01 March 2006 20:37
Honduras / Nicaragua trip March 2005(My grandfather Willard, first cousin Jerrel, brother Kyle, and myself)
Just in case you were absolutely fascinated with my accounts of this trip, here is your opportunity to read it again, and all at once. I'm sure there will be a somewhat better sense of connection this time. It was fully my goal to have these all written and posted by the time my sister came to visit me in May.. ...two thousand and five. Oh well, I am still fully pleased to have them written and posted before an entire year has elapsed. I'm so pleased with the results that I might become gung-ho and write about my trip to Turkey (which is now four and a half years in the writing). Don't hold your breath.
At any rate, I'm posting this mostly because I want to. If you've been reading here for the last year, then you've read all this before. I'm sure you remember it perfectly, right?
(Actually, I wrote the above paragraph before writing the "purpose" paragraphs below. So the stuff between here and the links at the bottom is new).
All links will open into a new window (as do 98% of the links on my site anyway).
Maps, mostly courtesy of the Perry-Castañeda Library collection: one | two.
Purpose: My reasons for this trip were varied. With four people, that makes even more so. I'll list some of mine and Granddad's...
My reasons:
- sounded like fun
- I was jealous of Dano who got to go the year before
- "I want to see the world before I die"
- to learn about other cultures
- to learn from Granddad
- I like taking trips with Kyle
- to see/experience missionary aviation in one setting to see what I thought.
Granddad's reasons (as I gather):
- to educate his grandsons
- in general
- specifically: to show us how various mission groups were working amongst the Mosquito Indians of eastern Honduras/Nicaragua
- to encourage the workers there
- to follow up the witness to people he had met the year before
- to assess the quality of drinking water in various parts of the region.
The trip certainly was very educational. I felt somewhat ill at ease at times when interacting with mission teams who were there because we weren't "doing" anything concrete like pulling teeth or building houses—i.e., it appeared like we were just on a pleasure trip. But one thing that was driven home quite clear to me is how much money goes into transportation and housing costs for these mission teams. A typical two week mission team is essentially a guilt-free two week vacation to someplace a lot warmer than home. I know I can't generalize this too much, there are definite exceptions for specialized teams like the group of dentists I encountered near Ahaus, but the main outside ingredient general "work groups" bring is enthusiasm. As Danny Trobaugh was fond of saying (and I'm fond of quoting), "Stay at home and send the money".
I'm actually not against the majority of mission teams. It's a waste of money, but we waste money in worse ways elsewhere. These teams bring enthusiasm to work projects, they bring cash with them, and often they do bring technical expertise to some degree or another. But perhaps just as important is the self-education they take home with them, and the awareness they now have of their brothers' poverty elsewhere. (They're now more likely to send more money in the future now that they know what "it's really like" down there). I digress. So long as we recognize that your typical first world mission to a third world country is more akin to an exotic spiritual retreat for the wealthy norteamericanos than it is a first degree benefit to the indigenous brothers in Honduras, I'm happy. Talk incessantly about how much you're helping the locals with your god-like presence and I get a little irritable.
Ahem. All that aside, I was very eager to learn from this trip a few specific things: More about my brothers in Christ, more about how the church interacts on a national scale, and where I fit into the missions picture.
We visited specific denominations in this order: Mennonite (MCC) in La Ceiba; Moravian in Ahaus, Kraquira, and Kruta; Southern Baptist in Puerto Cabezas; Mennonite (MCC) in Managua; and quasi-Beachy Amish in Tegucigalpa (which most unfortunately I didn't get to tag along for).
In La Ceiba we had a fascinating if somewhat unsatisfactory conversation with Miguel (the pastor of the local Mennonite church) and Marion, the MCC regional assistant director who translated for us. Here we were able to ask questions of the third world church--how Miguel felt the first and third world churches should interact. The third world response? "Don't bother us, but send more money". It's not quite that bad, but still a discouraging report on how the US and Canada are interacting with our neighbors to the south. The same questions are being asked in Jamaica regarding the Mennonite church. How do you go about the very tricky balancing act of transitioning from a church organization led entirely by missionaries from the north, to one led by natives who are in an equal partnership with their North American brothers?
The Moravian tactic starts with planting medical clinics. In Ahaus the clinic was founded in then 1930's I believe, of the groups we visited the Moravians seemed the oldest and most enduring. Their outreach to the community is done through the medical aid they offer. However, the Moravians (the Mennonites too, incidentally) are currently suffering a church split.
The Southern Baptists have a very well funded operation in Pto Cabezas. They are planting churches at a phenomenal rate (and better yet, retaining them at a "good" rate as well). If numbers are any indication, their approach works well. They have a central compound where Jim and Viola live full-time administrative roles organizing work teams on a rotating two-week basis most of the year long. However, I came away from our two day stay there feeling like they relied more on the strength of man and their own provision than they do on God. A stay of more than two days and an actual trip to one of their work sites would be more accurate though. It's undeniable that the mission is having a tremendous positive impact in the region.
In addition to the mission education; Granddad has a wealth of knowledge in geography, history, geology, and biology (for starters)--so there's never a shortage of things to learn. In all, it was a rather invaluable experience for me. Now I'm trying to talk my way into a trip to Albania...
And where do I fit into missions? The jury’s still out on that one.
Finally, with no further ado:
15 - 28 March, 2005
Day 01 Kingston to La Ceiba, Tuesday 15th
Day 02 La Ceiba, Wednesday 16th
Day 03 La Ceiba to Ahaus, Thursday 17th
Day 04 Ahaus, Friday 18th
Day 05 Ahaus to Krauquira, Saturday 19th
Day 06 Krauquira & Kruta, Sunday 20th
Day 07 Kraquira to Pto Lempira, Monday 21st
Pto Lempira Excerpt: Visiting Mau
Day 08 Pto Lempira to Waspam, Tuesday 22cd
Pto Lempira Excerpt: Death on a Bicycle
Day 09 Waspam, Wednesday 23rd
Day 10 Waspam to Pto Cabezas, Thursday 24th
Day 11 Pto Cabezas, Friday 25th
Day 12 Pto Cabezas to Managua, Saturday 26th
Day 13 Managua to San Salvador, Sunday 27th
Tica Bus Excerpt: Random Sightings
Day 14 San Salvador to Tapachula, Monday 28th (thence to Tuxtla, arriving 29th)
20:37 email me permalink / commentary (0)
