The Gift of Hospitality
What a week!
Now that I’m back home, I can confirm that this was one of, if not the best teams to Honduras that I’ve ever been a part of!
First, despite a delay on the tarmac & gate in Atlanta, and the longest line immigrating into Honduras I’ve ever experienced (nearly 3 hours), we had a relatively easy and snafu-free trip. All of the rest of our travel was on-time, we never got caught in a rainstorm unprepared (although, that has been kind of fun in the past), and believe-it-or-not, no one got seriously ill and had to miss anything!
In the coming weeks, including some on Sunday, we will share about our trip and the things God did with us and in us. I’ll do my best not to steal anyone’s thunder, but I thought I’d highlight one aspect of our trip that was both joyful and tremendously humbling: hospitality!
During our time, (as I mentioned last week), we visited three different rural communities – Nueva Esperanza, El Achiotal & Lomas del Aguila. We have had varying degrees of relationship with each of these communities over the years, the longest of which has been with Lomas. But in each, we were treated to tremendous hospitality!
In Nueva Esperanza, after worshipping on Saturday (in a small Seventh Day Adventist Church), we were presented with an unexpected invitation. The young pastor’s mother had cooked up a special sweet-potato soup and so our plans changed. We were whisked away to enjoy this soup at their home – a short five minute drive, then ten minute walk away.
In Achiotal, where we discovered we were the guests of honor at an elaborate school puppet show presentation, featuring eight different plays with beautifully crafted sets and puppets, we were handed bowls of seasoned lychee fruit, (that I don’t think I’d ever had in all my prior trips), in addition to fresh coffee and a most delicious cheesecake bread that I’m desperate to find the recipe for!
And in Lomas, we were treated to a meal of fried chicken and seasoned plantains, so big that few of us could finish our servings! And that had been the day after we’d been given fresh bananas and oranges and coca-cola (because coca-cola is everywhere!) as a midday snack.
We might look at Honduras as an impoverished country – and economically speaking, they are – (In 2022, its GDP ranked 101st in the world.) BUT as I mentioned last week, they are rich in so many other ways! We experienced the lavish riches of their hospitality and generosity, their love and compassion. And we ate (and were filled) – not just with food, but with love!
When you get a chance, talk to some of the team about their experiences this past week, they way they received and were blessed through the generosity and hospitality of our Honduran sisters and brothers – both the communities we visited and the staff of Heart to Honduras. God planted, watered and grew seeds in us that I know will continue to bear fruit for years to come.
Taste and see that the Lord is good!
Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus,
Pastor Don