Checkerz' Blog

Hola!
If you are reading this 3rd day of my Honduras Mission Trip blog, I hope you have read the first two days of the journey. If not, that is okay; you can go back and read them after you finish this one. I believe you will enjoy them.

Day 3 started with a Honduran style breakfast at the mission house. The main course was Frijoles (pronounced FREE-HOLAYS) and for us gringos, that’s beans. Yep, beans for breakfast and they were tasty. After breakfast we discussed our agenda for the day and packed our backpacks with what we needed for our day of ministry.

Our first stop was door to door evangelism and was in a very poverty stricken village with no electricity, no running water, and in some cases…no clothes for the children. We went down a long rocky and muddy road before arriving at the village; some of our team had to walk down muddy paths to get to the homes that were farther off the road. The first house we stopped at we met a mother and her two beautiful little daughters.  Their home was a simple cinder block structure with dirt floors and a tin roof. Most of the houses were like that. As Gloria (one of our Celebration team members) shared the message of Jesus with her, I could not help but notice how she fixed her focus on Gloria as she listened. She acknowledged that she wanted to ask Jesus to be her Savior. After praying with her, we gave her a Spanish Bible and thanked her for allowing us to share with her and pray with her. We spent about 2 hours in that village and when we left, 13 people had prayed to receive Christ as their Savior. My heart was filled with joy for those who I will see again in Heaven some day, but yet my heart was still hurting for those who said they were not ready to make that commitment. We are praying that the Lord draws them as they remember our conversations from today.

Next, we headed to a local orphanage. Immediately after arriving we were greeted by several smiling young girls who shared hugs with us as they shouted “Hola!” We brought toys, jewelry, crafts, and LOTS of candy for them. By the time we left, I was already planning my speech to Nicole about adopting 3 little sisters that were at the orphanage. Unfortunately, I later found out that they were not eligible for adoption, but I am thankful that they are in great hands at the orphanage. I will think of them often and look forward to hopefully seeing them again one day.

Our last ministry stop for the day was at the local hospital. We entered the hospital, which had no A/C that I could see or feel, only open windows and 90+ degree heat outside. This hospital was nothing like our hospitals in the United States. I learned that if they need an IV, they have to bring their own tube. They also have to bring their own sheets for the hospital bed, so many were just lying on vinyl mattresses. As we entered the children’s ward I went into one of the rooms that had 7 children ranging in age from 1 month-3 months. I spoke with the mothers and one father about their children and asked if I could pray for them. They were all very thankful and welcoming of the prayers. Most of the children were suffering from pneumonia and respiratory issues and one young mother told me she had been there for 15 days. As I exited the room I was introduced to a 9yr old girl who had been thrown into a fire by her father (He was later killed). This young girl explained that she knew her father was dead now, and then she said that her mother abandoned her at the hospital. This was just one of many tragic stories that we heard. We loved on her for a bit and then it was time for us to leave.

Now, I know you may be thinking that this is a depressing blog and that maybe you wish you hadn’t read it. Let me just say this, I shared all of this with you so you could share this journey with me. I want you to share this journey with me in the hopes that your spirit will be stirred in such a way that you will become involved in missions locally and internationally. In the book of James 1:27 it reads, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” As Christians we all have a God-given mission. We have the greatest gift in the world to share with people and Jesus is looking for those who will step up and BE the church. Will that be you?

I am so thankful to the Lord for Him allowing me to come on this trip and minister to the beautiful people of Honduras. My life will never be the same. I am forever changed for the better and I feel extremely blessed. Guess what? You will too be to if you live on mission where you are, and go on mission where the Lord leads you.

Well, signing off for today. Another full day ahead of us for tomorrow.         -Pastor C