The Trip That Changed It All

To go or not to go was the question I was faced with in the months leading up to the trip that would change everything for me. I was a senior in high school and invited to go on a mission trip to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I had been wanting to go on a mission trip for a while but had never had a good opportunity up until that point. I was ecstatic when I was first invited to go, I couldn’t stop thinking about it because I finally had the opportunity I had been hoping for. Well, that excitement didn’t last very long, to be honest. As the initial excitement wore off the doubt showed up. Certain things had changed and the feelings were different and I just wasn’t sure about it anymore. All of these unsure thoughts wouldn’t stop bouncing around in my head. Would I have the money to pay for my trip? Would I have the courage to speak to complete strangers about my faith in a language I didn’t understand? Could I get out of my comfort zone enough to spend a whole week with twenty-one other people I hardly knew? Am I even right to go on this trip like will it actually make a difference if I’m there or not? I came to a point where I had decided that I definitely would not be going on the trip. I gave up and let the doubt win. I was going to bow down to the fear and let the enemy keep me from this opportunity. Well, while I was considering these things God was not. I had given up on the idea of going but God doesn’t give up so easily.

For every doubt I had God soon presented me with a solution to each one. Regarding the issue of payment, someone told me that God owns all the money in the world and if I am meant to go, I didn’t need to worry about it... my whole trip was paid for a month later by various friends and family members. When worrying about evangelizing to strangers in a foreign language I realized that the four years of Spanish I had taken was more useful than I thought and even then, I was told we would have translators with us at all times. When it came to the evangelism part, we were coached through verses to use and when those fell short, I learned that the Holy Spirit knows when to intercede on our behalf. As for my awkwardness of being with people I didn’t know I grew closer with the team at various events leading up to the trip and my mom even decided to go with me. God sent me one final sign through means of a recorded conference speaker on YouTube and I knew I couldn’t ignore Him anymore, I had to go. Even with all of these signs the doubt did not go away completely but it was definitely smaller and I rested in the fact that everything was falling into place so perfectly it could only be God working on my behalf for me to go. Every time a doubt popped into my head God would pop up and reassure me of my decision.

The time finally came and on January 4th, 2020 I arrived in Tegucigalpa, Honduras having no idea what to expect. I had heard stories of how life-changing mission trips could be and I figured some cool things would happen, but I had no idea how true the things I had heard would become. I was brought to tears repeatedly throughout the week seeing God’s work at hand. I witnessed people who lived in the poorest part of their country who didn’t even have clean water to drink radiate so much joy and gratefulness that I was astounded. I watched men, women, and children worship the Lord like I had never seen before, people who you would think should be mad at God because of their circumstances. I had conversations with complete strangers on a personal level that I never thought I could have with not just a stranger, but a stranger who spoke a foreign language. People would grab my hands and start praying for me in Spanish and even though I could not understand what was being said I could feel it. Everything was torn down, the language barriers, the ethnic differences, the poverty levels, and all that was left was love.

The men, women, and children I met during that week showed me not only how to love others better, but how to love the Lord better as well. It did not matter who you were, what you did, or what you had you were welcomed with open arms. I witnessed people physically being able to see clearly for the first time in their lives because they received the first pair of glasses they had ever owned. I watched as people received medication that they had been praying for for so long. I helped install a water filter for a family that would provide them with clean water for the first time in their lives. By the end of the trip, I had developed relationships to depths I had not known could be reached in just one week. I not only developed relationships with the people of Honduras but with the people on my team as well. There was at least one conversation every day that would somehow make me evaluate my faith deeper and encourage me to embrace it in every way I could.

The most important relationship I developed that week though was with God. I have been a Christian my whole life and for six years I went to Lutheran schools where religion class and chapel were a part of the daily routine. It was not until this trip though that I realized that my faith was based on a religion and not on a relationship. I saw what true faith and trust in God is and learned that having an intimate relationship with the Lord means so much more than I had ever realized. This trip caused me to take a hard look at my faith and understand that my relationship with God was so shallow compared to the potential depth it could have. Looking back, I can honestly say that the decision to go on this trip was the best decision I have made so far in my life. I will forever be grateful for the amazing opportunity and experience that this mission trip has blessed me with. I was there to help people in need when in reality those people were the ones who helped me and for that, I will forever be grateful. I will always have a place in my heart for the country of Honduras and the people in it and cannot wait to return one day.