David’s Dialogues

March- Honduras Trip & Clean Water Project

Dear Friend,

I had been looking forward to the 2018 Honduras trip for quite a while now.  After all the buildup over the past year, the week finally came!  Ally and I led 15 students to Danlí, Honduras for a week-long mission trip over Virginia Tech’s spring break.

Throughout most of the week, much of my attention was directed towards the water project, which consisted of a solar-powered pumping system, as well as a household filter campaign.  On the first day in Los Quiscamotes, our goal was to catch up with local friends and explain the overall project to the rest of the team.  The next day we rough-fitted the system in place, making note of adjustments and additional parts that we needed to fully install it.  One of the biggest challenges we faced was that the house where the solar panel was to be installed was much further away from the water source than we had planned.  Because of that, we had to purchase 100 ft more tubing and 250 ft more wire to make everything work correctly!  On our third visit up to Quiscamotes for the week, we fully installed the system.  At this point, the man we were primarily working with, Elias, had very clearly taken ownership of the system, which was one of our goals.  After letting him install the wiring and tubing how he wanted, the culminating moment finally came: flipping the switch.  All the planning and buildup had led to this one moment.  Everyone gathered around as someone went to flip the switch, which sent water up the tubing to a more accessible location along the road.  Check out the video below for that momentous occasion!

After finishing the installation of the pumping system, we focused our attention on constructing and distributing the household bucket filters.  We had 15 filters sponsored, and then several more were donated at the last minute by the filter cartridge manufacturer!  That was an amazing blessing and evidence that God provides abundantly more than we could ask or imagine.  In total, we distributed 18 filter systems, and left parts for ~10 more that the church members could complete after we left.  We are praying that these household filters will be a blessing to the people of Los Quiscamotes, and that they will lead stronger and healthier lives because of having clean water to drink!

In addition to the water project, the rest of the week was focused around evangelism, school visits, and small construction projects.  While a few of us were working on the water project, the majority of the team spent time building relationships and evangelizing in the local neighborhoods.  We spent time getting to know the families, reading scripture together, praying, and helping them understand a fuller picture of the Good News.  We also visited two schools and did several activities with the kids, including crafts, games, and Bible stories.  Lastly, we constructed four beds in order to distribute them to those needing a place to sleep.  We also helped support further construction on the church’s clinic, which upon completion will serve local residents by meeting their immediate physical needs, with the hopes their spiritual needs may be attended to as well.

In addition to all of NLCF’s spring break trips, we co-hosted a Lip Sync Battle fundraiser for the on-campus food pantry we support, 209 Manna Ministries.  This food pantry is designed to provide food, school supplies, and toiletries to Virginia Tech students who do not have enough financial support to pay tuition, rent, as well as food.  We were able to raise over $500 that night!  Also, I was able to lead the 2^nd Life After College workshop of the 2018 series.  With this workshop, we focused on retirement planning, as well as how to find a new church after graduating and leaving Blacksburg.

If you’d like to chat more about the Honduras trip, or any of the other activities going on, I’d be more than happy to.  Just let me know!

In Christ,
David