A large part of me is staying in Honduras, and the rest that’s not, is not the same person that I was. Honduras made me want to turn my life upside-down, and in a couple ways, I did. Though we may be moving on to Nicaragua for July and home is waiting just at the end of the month, I doubt I’ll stay away from Honduras for long.
Our first week of ministry in Honduras, looked like this:
Monday – Visit to an alcoholics rehab center, where we did a drama and shared a lot of stories. Though I didn’t really know how my testimony could be relevant in any of the places we were going, I felt God’s call to share mine.
Tuesday – Our entire 40-person squad loaded a school bus and headed out to the garbage dump, where many people live and make their livelihood. Many of the children
wander around as their parents help to 
separate out usable things, eating what they can find in the garbage mess and playing with whatever was discarded by someone else. We brought food and prayer. There was one moment when Tim pulled a brand-new doll from his backpack and handed it to the little girl in my arms. “Que debemos llamarlo?” I asked the little girl, wondering what name she would want it to have. She just blushed and turned her face away, giggling. Maybe it was my mediocre Spanish, but then I suggested Esperanza. She nodded, and I almost cried as I looked at Tim and told him that he had just given her Hope. Esperanza meaning Hope. It was amazing to walk away from a place like that, wanting to wash every part of myself, and being humbled by the knowledge that this is their life and there is no washing it off.
separate out usable things, eating what they can find in the garbage mess and playing with whatever was discarded by someone else. We brought food and prayer. There was one moment when Tim pulled a brand-new doll from his backpack and handed it to the little girl in my arms. “Que debemos llamarlo?” I asked the little girl, wondering what name she would want it to have. She just blushed and turned her face away, giggling. Maybe it was my mediocre Spanish, but then I suggested Esperanza. She nodded, and I almost cried as I looked at Tim and told him that he had just given her Hope. Esperanza meaning Hope. It was amazing to walk away from a place like that, wanting to wash every part of myself, and being humbled by the knowledge that this is their life and there is no washing it off.Wednesday – Our squad headed to the prison. Walking around the dark corridors, I was surprisingly frightened. I know now that The Lord is definitely not calling me into prison ministries. However, working with the girls there was full of light and a sweet experience.
Then, regularly each week:
Thursday – Every Thursday, we go to a housing site for young girls that have been brought in off the streets by the government. As for me, my entire spirit jumped when I heard they have a corridor for children with severe disabilities. I stepped up to lead the group that would go there, and most often, I lived for this one hour during my week.
Friday – Every Friday, our squad was able to go to the mall and get a little internet and fast food! But, before we tried to crash the wifi of an entire public location, we hit the street with really cheesy signs that said, “Honk if you love Jesus!” We did different stomp routines in the street, and we passed out candy attached to Spanish Bible verses. We made the news twice! In a good way, of course. No, we didn’t stop traffic or cause any accidents.
Saturday – Every Saturday, we would visit a different colony to do children’s activities and do evangelism.
For our last two weeks, Sunday through Wednesday:
My team specifically, along with one other, volunteered with a Honduran pastor. We helped him with many of his church services, singing in Spanish and making ourselves look silly. We walked around his community, praying for the sick, and he expected me to pray in Spanish! What a challenge!!
We painted his church, passed out flyers, and volunteered at a school, planting a garden there and teaching English classes.
The month was incredibly full, but by far, my absolute favorite! There’s really no way to fully make you understand the way in which Honduras wrecked me, except to say that it’s the only country that made me cry as I said goodbye. One of the boys said to us on our last night with him, “Look at the moon, and every time you see it, remember Honduras.” How could I ever forget?
Go to my teammate, Kathryn's, blog to see a really great video of our time in Honduras. (click here)
One last thing, for you Hunger Games fans out there, our squad put together a mock trailer for our “Honduras Games.” It all started over a crawling fight to be the first one to reach the leftover plantains. With a squad of 40 people all sharing the same food, sometimes it gets real. Ha. Enjoy!
