The last time I was in Honduras, I remember feeling this amazing sense of peace and satisfaction, and this time was no different. This was a short month for us, which made it even harder to say goodbye and get on the bus this morning. Our hosts have been like surrogate grandparents to all of us, and living with them was instantly a comfortable and homey experience. I’ve been trying to get back to Honduras for years, so I can’t believe I’m saying goodbye again already!
Most of my ministry days this month were spent working on various projects at our ministry house. It was really a great experience to be able to spend 3 weeks pouring into our hosts and supporting them in the ministry they’ve spent 8 years building. The impact this family has on the community is so awesome to see. They answered a call they weren’t expecting and have been dedicated ever since to taking care of their church families and local community in Talanga, so being able to do some work for them and love on the people they love was really a blessing to me.
Honduras was great for growing me in a lot of ways. In case it hasn’t been clear from my previous blogs, let me just say that living a lifestyle of close community and constant service doesn’t look much like the way most of us lived at home. That makes me sad, because it should. When I head home, I don’t want to immediately stop living like a missionary. I’m thinking more all the time that life back home should look a whole lot like life on the World Race. When I get home, I want ministry to be any action I do or interaction I have with someone. I want to have a genuine heart for the people I meet. I want worship to be a lifestyle, not an event. I want to continue to be excited for the unknowns each day brings. I’m starting to forget what it was like to know what was going to happen every day!
Basically, I’m realizing that a lot of my time at home was allowing life to happen to me. Now I’m learning to live intentionally. I’ve loved seeing how some of the things that scared me the most about this year have been pretty much a non-issue. I don’t have plans anymore: we don’t know what city we’re going to next or what we’ll be doing until a couple of days before travel day. I don’t have control over a lot of what happens: I got on a bus this morning hoping our 8 hour bus ride would really be 8 hours, but secretly expecting it to be twice as long like last time. I don’t really get to be alone: every now and then I just really want to walk somewhere by myself like I did at home, to which my teammates respond, “No, you’re not.” The cool thing is that for the most part I don’t mind, because God’s prepared me for a lifestyle change and he’s daily adjusting my attitude to accept the change.
Another thing that has been huge for me this month has been learning how to share responsibility and accept help when it’s offered. As much as I’d like to say that finance hasn’t challenged me this month, that’s just not true. And actually, I’m grateful for the challenge and what I’ve learned from it. Fortunately, I have people who are consistently reminding me not to attempt to do it all myself. The best example that I’m finally starting to listen was when my friend Jackie said, “I’ll finish working on this. Right now you just need to walk away from it.” And I actually did. It’s still something the Lord’s growing in me, because it’s hard for me to ask for and receive help. I’m really grateful that I’ve been given this responsibility, because it’s showing me different ways in which I need to grow and giving me the opportunity to make it happen.
Please continue to pray for Aaron’s Mission Outreach (AMOR) in Talanga, as well as for Darrell and Darlene Dakin and their son and daughter-in-law, Ever and Gladis. They’re truly humble servants to the Lord and the people of Talanga, and I can’t wait to see how their ministry continues.
Check back for some of my favorite moments from month 2 in Honduras!
