Being Flexible in Honduras

by Arlene Hahn

“Be flexible.”

That’s what we were told while preparing for the mission trip to Honduras….and several times during that week in Gracias, Honduras a town of 25,000. As we met to prepare for the trip and plan for departure – we needed to adjust and adapt: planning crafts where there would be no tables, games where there would be no equipment. At the airport in Honduras, where it took 2 hours to get the rental cars, we were flexible. Nothing is fast in Honduras. Pastor Bruce made balloon animals for children, US money got exchanged into lempiras (or “lemps” – Honduran money) and we enjoyed our final “North American” lunch at Wendy’s. We had 11 on our team drawing from WBC, Friendship Baptist in Ennis and the Cowboy Church of Maypearl. We combined forces with additional mission teams from Gordon and Marshall, Texas – sharing rides, snacks and stories as we made our way to our home base of Gracias – 4 hours in the rain on paved roads punctuated by curves, hills and no apparent traffic laws. Rustic bathrooms and verbal instructions of, “don’t flush any toilet paper, anywhere,”… we were flexible.

We made “base camp” at a hotel on the edge of Gracias. We were blessed to minister in two area communities during the week…Cenicera, a town of maybe 200 and a bone jarring “10 minute” drive and a world away from Gracias, as well as in Las Flores, a more developed town of 2,000 and a half hour drive from our base hotel.

In the village of Cenicera we ministered for three days. We hiked along rutted dirt roads and obscure pathways to visit villagers from the local congregation and some of the unchurched in the area. These humble people were gracious and welcoming. They lived in small, simple homes cobbled together from adobe bricks, stucco and wood scraps with tile or corrugated metal roofs. Some had electricity. All appeared to have running water piped in from a nearby mountain stream. Few, if any, had doors. Everyday seemed to be wash day – clothes strung out on barbed wire fences surrounding most of the houses.

They showed us how they cooked over wood on simple adobe and clay stoves they had constructed themselves. Diets consisted of what they could raise nearby (eggs, maize, bananas and mangoes) and beans they could purchase inexpensively. Men worked where they could, many doing construction work or farm labor in coffee fields on the nearby hills. We’d see them walking along the dusty road, machetes hanging from their belts. Women were mostly at home, starting families in their mid-teens, days filled with the efforts of growing and cooking their simple food, washing the endless laundry, caring for children, visiting with neighbors. Sparsely furnished homes were neat. All but a few of the children wore clean clothing and were neatly groomed. Most wore shoes or flip flops, all nearly worn out.

The children gathered and followed us everywhere, always eager to talk – if only I could speak Spanish! “Hola” (hello) and a smile went far. Mornings were spent doing home visits, inviting families to church, and praying for individuals and families. Our afternoons were spent doing VBS with the children. The village teacher graciously closed school early each day and allowed us to use the school building for our Bible stories, crafts and games.

Not enough chairs…be flexible. Not sure how many will show up…be flexible. So we met on the school porch for shade and to accommodate the ever growing and changing audience. Children came in groups from all directions, young mothers, teenage girls and boys joined us, even some of the young men gathered around the fringes to hear the Bible stories and help with the crafts. Word of our presence apparently traveled well among the hillsides. Sheila captivated their attention with flannel board stories of creation and God’s promise for redemption, Christ’s death and resurrection and being a part of God’s forever family. Coloring pages and crafts reinforced the lessons and entertained both children and adults. Games were a favorite – the boys clamoring over the bright green soccer ball in a dirt field, the girls and young children learning to jump rope in a dirt playground littered with rocks and trash….be flexible.

Evenings were spent in local church services. The first two nights we met in the outer room of a home – very crowded. Not enough space or chairs? Mission team members and others gathered to stand outside and listen through the doorway. The single fluorescent light bulb flickered off and on throughout the evening leaving the entire room black for several minutes at a time…be flexible and turn on the LED flashlight you thankfully brought from home. Songs and preaching in Spanish….be flexible and use that time to pray for this group of believers and those who are speaking. Speaking to the group in English…take your time and use short sentences to accommodate the translator – be flexible.

Our last night in this hillside village we met in the area church building constructed of adobe and cement by locals and earlier mission teams. This building offered much more room and dependable lighting….but remains mostly unused due to factions and divisions in the local body of believers. It was filled that night. Pray for this group of believers and their new pastor, Alfredo, as he seeks to bring unity and reconciliation to this small village in the hills above Gracias.

The remainder of our time was spent ministering in Las Flores – a town with mostly paved streets and host to a yearly gathering of witches from Central America. Here a vibrant congregation squeezes into a living room to meet because they have no church building. Pray for this congregation and Pastor Nelson – that they would be salt and light in a dark place.

More home visits….climbing an astonishingly steep rocky hillside to meet with families. There we met Maria Isabel, a women crippled from polio since childhood. She lives up this rugged hill, only able to walk on her knees. She and her sister graciously listened and talked with us. Later, Maria Isabel, a catholic, agreed to attend the service that evening. Team member Dusty carried her to and from the van on his back, then up the steep, wet steps to where the church met for the evening….encouraging her and the rest of us by his servant heart. Be flexible.

More VBS in the afternoons. Forgot the flannel board for the story….be flexible and clip a piece of fabric to the podium. Craft supplies for 50, but 65 children show up…be flexible and divide up your activities by age group. Not enough time…be flexible and shorten your plans. No play area for active children…be flexible and use the street. No game equipment to use with this active group of kids…be flexible and use rocks for relays, play number games to teach them English, even teach them a simple line dance in the street. The children were joyous and well behaved. They sang with enthusiasm and listened intently. They waited patiently in their seats while we made adjustments and new plans. They were even gracious when every scrap of the craft materials had been used up before they got a turn. We learned much from these children. I hope we taught them something about God and His love as well.

Evening services again…the living room overflowed to the street beyond. Children played outside to accommodate the many adults while mission team members sat on sidewalks or stood near the doorway to free up seating for the locals. Neighbors gathered out on their porches to listen. Music and singing was loud and joyful, beginning and ending the service. Preaching was in Spanish, shared by various mission team members. Rain leaking in through the tile roof…be flexible and move your chair to miss the larger drips. Cat running along the rafters, dog wandering through the group during prayer to get out of the rain…be flexible and ignore it.

Many gave selflessly – Eddie translated all day, helped lead singing and then preached or translated all evening. Bert, a team member from Ennis, translated all day and preached several evenings and assisted the team from East Texas who ministered in a different community during the week. Melyssa, a student from SAGU, welcomed and loved every child that flocked to her. There were many. Noel bravely drove where no van should go and blessed us with his translation skills and big heart. John never complained when the walking became too difficult or long, always ready to share the Good News with someone else. Rebecca helped and encouraged everywhere, to the team as well as to those we ministered to. Sheila taught Bible stories and showed women how to sew. Bruce made balloon animals for the children and preached. Lou shared his testimony and encouraged many. Dusty literally carried others on his back and blessed us with his servant’s heart and attitude of praise. I was blessed to teach through the craft activities – and gave out lots of tape.

We all walked dirt roads, talked and communicated as best we could, prayed for each one we met (and each other) and ministered where we could. We were flexible.

It was tiring, it was encouraging, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.