A New Housing Project for Honduras
by Claudia Nygaard, member of West End United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee

I don't know why, but for some reason I've always had this fear that if I really give my life completely over to God, I'll end up a "real" missionary. I'll have to give away all my worldly possessions,then leave my friends and family to go live in some remote village in Africa where I'll eventually die of some incurable tropical disease. Yes, I've had times when I was quite sure that if I let my guard down, God would choose me to do this work. The truth is, God may not actually have such big plans for me.

I wasn't really sure why I was going to Honduras last year. It just "felt" like something I should do. When I got there, I still didn't think I was missionary material. As the daughter of a builder, I was no stranger to construction sites. Unfortunately, however, Daddy was the son of an alcoholic, and he was a drinker himself. As a result, Daddy had no role model for effective parenting. I grew up thinking the only sentence he knew was "Can't you do anything right?" So I found myself in Honduras working with the maestro (job foreman) and trying my darndest to impress him. I didn't realize it then, but now that I reflect back on it, I can see that I desperately wanted the maestro to give me the approval for my construction skills that my own father couldn't. I worked like a dog, and the maestro gave me what I needed. He called me maestro segundo (assistant maestro).

As we headed back down the mountain to Tegucigalpa to fly home, it hit me. What had I done? While I was getting my ego fed and finding validation, had I kept some young boy in the village from learning the maestro's trade? Had I kept some young boy from feeling competent, strong, and clever? I wasn't feeling too good about myself as I wondered if my ego had kept me from helping the very people I had wanted to help. As my mind raced, trying to think of how I could make amends, I got an idea . . . maybe we could start an internship of some kind? Perhaps we could have some young boy go work with the maestro. Our group talked about it on the way down the mountain, and the idea began to take shape; so we suggested it to the Commission for Christian Development (Comision Cristiana de Desarrollo) over dinner the next night.

They liked the idea, and the West End Methodist Global Outreach Committee is proud that the Commission for Christian Development now has a new housing project in Honduras. West End United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, is funding the cost of one instructor and six students for three months. The teacher and pupils have begun work in the village where we worked last year, Las Mercedes. There are already thirty-one foundations completed to replace the stick homes that the wind blew through. We hope that one day those six boys who have learned the trade will teach six more boys the trade. We were able to do all of this for $2,368.

Reflecting on the experience I had in that village, I realize that it is enough for me to be willing to do God's work and put myself in situations where I can be his servant. I don't have to do his work perfectly or even know what his plan is. I could never have planned the response to my work that the maestro had.

I guess I shouldn't be so amazed that God can take the mistakes of a raving egomaniac and transform them into something positive!

Map of Honduras courtesy of The General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin.

Article used by permission from the West End Report edition of The United Methodist Reporter, West End United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee.

Posted 10-26-01