This is the Mercy International Farmhouse. After landing in the San Pedro Sula airport, we drove several hours to this location to rest before our busy days ahead. Henry and Cindy Lowman founded Mercy International in 1989 and this is their central location…Yamaranguila, Honduras. It’s a long way from Arkansas where they started out.
Inside the farmhouse there are lots of bunks with extremely comfortable beds. I don’t know if they’re supposed to be as comfortable as they are, but Henry and Cindy strive to give the missionary groups a nice bed, great food, and clean bathrooms to make us Americans feel a bit more at home. We slept here for the first two nights of our trip as we prepared to journey into the mountains of Honduras.
The mission houses interns from Honduras to give them meaningful employment as translators / guides / everything else. Here is my good friend Jon teaching them how to play some worship songs.
I traveled with a couple guys into town to purchase some food / supplies for the trip into the mountains. The markets are amazing.
Here is Henry bartering for a better deal…a universal custom pretty much lost in the USA.
We picked up roofing supplies and repaired / installed several roofs.
There are far more Diesel vehicles in Honduras…yet there are not many places to repair them. So if you’re a diesel mechanic looking for an interesting destination to make a living…
Chimichurri anyone?
We all thought we would lose a bit of weight while we were there…but with food like this, it was tough.
Here is one of our fearless leaders…Jimmy Taylor from Aurora Indiana. He’s been living in Honduras for about 10 years now.
Jimmy escorted us to one of the most heart-wrenching places on the planet; the “Invasion”. We worked on roofs here, but mostly we played with kids and loved on the people. If there’s a place that needs it…it’s here. These people have no electricity, no water, no anything really. They squatted on this land after being displaced by a hurricane several years ago. They are trying to build a community from nothing and they have no education or skills to speak of.
This is Linda (Leenda). She is so beautiful and I remember her from last year when I first visited the Invasion.
This is Linda’s baby sister. She looks to be about 12-18 months old from the United States standards. She is actually 3 years old.
These children have almost zero affection from men. It’s hard for us to understand why they just want to cling to us, but it’s easy to surrender to.
I’m out of blogging energy now. I will post more later…for now, I’ll leave you with a few photos yet to be explained. I can say this…we definitely were not planning on getting shots in Honduras.
Dios Le Bendiga!
What happened?? Why is your face swollen like that??? shots??? In a foriegn country… scary!
Your pictures are amazing… thanks for letting me live through your lens. =)
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Good stuff, Ryan! Glad you made it back safe. What is amazing about “The Invasion” is that they are everywhere in Honduras and they are all called “The Invasion”. Hurricane Mitch displaced so many people through the entire country, these invasions popped up everywhere and each one is just as “heart-wrenching” as the next. Still so much work to be done! I’m glad VWS is taking it upon themselves to do what they can for God’s Kingdom in Honduras and the West Side. Such different places, yet both are just as much in need of God.
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The art of bartering is not dead in America, I am very familar with this art. I love the pictures of the kids and the big dorks. Very nice.
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What I found neat about this trip was the fact that a few of you were there one year ago to lay those first bricks for the first church of it’s kind in Honduras. Coming full circle, a few of you (four of you, I think) were on the trip this time to lay some of the finishing touches on the same building.
It is always good to see you guys coming home. Your faces are so full of life – torn between the pain and beauty of what you have just seen and the reality of life here with family and friends. It even makes me, a non-hugger, want to hug every last one of you!
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Jon wants to know where the picture is of him getting a shot in his butt?
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More great photos! The kids look so sweet. Thank you for the work you are doing for them.
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The pictures of the market are amazing! I instantly started thinking of what I could cook!
Love it all!
Sheila
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Awesome pics! Thanks for sharing.
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The pics are amazing as usual. Again, what happened to your eye and what in the world is going on with those shots?
Linda IS beautiful as well as her sister.
Linda (which was my mothers name) means beautiful.I really love that name.
Can’t wait for more pics ans stories.
Thank you for sharing with us.
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I love it Ryan!
Thank you!
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That Bible verse: For I know the plans I have for you – my absolute favorite. So appropriate for so many occasions. I look forward to more pictures.
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again, more great photography! Love these, wanna see more! But you didn’t tell what happened with the eye!
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I am curious as to why the children don’t receive male affection – is it a cultural thing?
What an impact your team must have had on these people – bless all of you for sharing God’s love with them.
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I am very good friends with Henry and Cindy and actually serve as the Hope and a Future chairman. Thanks for taking the trip down and spending it serving the amazing people of Honduras.
I have a technical question though. What type of camera did you use to take these wonderful pictures, and what program do you have to give it that cool “fish eye” look?
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VERY PROUD to call Cindy my sister and Henry my brother-in-law. Thank you for sharing their mission with the world. Your pictures and words speak volumes.
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