“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” – 1 Corinthians 12:27
What’s it like to sleep with an umbrella over your head? I couldn’t imagine that. But on St. Luke’s recent mission trip to Honduras, we met a woman who does it every time it rains. The water pours through her crumbling roof and floods her floor.
Ms. Lolita and her family have lived on a steep hillside on the island of Roatan for nine years. Facing medical problems and extreme poverty, she couldn’t afford repairs to her dilapidated house. She didn’t know what to do.
That’s where our mission host, Carlos Gonzalez, came into the picture. He talked with Lolita, listened to her concerns, designed a plan, and guided our group to help her.
In just four days, our team put up four walls, a roof, a porch, and a staircase on a raised platform that stands right next to her old home. A very modest house by our standards… but a lottery jackpot for Lolita.
There are no words to describe the sheer joy and gratitude she felt as she walked into her new home that Thursday afternoon. The TV show Extreme Home Makeover doesn’t hold a candle to what we saw. With one hand on her cane and the other held up to the sky, she tearfully began giving thanks to God in Spanish. Moments later, with Carlos translating, Lolita thanked everyone standing around her.
“I thank you for coming and building this beautiful home for me,” she said, “and I thank God that he sent you to build this home. I don’t know how I’m going to pay you. I’m going to pray for each one of you so God can bless you immensely. Thank you. Thank you for everything.”
No one crystalized the meaning of this mission trip quite like Steve Daniels, who led the construction effort.
“I more fully understand God each time I go (to Honduras),” he wrote. “There is no mistaking His presence or His plan there. I know the relationships I see growing in Roatan are intertwined and connected with God. I believe He wants me to speak on His behalf, but His presence is so overwhelming when I attempt it, nothing will come but tears. It’s challenging to speak of God’s plan knowing He is right next to me. At His pace, an entire island is growing more loving and closer to Him and St. Luke’s is one of His tools. I look forward to the future He has planned there.”
St. Luke’s is one of several mission teams that will help the residents of Roatan this year. The collective effort really is making a difference – one hammered nail, paintbrush, smile, and hug at a time.
Ed Doney, St. Luke’s Staff Writer
To see a video of Ms. Lolita’s priceless moment, as well as all six of St. Luke’s videos in Honduras, visit St Luke’s Facebook page: facebook.com/stlukesokc/videos
