by Frank Holman

We knew this service team trip to Honduras would be different than the adult trip in 2005. It was later in the season-October instead of August, and our team's average age was older—55 instead of 38. But, more than this, we had learned through our high school team this summer (Sept Briefs) that the community was struggling, and 4 of the 6 families intended to move back to their origainal villages by the end of the year. So, it was with an uncomfortable mixture of anticipation and anxiety that we arrived in Honduras on Fri, Oct 27 to work alongside the families of Agros Uno in the Otero Valley.

In many, many ways we were able to see and experience God’s answers to Bethany's monthly prayers (every 2nd Sun) for this Village venture. Our core team of 8 (Jane Frissell, Mona McCann, Nolan Olson, Mark Pedersen, Don Kunze, Gil Ward, Patti & Frank Holman) providentially grew to 10 when Bethany Dearborn and Catherine Sittser (recent college grads) joined us for three days during their sojourn through Latin America. And Jane Donald (Gil's wife) served solo in another part of Honduras during the same week.

At Agros Uno we were able to renew and build new friendships with the villagers—those who had expressed their intent to stay (the families of Carlos and Virgilia, Armando and Antonia), those who had expressed their intent to leave (the families of Juan & Alejandrina, Isidro & Virgilia, Lucillo & Victoria, and Mariano & Gloria), and a few adjuncts to the village (Pastor Candido & Eufamia, and Don Lupe).

We strengthened our relationships with the Agros staff, Victor Aguirre and Luis Orellana, and grew close to our young translator, Maria Jose Galvez. For the most part, we remained physically healthy, and our travels and accommodations were great.

Our six days in Agros Uno with the families were full, even with the ever present knowledge that not all was well.

• On the first day, Sat, we were part of a large meeting of Agros Uno staff (Luis, Victor, Maria Jose), the families who are staying, and 9 men who were representing 15 families from a mountain community (20 miles across the Otero Valley) who are considering moving to Agros Uno.
• On Mon and Tues we worked to construct Carlos’ & Virgilia’s house, carrying dirt for adobe and then gathering volcanic stones for the foundation.
• On Wed and Thurs we replaced a long section of fence and repaired a gate to the property.
• And on Fri, following the lead of our high school team this summer, we prepared a meal (beef kebobs) for the whole village and many of their friends (60 people).

At the parting ceremony, Jane Frissell presented the cards made last year at Holiday Magic, and Mark Pedersen choked back tears as he presented one-by-one the personal letters the high school students had lovingly prepared for each family.

So much of the world teeters on a knife-edge between hope and despair. This service trip to Agros Uno was stepping into that zone. We were building on the work of the high school team this summer, the relationships they built and the pain they experienced learning that some families were leaving. We went to listen to the villagers and the staff, and we did a lot of that.

Throughout the week we met and talked, sometimes in a group and sometimes in pairs, with the villagers about the reasons for leaving and conditions that would encourage them to stay. We were able to confirm that misunderstandings about the land purchase debt and interest was the likely tipping point.

It is possible to enter a relationship with a people or an organization and just give money or participate with limited contact, and the true details and difficulties of the people never reach our ears. A true partnership, working closely together, often involves tensions.

The fundamental goals of Agros are to restore broken relationships—relationships between people and the land and relationships between people and people. Greg Rake, President of Agros International, recently said,

“Here at Agros, we believe that ending poverty is about restoring relationships. And anyone who cares about real relationships knows that it is not always easy, or efficient.”

On this service trip we found ourselves, smack dab, in the middle of the tensions between villager and villager and between the villagers and the staff. We have come home to advocate for villagers at Agros Uno and for the staff who labor for their success, first to God in prayer and then to our partners at Agros International, for an extra measure of support to keep this village together and on track toward the dream that brought us all into this venture in the first place.