Teens learn benefits of helping others

Emily Spencer, of Hampton, was struck by the images of need: a baby sitting on the dirt floor of a one-room shanty; people waiting to walk through the town dump in search of food.

Heather Moffat, 18, of Morningside, remembers the driver of the big yellow bus, who prayed for his passengers' safety before each trip because the route covers hairpin turns on dirt roads with no traffic signs.

Heather Drudy, 18, of Oakdale, recalls elementary-age children who would take their bowl of lunch home to share with their families.

The three teenagers were among a 22-member missionary delegation from West Hills Christian Church in Moon and North Hills Christian Church in Ross who went last month to Honduras. The group spent 10 days there, ministering to people in the settlements of Ocotillo and Gonzales, outside San Pedro Sula, Honduras' second largest city with a population of about 450,000.

Spencer, Moffat and Drudy kept journals about their experiences for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Trib photographer James Knox accompanied the group.

The missionary delegation made the trip as part of Lifeline Christian Mission's Laborlink Work Crusade. The Westerville, Ohio-based organization sends more than 600 people a year on missions to Honduras and Haiti, feeding more than 7,400 people a day and administering medical and dental care to more than 20,000 people annually.

It's part of an effort by numerous congregations throughout the area and the country to reach out to countries battling rampant poverty, deadly diseases and drug lords.

Lifeline's work in Honduras began in 1986. The purpose is "to be a facilitator for people in these needy countries, to have hands-on opportunity to serve and, as a result, to have a life-changing spiritual experience in their lives and be able to grow spiritually. They're meeting physical needs as tools for evangelism," said Gretchen DeVoe, secretary of Lifeline's board of directors.

Honduras is Central America's poorest nation, with 80 percent, or nearly 5.3 million, of its 6.6 million people living in poverty. It is a destination for missionaries from hundreds of churches throughout the United States. In addition to poverty, Honduras is hard hit by AIDS and a high infant-mortality rate. For many Hondurans, surviving is a daily battle.

To make the trip, members of the local group had to raise $1,200 each. They arrived at San Pedro Sula International Airport in the glaring 100-degree Honduran heat. Each carried a 70-pound black duffle bag filled with food, medical supplies and gifts from church members to be given to families at the mission site.

"This trip taught me so much about what is a need and what is a want," wrote Spencer, 15, a sophomore at Hampton High School. "I can't wait till the next trip so I can go back and see the friends I had made."

Some areas of urban San Pedro Sula have touches of America -- including eateries such as McDonald's, Burger King and Applebee's -- but much of the countryside was starkly unfamiliar to the visitors. Men armed with AK-47s guarded businesses, even restaurants. The few police patrolling the area rode in donated 1970s-era Volkswagen Beetles.

"This trip opened my eyes to things I'd never dreamed I'd see," wrote Drudy, a senior at Chartiers Valley High School. "The people in Ocotillo haven't had (clean) water for four years, and I worry about not having pop in the refrigerator."

The missionaries' tasks included laying concrete in a recreation area of a complex that already includes a church, a school for six grades, a medical clinic and a kitchen-canteen. The complex is one of the few spots where clean drinking water is available.

The work was demanding physically and mentally.

"We learned to finish concrete while making sidewalks and benches. It was neat because I probably won't have the opportunity to do something like that in America. I especially wouldn't be doing it in 118-degree weather," wrote Moffat, 18, a senior at Trinity Christian School in Forest Hills.

The project includes room for eight flag poles to fly the Honduran flag, the Christian flag and six other Central American countries' flags. The missionaries were racing to get the work finished by Sept. 15, Honduras' independence day.

While Lifeline feeds hundreds of children a single well-balanced, hot meal a day at its schools in Gonzales and Ocotillo, hundreds of thousands more want for a nutritious meal every day, DeVoe said.

"The sad part," Spencer wrote, "was to realize how bad these people have but to know they weren't the worst part of Honduras."

The participants

These people went on the Mission to Honduras from West Hills Christian Church and North Hills Christian Church:

West Hills: Heather Drudy, Conn and Dan Hughes, Lee McGraw, Maria Rodriguez, Terri Shidemantle, Bill Ballbach, Zach Shidemantle, Bill Harris, Lori White, Juli White, Steph Pander, Diane Cvengros, Janel Cvengros, Sam Kyper,

North Hills: Erich and Karen Landis, Heather Moffat, Ethan Harrington, Emily and Christi Spencer, James Knox.

About Honduras