My Super Sweet 15

Yesterday we had the pleasure to experience our first 'quinceañera.' In Latin America, when a girl turns 15, there a many traditions that surround the celebration.  Sometimes there's a shoe ritual, where the birthday girl changes from flats to high-heels.  And at times there are formal dances with dozens of family and friends.  Yesterday's festivities included a sit-down lunch in the front yard of the family's home, and - honestly - it reminded us more of a wedding than a birthday!
And, of course, something to add to our very-Honduran experience was the pouring rain and the fact that there are no roads to this family's home.  So arriving at the party meant a mile trek down a mountain 'trail,' which had quickly become a small river.  The party-throwers tied tarps onto all the tree limbs (hence the blue glow in the photo below) in an effort to keep the rain off the tables, and were continually wiping rain drops off the guests' chairs.  Despite this, everyone was giving thanks for the downpour, because "it's God's will," and "will be good for the fruit in the valley."  Again, very Honduran.  And one more thing we'll never forget about this place.     

md

Picture Honduras

We pass by this mural almost every day.  "Paz" means 'peace,' and "Guerra" means 'war.'  I just love the symbolism.

md

El Encuentro

'El Encuentro' means 'the encounter,' and that's exactly what some of our youth recently got to experience: encountering God in new ways...and encountering numerous other young people from all over Central America!  Twenty-two of the oldest boys from Jovenes en Camino and 18 of the kids from our youth group in Mateo were able to attend a fantastic camp last week, thanks to generous sponsorships from many of our Facebook friends.  The camp, called El Encuentro, was put on by the students of the Baxter Institute, whose hard work was evident to everyone involved.  From breakfast to bedtime, the youth were involved in devotionals, ice-breakers, excellent classes, sports, social time, and a talent night.  It was so exciting to see the young people we've grown to love being able to interact with so many other neat teenagers.  
Note: Be sure to ask Bart about the basketball tournament!

The photo quality on the picture above is horrible, because the windshield on our truck interfered...But hopefully you can see how our JEC boys are packed into the back of that pickup.  How many people (plus all their luggage) were crammed into the two trucks??  27!!

Two of our boys sporting their JEC shirts, as they participate in 

a daily devotional with 500 of their newest friends!

We were really impressed with how our boys volunteered to participate in a number of different activities.  Here, Erick (in the grey t-shirt) and Luis (in the black jacket) are pulling their hardest in a game of tug-of-war.

Although they unfortunately didn't win a trophy for their efforts in fútbol, they did bring home first place in the basketball tournament.  

Basketball?!?  In soccer-dominated Honduras?!?  I didn't say it was pretty. :)

md

The Heart

Here’s some news that I’m certainly the last to hear:  Being a missionary doesn’t make you a good person.

   

Before moving here, somewhere deep in my subconscious, I think I believed that just through the act of getting on a plane and settling down on the mission field, I’d somehow become a way better version of myself.  I’d grow some wings and a halo, I’d naturally be nicer to people, it would become really easy to talk to others about Jesus, and the temptations that once plagued my life would naturally disappear.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that Melissa-in-Honduras is still Melissa, with all the shortcomings, weaknesses, and attitude problems that I had in the States.  Only here they probably started creeping out more often, simply due to the stresses of cross-cultural adjustment.

Darn!  You mean I’m still self-centered?  And at times kinda lazy?  And (gasp!) even in this ‘developing nation,’ I still struggle with materialism?  Yep, yep, and yep.  Unfortunately.

It has brought to mind so many devotional talks I heard as a kid by former missionaries or missionaries-on-furlough, when they’d say things like, “It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, you can serve God,” or, “You don’t have to be a missionary in another country to be sold-out for the Lord.”  Back then, it seemed like they were selling their cool, overseas lives way too short.  But now, I get it.  I really doesn’t matter where you are in the world.  All that matters is your heart.

I can live in the middle-of-nowhere, Africa, as a “missionary,” but if my heart’s not right, it’s pointless.  Likewise, I can live in Anytown, USA, working a “secular” job, with a right-heart, and that’s everything!  A right-heart might look different from person to person, but for me, it means a heart that’s filled with God’s love for me & mine for Him, overflowing onto those around me; my motives are centered on Him, and my attitude reflects that, so that my service is joyful, instead of some resentment-filled duty I’m fulfilling.  And living in Honduras day-to-day, I’ve really had to check myself: that it’s not just the actions I’m doing that look right, but that my heart really is right.

I’m so glad that God has put me in Honduras at this point in my life.  And it’s so comforting to know that - no matter where in the world I might live in the future - what matters to God is my heart...that’s it’s close to His heart and seeking to be ever-closer.

md   

Picture Honduras

Rainy season has had dramatic effects on the scenery down here!  This picture was taken at the agricultural school in Zamorano, Honduras, just down the street from the boys' home.

md

Wealth & Poverty

Almost every day, because of my surroundings here, I think about poverty in one way or another.  Now that we're 10 months into our Honduran lives, I have way more questions than I do answers.  One image I will never forget actually comes from our short stay in Guatemala a few months ago.  A favorite nighttime activity of ours was to go to the central plaza, sit on a park bench, and just people-watch for hours.  Tons of locals walked and played in the plaza at night, so it was a great way to experience their culture.  
Our last night in Antigua, as we sat peacefully on a bench, we suddenly got caught in the middle of a crowd of adolescent girls!  Some native Guatemalan girls, dressed in traditional clothing and carrying big loads of materials on their backs, were offering to give hair wraps to a family with several teenage daughters.  Hair wraps, if you don't know, are just small sections of hair that have been wrapped in colorful thread, and are many times a 'souvenir' for tourists to take back home.  
I watched as the seemingly wealthy, Latin teenagers asked their parents for the cash, then picked out their favorite colors of thread and fancy beads.  And then I watched the skillful young hands of the native girls as they wrapped their customers' hair.  Being in a different culture helps me see things in new, and many times clearer, ways, and that night as I observed the native girls - working at 9pm to earn a couple bucks - and the wealthy Latin girls - enjoying all the thrills of their family vacation - I wondered, 'Why is one girl born into poverty, and thus destined to work and struggle in a difficult life, while another girl is born into wealth, with access to opportunity and all she may need or desire?'

And then, of course, I thought about my own life...Why was I born in Edmond, Oklahoma, USA, and not into the slums of some of the poorest nations in the world?  What makes me different... 'the lucky one?'  And now that I have been born and raised in one of the richest nations of the world, what do I do with that?  Many short term mission groups are visiting Honduras right now, especially because it's summertime, and I know that members of those groups often ask themselves similar questions.
One of my favorite authors, Henri Nouwen, wrote Gracias, which is actually a journal of his time living and serving in South America.  He was daily faced with issues of wealth and poverty, and I love some of the perspectives he shares.  He explains how, because of the many "safety systems" in his life, he would not be allowed to become truly poor.  I believe the same is true for Bart and me, too, as we live here in Honduras.  He says,

I am not poor as my neighbors are.  I will never be and will not ever be allowed to be by the people who sent me here.  I have to accept my own history and live out my vocation, without denying that history.  On the other hand, I realize that the way of Christ is a self-emptying way.  What that precisely means in my own concrete life will probably remain a lifelong question.

For me, the key words are 'self-emptying' and 'lifelong.'  When we empty self, we strive for ways of being and living that are sacrificial, focused on the good of others.  We ask ourselves, 'Okay, I'm giving this much of my time/energy/resources, but can I give more?'  And when we acknowledge that this is a lifelong question, a lifelong process, we're saying that a regular, honest examination of our lifestyle and future goals will have to occur for the rest of our time here on earth.  
My favorite part of the book - which the title alludes to - is that none of what we do is to be out of guilt, but out of gratitude.  We can joyfully live each day in the service of others, completely out of gratitude for what Christ has done for us!  So inspiring!


md

Pat, I’d like to solve the puzzle...

You know when you’re watching Wheel of Fortune (don’t pretend like I’m the only one!) and somebody solves the Prize Puzzle and wins a week-long trip to some distant, tropical island, and you’re like, “LUCKY!!!”  Well, that just happened to Bart and me, without having to solve the puzzle (or be a part of the Wheel Watchers Club...which I need to join soon)!  Some Honduran friends of ours - two couples around our age who each have 2-year-old daughters - were given a week’s stay in a condo on the island of Roatan, plus the use of a car, and they decided to invite us along.

This is a big deal.  Only a small percentage of Hondurans ever get to visit this island, even though it’s just a short boat ride off the Caribbean coast, so the fact that our friends wanted to share their blessing with us was truly impressive.  Actually, the people who gave them this wonderful gift are a family from Texas who currently sponsor the ministry work of one of the couples, Carlos & Idalmi.  The other couple, Elvin & Mary, are house-parents at the boys’ home where we work.  So each of these Honduran couples work in the ‘ministry trenches’ down here and truly deserved a restful, rejuvenating vacation.

Roatan is a beautiful island.  The weather is warm and sunny.  The snorkeling off West Bay Beach is awe-inspiring.  And the ocean is calm, warm, and bright blue.  I can’t help but see God when I’m there: in the tropical flowers, the amazing coral reef, and the many unusual, brightly-colored fish that demonstrate His creativity and design!  It seemed like an unbelievable opportunity before we left...and now that we’re home, I have to look at pictures to convince myself we were actually there.  So the following pictures are really more for myself than anyone else!

Idalmi, me, Mary

Elvin, Carlos, Bart

My swimming buddies for the week: Shelly and Ellen

Roatan!

After a day of snorkeling on West Bay Beach

md