Woohoo! We've Completed our 2023 Honduras Mission Trip!
Our Honduran Adventures
By Jason Montoya
Honduras was an adventure.
We flew from Atlanta to Texas to Honduras. We drove for almost seven hours to the countryside. While we'd end up in the Agalta Valley to serve the rural communities around HOI (Honduras Outreach International), we'd first stay in the city of Tegucigalpa. Wealthy people from around the country stayed at the nice hotel celebrating prom, a family affair in this Central American country. This wealth was quite a contrast between the simple lives we'd soon see and serve.
The beautiful environment of Honduras and the impoverished society that lived there was another striking contrast. The lush greenery and the vast mountain ranges we traveled were cinematic, with roads traversed by helmet-less small families all cramped on single-rider motorcycles.
A fun ingredient of our trip was traveling once again with two other families that went to Mexico in 2022. Our two wonderful leaders and another family filled out our terrific group. With lots of travel and stress along the way, we made good use of that time to foster friendships and to laugh.
Going into this trip, my Spanish was very, very bad. I've now upgraded to just very bad. It was cool to experience some tangible progress in my speaking abilities. We played and worked with many people over the week. The language barrier often made it challenging, but when we could make a connection with a stranger, it changed the dynamic for the better. It was wonderful to see both Madison and David jump into vacation bible school and concrete project work.
Americans are so individualistic and technology often makes that pursuit of autonomy possible. But in the rural areas of Honduras, people need each other to survive, and that fosters a unique communal connection.
Honduras is not too far above the equator, and this time of year, the rains are regular. Thankfully, Coca-Cola was in abundance, served by HOI for our meals. And, Coke (in 3-liter bottles) was an unexpected gift from several homes where we did concrete project work.
Life in the Agalta Valley is quite simple. Kids go to school. People make food and take care of their home affairs. But as we learned from the clinic, there was much need from the people. It was not obvious or visible. Hearing stories of injuries and recovery, illness, and doctors, it became clear that this was a place much different than America with vastly fewer resources and access. The practical hope that the HOI clinic provided was tangible. Without the HOI doctor and the medical facilities offered, people would have little to help them through their physical ailments.
A simple latrine (simple septic tank), pila (for collecting water and washing clothes), or concrete floor being built offers a step up. And a simple step up for these families makes a dramatic difference. Simply having a concrete floor protects the people in the home from bugs and creatures burrowing their way into the home and causing issues for the children.
It was also interesting how many types of families and classes we helped. Some were super poor while others seemed upper-middle class. But despite the differences, people from around the community helped each other. One house I worked at had multiple generations of women shucking corn.
We did home visits sharing a devotion and worshipping with neighbors. This was a more intimate look at what happens on the inside. Some fun, and some darkness. One such lady we prayed for was 90 years old, suffering and bed ridden for a year. As we traveled to the next home, it was a young mom, surrounded by children and holding an infant. In the wake of darkness was new life and hope for the future. This is the life they and we both live.
The week in the community ended with some fun and celebration. We connected, we danced, and we laughed. We honored each other, singing the Hokey Pokey song to each other in our respective languages. The kids in Honduras don't have much, but the joy of playing a game of soccer is transformative.
The trip was a sanctuary from normal American life. The noises, voices, and pressures from work and societal life were now muted. We spent time eating meals together, teaching students, working on construction projects, and having fun.
There are numerous stories to share, so don’t hesitate to ask me about the adventure.
I’ve included photos and a team member's description of each day that captures our mission trip day-by-day, below.
Until next time, when we go again with Judah (Madison & David want to go back again too!), Godspeed!
Jason, Madison, and David Montoya
Honduras — Day 1 (Saturday) — Travel Day to Honduras
Our team (9 adults and 6 kids ages 10-13) met at the airport at 4:30am for a 7:40am flight to Dallas with a 3.5 hour layover before flying to the new airport in Comayagua Honduras.
We quickly cleared Customs with just a glance and a nod and no questions. The HOI Community Development Director, Alejandrina Dominguz, met us at the airport along with a security guard and we piled into 2 vans (only 1 with a/c) and drove 2.5 hours to Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, where we had dinner and spent the night at Hotel Maya.
Day 2 — Arrival at HOI Rancho Paraiso in the Agalta Valley
We had breakfast at the hotel and then traveled another 4 hours, stopping halfway at a grocery store to pick up snacks and additional supplies. We also picked up 2 more HOI staff Carlos, the Team Leader and Elmer, a translator.
The drive was long, windy and bumpy. There are always cows and dogs along the roadway and often even in the roadway. Horses are loose and graze along the street. Homes line the road constructed of adobe, cinder blocks, rummaged and pieced-together metal and wood planks with tin roofs. Children, chickens, and clotheslines of laundry fill the yards.
After another 2-hour drive, we arrived at Rancho do Paraiso, the land purchased by HOI as their headquarters in 1989. The property was scantily fenced with a gate and security guard. The grounds were green and lush, as it is considered winter in Honduras even though it is hot with temperatures in the 90s. The layout includes several one-story little cottages as housing for staff, the HOI clinic, a small dining room, and several bunk rooms for missionaries.
The women and girls stayed in one large room with 8 beds and a bathroom around the corner and the men and boys stayed in another room with a bathroom around the corner. There is no a/c and only 2 ceiling fans, it is hot. The walls are thin with cracks everywhere to allow sound and bugs to flow freely. The bathrooms are one door down through the open-air hallway and have two showers, two bathroom stalls (without doors – just shower curtains) and a changing stall. To the adults, it is very rustic living conditions, and we try not to cringe. BUT to the kids, it is like summer camp and they are so excited! One of the kids asked why the place we are staying is so much nicer than the homes the local people live in? Which is such a wise perspective – we have indoor plumbing, bathrooms, clean bedding and towels, etc.
Day 3 — First Day Working In Community and Schools – San Martin Centro
Breakfast every morning is at 6:15, followed by a group devotional led by the HOI spiritual team leader complete with a guitar and Spanish songs with printed songbooks for us to be able to sing along. Then we head out to the community in the vans by 7. We all try to get in the 1 air-conditioned van, which the kids have nicknamed “the cream puff”. That little taste of a/c is such a luxury!
We arrived at the community center which was a futbol (soccer) field adjacent to a 2-room school. The 35 school children were dressed in uniform and had made a beautiful banner and sang a song to welcome us. Each day we provided a vacation bible school (VBS) and helped with home improvement projects at the local homes.
Vacation Bible School (VBS)
We were so fortunate that we happened to have 3 team members who were fluent in Spanish. That helped a ton because they were able to translate the awesome curriculum we had, that was based on John 3:16, into Spanish prior to our trip and then share the lesson in Spanish vs. having to say it in English and then have a translator repeat it in Spanish. The school children and their teacher were so excited and responsive to the lessons and crafts we brought to go along with the lesson. It was so fun to see our children engage with the students! Especially when it came time to take a break and play. There was no language barrier as they headed out to the futbol field to play soccer, it was just a bunch of kids having fun! The kids made a lot of friends including: Axle, Javier, Julia, Hazel, Patricia, Mateo, Steven, Dillon
Construction Projects
2 Latrines: The latrine is a 10-12 foot deep 5x5 square hole in the ground that will eventually be something similar to a septic tank for an individual house. The homeowners had already brought rocky sand up from the riverbank using cows and a cart. We needed to sift the sand to remove the rocks. They had crafted a 2x3 “sifter” out of a metal grid and tree limbs. They set it up at a 75-degree angle and taught us to use the shovels we brought to throw the rocky sand at the sifter to allow the smooth sand to fall out on the other side. Then we mixed the cement that was provided through the mission with the sand and water and made concrete. The concrete was then used by the local mason who was paid through the mission to build a wall inside the entire perimeter of the hole with cinder blocks and concrete. We worked alongside the family and their neighbors each day on the construction projects.
2 Pilas: Pilas are an outdoor water basin that collects fresh rainwater for bathing, washing clothes, and dishes. It is made of cinder blocks and concrete and has a washboard for washing clothes. The building process was similar to the latrines – sifting sand, making concrete, and using a local mason and friends and family.
Each evening we gathered for a debrief, some devotional time, and a team meeting to prepare for the next day. It was fun to see the kids participate and share their thoughts on the day and their prayers for the people in Honduras. They were in awe with how happy everyone was even though they had very little.
Day 4 — Tour of HOI Clinic
We had the opportunity to meet Dr. Herman and his staff at the HOI-funded clinic at the Ranch. Dr. Herman has such a heart for the Honduran people and has committed much of his career to travel to the rural community from his home in Tegucigalpa. Since 1992 he has travelled to the community to serve and care for the people almost every week. Not only does HOI fund a physician, but they also have one nutritionist, a physical therapist, a dentist, and a pharmacist. In addition to primary healthcare, they have put a lot of effort into public health and prevention.
In the last five years, they have been able to purchase and provide a water filter system for every home in the 33 communities that HOI serves so that they can have clean and safe water. These water filter systems which consist of two 5-gallon buckets connected by a water filter should last about 6-7 years if well cared for.
They have also been able to reach a 97% vaccination rate in the HOI area. In contrast, the Honduran government's healthcare system has a far lower vaccination rate.
One of the prevention programs HOI started about 4 years ago is called the One Egg Program. It is an effort to provide prenatal care by improving maternal and infant nutrition during and after pregnancy by providing an egg a day to a pregnant woman during and 1,000 days after birth. Incidentally, they have learned through experience that they actually need to provide one egg per person in the household because otherwise, the mothers would share their eggs and not have enough for their health.
Second day of working in the San Martin Centro community and schools
We participated in a second day of VBS and Construction Projects which consisted of laying concrete floors in homes.
Valuable lesson: It is important to keep the doors to the bedrooms closed and the lights off when not in use because of bugs and creatures. The girls’s rooms have been swarmed by a lot of flies, huge moths, gnats, etc, and even a bat and a gecko – ew. Literally, there are bugs everywhere! We have had to keep our shutters closed at night which has made it a lot warmer when sleeping but better than anything crawling on you while you sleep. Several of us brought mosquito nets which really helps with peace of mind more than protection from getting bit.
4th of July
It was the 4th of July for the U.S. and our Honduran hosts made sure to make it special for us and celebrated our 4th of July with us by making hamburgers, hotdogs, and watermelon and decorating the dining hall with American flags and red, white, and blue.
Day 5 — Tour of the HOI School
Most of the schools in the Agalta Valley are one-room schoolhouses that provide the students with a K-6th education. Beyond that, children would need to travel to San Esteban to continue their studies through high school. Only 48% of children between ages 5-12 years of age in Honduras attend school, and only 18.5% go beyond 6th grade. We got to visit an HOI school called Hope Middle School. Its project-based learning and curriculum are serving as a model program for outreach to 20 other schools. Education is the key to reducing crime and empowering youth and future generations in Honduras!
For all the UGA fans, Vince Dooley (a beloved former UGA coach) came to Honduras every year from 2014-2019 and worked with the people of the Agalta Valley. HOI decided to dedicate the Hope Middle School soccer field to him!
First day of working in the San Martin Arribe community and schools
VBS: We worked with a new school in a 1-room building to provide VBS. Friends the kids made at the 2nd school: Nicol, Brianna, Juan, Camilla, Valentino, Henrri, Daniel, Junior, Ricardo, William, Hector x2, Maria, Jose, Alandra, Damian, Brian, mini Hirro
Constructions Projects included building the outhouses that connect to the latrines and building more pilas and laying additional concrete floors.
Home Visits: We got to visit several homes and pray with the families!
Day 6 — Tour of the HOI Agricultural Center
This was our last day working with the community and school. Several of us rose at 4:45 to meet the dairy farmers to milk the cows. The facility was on-site at the HOI Ranch so we walked to the dairy facility. There were about 50 cows quartered off to be brought in and hooked up to the milking machines. They taught us how to manually milk the cows and we all took a turn. Then they had everyone join us to learn more about the entire farm operation and their vision. Agriculture is a longstanding way of life in the Agalta Valley which has a direct impact on food security, economic activity, health, and nutrition.
Second day of working in the San Martin Arribe community and schools
Then it was off to our last day to lay a cement floor and spend time with the students at the San Martin Arribe School for the final day of VBS. Our children have really bonded with the Honduran children. They so easily connect; there is no language barrier in playing. The boys have been out on the futbol fields everyday playing soccer together, the girls are painting each other’s nails, drawing with chalk, and blowing bubbles. Today the Honduran children sang us a song in Spanish with hand movements they wanted us to follow. It looked very much like the Hokey Pokey so we reciprocated with our U.S. version – they loved it! (They also blushed and giggled when we stuck our booties in and our booties out and shook them all about!)
BUT they must have loved it because later in the day all of the communities came together to throw us a Fiesta to thank us for our visit and they specifically requested that we do the Hokie Pokie with them again! The Fiesta included lots of playing, dancing and pinatas!
Day 7 — Saying Goodbye to Rancho de Paraiso
We didn’t get through the trip without a little adversity – there was a stomach bug going through both our group and the Freed Hardeman mission group that was staying in other bunks on the ranch. The accommodations were rustic. The food wasn’t always to our liking. It was hot and rough conditions while we were doing constructions work (there were no bathrooms at the homes where we were doing construction - obviously since we were there building them). The language barrier made things a little more complicated. We missed our first flight out of Honduras. We had LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of bugs and critters to contend with and a couple of other medical and personal incidents and we had to lean into and trust God through the unknowns and tough situations. But we also had lots of laughs, personal growth, and revelations and God protected us and kept us safe, and helped us to do all that we came to do. We were able to finish all of the construction projects the community needed completed – 5 pilas, 8 cement floors, 5 latrines, and the Vacation Bible School was a huge success and brought us as much joy as it brought the students! Experiencing other cultures is crucial to learning and loving others well.
I asked the kids if they were ready to go (as all of the adults were tired, sweaty, dirty, and ready for American food and our own showers and beds). The kids said they were sad to leave and that it felt like we just got here and they wanted to stay longer. I asked, why? They said they were going to miss the other kids. They said they are sad to leave their Honduran friends and they are going to miss them. It is amazing how quickly kids adapt and form bonds.
Imagine you’re in the middle of the ocean, unable to swim.
The water is so deep and the waves so large, it would overtake even the best swimmers. You’re helpless, drowning without any hope of staying afloat.
What do you do?
What can you do?
This morning, we stand before a cross.
What does the cross REALLY mean?
What do you believe about what happened at it? Why do you believe that?
Hours before the cross, Jesus Christ, in the Garden of Gethsemane, was “crushed with grief to the point of death.”
We all suffer from illusions, particularly when we fail to see the tragedy of life in and around us. Without Grace, we cannot see the darkness of reality.
It would crush us.
It would drown us.
As Christ demonstrated on his way to the cross, the intersection of reality with our illusions either drives us deeper into the illusion or frees us from it.
To varying degrees, we all choose the illusion.
Something in this world, in us, is so very wrong… the problem is so bad it was crushing our Messiah in the garden.
Tragedy affects you, although if you don’t feel it now, let the tragedy of some people we’re serving here in Honduras remind us of it, and what’s to come.
Things are bad.
How will you respond to this reality when it arrives at your door?
On the way to the cross, Christ saw and faced reality directly. In our journey in life, we too will face these things.
What will you think when your close friend betrays you? What will you do when someone who claims to care deeply about you leaves without a trace?
How will you respond when your religion and its leaders not only fail you but hurts the people you love?
How will you go forward when you’ve done something (or had something done to you) that is so wrong, its horror drives you into deep darkness?
And while our experience of darkness, pain, and suffering may vary, we all face death, helpless to stop it.
We are drowning. We can not save ourselves.
We need something beyond us.
That is what the cross is about. It’s the intersection of the tragedy we descend into and God’s intervention for humanity’s redemption and gift of eternal life, today.
Not our work, His.
God loves us so much that he came down to earth, as a bounded human and did what none of us could. A salvation gift that cost him dearly is one Christ gives freely to us all.
On the cross, something miraculously happened. It, along with the resurrection, transformed tragedy into redemption; the Embrace of the resurrector now made possible. Despair transformed into hope.
So, let him catch and heal you. Embrace his life and love, and allow Him to believe for you, to do for you, and to facilitate His pursuit of you; every part inside and out. Let Him shape you in His image.
We see a cross in front of us.
Wherever we go, we’ll continue to see crosses.
These crosses are Christ’s reminder for us to stop resisting His Love and embrace the life He freely gives. Let him rescue you from the storming waters that surround us all.
Amen.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
We are overwhelmed and grateful for the God-given generosity that’s been expressed through your giving. We were able to meet and exceed our fundraising goals in an unexpectedly rapid fashion. It's stunning and humbling to have you meet our needs in such a life-giving way. We can now carry forward your life-giving generosity this summer to the people of Agalta Valley, Honduras.
While we’ve raised enough funds for my, Madison, and David’s part of this trip, we do encourage those who still want to give to proceed, as these additional funds can be used to help those on our mission team who have yet to meet their fundraising goals. And if our team exceeds our fundraising goals, Honduras Outreach receives the surplus.
Thank you for your support! It will not only transform the lives of people in Honduras but also the people involved along the way including us and you!
We’ll keep you posted about further developments, so stay tuned.
Grace and peace to you.
Jason, Madison, & David Montoya
Help Us Serve The People of Agalta Valley, Honduras - This Summer
Madison, David, and I are going to Honduras this summer to serve the children and community of Agalta Valley.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
News & Updates
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6/11/2023
Our final meeting before we depart on July 1st, 2023! We're almost there. Time to start packing.
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4/24/2023
Wow! We are stunned. A final slew of funds rolled in today to finish off what we needed. And there was extra that can help our team still raise money!
If you are still willing to give knowing we've finished the task, it would help the team and ministry on the ground, and we'd appreciate it!
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4/20/2023
We are on a roll! We have raised 75% of the funds to date. Only $,1800 left to go! All but a handful of letters have been sent out with a few more names coming to mind during the process.
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4/16/2023
We had our third team meeting. There are 20 of us on the team and we spent time getting to know each other better, learning about best practices for staying safe, about Honduras and the rural area we're serving.
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4/15/2023
We have now raised $4,810 for our mission trip. We're now 2/3 of the way to completion weeks ahead of our deadline to be at 50% at the end of April.
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4/10/2023
After spring break, school is back on! We got Madison and David their letters to hand to friends and teachers. Their younger siblings will be helping to deliver letters to past elementary school teachers.
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4/09/2023
Woohoo! We've passed the 50% mark which we needed to hit before the end of April. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped make this goal possible.
Also, we began hand-delivering letters to our friends at church today. With it being Easter, it was a bit hectic, so we'll be hopefully finishing up those next Sunday.
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4/4/2023
All three of us hand-delivered letters to our neighborhood friends.
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3/28/2023
The printer is still broken, so my wife Cait was nice enough to print us 100 letters so we could prepare them for hand and snail mail delivery.
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3/27/2023
We've raised 25% of the funds needed for the trip! We've also got 4 known commitments of donations to come!
We've got 235 more letters to send.
Our printer broke, so we are waiting on a repair part so we can fix it for the hand mail and snail mail letters.
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3/18/2023
We finished our mission fundraising video and have added it to this page!
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3/13/2023
Today, Cait and I went to city hall with David to apply for his passport!
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3/12/2023
We had our second team meeting with the group going. We had 26 folks going, but the team will have around 20 instead.
We also learned about our personalities. I've got a Yellow Green temperament (I S on DISC), Madison is Green Blue (SC on DISC), and David is Red Yellow (DI on DISC).
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3/11/2023
We received our first donation!
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3/2/2023
First Letter Delivered. We printed and read our first letter to my grandma (the kid's great-grandma) Ramona Montoya.
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2/26/2023
We met the mission team in our first mission team meeting.
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2/07/2023
After discovering some members of the Mexico team will be joining us on the Honduras trip, Mom is comfortable with Madison joining us and she has been accepted to the team.
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1/27/2023
My and David's application to join the team is approved! We're heading to Honduras this summer!
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1/18/2023
David's passport application appointment has been set for March.
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction...”
Our Personal Mission Letter
In July, we — Jason, Madison & David — are going to Honduras to serve the local community. We're volunteering with our church team and which will be led by Honduras Outreach (HOI).
Your donation makes our mission trip possible. Your money will not only help us get there, but it also funds the special projects undertaken while we’re there. These projects include home improvements, sanitation upgrades, and educational activities for the kids including a Vacation Bible School camp.
This trip is an opportunity for us — you included — to help the impoverished communities of Agalta Valley, Honduras flourish by living the good news we proclaim about Jesus while serving the local poor community in practical life-giving ways; many of which don't have access to clean running water.
It’s also a chance for us to grow in the love of God, strengthen our relationship with each other, and get outside of our American bubble. By donating, you’re helping to make the world, and this specific part of Honduras, a better place.
For us to make this happen, we need to raise $7,200 dollars —$2,400 each. Will you help us?
Even if you only give five dollars, it would make a difference!
To donate, use the links on this page or send a check to 692 Barley Hill Lane, Sugar Hill, Georgia 30518 made payable to global(x) — which is the 501(c)3 charitable organization that facilitates this trip.
Whether you are able to financially contribute or not, we’d value your continued prayers.
Jason, Madison & David Montoya
Make a Tax-Deductible Donation
We have met our giving goals, but if you'd like to still contribute, we'll share our surplus with team members who are still raising funds!
If you'd prefer to donate offline, simply mail us a check to 692 Barley Hill Lane, Sugar Hill, Georgia 30518 made payable to global(x) — which is the 501(c)3 charitable organization that facilitates this trip.
Know someone that could contribute? Would you pass along this page to them?
Other Ways You Can Help
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Pray for us (David's passport arrives early, that we're able to successfully raise funds, and that God would draw us near to him during this process).
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Send us your words of encouragement.
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Email this page to a friend (use button below).
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Share this page on your Facebook, Twitter, & Linkedin pages (use buttons below).
About Honduras Outreach Inc. (HOI)
HOI is strengthening central American communities through faith and partnership. They're the organization on the ground that we'll be serving in Honduras.
About Global(x) Journeys
501(c)3 charitable organization: 58-2203569
Global(x)'s mission is to engage people on a faith-building journey to serve others around the world. They believe that one of the most significant faith-building experiences of someone’s life can take place on a global(x) journey. They partner with Christian organizations that provide service opportunities that allow us to serve at-risk children and families, churches, and the least reached.
