"Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them
my disciples: Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and
teach them to obey everything I have commanded you." That spring break trip I took
as a junior in high school was special. I knew it was special at the time – but I
didn’t fully understand why. You see, I had reached a point in my life where I felt
that I knew myself and the world around me. I didn’t know what an eye opener that ten
day trip would be. The Dean of Students, a Jesuit priest, had invited two fellow
classmates and me to accompany him to Honduras for a missionary study. The purpose of our
trip was to better understand the mission of the Jesuits in Central America, gather
information, and to communicate this experience to our classmates,
The much-anticipated trip seemed to go by like a whirlwind, and the evening I returned
home, I was emotionally drained. I had witnessed terrible suffering and poverty. Honduras
has living conditions that we cannot begin to dream of. How can people live in such a
place? I realized there were two reasons. First, most Hondurans have not experienced the
life that we enjoy. The second and more profound reason why people are able to live in
such poverty, is their faith in Jesus. The Honduran culture is deeply entrenched in the
teachings of Jesus. Towns were built around a church. Community events were church
centered. In everything people did, Jesus and his teachings were of utmost importance.
This was evident throughout my journey.
I took many rolls of film and documented each day’s events in a journal. After I
returned home, my traveling classmates and I prepared a school-wide presentation. While I
still could not comprehend how I would explain my experience, I knew I had to have faith
in Jesus.
Our presentation generated a wonderful response. Since then, the Honduran spring break
trip has been an annual occurrence at my high school. I often wonder why I was picked to
go to Honduras. While I still do not fully understand, I suspect the reason was because
someone recognized a gift God had given to me. That gift is the ability to gather
challenging or complex information and present it in a clear and meaningful way. This is a
gift that I actively use in my daily life at work, but I do not always think to use it to
spread God’s Word. I wonder what other spiritual gifts God has given me that I have
yet to discover?
