I have made it safely to Las Mangas, Honduras and am hoping to use this blog to keep family and friends updated on what’s going on here, what I might be learning, and prayer requests I have!
In case anyone is wondering exactly how I got here, I went on a mission trip in March to a small, very poor village in southern Honduras. This mission trip was through Bethel so the whole group who went were Bethel students! We went through an organization called AguaViva that brings running water to villages that don’t have it, and while doing that, introduces them to the Living Water. Larry is a part of AguaViva and so he led the trip we were on along with Gustavo, another missionary in Honduras. This was how I got to know Larry. Over the course of the week, we learned that Larry and his wife Allison have a campus where they live in Las Mangas, northern Honduras, and as a part of their mission, nurture an environment where “disciples can grow spiritually, mature emotionally, develop mentally, and be equipped practically” ultimately to “send out equipped disciples of Jesus to live his life of humble Love together in the dark places of the world.”
Maddie and Anna, two of Gracie’s roommates and friends at Bethel, had gone on the same trip as me in March. They decided one day this fall to reach out to Larry and Allison to see if there was any chance they could come to Honduras over J-term and live with them, not knowing if they would get an answer or not! Allison answered and they started making plans. I was talking to Anna one day when I was at Bethel and she told me her and Maddie were planning to go. I was still trying to figure out what I was going to do after college graduation and going to Honduras sounded amazing to me- I had left my trip in March wanting to learn so much more. After asking Maddie and Anna I reached out to Allison too (still hope they were fine with me jumping on board;))The trip in March had impacted me in a lot of ways and I didn’t know when else an opportunity like this would come up and so that’s how I got here! We didn’t necessarily feel called or like God was telling us this was the plan, it just kind of happened and we trusted that God would be with us through it.
Now that we are finally here, it feels quite surreal! This past week we’ve been getting adjusted to this new place, learning how to do certain things, learning about the community we are in, spending time with each other, and with the Lord.
What we are doing each day varies! I’ll try to give an overview. Sundays are the Sabbath. We don’t have anything planned on Sundays except for church in the evening at 7pm and maybe going swimming if the weather is nice! On Mondays, Maddie, Anna, and I spend the morning working with either Larry or Allison, helping them with different tasks around campus, like fixing, planting, cleaning, etc. In the afternoon we meet to talk about the week ahead and what to expect since each week is different. Tuesday’s are town days and we will get to experience that for the first time tomorrow! On these days, we will visit the market and grocery store and run any other errands that we need in order to get everything we need for the week ahead. On Wednesday mornings, we will work with a friend of Allison who lives near Las Mangas, who helps clean campus. This time might also consist of kitchen projects. We also will be doing a check-in every Wednesday in the afternoon to intentionally have a time to share how we’re doing. On Thursdays, our mornings are our time to be alone and spend it studying, reading, and praying; to spend time digging into scripture and learning more about what it means to be a disciple. On Thursdays we will also volunteer at the kid’s group at church about a mile down the road where kids come, are fed lunch, play games, and given a message. Our church here is a part of Healing Place Church that started in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and now has several churches around the world. On Fridays, we will be doing some sort of agricultural work in the mornings, and reading discussions in the afternoons. Larry and Allison will be giving us readings for us to meditate on and this is a time to talk about them together. Friday nights are game nights! On Saturday mornings, we work on any campus projects that might have built up over the week and/or things that they ran out of time to do! Saturday afternoons are for kids’ group here at campus! We get to play games, listen to a message about Jesus, and eat sweet bread (which tastes like banana bread) and drink juice together. Saturday nights we have discipleship group. This is where Maddie, Anna, Larry, Allison, Amy, Byron, Minor, Adolpho, and I meet and really dig into what Larry and Allison have for us, what God has been laying on our hearts, and discuss what God has to say in His word about discipleship and what it looks like to live as a disciple of Jesus today. Amy is from Virginia and has been here since July and will be here for a year! We have loved getting to know her and sharing a room with her. Byron, Adolpho, and Minor have grown up in Honduras and have known Larry and Allison for a large part of their lives. They don’t live on campus, but visit often and are a part of Larry and Allison’s ministry! They are in their twenties, and are seeking to know Jesus deeper. We have only had one discipleship group together so far, but I can already see how fruitful this time will be. These people are on fire for the Lord.
Our Spanish is getting better and better everyday thanks to our new friends and we are trying to learn different ways to avoid mosquito and gnat bites! The Smoak kids have become or new favorite humans and we’ve had late nights playing games and talking with Amy, Byron, and Minor. Sunday morning we spent making eggs, cinnamon sugar tortillas, and pancakes and talking about life. We also got to take a swim in the river last week and the water is about as clear as can be! We’ve loved meeting with Larry and Allison, but we’ve also loved living alongside them and hearing why they do what they do. The pace of life here is much slower and sometimes it leaves us feeling like we need to be doing something, so it’s been hard to force ourselves to slow down and just BE.
God is so faithful and such a gracious Giver. It was a tough transition at first, but I am loving my time here. I look forward to the rest of my two months here, but I still choose to take each day as it comes, to be WITH the people here and WITH the Lord in each moment.
Prayer requests Maddie, Anna, and I have: healing for Maddie’s elbow!! (It has been causing her quite a bit of pain since it swelled up two nights ago), feel at peace with not going, going, going, and the discipline to really be where our feet are.
Psalm 27:4 – “One thing I have asked of the Lord that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”
Honduras 2020 