Nineteen students and three adults from The University of Mississippi’s Wesley Foundation traveled to Honduras for a week-long mission trip Jan. 8-15. They worked with Salt & Light Ministries, based in Jackson.
“The Wesley Foundation planned this trip during the long Christmas break because the majority of our students are off the whole seven-week break,” campus minister Rev. Eddie Willis said. “It was the best time for us to take an eight-day mission trip.”
Salt & Light Ministries, founded in January 2002, is a Christian non-denominational organization that works to “deliver the gospel of Jesus Christ by being the salt and the light of the world,” according to its website. Its ministry is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people in rural areas of Honduras.
“This was my third trip to Honduras, and I have seen such a great need with the people there,” Willis said. “Many of the children that we worked with have only one parent, and several were orphans.”
The Wesley student team focused on two communities outside the town of Peña Blanca. One team of students led vacation Bible school for about 50 children at a local church in El Jaral. They conducted activities such as acting out Bible stories, singing songs and playing games with the children. The team was aided by a translator.
The other group members were on a work team, laying a foundation for a new cinder block house in the community of El Tigre.
The work team was helping move a family from a bamboo house to a new cinder block home. They began by digging the foundational trenches, mixing concrete and building the walls four cinder blocks high. This team also dug a pit 12 feet deep, which will serve as an outhouse for the new home.
Social studies education freshman Joey Bates was a member of the construction team.
“One day we were all working on the house, and it was hot and tiring,” Bates said. “Then the owner of the house that we were building stops and says, ‘Thank you guys for helping me build my home.’ It was extremely heartwarming and humbling to hear.”
The Wesley team stayed at Las Glorias Hotel, which is located on Lake Yojoa. During their free time, the students had trails to explore within the compound. Students were able to participate in activities such as swimming and horseback riding.
“Our students and adult chaperones were physically and spiritually moved with what God had in store for us,” Willis said. “We certainly learned more from the Honduran people than we could have ever done for them. The image that came to my mind was that of the Bible verse about wineskins bursting due to our hearts being stretched and bursting forth with joy.”
Funds for the trip were raised by donations from the United Methodist community in Oxford and the Wesley house donor mailing base. Many of the students also worked Ole Miss football game day parking services to raise money for their trips.
“Not only have some of our students committed to sponsoring several children for a year of schooling, but other acts of personal service,” Willis said. “Upon leaving the worksite on our last day, I noticed a few students getting on the bus without shoes. Upon asking where their boots and shoes were, one student replied, ‘They needed them more than I did.’
“I am one proud campus minister because of the maturity of our group.”
Courtesy of Rev. Eddie Willis
