by Jackson Gillette
Yesterday, Saturday, was another meaningful day for our group’s work here in Honduras. We started out the morning being led in devotion by Marty, who reminded each of us to enjoy getting out of our comfort zone and the subsequent growth that comes from submitting ourselves to new experiences.
With Marty’s words in mind and full stomachs we made our way on the two-hour trek to the farming village of San Lorenzo. The entire drive is a continuous scene of green mountainside, deep valleys, and farmland. As we got closer to the village of San Lorenzo, the road, filled with potholes, sharp turns and wallowed out stretches, became treacherous, especially for our mini bus. It took quite a while to travel not very far. But, we made it safe and sound to our destination to find a majestic stretch of God’s earth with views that command several seconds to stop and take it all in.
Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the local Missionary, Jeannie Loving. She took us up to the village’s new school and cafeteria for a briefing as to the state of affairs of San Lorenzo. Then it was time for us to take a tour of the village via an Ox-cart. On our ride Jeannie showed us the way of life around the town. After seeing several other villages over the past two days, we ere able to gain a deeper understanding of the day-to-day life of our Honduran friends. We saw their homes, their stoves, their clothes washing systems (Pilas) to list a few.
Next we began investigating the state of affairs of San Loren-zo’s water systems. There is a local spring where water is being pumped through plumbing lines to each of the 39 houses in the community, twice a week. This water is full of parasites and other illness-bearing bacteria in literally off the chart quantities. There is a well that has stopped working reliably and at the moment the spring is the only source of meaningful water for the village.
Our next step, after stopping to eat our lunch, was to begin to introduce the water filtration system we have brought from the states to the community. Jeannie has arranged for the mothers who cook at the village’s school cafeteria to be the first to learn how to use the system. David, Allen and Marlene began to demonstrate while Jeannie translated. During class several of the rest of our group members tried to keep the children occupied with several rounds of soccer shootouts, so their mothers could pay full attention to the demonstration.
At the end of the demonstration it was time for our group to make our way back to home base, at Zamorano University. There were a few pizza pies waiting for us. We made our way back discussing all that we had witnessed and all that we could do for the rest of our time to help make a difference in the lives of our new friends (and old friends to some of our group). We have a tailwind at our backs learning from the members of our group who have been to San Lorenzo before. Each expressed with amazement the change in the health of the community. It is a miracle to see what a deep, sustained relationship through the direction and blessing of God in each person’s efforts has brought to people of San Lorenzo. And it is an even deeper blessing to see what great stewards the village of San Lorenzo is of the continued assistance and teaching. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support!