Friday, March 9, 2012
La Providencia Summit
Well, I made it back from Honduras. For those of you following me on Facebook, you know it wasn't the smoothest of travel days. After spending about 5 hours in the San Pedro Sula airport I found out my flight was cancelled. They told us to go pick up our luggage and then get in line at the ticket counter to rebook for the following day. So I stayed an extra night in Honduras. Then after arriving in Miami I found out my 2nd flight was delayed due to mechanical difficulties as well. I was ready to get home but glad they were discovering the mechanical difficulties before we flew and not during our flight. :)
My time in Honduras was good. It was tiring and mentally challenging, but it was good. The premise of the Summit was to unite the people that are sending teams to La Providencia this summer. Their vision was for us to work together with the LP staff and community leaders to have our teams be as collaborative, productive and life-giving as possible. A lot of our discussion was based on the books, "When Helping Hurts" and "Toxic Charity". This discussion, at times, was so exhausting because it isn't easy. There isn't a simple solution. The easy thing is for us to swoop in with our American mind-sets and think that we know best. But that isn't helpful, it can be damaging. At Visiting Orphans, we spend a lot of time thinking and praying about these issues. It was encouraging to meet with other people from across the country that have similar goals and to exchange ideas.
A couple of the main ideas that we kept coming back to was:
My time in Honduras was good. It was tiring and mentally challenging, but it was good. The premise of the Summit was to unite the people that are sending teams to La Providencia this summer. Their vision was for us to work together with the LP staff and community leaders to have our teams be as collaborative, productive and life-giving as possible. A lot of our discussion was based on the books, "When Helping Hurts" and "Toxic Charity". This discussion, at times, was so exhausting because it isn't easy. There isn't a simple solution. The easy thing is for us to swoop in with our American mind-sets and think that we know best. But that isn't helpful, it can be damaging. At Visiting Orphans, we spend a lot of time thinking and praying about these issues. It was encouraging to meet with other people from across the country that have similar goals and to exchange ideas.
A couple of the main ideas that we kept coming back to was:
- Not doing for others what they have the potential to do themselves. We talked a lot about self-suffiency vs dependency. We also talked about the importance of encouraging and empowering, not just offering hand-outs
- Teams need to realize that they're not just there to help, they are also there to learn. It's all about an EXCHANGE.
I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this group. And am excited about our partnership with Providence World Ministries. If you haven't already, please take a minute to check out their website. They are taking an innovative approach to orphan and widow care.
And last but not least, we have TWO opportunities this summer for you to join a team to visit La Providencia. Check out the information below and if you have any questions let me know!
- June 8-15, 2012- Honduras trip
- July 28- August 7, 2012- El Salvador/Honduras combo trip
~Casi Mattox
Central/South America Trip Coordinator
Thank you so much for going overseas and loving those that are loved by Christ himself. These children need steady and constant relationship, to be tended to and nurtured and I pray that those things continue to happen.
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