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Buenos días, me llamo
Heather Buck and let me tell you my Spanish speaking abilities pretty much end
there.
I have been invited to
talk to give you a short testimony of our recent trip to La Ceiba, Honduras…
I, like many of you, I have been following and
praying for Shannon Innes de Ordonez (Or Don Yez)’s life and ministry
through her facebook, her blog and e-newsletters for five years now... (Back
story for those of you that don’t know Shannon, she grew up here at Peace, was
a critical member of the youth department, and is now a full time missionary
for MTW in La Ceiba, Honduras), So going on the Peace Honduras Mission trip just a few weeks ago
has truly helped me appreciate why she is there and what her team is doing to
advance God’s Kingdom in La Cieba, Honduras.
When Peace announced sending another mission
team to Honduras, both Tim and I felt the uttermost desire to go
instantly. But I had no idea how God was
going to use me or what he was going to teach me…
Might I say it was an awesome
experience …
I consider myself genuinely blessed to have
gotten to work inside Shannon’s girl’s home: painting, plumbing, playing with
babies and trying hard to communicate to these young ladies with my terrible Spanish
and us trying to teach them English. It’s a great honor put a face to B, C, K and Y
.. the young women and their children. I am able to hold them in my heart more
intimately now. I also got to spend some time one-on-one with
Shannon hearing about some of their struggles in La Cieba and how each of the
girls is walking with the Lord. Shannon
has to be so many things for these young women as she is disciplining and
loving them every day. I felt like all
we I did all week was a few home improvements, but what God did was allowed me
to be part of their lives, love on them, teaching them and empower them that
they can paint their rooms or do a few other home improvements. 
One of the other
Honduras Team ministry some of us worked with that week was with the Church
Planting team in La Fe, with Mike and
Ashley Troxell. La Fe is a squatter area in La Cebia, and made me
quickly remember my roots with Habitat for Humanity and simple decent
housing. These families live in shacks along the river, have very little,
and their kids are just about the sweetest things in the world. From playing soccer, making crafts, trying
extremely hard to read Spanish kids book to them, and swimming the not so
lovely river... these kids loved on us as much as we loved on them.
I volunteered to help take one very sick little
boy from the La Fe to the local hospital with Ashley. Rikelme (Ra Kale Mae)… was burning up, lethargic, and in pain, as I held him in the back of the truck. All I could do was hold him, humming Jesus loves me to him. His mother reminded me of an old neighbor of mine. In the waiting area I held him, with one shoulder around his mother, whom wept. Ashley was extremely discouraged. I felt so helpless that I couldn't communicate with anyone to be more helpful. I sat, saddened with seeing this terrible healthcare system, this very sick little boy, a weary missionary and a mom afraid to lose yet another family member. All I could do was hold him, and pray.
As a mom, I want to
provide the best life possible for my kids, and it simply broke my heart that
these families in Honduras live in poverty. The kids, so proud of their 50 cent flip flops
and crafts we made with them, and they didn’t want to leave our sides the entire
time we were with them. They had some of
the biggest and brightest smiles... and most importantly they had God in their
hearts and that to me was awesome!
So my testimony is now
a Mission challenge for each of you:
·
Please pray… for Team Honduras and for Shannon
and the other missionaries, we saw firsthand how much of their daily lives they
give to others, and it’s hard and they
grow weary.
·
Second give…
when Darcie asks for cleats- give
cleats, clothes, school supplies. MONEY... We have so much and those people
have so little... so just give what you
can, when you can.
·
Lastly, the next time
Peace sends a team on a mission trip to Honduras or somewhere... go.
Often times you have
this vision of going on a mission trip and how much you hope to give and
accomplish, but often time God uses mission trips to change your heart, giving
you the opportunity to see his kingdom come and his will being done from all
ends of the earth... and it is good!
Seeing the photos and
hearing the stories both my kids already ask if they could go next time and
have already has been talking as if they are going. If you
think about it the Apostle Paul was a long term missionary that went on a Short
Term Mission trips, so if the opportunity presents itself go… You won’t regret
it and God will use you for his glory.
Thank you!
