Las Cuervas (The Underground Caves): Catacamas, Honduras
Jessica woke up one morning sick to her stomach… and it was our adventure day.
“I don’t think I can go with you guys today,” she said quietly as we were leaving for breakfast, explaining her symptoms. I touched her forehead. “Oh yeah, you’ve got a fever!” I said. “Hmm. Can I pray with you?” She nodded. We prayed together, and rebuked her sickness, asking Father that she would be able to go with us and enjoy the day.
A few minutes later, she said. “I think I’m going to chance it. Hopefully we’ll be near a bathroom if I need it!”
We spent the whole morning exploring the caves in the mountains near Catacamas. Our tour guide even let us go off the beaten path (unofficial “spelunking”) and told us of places high up in the caves that the natives used for graveyards long ago. After hundreds of years, the bodies have crystallized into sparkling rocks!
The strangest part of our adventure happened deep in one cave, where the darkness was so thick you could almost feel it. We turned off our headlamps and stood still, listening to the slow drip of water. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t even see my hand waving two inches in front of my face.
Our host drove us back to our lodge for the month, stopping along the side of the road to let us try some Honduran corn-on-the-cob. As we walked into our room, I gasped. “Jess! I just realized that you didn’t get sick at all today!” Her fever was gone. How cool is that?
A Day at the Beach: Da Nang, Vietnam
We were on our way to meet some English students for a Vietnamese barbeque on the beach. Our friend Mark (whom we affectionately called our “bodyguard”, as he escorted the six of us everywhere) led the way on his motorbike. We followed behind in a happy line, crossing the river over the dragon-shaped bridge that breathes fire on the weekend!
Suddenly, I saw Hannah stop short right in front of me. Mark had stopped quickly because of a wrong turn, and Brooke narrowly missed running into him. I slammed on my brakes, but couldn’t avoid tapping Hannah’s bike before I came to a stop, and her heavy bike slowly tipped over.
When all of us were finally off our bikes and safe on the sidewalk, we examined our bumps and bruises. Hannah’s toe had taken a beating, and we got ready to clean out her cut with the little water and tissues we had. But before we even began, a Vietnamese gentleman appeared with a plastic bag in his hand, indicating toward Hannah’s toe. “Doctor!” an onlooker told us in broken English.
His bag was full of medical supplies! He quickly cleaned, sanitized and bandaged Hannah’s toe. Then, just as promptly as he had come, he disappeared along the sidewalk. Where did he come from?!
El Comedor Infantil (Children’s Food Bank): Catacamas, Honduras
During our time in Catacamas, we helped local workers lay the foundation and mix cement for the sidewalk at the Children’s Food Bank. We sang and joked around as we shoved gravel and dirt, enjoying the process together. Half-way through the first morning, a fine mist began to fall. We kept working and glancing at the sky, hoping it would go away. But just as we began to finish the surface of the cement, the clouds let loose. We hurried to grab the dry bags of cement and ran under the shelter of the front porch.
After a few long minutes, the main carpenter working with us went to evaluate the cement. “It’s starting to harden,” he said, disappointedly. All of our hard work, for nothing?
A little while later, there was a short lull in the shower. We jumped back to finish the surface of the cement, only to have the mist begin to spit on our face again.
“Rain, rain, go away!” I joked. And then we realized: wait – we know the One who made the rain. He’s stopped it before… and He can do that again! So, with a tiny measure of faith, we asked God to stop the rain. Thirty seconds later… the sun came out!
We finished the sidewalk that week. 🙂
The Dinner Date: Catacamas, Honduras
One Friday, our team was meal-planning for the weekend. Our host had booked two hotel rooms for us, as the center where we were staying would be occupied by 30 kids on a youth retreat. Breakfast was provided, and lunch we could pack, but what about dinner? “What if we don’t plan anything for dinner, and just ask God to provide?” One of us suggested. We all bought in.
Five o’clock on Saturday rolled around, and our stomachs began to rumble. We looked around at each other, wondering where the food was going to come from.
“Hey, let’s ask Father again,” Ben volunteered. While he prayed, I wondered if this step of faith might actually mean taking a physical step… maybe we needed to walk outside to encounter Father’s provision.
I invited my teammates to join me, and a few of us set out into the dark streets. We prayed along the way, especially as we walked by a couple good-looking restaurants. It was pretty tempting to walk in and buy food with our own money!
(photo cred: my lovely teammate, Bee Davis)
Just as our faith was waning a little bit, the team phone rang. It was Pastor Nelson, our host for the month.
“Have you guys eaten dinner yet?” He asked
“Nope! We’re actually out walking around, asking God to provide.”
“You’re walking around? Where are you? Let me come pick you up. I’m so sorry… I forgot until a few minutes ago. We have food for you!” He said.
We looked at each other with smiles about as big as the moon. Really?!
The dinner was provided through his daughter’s bridal shower. A rich chicken and rice dish, bread rolls, lots of laughter and a homemade cake rounded out the meal. We carried two plates home for our other teammates, and as we handed them the party favors (bags of candy), Mason said: “I prayed for a treat!
Moving Day: Puerto Galera, The Philippines
In December, we partnered with Threads of Hope, an organization which provides jobs for young women so that they don’t have to go into prostitution. They’ve also been praying about starting a birthing clinic for the past five years.
When we arrived, we found out that a birthing clinic in Manila was closing, giving ALL of their furniture and supplies to Threads of Hope at a huge discount! All Threads of Hope had to do was find someone to move it all.
Our ministry host, Jojo, told us to prepare ourselves. The equivalent of two and one half households of furniture were traveling by ferry from Manila. But large vehicles couldn’t fit up the tiny, curvy mountain drive. So for 3/4 of a mile uphill, we were to be the “moving truck”. Get those muscles ready!
We waited with somewhat nervous anticipation that day, but the furniture was delayed in a typhoon. Two days later, we got a call. The driver was tired. He decided to stop driving the big moving truck and transfer all of the furniture to eight smaller trucks. Now, heavy couches, refrigerators, boxes, washers and driers were to arrive right on our doorstep. We were happy to lift it out and carry it 30 feet into the storage room!
