Back from Honduras

So I just flew in from Honduras (and boy are my arms tired!). Sorry- couldn't resist.

This was my first ever missions trip, and is likely one of the most important events of my life. The Honduran orphans (I'm a sucker for the adorable little ninos) are the most trusting, helpful, grateful people on planet earth.

Best case scenario, these kids have been abandoned at birth. Worst case scenario, you hear horror stories about abuse, rape, children witnessing family members murder each other... basically a smorgasbord of Total Depravity incarnate. And YET, when our bus pulls into the orphanage for the first time, the two girls in the picture above (Francis and Paola) were waiting to grab me by my hand and show me their humble abode and play with me.

The 180+ orphans look out for each other like nothing I've seen- helping handicapped (not handy-capped, mom!) brothers and sisters with clothes or caring those who can't walk, burping babies that are 2 years younger then they are, etc.

And, despite all their terrible backgrounds, meager third-world surroundings, and lonely lives, these kids are grateful for life and protection, and for even the smallest gestures like hugs, or candy, or just spending some time with them.

The take-home lessons for me are very numerous, but the overwhelming theme that will stick with me is the sense of actually encountering unconditional love in a tangible way. We talk a lot about God's unconditional love for us, but this can quickly become cliche in our minds. Actually witnessing a child that loves you unconditionally despite just meeting you, and likely assuming that they will never see you again after this week hits you like a rock. At the end of the trip, a girl named Linda (who was AWESOME at soccer) said to the guys in our group (we played soccer with them everyday), "The next time that we play soccer will be in heaven." There's about a million one-liners like that from this trip that just smack you upside the soul.

On the "bring the mission trip home with you" front, Steph and I are going to partially sponsor Paola (the girl on the right... her full name (these kids all have like 6 or 7 names) is STEPHANIE Paola... an amazing sign, I thought). A partial sponsorship is $25/month. I mention this not to pressure, but to present an opportunity to the family- if anyone wanted to join us to help fully sponsor her or any of the other orphans from this amazing ministry, it would be a really cool.

A full sponsorship is $100/month. I actually think that this could be a really cool family project- sponsoring a kid or a couple kids as an entire Van Drunen clan. To my knowledge, we've never done anything like that as an ENTIRE family...