The Least of These

[Melissa and I just came back from a weeklong mission trip with Hope For Honduras in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I tried as best as possible to capture my thoughts on location and plan turning a few of them into blog posts over the next week or so.]

Last night, it was clear enough to watch the lights of Tegucigalpa. From our perch on a mountain, the tiny lights of this sprawling city twinkle with a dim orange glow. The starry night below us was so peaceful that we couldn’t help but to stop and take it in.

The view under daylight could not be more removed from that beautiful nighttime scene. The sparkling lights gave way to areas of the city which are desperately poor. The colonia of Mogote, where the Hope For Honduras center is located, also sits high on a mountain. But in this community, water and food are scarce. Jobs are also hard to find, while gang activity is a visible reality throughout. Streams of waste water flow down the mountain through the streets. This is life for the poor residents of the colonia.

I'll be honest, it was hard for me to imagine a place like this. Our family supports children through Compassion International, so I thought I would be a little more in tune with suffering in the world than the average American. But that all changed meeting the people of Mogote and the neighboring colonia of New Berlin. I found myself overwhelmed by the magnitude of the poverty around us. Seeing kids begging for food that were about the same age as my own was especially hard.

Melissa giving a vitamin to a little girl

Each night we would reflect on the day’s events as a group. Through tears, one of our teammates recounted a story of connection with the women of Mogote through a women's ministry there. The ladies of our group sang a song in Spanish that cut straight to the heart for these hard-pressed women. At the end of her story, she said emphatically that it was an experience she would never forget. Our group leader, reminding us that we were just getting started, responded, "and it's Tuesday!"

For me, those words brought the realization that there is no substitute for experiencing the brokenness of poverty firsthand. I had never been outside of the American context to see just what Jesus had in mind when He spoke of the “least of these.” For me, poverty did not have a face until I met the people of Mogote.

So here's my encouragement to you: go and see for yourself.

Here is where you need to “lean in” as Bruce Wesley, senior pastor of CCCC, would say. Trust me that the experience is life-changing. Don't complicate things with silly ideas about being "called" to mission work. Jesus took care of that for you. You have already been called to greater things.

And there is still much work to be done.