Travel Talk | Spending My 28th Birthday in Service

They say life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Giving back has never been uncomfortable but friends, how many times have I asked if you were interested in doing something + if you said no, I didn’t do it? The answer is way too many times. I can handle being by myself but I’ve never liked to be alone. But somehow, this weekend, my birthday weekend I found myself in Honduras with people I’d never met before giving back to others + loving every minute of it.

Our first night in Honduras, our leader, EJ, asked us to share how we discovered Humanity & Hope + how we were led to joining the trip. So I’ll start with that! Everyone else had these real sweet stories about how they love service or discovered H&H on social media. Nope, not me. What brought me to H&H? None other than my favorite Bachelor himself, Ben Higgins. Ben is very involved with H&H + started a coffee company with beans harvested by the people of Honduras that H&H serves. Ben talks about H&H on his podcast all the time but it felt inaccessible. Then after Brandi Cyrus joined him on a trip, she shared her experience on her podcast with Wells Adams. I was sitting in traffic on my way home one Friday in March while listening to this podcast episode + thought “I really need to check this out.” I quickly found the Upcoming Trips page + saw there was a trip taking place over my birthday. Moments before, if you’d asked me what I was doing for my birthday, I’d have told you I was checking myself into the Four Seasons in Chicago for a night, getting a massage, eating room service + not checking my phone for 24 hours. My last two birthdays had been very disappointing + I was not going to allow that to happen this time. But once I knew I could go to Honduras for my birthday, everything changed.

While still stuck in traffic, I completed the interest form + scheduled my phone interview for the end of April, as that was the first date that was open. I came home + told my parents I was going on a service trip for my birthday. My mom said “No, you’re not.” She was very concerned for my safety as any mother would be. Dad wasn’t happy either, always concerned about the bottom line. But it was happening. The next morning, I woke up to an email from the woman I was supposed to have my phone interview with. She asked if I would like to bump up my interview to Tuesday or Wednesday of the upcoming week. I told her I’d be coming home from LA on Tuesday so we could do it at the airport or Wednesday when I got off work. We agreed on Wednesday after work + I excitedly set off for LA the next day. This was the first of my two visits this spring + the trip that I met Ashley I, Lauren + Naz. I told them over lunch I wanted to do this + they were so excited for me. With my friends, I was keeping it a bit hush-hush just in case it didn’t work out for some reason. But the call went well, I submitted my application + deposit that night. The next morning I was confirmed as a member of the team + bought my flight that Thursday evening. Less than a week for something so big + out of my comfort zone. For some reason it never occurred to me to see if any of my friends wanted to go. I think subconsciously I knew I needed to go by myself.

Fast forward to mid July when we get our first team email from EJ introducing himself + pumping us up for the trip. I looked at the list of those included on the email + noticed that there were only two guys on this trip + started to get nervous. “Oh no,” I thought. A trip of all females does not sound ideal. I’m the biggest champion of women’s empowerment but I also know that when women aren’t at their best, they can be catty, dramatic + cliqueish + I certainly wasn’t excited for that but I knew I needed to go. Every email update from EJ got me more anxiously excited for August 30th, deemed “Honduras Day” for me. Since I found myself in Florida + Nashville the two weekends before, suddenly I was leaving in two days + seemed to need everything on the packing list. After a frustrated hour + a half at Target, getting home + realizing I’m missing one of my bags, calling the store + confirming they had found the bag + that I could come grab my items, I was back home + packed two days early. Of course I couldn’t sleep the night before in anticipation of what was to come, including 58 minutes to make my connecting flight in Houston. I’d been so nervous because initially I was going to have to change terminals that I ended up upgrading my seat on my first leg to first class so I could be one of the first ones off the plane. It made me sick that I was flying in such luxury on my way to give back, but I also knew that if I wasn’t there, I couldn’t serve. They also gave me a mimosa before the plane took off + I calmed down. When we landed in Houston, we surprisingly ended up landing at the same terminal I needed to be at so all of my worry was for naught. One of my favorite bloggers, Lesley Murphy of The Road Les Traveled, was joining us on the trip so I introduced myself to her at the gate + we talked like old friends until we took our seats on the plane. I like being off the plane as soon as I land (but I won’t run up the aisle + cut people off)  so I made the mistake of selecting the closest economy window seat I could. Big mistake. Those seats are right over the wing so I couldn’t get decent pictures as we flew. I know for next time!

This place is so beautiful I can’t even stand it.

After passport control + immigration, I had some trouble finding our group. I didn’t immediately see anyone with H&H shirts on + desperately needed to find the bathroom. I typically won’t use the bathroom when I fly. It freaks me out + I’d like to stay buckled in at my seat where I belong. So after using the restroom, I found people in H&H shirts who were also going to the bathroom. I figured because I said “Hi,” they’d know I was supposed to be with them but I don’t think they did. They came out + I told them I must have missed the group in my necessity to find the restroom. They laughed, as did I, introduced themselves as Rebecca, a volunteer, + Genesis, a translator, + led me back to where I was supposed to be. They introduced me to another translator, Daniel, + more volunteers. We grabbed lunch at Wendy’s where I sat with Ashley, Rebekah + Anna + we immediately started sharing relationship stories + talking about home. When everyone had finished eating + grabbing a few quick souvenirs, we boarded a school bus named Alexandra + headed straight to La Coroza.

We parked in front of the school, hopped off the bus + immediately a little girl named Sara leapt into my arms. As we hugged + swung the little ones around, the translators opened the school + brought the desks outside to set up for service. This was the first mission trip I’d been on that didn’t include Mass, but H&H is a nondenominational group so we worshiped in a way that was meant to be as accessible as possible. Coming from a Catholic background, “service” just feels like a praise + worship hour to me, but you could definitely feel the Spirit in that school yard. We were celebrating three couples who’d been married that day. Pastor Rodger preached on love + the importance of marriage. Genesis kept translating “You need to be married so someone can keep you warm at night,” + most of the women on this trip were single + could not stop giggling as the mature adults we are. Cake + pop were served + then it was time to return to the hotel for our first dinner together. We sat at a giant u-shaped table, talked about how much we loved the kids + laughed at stories shared. We shared our journey to H&H, said night prayer + headed to our rooms to get ready for the next morning.

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Friday morning we grabbed coffee at our hotel’s coffee shop before boarding the bus to our first stop: breakfast. We went to a roadside stand that the translators (I assume) found for empenadas, but these are different than any empenada I’ve ever had in the States. To me, these were tacos, but it really doesn’t matter because they were “sooooo good!” (“Soooo good” is how I kept describing the drink Cassie got me for my birthday at our last dinner, so look for that as a theme when I describe the food in this post). Typically these tortillas are served with beans + queso fresco + you can add meat, eggs, plantains or avocado. I didn’t order mine with beans but ended up getting shredded chicken, avocado + queso fresco. Seriously so delicious, especially because the tortillas are made right there + are so fresh. We made one more stop at a nearby gas station for a bathroom break (+ iced coffee acquisition) before heading to El Remolino.

Our bus had trouble getting up there + we ended up getting off the main road + weaving through homes to get there. We parked in front of the community center, dropped off our bags + went to learn about the women’s projects in the village. One of the ways H&H helps the people of Honduras is by creating jobs so the people in their villages can provide for themselves, learn skills + empower them to realize their self worth. With H&H, the people can create a living + realize their dreams. That’s H&H’s goal, not to throw exhaustible resources at them but to help them create sustainable change. There are three women’s projects in Remolino: the pig project, the chicken project + the sheep project. Many women that work on these projects raising livestock are single mothers + are able to support their families working a job in the village rather than walking wherever to work in a factory or out in the palm fields. They’re proud of their work + have every right to be. We loved seeing the sheep project especially because they were so loud + so funny. On our way back, a few pigs had been slaughtered to be cooked + sold. Let me tell you, they don’t waste anything! Even the head was on ice to be delivered to another village. We found Kayla stirring a pot of chicharrones, fried pig fat. Lauren + I tried some of the batch that was already done because why not! They were “soooo good!”

 

Some of the animals from Remolino.

After a quick lunch of PBJ (ABJ for me because allergies), Pringles + Oreo’s, we played with the kids before hiking up to see their Grand Farm. The hike was not easy but it’s definitely something I wouldn’t have been able to do two years ago so I was pretty darn proud of myself for making it to the top. This land had just been cleared + was ready to become a pineapple farm which will create jobs for many of the men of El Remolino. You can see photos below. A few of the kids hiked up (+ showed us up) with us barefoot + on the way down, they kindly killed a poisonous snake that was in a tree. I did not know the dead snake I stepped over on the way down was poisonous until later that afternoon + for that I’m incredibly grateful. But the coolest part, for me anyway, was seeing what this pineapple field looked like just two + a half weeks later. So compare the cleared land below to this post from H&H’s Instagram.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The views here are nothing short of spectacular.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back down in the village, we split into two groups to finally get to work. A part of our group was painting the ceiling of the community center while the rest of us went to a “park” where we painted benches + planters blue + red. While painting, I spent time talking to Jen from Canada who was on her fourth international service trip. The kids came to help + actually wanted to paint with us. If it had been me as a child, I’d have been done after five minutes looking for the next exciting activity. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t silliness to be had. Paint was flying + there was painted patty-cake. Too soon we had to say goodbye to the nuggets of Remolino as big rain drops started to fall. Heading back down the hill to get back to the hotel our dear bus Alexandra got stuck in the mud. We had far too much fun filling a large ditch in the road with big rocks + sticks so that once the bus was dug out, it wouldn’t get stuck in the ditch again. Props to Matt for this idea because I never would have thought of it. Our sweet driver, Milton, who loves this bus, also had the genius idea to take the bumper off the bus so it didn’t get dented as we worked to free the bus. Soon the bus mobile + we were on our way home to our nacho dinner. After dinner, a group of us stayed up in an indoor courtyard drinking beer + sharing stories but soon I needed to sleep.

These nights were so freaking fun.

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Saturday had us back in La Coroza visiting their Grand Farm. But this visit was no easy feat. After a quick detour to a bathroom with Ashley + Kenia, we found the rest of the group had headed off to the farm in the bed of Darwin’s truck so we hiked to the river + had life chats. We could either walk across it or ride Darwin’s truck bed. I, not wanting to venture that far out of my comfort zone, so I waited for the third voyage of Darwin’s truck to be driven across. Darwin + Juan, Humanity & Hope’s agricultural leader, told us all about the Grand Farm, what they’re growing (plantains, corn + beans) + that they are currently leasing the land and are in the discussions of buying this 30 acre piece land so they can have jobs for 20+ people, send 40 children to school, have a cow business and help the village of La Coroza make their dreams come true + live life to the fullest. The catch? The land costs $200,000. Once they sign the contract, they have to put 10% down + have six months to pay it off. If they don’t raise the money, they lose their 10% + the owner can decide to start the contract again or can choose to sell it to someone else. Obviously we don’t want that. If you’re interested in learning more about the Grand Farm project or contributing to the purchase of the Grand Farm, you can do so here.

   

I waited for the final truck load across the river as EJ shared life stories with us. Our last truck load was Cassie, Heidi, Pastor Rodger, one of his sons (I think) + Amer, one of our translators. Darwin ended up driving us all the way back to the bus where we drove out of the palm fields + into the village. We ate lunch in the school as Paola “taught” the nuggets English. I also realized how insanely good sour cream + onion Pringles are, which we had a plethora of at lunch.

After lunch we split into two groups. Most of our group painted a house a gorgeous marigold. Heidi, Brina, Lesley, Matt + I went with the “strong” group. We headed down the road in horse carts (which was actually really scary) to shovel gravel to fill potholes. Honestly it was super hard, my back hurt + I sweat so much BUT this felt like the most meaningful thing I did during my time there. This was about the time I had a terribly embarrassing Spanish fail that my high school teachers would be so sad to hear if they ever read this. As I was taking a water break, I was petting one of the horses. One of the guys driving the carts was looking at me a bit confused so I went to tell him I like horses but instead of “caballos,” the word I KNOW is Spanish for “horses,”I accidentally said “caballeros,” which means “gentleman” or “cowboy.” I quickly corrected myself saying “¡caballo, caballo, cabillo!” but the damage was already done so I quickly put my water down + returned to my work without making eye contact again. Seconds later it was funny + I told everyone what happened. When we were finished, Darwin came to pick us up + got a little emotional over how helpful us fixing the road was.

Soon after we returned to the group it started to rain + Lesley + I got on the bus where she let me pick her brain about her travels where I got some really great wisdom of where to go, where to eat, things to avoid as I continue to travel the world + hopefully tell you guys about it Eventually everyone boarded the bus + we head back to the hotel for showers + resting. I thought I might get in the pool so I threw my suit on under a tribal + salmon maxi dress from Saved by the Dress. I ended up just hanging by the pool, talking with friends + making margaritas by grabbing smoothies at the hotel’s cafe + adding tequila that Andrea bought. At whatever time we were supposed to, we met out front to hop on the bus to head to Darwin’s for dinner, but not before a quick stop at the gas station to grab drinks for dinner. After they were purchased, you could find Ashley + I trying to get the perfect boomerangs with them on the bus like the children we are.

At Darwin’s there was so much good food + so much more laughter. We shared stories from childhood, stories from high school, stories from college, stories from last week. My favorite was one Ashley told that Rebecca didn’t quite here so she asked a question which totally wasn’t funny but it was + we were slap happy + laughing like people who’d been friends for years. That was one of my favorite parts of this trip–the friends I made. There was not one person who was anything short of wonderful. The way we just came together so perfectly, like puzzle pieces, was something so amazing + beautiful that I’ll cherish forever. Our night was not complete until we “Iced” Amir. He took it like a champ + dedicated his first icing to his girlfriend Jacqueline. Then it was time to go home for the night where we again gathered over beer in the hotel lobby sharing more stories + building relationships.

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The next day was my birthday + the best day of my entire life. The day started with coffee brought to me by my sweet roommate Heidi before we headed up to breakfast. At breakfast, Kenia + Lucia, another of our amazing translators, came in with a cake + a Spanish birthday song playing over a bluetooth speaker. Kenia even made me a candle with a butterfly which now sits on my desk. Everyone sang to me in English, then our translators + the volunteers who spoke Spanish sang to me in Spanish. In case you were wondering, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face if I wanted to + tried to hide the fact that I was also crying. Even if this was all of my birthday, I would have been so happy. To be surrounded by so much love from people I didn’t know just a few days before is a feeling I can’t describe to you. I’m convinced I served with angels.

Have I mentioned how gorgeous I think this place is?

 

We boarded the bus + headed to La Cuchilla for our last village visit. H&H has only been in La Cuchilla since June of last year so the improvements made don’t seem as drastic as those in La Coroza + El Remolino. Unlike the cinderblock houses with doors in the other two villages, the homes of La Cuchilla are still made of clay + wood with cloth for doors. The work that needs to be done is great, but what is also great are the strides that have been made in the last ~18 months that H&H has been working with the people of La Cuchilla. A few weeks before we arrived they got clean water + a few weeks after they visited, their water tower to house their clean water was completed. We visited their grand farm which was especially a sight to see to our leaders, Lesely + Matt. Our leaders had seen the grand farm at it’s beginning when the land had just been cleared + was full of hope. Lesley + Matt saw the farm in February when the plantains that were well over our heads in September were only knee to ankle height. You can see the baby plantain plants + read all about Lesley’s journey with H&H here. We also were able to see their chicken project, vastly different than that in Remolino. The coop is newer + they are able to employ 11 women who work different shifts throughout the week. It does currently pay less than other jobs they can + do work in addition to the chicken business, however unlike working in the palm fields or working in a factory bagging bananas, they’re able to be closer to their children more often. This was especially powerful for my friends Heidi + Cassie who are from Denver + worked the fundraiser who’s funds helped build the chicken coop + start this chicken business. Currently these chickens are only being raised as whole chickens, not for eggs. The hope to get into a rotation of one year of raising chickens + one year acquiring eggs then eventually getting to do both but that takes time + this coop was just started.

After visiting the farm + the chicken coop, we played soccer with the kids. For those of us who don’t play soccer, this is particularly entertaining + I, who knows you’re NOT SUPPOSED TO USE YOUR HANDS, earned the other team a free kick when I used my forearm to block the ball from hitting my face during the game. Oh well. It was so amazing to see so much joy in these kids’ faces as we played. Eventually I needed a break from the sun + sat down with my friends + little kids as they played with our phones + laughed at their faces with snapchat filters. When it was lunch time, it was really sad to hear our translators tell the village that we did not have enough sandwiches to share. No one seemed sad but I wish we could have shared with them. We gobbled down sandwiches + were sad to discover that there were far less chip options than there had been the previous two days.

After a brief excursion into the palm forest because there weren’t any bathrooms in this village (that’s definitely a friendship bonding experience–trying to pick a tree to use where no one in the “park” or on the road would see you), we broke off into groups for home visits. Kenia, Cassie, Jeny, Brina + I visited Maria, her daughter Rosemarie + granddaughter Lily at their home. We asked what their dreams are + how their lives have improved since H&H. Rosemarie wants to eventually be able to do hair + makeup as she’s taught herself how to do makeup. She also dreams that Lily, who is 13 years old will one day be able to go to school full time. Because sweet Lily hadn’t been enrolled in school before she started menstruating, she’s currently unable to enroll because she’s now able to get pregnant + is considered a “risk.” Apparently there are already three other girls her age in school who are pregnant + it’s considered disrespectful to be “showing” in your uniform. Until H&H is able to build a school for the children of this village, Lily is currently able to go to school on Saturdays. This really upset me + after we returned to the big group, I talked to our translator Daniel about it. In my head, it seemed Lily might never catch up to her peers. Daniel assured me that this program is actually really great + will get her prepared for when the school is finally built. But the problem with change is that it does take time. Things like water + jobs are higher on the village’s wish list so those are being handled sooner. But as an advocate for women’s education, this is a cause that’s incredibly close to my heart. I knew before I left that I’d probably want to go back + this solidified that. Not only did I make some amazing new friends, but I got to see that there’s so much work to be done that I want to be a part of.

We loaded up the bus + headed back to the hotel to shower + get ready for church + dinner. As a Catholic, church was much more high energy than I’m used to but it’s always so interesting to see how others connect with the Divine. That’s why I studied theology in college. Walking in, their hospitality team made us feel like celebrities clapping + smiling as we entered. We found seats together + listened to really, really energetic praise + worship music, in Spanish of course. Some clapped along, some danced, some raised their hands in praise, some found babies (Kayla) + some stayed quiet appreciating the energy around them. After the music, as the minister got up to preach, we left because most of us, myself included, wouldn’t understand the message without a translator. We headed over to a restaurant for our “last supper” together at a traditional Honduran restaurant, as opposed to the KFC down the street. We headed to the bar where we got a plethora of drinks. Cassie treated me to a “michagoda,” which is a Bloody Mary with a Corona. They said it was a Bloody Mary/Long Island, but that was all Bloody Mary. It was “soooooo good” as I kept telling my friends when they’d ask how this obnoxious drink tasted. Heidi + Ashley also brought me margaritas. There was so much laughter + good food. I was not ready for the night to end.

When we got back to the hotel, we headed to our spot, the chairs by the fountain, where my friends sang to me again, we ate cake + drank beer. Eventually we moved to the pool. Eventually people started bidding the group adieu + my birthday ended with Andrea, Cassie + I telling our life stories. At some point near 2:00, we knew we had to go to bed because we had to leave incredibly early for our last breakfast, visiting the Glass School + heading to the airport. To say this was the best birthday was a complete understatement. I can’t thank this group enough for making me feel so special when this day was not about me at all!

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Our last day was such a blur + very sad. Rolling our suitcases down on our way to breakfast broke my heart because I don’t know if I’ll ever be with all of these wonderful humans again. We ate + you could definitely feel the heaviness of our impending flights in the air…that or the fact that we all needed coffee but the hotel coffee shop is closed on Mondays.

We had one final visit to make before heading to the airport–the Glass School. This school was started by a man from Spain who wanted to teach high school students skills they could use when they graduated. In the morning, the students spend their time working with glass or working in the kitchen. Glass students make everything from beads to bottles. Kitchen students cook, serve, learn table settings. They could potentially get a job at a restaurant or in a hotel. After lunch, the students sit for regular academic classes. Unfortunately we didn’t get time to support the school by buying some of their projects because we ran out of time + it was time to head to the airport.

At the airport, some of us teared up saying goodbye to our new friends while some of us ugly cried. I’ll let you decide how emotional I was. The airport in San Pedro Sula has about eight gates so we all ended up near each other. We kept heading down to other gates to say goodbye one last time. Oh wait, that was me. Eventually our delayed flight to Houston was FINALLY boarding. I didn’t want to leave but we were at the airport + I had to work the next morning so it was time to head home.

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There are simply no words for this weekend despite all the ones I wrote that took more more than a month to get out. Every time I worked on this piece, I started to cry. This was such a moving, magical, powerful weekend that I’ll never forget as long as I live. In a few weeks I’ll get to see some of the friends I made here at H&H’s Austin fundraiser for the Grand Farm in La Coroza. Those of us who can make it keep texting each other to tell each other how pumped we are that some of the band will be back together. How did I get so lucky that these people I spent five days with can’t wait to see me?! I’m so excited for all of our adventures to come, especially when we get our reunion trip to Honduras planned out. New Years into 2020 anyone?

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xo.