I completely forgot about my blog! One of my friends shared his blog on his Facebook and so I decided to look back over mine! Wow, a few of my posts hit me straight in the heart. Isn't God funny like that? He's really been using me lately. I guess I'll catch y'all up with what's been happening in the past 20 months! I'll make this post about Honduras.
I'm not going to lie. I got really distant from God for a while. I had no excuse for it either. I just did. It was like I was in this hole and I just couldn't get out! I tried so hard to talk to God and to feel His presence, but it wasn't happening.
Most of my senior year in high school, I was a very angry person. I was so pessimistic and unhappy. I almost lost some friends because of it. I was just so mad that my friends were happy and I wasn't! My two best friends had been dating the same guys for years and there I was, unloved and ugly. What a silly thing to believe!
My friends told me straight up what I was doing and I fixed it, for the most part. I've realized if I don't base the solution around God, it won't permanently fix. So I got angry again. I couldn't wait to get out of high school and start my new life in college.
(Side note... Seniors: Don't rush high school. You'll miss it. I know you've heard that 1,000 times, but it's so true. College is fun but so many things are hair-pullingly hard. Enjoy your lack of responsibilities while it lasts :) )
Right after graduation, I hopped on a plane to Honduras and stayed there for 5 weeks. Wow, let me tell you, God is everywhere in that place. When I got there, I was quiet, closed in, and angry. I was excited to be in a new place, but nothing else had changed.
I interned for a mission organization called Mercy International, home to some of the nicest, most generous people I know. I don't want this post to be too long, so I'll skip to when I went 11 miles into the mountains with a team.
I had two roommates. I loved them both will all of my heart, and always will, but Nancy was such a blessing. She is by far the happiest, carefree person I know. If I could keep her in my pocket I would. (Weird? Not to me) I'm so thankful for her uplifting spirit and unbelievably wise and Godly words.
A group of gym trainers from Cincinnati, Ohio, came down for a week in Las Crucitas, a small village in the Middle Of Nowhere of the Opalaca Mountains. It takes on average 7 hours to hike there! If you ever have the chance to go to Honduras, don't skip a beat. It is phenomenally gorgeous. The mountains touch higher than the clouds!
We hiked up and down rainforests and mountains, and I thought I was going to die. The first and last hour were the hardest! But the beauty of the hike made up for it.
When we got there, I was bombarded with a thousand children and so many happy faces. We slept on the concrete floor of a school house and there wasn't any proper plumbing. If I could bring a mattress and a toilet out there, I honestly wouldn't leave.
Every night in Las Crucitas (and a lot of small villages in Honduras), there is a church service. Let me tell you, they worship harder than any church in the world, and we have access to all kinds of technology. This was just a bunch of acoustic instruments and about 30 voices. We sang a song for 15 minutes once, each time louder and more passionate. There were people falling on their knees and lifting their hands in surrender. Huge things are happening in Honduras. Let me tell ya.
Any service you go in Honduras, there is always one lady who can't carry a tune. Usually, as a music major, I would cringe. But I can still hear that beautiful voice in my head. She was always the loudest and most into it. No words can describe my love for it. :) I'm smiling from ear to ear remembering all of the little things that made me fall in love with Honduras.
We came to Las Crucitas to have a medical clinic for two days. Let me start out by saying that people walked miles just to come get Ibuprofen and Pepto. How insane is that to think about?! I drive .1 miles to Walgreens and I'm set. I had the nasty privilege to clean the dentistry tools. Don't you dare complain to me about going to the dentist. This was hard to watch. The dentist would slightly numb the patient's gums and then would yank the tooth out. Okay, okay. I'm done. I won't gross you out.
At one point, like it does every day, it started raining. People were still smiling, even though they were lined out the door and getting soaked. That's one thing you won't find in the US. One little boy came in, smiling like a maniac. He made flirty eyes with me and hid behind tables. He was in line for the dentist. Eventually, he got up to the front of the line and sat down. It was pouring down rain and the tin roof was louder than anything I've ever heard before. The boy, Jethro, realized what was happening and started screaming while they pulled his teeth out. Now that's one thing that will stick in my brain forever.
Guess who came around the next day and showed off his lack of teeth? You can't tell me you aren't smiling right now. Such a sweetheart.
I met a wonderful woman on the team named Lalayna (Laynie for short). She's the most bad-a person I know. She's so real. I love her to death. She really taught me a lot those few days.
On the hike to Las Crucitas, I got attacked by fire ants and my ankles were covered in bites. I didn't feel much until the night before we were supposed to hike back. I had the worst allergic reaction and my ankles were bigger than Redwood tree trunks. It was that bad. I was an emotional wreck, and Lalayna came over and made it better instantly. She has a way with words!
Turns out I had to ride a mule for 7 hours back because I couldn't walk. Don't ask me about how sore my thighs were.
Are you tired of reading yet? I'm not done.
Another team came my last week of being there. They were the most amazing people. I learned to pray out loud without being scared, I raised my hands in worship, I shared my testimony for the first time in my life, and I felt more at home than I had ever before. I was completely surrounded by God's love.
Okay, maybe I am done. My hands hurt. I'll leave you with some wonderful pictures of children that I fell in love with. I hope you'll fall in love too.
Oh, and here's a view of a hike I went on to a 360 degree view of mountains. I'm having withdrawals tonight.
