This being my first mission’s trip, I went into it with a lot of preparation, some apprehension, and a lot of excitement and even though I was warned against it, some expectations. I will say it was a very positive experience and I look forward to returning to San Pedro Sula in 2004 if God plans for me to do so. More specifically, I will comment on the overall spiritual activities of the group. 

We, as a team, spent months before the trip in heavy preparation. We prepared crafts and games for the children we would be working with, prepared and adjusted to the changing schedules we received from our contacts in San Pedro Sula, worked hard to raise the necessary funds, and talked at length of our goals for this trip—which, simply put, were to share our love of Jesus Christ with everyone we came in contact with in Honduras, and especially with the children with whom we would be working. My role as Spiritual Team Lead was described as being responsible for leading regular evening devotionals and journaling time for the team members while in Honduras, and being available for one-on-one counsel as needed by team members.

From the very beginning of our trip, we quickly learned that the overriding theme would be “expect the unexpected.” While we knew all along that our role was to assist and support the Honduran leaders in the 2-½ day camp in Yamaranguila and the 3-day bible school in San Pedro Sula, we recognized early on that the schedule for which we had prepared was continually “subject to change.” Our days at the campsite were filled with fun, excitement, stress, confusion, and a lot of laughter; our evenings were met with exhaustion. While I realize it was my responsibility to organize group devotional and journaling time each evening, I sensed the team members were “maxed out” by the time the kids were tucked in for the evening—perhaps because I, too, was maxed out...

Back in San Pedro Sula, we were split up among different host families. Our first morning back together as a team was challenging—we learned the night before that our initial expectation of the number of children expected at bible school was short by half—we had prepared for 150, and suddenly we had to stretch our supplies to accommodate 300 children! Having survived the first day of bible school, we had opportunity for team time at dinner in the mall. Shortly afterward, we were once again delivered to our host families. Any time together as a team was spent preparing and readjusting craft and game plans.   

Amidst our hectic schedule, there were two key spiritual times that had a significant impact on our team that I would like to highlight. 

After a quick dinner Tuesday evening, we were taken back to the church to attend a prayer service. This time I think we all felt the opportunity to release ourselves spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The messages and testimonies were moving, but it was also the first time that we had come together as a team (in Honduras) in quiet focus. A couple of us gave testimonies, and others simply prayed and held hands giving support and letting each other know that we were a united front.   

The other time was a spontaneous, unplanned, and unexpected period of fellowship during our overnight layover in Houston (our first travel day, December 11th). We arrived at the hotel in Houston around 1:30 pm, went out for lunch, and returned for a casual, relaxing afternoon with no specific plans. What started as a casual conversation blossomed into a time of sharing, testimony, and discovery for the entire group that lasted several hours. We had come together several times in prayer in the months leading up to this trip, but this time we each opened up a part of ourselves that gave the other team members a unique and personal perspective we hadn’t had before.   

Realizing that I was in no way responsible for those two times of spiritual fellowship, toward the end of the trip I felt as though I had failed in my role as Spiritual Team Lead. There had been no regular evening devotionals, my own journal reflected only a few pages of hasty notes, Spanish words and phrases that were meaningful or helpful, and scribblings of things I didn’t want to forget. It wasn’t until after my return to St. Paul that I began to realize that like our early expectations and plans, everything was subject to change. God made sure that everything came together when we needed it to. And interspersed among our moments of challenges were spiritual gems that were clearly reflective of God’s hand at work. 

Seven children at the camp and 34 children at the bible school accepted Christ into their hearts. As Greg asked in a recent sermon: Was it worth it? Yes. Would all have been worth it if only one child accepted Christ? Absolutely. I met some children who weren’t yet ready to accept Christ, and I often ask myself what more I could have done. But I am reminded by Nancy that God didn’t send us there to meet any quotas—he simply sent us there as His disciples to help plant seeds. My personal prayer is that we did help plant seeds, and my personal wish is to return someday soon and see how those seeds have blossomed and grown. Some of God’s greatest works are those that seem almost insignificant to us at the time.   

In conclusion, I ask myself:  Can regular team devotional and journaling time be helpful on a mission’s trip? Yes. Would it have been helpful for me, or anyone else from our team, to try harder on the next trip to enforce daily group time for prayer and devotionals? Of course. God provided spiritual growth for us in spite of all the challenges. Like much else we were met with on this trip, we had to learn to expect the unexpected. At the bible school, the children learned to recite a bible verse by rote over the 3-day period:

En todo tiempo ama el amigo, Y es como un hermano en tiempo de angustia. Proverbios 17:17

A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17

As I, too, learned to memorize this verse in Spanish, I realized that amidst the changes and challenges, God had surrounded me with my brothers and sisters in Christ