I’ve been back in Honduras for a little over a month now. Within this month we have added two new families to our team, Honduras has been hit with two severe hurricanes, and Thanksgiving looked a little different than usual. It has been a wild month for sure.
The two new families have been such a great addition to our team. I am excited to work with new people and learn from their experience in life and ministry. To learn more about them, check out their personal blogs on our website (Jimison’s & Holloway’s).
Hurricanes Eta & Iota
Honduras was hit by hurricanes Eta and Iota within the span of 2 weeks. Major devastation took place in the large city San Pedro Sula. Gracias, where I live, was impacted by the second hurricane more than the first. Many roofs and homes were broken or destroyed. 61 Isaiah and other missions organizations within Gracias have teamed up to help the people in our area by assessing home damage and putting together construction crews to rebuild homes. These crews will be made up primarily of Hondurans so that they can be paid during this time and continue providing for their families. Other areas near us were impacted through loss of crops. We are creating food packages to send to families through Christmas to get them through these months post hurricanes. After Christmas we will reassess the need.
It has been awesome to see the different missions organizations within Gracias come together and serve. I have enjoyed meeting some of them for the first time and reconnecting with others. I hope this is the first of many joint efforts.
Thanksgiving with ALCS
Although most things have looked different this year because of COVID, such as online school, Abundant Life Christian School still provided our yearly Thanksgiving dinner. I have always looked forward to dressing up, going to the fancy hotel, and eating one of the absolute best meals of the year. However, I wasn’t sure that was going to happen this year since most of the North American teachers are still in the USA. But, ALCS came through and created a prudent atmosphere for us teachers. It means a lot to me that they choose to celebrate a foreign holiday with us every year just because it’s important to us. It truly exemplifies the meaning of walking with people, and I am very thankful to get to walk with ALCS.
What I’ve Learned in November
Overall, November has been quite eventful. But honestly, I didn’t expect anything different. Okay, maybe not back to back hurricanes… I mean it is 2020, so is it really that hard to believe? But for real, I have gotten to experience God’s protection and provision unlike ever before. I have few defenses against natural disasters or worldwide pandemics. I can prepare and try my best to prevent, but what it really comes down to is I don’t have the ability to fully control or fix these massive problems. My job is to trust the God that does have the ability. Then when things don’t go the way I think they should, my job doesn’t change. Trust still. Pray. Struggle. Trust. Struggle again. Keep praying. Keep trusting.
