This month our ministry is based out of Talanga, which is about an hour outside of the capitol city of Honduras. Ministry looks very different for us in Honduras than it did in Guatemala! For starters, Talanga is pretty close to the middle of nowhere. I love it. We’re surrounded by mountains, there are cows and horses roaming around in the streets, and most of our travel to ministry/church locations is accomplished by bouncing around in the back of a pickup truck on rutted dirt roads. So, really, Talanga is my kind of place! It’s different not to be in the city like we were last month, but it’s a nice change.
The whole squad is living together this month with our amazing hosts, Darrell and Darlene. My team, along with team Joy Bombs, is spending most of our ministry days at our home base. This first week we shoveled dirt, sandpapered metal pipes, cleared ground for a new fence with pick axes, and dug up more ant nests than I can count. It’s been great to be outside in the sun all day, and we’ve had a lot of fun working hard. Ok, there have been a few blisters and sore backs, but it’s been worth it. I’m really glad we have the chance to stay here and be a blessing to our hosts by working on some things for them.
We also have some great opportunities for ministries outside our ministry house. We are invited to attend 4 church services a week. And when I say attend, I mean participate in. We have a few people helping lead worship at each service, several of us taught Sunday school our first Sunday, 3 of us shared our testimonies during one service, and Ramon stepped up with a fantastic sermon the other night. I’m really enjoying getting to invest in these church communities, especially since the churches we’re attending were built by our hosts.
Thursday we had an awesome experience taking food to three different schools up in the mountains. Cooking starts at 6:30 in the morning, and we were able to help prepare tortillas, rice, and juice for the kids. Then we load the food (and ourselves) into the back of the truck and head into the mountains. These roads are rough and it’s slow going, but the scenery is incredible. When you get high up in the hills there are pine forests that remind me so much of home. We drove probably an hour or more into the mountains, providing lunch for a total of 250 kids. It was a fun day, and I really enjoyed getting to see more of the area.
Although it’s not part of our usual ministry, Hillary and I were able to go out Friday with a team that goes door-to-door in a local village. The main purpose of the visits is to gather information about households eligible for a food assistance program offered to women with young or disabled children, but it’s really all about the relationships. We were able to spend a lot of time visiting with some of the families and praying over individuals. Our men stayed behind to work at the house today, so without our native speakers I got to put my Spanish to the test. It was a lot of fun doing so much translating and praying in Spanish along with two ladies from other teams who also speak some Spanish, Jackie and Kehinde. The families we visited were so friendly and easy to talk to, and they were very understanding about our broken Spanish. I didn’t think I’d like going door-to-door, but the reception was so warm that we all really enjoyed it.
The one similarity to last month is that the Lord is still working in me to redefine “ministry.” Because I’m the finance coordinator for our squad, I’ve definitely felt the pressure of all the finances that go into feeding, housing, and transporting 50 people all month. Let me tell you, budgeting and shopping for that many people is a wild experience. I realize in the first few days that part of my personal ministry this month was going to be serving my team and squad through managing the finances. This was hard for me at first – I wanted to be going out into ministry and focusing on the projects and relationships involved in that – but as things have settled down throughout the week I’ve really come to appreciate what God’s showing me about the different types of service. He’s shown me that staring at spreadsheets and going grocery shopping really can be part of ministry, and I’m thankful He’s growing in me an awareness for all the different ways I need to be willing to serve. I’m also grateful that when I start to feel overwhelmed he’s blessed me with friends that not only help however they can but also tell me when I need to just put it down and step away for a bit.
So, month 2 is half over and life is still good on the World Race. Every day here really is a blessing, even the sweaty, exhausting ones. I never know what life is going to look like day to day on the Race, and I’m coming to love that uncertainty. I’ve also been very blessed with some awesome bonding time with my team. We’re a very different group of individuals that complement and balance each other in really cool ways. I’m pretty excited to do life with these 6 people over the next year! If you haven’t checked out Ray, Hillary, Alexis, Sasha, Jan Carlo, and DeAnna’s blogs, you should. You can find the links on the left of the page.
So far this month I would love prayers for renewed energy. Between work in the mornings, church most evenings, and the financial responsibilities I have in between, rest has been a precious commodity this past week. Internet is limited here, but I’ll update whenever I can!
