Honduras - Day 3

As United Methodists, Resurrection is strongly grounded in the theology of John Wesley. Throughout my time in the church, I have become well acquainted with the Wesley Covenant Prayer, some of it which reads:

“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty…”

For many people in 2026, myself included, the words in this prayer can be difficult to swallow, and its requests may seem downright strange to embrace. It is not until going on a serve trip that I can begin to grasp the ethos of this prayer. This realization is largely the culmination of observations I have made from the people in Honduras.

Most of the people we have encountered here lead lives that many Americans would consider to be quite humble. Many of these same Americans (or other Westerners) may find it difficult to step into the shoes of these people; they may resist in giving up luxuries they often take for granted but are nonetheless rarely experienced by 99% of the world.

I don’t make these statements to judge anyone – I believe they merely draw an illustration of the paradox of materialism: when we become so absorbed in the things that we possess, those things take up space that may otherwise be used for things like friendship, faith, compassion, and gratitude. Conversely, when we let go of these things, we find our mind naturally drifting to what is left: relationships, time spent in nature, meditation and prayer, and other simple joys that can be experienced as long as we set the intention to do so.

Another phrase familiar to the United Methodist Church is our new motto as of 2025: Love boldly, serve joyfully, lead courageously. Although most of our Honduran friends are likely to be unfamiliar with this phrase, they are unquestionably a living embodiment of precisely what these words mean in practice.

I have met people who experienced great hardship, past and present, yet they do not seem to have fear of any looming adversity in their future. I met a man who recently awoke from a coma, yet he was vigorously lending his expertise and abilities to assist us in building a pila (these are the traditional concrete water tanks we’re building that will be used as multipurpose washing stations). A single mother of three undoubtedly feels the pressure of her growing financial obligations, but she takes pride in her values so that nothing stands in the way from keeping her children healthy, well-fed and well-clothed, tidily groomed, and practicing a polite disposition to visitors from a foreign country. I met a man who was deported from the US while working to support his family, yet his patience and unmatched work ethic would make him an indispensable asset on any team. These people, and more, show just what it means to love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously.

How can I begin to life more like these hosts who are so brightly welcoming us in their country? I can start by reordering my priorities. I can continue by allowing trivial things like traffic to fall off my back like a few raindrops that will disappear from my shirt almost as fast as from my mind. We spent an hour sitting in traffic, in which time we moved about 10 meters. However, I took this time to have conversations with my missions team and our interpreters. We shared laughs and hopes about the coming day.

Today when arriving at Vacation Bible School afternoon programming, we were greeted by dozens of 4-12 year olds with an excitement and enthusiasm that would suggest we had been closely acquainted for years; the reality, of course, was that we were meeting for the first or second time. As we prayed together and played together, it dawned on me that all of these blessed souls are operating with an innate understanding, most likely subconsciously, of the true priorities in life. They attack the day with a commendable resilience and they do so with a smile.
The realities of poverty are disheartening but not necessarily hopeless. Oftentimes people that do not have much in terms of material wealth nevertheless prioritize gratitude for those things that they are blessed with. Consequently, they are able to focus more on the treasures of relationships with each other and the unbreakable bond to our Creator. Everything we do should be for the glory of God, for everything we have is bestowed to us by Him.