pedro Sula and the early morning traffic was terrible. A well dressed man in a white shirt, well pressed trousers and slick black hair climbed on clutching a well worn, hard backed book. He shook hands with the driver and ticket man and then took up a position at the front of the bus in the aisle facing all the passengers holding the book aloft. He proceeded to start preaching the word of God in a loud, commanding manner. Many of the locals were transfixed. After about 30 minutes of this, my ears were ringing. He came to a tumultuous conclusion and looked around the bus. His final dramatic gesture being to press the bible tightly to his chest and look skywards. Then slowly, he made his way up the aisle smiling at each and every passenger and they started to hand him bundles of Honduran Lempira notes! I couldnt believe it! I asked around and discovered that these preachers are regulars on the buses and hop on and off all day long preaching and collecting donations to the church. I couldnt help wonder if this particular one simply spends his Lempira on a new outfit every Saturday rather than his local community.
The Honduran Preacherman
May 10, 2009
