Preparations

^^ Some of my teammates! <3
Hey everyone! Lainey here. So we are not leaving for a few more weeks, but I want to share why I want to go to Honduras and the specific story of how I got to where I am. Since last summer, I was planning on traveling to Europe with two of my friends. It’s the only reason I got a job as an usher at Royce and it was my full intention. I started saving money and started planning, remade connections with friends abroad and we even made a route of where we wanted to travel. It was all planned out and I was stoked to have epic adventures.

Then one my friends who was going said she would be interning the entire summer and my other friend decided he should work over the summer instead.

So I was pretty sad because I didn’t want to travel alone. Then the Travel Study program popped up one day while talking with another friend (you guys know who you are!). It seemed like this was what I was supposed to be doing and this must have been why other Europe plans didn’t work. I even applied after the deadline and they accepted my application. We were going to study in Spain together! However, when I ran down to Murphy at 7am one Friday to turn in paperwork, they told me that Travel Study only offered Spanish up to level 3 and I had already taken those, so it would be for nothing. So once again I felt defeated.

Then they suggested I switch to the EAP program because it offered Spanish 4-6. The program was a little different but I went for it and applied. But then my best friend from Arizona asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. Her friendship means so much to me, and her wedding was the first week of the program, so I emailed the director and she said the first week was the fun traveling week but that it was ok if I missed it and came a week late. So I turned in my $300 deposit. It was final. I was finally going where I was supposed to go for the summer.

2 days later I get an email from the head of the entire program. I can’t come late. I ask for a refund. They say it is a non-refundable deposit. I lose $300 and all my summer plans crash and burn.

By this time I was extremely frustrated. I had given up. But a few days later I got to thinking. Maybe I’m not supposed to be going to Europe at all. Maybe the timing is wrong or I didn’t put enough thought into it. Honestly, Leah’s announcement about Honduras from Catalyst immediately came to mind. It was weird. I took out my planner and wrote in it, “is Honduras mission trip an idea God wants me to consider? Still get my Spanish practice in an extremely humbling way rather than a prideful, expensive Spain trip?” That week I talked to Leah over lunch and everything fell in place. In fact, it was almost too easy how perfectly it all worked out. It was so simple, no issues whatsoever. I feel I am most definitely supposed to be going on this trip.

And it doesn’t end there! I seriously saw in tangible ways how God was making everything work for this trip. I mentioned at work what I was going to be doing this summer and this guy who has a side job at a thrift store brought two trash bags full of clothing from his store the next time we worked together! He gave us clothing of all ages, seasons, and even adorable soccer jerseys for the kids! And when I was getting my shots at the Ashe, I mentioned to the nurse the same thing regarding Honduras. It ended up she was born in Honduras, and totally wants to help by giving us coloring books and supplies to send down!

This year and quarter specifically I learned a lot about myself, and for that I can be thankful. I learned a lot about God and how He truly has everything in His hands, even when we feel like nothing is working out. He has the best intentions for all of us even when we don’t fully understand. It’s about faith.

So I don’t completely know all the reasons why God wants me to go to Honduras, but I cant wait. I know it’ll be challenging and sad and happy and exciting and scary, but I am ready. I want to learn about God’s nature, and see Him in more tangible ways. I want to learn more about myself and see His plan for me.