A Sack of Corn and a Bag of Beans

Geraldo and Florencia and granddaughter Ester

Several weeks ago, Geraldo, was hit by a motorcycle as he was walking home. He broke his arm and badly skinned and bruised his leg. He's in his late 50's and is a subsistence farmer. The damage done to his body is going to put him out of work for several months.

There's no disability here, no insurance, no government aid or welfare. The rider of the motorcycle has nothing...and that includes insurance. Geraldo told me that as he lay in the hospital emergency room in Comayagua the main thought on his mind was, "how am I going to feed my family".

We have been attending a small church plant in Barrio Calan since we arrived here in Honduras. We have no building, just a roof to sit under. The service is very informal and interactive. Chickens, dogs and children play around our feet. The congregation is poor, but there is a good feeling of family and community. I love it and I love these people!

I was overwhelmed as I watched the little church reach out and care for Geraldo and Florencia during this time of need. A sack of corn here, a bag of beans there, a hug and a prayer as needed. Last Sunday, Geraldo gave a tearful testimony to God's goodness to him and his family and his thankfulness to his church family for their love and provision for them. The little church is growing in it's understanding of what it means to be a "family" and what it means to love each other.

We are in the beginning stages of planning for a building. I have to be honest, I have very mixed emotions about this. It worries me on many different levels. I worry that we will begin to focus on a building and a program rather than on the people. I worry that the little amount of funds the church has in it's offerings will be consumed in paying bills and not used to care for the needs of the people. I'm afraid that we will lose the "familiness" that we have. But I worry most of all that if it does happen, that we Gringos with all of our good intentions, will do it all for them. I worry that if we do, that we will take away from this small, but growing congregation the opportunity, the experience and the joy of seeing something become a reality that has come from their own dreams, their own efforts, from the work of their own hands and from their own faith.

I worry too much. I know that. But more and more, I see that if we encourage people to dream and to believe that it is possible for them to do what is in their hearts, that they can and will do it. To start with loving and caring for each other is the right place to begin. And that need crosses all borders and all cultures. What that looks like doesn't always come from pouring large amounts of money into programs or building projects. Sometimes it's in giving others the necessary tools they need to do it for themselves. Sometimes it just looks like a sack of corn and a bag of beans.