Day 1
We left early for Choluteca on Monday morning at 6am. We all were making it
towards the bus with roughly 5 hours of sleep, a bunch of backpacks, pillows,
and hearts full of hope and desire to work.
Let me say that the ride to Choluteca has one of the most beautiful sights-
huge green mountain that seem untouched by human kind. You have to understand
that green here is so tropical and so refreshing and the whole ride nurtures
your eyes with plain beauty.
Anyhow, we arrived at Choluteca around 11;30am. Jarred Brown, an impressive
servant of God, met up at the hotel where we were going to stay.
Before I begin narrating this story I would like to explain a little bit about
Choluteca and the church in Limon, which is the place we were working at.
The church was built before burricane Mitch. It is a big, beautiful building
and is led by a kind man of God named Juan. According to J.B. )Jarred Brown),
the church has had a tremendous change and growth and he attributes so much of
this growth to the preacher Juan. This church works hand-in-hand with J.B´s
ministry, ¨Mission Lazarus,¨ which works similar to the ¨Mi Esperanza¨ program.
Mission Lazarus focuses mainly on the areas of education, carpentry, sowing,
agriculture and, of course, spiritual life. They basically train leaders to
become servants and helpers for their community.
The church at Limon is growing and we are honored to be used by God to foster
this growth. J.B. told us that they have a very good youth group with about 40
kids. They also are a mission-oriented church. They raise and come up with
their own money to organize campaigns to go preach to the surrounding areas.
Needlesss to say, the church is growing in a very good direction and at a very
goos pace.
Well, going back to our work. We arrived at the church to practice for VBS.
Bret prepared a wonderful VBS program that focused on the idea that God has a
plan. We rehearsed one skit and prepared a puppet skit. I would like to add
that everyone that participated in a skit did a marvelous job in transmitting
the message to the children. They were all so enthusiastic about their roles
and did great.
By 3pm the doors from the church were opened to let a whole bunch of kids come
in. As we opened with songs we were taken away by the amount of energy and
singing that these kids have. Anybody could tell that they were singing from
their hearts.
The kids really enjoyed the program. The skit and the puppets made them laugh
and have a very good time. Most importantly, they embraced the message that God
has a plan for their lives.
At the end of the program we handed them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and
bottled water. We played with them and left Choluteca around 5pm. By that time
we all were ready to eat.
One thing you have to understand about Choluteca is that the heat over there
can be compared to a suana. Due to the fact that Choluteca lies at the coast of
the Pacific Ocean, you can´t help the hot environment.
Anyhow, we had dinner and were happy to be allowed to go into the hotel´s room.
I am really thankful for the opportunity of going to Choluteca. I think the
whole team gave every minute their very best and I know it will be fruitful. I
am thinkful to know that we were God´s instruments to these children, this
church, and this community. I cannot come up with the words to express the love
you feel when you see and hear these kidssing. And I know the Lord will bless
them and continue to help them grow. They all were very special and loving of
us, which assures me that Choluteca will always remind us of the innocence and
humility we found in the brown, quiet eyes of the children from Honduras.
Day 2
There is a beautiful song I fell in love with years ago. It says ¨I don´t
cease to ask myself about the reasons for all my songs for the Lord...there is
only one reason: to thank Him for all my illusions and hopes; it will be my way
of thanking Him.¨
I truly believe this song captured a real meaning as we were singing with the
children from Choluteca. The overwhelming joy that is poured out through their
voices is a gift we have been blessed to share. For one, they all had beautiful
smiles and their gorgeous eyes are just filled with so many hopes and dreams.
Our prayer for all these kids is that the Lord may guide them and that they may
get to follow His perfect plan for their lives.
One our second day in Choluteca we had a great VBS turnout. We had a skit
about Joseph and all the hardships he had to endure and showed the kids how God
had a plan for Joseph.
Along the same lines we had a puppet skit that reinforced the story about
Joseph. The kids loved both skits and enjoed learning what we had to say.
A planned, we handed out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to all the children
and got to play with them.
By this time we had already painted the interior of the church. I will have to
emphasize that the painting crew were terrific workers. Even though the sunn
was hitting hard, they all kept on enthusiastically working under those rough
conditions.
Tuesday was a good day for us. We all experienced the overflowing tenderness
from the children as they all hugged us tight as we were leaving.
Day 3
Our last day in Choluteca was perhaps the warmest of them all. As soon as we
walked into the church building we were already sweating (around 9am). The heat
is Choluteca seems to follow you through every corner. There is not really a
safe ¨shade¨ where you can escape to.
Under this background we began ou day. As some of us were practicing for VBS,
a painting crew finished the exterior of the building and a small building next
to the church, which is intended to function as a medical clinic. The painting
crew was wonderful. We were always switching painters so that everybody would
get enough breaks and water. Everybody in the team was very caring respectful
of each other. In my personal opinion it was a joy and an honor to work with a
group of talented, hard-working, loving group of servants. They humbled me
through their giving spirits and reminded me how blessed we are to be a
community of the Lord.
By 2pm we began our VBS, which was a huge success. All the kids loved watching
the characters and were attentive the whole time.
As we wrapped up our VBS, we made sure the kids said out loud, ¨Dios tiene un
plan para mi!¨ (God has a plan for me!)
It is our prayer that these children may have been blessed through our visit
and that they may realize the wonderful gift of life that is given to us.
As we were finishing our program a refreshing breeze gently comforted our
sweaty bodies. Within minutes rain was invading the air. As we all were
enjoying this treat we got to play some more with the kids. Most of them would
cling to you, hug you, while two others were grabbing your hands. Their
expressions of love are something you cannot price whatsoever and whose value
will last forever in your memories, hearts, and in your prayers. This is why
our farewell was so hard. As we left, the kids gave us letters, kisses, hugs,
and some tears as well.
We loved working in Choluteca and we are thankful for the blessing of learning
so much from the children.
I guess this is where we understand the meaning of the verse in Matthew, ¨I
tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will
never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little
child like this in my name welcomes me.¨
~Esperanza Massana
