Honduras Bolivia Mission Trip (Bayou La Batre, Alabama)
Most of you may have heard already, but we weren't able to go to Honduras on our mission trip. A military coup in Honduras made it too dangerous to take 18 teens there. A last minute decision was made to make an alternative trip to Bayou La Batre, Alabama. This area was also hit hard by Hurricane Katrina but there wasn't as much attention given to rebuilding like in New Orleans.
The Hemley Road Church in Bayou La Batre has been in existence since Hurricane Katrina. They purchased a flood damaged building from another church and have been working on it ever since. They have also coordinated a massive community outreach effort. This church is overseen by the El Campo Church of Christ and also works closely with White's Ferry Road Church of Christ. Billy Spaulding and Daphne German have done some tremendous work there. From my observation, their secret ingredient is "unconditional love." Mama Daphne is the organized one and Papa Billy is the calm, patient one. Together they are patient, encouraging, loving, forgiving, and full of compassion for the people of that community.
Our 13 teens jumped into the work with both hands. The adults who went could barely keep up. We all continue to be impressed by our teen group and they made a lasting impression on the Hemley church. They sacrificed rest time to keep working to finish what they were working on, knowing we had just a short time to get the long list of things done. We did spend a few hours on the beach, but only after a long day of work.
You're probably wondering why I titled this a Bolivia Mission Trip. When we got there we met two men, Remy and Roberto, who had been attending Sunday mornings for about a month and studying with John Ash and Jonathan Toledo (interpreter) from the Summerdale congregation. Remy and Roberto, both 49, are both from La Paz, Bolivia. They are working in a shrimp processing plant in Bayou La Batre. Our first Bible study was Sunday night. With no interpreter we were unsure of where to start. Thankfully, Remy was able to understand us pretty well and interpret for us. With the help of the Spanish Bibles Matt Tignor (Mateo), Steve Taylor (Senor Steve) and myself started our first of 4 nights of study and fellowship. Krista Autrey was a very fluent addition at Wednesday night's study. By then we had 6 Bolivian friends in attendance. Gabriel and Emma (married), Gualberto, and Ilberth all attended at least two of our studies. Daphne and Billy reached out to them and helped with some work clothes and some food from their food pantry.
Roberto is a very good painter (artist). He painted both Steve and I a beautiful water color of a scene from Bolivia. Mine shows Lake Titi-Caca and Mt. Illimani. I have an idea to help him sell some paintings to supplement his income.
Matt, Steve and I learned quite a bit about Bolivia and a lot more spanish than we knew before. I used translate.google.com a lot during the week. I'm anxious to learn more so I'll be better prepared next time.
Overall, this was a great trip for me. And, I only had to drive 3.5 hours instead of flying 3.5 hours from Atlanta to another country to do God's work. And, since I procrastinated on my shots I didn't have to take them.
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