Preparing for Honduras

It really has not sunken in yet for me that in just two more weeks I will be leaving for Honduras again. This trip will be my fifth mission trip to Honduras and it is interesting how my preparation for the trip has changed from my first trip. I guess the main difference between this trip and my first one is that my perspective has changed drastically. I remember well how my preparation for the first trip involved months of planning and how I began packing several weeks in advance. (As I write this, I have not so much as even pulled out a suitcase). On my first trip, my expectations were fueled totally by my imagination and facing an adventure that was totally unknown. I remember expecting that I would be very uncomfortable and that I just needed to be prepared to bear what ever came my way. In particular, I remember expecting that I would be ill with “stomach distress” the entire trip and that I just needed to be prepared. I was very vigilant in making sure I had plenty of Imodium, Pepto-Bismol, Cipro and toilet paper to face the inevitable... or at least be able to face bravely all the horror stories of “Montezuma’s Revenge” I had heard from folks that had traveled in Central America. Needless to say my imagination was much larger than the reality that came after I made the trip; not the first hint of stomach distress or “discomfort”...
As I prepare for this next trip I am reminded of my first few trips. But what I am reminded of has nothing to do with any discomforts I might have experienced. If you have ever been on a trip in which the purpose was doing short-term humanitarian/mission work, you know what I am talking about. Any “discomfort” a person might feel is quickly forgotten when you are humbled by the conditions of people living in abject poverty in another part of the world. You are hit square between the eyes with how privileged you really are. You come home left with the indelible images of children left to fend for themselves on the streets with absolutely none of the privileges we all have here north of the tropics... You leave with a sense of guilt knowing that you are returning to the comfort of your home with all the things we take for granted everyday. ..Things like safe water to drink, a dry place to sleep, and three meals a day with more food in one meal than many of the folks you have left behind would even see in one week... You go home to an unlimited supply of everything... Where the shoes you have on your feet cost more money than most of the folks you left will ever see in a year...
When you stop and think about the expense of traveling to places like Central America, Africa, Asia or any of the Third World for that matter, the question always comes up, wouldn’t the money you end up spending on a trip like this, be better spent by just sending it directly to the folks in need? That is a very legitimate question and to be honest that might be true. But, one of the common things that most anyone who as done mission or humanitarian work will tell you is that you receive far more than you are able to give when you go to a place like Honduras. What you receive is not tangible. It is true, to just send just the money you might be able to provide more very needed food, clean water, medical care or housing. And that would be the easy thing to do. But what you wouldn’t receive is the self-awareness, growth and compassion. In other words you would not come away “...transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom.12:2). You would be void of the relationships that are so vital to becoming aware and connected to the people living in poverty. Not going and simply writing a check would only be throwing more money at a problem without having to engage with the people and their lives.
The time for my trip to Honduras will be here before I know it. Preparation as far as what to pack and what to be prepared for is second nature now. My focus now is NOT on how the trip will be potentially uncomfortable. Rather, my focus now is on renewing the old friendships from previous trips. I am excited to see again the children and families that touched my life in a very real way the first time and every time. I won’t just be giving things to children... I will be participating in the lives of Baldemar, Johana, Edgard, Luis, Paola, Lupe, Juan, Brenda, Emma and Isaac... You see, “those people” and “those children over there” have names... When you learn the names and share in their lives you are transformed. The poverty you see is no longer "their problem"; it becomes your problem and you take it personally. When you look into the faces and see from whence they come, you are transformed. In a very strange and different way, you know and feel the presence of the One who died for us all. For in the faces of “those people” you no longer see just “them”; they are you and I. And when you share in their lives, you see the face of Christ...