When Lisa Stillwell stepped off a plane about mid-day in Puerto Lempira in northeastern Honduras, she was frightened by what she saw.
“There were people standing out there with machine guns,” the 36-year-old Kinston resident said.
Stillwell arrived on June 18 with six other people with the peaceful purpose of bringing the Bible message to poor children at four orphanages.
“I wanted to teach them about the love of Christ — that was my purpose,” she said. “I wanted to teach them that Jesus was their friend.”
It was Stillwell’s first trip outside the U.S. and her first mission trip with the Neuse Baptist Association in La Grange — headed up by John Hoey, pastor and director of missions.
Hoey said this was the seventh trip to Honduras, a country of marshy jungle. The association also organizes trips to Mexico and St. Lucia.
“We just try to show the love of Jesus,” Hoey said.
Stillwell said she actually wanted to go to St. Lucia, a Caribbean island with resorts.
“Honduras was way out of my comfort zone,” she said.
Still, she felt “tugged” to go there.
“I wanted to go help the children, the orphans out there,” she said.
The travelers had to prepare Vacation Bible School lessons and get vaccinations and malaria medication. They each also had to raise about $1,500 in order to go.
Stillwell said she sent out envelopes to 100 prayer partners asking for donations. She also held a yard sale and participated in a flea market and auction.
The orphanages were a short distance by truck from the dirt runway where the group landed. They stayed at the House of Hope orphanage and mostly worked at Mama Tara orphanage.
The children are often abandoned by their parents, Stillwell said.
“(The parents) can’t afford them,” she said. “They just drop them off. It’s sad.”
With the help of a local interpreter, Gustavo Lepe, the group taught the children about Jesus. They also took part in a work project, refinishing tables and chairs for a classroom.
In addition, they helped the children sort soccer uniforms by size and put together a life book, or scrapbook, of photographs they had collected.
Besides one newborn, the children ranged from preschool to teens.
Hannah Deaver, 43, of Kinston said the experience was “eye-opening.”
She said the water needed to be boiled, and while some people have wells, others use a stream or even a puddle of water.
“We saw some of them washing dishes in a puddle,” Deaver said.
There are no seat belts or stop signs, the power is on six hours at the most each day, the telephone service is unreliable and there is no Internet, she said.
The local people cut wood to cook on an open fire. Food is expensive because the clay soil doesn’t produce well, so food is shipped from other areas, Deaver said. Farm animals run loose.
The people have wooden houses. One house had one room and 26 people living in it, and had three-tiered bunk beds and hammocks outside, she said.
“When you give them, like, a Bible tract,” Deaver said, “they hold onto it like it was gold.”
Her oldest daughter, Sydney Deaver, was able to go because she turned 18 while on the trip. Sydney said the experience reminded her of television commercials with children asking for money.
“It was real,” she said. “They really do need help. We should be grateful, even if we don’t have a lot. … They’re thankful for what they’ve got.”
Despite their stark poverty, the people take care of everything they own, she said.
Two weeks after arriving, it was time for the group to be trucked back to the airport. Not wanting them to leave, the children from Mama Tara walked to the airport.
Stillwell held back tears as she talked about 8-year-old Fernanda, whose mother had dropped her off at the orphanage because she didn’t want her.
“(Fernanda) was the one who grabbed onto me when I was walking toward the plane,” she said. “… I don’t know how to put it into words. You just love on them.”
Stillwell left the country with just the clothes on her back.
“I came back without a stitch of clothing,” she said.
Shortly before leaving, a local woman told Stillwell her house had been burglarized and her clothes were stolen. Stillwell told her all her clothes were dirty. The woman said she would take them, anyway. The local people wash their clothes using a scrub board.
“After I gave her the dirty clothes,” Stillwell said, “she was scared someone would think she stole them. … After I got back home and opened my dresser and my dresser was empty, I said I can live with an empty dresser any day as long as my heart is filled with Jesus.”
Other members also gave away their clothes, she said.
It was a two-week trip of hugs and tears. Sydney Deaver said the experience can teach young people how to work with older teammates and help them mature.
“I think it’s a great idea,” she said about other youth taking such a trip. “… It’s really a great experience.”
Hannah Deaver said the trip taught her patience.
“It was a great way to share the Lord,” she said, “just by being able to be kind to someone.”
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.