RockHonduras » Trip Reports

Spring Break 2011: Rob’s Story

Stevi — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:30:32 +0000

My 10 days in Honduras
by Robert J. A. Abel on Sunday, April 10, 2011

My 10 days in Honduras started at the beginning of last semester when I met Joey Soto in Lowry Mall. He had a giant map of the world and was asking for anyone who wanted to write something anywhere on the map to express themselves. I stopped and started a conversation with Joey about why he was doing this. He later told me that he had been on a few mission trips to Honduras and felt a special connection with the people and the country. Little did I know about six months later I would experience first hand what he was talking about. He eventually invited me to his church and invited me into his core group. We have been good friends since then and have watched each other grow in faith.

Fast forward to just a couple of weeks ago and I am exiting the plane of Tegucigalpa International Airport. After I got my luggage and awaited further instruction from Mr. Drage I took a minute to tell myself that I am finally in Honduras. I took a minute to absorb my surroundings. I was now in Honduras as a servant of God. I wanted do my best to help as much as possible to learn as much as possible about the people I met while growing my relationship with God.

After the bus ride to Choluteca we were informed of our roommates. I was blessed to be rooming with the stout Canadian himself, Mr. Nathan Krantz. Although we were on separate teams we did enjoy deep conversations in our free time about what we wanted to gain from our experiences. I also had the opportunity to share testimonies with him and our host Walter. Nathan also reminded me that you cannot force the word of God onto someone but you can help people by sharing your faith and listening to their concerns about God.

At the Casa Hogar Vida I had the opportunity to work alongside some very inspiring Christian men and women. Chris and Eric are just two of the people who I constantly saw with either a tool in hand or a kid on their back. As we worked in the hot sun it felt good to be doing work that will directly benefit God’s people and help increase his following. When I wasn’t working I tried my best to talk to the people of Honduras.

One of my biggest focus was to learn as much as I could from the people’s perspective about what the causes of the countries economic issues. I feel that the people that we are working for are our brothers and sisters in Christ. That being said I felt that it was our responsibility to help not only on a local scale but also on a socio-political scale. I feel that while we are doing a tremendous job by helping the church support the poor the real problems are with-in the mindsets of the people and the political corruption of the country. Until these problems are addressed I fear that we will not be attacking the countries problems from the source.

That being said as we went out evangelizing the word of God I couldn’t help but notice how happy the and loving the people that we visited were. Despite living in conditions that many Americans would find appalling the people that I came across throughout the trip greeted us as if we were family when we wanted to share the gospel. I can only attribute this to grace of God. Most of the people that we spoke with while evangelizing had already accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We did come across a few people who felt as though they weren’t going to heaven despite their faith but we did our best to assure them that it is not their deeds but God’s grace that gives salvation as stated in Ephesians 2.

Within our own group I learned a lot. Stevi and Mr. Kassing and many of the other adults taught me so much by sharing their faith and insight on life. I would need an extra few pages to discuss all the things that I have learned on the trip from these two alone. Overall I would say that it was a great pleasure being able to serve God and his people. I would defiantly like to take the missionary attitude took with me to Honduras to the many places in America that are not only underprivileged but also to those who are in need of spiritual salvation. As Austin taught me, we need to look at people who don’t have Christ in their life the same way we look at the people with swollen bellies and feet with the same need of urgency to help them.

Spring Break 2011: Stephanie’s Story

Stevi — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:10:29 +0000

What’s Heavy?

by Stephanie Proffer on Sunday, April 10, 2011

Yes — Drage was serious when he assigned us all a two- to three-page paper about what we learned in Honduras.

After one week at home with much reflection and godly counsel, this is what I came up with. This singular note cannot possibly contain everything I have to say about the trip. But let’s be honest — nobody would want to read a 37-page Facebook note of my ramblings about the best experience of my life.

So. Here we go.

The night before the conclusion of the most inspirational experience of my life, Drage asked me a question. Of course, since it was coming from Drage, it couldn’t be a simple question. It had to be thought provoking, deep, and not something I could properly answer between sobs and bites of lasagna. He wanted to know what was so heavy about spending ten days in Honduras. Though I couldn’t answer the question when it was initially posed, I have been thinking about it. And now, a week later, I’ve got the answer: Going to Honduras made me realize that I am not living my life the way I should be. And that’s a heavy reality, spending two decades not doing things right. I decided that far too often, I don’t have a healthy attitude, I don’t manage my time, and I don’t engage in the fellowship that I should.

The attitudes of the Hondurans surprised me most on the trip. The first day of the puppet show, some team members and I went to gather some local kiddos for the audience. We saw their falling-down shacks, their hardly homes. We saw their sparse, tattered clothes hanging outside. We saw stray pigs and horses with their ribs exposed, rummaging through trash on the streets for food. But we also saw the hearts of the people, so happy, so smiley, so eager to let their children enjoy the little entertainment we could give them. I told Megan that day that if my life were as miserable as theirs, I would be a miserable person. They’re the opposite. Knowing that I’ve been living selfishly is heavy. Knowing that I have all the blessings I could ever imagine, and I still find myself complaining, wanting more, not being satisfied with all I’ve been given — that’s heavy.

This trip also helped me to realize just how severe my addiction to busyness is. Full is an understatement when it comes to my schedule — three jobs, upper-level classes, church twice a week, social commitments, etc. It wasn’t until coming to Honduras that I discovered how much time I’m wasting by being busy. Two thousand miles away from my usual life, I had time to do things that matter, like immerse myself in the Word and serve the people around me. Through those activities, I was spiritually fed. During one of our early devotionals, someone made a comment about needing to have time for God and being available to do God’s work; at that point, it became apparent that I had been making time for everything but Him. My priorities are totally mixed up, and that’s heavy too.

The heaviest part of the trip, though, stemmed from the team. I barely knew anyone when we arrived in Tegucigalpa. But as we boarded the plane back home, my heart was broken at the thought of leaving my 29 new best friends. For 10 days straight, I had watched Austin use his gift of serving, Emma use her gift of encouraging, Ricky use his gift of communicating. I loved, and was loved by, these teammates, these brothers and sisters in Christ. At home, though, the weight slowly began to pile on. I saw that I don’t have the fellowship that I had in Honduras. I don’t surround myself with like-minded people – I don’t have the Pauls and the Timothies and the Barnabases that Drage was talking about. And the ones that I do have, I’m taking for granted. It was easy to form close, meaningful relationships on the trip. Because I knew I had limited time, I just jumped right in and didn’t hold back. I’m not living that way at home, and that’s the heaviest realization of the whole experience.

Ten days in Honduras showed me that I don’t always have a good attitude, I’m not prioritizing properly, and I’m not surrounding myself with the most positive fellowship that I could be. The weight of these realizations is heavy, but I’m determined to let that weight motivate me. For just over a week, I lived my life in the way that I should. Unfortunately, it just took being 2,000 miles away from home to figure these things out. So what’s heavy about being in Honduras? Coming to the realization that I haven’t been living my life correctly. But what’s the biggest blessing about coming home? Using the lessons I learned to start fresh.

Spring Break 2011: Stevi’s Favorite Pictures

Stevi — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 18:14:26 +0000

Spring Break 2011: Stevi’s Story Part 2

Stevi — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:12:54 +0000

Intentional: An Honorary Catracha’s Mission Experience

by Stevi Ferguson

My intentional conversations didn’t stop with kids. Over the last few years, I’ve made it a point to get to know more of the people in the church who are involved in the ministries we help. I’ve become good friends with Lilian and Daisy. This year, Daisy gave me the huge responsibility of selling her jewelry to the team. She makes lovely bracelets that tell the Gospel through colored beads and charms. This year, I got to have good conversations with Maura, who oversees the Manualidades project, and Arturo, who is a new mission trip coordinator.

I also had brief but encouraging conversations with Walter and Alejandro, two of the young adults who are both serving the church in various ways. I had a good solid conversation with Luis Reyes, my host dad (for the second time) and translated a great conversation between John and Luis Fernando, the director of the day care in Limon. In these conversations, I always try to encourage the brothers and sisters in their ministry, and tell them what an impact their example makes to the young people we bring on our trips. I want them to understand just how much they give to us, just by being a demonstration of God’s church at work in the world.

A new opportunity came up this year. We got to spend some time in the Bilingual School. That was super exciting. I spent time with sixth and seventh graders, and a little time with some fourth graders. We tested their vocabulary, got to know some of them, answered a lot of questions, and tried to encourage them in their studies. I just know that I was getting to meet for the first time some of our future translators! I tried to tell them about our mission trips and get them excited about what we were doing. And I told them if they wanted to, they could get involved, they just had to study hard!

The other intentional conversations I had were with other folks on my team. Adults, college students, high schoolers, translators, I tried to have good conversations with people every single day. Some of them wanted to hear my stories, others wanted to share what God was doing with them that day, others wanted to pick my brain about the things going on in Honduras, and some wanted to bounce ideas off of me. I tried to be available for whatever the team member needed, tried to be as encouraging as I could, and tried to point it all back to God.

I feel like I’m finally learning how to be more effective on the trip. I always feel fairly effective during the preparation and training parts of the process, but my actual “job” on the trip is kind of a vague, amorphous idea. I’m definitely still ruminating on what I learned, trying to see how it affects my life here, my role as a missions advocate/liason between the States and Honduras, and my future trips. Somehow I feel like these experiences were a new level in my missions “career”. I didn’t even know I was headed toward it, but it feels different, but definitely very good! Sometimes I come back from a trip very disappointed with myself, for having not accomplished enough, or for missing opportunities. THis time, I feel more satisfied, more at peace with how I spent the trip. Sure, I always wish I had more time, wish I didn’t have to rest so much (but I’m also becoming more at peace with my individual physical limitations)… but in the broad scheme of things, I feel like I listened better and responded the best I could to every opportunity.

My big prayer at the beginning of the trip was to come back without regrets… for God to use me, and for me to make the most of every opportunity. I’m sure I didn’t do it 100%, but I definitely feel like that happened. God put the opportunities out there, and compelled me to make the most of them.

Prayer answered.

Spring Break 2011: Stevi’s Story Part 1

Stevi — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:06:16 +0000

Intentional: An Honorary Catracha’s Mission Experience

by Stevi Ferguson

All mission trips are different. Even now, having finished my seventh trip to Choluteca, trips to the same place are different every time. I think the theme word of this trip, for me, was INTENTIONAL. I’m not super-efficient at house-building or dirt-shoveling (although I do have some skills and energy to contribute). So when the tools are limited, and some people have to hurry up and wait, I took those opportunities to sit out from the physical labor and have some intentional conversations. At Sra Exodocia’s house, I spent time getting to know the two girls, Nayeli and Marjorie (aka Stefany). I always try to bring books with me, since I feel that a love of reading and learning can only be an asset to these kids, no matter where they are or where they end up. So we read. And we talked about school. And I tried to engage them in some critical thinking.

At Limon, I got to spend a good chunk of time at the Children’s Nutrition Center. These are the littlest kids that Iglesia Gran Comision is reaching, kids suffering from malnutrition, who are at serious risk for developmental problems. Because they’re about the age of the kids I used to teach in day care, I know a lot of the developmental skills they should be learning. So I jumped right into their playtime with some educational activities. I worked with the babies on motor skills, helping them put things into buckets and take them out. With the older kids, I played color games, helping them group things by color. I also helped them build some towers with cups, great hand-eye coordination practice!

When I went out into the playground to spend time with the older kids at Limon, I took my books. I had a whole group of kids around me as I read Go Dog Go and encouraged the school-aged kids to read parts of it for me. We talked about the book and had a good time. Then I spent some one-on-one time with Carolina, a fifth-grader who wasn’t able to play much because of a broken foot. I got her started reading aloud from Charlotte’s Web, and by lunch time, she had finished the first chapter! She was really into the book, so I left it with Lilian to give to her in private later. At church at the end of the week, I got to talk to Carolina and she told me she was really enjoying the book. I told her to be sure to finish it, and I would ask her about it next year when I come back.

At Casa Hogar Vida, I had a few different intentional interactions with kids. I taught Cynthia and Romari how to crochet. They were very interested and worked really hard learning and practicing. I left the ball of yarn and crochet hook for them to share. And the next day I visited, Romari took me to her house to meet her family, and brought out the yarn so I could explain to her mom what we were working on. I’ve known these two girls for several years now, and it was good to get to know them better and actually see where they live. I talked with Cynthia about her family. Her mom died several years ago, but she has an amazingly loving dad, and several older sisters and seems to have a good family life. She told me about visiting her cousins for Holy Week, she seemed very excited.

The last day we were at Casa Hogar, I got to read to a group of kids again. We read a kids book about Jesus’ life and got to have a good conversation about how Jesus wants us to talk to Him and share how we feel, whether we are sad or happy. We also talked about what faith is, what it means to trust God. I am constantly amazed at how patient the kids are with my fractured Spanish, and how they seem to soak up these conversations, even if I’m wondering the whole time if I’m making any sense at all.

To be continued…

Spring Break 2011: Trip Video by Chris Kassing

Stevi — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 03:43:38 +0000

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Spring Break 2011: John’s Story Part 3

Stevi — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 18:21:38 +0000

Reinforcement
A Mission Trip Reflection
by Pastor John Drage

But the greatest REINFORCEMENT for me has come in the two elements to the solution that sometimes we could overlook. The two MAIN THINGS we administrate are the Proclamation of the Gospel and the Operation of the Church.

This is what the church in Choluteca focuses on regularly. I intend that the Rock would do the same! That church is so beautiful. Loving their hurting community in many special ways.

The Church and the Gospel must be foundational to all we do there and throughout this broken world. The great need is not just for a meal of rice and beans. But for the word of God and hope only found in Jesus. Yes, by all means bring the rice and beans and probably some medicine. But that is not our end!

This paragraph written by one of my heroes motivates me to the core.

There is nothing like the local church when it’s working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited. It comforts the grieving and heals he broken in the context of community. It builds bridges to seekers and offers truth to the confused. It provides resources for those in need and opens its arms to the forgotten, the downtrodden, the disillusioned. It breaks the chains of addictions, frees the oppressed, and offers belonging to the marginalized of this world. Whatever the capacity for human suffering, the church has a greater capacity for healing and wholeness.

- Bill Hybels, Courageous Leadership

The Gospel brings true deep hope of a better tomorrow. The church is to be to be the real hands and real wallet and real ears of Jesus. One of the most frequent descriptions of the church is that we are His body. The Body does the will of the Head.

So what happened while on the trip? I again saw the church of Jesus Christ doing what she does best. Proclaiming the Hope of the gospel and helping the poor through the context of the church.

As a pastor, equipper and missions mobilizer, I hope that the experience molds those who went greatly! That would make it worth it for me. Life change in the participants! I dream and long for that. My real goal is that they would be 24-7 missionaries for life wherever they are! Beautiful representatives of Jesus to a dying, broken world!

From what I understand, more than 8 people accepted Jesus into their heart. That is cool. We loved on a bunch of people. We played with many kids! It was a highly relational trip.

I also am again extremely impressed by the church in Choluteca and how they are developing leaders to love and serve! My vision and passion for the Great Commission (making disciples of all the nations) has been “REINFORCED”!

Spring Break 2011: John’s Story Part 2

Stevi — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:19:05 +0000

Reinforcement
A Mission Trip Reflection
by Pastor John Drage

Personally, I have continued to struggle with our responsibility in this problem of poverty. We certainly have some responsibility to do something! But what? How does one decide who to help? How does one decide how to help? What is it that we should help to do? Are the solutions we propose really making life better for these people?

I often times, I get a bit lost and confused as I try to figure out an appropriate, God honoring next step. The Lord is not confused over the matter, but our response is not haphazard or misguided.

As a strategist and thinker, I can hardly describe the problem accurately. We must know the problem well before we get so busy creating and implementing solutions.

To be sure, the process of who, how and what to do are plans that the Lord reveals to his people through prayer and listening. The answer certainly lies in a greater dependence on the Lord. The clues that He gives abound: Who do we know?, who are we partnered with?, will this give them just a hand out or a hand up?, does this feed orphans and widows in distress?, what do we have to share? God does lead his people as to give and assist.

One of our projects was to build a new home for a poor woman in the church. She had been praying for a new home for nearly two years. Her prayers were answered when we came and built one for her. It was a great experience for all of us.

I personally love building things. Seeing a finished product at the end of the week is pretty awesome! I will watch the videos with great interest as the weeks after the trip fly by.

The teamwork on our trip was fantastic as well. Working with guys like Nathan, Adam, Lindlie, Ricky, David, Austin and Josh on the house those days was awesome. They rocked!

Giving the home away was a highlight! Seeing her face as we built it was pretty special to say the least.

to be continued…

Spring Break 2011: John’s Story Part 1

Stevi — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:14:21 +0000

Reinforcement
Reflections on a Mission Trip
by Pastor John Drage

We just sprinted a 10 day marathon. Gathering an eclectic collection of Gringos, we enjoyed a wonderful Mission Trip to Choluteca, Honduras March 25 to April 3, 2011, It seemed best to write some reflections of the trip so that I can describe and digest what happened to me. Maybe this little scratch sheet of thoughts will affect you as well?

The key word to describe my recent trip is “Reinforcement”. You see, it was my 15^th visit to Latin America. I have participated in many, many trips and have seen many things in the more than 10 years that I have been visiting there.

I have a firsthand perspective on extreme poverty. I have had personal conversations while in the homes of hundreds of these special people. I have listened to their hearts, I have sat in their tiny, dirty homes, I have seen their way of life.

On this trip, I had 5 distinct times visiting in homes. One dying guy, Mrs. Exodocia and her family, a farm family near San Marcos and two families needing a sponsors for their kids. We also ended up meeting a woman with a bad infection while at one home as well. Taking her to Dr. Geovany to treat her was a really good thing.

These conversations were all very special. These conversations make the problem of extreme poverty real to me. These people are statistics to me, they have become amigos. This relational connection has been the beautiful backdrop to all of our trips. I like it this way.

As the years have gone by of watching their dire circumstances, I have often wondered: How do we help? How can we truly make a difference to assist them in their plight? The answers to these questions are not always easy to surmise. The correct God-honoring response is not that easy to discern. The needs and the problem are so vast and the ability to help seemingly so small.

On my previous trip, we toured 4 different GCLA churches response to the challenges that the poor present God’s Church. They are people precious to our God and precious to us. Our great desire is to treat them with respect and to properly assist them in life. Jesus told us that we will always have the poor with us. This is a reality as well as an admonition to help them well.

Personally interacting with real people has changed everything for me. I could tell you all about little Stephanie, a 12 year old girl that lived near the home we built, or Luis Fernando, the 35 year old CNI Director, or Luz, or the orphan children, or Lilian, or Eli who oversees Casa Hogar Vida. These real faces are etched anew in my memory. Their situations are different. Some are poor, some are not.

Just being with the leaders in the church is one of my highlights. Levi, Geovany, Luis Fernando, Eli, Leo, Francisco, Nelson and even Jorge an emerging new leader have become great friends.

Our translators also had a great trip. I really enjoyed getting to be with them as well!to be continued…

Spring Break 2011: John’s Significant Moments

Stevi — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:07:27 +0000

Most impactful Moment- Sharing the gospel with the mom at the farm and her praying to receive Christ! Runner Up- Seeing the challenge of water more clearly.

Saddest Moment- Hearing of more stories of fatherlessness again and again.

Happiest Moment- Giving the home to Mrs. Exodocia, saying “Move that bus!”

Most frustrating Moment- The construction manager the first two days at the house. Poor management. He did not seem to care to help us help him.

Most confused Moment- What to do with the dying man with diabetes.

Most discouraging- Seeing all the peppers on that farm that were rotting on the vines because of too many peppers in the supply chain. With so many hungry- why would we let thousands rot?

Spiritual high Moment- The “At a boy” and “At a girl” celebration on Friday night.

Best conversation- 2 way tie- Me and Nathan on Friday night right before dinner, me talking the Luis Fernando in an attempt to encourage him.

Biggest surprise- Beating the Honduran Basketball team in trouncing fashion!

Most Fun Moments- Saying “Falso” to Stephanie while waving my finger at her. It was our funny thing to say to each other the whole week.

Most tired, worn out exhausted Moment- 2^nd day at the house- so hot, so worn out, hot and thirsty.

Best improvisation- Designing a plan in one minute to teach the English class at the university.

Most satisfying Moment- Teaching the young leaders about Mentoring and having it deeply touch them and foster greater disciple making there among the youth. Honorable mention- building that home. Doing it with minimal tools.

Best meal- 4 way tie- Jorge’s BBQ, the traditional dinner on Friday night (indigestion challenge though), El Torito steak with chimichuri and the breakfast that Iris made on Saturday morning.