Tony's Travel Blog - Part 1
Tony Traback, our Pastor of Mission Mobilization, recently returned from a trip to Honduras and Nicaragua to spend time with our partners there. We are presenting his reflections in a four-part series. This is the first installment.
bLoG1: Why ICE trips?
It is not always clear why we send members of our congregation across seas, mountains, and plains to other countries. Have you ever wondered why we do this? I have. Many times I have questioned the wisdom of spending so much money to board a plane to love someone in another country. Why travel so far when our unknown neighbors are so nearby?
I believe these are good questions. They are valid and worth exploring. As I have struggled with them, I initially concluded that such international compassion experiences are worth more than the money we dedicate to them as long our compassion is not limited to our overseas “neighbors.”
With that said, with that assumption suspended, I realized that I have a certain local bias. This local conviction is important to me. I believe that we cannot ignore our literal neighbors assuming that a weeklong love-trip somehow fulfills a quota. But I must admit that this conviction has softened as I have traveled to Peru and now Honduras and Nicaragua.
Traveling to Peru, I realized that ICE trips can have an inherent value, regardless of whether the trip leads to on-going compassionate service locally. Money spent on securing justice is never poorly spent. I realized that the work done in Peru is, without question, necessary.
Moreover, during ICE trips we experience a certain alignment, which often escapes us in daily California life. On ICE trips individuals can experience an alignment between what they read in the gospels and the lives they live. If only this experience allows one to read the gospels with new eyes, this experience is valuable.
ICE trips can also help us to exit our Superpower lens for a short time and learn from those who do not see reality from a posture of wealth and power. ICE trips are an opportunity to learn and repent. They are an opportunity to see reality from the posture of Jerusalem, not Rome.
And ICE trips are an opportunity to share our resources with those in need. Paul teaches that those with much should share with those with little. Simply, ICE trips are a way to do this.
But on this trip I have learned a much deeper reason for ICE trips. There is a purpose, which dwarfs all others. It is an end and not a means. I am fully convinced as I sit en una casa en Nicaragua that ICE trips are not about accomplishing something or performing good works. They are not about personal transformation or biblical application. In their essence, the purpose of ICE trips profoundly simple. They are about friendship.
Leaving Honduras and Nicaragua, I leave friends. They are not a means to an end but ends in themselves. They are friends. Together we have laughed and prayed, broke bread and worshipped. They have welcomed me with open arms and now we are more than partners and certainly more than international “abstractions,” they are friends with whom I have shaken hands and hugged. They have given me gifts of precious worth. But the greatest gift they have offered is friendship. And that is why I will return and encourage others to go. Let me introduce you to my friends. They live in Honduras and Nicaragua. Let me introduce you to their lives and their struggles. Let me share with you about the wonderful people that I have met. My friends.
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bLoG2: Honduras Host, Meeting Jairo
I did not stay in a hotel in Honduras. I stayed with a family. Jairo (the pastor of Iglesia en transformacion) met me at the airport and took me to his home. I slept in his son’s room—on the lower bunk of a bunk bed. See Jairo and his family wanted to welcome me into their family and welcome me as a friend. They could have set me up in a nice hotel. They could have picked me up at the hotel entrance daily and driven me around, introducing me to church programs. But Jairo and his family decided otherwise. They welcomed me into their family and their home as a friend.
I stayed in their home for three days. And I stayed with Jairo all day everyday. He was not satisfied to drop me off at projects. He wanted to personally introduce me to his world. He took me to his church, notable localities with his city, and introduced me to his friends. He also shared about himself as he shared his world.
This entry is about some of the things I learned. As boy, Jairo learned what it meant to be a minority—a Protestant in a Catholic country. One day he and his father (a pastor) were even shot at by Catholics. And yet, I find it amazing today that among all the division existing between Catholics and Protestants in Honduras, Jairo holds meetings with the Cardinal and harbors no resentment. As we enter our Peacemaking series, he seems a sterling example.
He can also relate to the poorer children of Los Pinos (where the church is heavily invested). In Los Pinos, the children often drop out of school so that they can begin to make money. But Jairo encourages them to remain in school as he did. For he knows that they will have a much better chance of making a living if they continue to learn.
As the youngest of six children, Jairo sought education. At university, he studied psychology and worked in the mental health wing of the hospital. At the end of his education, he received what is equivalent to a PHD and then started Iglesia en Transformacion. Because he worked with the poor, he was labeled a communist. And this was not something to joke about. Around Honduras wars were being fought over communism. Being labeled a communist was no joke. Yet, Jairo remained faithful to the whole gospel—a gospel which does not ignore the material life of the poor and simply focus on disembodied souls. And now he trains pastors around Tegucigalpa on Integral Mission (what we might call a holistic gospel). Gone are the days when he might have been considered an Evangelical stepchild. Now he is a mentor to many.
As we rode along, he casually shared with me that he also started habitat for humanity in Honduras and was recently given a shirt saying that 7000 houses have been built. While most people would have worn such an accomplishment like a badge, Jairo modesty shared that unless the people return to their houses with changed lifestyles, the new houses are only a cosmetic improvement. Rather than dwelling on his many accomplishments (and there are tons—for instance, he recently drafted mental health legislation for all of Honduras!), he humbly welcomed me into his family and introduced me to his ministry.
He is an amazing man of God that I am so glad to be in partnership with. Arriving in Honduras, I was unsure what I would find. And I found a profound man of dignity, faith and wisdom—one of the many reasons why our church has been partnered with him and his church for the last 8 years.
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bLoG3: Honduras, Day One in Tegucigalpa
I flew into Tegucigalpa Honduras before 10:00am. Jairo picked me up and we drove to Iglesia en Transformacion. The drive was through the city, nestled in the green hills of Honduras, populated with cars and their productive exhaust pipes, and people. When we arrived, Jairo explained that the church is located next to the most expensive university in all of Honduras and a poorer community called Los Pinos, focusing especially on its education.
Education, in fact, is one of the principle focuses of Iglesia en Transformacion. Its name is based on Rom 12:2—do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing your mind. [and this happens to be one of my favorite verses…!] Anyway, Jairo seems to believe and act on the premise that right thinking leads to right action. Like Paul, he affirms the truth that the renewal of our minds, leads to ascertaining God’s good will. Accordingly, on the church property they teach youth basic English and computer skills and help women pass Elementary Level tests (something like a middle school level of education in the US).
Located on the property itself is their church and some buildings. Their church building has a roof but open sides. I imagine this helps in the hot months—at least one gets a breeze. Apparently, in the past, they used to meet in a large tent and people often referred to their church as “the tent church.” But one day, strong winds literally ripped it apart. And their newer structure was built after this. When I asked Jairo if church attendees were soaked during rainstorms, he replied that in the four years that the church has had no walls, it has never once rained during the service. Can you say God’s blessing?
Also on the property are some offices and their newest building—a two story building with classrooms on the lower floor and office and a gathering area on the second story. They are hoping that the construction will be done by OCT 11th—the day they celebrate their 26th anniversary.
Having seen the property and how River giving has helped lead to the construction of some of the buildings and a few mud navigating cement sidewalks, we went on a car tour of the city. As I said, the city is nestled in green beautiful hills. We rose and dipped along narrow cement streets, from traffic jam to honking bus. As we rode, Jairo told me about his city, the poverty and the corruption, the violence and the safe spots. He showed me the malls for the rich and the malls of the poor. Basically, he showed me the city.
If you have been to Rio de Janero, you know that they have a large Jesus statue. Big Jesus stands with arms outstretched like they are nailed to the cross. In Tegucigalpa, they also have a Jesus statue. Though not as large, Jesus stands with hands lowered yet inviting. It is a more humble Jesus. And in some ways it personified Iglesia en Transformacion’s heart. They are hoping to invite all the poor and hungry to this welcoming Jesus who can relate to their suffering and need.