Honduras (HCC) Team Spring Break 2023 - Anna Claire Latta's Story
April 14, 2023
honduras hcc team with local family
Because of the pandemic, I didn’t get my full four years at Lipscomb. I wanted to make the most of my time here and use the two spring breaks I did have for God’s glory.
So, when I heard Lipscomb Missions and Hillsboro’s 412 student ministry were relaunching their annual spring break mission team to Honduras last year, I had to go! I heard about it at the end of January and submitted my application that night without knowing anything else about it. I just put my faith in the Lord that it would be great. And it was! It was so great that I knew I needed to go back my senior year, too. Seeing how the Lord has worked both years blows me out of the water.
Our team partners with Mateo Church of Christ. Before we travel there, their minister finds people in the community who need housing. The day before we arrive, some of the church members set up posts, and then we show up and build. We run boards, set rafters, and do a tin roof. Because our team is so big, we split into three groups and each group built one house each day. That means that each night, three families got to go to bed with a new roof over their heads! We built 15 houses this year.
The people we met tugged on my heart. A lot of times, the family would be present to help build their home. We got to meet their kids, interact with them and get to know a little of their story. Seeing the joy and pride they had in their new shelter at the end of the day was indescribable!
Plus, people from the church will take off of work each year to help us build, and many friends I met last year came back to work with us again this year. It was sweet to see and build together with them again.
I felt inadequate at times on the worksite because other people are hammering away while I’m taking 16 swings to get one nail in. In fact, the Hondurans can run circles around us building houses. I am so grateful for their patience with me! For example, one man and I worked on the same wall one day. He would finish his section and then wait for me and encourage me to keep going. Joking back and forth with him is one of my favorite memories.
I had such a soul-fulfilling week! That’s one of the things about this trip: you are building houses every single day, but your soul is so rested.
In one of our nightly debriefs, we talked about how the Lord is building our houses in heaven and how that work and our work are sacred.. After the fall in Eden, work became a burden, but it was not always meant to be that way. When we work for the kingdom, like building the houses each day, instead of feeling heavy and empty, our souls feel fulfilled. That’s a great picture of the beauty of work!
Not a Trip
Category: Student Life