This month, our squad is in Honduras. My team’s ministry includes teaching 29 sweet kiddos at a bilingual school, which sits atop one of the outer mountains of Tegucigalpa.
For our first adventure day, we wanted to hike in this incredible national park we had heard so much about. Our awesome host and his whole family took us there, and we had a great time hiking a couple of the shorter trails with them before they returned home. That Saturday was filled with breathtaking natural beauty, prayerful meditation while hiking as a team, and good ole’ exercise. We never once felt unsafe, and we had a very pleasant experience (minus the wasp infested rooms we stayed in haha.)
The next morning, we wanted to hike as a group to the parks’ waterfall. My teammate was having a hard time with her knee, so she returned to the nearby lodge area with another team member. The rest of us tarried on down towards the falls. Since the woods were pretty dense along parts of the trail, the rainwater had never dried up. The mud was super intense, yet it took me back to my childhood days… rock hopping in creeks with my family. It only took us two hours to hike to the waterfall, even though the map said 6 or 7 hours. Yep, we were pretty proud of ourselves… haha and also slightly confused.
The waterfall was just as majestic as I had imagined it, and we enjoyed sitting for a while eating our packed snacks.
As we headed back, we began sharing prayer requests out loud wherever we felt the Holy Spirit lead. After about 15 minutes back on the trail, we took a quick pit stop to rest and enjoy an overlook.
What happened next was one of the craziest experiences I have ever been a part of. I’ll go ahead and say we are all okay, and no one was harmed. The Lord is so so good.
Just as we were about to get going, a young man ran out of the woods with a black mask on his face and machete in hand. I was utterly confused and initially thought he was lost in the woods by the tone of his voice. The fact that he was intending to rob us registered in my brain as he held out a tattered bag and repeated the Spanish word “telephono.”
I cannot even recall what I said, but once I realized what was happening, I shouted out the name of Jesus, trusting that it would make an impact.
Then hearing the word for telephone, my mind went immediately to the earphones plugged in my ears. I quickly took them out and unplugged them from the iPhone that was tucked in my pocket. He turned and saw me and I quickly placed the earphones in his bag.
Somehow I managed to convince him there was nothing in my pocket even though my life proof adapter cord was hanging out in view. Side note: my phone would have played the music out loud if I didn’t have that cord!
Many of you reading this may think, “wow they should have immediately given him everything he was asking for.” I completely understand… However, the second he asked for our things I felt a confidence wash over me that I wasn’t supposed to give him anything besides my earphones.
After telling him no for two or three minutes he walked off back into the woods. Right when he was gone, we walked as fast as we could up the steep, muddy trail. We were an hour and fourth-five minutes away from the lodge.
While we walked, scripture verses I had memorized over the years came flooding to the forefront of my mind. My teammates and I spoke them aloud and focused on God’s protection. We spoke with authority.
Soon after, we came upon a family of five coming down the same trail. Guess what? The husband knew English! It was such a sign from the Lord. We warned them of the young man and they agreed to turn back. Knowing there is usually more safety in numbers, we tried to stay close to them as we hiked out.
No more than a couple minutes later, I saw the man through the trees coming back toward us. By the way he was acting, we got the feeling he was an amateur being taught how to rob by a group, like someone had just told him to come back because my earphones weren’t good enough.
After trying to take my teammates backpack and failing, the robber managed to convince the sweet family to turn over three phones they had. The husband had such a calm peace about him as he said, “my son, my son” to the young man in Spanish.
I still felt such a confidence that we were not supposed to give him anything. I also was confident that we would all be okay.
If I am being really honest, I have always thought that I would be so helpless in a traumatic situation. That I would be frozen in fear, and unable to think or move.
This situation was the complete opposite. I didn’t feel powerless, I felt powerFULL. I felt powerful because I knew God was with me and was on my side. I felt powerful because the Spirit of the Lord was speaking peace over me. Our Father had prepared our hearts for this moment, and we immediately called out to him.
I now know with full assurance that the Holy Spirit gives believers discernment in these moments for how to speak and act.
Once the young man left us for the second time, we continued to head out of the woods. Our team prayed big, bold prayers aloud the entire way out. “In Jesus’ name we will not see that man again,” I said, faithfully knowing it would be so. Our hearts changed from anger to love towards the robber. We prayed for his salvation, and asked the Lord to give him conviction, justice, and a whole lot of grace.
We warned people we crossed paths with, and they joined us in heading back to the lodge and welcome center. My team members and I were able to comfort the younger girls and help them navigate the muddy ground. Once we got back safely, we even were able to thank and pray with the family who had helped us.
So much good came out of this horrible incident. My faith was incredibly increased, and I felt so loved by our Father. I am so thankful that our first (and hopefully last) encounter like this was with an uneasy young man unwilling to use his weapon.
I prayerfully considered writing this blog, because I by no means want to spark a fire of fear in the mind of any current racer, future racer, or parent. Yet I felt like the Lord was leading me to share his story. The story of his unending love and protection. The story of how he gifts his children with discernment and wisdom in crazy moments.
Yes, this world is broken to pieces and scary things happen every single day. Even if we are being as careful as we can, we may still get caught in a bad situation. A wise person told me that in order to live fully you must put yourself out there. To always be living in the “safest zone” is not really living, and it is definitely not living like Christ.
I pray that I will always remember this experience and the incredible way I was impacted. My intimacy with the Holy Spirit skyrocketed, which was surely an answer to prayer.
May we all continue to learn how to live radically for the sake of the Gospel, both with wisdom and without fear.
Over and out,
Julia
