Mi Segundo País
... My second country
On March 20th, I met with what would be the 30-some people on our team to Honduras over spring break...my third trip to this beautiful country. I wasn't sure what to expect because I didn't know most of them. I have been out of Columbia for the semester and kind of out of the loop with people. Furthermore, this is the only trip I've gone on which was crammed right in the middle of school, rather than during a break. The weekend before the trip, Pastor Drage met with us and prayed that we wouldn't let the busyness of school or feelings that we weren't ready discourage us from giving our best when we arrived.
During the plane ride, I had Psalm 16 on my mind. Here's how it starts:
Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. I saw to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing,"...
Most of our team stayed at the beautiful Casa Misionera (Missionary House), which we actually worked on during my last trip.
Mi Familia (My family)
I, however, stayed with a host family, the Reyes. Every time I've come to Honduras, I've been able to stay with them and get to know their family. When I was first told I would stay with them, I was surprised and felt very blessed that God would work out my living situation like this. The Reyes have two kids, Tiffany and Jesus, and they help with translating when my Spanish is unintelligible. They humorously call me their hija blancita, which means "little white daughter."
I thought a lot throughout the week about what it means to be a part of their family, as well as a part of the spiritual family of the church. Toyita Reyes, my catracha mom, has a chronic renal insufficiency which requires her to go to the hospital for dialysis three times a week. I wrote this in my journal about them:
I told Papi (Louis Reyes) that I'll be praying for Toyita. How I wish she could get a renal transplant! She's so young and loves so well. Because she has become as a mother to me, understanding her condition became very personal to me. I can also feel a little bit of the pain of having no access to quality health care, and I see how the poverty of this country can have families burdened by not having the care we take for granted in the US.
Through my time with them, as well as my other friends in Honduras, I have come to believe that It's so beautiful how relationships stay the same!
I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong--that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.
Romans 1:11-12
Limon (i.e. the best place on earth!)
I got to see my kids in Limon! Below are pictures of some of the girls in my class. (This is when I told them about me getting married, and they all wanted to come!). Also, here is a picture of my little man, Joshue David, a very special boy to me. I was so fortunate to spend time with him and his mother during the week and learned more about their lives.
Brisa del Rio (River Breeze)
Our biggest project for the week was building homes for two families in a rural village called Brisa del Rio. The place is very appropriately named because, although the heat was scorching, the river brought a much-needed breeze. In fact, it was from this river that we carried water to mix into the cement mixture--that is, we walked half a mile with a 5 gallon bucket of water on our heads in 105F degree weather! Wow, what a wake up call for how easy our lives can be. Still, our team worked their butts off, as if serving the Lord, not men. Our translators too were a huge blessing to us, willing to do whatever was needed. I spent most of my week here, working hard and getting to know some of the locals (as well as getting a sunburn the last day--of course).
We put a concrete floor in to the house of Olman, Nancy, and their son, "Olmanito." I got to know Nancy pretty well. This girl is TOUGH. She carries the water like it was nothing, and she very devotedly takes care of her boy, even though she herself is only a teenager. For me, it's beautiful how God can give love and friendship who can be worlds apart and barely speak the same language! For her and others in Brisa del Rio, the church provides a simple help by sending a bus bring them to services. I love how the church provides people with a means to have community that they otherwise couldn't have. Someone in our group asked, "What if our church in the US went out to the homeless and single mothers, provided for their needs, and brought them to church?" Good question, I thought.
Trabajo de la Iglesia (Work of the Church)
The first couple days of our trip, we were given tours and presentations of the ministries of the church. I had heard all these things before, but what made an impression on me was that these people are serving EVERYDAY. The malnutrition clinic, the prison ministry, the orphanage, and so many other projects have continued even before I started coming to Honduras, all because people have resolutely set their hearts to make meeting people's basic and spiritual needs their life's work. What is more, with my friend Edgar, who helps us translate, I've seen him pick up where our team was lacking in presenting the Gospel; he went ahead and knew exactly what to say in a caring and straightforward way. For him, explaining what Jesus has done for us comes so naturally because he does it all the time. (He's in the picture below, along with a dear Honduras-loving friend Kelsey.)
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
2 Timothy 4:2
I'm not saying that just because they're Honduran or something that they've got this Christianity thing figured out. It's just that, for me, seeing my Honduran community strive to be the type of church which engages with their community challenges me to ask what I can do here. Jesus' disciples once asked him, "Lord, how can we feed all these people?" to which he replied, "You give them something to eat." Jesus blessed their little faith in giving what they had, and I wonder what it would take for me to hand over the abundance of bread I have, so to speak.
Lo Que Sigue? (What's Next?)
Now I'm asking, "Lord, what's next?" What impacted me the most from the trip were two things: 1) God's sheer goodness to me in letting me come again and reunite with dear friends, and 2) relationships are so important in ministry.
Knowing the specific needs of people I care about in Honduras makes all the difference in my prayers for them and advocacy for them. In relationships, we meet as equals, not as superiors coming to inferiors; we see personal needs and remember individual stories. I think God cares more about us learning how to love others than any service we can do. I encourage any Christian in ministry--which means all of us--to ask God to show us how to understand others and let our actions follow relationship.
I very much look forward to going back--the question isn't "if" but "when." I have a few things to do before that though, like getting married, moving to the East Coast, and visiting the Philippines. Afterwards, I would love to bring my family and consider being more involved in child sponsorship.
Feel free to email me at sarahlizemerick@hotmail.com if you have any thoughts.
May God continue to reveal to you more of how He's working all over the world.
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