On May 29, 2014, I flew to Honduras, one of the most dangerous places to live according to statistics. It was not my first visit. My son and I been there in January 2014, to serve with the HOPE worldwide Community Service Brigade. I wanted to spend time with him serving in a needy place and the Brigade had an opening for San Pedro Sula. While serving I learned so much and my heart was moved in unexpected ways.
One evening I had the privilege of spending time with Dulce Cruz, the women’s ministry leader in San Pedro Sula. I was moved by her love for the women of the church and the community. I shared with her about my walk with God, the way He has worked and the things I’ve learned along the way. After I was done speaking, she mentioned that it would be so great if mature Christians could come to Honduras to help them grow. The truth is, their financial resources are limited, and the church can’t afford to host disciples to come and teach as often as they would like. Also, people are sometimes afraid to visit since it is so dangerous. Without hesitation I said, ‘I would love to come. I am not an expert, but I would love to come and teach my Honduran sisters what God has taught me.’ Dulce replied she would love to have me.
I am from Panama and moved to the U.S. in 1989 after the invasion. I became a disciple on May 26, 1995 in San Diego and have been part of several ministries in the U.S. due to my husband’s job in the Navy. I grew up with a lot of traumatic experiences that led me to years of therapy in order to find healing after forgiving others and myself.
After I returned home, the desire to help meet the needs of the church in Honduras remained. My husband’s job made it risky for him to go and my insecurities made it hard to even consider going alone. I didn’t think I could be that much help. One night while lying in bed, I asked my husband how he would feel if I went to Honduras to teach a self-esteem class for the women. He replied, “It will be scary but if God put it on your heart, you should go because we can’t live by fear.” So after praying and making the decision to go, for Mother’s Day I asked my husband for a plane ticket to Honduras.
What God did next was incredible. In John 6, God multiplied a boy’s five small barley loaves and two fish to feed five thousand. I’m like that boy; God took what I had to give, which was nineteen years of faithfully serving Him through the ups and downs, which isn’t much compared to disciples who’ve been faithful for 50 years or more, and multiplied it to spiritually feed over 300 women.
While in Honduras, I was greeted by grateful sisters all eager to learn. I facilitated various discipleship groups for single and married women. We also had groups that included women married to unbelievers, college students, teens, and mothers and daughters. Every time I met with a group I asked each sister to share their conversion story. I was blessed to hear 43 faith-building conversion stories.
A teen became a Christian after seeing her mother radically change. She was mean, and even abusive at times, but then she turned to God. The mother, full of anger, was now a woman of faith. The teen was moved by times she woke up in the morning to find her mom on her knees praying.
A sister shared that one day someone she knew left her child with a note asking for her to care for the child. The child’s mother then took her own life. When this sister became a disciple, things were going well at home with her husband, adopted daughter and her two young biological children. But then in 2005, her two younger children were killed in a storm. Sadly, soon after, her husband left her and now, it’s just her and her adopted daughter. Through all of this, others shared that she remains a faithful sister who never complains when it is time to serve – especially in Kid’s Kingdom.
On Sunday, June 1, 2014, I did something I had never done – I spoke to 300 sisters in Christ and their friends. I was so nervous prior to stepping on stage, but once I went up to speak, all fear was lifted. I was convinced that God had a message he wanted me to share with the sisters in San Pedro Sula and one for me.
I can honestly say that as I stepped on the stage, God moved me with the thoughts, “Olivia, you don’t get to speak. I do, for I have a message that I want the women of San Pedro Sula to hear.” And that is exactly what happened. I wasn’t afraid and I wasn’t shaking because I wasn’t speaking. I felt God’s presence. He used my mouth, my body, my hands, my heart to deliver a message that with Him all things are possible (Luke 18:27). God used every bad experience, every challenge in my life that I have overcome, every fear I’d tackled to inspire 300 women. He spoke through me; I was honored to be an instrument for God on that day.
Although I was only there for four days and got very little sleep, it was a mountaintop spiritual experience. I learned so much and realized that I had become very ungrateful spiritually. The sisters in Honduras welcomed me with such open arms—not just one but all of them!
Every sister I met with wanted to grow. They poured out their sins and any disorder in their lives to ask for spiritual guidance. The teenagers were respectful and desired deep conversations to help them grow spiritually. The experience made me realize that I have become complacent when it comes to my sin. The women there were bothered by the sin in their lives and felt stuck— they just needed (and desired) more direction. The problem is that sometimes I am not even bothered by the sin in my life—and then I wonder why God isn’t helping me to grow.
Other things that made this trip special were for example the willingness of sisters in Northern Virginia to help. Ten sisters donated journals with their favorite scripture and how it had helped them in their Christian walk. Also, my dear sister and close friend, Jannett Long, helped translate into Spanish seven devotionals I had written to give to the sisters in Honduras.
My dream is to be a motivational speaker. I started praying for that dream in 2009. I had no idea that God would answer that prayer in Honduras. Today more than ever I believe Isaiah 55:8; “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.”
To God be the glory!
