Into the Thick of It

This past month I served with a pastor named Paul and his wife Tania who run a ministry in Honduras called, Catracho Missions. My squad and I camped out at the site of a new church that Paul’s team has been building to reach the families that live in the mountains outside of Comayagua City. Our ministry consisted of aiding in the construction of the church building, hauling lumber by hand to the construction site, initial home evangelism visits to nearby houses, and hosting vacation Bible school for local children. 

One of our many hikes up the steep paths of the community we were living in called, Granadilla.

When I look back on this month, several words come to mind to describe my experience. One is, beautiful. Green mountain peaks, often shrouded in fast-moving clouds, surrounded our campsite. Any direction you turned, looked like a postcard. Plus, anywhere you walked, you were bound to run into a coffee tree, vegetable farm, or some other fruit tree that you could pick from and enjoy. I do not know if I have ever been in such a lush environment. Everything was green and thick with all kinds of foliage. And what really caught me off guard was the massive pine trees that covered the upper elevations of the mountains. They seemed out of place in the more tropical environment, but that made them even more of a marvel. Furthermore, we were able to venture out to two different waterfalls for our adventure days. Both were beautiful to gaze at, and one we were able to take an extreme hike under the cascading waters. It felt like standing in the middle of a category 5 hurricane! 

The view from the deck of our church.

Pulhapanzak Falls. We got to explore the caves under the water fall!

The people that I got to know this month were beautiful too. We had a team of local women, who worked all day in the kitchen (this was more like a couple of wood burning stoves under a tarp) to serve us our meals. They had the most contagious smiles and always carried so much joy. Two of them made a special impact on me. They are twins named Myra and Marissa. After talking to them one night, I found out that the church and campsite were actually on their family’s property. Their mother had donated the land to Paul many years ago. Myra and Marissa proceeded to tell us that they are the only evangelicals that live on the mountain. The rest of the families are Catholic. Not only that, but God had actually given them a vision in their dreams of our squad coming to help with the church. These women exuded the Holy Spirit in their joy and laughter. Additionally, Paul’s team was awesome. It consisted of some young adults training to be pastors, along with his sons and some other teenage boys, who help with their ministry. I loved getting to know them. Many of them were so full of joy and encouraged our squad greatly. I also enjoyed getting to pour into them as well. God gave me words of encouragement and calling to share with them. Also, Paul invited me to share my testimony about being called to youth ministry with them along with preaching in church one Sunday. I hope to stay connected with them, even after we leave Honduras.

Me and the kitchen crew. Their kindness and food were amazing.

Me and one of the teenage guys from Paul’s team named Pedro.

 My time in Honduras has also been challenging. Physically, socially, and spiritually, has challenged me. To begin, hauling lumber on my back up steep, slippery slopes, sometimes up to 3 miles a day, has really taken it out of me. Plus, it has been a big change in terms of “creature comforts.” We have all been sleeping in tents, that often get swarmed with unwelcome visitors like roaches, spiders and ants.  We have not had electricity or wifi. On top of that, we have been in the middle of rainy season, so the ground is almost constantly wet and muddy, making it difficult to keep your belongings dry and clean. Overall, I am thankful for all of these “discomforts.” It has helped me see how little I actually need to live, and I feel like it will help me live a more simple life from here on out.

Where I lived for the month. Affectionately known as “Dudeville.” My tent is the tan one.

Additionally, having the whole squad living in such a confined space together has been socially challenging. And with Paul’s team of 10-12 Hondurans sharing the same space as well, it was difficult to find any sanctuary where you can enjoy some peace and quiet. On top of that, this month has felt spiritually heavy too. I have felt like there is a lot of spiritual darkness among the families that live in the mountains. We have witnessed how drunkenness and alcoholism keep the men enslaved. They often come up to our property so intoxicated that they can barely stand. Paul has told us that this affects their families as well, with the fathers often abusing their wives and children. The culture enables this behavior further. It is common for men to hold power in a domineering way. Many husbands do not let their wives read the Bible for themselves, and some do not allow their wives to ever leave the house. Witnessing a lot of these things has weighed on my heart. Thankfully, my squad and I prayed a lot for these families and we noticed a shift in the atmosphere the last couple weeks. We started to see the locals having more joy and stopped encountering so many drunk men. I think the VBS that we held for the community helped in shifting the atmosphere too. We had over 100 kids come to the church for games, Bible stories and snacks. It was awesome to see the smiles and laughter of the kids and their parents who came with them. I believe they got to experience God’s presence there, and I pray that the VBS planted seeds in their lives that will draw them back to the church and to Jesus in the future.

The kids showing off their prize of pencils for completing their week of VBS.

The whole group, Catrachos and Gringos. After a long hike to plant trees at a reforestation/water project.

Another word to describe my time in Honduras would be, unifying. While our squad went through some challenges and disagreements (which is expected when 30 people are forced to live together for a month), overall it has been really encouraging for me to see us all come together and form deeper bonds. I have seen people talk through their issues with each other, and come out the other side as closer friends. Specifically, I feel like my team has grown a lot since last month. We are all learning how to best love and serve each other, along with how to bring up conflict in a more prompt and responsible fashion. This has been a highlight for me, as I have been challenged to be more bold in sharing my feelings instead of pushing them down and storing up bitterness. Also, I have been able to make so many fun memories with my squamates and the Hondurans serving with us. Whether it has been late night games of Smorgasbord (a new game we invented- patent pending), pushing our truck out of a ditch, or hiking through the torrential downpour of a massive water fall, these fun/crazy moments have bonded us all closer together.

Just taking a fun break during construction work on the church.

Lastly, I would say this month was pioneering. As Catracho Missions is still in the beginning phases of its ministry here on the mountain, we were able to participate in a lot of firsts. We had the privilege of doing home evangelism among two different communities close by the church. These were the initial visits into these communities to begin building relationships with the people. One of them was a completely Catholic community, who are usually closed off to evangelical missionaries. However, the community leader surprisingly invited us to come visit with the residents! We got to pray and share basic Gospel truths with many families there. It was such an honor to get pioneer the way for future growth and discipleship to take place in the future. Additionally, we got to help host the first ever VBS for the mountain, which was also the first time the community was invited into the new church building. It was awesome to be a part of bringing joy to the children and families of the mountain, and I pray that God uses that fun time they had at the church to bring them back to hear more about Him.

The church that we helped work on. The top is the sanctuary and the bottom has classrooms.

 Overall, I am so thankful for this past month. It was not easy, but I know God was in the middle of it. He took me through the thick of it and brought me out the other side with experiences and friendships I will never forget.

Looking on to this upcoming month, my team will be serving with a church called Iglesia Bethel in Rio Grande, Paquera, Costa Rica. It sounds like we will be helping the pastor, named Olger, with their weekly ministries. Please pray that God will go before us and open doors there. That we could be a boost and encouragement to Olger and his congregation. We are currently in the capital city of San Jose, but will be traveling the rest of the way to Rio Grande tomorrow.

Thanks so much for reading and for all your support!