Back in the USA

Well, thanks to all of you who were praying for me while I was in Honduras with my father-in-law! God's blessings were rich upon me, and I really felt the love and support of those of you who were at home. It was an amazing week of encouragement -- something I never expected. I guess I kind of expected it to be a "testing" experience, or at least an "eye-opening" experience, and in some ways it was. But the feeling I'll always have of last week is one of support and comfort. I was blown away by the overwhelming amount of love I received from my teammates and even from the Honduran people. I expected to be the one doling out the love, and instead I was the receiver for the most part. Believe me, that was not my plan! But God had other things to teach me: things like how to receive love and how to rely on the help of other people. My personality doesn't lend itself well to these things, and I think I needed a little bit of a wake-up call. Praise God for it.

Now, for you less touchy-feely people, I'll try to give a brief summary of the week's events.

Nate and I arrived in Tegucigalpa (a.k.a., Teguc) on Saturday afternoon, where we met most of the rest of our group. The group was comprised of two main parts: one part from Illinois and one from Michigan. Nate and I were just along for the ride in our own little group. However, by the end of the week, the geographical lines between the groups blurred, and everyone seemed to have always known each other. I guess that's how it is on these types of trips. Anyway, Saturday was spent in orientation and getting to know one another. We were able to enjoy for the first time the splendor and beauty of the view from the mission house's balcony, which is located on a mountain to the north of the city.

On Sunday, we attended a Spanish-speaking mega-church in Teguc, after which we took a drive over the northeast mountains to an area called Valley of the Angels, where we ate a lovely meal and did a little bit of sovenier shopping. There was a TV at the restaurant, so I was able to catch some pre-game Super Bowl highlights. (Yay COLTS!)

On Monday and Tuesday, we had our first medical brigade at a church in the west part of the city. It went fairly well. I think we were able to help some people who really needed it. The brigades were organized into sections: general medical, dental, optometry, physical therapy, pharmacy, children's, and evangelism. Everything seemed to flow quite nicely. World Gospel Outreach (WGO), the ministry we were down there to support, does a really good job of organizing everything.

On Wednesday, we had a "break" and were able to tour the other parts of WGO's ministry. We went first to the top of a mountain on the east side of the city, Rancho Ebenezer, their alternative to an orphanage, where they house abandoned children with married couples, usually 4-6 children per household. In this kind of setup, the children are able to receive real love and care from a real family setting, while also getting a first-rate education through the school at the ranch. It's WGO's way of enhancing the Honduran culture from the bottom up -- by teaching people real values, integrity, and what it means to be part of a family. Once children become 18 and are no longer under the legal guardianship of the ministry, they have the option to become part of the Bridge house, which is the second place we visited. The Bridge house is located in the middle of Teguc, and is run by one set of house parents who help the young adults adjust to living on their own. I was very impressed with the skills that were being practiced at the Bridge house: cooking, cleaning, managing a budget, maintaining good grades, and showing spiritual and emotional improvement. It seemed like a good "bridge" from the ranch to the real world, and I think the ministry has the chance to produce some of the country's future leaders. Before returning home to the mission house, we went up the mountain a little higher to the future mission house site, where WGO hopes to begin building sometime in the next year or so. The view from that site is almost as breathtaking as the current mission house's view, and in some ways, more. It looks like a good place to put down roots and establish the ministry even more strongly.

On Thursday and Friday, we continued our medical brigade, this time at a different church on the east side of the city. Everything went well, and once again, I think we helped many people who needed it. The joy of giving someone some glasses and helping them to see better than they had in a long time (or in some cases, ever), was wonderful, indeed. We had about 350 people go through our optometry station, and about 1600 came through the whole brigade! I really enjoyed that part of the trip.

On Saturday, we packed up our things, said goodbye to the friends we made, and boarded the plane back to the US. It was sad to leave the people we'd grown so close to, but it was also nice to know that we were returning to our homes and families where we belong. I praise God for the many blessings He bestowed upon us while we were away. I had the pleasure of receiving the "Honduran welcome," as it is affectionately known, which is really just a nasty bug that upsets your stomach in a variety of ways. However, it only lasted two days, and during those two days, I was able to experience the love and care from many people in ways that I did not expect. Praise God for His loving family of believers!