Thursday, April 27th, 2023
As we gathered around the breakfast table ready to start the day with questions at hand. How many people will we see? How can we help them? How can we make a difference in someone’s life today? As volunteer missionaries on this trip to Honduras we all hope we can have a positive impact in someone’s life. Even before leaving the house, our volunteer nurses help other volunteers by giving Tylenol for headaches, eye drops for puffy eyes, or Sudafed for a runny nose. We are always looking out for each other!
We are on our way to the village of Santa Fe Abajo, Honduras. As we arrived after traveling a long distance, up a mountain, we were greeted by all of the villagers eager to help us unload the bus. We had men moving boxes into the correct clinic areas. There were children grabbing fans and other items putting them where they belonged. We also saw the women moving desks out of the classrooms so we could have more space to help people. It’s like all the villagers knew their role and they did it without question. This is a community of hard work and dedication. This is something we can all learn from.
As we were setting up, I noticed that we didn’t have power, so I asked a translator to ask them how to turn it on. She then said to me “there is no electricity”. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was worried for a minute. I had so many things running through my head. How can we work without electricity? How hot is it going to be without a fan? And then I was humbled by remembering why we are there. We aren’t there to be comfortable; we are there to make them comfortable. These villagers work so hard in this climate, and we should be able to do the same for them. We were able to get the pharmacy and dental clinics running with a generator, so they were able to help patients in that particular area. This village is full of amazing, kind, and helpful people.
Everyone that is a part of this program has many stories to tell about how someone from the village touched their heart. Sometimes it’s because we were able to help them, to make them feel good about themselves or to teach them how to take better care of themselves. Sometimes it’s the opposite, sometimes it’s heartbreaking to know there isn’t anything that we can do to help their situation. We can only make them comfortable with what we have. This is when prayer is needed the most. This is when God is calling us to be His children and to minister to them. It’s important to let them know they are LOVED!
At the house tonight our devotion was on gifts. What gifts do you have to offer the world? No matter what your gift is, you can share it and you can learn from other people’s gifts. Our team is made up of many different talents. We have translators, organizers, doctors, nurses, volunteers that listen to people, volunteers that can talk, some that play with the youth in the village, volunteers that share, ministers, have an open heart, and most of all we are all understanding and compassionate over the situations that we see.
“One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone”- Shannon L. Alder
With Love,
Chris Hofler,
Hampton Roads Team
Warwick Memorial United Methodist Church
