Infectious joy
Nathan and friends from Ojo de Agua teach and learn Spanish and English words together
As a parent, there are certain moments that stand out. Moments of pride. Moments that defy words because of the joy and exhilaration felt when a child rises to the occasion, exceeds expectations and or the lightbulb finally goes off! I got to experience these moments with both my oldest daughter Grace and, a year later, with my son Nathan when they were in Honduras on their Youth Vision Trips. As my son began to apply to colleges, he needed to submit an essay giving insight into who he is. He wrote about his Honduras experience. I had no idea his time there was as much of a moment for him as it was for me. I asked if I could share it with our Hillspring family and he gave me the okay! Below is his essay (well, at least an almost final version). My hope as you read this, is that it will give you a little insight into how God works in and uses us through our Honduran Ministry. And, if/when your youth have the opportunity to go, you will do all you can to help them get there!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Justin
Nathan’s essay:
Pure, limitless, and infectious joy. I had never felt anything remotely close to this emotion, at least, not to the extent I had that week. With my junior year of high school recently behind me, I found myself in Central America, venturing through the tropical landscape of Honduras. I, along with several others from Hillspring Church, were traveling to “Ojo de Agua,” a remote village up in the mountains. We would arrive soon. I had not seen any pictures nor heard any descriptions of what the village looked like. I tried to imagine it. Unfortunately, all the possibilities moving through my head were tainted by my ignorance and biases which led me to a dismal view of the people we were about to meet. In short, I believed they would be miserable because of their poor living conditions. Nothing could have prepared me for what I witnessed when we arrived.
Standing in the bed of the truck as it slowly traversed the rocky and uneven terrain up the mountain toward the village, I could see the peak. We would soon reach Ojo de Agua. Despite its name (which means eye of water), water availability and cleanliness were major problems for the village. It was the reason for our journey. Other groups from Hillspring Church had gone before us and had made good progress, but there was still more to be done. The goal of our group was to plant a mass number of trees with the villagers near their water source to help raise the underground water table. It had dropped over the past year due to the destruction of the existing trees by fires and parasitic bugs.
As we came around the last corner to Ojo de Agua, many people came into view! Most of the village had been waiting all day to greet us! Children held signs saying “Bienvenidos,” or “Welcome” and the adults were smiling and waving! This was not the welcome I was expecting! We spent the rest of the day getting to know the amazing people living there. With a sense of pride, they showed us their homes, which to us would not even be considered homes. Most were one-room shacks that would, at best, provide protection from the weather. Regardless, the people were proud and excited for us to be a part of their lives. They opened their homes to us and we ate most of our meals with them, getting to know them with the help of our translators. From day one, we began to bond!
We spent the majority of the next two days strategically planting trees with the villagers. I had never worked with as much effort as I did during that time. Something about the people made you want to keep going, to push yourself, to give all you had into the work you were doing. In two days, we planted just over 2,000 trees! We had run out and we still had a couple of days left with the villagers! I was both exhausted and energized at the same time, excited to spend more time with the people.
On the morning we left the village, everything I had experienced and learned came to fruition. I finally understood the message in front of me the entire time. Happiness is not material. It doesn’t come from what we have or the conditions we are in. Happiness is found in the people around us, from the bonds we share. They impact our outlook on everything! The people of Ojo de Agua had nothing material compared to me, yet they were filled with joy! They loved life, their relationships and enjoyed experiencing the world with them! It was infectious and made me realize what I want to do with my life. I want to help others experience the joy I saw in the people of Ojo de Agua. The joy I deeply felt as I lived and worked with them. If I am able to do that, I know the quality of my life and the lives of those around me will greatly increase, regardless of what we have or possess! I know it won’t be easy as our culture places so much value on stuff. However, I also know the transformative power of putting relationships above things and the joy that it brings!
Nathan Porter