Equality in Missions

“We are all the same, We are all different.”                   Team Member, Honduras Mission Trip

            One of the deepest learnings of our group in Honduras, was that people are people no matter what culture or class they are from. 

Kids are shy with strangers. They like to be tickled. They climb trees and howl like coyotes. There are some that stay back to help the  80-year-old up the mountain and lead the others. Kids everywhere get restless sitting in long church services. 

And adults, though we are different are the same. We take pride in our work and skills. We laugh about passing gas. We try to make things better with the resources we have. We struggle in our marriages, and in using our gifts. We grieve. We celebrate. 

Those are some of the lessons we learn in visiting other cultures. That though we are different, we are the same. When we go to serve in another culture we grow by seeing not only the joy but the struggles of those we go to serve. 

And that is why it seems a little unfair to me that mission trips go only one way between our church in La Fontaine and our sister church among the Lencas. They only go from us to them. We don’t share how our church struggles, we just share our resources. 

If I were them, I would not know how frustrating ministry can be in the United States. I wouldn’t know about the cultural shifts that have happened, and that millennials are missing from most churches. I wouldn’t know that every year here, churches struggle to provide vital ministries like VBS, not because of finances, but because we can’t get enough adult volunteers. And because I wouldn’t know these things, I wouldn’t pray for God’s presence and work among those in churches like La Fontaine. 

As we worked on a building that will be used for economic development, I couldn’t help thinking about the Trustees meetings and the projects back home. I thought about our parsonage garage roof that will need replaced in the next few years, and the old things stored in the rafters that need cleaned out. As I met the kids, I couldn’t help but wonder about our VBS program still in limbo. I couldn’t help but think, what if Hondurans came to the US for a mission trip? Even more than what could get done, what if we actually were equals…not those who had everything to offer, but those humbled by receiving? I shared this dream of mine with Pastor Jorge Pinto, and he immediately saw the beauty in switching it up. 

So, what would it take to make this happen on our end? Well, just as Nick and I had to raise money to go to Honduras, we would have to raise money to get Hondurans here.  This is really the biggest hurdle. Then comes the fun stuff. Feeding and housing them here. And projects to do here.Who would come and when.

So this is me putting out feelers. 

Who thinks this is an idea worth trying? 

Who would be willing to put money on it?