Mission Partner Update - IMC August 2024

This little boy isn’t much different from little boys who live in the US.  He loves his dog, he loves his family, he lives in a neighborhood, plays with friends every day and goes to school.  However, this little boy (as well as his dog) goes to bed most nights hungry.  His family includes his mom, aunt and two cousins…there is no father figure to provide guidance for this little boy.  His dad works outside of Honduras and sends money to his family each week so they can eat.  His neighborhood is a poverty-stricken colony, riddled with gangs, drugs, and violence.  School really serves as childcare since there is a lack of books, and only a few teachers for many, many children.  With limited education, even less money, and few resources, this child has very little opportunities to break the cycle of poverty and have a life beyond the obstacles he faces each day.  

I invite you to join me as I take the next few weeks to walk you through our recent trip to Honduras.  If you don’t know what we do, learn as you follow.  If you already know who we are and what we do, see how giving can impact the lives of people in Honduras. If you already give, see the impact you are making in the lives of the people of Honduras.  We are working with you to bring as many opportunities to the people of Honduras as possible. 

Saturday, July 6                     

Our team arrived at the airport and began the first leg of our trip to Honduras.  It was pouring rain in Honduras as we arrived which made travel difficult.  After two hours of driving in torrential rain, we ran some errands and picked up supplies needed to start our activities the following day.  We stopped at our favorite roadside restaurant, Rte. 35 for a quick lunch and then met friends and volunteers for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Tegucigalpa…all in the pouring rain.

The team departed at 9 am to begin the 3-hour journey to La Victoria. The village of La Victoria (LV) is at the top of a mountain and the trip up takes about 3 hours and is a very “bumpy” road. To give you an idea of just how “bumpy” the road up is, the iWatch I wear registers the ride as an 84-minute workout. My body bounces and is jostled around like BB in a coffee can! We took two separate cars filled with supplies needed for our time in LV. Due to the rain soaked/muddy road along with the weight of the supplies, one of our two cars was unable to make it all the way up the mountain.

After a three-hour detour Suamy (Director, IMC Honduras) and his passengers arrived. The rest of the team also arrived safely and stayed in the home of a local family…Lalo and Ofelia’s home served as a perfect homestead for our team. After a quick tour of the village, we went to the school and saw the work recently completed by IMC. We were able tosee a new roof that was added to one of theschool buildings as well as the progress made at a piece of land IMC was given by the leaders in LV. The land had been fenced and the ground prepared for a 24′ by 24′ pavilion to be built by our team. Four support poles had already been erected and the beginnings of the pavilion’s outer structure had been started.

After our tour we came back to Lalo and Ofelia’s home and quickly began preparations for a baby shower. Unbeknownst to us, this was LV’s first baby shower ever! After welcoming about 20 women to the shower, we celebrated the life of a beautiful baby girl due to arrive in late August. Many of the ladies had no idea what was going on and had no idea why we were playing games or opening gifts! Complete with games, a cake, gifts, and prayer, LV first baby shower was successful. After the shower we went through clothing donated from someone back in the states…the smiles were so BIG. Each child, woman and man were overwhelmed with gratitude, and we saw many of the recipients wearing the clothing throughout the week.

Since the sun sets around 6:00 pm each night, our work was done for the day and we settled in for dinner, showers and an early bedtime. It’s worth noting that our accommodations were different than we were used to at home. We had a concrete shower where we washed using rainwater dipped from a bucket. One room had two sets of bunk beds where Raul, one of IMC’s board members, slept along with other members of our team. Lalo and Ofelia graciously surrendered their bedroom to Rhonda and Mike for the duration of our time in LV. Although we slept under mosquito netting in beds dampened by the humidity and a leaky roof, it was the best night’s sleep. There was a contentment and lack of chaos that caused us all to experience a great depth of peace. As we stepped into doing what the Lord created us to do, our hearts seemed to sync with His and rest really felt like rest, work felt significant, and relationships felt deep.