Minute for Missions- October 2, 2005—Report by Ron & Sandra Elliott

Ron’s Part:

Twenty one team members from Westminster Presbyterian arrived in Tagusigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 17. Five of us looked with new eyes and 16 with experienced eyes at the teeming, poverty-stricken, and congested city. We boarded a converted school bus with some trepidation for our bumpy, hot ride out of the city. The air soon became cleaner and cooler, and the scenery became greener and more picturesque.

We arrived in Jutacalpa about the time the the sun was going down, and, except for several potholes in the side streets big enough to turn the bus over, we spent a comfortable night there. The next morning, if you count 3:45 A.M. as morning, we were awakened in what we had thought was an urban setting by an entire choir of roosters informing us that it was time to get up…… and perhaps that we were beginning a far from ordinary week.

Back on the road again, we traveled on toward the ranch which was to be our home for 6 days. Set in the beautiful Agalta valley, it was lush with green grass, impressive trees, and an awesome view of the mountains. We claimed our bunks, unpacked suitcases holding everything from bug spray to applesauce, and then got back on the bus for a trip, our first trip, to Los Patios, our new village.

We arrived on foot by way of a dirt road because the bridge over the village's river was not wide enough or strong enough to accommodate the bus. We walked slowly and , I think, a little tentatively up a long hill, aware of curious faces peering out of windows and standing alongside the road that were as unfamiliar to us as we were to them. The slightest bit of tension was broken as we topped the hill near the building which would be our meeting place and were greeted by the a group of villagers, mostly children, who held a banner welcoming the team from Westminster. They sang and smiled and, in spite of the considerable language barrier, let us know that we had come to the end of a long journey and had arrived in the right place.

We bonded immediately, using a mixture of English, Spanish and bubble stuff to bridge any remaining gap between us. We left that day with smiles on our faces and their song in our hearts.

Sandra’s Part:

We had devotionals as a team morning and night, and the Sunday night devotional especially bonded us as a team of service to others. We often shared words of inspiration that our prayer partners here at Westminster had sent with us. Our week continued as we went back and forth to the village. We had construction teams who, working side by side with the villagers, poured 10 concrete floors and built 11 badly needed latrines, a medical team who did health assessments, dispensed vitamins, did fluoride treatments and taught the children to brush their teeth, and a school where the children colored, sang, and learned simple Bible verses.

At the end of the week we celebrated with a fiesta. In a soccer match against the Westminster team members who were cocky enough to wager the soccer ball, we left the ball with the village children who beat us soundly 3 to 0! But we have promised to return next year for a rematch! We walked down the dirt road and across the bridge for the last time toward our bus amid hugs and smiles and tears and full hearts.

Our Westminster team bonded through this holy experience. Our talks morning and night, our love for the precious people of Los Patios, and our communion through the Holy Spirit who was with us every minute of every day provided us a connection which will never be broken. We left Los Patios that first day focusing on what we were taking these people who have so little. We arrived back home last Sunday night with the full knowledge of all they have. We are truly richer for having been there, and I know received an even greater blessing than those in Los Patios.