Mi semana en Honduras

 I'm hoping this says 'My week in Honduras' because that is what I typed into Google Translate!  I would make yourself comfortable - because this may be a long one!

Rancho el Paraiso

  I flew out of Atlanta with the Decatur First United Methodist Church mission team on Saturday 9th February.  I had been warned about the landing at Tegucigalpa airport (Tegucigalpa is the capital of Honduras) as it involved a sharp turn and a steep descent.  In reality the turn and descent did not trouble me as much as how close we were to people's houses.  For an idea look at this film (and I suggest start watching it from the 2 minute mark) and look at how close the houses are!  I would not want to live in those when the jets fly over.

View in Tegucigalpa

Our first dinner

  We landed safely and, after a McDonalds lunch (sadly chains such as McDonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hut have made their way to Honduras) we set off in our bus.  Our final destination was to be Rancho el Paraiso which is near the city of San Esteban which is fairly far in land in the northern part of the country and located up in the mountains.  However, on that first day our destination was Juticalpa.  Getting out of Tegucigalpa meant driving past some real slum type housing - the type you see on TV but may never truly believe exist until you see it.  Some were made of corrugated metal, others had to make do with wood and tarpaulin; many were surrounded by piles of rubbish.  This was an instant lesson in the new world I had entered.  I had also been warned about the states of the roads - however we discovered that they had been working to improve them as many were not as potholed as we had feared.  The worst stretches meant us slowing down almost to a stop to navigate around them.  At these points rules about which side of the road to drive on were quickly discarded!  After a number of hours in the bus, and a stop at a Mennonite bakery, we reached Juticalpa where we enjoyed a rest and our first proper meal together.

Part of the clinic

Downtown Juticalpa

  After a short walk around the middle of Juticalpa we set off on the final leg of our journey - this was by far the bumpier part.  But, by lunchtime we had arrived at Rancho el Paraiso.  I had seen pictures of it, but no picture can ever truly show the beauty of the surroundings.  Sunday afternoon included a tour round the ranch - seeing animals, buildings and scenery.  In order to better serve the local villages HOI (Honduras Outreach Inc - the organisation we went with) even built a clinic on the ranch and employ a medical team.

Our welcome at Coronado

Laying a concrete floor

The latrine pit

  Monday morning saw us up at 5.30am ready for devotions at 6.15 so we could have an early breakfast and head off to the village.  The village where we worked was called Coronado (it means 'crowned' in English) and was about 30 minutes away.  The village had about 80 or 90 houses in it and a school of about 125 children.  These children and many of the adult villagers were there to greet us when we arrived.  After introductions and a few songs sung by us and them, we were split into our working groups.  Some of the team were staying behind in the school to run a vacation Bible school with the children, but the rest of us set off walking to our various houses to participate in our various tasks.  Over Monday and Tuesday I worked in two different houses.  In the first house we were laying a concrete floor throughout their house (two rooms and a porch area) in order to minimise the number of bugs that could live in the house and also make it easier to clean than the dirt floor they had.

Relaxing at the ranch

Our leader, Martha

The second house was building a latrine.  This consisted of a large pit (about 10ft deep) which a pipe ran into, and then an outhouse just on the edge of it (thankfully not so close to the edge that anyone might fall in!).  The ethos of HOI is that there should be 'sweat equity'.  Therefore, this was not a group of Americans (and British) travelling down to do all the work for the Hondurans, rather we went down to support and work alongside.  Usually, this is because they know far more about what they are doing than we do (certainly than I did!).  Our roles usually consisted of making concrete (on the ground as there were no cement mixers) and carting buckets of concrete and other materials to the places where they needed to be.  It was hard work but it was great to be able to do these small things to enable the Hondurans to do the important building works so they could really take pride in their latrines and floors when they were completed.

  Wednesday was a different day for me (for which my muscles were greatly appreciative!).  HOI employs a local pastor who travels to all the different villages when HOI mission teams are working there and offers pastoral support.  Therefore, on Wednesday morning, I was able to go with Pastor Wilmer as he went on some pastoral visits around the village.  It was a humbling experience to be welcomed into people's homes, often at difficult times in their lives.  I was reminded of the bonds of humanity because, although the language and culture was very different to home, many of the issues were the same.  There were family breakdowns, issues with addictions, disabilities and ageing.  I learnt a lot watching Wilmer coming into the homes of people he did not know and be able to offer something of the love and hope of Christ.

Valentines Day craft

Wednesday afternoon was different again.  This time I stayed at the school and helped with the children's activities.  I had been told that it was games in the afternoon - but quickly discovered I was also to help with craft!  As the following day was Valentines Day the team working with the children had brought out Valentines cards from the children of Decatur First UMC.  So Wednesday afternoon started with the children of Coronado making two cards, one for their mother and one to send back to a child of Decatur First.  However, the games started after they had finished.  Many of the children enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles as they had never seen them before.  However, for someone with no real Spanish, it was a frustrating experience trying to help them understand what to do.  So I moved on to a game which required no language - football!  There was not enough space for a game, so we stood round in a circle and just passed the ball around.  We played for over an hour and yet, unlike in England, there were no arguments, there was no-one left out, there was no-one laughed at for missing the ball - it was just good fun.  I just wish children in England could witness this and learn.  What is more, these children played in flip-flops or sandals and still demonstrated far greater skill than I could ever hope for!

The middle school library

Aldersgate Elementary School

  Thursday was our final day in the village, but before going there we went to Culuco where HOI had built an elementary and a middle school.  The elementary school was called Aldersgate to recognise its Methodist heritage.  When John Wesley's Aldersgate experience was explained to the Honduran members of HOI they decided to call the school Puerta del Renacimiento (Door of Rebirth) as its Spanish name, and so both names appear.  Both schools are very basic, and yet there were many children who desire to attend.  They said that they have also noticed that children are remaining in school longer than ever before - which can only be a good thing for these children, their families and the villages as a whole.  If anyone is looking for a way to be involved but can't go to Honduras, then HOI are always looking for people to provide scholarships to enable children to get the education they need and deserve - so please do check out their website.  

Saying goodbye

A final look at Coronado

The rest of the morning was work as usual - although as most of the projects were completed, or near completed, there wasn't much work left.  By lunchtime all the projects we set out to do had been done.  As a team we built 8 latrines, laid concrete floors in 8 homes, built 2 chimneys to divert smoke from cooking fires out of the houses and built two room additions.  What is more, our team working with the children taught 125 children throughout the week.  In the afternoon the village gathered to say goodbye.  There were speeches and songs from Hondurans and Americans and both national anthems were sung.  This meant I had to put my hand on my heart and mumble along to the American national anthem - but I pictured the Union Jack and the Queen all the way through!  At the end of the farewell fiesta we handed out a Bible to every family in the village.  It was amazing to see so many people so keen to get a Bible.  For many it will be the only book that they own.  And then the time came to say our farewells, make our way through the crowds, board the Land Cruisers and head back to the Ranch for the final time.

Sunset over Tegucigalpa

Our final dinner together

  Early on Friday morning and, after worship (where Pastor Wilmer asked me to share the reflection - thankfully with a few days notice) we set off on our journey to Tegucigalpa.  Unlike on the way to the ranch, we were not going to stop overnight at Juticalpa.  Therefore, it was going to be a 7 hour bus ride with just a couple of short stops on the way.  Typically, that was the day when I didn't feel particularly well.  Thankfully, I wasn't actually ill on the journey, and the time went fairly quickly.  What is more, in hindsight, I would prefer to not feel so great that day, rather than miss a day in the village through ill health.  We arrived in Tegucigalpa in the early afternoon.  Some people went to visit local souvenir shops - I just lay down and rested until dinner!  Our final meal together felt such a different experience to the meals we had shared through the week.  We were all wearing nice clothes, we were in surroundings which suggested such luxury compared with the reality of the lives of the people in Coronado.  This definitely did feel like the first step back into the world we had left behind just one week previously.

  Before I knew it Saturday morning had arrived, we packed up, left the hotel and headed for the airport.  Just a few short hours later and we were in the air, flying over Honduras and heading back to Atlanta - my Honduran adventure at an end.

New found machete skills

View of Honduras

   So what will I take away?  Firstly, a great love for Honduras, the country and its people.  This is a country I really want to return to.  There is so much work to do, but there is also so much that we, from richer countries, can learn about the way life and community can be.  I will also take away a real appreciation for short term mission.  When done right (at the invitation of, and in partnership with those you go to work with) it can be of benefit to the place you go to and also the church group you go with.  I would love one day to return with a group from the UK.  Finally, I will take away another facet of the image of God that I saw in the faces of those I worked with.  I hope and pray that they experienced something of God's love for them through my actions and limited words, because I certainly experienced something of it from them.  

The Decatur First UMC team