Wonder Voyage 2009 Summer Blog

The last full day in Honduras for the team from St Michaels and All Angels meant one more day to serve and learn. The morning was spent splitting the group between a local primary school called Eben-Ezer and the only school for special needs children in the Comayagua, Casa Ayuda. The 300+ students at Eben-Ezer enjoyed the rice pudding and entertainment the team served, while the students at Casa Ayuda spent time taking pictures and coloring. It was a hard goodbye.

In the afternoon the team spent their free time looking for relics as they explored the local city markets and shops hoping to find something to remember their time in Honduras. Over our celebration meal and pass the candle event in the evening the team relived their journey, sharing how serving in Honduras has changed their lives forever.

How long have you been on this earth, and what is the oldest memory you have? Our team from Dallas contemplated these questions throughout the day as they visited a girls orphanage in the morning and the matching orphanage for the boys in the afternoon.
 
Initial awkardness with the young girls quickly melted away to reveal smiling faces as the team laughed, played and shared in a few hours of games, arts, and crafts. In the afternoon with the boys it was straight to the soccer field. And just as the game was getting competetive, the skies opened with a brilliant Central American rainstorm sending everyone running from the field. We spent the remainder of our time getting to know one another better huddled up in a few small rooms as the rains came down.
 
The evening provided an opporotunity to reflect on time as we sat in the shadow of a clock that has been ticking since 1100 AD. How long have you been here is an interesting question answered with simple math, but maybe the better questions are: How long do you have left, and how long do you have with those you love?

This Sabbath the team from St Michaels and All Angels celebrated their day of rest with a once in a lifetime opportunity. In the morning we loaded the bus early- making our way to church at an Anglican congregation in Siguatepeque. After running into a few common friends and stopping for a nice Sabbath lunch the team arrived at Puhlopanzak Falls, a 43 meter waterfall.

Little did the team know that soon enough they would be journeying under the falls itself, venturing into a small cave hidden behind. It took a couple of hours to get everyone through- including the added excitement of jumping off some of the high rocks into the surrounding pools, but when the adventure was all said and done everyone walked away from their time at Puhlopanzak amazed at what they had just experienced. Today was a day of rest, it was a Sabbath, but it was full of joy and adventure, two keys characteristics of Christ`s promises that we can even expect in God`s day of rest.

We started our day by visiting an ancient church- Iglesia de San Sebastian, and learned that this was the location where the society`s outcasts worshipped during Spanish Colonialism. At the church we were challenged to be “Jesus with skin on”- meaning that we should show the love and compassion of Christ.

We then spent the day doing just that by serving a poor, small, village food and playing with the children and families. Members of the team from Saint Michaels and All Angels also visited a local orphanage, while others played with children whose families have been impacted by AIDS at a care center run by the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa`s Order.

During the evening prayer and debriefing it was clear that we were all changed by the experience of being “Jesus with skin on.”

After breakfast our team from Saint Michael and All Angels talked about how our service to the Hondurans was worship to Christ and not simply a servanthood merit badge. The team then got a chance to put those words into action by painting rooms, and gates, and repairing swingsets at a day care for the poor.

Re-energized by an incredible lunch at a former dignitaries home, the team headed for an open market. Their task for the evening was to purchase and prepare dinner for the entire group.

The highlight of the day was still to come as we were joined for dinner by two Grey Friars, members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, a recently founded Catholic Order. Considering the two friars were in their 20s and American the group was spiritually challenged as they heard their personal testimonies of sacrifice.

An early morning breakfast for the team from St Michaels and All Angels meant a long day of work. After the traditional breakfast meal of tortillas, beans, meat, and eggs the team loaded the bus to head off for the workday project in El Sauce, a local village outside of Comayagua.

The dirt roads and wandering horses quickly reminded everyone that they were far from the highways and interstates of Dallas, but when we arrived in the village the team was quickly greeted by the community, with curiosity. St Michaels would be painting the local Public Health Clinic, and it did not take long for the local community to come out and help. Children, adults, elderly, and pigs joined in the days work and by the end this vital center in El Sauce was refreshed with a new look and confidence.

In the evening the team made it down to the city center of Comayagua in time to see the end of mass at the cathedral and get some ice cream while enjoying the thunderstorm that was covering the mountains north of the valley. The question for the day was identity, and as the team finished up their first full day in Honduras we discussed the hardest culture for anyone to understand, their own. With this in mind the pilgrims from Saint Michaels and All Angels laid aside their own preconceptions and opened their hearts to Christ´s work in them through the Honduran community– a community they had learned where everyone can help.

After an early morning flight the team from Saint Michael and All Angels of Highland Park, TX arrived in Tegucigalpa in good spirits. We had our last “American” meal in a local shopping mall while meeting with representatives from the local Anglican Diocese to fellowship in the ministry being done in the area.

Once lunch was finished we headed off to our home for the week, Comayagua, the old capital of Honduras and colonial religious center of Central America. After getting settled in at our home for the week the team took a short walk down to a local resturant where they were welcomed with a traditional Honduran celebration meal of sweetcorn tamales, and banana wrapped cornmeal chicken and beans. The night ended with some reflection on what cultural identity means for our time in Honduras and the team was excited to discover the ways God is at work in this beautiful country.