Aug 24, 2011 | Travel
We came back to Buena Vista and were greeted by torrential rain. I wondered if our room was safe since there had been some leaks on a rainy night before.
Sure enough, when we got back, many people’s mattresses got soaked. One of the guys mattresses on the top bunk was so wet that the water dripped to the bottom mattress. The La Ermita and El Suyatal teams made it back safely, but the Agalteca team, which was farthest from Buena Vista, was still on the way. They were riding in the back of the truck too.
We prayed for them because if the river they had to cross overflowed, they would have to take another route to come back. That route would take another 3 hours.
Thankfully they made it back safely. They had a tarp in the truck that they used as a makeshift roof, and some of them had their rain jacket on because there had been light rain on the previous day.
It was a trying night for many, since finding dry spaces to sleep in was a challenge. Jessica slept on a table in our dining area. Gio slept in the aisle of the bus. As for my mattress, it was just a little damp. The bottom half of my sleeping bag was wet, so I crumpled myself in the top half. It was dry in the morning.
Aug 24, 2011 | Travel
So far, my experience in Honduras had been mostly ‘private’ ministries. They were a blessing for sure, but I did tell God that I wanted to experience visiting the local people also.
Friday morning, an opportunity opened up for me to go with Diana and Raquel to Talanga to tell people about the clinic that we would have there on Monday. I was so happy for this opportunity I felt like jumping around. “That’s the best part,” Ronny said, “make the bread [of the Word of God] tastes sweet in people’s mouth.”
I finally got to ride in the back of the truck. We left with the medical team to La Ermita, then someone would take us to Talanga. The view was marvelous and I was just a happy girl having a grand day.
View from the truck
We helped set the clinic up in La Ermita and then Stephen took Diana, Raquel, Naderi (sp?), and me to Talanga. We went to a pretty big shop owned by a relative of Carolin, VIDA staff, whose family was going to help direct us to certain areas. They were not Adventists, but they were very willing to help. It turned out though, that they had connections to a local TV channel in Talanga. When they learned of the medical program that we would hold, they suggested advertising it on TV. They called the TV people right away to interview and videotape us.
A young girl with a handycam from the TV channel came and we moved upstairs. They lived above their shop. We, and by we I meant the Spanish-speaking girls in the group, i.e., everyone excluding me, talked with the TV girl and one of the family members, let’s call her Ana (I didn’t catch her name), on what Diana and Naderi would say for the clip. It turned out that this was one of the most popular TV channel in Talanga, and they would play the advertisement that night, on Saturday and Sunday for the Monday event.
So basically, our faces were on the local TV channel.
Not only that, upon learning more about VIDA and GYC, the TV girl was very interested that she taped another clip just for the VIDA mission school and its partnership with GYC. “So people can know where to find this school,” was what she said, in Spanish of course.
But that was not it. Ana had a cast-type thing around her neck. As we talked more about health and natural remedies, we found out that she had been suffering from many medical problems. She had migraine for 3 weeks straight and she couldn’t do much because she was so weak. Diana and Naderi were able to talk to her about natural ways to improve her health and refer her to the Adventist health centers in the US, since her family could afford to travel. We spent all morning at her house and prayed with her before we left.
On TV
So we did not exactly go door-to-door, as I had expected. We were just going to tell people about the clinic and many would probably forget the information right away. But God had a much better arrangement that pretty much reached many more people than we could ever reach. We were actually a little worried if too many people would show up.
We took the public bus to go back to La Ermita. As we waited for the bus, I looked around the streets of Talanga.
Talanga is more city-like, relatively safe, but walking around with a camera is not a good idea. It’s always good to keep a low profile, which means that you’re less of a crime target.
After being in Buena Vista for a few days, it felt weird being in a city. People were honking and shouting, either to sell things or to shout out bus routes. It was dusty and the air mingled with exhaust gas. People probably stayed indoors more, since it wasn’t very pleasant outside. I thought about the grand mountains in Buena Vista and compared them to the low ceiling houses with no yards or trees in Talanga. The quality of life just seemed lower there, and yet this was considered…development?
A little boy and girl came to us selling some fruits packaged in transparent plastic bags. Raquel bought one from each. They were 5 lempiras ($0.25) each. The kids saw us holding half-drunk Fanta bottles that the family at the shop had given to us and they wanted them. We gave them away.
The bus ride was chaotic.
Back in La Ermita, it was time for lunch. The medical team left to go back to Buena Vista at about 3:30 PM, except for those who were supposed to be in La Ermita for the evening meeting. That included me. Janelle and I walked around for a little bit. There was a Chinese restaurant nearby. We came back, played with the kids at the church, and I prepared for the health talk I was going to give that night. Sabbath was drawing near and it had been a very happy week.
Aug 24, 2011 | Travel
On day 3, I worked with the construction team in the girls’ dorm. Ryan, GYC construction coordinator, said “You can start with sanding the wall.” I was like, what’s that? I had no idea walls need to be sanded, and I thought I was supposed to rub sand on to the wall.
Oh, with the sand paper. Doh.
So for the entire morning I sanded walls. Dusty job, for sure, and hard on the ear. Face mask, goggles, gloves were all employed. I was doing the top half of the walls, so I was up on the risers and beams. To stretch, I would hang to the scaffolds of the roof. I was getting a full body workout that day. It felt great.
During this process, I got to think a lot about faithfulness. The tasks in the kitchen yesterday and sanding walls seemed like menial ones, but they were true tests of faithfulness. I was reading in Education about Elisha and Paul. It says about Elisha,
By faithfulness in little things, he was prepared for weightier trusts. Of a meek and gentle spirit, Elisha possessed also energy and steadfastness. He cherished the love and fear of God, and in the humble round of daily toil he gained strength of purpose and nobleness of character, growing in divine grace and knowledge. While co-operating with his father in the home duties, he was learning to co-operate with God. Education, p. 58
And about Paul,
The greatest of human teachers, Paul accepted the lowliest as well as the highest duties. He recognized the necessity of labor for the hand as well as for the mind, and he wrought at a handicraft for his own support. His trade of tent making he pursued while daily preaching the gospel in the great centers of civilization. “These hands,” he said, at parting with the elders of Ephesus, “have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.” Acts 20:34. Education, p. 66.
In the kitchen, in construction, I wanted my work to be excellent. There was not going to be a spot un-sanded in my sections.
I also realized that these tasks were forms of ministry as well. These buildings were for the long-term ministry of VIDA to the people of El Suyatal and surrounding areas. They were just as important as the direct ministry that the medical team did. One was public and one was more private. These were the quiet and unseen ministries, and we are not to be faithful only when our ministry is visible and public.
In sanding and painting these walls, we were ministering to the students who would live there soon. When we do a good job, it saves VIDA from worrying about paints flaking off the wall and repainting it again. It would make the students more comfortable.
We should never consider any task too low to do. Education often causes us to think that we’re too high for certain important work. But true education is about faithfulness, even in the lowliest of duties. In fact, the highest education is achieved when you descend to the lowest position, the best place to serve.
I ran out of steam after three hours and switched to painting. We made good progress that day though. At the end of it, I was covered in dust. Good thing we had showers.
