Honduras Mission Trip 2002

Honduras Mission Trip Group 2002

We made ourselves available and God gave us the ability to do construction work in 99 degree and 99% relative humidity weather. It really didn't seem that bad. The Mission Center that we were helping to build overlooked a peaceful beach along the Atlantic Ocean. The backdrop was the village of El Porvenir, fields of pineapples, and the Poco Bonito mountain range. The fellowship of 14 people excited about being missionaries for a week kept the spirits high. And just when we started to run out of energy, about 2:30 in the afternoon, we wiped off the sweat, drank another 16 ounces of GATORADE, put on a clean shirt or skirt, and marched about two blocks to interact with as many as 240 eager kids. That replaced the energy … adrenalin energy … for a while. We recuperated well at the field coordinator’s house with a good meal, devotions, and showers. And yes, this year we had air conditioned bunk rooms. One could barely hear the other teammates snoring over the hum of the fan motor.

For many of us who have been before, this trip was different. Not just that we were in a new country, not just that we were working with three field coordinators versus one, and not just because we were a team from two states and five churches. Perhaps it was that six of the team had never been on a trip. It was about helping them break into the routine, enjoy the excitement, handle the health issues, deal with people of a different culture and a different language, and live a week thinking more about Jesus and God than normally.

Perhaps the week was different because we didn't know what to expect. We had put our trust in God to use us, and He did from the first 7 a.m. roll call at the work site through the late nights preparing craft materials for twice as many children as we had been told would be there. Perhaps it was the people and the children of the area: unassuming, healthy looking although there is over 40% unemployment, eager but not pushy to be involved in the singing and the crafts — yes even when there were over 240 of them. Or perhaps it was the tranquility of the setting and the peace that comes from knowing that people like you over a thousand miles away were in daily prayer for our safety and our effectiveness. Or perhaps this year seemed different because God wanted us to grow individually closer to Him right then and there; not just in an ongoing process. We truly shared and witnessed to one another more than before.

Well, we do feel blessed from this opportunity. We are excited to know that the local church had been praying for a way to spark more interest in the kids of the village. Talk about an answer — trained and excited gringo teachers come to the area ready to do a mini VBS complete with a story board, a puppet, songs, and crafts. Gringos alone draw in kids. But then local ladies volunteered to be teachers, to get training and to take the extra materials that we brought from donations to do new things. The pastor wept when we presented him with a suitcase full of Spanish Bibles. He now has the tool to help him teach older children. God provides.

We feel blessed for the opportunity to add structure to the Mission Center that will house a new missionary and be a meeting place for pastors, youth overnighters, and people needing help for a few days. The locals that we worked with gave us confidence that this project will come to completion. We feel blessed that we got to know each other and could share our faith and concerns. The smile on the face of one young lady who led our singing with the help of her husband on guitar and the pride in the eyes of her mother-in-law as they took this first step to not only go out of the USA but to serve others is a memory keeper. Seeing one of our own men mix concrete, haul 5-gallon buckets of it on his shoulders for hours up a ramp, and then sing and smile with the locals working with him in Spanish he was learning on the fly was heartwarming. And seeing the enthusiasm that our teachers put into telling the Bible stories, interacting with the kids, and over night cover all the details again to do another session the next day was simply fantastic.

We thank you for your support in the form of prayers, supplies and funds. We thank God that we had this opportunity to serve and feel even closer to Him. We pray that we have been effective and that you will consider how you might join us in the future.

Honduras Mission Trip 2002

Mission Activities