After four flights, 48 hours, airport layovers, plane sleeping, many movies, a delicious peppermint mocha from Starbucks (IN AMERICA), many passes through security, and a van ride up the mountain I arrived at my ministry late Thursday night (the 9th). Now, I have made home at a little cove up in the mountains of Honduras.
I live in a ministry house (with a HOT shower and a BED) next to an amazing missionary family (our hosts). Just up the hill is a barn filled with horses (2), goats (there are cute baby ones!!), and chickens. There is hiking ground all around. The weather is very similar to that of Colorado except there is no snow 🙁 (rarely humidity, super sunny, etc.). It is not super cold, but has been quite chilly compared to Cambodia. Trees surround us everywhere and just down the hill—or rather mountain–(about a 20 minute walk) is Ojojona, the main town. There we find occasional wi-fi (it is much harder to come by here than it was in Cambodia). It has a nice rustic feel with cobblestone roads and tile roofing. NO ONE speaks English and they all assume we speak Spanish, which means my limited knowledge from high school Spanish has kind of come in handy.
At this point we have basically become part of our host family. There are John, Mare, and 5 kids (Naomi, Tabby, Toby, Poema, and Mathius). They are so goofy and so encouraging in pushing each one of my teammates and I to grow deeper in our relationship with the Lord. It is giving me true insight as to what it means to be a family of missionaries overseas. Their vision behind Rancho Oasis for Youth is to bring the unreached kids in through outreach and show them who Jesus is. They do this through soccer, Bible studies, and running a trade school. They are also hoping to amp up their horse ministry (they are getting a new, more western sized horse in January). They want their ministry to be long sustaining for the kids they are reaching out to.
Soccer and Bible studies are pretty self-explanatory, but the trade school is great. They take in young women and men in the community to make jewelry out of paper beads. Mare runs this and teaches them different tactics to refine their projects. She then sells them through Etsy (CHECK THEM OUT) and takes them to shows, giving the young adults part of the profit. It is so great and we as a team have been organizing supplies for them and leading a little Bible study at the end.
Everyday we work on clearing a field for their incoming horse in the morning (who said a team of girls couldn’t do manual labor). In the afternoons, we run an after school program for the Beard kids (our ministry host’s kids). We also help with the trade school on Tuesdays and have helped out with the soccer ministry. It has been amazing.
Being secluded up in the mountains has been so amazing. This month, it is just my team and I which has been so great for bonding and truly becoming sisters (I love this amazing group of girls). The views are AMAZING and perfect for peaceful time with the Lord. It has been a beautiful time of rest, debrieifing, and restoration. It has been so great to work alongside the Beard family in their ministry and build them up. I am so grateful for the time the Lord has given me in Ojojona, Honduras.
