Hola! Yesterday was day 2 in Honduras and I have a lot to share, but I will try to be concise.
When I woke up and grabbed a cup of unbelievably good Honduran coffee, I went outside for quiet time with the Lord. I probably spent the first 15 minutes in awe of God as I just gazed at the beautiful landscape and mountains here in Honduras. I had planned to read several passages but found myself “stuck” in the book of Psalms for my entire time of devotion. The recurring theme God kept showing me was that He will always be there for us and He loves us. This would mean even more to me as we started our day ministering in Comayagua just a few hours later.
We are blessed to be staying in a mission house that is in a gated neighborhood (and by gated, I mean 15ft tall walls with armed guards). We feel safe when we go to bed at night. We have running water (BUT don’t drink or ingest it), bunk beds with mattresses, and the bedrooms have small A/C units. It is difficult for me to lay down in “comfort” each night knowing what is just outside the gates of our neighborhood. I laid awake for quite awhile the last 2 nights thinking of the beautiful people of Honduras, and the living conditions so many of them have to endure. They live with the uncertainty that at any moment, day or night, someone may come into their house uninvited and do unimaginable things. Many live with makeshift mattresses on the floor, no electricity, some without running water, and most without A/C (A luxury I will never take for granted again).
Yet, in spite of all the Hondurans have to endure, the people I have met so far display this profound sense of joy! The smiles are beautiful and the people find laughter and fun in the simplest things. There are no Iphones, Smart Phones, Ipads, laptops, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any electronics in most of their hands, BUT they had joy. They played outside in 95 degree heat with pants and dresses on and laughed in such a way that I had a difficult time holding back tears as I thought how blessed we are in the United States, and yet how much we often take for granted.
Our first stop was at a small church made of cinder blocks and concrete. It had no A/C, just windows open and doors open to allow a breeze to pass through. As we arrived, the word was out that the gringos were here. Kids flocked from all over. We spent a few hours playing soccer (futbol), sharing a bible story about Jesus, and making crafts with them. The oxen stood just outside the church door watching as if they wanted to join us in our activities.
While I was helping with soccer, there was one young girl that grabbed my heart. All the children were precious, but this particular girl stood out to me as God taught me a lesson. Her name is Melissa (pronounced May-Leesa). She was wearing her church sandals and playing soccer. The ball went into a wet muddy area and as she chased after the ball her feet sank into the mud. She was visibly upset but what happened a few seconds later is where God began to speak to me. Melissa took her sandals off and began to run around barefoot playing soccer. Now that may not seem odd to us North Americans who have plush grass soccer fields. However, this area we were playing in was rocks, broken shards of stone, hard dirt and mud. It was 90+ degrees outside so the ground was hot. Melissa kept playing and laughing, but I noticed her wincing some as she stepped on sharp objects while she ran around, but she never stopped having fun playing.
I had brought a white hand towel with me to wipe sweat from my face. The Lord told me to take the towel to Melissa and let her wipe her feet and sandals clean so she could put them back on. At first she refused because the towel was white and too pretty. I persisted and as she wiped her little feet and sandals she looked at me with a sense of amazement that I would allow her to do that. Then she ran off to finish playing soccer. When it was time for us to go, she came to me and said she did not want us to leave yet. As we explained that it was time for us to go, tears filled her eyes and she turned and walked away. I hope to see her again one day. Melissa taught me a valuable lesson: God gives us joy regardless of our circumstances, we just need to focus on appreciating what we have. We have much to be thankful for. Here are a few pics of this beautiful joy-filled girl named Melissa:
We rounded out our day by worshiping with a local church where Pastor Patrick shared a great word. Today was an awesome Day 2 on my first International Mission Trip. I am looking forward to a great week!
Blessings! – Pastor C
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