Love Beyond Our Church Walls | 让爱走动

Before going to Honduras, I thought this mission trip would be a great opportunity for my daughter Angela and me to grow in gratitude and gain a deeper understanding of life’s purpose (Read Angela's testimony here). And it truly did all that—but it also became so much more.

We served alongside several local churches. I primarily worked at the children’s station, where we helped the local ministry share the Gospel using the five-color bracelet. We sang, danced, and performed puppet shows. Our team also led craft activities while the children waited for their medical checkups and received vitamins and medicine.

What touched me most was the joy and gratitude of the children—even though they had so little. At one waiting area, Angela and I chatted with two boys, Jareth and Evans. They were curious about the U.S., loved soccer, and admired Messi. During our conversation, the local church offered us hot tea. We assumed it was ginger tea, but they explained it was made from sawgrass. Wanting to show us, they went to the kitchen and brought back the leaves. Although they had already received their care, they stayed just to talk and share their lives with us.

We also visited a little boy named Mateo. His house was made of mud, and his kitchen and bathroom were built from scraps of wood and metal. Before we left, he ran to Angela and gave her an egg from his chicken coop—his way of saying thank you. An egg may mean little to us, but to him, it was a costly gift. We were deeply moved by that moment.

The team doctor told us that nearly every child examined had parasites due to contaminated water. It was heartbreaking. These kids have so little and are often in poor health. Yet, through their smiles, their eyes, and their actions, we saw humility, strength, and the love of God. Many times, it felt like they were the ones helping us—reminding us just how truly blessed we are.

At the last church, we moved the children’s VBS program to a nearby school. The school, which serves grades 1 through 7, only had two classrooms. In Honduras, there’s no summer break, and students attend school in half-day shifts due to limited resources. That morning, the 3rd and 4th graders were in class. In the afternoon, students from other grades would come. Sadly, many children still cannot attend school because they cannot afford uniforms and books. High school is even more difficult to access, and most youth never receive a secondary education.

Without education or support, many young people fall into gang life. Gangs often target poor families by offering financial help, then later recruit their children into crime. We saw the devastating results of this during our visit to Ilama Prison, which houses over 4,000 inmates convicted of serious crimes. Most of them were young men from families like those we met.

Our mission team served about 500 children and adults across four churches and shared testimonies and worshipped with 280 inmates. Each evening, we gathered to reflect and pray. These moments drew me closer to God. I realized that true obedience to God’s Word doesn’t just mean worshiping in my own church—it means going out to serve, to love, and to bring hope where it is needed most.

We may not be able to change the situation in Honduras overnight, but we went to plant a seed—and our God will make it grow. At the airport, we met other mission teams and knew that God is at work in Honduras. I’m so thankful we got to be part of His mission and to be His witnesses.

Please pray for the families in Honduras—for clean water, access to education, better lives, and protection for their children. Most of all, pray that they would come to know the love and hope found in Jesus Christ.

Finally, I want to encourage everyone—especially our youth group—to go on a mission trip. Step out of your comfort zone and plant a seed in a land that needs it. When we go to bless others, we often return more blessed than we ever imagined.

在前往洪都拉斯之前，我以为这次宣教之旅会是我和女儿Angela一起学会感恩、并更好理解人生意义的好机会 （阅读Angela的见证）。事实确实如此——但这次旅程带来的远远不止这些。

我们服事了当地的几间教会。我主要负责儿童的工作。在那里，我们帮助当地的同工用五色手链传讲福音。我们一起唱歌、跳舞、还表演了木偶剧。我们团队还负责带领那些等待健康检查、领取维生素和药物的孩子们做手工。

最让我感动的是孩子们的喜乐和感恩，即使他们几乎一无所有。在一个等候区，Angela和我跟两个男孩Jareth和Evans聊天。他们对美国充满好奇，喜欢踢足球，崇拜梅西。聊天时，当地教会为我们准备了热茶，我们以为是姜茶，但他们告诉我们这是香茅茶。他们甚至跑到厨房去，拿来茶叶给我们看。其实这两个男孩已经看过医生，但他们还是留下来，只是为了和我们聊天，分享他们的生活。

我们还探访了一位名叫Mateo的小男孩。他的家是泥巴屋，厨房和浴室是用木头和金属废料搭建起来的。在我们离开前，他跑到Angela面前，送给她一个鸡蛋——这是他表达感谢的方式。对我们来说，一颗鸡蛋或许微不足道，但对他们来说却是很宝贵的。那一刻，我们所有人都深受感动。

队里的医生告诉我们，几乎每个孩子都被诊断有寄生虫感染，都是因为他们的饮用水是被污染的，这让人非常心痛。这些孩子的生活非常贫困，大多数身体状况不好。然而，从孩子们的笑容、眼神和行为中，我们看到了谦卑、坚强和神的爱。很多时候，我们反而觉得，是这些孩子在帮助我们——提醒我们自己是多么蒙福的一群人。

在最后一间教会，我们把儿童圣经夏令营的课程搬到附近一所小学举办。这所学校从一年级到七年级，只有两个教室。洪都拉斯没有暑假，学校因为校舍和师资力量，只能提供孩子们半天上课。这个学校三年级和四年级的学生是上午上学，下午则是其他年级的学生。即使这样，很多孩子还是无法就学，因为他们买不起校服和书本。上高中就更加困难，因为费用更高。在洪都拉斯，大多数青少年都无法接受高中教育。

当地黑帮众多，他们常常瞄准贫困家庭，使用金钱引诱，之后再胁迫孩子们参与犯罪。在我们探访Ilama监狱时，亲眼看到了这种令人心碎的结果。那座监狱关押着四千多名重刑犯，大多数是年轻的帮派成员，他们出身的家庭就和我们所接触，探访的孩子们的家庭状况一样。

我们的宣教团队总共在四间教会服事了约500位儿童和成人，并与280名囚犯一同敬拜、分享见证。每天晚上，我们都会聚集在一起回顾白天的服事并祷告。这些时刻让我更加亲近神。我意识到，真正顺服神不能只是待在自己教会里敬拜——要走出去，去服事，去爱，去把希望带到最需要的地方。

我们或许无法立即改变洪都拉斯的现状，但我们此行是在那里撒下种子，我们的神会亲自使它成长，开花结果。在机场时，我们还遇到了其他的宣教团队，我们知道，神正在洪都拉斯动工，而我们能参与其中、成为祂的见证，是何等有幸何等蒙福。

请为洪都拉斯的家庭祷告，求神赐下干净的水和教育的机会；也为孩子们的安全保护和更好的生活条件代祷；最重要的是，祈求他们能认识耶稣基督，并感受到耶稣基督的爱，而有永生的盼望。

最后，我也想鼓励每一位弟兄姊妹，尤其是我们的青少年团契，去参加一次短宣。踏出你的舒适圈，在那需要的土地上撒下一颗种子。当我们出去祝福别人时，我们常常会带着比我们所想象的更多祝福归来。