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Honduras: a country of beauty, lessons to learn

Contributed by: Debbie Batteiger/YourHub.com on 7/23/2008

A wise college professor once told me you never stop learning.

That statement took on new meaning for me after I was given the opportunity to travel to Honduras with my church, First United Methodist Church.

I traveled with my 13-year-old son and about 60 other individuals ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work in Comayagua, Honduras.

Dr. Charles Lever, FUMC senior pastor, told me the accomplishments of this team will be felt in the community for a long time.

"We brought six doctors, five nurses, a full pharmaceutical team, two ophthalmologists, one optician and one optical assistant plus a dental hygienist," he said. "We began to build a 5,500-square-foot medical center, and this ministry will continue after we're gone."

"Being in ministry is a process of renewed appreciation. There is a certain joy in serving others."

The lessons learned in Honduras will last us a lifetime.

We enjoy modern conveniences in the United States that we take for granted.

Many of the people we met lived in mud houses with no plumbing and dirt as a floor.

We saw families living in run-down shacks with nothing more than a tarp as a roof.

The village's only water source was a canal - they bathed, washed clothes, took water to cook with and swam in this one water source. One of our Honduran translators said that before Hurricane Mitch, in 1999, this water source did not exist. So they are thankful for it.

But in Comayagua, however, there were smiles for us - not despair.

The people of this village took what little they had and treasured it, nothing was wasted or unwanted. This indeed was a lesson we could all learn, especially in these times.

Youth traveling with the team as young as 12 labored in intense Honduran heat to mix mortar, place concrete block and dig.

The medical team saw 1,500 people in four days.

Some of the patients walked for hours to get to the clinic. We met a 90-year-old lady who had walked four hours just to see a doctor and then waited patiently to have her eyes checked while wearing a beautiful smile on her face.

I'll remember her the next time my doctor is running 10 minutes behind schedule.

The children's eyes lit up when the Vacation Bible School team walked into the school - a mixture of joy and curiosity, emotions we all shared.

I learned so much from a trip that was meant to help others. Serving others was indeed a joy.

Do you have a story to tell about a mission trip you were on this summer? Post it on YourHub.com.


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