Independence

Since I arrived in Honduras, I’ve been struggling with the idea of relying on other people. I don’t have a car, I’m not fluent in Spanish, I don’t know my way around: I am pretty much helpless. While I knew all of these things would be true before I got here, and I knew I would need other people to help me, I guess I didn’t realize how hard that would be.

I consider myself a pretty independent person. Back home I would pretty much do what I wanted when I wanted. If I felt like eating Chic-Fil-A at 10pm, I would hop in my car and drive there. My biggest frustration was getting somewhere only to realize it wasn’t open. Then, suddenly, I was plopped into the middle of a country I know very little about with people I knew very little about (who turned out to be great, by the way!), and I had to rely on them for everything. After a little over a week with them, I arrived in Tela. Once here I had to find those people in my new community: someone to take me to school and church, find and fix a bike, show me where the grocery store is, go with me to buy internet, explain how things are run at the school. The list is endless. There are so many new things when you move to a different country, and I know I have a thousand more things to learn. I have been so blessed to have supportive people in my new community to help me in this process.

Now, I’ve only been in the country four weeks, and I know I still have a long way to go, but I think I’m learning something about letting people help you. I’m learning that while being independent is not inherently a bad thing, being part of a community means relying on others. My biggest concern is being a burden. But here in Tela, especially at this point in my journey, there are things that I literally can’t do on my own. I’m learning that that’s okay. I’m learning that some people enjoy helping others as much as I do. I’m learning what it means to be part of the body of Christ, and not trying to be the entire body on my own.

I pray that I will in some way make a difference in my new community, but for now I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from my community. As you continue in your journey, remember that you don’t have to do it alone. Thank you to each of you who have helped me get to where I am today. There’s no way I could have done it by myself!

Harvest day at church last week. Everyone brought fruits and vegetables as an offering. Bishop Allen, the bishop of Honduras (who is originally from Tela), was there to celebrate with us.

My bike (with a new basket I had installed this morning!)

Breakfast baleadas from my landlord