Today was our first full day in Honduras and it was certainly a day we won’t forget! We got in so late yesterday that by the time we got to the house we are staying at it was already dark and we couldn’t really see much around us. This morning we woke up with an early sunrise to see a beautiful view from our patio overlooking the beach. We all took our time waking up, drinking coffee, and doing our morning devotionals before gathering for breakfast out on the patio.
We gathered up all the food we prepared last night and headed off to church. We had the opportunity this morning to worship with Bethesda Methodist Church in Flowers Bay. It was a great morning of worship with our extended family of faith. The pastor preached a sermon about the need to stop giving excuses and start giving extreme, excessive, and extravagant love. As I was listening I couldn’t help but give thanks for our family of faith and the way so many are giving extravagantly this week. The fifteen of us on this trip are just a small piece of the many people who have given extravagant love in order for us to be here sharing God’s love and bringing hope to the people of Honduras. Thank you to all of you who have prayed, given financially, and offered of yourselves in various ways. You are truly giving extravagant love!
The church literally sits on the shore of the bay. All the doors and windows were open with the sounds of the waves crashing on the rocks right outside and the breeze blowing in off the water as we were worshipping together. After worship we walked outside and went next door to the fellowship hall and began making lunch. While a few people crammed into the tiny kitchen to start cooking everyone else began talking and having great fellowship. The children of the church got up on the stage and sang songs to entertain us.
After lunch we spent some more time with the people of the church. It is such a special bond that we have formed during the past three years with our Methodist brothers and sisters in Flowers Bay. Even for those of us who have never been before it was like immediately walking into a family reunion and seeing long lost relatives. Nobody wanted to go home after it was over.
We finally packed everything up and headed back to the house where we got a couple hours of down time to relax and enjoy the beach. Once we all had some time to catch up on rest we got ready and went to dinner at Bananarama. At Bananarama on Sunday nights they have crab races. Everyone present can “buy” a crab that is placed in the race and whoever’s crab wins gets a prize. All the money raised from the races goes to support an organization that is working to prevent mother’s with AIDS from passing that on to their babies.
As I write this we are back at the house. Some have already gone down for the night to get some rest before the big day tomorrow, others are playing cards, and still others are taking a walk down the beach and enjoying the beautiful night. Tomorrow we will split into different groups where we will begin teaching a VBS, tutoring students, and building a playground at the Methodist School. Below are a few pictures from the day. Feel free to comment below with any messages or prayers for our team and I’ll make sure they all get passed along! Until tomorrow…
