Why AIA Honduras?

Why would a rational person: 1) Raise money to travel on a foreign mission, 2) Leave the comforts of home and culture, 3) Travel with a bunch of strangers, 4) Give up a week of vacation, and 5) Lose sleep and 6) Risk parasites or worse?  Tourism?  Not even close!  There are only a couple of hours scheduled for even buying souvenirs.

So Why do this?  There are several reasons: 1) Because we can, 2) Because we see the value, and 3)Because we choose to spend our “treasures on earth” to gain “treasures in heaven”! (Matt 6 :19-21).  So far, we have been able to: pray for our brothers and sisters, by name, in Honduras, provide educational service to the National University, the Technical University, and the Honduras Olympic Committee, give numerous testimonies to the participants in each venue, pray and support one another, and, most importantly, see many, many students, and some faculty, express interest in learning more about, and serving, Christ through the local ministry team.

Sure, we need a few treasures on earth - food, shelter, clothing-, but these things will soon pass away.  But… when we invest in heaven, the benefits are eternal.  That Bible passage concludes by telling us that, “Where our treasure is, there will our heart be also.”  We struggle, like most people, with where our treasure is. 

Some of us older team members know by experience, and the younger team members know by faith, that mission trips, with their demands, and rewards, help us greatly in transferring our desires from earthly to heavenly ones. And that is WHY.  We have been changed by each other, by our colleagues in Honduras, and by some of the people we attempted to serve.  We will not be the same going back home as we were coming here.  We have laid up a small bit of treasure in heaven.  We will forget some of what we learned, but our heart has been changed a small bit, for eternity.  And that is REALLY WHY!