July 2006 Mission Trip to Honduras
In October of 1998, Hurricane Mitch wreaked devastation on Central America. Fourth Presbyterian Church responded with donations and then decided to do something more personal. Tom Schemper took the first group of 12 participants to Siguatepeque, Honduras in July 1999, and worked with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity Honduras to build 2 homes. Since that time, Calum MacLeod and Tom Schemper have led seven other groups to Siguatepeque. There have been a total of 168 travelers who have worked on 26 homes.
Three years ago, the idea formed to raise money to buy land so poor families without land could still get a house. In February of 2006, Dana Ferguson, Marc Miller, and Tom Schemper delivered a check for $19,000 to Habitat Honduras, which went towards the purchase of land on which nine homes could be built for select families in need. On July 19, a group of 24 people left for Siguatepeque and worked on 5 of the 9 homes on the purchased land.
What follows are thoughts and pictures of some of the group participants.
Reflections from 2006 Trip Participants
My favorite activity on the work site has always been a block line. I was elated when our first and last task during this week of hard work was to transfer a truck load of blocks from the road, up a hill, to the work sites. Everyone pitches in--our group, the masons and helpers, the family beneficiaries, and neighbors. When in the line, one has to make accommodations to exactly how the block is received and given. The line must be sensitive to the limitations of each member to keep working well. The enthusiasm generated by working together is contagious and helps the line be more productive. I love the way the brick line on a Habitat site in Honduras becomes a good metaphor for living in community.
--
Tom Schemper
Our work began with a block line. |
Wow. This trip was a very powerful experience. Being my first time, it was almost overwhelming to see how different people can live their lives. I’ve met so many great people and helped 5 amazing families who truly deserved a home. On the last night a few of us went out to dinner and talked about how we have each changed from this. I think something that will always be changed inside of me is the materialistic part of myself. By the end of the trip, I no longer would be worrying about my looks as much as usual. I didn’t care as much about what I had. Buying things for myself wasn’t as fun as buying presents for others. I really learned how many things I have taken for granted at home that are a huge deal to many others (such as running water, food, homes). I now can better appreciate the important things in life. I also made genuine friends while learning these important lessons. I am so glad I got to experience such a remarkable and rewarding trip.
-- Kiki VanderZyden
Kiki VanderZyden works with a benericiary. |
Honduras was a life-changing experience for my daughter, Christine, and me. Though it was difficult to carve out the time and leave the rest of our family behind, we knew that we would return enriched. It was a bonding experience for the two of us, but it was also a bonding experience between us and so many others. When you work toward a common goal all barriers and prejudices are left behind. One universal language is spoken, that of love. We connected with the Habitat employees, the masons, the recipient families, the orphans, the neighbors, and of course, the other volunteers. It felt as though we truly had a united purpose and this energized everyone. I loved the hard work, I loved the country, I loved the spiritual growth, and I loved all those that touched my life. I will cherish this experience forever.
-- Debra VanderZyden
A grandmother comes to see the progress on the house
we are building for her grandaughters. |
Thoughts of Honduras
Dog barks
Rooster crows
Baby cries
Wind blows
Bilingual smiles and laughter
Hilly circuits of wheelbarrows
Hot son
Blocks in rows
Blue skies
House grows
God’s children sharing, caring
Hopes for brighter tomorrows
--
Lisa Doak
Lisa Doak laying block. |
This is my third year on this trip and I think it was the most meaningful. What made it stand out from the rest is that there were five work sites all right next to each other. I had a chance to work with everybody that was on the trip with me. I got to know people tons better because they were all together. I had unique experiences while working with all of them. I also got to know some of the families by playing soccer and that was really meaningful, too, because we both share that passion.
-- Jake Schemper
Jacob Schemper with a load of sand. |
This is my fourth time on the Honduras trip and I still love this. As always in this trip, I met some new great people with whom I shared some great experiences. I especially enjoyed helping out the families we built houses for. One of the memorable experiences was working with an old man named Delores. All week he showed me what the true meaning of hard work was and I will always remember this.
-- Ben Schemper
Dolores taught Ben the true meaning of hard work. |
Ben playing with children at the orphanage. |
This year in Honduras was very fun because it was a lot different than before. We all worked to help build five houses on the same worksite. Two of the families were single mothers trying to get a better home for their children. The others wanted the same also. I think it’s really nice that Fourth Presbyterian Church does this, and I feel very fortunate to have helped build these homes.
-- Peter Schemper
Pete makes rebar. |
What has stayed with me from this trip is a sense of how rich and varied the experience was. The work, the community, the activities, the sites, the emotional experience at the orphanage, the beauty of Honduras, and, most importantly, the laughter. We met a whole new set of friends and fellow travelers, connections I hope will last a long time.
-- Douglas Bunnell
Doug Bummel is clung to by a child at the orpahange. |
As I reflect on the Honduras mission trip, I think of the power of community when God’s
people work together to help each other, and how as much as we help the beneficiarios,
they also truly give to us and we gain much more from the exchange when that happens.
I think we all know this but I was able to see this much more tangibly on this trip.
Two weeks before the trip, I broke my foot. After consultation with my doctor and Tom, I decided to go ahead and participate, not knowing how much I could truly contribute. As it turned out, there were many jobs that I could do--painting, wiring rebar, slinging blocks in the line, and laying blocks or filling mortar (albeit only on the lower levels--no scaffolding for me!). However, the one thing that I could not do by myself was get to our job sites, all of which were up on a steep hill--providing a nice beautiful view (Bella Vista), but also impassable for me. From the first days, my fellow Fourth Church trip members gladly helped me get up and down from the site, which I greatly appreciated. However, by mid-week, the masons and beneficiarios would watch for me and eagerly offer assistance. One of the family members would wait for me each afternoon to lend his arm and escort me down the hill. It struck me that going on the trip in my “broken-ness” provided a unique opportunity for the beneficiarios to tangibly demonstrate the gifts they have to offer. We always know of their willingness to work on their homes, their pride in home ownership, their joy in life, and their laughter. In this case, I also truly knew of their desire to give back and reciprocate to us as individuals.
As one of our songs states
Brother, Sister let me serve you,
Let me be as Christ to you;
Pray that I may have the grace to
Let you be my servant too.
It’s important for us to give, but it’s also important to recognize that others need to give too, and that we all need to receive--because in doing so we find humility and let others experience the joy of giving and the dignity that affords. Giving and receiving. Humility and dignity. Isn’t that God’s way and what a community or “Global Village” is all about?
-- Allison Youngblood
Allison Youngblood working in her walking cast. |
Working side by side with people who are working hard to have a respectable home for their families was a very rewarding experience. It was a great joy to see their children happily playing in the dirt around the work site. It was truly eye-opening to see people so happy with so little. A great reminder of how unimportant our worldly possessions are. We were really able to feel the spirit of God at work in our efforts.
-- Bob Doak
Bob Doak examines his wall. |
People Stay the Same
By: Alex Rodak
Verse 1
There’s a fog out in the distance
And blue skies up above
Right here in this place that some people
call home
People tryin to make a livin by being who
they are
In this humble town that they call home
Chorus
WOOOAA the houses goin up
O yeah
But the people will stay the same
But the people will stay the same
Verse 2
The stars shine so much brighter here
than they did way back home
And the grass is really greener on the other
side of the world
the sun set over the horizon that didn’t
consist of homes
Chorus
WOOOAA the houses goin up
O yeah
But the people will stay the same
But the people will stay the same
Verse 3
Now in this place that some call home
Is beautiful at last
The houses are built to last for the people who
needed them
But the one thing people remember through
All of this change is the people stayed the same
Alex the song writer takes a gatorade break. |
True confessions: I have been reading about the mission trips for years, but I always harbored some uncertainty about whether or not it was necessary (and even right) to travel 2,000 miles away to another country and culture to build homes when our own neighbors 10 blocks away are in such need of housing. God commands us to love our neighbor. Does that mean that we should be getting plane tickets for some faraway place when we have so much work to do right here in Chicago?
The answer for me after this trip is a resounding yes. My conviction started deepening after a long day on the worksite when we were gathered around the one television at the Forestry School watching events unfold before our eyes in Lebanon, Israel, and Iran. It didn’t feel so remote to be in Honduras as I was watching CNN. The previous day a few of us had walked into town and found a bunch of internet cafes. Our cell phones worked. The family behind the work site living in a shack had a radio. This is a poverty-stricken, third-world country where world news can be more available than a flush toilet or good drinking water. The people living in these third-world countries might not read, but they are connected to the world as never before. I believe these people have become our neighbors and that we are called to love them.
I know that I took more from my experiences in working with the masons and beneficiaries than the small amount of work that I did for them. My Spanish is regrettably non-existent, and I am used to relying on words to communicate. I was suddenly forced to use other ways to communicate, and I was stunned at how well that worked. Daniel (one of the masons) was one of the best people I’ve ever worked for. He would come over and tie two pieces of “rebar” together with a small piece of wire. He would then have me do it. He’d nod and show me how to make it better. I’d do another one. After a few more tries, he would smile and say, “Beuno!” It was great.
I was so touched by the many children I met. Claudia is a 6-year-old daughter of one of the beneficiary families. She delighted in helping us and her parents build this home. On our last afternoon a group of us set a goal of getting all of the rebar reinforcements done for the house on a hill. This is a very tedious job, so we started singing any song we could think of–songs from the Sound of Music, the Beatles, Tina Turner. I’m sure Bob Doak (who sings in the Morning Choir) was cringing. Claudia came over and began handing us pieces of wire at just the right time, and it genuinely helped speed things up. I will miss her.
My experience in visiting the orphanage is forever stamped in my memory. It’s one thing to know that there are kids out there in orphanages; it’s quite another thing to know their faces and personalities and have to say good-bye to them after sharing laughs and giggles and hugs and taking digital pictures of one another, knowing that they will likely never know the constancy of a parent’s love.
The dedication ceremony on our last workday was quite moving. I guess I thought it might be superficial, but the gratitude that was expressed was overwhelming. Because these families only get 5 days of free labor, the Calvinist in me wondered if we had worked hard enough or efficiently enough. Could we have gotten one more row of bricks up? I now realize that even more important than helping to build the houses is the love that is exchanged in the process.
-- Linda Bracken
Linda Bracken builds a wall. |
One of the patient masons who was our teacher. |
Family that will live in one of the houses.. |
24 traveled to Honduras to build homes with Habitat. |
