Day 8—The Last Walk Up the Hill and a New Beginning (By Danielle Evans)

It is hard to believe that we are now sitting at the airport.  If feels strange that we have already spent a week here serving and working in Tegucigalpa.  The time has certainly flown by, and I think most of us are not ready to go home. I'm a jumble of thoughts and feelings----the noxious smell at the dump, dirty little fingernails covered in pink polish, precious grins and laughter of children, Pamela (Elba's daughter) constantly sweeping, loud exploding firecracker man-dolls, thankful mothers able to now feed their children, trash all over the city, sitting at the feet of the Jesus statue overlooking the city, tears of anguish and pain, buzzards, young people huffing glue, the happy exclamations of the lady ecstatic to use a clean bathroom at the homeless shelter, hauling wood up a steep hill, Mi Esperanza, tin shacks covering beautiful hills, drinking water from a plastic bag, feeding the hungry and more. it will take a while for us to sort out all that we've experienced in one short week.

Goodbyes this morning were tearful and heartfelt as we said our goodbyes and thank you’s. Thanks Rose and Hailey (interns from Michigan) for joining our team and giving us another perspective on the work. Thank you Jen (our hostess) for opening your doors to us on such short notice. You were a wonderful example of hospitality and love. Thank you David for helping us with our projects, hauling us around, and showing us the work at the homeless shelter. Thank you Lori for inspiring us with the work of Mi Esperanza and always sharing a hug. Mark. I don't know if we can thank you enough for your compassion, guidance, wisdom and love. You have truly walked us into the light with care, but with a challenge to follow Christ there. May God continue to bless you all. God is awesome!

This morning, after stuffing all of the suitcases and items we collected for Elba (the lady we built the house for) and her family we trekked off to surprise her with our gifts before heading to the airport. As a group we made a long trek up the steep hill carrying a month’s worth of food, toilet paper, clothes, shoes, a comforter and two chickens. Phew! Elba eagerly greeted us and welcomed us into her home to see how they had settled in. I’m so glad that we brought the comforter because the children were just sleeping on a plain mattress with a small blanket. But they've moved to the cleaner, bigger, brighter home and seem thrilled to have it. Elba made us all one of her famous tortillas before we left sharing from her own small provisions. 

 Elba and her three children are only a few who need our help. The need can be overwhelming, but this is the one we are starting with. Like Mark constantly told us: “if you can’t feed a hundred, at least feed one.” Can you imagine if we all fed our one? The world would be a much different place.

We’ve may have had our last walk up the hill on this trip, but this is not the end of our story. God has changed us and opened our eyes. I hope that in our hearts we’ve heard the cry for help and we are at the ready to charge forth helping others. But I don’t just hop, I know that we will. Our team has decided that we can make a difference wherever we are. We are taking the lessons that God has taught us this week and we are going to be his hands and feet in Atlanta where we live. The poor and hopeless live everywhere. While we hope to stay involved in the work going on in Honduras, it doesn’t mean that we can’t start working in our very own backyards. We aren’t just checking “mission trip” off our list and considering ourselves all done while patting ourselves on the back. This is going to be our lifestyle. Whether others join us or not, we are all in. I invite you if you are so inclined to join with us on this journey. We are on fire and looking for opportunities to serve, feed his sheep and be a tool in his kingdom. I hope and pray that you are too.

Thank you for all of you who have lifted us up in your prayers as we've been away. I ask that you continue to do so as we look for God’s guidance in where we need to serve once we are home. Perhaps we can continue to post the encounters we have in hopes that you and others will be inspired to also start in your own backyard. I pray that our hearts will continue to be softened, our eyes open, and that we will be filled with his boldness day by day as we strive to become more like our Savior.

Day 7: Walking in the Light (By Scott Jones)

Well the last full day of work has come way way to quickly for our group. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow at one in the afternoon we’ll be headed back to our homes. Our group has grown in so many ways and we’ve experienced so much, both the good and the bad but all has attributed to a better understanding of how God wants us to live.  We can’t thank Him enough for these things.

The day started off with me waking up and rolling over to see a chicken looking at me in my bed. We had bought a chicken and a rooster for Elba and her family and someone got the bright idea to wake me up with it. Again we started with an amazing home cooked meal at 7:30. Shortly after we sat together as a group to reflect on the previous day.  We needed a little more time to digest the events because they were so drastically different to what we were used to.  It’s awesome to see God at work within the members of our group and it felt like his presence was especially strong during the devotional. Vince asked if we could be quiet for a moment and just let him speak to us and that we should write down anything that we felt he was saying. Three of us wrote down verses from Isaiah and all were meaningful to us. Coincidence?... I think not.

We left after the devo and traveled to the Warehouse where we picked up toothbrushes and a few games for the boys at the 21 of October orphanage. There are towns, buildings, and organizations with the date as the name and we think that it’s when they started but we’re not exactly sure.  The orphanage housed forty-eight boys starting at the age of 12 and went to the age of 18. For some of us it was a little more intimidating because it’s easy enough to relate to little kids but how could we relate to teens, but let me tell you everyone did great.

The administrator couldn't believe that we had brought toothbrushes and said that they were in great need of them. We had brought soccer balls, frisbees, and some paddles to hit tennis balls. After a few hours of play we used some of our work fund to provide enough pizza where it would be split 1 pizza per 3 boys. Afterwards we had promised to buy bracelets from them, which they make and sell in order to buy candy and other things that they normally wouldn’t receive from the orphanage.  These bracelets usually take about 3 hours a piece and can be quite eloquent with some of them having 8 to 9 word sentences on them. These to us can be priceless but they sell them from a $1 to $1.50. We said our good byes to them and hopped in the car, some of us with tears in our eyes.  It’s crazy how attached and how people can feel like family when you’ve only spent a few hours together.

Our next stop was very difficult one for our group. We went to the Hospital Esquela which translates to the Hospital School. It is the hospital that you would go to if you had no other choice, or if you had very little money.


We visited an intensive care unit first where we saw one boy who had been shot by accident when he was playing soccer. The frustration that a kid has to suffer because he got caught in the middle of a gang related attack is almost unbearable. Another boy had been shot in his eye playing paintball because another person had failed to listen to the rules and continued to shoot after they had taken their masks off. I tell you that it is the hardest thing in the world to watch a 15 year old boy in pain because he knows he will not be able to use his eye again.

All we knew to do was to pray them. So we did. We passed out toys and colored with little children who had broken bones. We prayed over families and mothers of newly born infants who didn’t even have names yet. We colored and handed out more toys to kids from a year old to sixteen years of age who were being treated for malnourishment. What made it worse was to find out that the doctors working there, more often than not, have another practice. They are more or less forced to work there and because of that they will take items from the hospital that have been donated from outside suppliers to take back to use in their own practice. Or treat a patient as inhumanely as one could think. Talk about injustice at its core!

I tell you these things not to hurt or scare you, but to give you a mere glimpse of the world we live in and the reality we face. Every day people are forgotten about and trampled on. These people are the innocent and they deserve every right that we’ve grown up with. How easy it is for us to just look away because what we see is hurt and pain. But Christ calls us to do the exact opposite. He calls us to feed the hungry and tend to the sick. He calls us to go out and make disciples among the nations so that the whole world can see His Love. In Him all is made equal but we have to be his hands and feet in order for this to be seen in the world.

We came back to the house with a lot of hurt in our hearts. Knowing this God provided one little egg from the chicken we bought for Elba and her family.

A glimpse of hope for the family we built the house for and I tell you that made my sorrow turn to joy. Our trust cannot be in our own understanding but HAS to be fully in God’s. If one is willing to get their hands even a little dirty, God can do miraculous things.

Day 6: The Dump (By Vince Barker)

They are some experiences in life that are beyond words.  Some things just can’t be explained and require a firsthand glimpse in order to gain a better understanding.  We knew that today was going to be a game changer and an experience that we were eager to share with those back home, but to describe our experiences in words is almost inadequate and incomplete.   Nevertheless, here is day 6.

It started off like most other days since we’ve been here.  Breakfast and coffee as a group while the guys messed around with a puzzle that had been becoming more and more complete as each day went by.  The two big agenda items were passing out food to the people in the dump and handing out food and clothing to families in a nearby village.  We had been excited about visiting the dump since the moment we heard it was a possibility.  The fact that people base their daily sustenance on things they scavenge from other people’s trash was hard to comprehend from our point of view and thus, a little intriguing. 

We met up with another missionary (also named Mark) at a Texaco station near the dump to inform us on what to expect.  It turns out Mark had fed people at the dump every Wednesday for about 3 years.  Prior to that, Mark would always drive by the entrance but was warned never to go into the dump because it was a dangerous place to visit.  Not heeding that advice, Mark did travel into the dump and what he saw started a ministry that focuses on bettering the life of the people who rely on the dump for their livelihood. 

We left the Texaco station and headed up into the dump.  Mark’s truck had rice, beans, tortillas, and water for us to pass out.  Driving up into the dump reminded me of the dumps in America, a large mound of trash with trucks passing in and out and heavy equipment pushing around trash and moving dirt.  The only difference was that there were people everywhere.  People were mixed in with the buzzards, dogs, and cows, all scavenging for something “valuable”.  Some sick, twisted form of sustenance.  Many covered their faces with ski masks to try and keep out the smell, dirt and trash swirling through the air.  The large machines kicked up dirt and piles of trash were set on fire creating a suffocating black smoke, which whipped around in the wind.  The clothes that these people wore were covered in an oily film, which had developed from the extended use, and environment in which these people lived.  The first impression was shocking, that people could, are – were living this way.

We formed three lines next to the truck.  One for men, one for women, and one for children.  It was surprisingly orderly, thanks to Mark who made this into a weekly routine.  We passed out the food and water until it was gone.  The kids were laughing and playing, smiles on almost all of their faces.  It was awesome to see the innocence of these kids and by interacting with the people we began to see the separation between the people and the animals.  At first glance, the people were acting like animals, doing what the animals were doing.  It was only after we started interacting with the people did we realize that this was God’s creation.  Like it or not, God created these people and His Spirit was felt at the dump.  This was the modern day leprosy colony outside the city gates, a place were Jesus would hang out.  Jesus did hang out at the dump today.  God’s glory was shown through our actions and God’s creation has new meaning to us now that we have seen the light.  One woman said in Spanish that she wished that God would take her soul right now. Her tone was one of hope, not of despair, like the apostle Paul when he wished that God would relieve him of his suffering.  God’s work is not always easy and fun but the dump was an experience that none of us will ever forget.

After the dump, we went and picked up the bags of food that we prepared the first day we arrived.  We then headed to another community, veinte uno de octubre, and started passing out the food to each house.  The people there had no idea that we were coming so it was a great surprise to them.  Each family got at least one bag of food which will feed a small family for a couple of weeks.

Bags of Food to Deliver

We also had boys and girls underwear and girls dresses made out of pillowcases from the States.  The clothes were organized in the church building and people lined up ready to get the much-needed clothes.  It was awesome to watch the naked kids get underwear and the girls get new dresses.  Afterwards, the girls got their fingernails painted and we passed out toys to the young kids.  The interaction was great and refreshing after the experience at the dump.  Relatively speaking, these people had a much better standard of living than the people at the dump, but the poverty was still very apparent and our food and clothing were much appreciated.  We found out after we left that the people living at this community are in need of a bigger church building.  Apparently they are overflowing the current building and need more space to worship.  Cool stuff.

Girls at veinte uno de octubre village

We left veinte uno de octubre and went back to Monoloa, the same community we visited on day 3.  We found many of the same kids that we played with a few days prior and spent an hour or two hanging out with the kids and showing them the love of God.  My prayer is that the groups that continue to go in and out of these communities will paint a mosaic of the story of Christ.  We are just one of those small pieces in that mosaic.

Vince runs out of toys to hand out at veinte uno de octubre

We ended the night with an authentic Honduran dinner at the house of a family that we are connected to back from the US.  They cooked a huge spread of meat, beans, cheese, and plantains, which was awesome. The dancing afterwards was quite comical seeing the gringos best attempt at Latino dancing.  I thought the 93-year-old grandmother was going to die because she was laughing so hard.  Good stuff.

Mildred's Family, including her Abuelita

Day 5: Angeles Among Us (Jessica Navarro)

Today was a physically easy day after the sweat dropping work that was done yesterday. The group had its first devotional time in the morning, which was deeply needed; later we drove to Valle de Angeles, which is a tourist place where one can buy souvenirs. We were able to stop by one of the small family owned restaurants in Valle de Angeles to grab some “pupusas” which is something everyone should try at least once in their lives ( and to get the real thing, you should come to Honduras :) )

After leaving Valle de Angeles, our group drove to Breaking Chains the homeless shelter we visited last Thursday. One of our group members had taken one of the adorable little girls from the shelter to use the restroom upstairs and found the conditions of the place heartbreaking; this led to our decision of cleaning the two bathrooms they have in the shelter. It was challenging to say the least, but the bathrooms were clean and nice for the kids and families to use. One of the ladies who lives there, took a look at the bathroom as we were cleaning it and said she would now shower everyday in that clean shower. It was sweet to see the appreciation in their eyes and to think that that sweet little Rosie will not sit on a dirty toilet tonight. 

The service at the homeless shelter church started as soon as we finished the cleaning; the group experienced a new kind of service today. None of our group members (as far as I know) had ever been in this kind of church atmosphere; It was heart warming in a way, to see all those people sit there and pray. The noises of outside traffic, the dogs that were on the back of the room and the occasional disturbance from random people who would just walk in and talk, did not seem to disturb their time with the Lord in community. Something that I wish I could do; I found myself distracted at the sight of every “incident”. 

After service some of our group members served dinner for the people there and others enjoyed their time playing with the little kids who were there as some of us ended up playing with a soccer ball outside in the middle of the street with the older boys. Yes, in the middle of the street! Moving out of the road as cars passed us by. It was such a heartwarming feeling to play ball with the boys out in the street and a sweet reminiscing time for my part.