Surrounded By the Beauty of God's Creation

This is Matt saying "Hola from Honduras!" God's beauty has truly surrounded us here in Honduras, both in the mountains that surround this place and the people that we have encountered that live here. The last two days for me have truly been the best. When we got into Tegucigalpa I think I had overprepared myself for what I would see to the point that my heart was a little hardened. But as the last few days have passed, God has really broken me down and really allowed me to see with a humble heart all the suffering and poverty that seems to be everywhere here. Yesterday was my second visit to "The Dump" and I was completely overwhelmed. There were 5 times as many people there compared to Monday. Never in my life have I encountered such physically filthy people. On Monday I honestly was afraid to touch them, but yesterday I felt compelled to make physical contact with them by shaking their hands touching them as we prayed over them. I felt like I needed to know how dirty they were and to empathize with them in someway. I felt helpless as I watched hundreds of people stand in line for what, for many, could be their only real meal for the next few days. We ran out of water before everyone got some, I couldn't communicate with them other than a few Spanish phrases and I knew that in an hour or so I would be leaving them. Regardless I saw Jesus in those people, because I thought back to what Jesus said about serving him by serving the least of his people, and those people were about as least of these as you can get. The truck that we were in actually splashed through the mud in "The Dump" which meant we carried it with us when we left and smelled it while in traffic for 2+ hours, and I was glad because it was a constant reminder of the people who suffer every day to make a few bucks, and that is an experience I never want to forget.

Today we built a house for a family that had been living in a car and to see the tears in the mother's eyes after we finished really reminded us of the good work that we came here to do. That we didn't come here for ourselves but to serve those that are in need, and have no one else to help them. I also made a new friend named Guardo, a ten year old boy who lived in the community in which we built a house and fed and clothed people. I gave Guardo a gift and he was so grateful and he clung to me the rest of our time there, helping me learn some Spanish, asking me about my family, and showing me where his house was. We were also able to play soccer with about 5 kids who were all really good. We played on what was basically a gravel field on the edge of a cliff surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountains you'll ever see. The gravel doesn't feel too well, as I experienced, when I bit the dust and rolled about 3 times while playing soccer.

This evening we were able to go up a mountain to see a cross made out of scrap metal and see one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. In one scene we saw sunshine, rain, and a gigantic cloud that was about to engulf us. And as we were leaving we saw two awesome rainbows forming in the middle of all of it. Those are things you just don't see back in Mississippi.

My Spanish has gotten slightly better while here, from no Spanish at all to terrible Spanish, which is better than nothing at all. I can at least ask a few questions and understand about a tenth of what they say back to me, but I've learned that people understand when you are loving them by serving them and that's better than anything you can say to them in their own language. I've also gotten to serve alongside some Honduran people who I can say are now my friends. This has been an amazing week and while I would stay a few more weeks if I could, I can't wait to get back home and share this experience with my friends and family.

Love all of you and I'll see ya when I get back.

Matt