Live~Laugh~Mourn~Weep~Live

2008 marked the first year I travelled to Honduras with FPCB. So enamored was I with the people and the mission that before leaving the Central American country, I pledged to spend two weeks on the mission in 2009.
I have a finite amount of vacation and a finite amount of income, the same as everyone else who volunteers for the mission. So, to commit to two weeks, some planning needed to be done.
Luckily I was able to save a week's vacation to carry-over from 2008 to 2009. I was happy to do this to support the mission and the Honduran people I had come to love. Once back on US soil from my first trip, I found a few extras I could do without, eliminating some unnecessary expenses. Funny how when you give something up for something you are passionate about, you don't even miss it!
The 2009 trip to La Villa San Francisco was a fantastic time of getting to know the people and really investing in their lives. We went past a shallow relationship with these people and bonded with them in ways that astounded me. One woman was abused by her husband while we were there. She came to the clinic to receive care for her wounds, and she was treated with tenderness, love and mercy. Her husband was jailed for the crime (at least for a short time). "Hate the sin but love the sinner" became a reality when Pastor Dan visited the abuser in jail.....to counsel, to rebuke, but to ultimately show Christ's love.
Another wonderful woman revealed that she was with child! Sadly, it was outside of marriage. She was reticent to reveal this to us but eventually did. We enveloped her with an embrace and words of joy about new life. Later, we surprised her with a deluxe baby carriage, tied with blue and pink ribbons.
How sad we were when one of our women came to the clinic and was diagnosed by our doctor as having cancer. Fredesvinda was a pillar of the community and beloved by her family and her church. While walking in La Villa one day, her daughter, frantic and full of tears,explained to us that her mother needed transportation to the capital city immediately for treatment; she was throwing up blood. She did not have the money to pay someone to drive her to the hospital. Our own "Mother Teresa", Jean, reached in her magic bag and pulled out the necessary limpera for the trip. Mirna, the Pastor's wife, said we must go and pray for Fredisvinda immediately. So that is how I came to lay hands on and pray for a dying woman in the village. We watched as a pick up truck came and took her to Tegucigulpa. And we mourned with the family as we viewed her in her wooden coffin the next day in that same casa.
No, our interactions with the people were not shallow or ordinary or done out of duty. They were LIFE. Sharing. Rejoicing. Weeping. Kinda like the Scripture that says to laugh with those who laugh and mourn with those who mourn.
The experience was profound.