Mission: Honduras
In June of 2019, I was gifted the opportunity to go and serve in Honduras.
This mission changed my life. A lot of people have these preconceived notions that danger is imminent in 3rd world countries. They hear stories and let fear consume opportunity to show love and compassion. Well let me start by DENOUNCING NEGATIVITY. When you travel ANYWHERE, you must use wisdom and ask Gods guidance. I prayed before accepting this precious offer, and with the leading of Christ boarded a plane to San Francisco De Orica, Honduras.
Now, when you travel…especially in large groups, organization is KEY. When I tell you, this org was on point. There was not a moment I felt as though I didn’t know what was happening, lost, frazzled, or afraid. When we all (about 15 of us) arrived at the airport in Tegucigalpa, Susan…the organizer was waiting with 4 translators, the driver, and a currency exchanger (who we told prior to arrival how many lempiras we would like to exchange), all in the same bright T-shirt (Visibility) with the bus waiting to take us home. I was like…OH YES, I will be back (and this is before I could get into the country good).
The bus ride home:
No one could have prepared me for this bus ride. I mean LONNG, up and down hills, on edges, highways turning to dirt roads, twists, turns, jungle, bathroom outhouses. Rigo, our driver, was AMAZING (He has since passed away in December 2020 due to COVID, rest his soul). He knew how to work this van. We ran into some crazy stuff okay….They were digging into the side of a mountain to create a new high way and we had to work our way through this y’all. Again, I felt safe the entire time.
The Stop:
On the way, we stopped at the local hospital to pass out toys to children. When we got inside I felt the wind leave me and my heart sink. We walked up the stairs and into rooms filled with children on beds. They were so happy to get these small toys. In a corner hallway stood a young lady crying standing over her son who was in a wheel chair with a missing arm bandaged up but still bloody. She turned to me and begin to speak Spanish and all I could do was stand there. The boy looked up and starred at me. I wanted to hug her sooo bad. I didn’t know what to do. I looked around for a translator but they were all in the other rooms. I listened even though I didn’t understand. I prayed because God knows Spanish. Then I walked away so she didn’t see me cry.
“Home”
Hours later, we pull into this beautiful (don’t know how many acres) gated piece of land with palm trees lining this long entryway to a gold house. Finally, I was at the place I would be sleeping for the next 6 nights. So…If you have never been on a mission trip before, you may not know that the living quarters are…DIFFERENT. This was not a hotel y’all. There were 6 ladies in my room, in bunk beds. The bathrooms and showers were dormitory style. There was a large open room that served as a “hall” where everyone gathered to eat breakfast and dinners. My favorite was the balcony, with the hammock and rocking chairs overlooking the land (absolutely breathtaking). Oh and did I mention no wifi. Cellular service? barely.
SN: There is something about being disconnected from all forms of social media, internet, calls even. A place where you can hear Christ speak clearly, and rest in him. Spend genuine time with others and learn about people. IJS, this made this place all the more beautiful because I could be attentive and just be.
The mission: Health
Each day we drove into a different village, and set up mini health clinics in schools. We had a Doctor, Nurse, Dentist, OBGYN, and a Teacher. The children would be moved outside for a day of singing, games, and learning about sanitation and personal hygiene. The classrooms were transformed and used to conduct check ups on the people of the community. We had glasses for those who wanted to read, we checked blood pressures, we extracted teeth, we conducted Paps (and when I say we, I mean them because I was getting my life with these beautiful children). We worked all day, and sometimes the bus left and the doctors were still there. Seeing the line of people waiting to receive services made me so happy to be there. So happy to be the hands and feet of Christ.
The conclusion:
There is no way that I can include all of the wonderful intricacies of this trip. These are just snapshots of moments. I can tell you that from this this trip, I found my purpose. If you know me, you know I love people. Christ has given me a gift and a longing for different cultures and service. So this was only the beginning. If this Blog sparked an interest and you are wanting to serve locally (St. Pete, Florida), in the US, or even abroad…Please do reach out and allow me to connect you to an opportunity that will change your life as this one did mine.