Getting our feet wet: More from week one
Now that we’re all getting more settled in at Mission Lazarus, we interns are spending time getting accustomed to the communities in Choluteca. Over the past few days, we’ve visited a handful of the 24 churches that Mission Lazarus supports around the region. In every case, the people I’ve met have been welcoming and helpful, quick to answer questions and (slowly) repeat Spanish phrases that I have trouble understanding. Each of the churches and towns has their own unique characteristics, but among those that we’ve visited, one stands out.
Boca del río viejo is probably the most interesting community I’ve ever been to. The trip to Boca was an experience all in itself. After a lengthy drive to the coast, we waited for the tide to subside and then walked down the beach past where the ocean had been just a few hours before. Led by Riley, a long-term missionary who lives in the area, we walked on sand and waded through shallow water to Boca, about fifteen minutes from the dock we’d left on the coast. A half dozen rowboats lined the coast that had been used to access the island a few hours earlier.
We walked past a group of fisherman who were occupied cutting catfishes’ heads off and gutting stingrays and made our way into the community on a dusty path through a forest. We eventually made it to the other side and were greeted by a friendly group that had been waiting for us. Steven, one of my fellow interns, saw one of the water purification systems that his high school installed a few months ago, a large, colorfully painted cistern between a cluster of makeshift homes and a soccer field. A group of women that makes necklaces handed their craft over to Riley, who I believe plans to sell them for the women. I was graciously invited into one of the family’s homes and spent some time getting to know them there.
Just before leaving the area, I stumbled onto what was something like a PTA meeting. A public school teacher was meeting with about a dozen parents at a small crossroads of different paths, and Riley needed to speak with him, so we waited until the meeting was over before we headed out. I was somewhat surprised to find that he discussed many of the same things that schoolteacher would back home: the students needed to remember to bring their supplies to school; they needed to be doing their homework; they need to be more attentive in class. In the hidden town of Boca del río viejo in the middle of the woods on an island off the coast of Honduras, the schoolteacher was expressing frustrations that I know many teachers have in the States (albeit on a completely different scale).
While I’m working down here, I’m not learning about new or distinct problems that people have; rather, I’m learning about new people and cultures, and how they approach their problems. And, by all accounts, the members of the churches around Choluteca are good people. Although we come from entirely different backgrounds, we share some of these similar, everyday experiences. More importantly, we share a common ground in Christ and the way we interact with each other.
I’m not sure what all I will see this summer. It may be that I encounter issues that are altogether unique to the region, things that I’ve never seen before that I’ll have no idea how to approach. What I do know is that the Christian faith that I have grown up with is the exact same faith that drives the members of the church in Choluteca. Regardless of the cultural differences that I’m sure I’ll see more of, I am at ease when I remember the common faith that drives us.
-Reid
