The May Team is in Honduras!

Saturday, May 18, 2024

In contrast to many teams, May Team is made up of a collection of all women who come from all over the US, and a large portion of the team volunteered without knowing anyone on the team. So today was full of lots of fun meeting each other for the first time and spending hours on planes and the bus getting to know each other.

We are thankful we all got through the travel day quickly with very little difficulty with customs/security which has caused delays in the past. Returning team members greeted familiar staff with excitement and hugs and new team members were immediately blown away with the joy and comforting hospitality meeting the welcoming party. Leaving the airport, we were immediately hit with the intense heat and sun, and very thankful to get on to the nice cool bus and drink some cold water provided by Friends of Barnabas.

As we traveled out of the airport, we were graced with views of green new life in the form of saplings lining the road as people work toward taking care of and beautifying the city. However, as we drove, we witnessed the dry hot haze and multiple fires in fields and on trees caused by the unrelenting heat and drought the country has been experiencing for weeks.

Travel days are long, and we all enjoyed about an hour of rest and recuperation before enjoying a home cooked delicious meal. After dinner in devotion time, we discussed Ruth 2 and how we are not meant to bring Jesus to the communities we plan to serve but rather serve in a way that allows them to see Jesus is already here and has been with them from the beginning. Finally, we were challenged to find practical ways to challenge ourselves to take the things that stand out to us here and truly bring them home and continue to serve in those ways, and to make it stick consider finding accountability in a teammate to check up on each other to make sure we really are pursuing ways to serve continuing once we get home and return to our busy lives.

Excited to share this journey with all of you!

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Today was the May Teams first full day in Honduras. Waking up in Alfredo house the first morning to birds singing their songs and the heat of the day already creeping in ahead of the sunrise with the smell of the best coffee making its way through the house. We all made our way to the community table and chatted until breakfast was served.

We then spent the morning team building and taking in Gods absolutely beautiful handiwork at the Waterfalls just a short drive away. Most of the team went zip lining over the falls. Multiple team members had not don’t anything like this before and were very nervous, but everyone was just overtaken with joy and excitement by the time we got to the lines over the falls. All those who were nervous in the beginning were extremely thankful they overcame their fears and took in the experience!

This afternoon the medical/clinic provider did training to get to know the electronic medical record system we will be using this week. We are so blessed to have a program like Backpack EMR to created and keep digital records of our patients even in the most remote of areas!

We then all joined in the to put together wellness bags and medicines for all our families! Praying over each bag that these items that may seem so simple like basic pain medicine, tooth care items, antibacterial/anti-itch creams will be a blessing to all they are given.

This evening, we toured the Friends of Barnabas Compound and learned lots about the organization’s history and three program areas. We then loaded the bus for an evening out to dinner as a team.

Finally, tonight we came back to a time of prayer and commissioning of sorts where our hands were anointed for service, and we were each given a cross to give to someone that we feel touched by this week. Ephesians 2:10 For we are Gods masterpiece…we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

~Emberli Little