If you didn't know, I just got back from participating in a missions trip to Honduras over Holy Week! Honduras 2018 was a ride. Honestly going into it, I wasn’t really feeling that prepared and didn’t know what to expect from the trip. We had a plan, I had written my sermons, we had prayed a lot as a team and individually but I felt like I was kinda along for the ride. Needless to say, God worked in unexpected ways, as he tends to do when you don’t know what expectations to put on him.
First off, Honduras is a beautiful country. We were in part of the country that is in a valley and surrounded by green-covered mountains called Jesus de Otoro. The weather was 85-90 degrees and sunny every day. So hot. Basically we sweated from the moment we woke up until we went to bed. They had beautiful fields (?) of plantain tree that were the brightest green I’ve ever seen. I was enchanted by this country from day 1.
My team, made up of mostly young Mexicans, was working with a church in town the whole week. Some of what we did included giving a leadership conference, working with a children’s program they have in the church, and hosting a women’s conference with the ladies of the church one night. We also were able to go do two mornings of outreach to children in the community, and we visited the homes of some very sick and disabled member s of the church to pray for them. All the talks and activities were divided up among the team before coming. I was picked to give a talk on gender equality along with one of the guys on my team, Brian. I was nervous about giving the talk because we were going to be touching on some cultural issues that contribute to our skewed mindset on the topic, like machismo. I didn’t want them to feel as though I was attacking their beliefs, and what they’ve been taught since they were little kids. I had also given a short message to a group of pre-teens and kids earlier in the week that didn’t go so well, so I wasn’t feeling super confident. But every time I went to work more on my notes and think more about what I was going to say, I felt this overwhelming sense of peace. I always started with praying, “Lord let me speak your words, not mine. Speak through me and touch their hearts.” And man did the Holy Spirit speak. The night before, I left my notes at the church and couldn’t practice like I wanted to, I then proceeded to leave them at the church again when we left for lunch the next day and I wanted to practice before giving the talk that afternoon. It was God’s way of telling me “I’ve got this, you’ve prepared enough, I will make you capable.” So the first conference/sermon I ever gave was in Spanish and it went really well! The congregation was really receptive to what we had to say, and they really appreciated how it was all biblically based. Even as I was sharing some of my own feelings, nervous again that I might be the only one who felt the way I did or that they might not relate, God took away that worry when talking with one of the young women from the church later that night. She told me “You guys did really great, I loved the talk. I was laughing so hard thinking ‘yep that makes two of us’ and another girl turned to me and said ‘that makes three’!” referring to my admission that I was glad God hadn’t brought me husband yet, because He was still teaching me a lot about submitting to him first and I wasn’t sure I could submit to a husband yet (Ephesians 5: 22)! Even my host dad told me how much the talk impacted him later that night, admitting that it wasn’t something were always comfortable talking about, but it needed to be done. It is such a surreal experience to literally feel how the Holy Spirit is working and speaking through you to touch the lives of others. I saw his faithfulness and providence in that moment. Giving all the glory to him for the work he did in that talk and praying that any seeds planted would fall on fertile soil, and grow grow grow.
One of my favorite moments of the trip was on Thursday morning. We went out on the streets and invited all the alcoholics out to come to the church for some food and fellowship. The pastor does this every week and his heart for these men is absolutely incredible. It was a blessing to spend a few hours ministering to these men. Some of you might know that I did my internship at a drug rehabilitation center in college and I am interested in becoming an addictions rehabilitation counselor. This is where a large part of my heart lies. This was really my first experience though with people still on the other side, not in treatment or seeking help. After two members of the team shared their testimonies and a message with the men, we were able to sit and talk with them, pray with them. I talked with two men names Elvin and Dennis. Dennis started the conversation by asking me if I thought I would be coming back to Honduras. I thought it was kind of a strange question, but responded with “Yes! I hope to come back, but I don’t know when.” He then told me “Well when you come back, I’m probably gonna be dead.” I was immediately taken off guard, how do you respond to that? He went on to explain that because of the lifestyle they live, many of the men in that room probably wouldn’t survive much longer. Their fate was to die on the side of the road from dehydration, alcohol poisoning, or any other number of factors. As he kept explain it, going around in circles, he kept asking me if I understood. I told him I understood what he meant and that I even agreed with him, that if they didn’t change, they would die. I may seem harsh, but it’s the truth and, as you can see, he was very conscious of his situation. After going around in circles some more, I tried to get it into his head that there was another way, another option, they could choose the “buen camino” and get out of this cycle of addiction. I tried to make it clear that is wasn’t possible alone, their bodies were physically dependent on alcohol, their brain too, and they knew no other way to live. But with the support of the pastor and other resources in the area, and most importantly, with Jesus, they could do it. We talked for a good hour or longer about all of this going around in circles, He, insistent that he was going to die, and I trying to give him the hope of Jesus. I finally asked if they wanted to change and get out of their addictions. They both answered yes, they wanted help. So I called the pastor over and asked about other resources, rehabilitation centers, homes they could go to get help. There wasn’t one super nearby but he was going to connect them the closest one and see what he could do. We prayed for them. And as he was walking out, Elvin asked me “So you really think I’m gonna live?” I told him “Absolutely, I’ll come back, ask about you, and they’ll tell me you’re in your house with your family, working. Animo, todo es possible con Dios.( Be encouraged, everything is possible with God.)” Again, I’m praying these men receive the help and support the need, and the transforming love of Jesus to turn their lives around. At first, the hopelessness in their lives and attitudes was so apparent, I almost let it get a hold of me, but God showed me the hope he could bring to each and every one of them. I’m so thankful the pastor is investing in them each week, they really need someone on their side.
So those are just some highlights from the trip. The food was incredible, my host family (pictured above with the pastor) was so generous and hospitable, and the pastor and his wife are an inspiration. I’m feeling so blessed that God knew this trip was something I needed, even though I didn’t. I could share of a million more ways he worked during our short week there, but you wouldn’t read all that ;) So I’ll stop here. Be encouraged at how the Lord works, I know I certainly was.