Previous to January 2017, I had never been on any sort of mission trip, let alone Honduras. Going on a mission trip has been something I’ve always wanted to do, but the circumstances have never been right. One day during senior year of high school, I was asked to go to Honduras, and it instantly piqued my interest. I talked to my parents about it, and that night we decided I was going. This is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!

Leading up to the trip, I heard from countless people that I shouldn’t go because it’s too dangerous there. People thought I was being irrational for putting myself in such a dangerous situation. All the things I was hearing put bad ideas in my head, and right before the trip, I was terrified to go. I wanted to back out, but I knew I couldn’t. Once we got to the mission house, one of the things they told us was that the crime rate is declining and that we would be fine. You just have to be smart about where you go, but you have to do that anywhere. They talked us through it and settled my fears.

Once we got into the mission field, I never felt in danger, and it was the least of my worries. These wonderful Honduran people take over your whole world. The experience I had was amazing. I made a connection with one little boy named Wuendl, and to this day, he holds a special place in my heart. The connection was unexplainable. One of the most heartbreaking things was the language barrier. I wish so badly that I would’ve been able to have a real conversation with him instead of just teaching each other words in each of our native languages.

The experience of being in Honduras was life-changing. These people are grateful for everything they receive; I’ve never seen a person be so excited over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They are some of the happiest people I’ve ever seen. They taught me to be more grateful for the many blessings that I easily take for granted. These people are so faithful and reliant on God to help them in their lives. I loved that I got to help people not only on a physical level, but a spiritual level as well. The wonderful people of Honduras helped me too, even though they didn’t know it. I saw God’s love everywhere I looked, and my faith grew because of it.