AHA moments
There are rare moments when eyes light up, lightbulbs turn on, and audible ooohhhhs are heard that let everyone know, “I get it now.”
Those moments make all the hard work, the fervent prayers, and the many sacrifices worth it.
As someone who has had the honor of speaking into the lives of our youth at Hillspring for the past thirteen-ish years, I can wholeheartedly say, those moments with our youth never cease to amaze me. Often, they come from the spaces and places I least expect. However, there is one experience where they always come, year after year, regardless of who or what is involved.
That experience is our annual Youth Vision Trip to Honduras. I say annual, even though this was our first year back after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. We are preparing to go back next year.
In some ways, the two-year break was good as it allowed time for us to reflect, reset and recharge. It wasn’t what we wanted, but, as with so many other things, it’s what we were handed.
So, we waited. We heard stories and received updates about how things were going in Ojo de Agua, the village we last visited and worked with. But it wasn't the same as being there and being a part of it.
We were ecstatic when we finally got the green light to go back! In total, twenty-one of us began to prepare for the return. Only four of the twenty-one had been to Honduras before, and of the four, only Pastor Bryan and I had been to the village.
What I encountered upon our return was incredible, so I honestly had a hard time sorting through what I wanted to share. However, the more I thought about it, two main "A-Ha" moments captured much of what I experienced.
First, I was reminded of how important a solid foundation is. When we first arrived in Ojo de Agua 3 years ago, the area had been devastated by beetles and fires, which destroyed the vast majority of the trees in the area. It had caused the water table in Ojo de Agua to plummet severely, reducing their only water source to a mud puddle. So, we went to work. Now, when I say we, I mean the people of Ojo de Agua, the 2018 Hillspring Youth Team, the 2018 Hillspring Adult Team, and everyone who prayed for and helped make it happen. We were one family, bonded through Jesus for a common purpose: to bless each other and "encourage one another toward love and good deeds." Together we planted thousands of trees, knowing this would begin to bring the water table back up.
Fast forward three years later. The trees we had planted had grown a lot (many by at least 2 feet). The people of Ojo de Agua looked (and were) healthier than they had been three years previous, and the water source was now up to the point they needed an overflow to contain it. And, when we went to plant more trees, some of the holes we dug filled with water! The water table had risen!
All of this reminded me of the story Jesus told of the man who built his house on the sand versus the man who built his on a rock. Ojo de Agua may have felt like a sand foundation three years ago. However, with Jesus at the center, it wasn't. Now, the people of Ojo de Agua and Hillspring were experiencing the blessings built on that foundation. It was my A-Ha moment.
The second A-Ha moment came from our youth. They were told over and over to expect the unexpected. Now, you and I both know how that goes. No matter how often we tell someone something, unless we experience it, we just don’t get it. And we don’t know what we don’t know. So, what happens when you are in an unfamiliar environment and stripped of everything that allows you to escape from the moment? When you can't run away, you can't "phone a friend," you can't distract yourself with technology, your creature comforts are gone, and complaining doesn't do anything because everyone is in the same position you are?
Like it or not, what happens is that you become fully immersed in the moment. You are forced to be present and experience.
One by one, I watched as our youth broke in incredible ways. I'll be honest, I was nervous for a moment, wondering if some of them would rise to the occasion. But they did! Each of them faced what they needed to face, dealt with what they had to, and they all rose to the occasion and stepped up! You should all be so proud! By the end of our time in the village, each of our youth had experienced relationships on an entirely new level and learned things about themselves they never saw coming. These “new” relationship levels and personal insights were their A-Ha moments.
It has been both fun and heartbreaking to watch them struggle as they now have to deal with a cultural environment designed to help them escape and not embrace their new insights. I pray their desire for authentic connection (what they encountered in Honduras) will outweigh old habits and creature comforts. And the truth is, it is no different for us.
I want to encourage you to seek out one of our youth who just returned from Honduras. Ask them what they learned and what they are bringing back with them. I know they would love to share, and it may even light a fire for you to go and experience what they did for yourself!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Justin Porter