Honduras: Clayton's view

Clayton and Fred took a trip to Honduras at the end of May.  When Clayton returned I asked him to describe and write about his trip.  Below is a view of Honduras through the eyes of a 12 year old young man.  The photos were also all taken by him.  Enjoy.  

       Every year at our church, they have many different mission trips that you can participate in. This year, I partook in a mission trip to Honduras.   While we were there, we helped out with an organization of missionaries, El Ayudante, and their activities that they usually request for the villages.  Such examples are: installing water filters in houses, launching a VBS at a local school, and teaching the Hondurans how to play baseball, all while ministering to them.
         El Ayudante is a campaign founded about ten years ago by missionaries from America who saw the need for the gospel in Honduras.  They are based in Comayagua, and have many of the local Hondurans working with them.  In exchange for protection, cooked meals, and service at the clinic, the Hondurans working at El Ayudante receive pay, food, and in the future, shelter.  As mentioned earlier, El Ayudante is a relatively new campaign, therefore they are still in the process of constructing and planning several buildings for the staff.  Their newest building is a place for people visiting the clinic to rest and buy food that has been cheaply priced for their sake.

El Ayudante's newest building with the mountains in the background

        In the local villages, many people work with El Ayudante in order to receive their own water filter.  Many of the recipients are high up in the mountains depicted above.  Our plan was to go up there in a bus,  with the supplies in the truck, and install water filters while ministering to the families.  On the day when we installed water filters, we had to get out of the bus because of narrow roads, and hike up the remaining portion of the mountain, seeing as the truck was filled with supplies.  While it was hard work, the ministry from the installation of water filters allowed a personal aspect of our lives into theirs.
        At the mission house, my favorite thing to do was to grab a book and sit outside in the hammock, like the one I am sitting in right now (since I bought one home and had it installed in my room).  During our first few days there, it was very dusty and smoky, as the people were burning their crops during a drought.  This meant that most of the time the mountains were not visible from the mission house, and looked blurry like in the picture above.  During our last few days, there were very strong thunderstorms that knocked out our electricity.  Many people woke up because of the heat, but I was so tired from the previous day that while everyone in our bunk house was talking, I was asleep on the top bunk.
        One of the translators there, Jose, bunked with me.  I decided to clear all of my stuff off of the bottom bunk, and from there we basically hung out with each other for the rest of the week.  He told me about the scorpions and snakes that came out at night, and almost got me to believe that we were going to hunt for them (almost).  He also helped build the Adobe House, a house made out of brick and mud.  He plans to travel to America to become a doctor, and has already met people that live where he wants to go.

           On the final day of the trip, we went into the the town square to look around and possibly buy a souvenir (which is how I ended up with this hammock I am sitting in).  It was a beautiful place with many vendors selling food and little trinkets of all kinds.  While we were there, we visited a beautiful, old church, that contained the world's second oldest clock.  That is just about all we did on this trip (except for work) that I can discuss with just a piece of virtual paper.  It was extremely fun, and an adventure few words could describe.

Things I learned in Honduras: 

1.  People are people. 

In Honduras, people are living in poverty with very little, if any, food to eat.  They still act like we do though: love their family, love to be together, work together, etc. 

2.  No matter your circumstances, you can always be content. 

They were living in houses made of mud, eating one or two meals a day, and yet, they always seemed to be content.  There is an indescribable joy on their faces. 

3.  It is hot in Honduras. 

4.  Education is a privilege.  

People in Honduras WANT to go to school and I take it for granted.  Because of my trip, I will no longer take the opportunity to be educated for granted.  I will do my best at school so that I can be the best version of who God has called me to be.