Recently Banks Church has teamed up with a church in Yoro Honduras. Our partnership has opened many doors and has brought us closer to our fellow believers in other parts of the world. Last summer a group visited and in the pages below are some of the pictures and descriptions of this fruitful visit.
In preparation for our mission trip to Honduras we met with Tom Harvey. Missions are a way of life for Tom so he was able to help guide us in what to expect.
Here we make the best of a long layover. None of us had more than 3 or 4 hours of sleep the night before so the benches and floor were beginning to look pretty good.
First glimpses of the beautiful countryside of Honduras.
Here we are making our way through customs. The Lord was with us. It all went smoothly.
Our first meeting with our new friends. From the very beginning we were made to feel at ease and special.
When we arrived at the Barrientos' we exchanged gifts. Scott presented Oscar with a new laptop computer. Oscar said that he had been praying for a computer for two years.He called it a "gift from God."
On the second day we got to take a hike in a rain forest. It was amazing.
On the hike we came across a beautiful waterfall. Here is proof positive that kids are the same everywhere. If you put a kid near water they will be in it.
And so was Leslie
We came across some beautiful flowers along the way. I don't think I have ever seen these in North Carolina.
Along the trail we came across a cable bridge. It was pretty shaky but it turned out to be all we needed to make it across.
A great view from the top
Pastor Scott at the waterfall
Yoro
The next day we traveled to Yoro. This is the town where Pastor Oscar has started a new church. This is a view of the main street through town. It was one of the paved streets and looked very prosperious compared to other parts of town
Internet is alive and well in Honduras. Internet cafe's are very popular here as well as cell phone service.
A view from a less prosperious part of town.
Animals are important to the people in Honduras. Something that amazed me was that there were very few fences. The animals roamed around pretty much at will. It was a common thing to see these animals walking along the side of the road right beside the traffic. They seemed to understand how to co-exist with people and cars.
More views from Yoro
In the midst of all of this is a shining beacon of hope. This is the church in Yoro that Pastor Barrientois and Leonor have organized. At first the congregation met in a garage but now The Lord has seen fit to provide them with this place. Through a lot of hard work from the congregation it is truly a place of beauty and a statement from God.
That evening we were invited to the prayer service. We could feel the presence of God there with us. The folks in Yoro love Jesus just as we do. It was exciting to come together with people from another part of the globe with one thing in common, our love for The Lord.
Here Martha addresses the congregation in Spanish. Well maybe a little Spanish.
That evening after the service we were honored with a delicious dinner. This was a time to mingle with the congregation and again we found just how similar our brothers and sisters in another land are to us.
The next day we were invited to travel with Sonya. She was a dentist that was also a member of the new church in Yoro. She was traveling to the remote Tolupan Indian village in the mountains of Yoro to do dental work on the children of the village.
These are the children lined up awaiting their turn to have teeth pulled.
Here Sonya is administering novacaine
Here is a picture of Sonya at work. Martha did a good job of calming the kids with her gentle hands and reasurance
This picture needs no caption. His little face says it all.
I was the flashlight holder. I have a weak stomach but The Lord gave me the strength.
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While Sonya was doing dental work Leslie did orthopedic evaluations on children that couldn't walk. She had some bad news for some with serious illness but good news for others. One little guy had been on crutches for quite some time. He never got follow-up since his cast had been removed. Leslie was able to show him the exercises to begin getting back on his feet
On our last day we went to the shopping district on the way to the airport. What a contrast from the day before.
This was our final goodbye to our new friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. It was hard to say goodbye but we all knew that a new friendship and lifelong partnership in Christ had been forged.
