During the last weekend of the Canadian high schooler's two-month stay in Honduras, the team splint into three groups for a sleepover weekend with one of three rotations -- clinic group had campout in remote village with little medical care, construction projects for the orphanage group, and for us ag people, learning to live simply and to live out Christ's love.
Part of living simply was learning how to make lots of foods from scratch. Pictured here are students making peanut butter, oatmeal bread, and homemade granola.
We also worked in the fields in order to experience a bit of what it's like to be a farmer in a place like Honduras. Here we are weeding the banana trees, which is done using a very sharp machete.
The most eye opening and memorable part of the weekend was the hike and overnight stay at the home of a fellow farmer and friend of Larry's, Don Chombo. Just to walk to the village took about an hour through a shaky Indiana Jones-style hammock bridge, dense jungle, steep rocky mountainside, and even across a river -- which is amazing as its an almost daily routine for some in the area.
Pictured above is a view of Chombo's farm -- not quite what most of us envision as farmland. But this is where he grows his corn and other vegetables. He also carries down his harvest on his back in 100-pound sacks in this terrain, which amazed us as we had trouble just walking through.
To help support his family, Chombo sells cilantro in La Ceiba, about 2 hours from his home. Here we were learning how he uses banana leaves and a part of another plant for string to package his bundles.
All in the group were astounded at the hospitality and generosity of Don Chombo's family. We brought a live chicken to put in the soup we had for dinner, but the rest of our food came from Chombo's land. Most students mentioned how amazed they were at how much they gave to us, even though they have so little.
These people are one storm away from being hungry.
How can I identify with these people as my life is so different?
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