LIFE CHANGING

Wow, I don’t know where to begin to share my unforgettable experience I just had in Honduras. I have been on 13 mission trips and I have to say this one was the most memorable. I couldn’t have asked to go with a better group of people. They were all so pleasant to be around the entire trip. It made the trip that much more enjoyable.
Well to start off I was caught by surprise to see my lovely Mother was at the Airport to pick us up. That sure put a smile on my face. I went to Honduras with an open heart to try to take in every experience & moment that I could embrace. I can go ahead and tell you I had so many different experiences and challenges last week. I went over there to also reflect on some experiences that have recently occurred in my life and to decide which experiences need my dedication. A lot of things were eye openers for me & I am sure for other people on the trip as well. I saw some things I have never seen before that will make you realize how short life truly is. I have so much going on in my life right now & going to Honduras was exactly what I needed. I went to Honduras with so many things going through my head. I was in hopes of being able to let some things go in my life. This trip really allowed me to do so. My trip to Honduras really taught me a lot, not only about myself but about life.
We started our tripclimbing the ferocious Mountains of Pico Bonito, to see the most beautiful Waterfalls created. Of course as we started our journey up the mountain it started raining. What I really mean was it poured down raining the entire way up the mountain. It only made for a more adventurous hike. I got the courage to jump off a 12 foot rock. That at first didn’t seem that high until I climbed up there and got ready to jump off. We were all enjoying the nature of the amazing earth.
The next day we went White Water Rafting. Or so I thought. I learned that day that “Real Men Raft without Rafts”. We spent the first two hours climbing, repelling, & jumping off all different sizes of rocks into the rapids. It really taught me to how use mind over matter. You really had to believe in yourself that you could accomplish some of the things we were challenged to do. The biggest challenge was to climb up a huge rock and jump 20 feet into the rapids. To then only swim across the current, climb back up a straight 33 foot rock with my bare hands and feet with no help. My first question was how in the world I’m I going to get down once I get up there. The only way down was to jump. So I took a couple of deep breaths and jumped off this 33 foot rock into the rapids. We finally made it back to the raft & continued down the river hitting class 2, 3, & 4 rapids. We had a couple of close calls but as a team we made it through. “Who’s the Best? We Are!” That was an awesome strengthening experience for me.
Next we visited a local Orphanage filled with the most precious children in the world. We brought the children clothes, shoes, books, & hair accessories. The mother told us that she was just praying for more shoes for the children. And we blessed them with shoes to wear. All of the children had to saddest stories of how they ended up in the Orphanage. All the children were 4 years of age and under. We played with all the children & helped feed them their dinner for the evening. Of course I found a newborn. I found an infant to take care of everywhere I went.
We also visited a local village that my parents are building homes for. There are a total of 33 families that are in need of a better roof over their head. While we were there we did arts and crafts with the children of the village.
The next day we visited a nursing home in La Ceiba. We sang songs with them and played ball. They were so precious. They have no family to come visit them so they are always happy to see new faces. That day we also had a Bible Class with the children in my parent’s neighborhood. We taught them English & did arts & crafts.
While I was there I got to share a few meals with my parents. I have longed for my mothers cooking again. Boy did that make me happy. A group of us took a ferry boat ride to the Bay Islands of Utila. We went to a beautiful beach with crystal clear water & pearly white sand. We all rented snorkeling equipment that afternoon & took a journey out into the ocean. We saw some of God’s greatest creations. Some people got to experience it for the very first time. It was awesome to share that experience with them.We ate some great food & met some interesting people while were on the island. One of the hardest challenges I experienced on the trip was Scuba Diving. I will admit I had quite a bit of a struggle getting used to breathing out of the respirator. But after a while with the assistance of my diving instructor I was able to overcome my struggles. I did something I didn’t think I could do. & that in itself was self rewarding. We had several drills to accomplish at the bottom of the ocean before we could explore. We were 55 feet under water. I’m telling you I was sitting on the bottom of the ocean. That’s so crazy to me. Wow, we saw all kinds of amazing creatures. We saw tons of colorful fish, Eels, Crabs, & Squids. We also had a chance to see a ship wreck. We then changed oxygen tanks & went to a different part of the island to dive again. That was quite an amazing experience for me.
That was not only the most adventurous trip I have been on but the most rewarding. I was really blessed by the people in Honduras. They are just so humbling. I hope everyone will have the same opportunity to experience what I got to experience last week. I was able to open my heart to some things I haven’t been able to. This trip opened my eyes to what is most important to me. I also was able to close a page in my book & start the next page. Life is too short not to experience real life on this amazing earth. Don’t waist your precious time wondering if you could experience what I just got to experienced. Just go for it & don’t look back.
written by bethany skelton