Man, I love Honduras. I love the sights, the sounds, the people, the coffee — all of it. Last year was my first trip when I was all but TOLD by my sweet husband, Shane, that I needed to go. He knew I would love it. He was right.
This year has been a completely different ball of awesome, because he is here with me. Let me just tell you, a mission trip reveals a whole new side of amazing in your spouse. Getting to see him interact with the kids at the HLC, watching him work on our work projects, dancing at sidewalk Sunday school, being silly — it has been a pleasure to say the least. I knew I loved him deeply before we came, but I feel like I KNOW him a bit better now. Mission trips can uncover a multitude of personality traits: how you work under pressure (really hot days), how you handle other personalities within your team, how you respond to doing things you may not want to do, and how you interact with children when there’s a very obvious language barrier. Experiencing how he cares for me and looks after me here has made me all sorts of emotional. He does it at home, too, but for some reason it’s much more obvious to me here. This trip has made me feel even more thankful to call him mine.
Sharing Honduras has been a neat experience, too, in that we have a common goal, another common interest … besides our children. We sponsor one of the children here at the HLC, Abigail. Getting to see her and love on her together has been really fun. I think it’s neat for her, too. I pray she’s seeing a healthy marriage in how we interact with her and each other. Shane has been to Honduras three times previously on the men’s trip, so I’m wondering if Abigail, is seeing a different side to Shane, as well.
All in all, Shane and I know the men’s trip is his jam. I’m not sure how often we’ll be back together, but man oh man I am enjoying this go ’round!
- Lauran Harmon
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“There is nothing more attractive than witnessing your wife’s love for Jesus and her servant’s heart toward children in need … except for seeing her tie rebar!”
As many know, I’ve always been a HUGE advocate for the January/February LFC Men’s Trip to Pena Blanca, Honduras. It involves a significant amount of manual labor, most of which many of the guys who go rarely engage in while residing in the confines of Lake Norman, NC. The testosterone begins to pump and men who carry a computer bag to work attempt to haul 5 cinderblocks 100 yards — and ironically succeed! Yet it isn’t just that or the relationship-building perspective, but rather there are not too many occasions when men open-up and really share what’s going on in their lives and their hearts. For whatever reason, the Men’s Trip does just that.
Over the years, I have poured my love of Honduras and its people into my wife, Lauran, who decided to go on her first trip two years ago. She fell in love just like I did! Lauran instantly gravitated toward the little girl we sponsor, Abigail, and Pena Blanca quickly became her home away from home.
Earlier this year, with Honduras being such a special place for us both, we decided to go on a mission trip together. Of course, the logistics of child care was nerve-racking, but with the help of both sets of grandparents, we made it work and headed to Central America.
To properly frame this up, Lauran and I are not “lovey-dovey,” look into each others’ eyes and see our souls’ couple. I am much more likely to slap her on the rear, with her response being “SHANE, don’t do that in public.” Now that you have idea of how we connect, how do you think we behave as a couple in Honduras? The truth is Unanticipated. The token answer is “this trip is bringing us closer together.” There is something TRULY SPECIAL about witnessing first-hand your wife’s immense love for people who are not your immediate family or friends. And while her servant’s heart is very apparent to others at home, it often goes unnoticed by me as normalcy. This week is making me very aware of how intentional, compassionate, loving and dedicated my wife truly is.
So why write this for everyone to see? My hope is that this gets read by men who have either gone on the Honduras Men’s trip (or possibly never gone on mission), who desire to not only grow closer to their wife, but also deepen their bond with each other by witnessing how they serve others. It could prove to be life-changing and something that will bond the two of you for a lifetime. And, as I mentioned at the beginning, I am going to continue to be honest … watching your wife tie rebar is WAY MORE ATTRACTIVE than that little black dress!! :)
- Shane Harmon
This year has been a completely different ball of awesome, because he is here with me. Let me just tell you, a mission trip reveals a whole new side of amazing in your spouse. Getting to see him interact with the kids at the HLC, watching him work on our work projects, dancing at sidewalk Sunday school, being silly — it has been a pleasure to say the least. I knew I loved him deeply before we came, but I feel like I KNOW him a bit better now. Mission trips can uncover a multitude of personality traits: how you work under pressure (really hot days), how you handle other personalities within your team, how you respond to doing things you may not want to do, and how you interact with children when there’s a very obvious language barrier. Experiencing how he cares for me and looks after me here has made me all sorts of emotional. He does it at home, too, but for some reason it’s much more obvious to me here. This trip has made me feel even more thankful to call him mine.
Sharing Honduras has been a neat experience, too, in that we have a common goal, another common interest … besides our children. We sponsor one of the children here at the HLC, Abigail. Getting to see her and love on her together has been really fun. I think it’s neat for her, too. I pray she’s seeing a healthy marriage in how we interact with her and each other. Shane has been to Honduras three times previously on the men’s trip, so I’m wondering if Abigail, is seeing a different side to Shane, as well.
All in all, Shane and I know the men’s trip is his jam. I’m not sure how often we’ll be back together, but man oh man I am enjoying this go ’round!
- Lauran Harmon
-------
“There is nothing more attractive than witnessing your wife’s love for Jesus and her servant’s heart toward children in need … except for seeing her tie rebar!”
As many know, I’ve always been a HUGE advocate for the January/February LFC Men’s Trip to Pena Blanca, Honduras. It involves a significant amount of manual labor, most of which many of the guys who go rarely engage in while residing in the confines of Lake Norman, NC. The testosterone begins to pump and men who carry a computer bag to work attempt to haul 5 cinderblocks 100 yards — and ironically succeed! Yet it isn’t just that or the relationship-building perspective, but rather there are not too many occasions when men open-up and really share what’s going on in their lives and their hearts. For whatever reason, the Men’s Trip does just that.
Over the years, I have poured my love of Honduras and its people into my wife, Lauran, who decided to go on her first trip two years ago. She fell in love just like I did! Lauran instantly gravitated toward the little girl we sponsor, Abigail, and Pena Blanca quickly became her home away from home.
Earlier this year, with Honduras being such a special place for us both, we decided to go on a mission trip together. Of course, the logistics of child care was nerve-racking, but with the help of both sets of grandparents, we made it work and headed to Central America.
To properly frame this up, Lauran and I are not “lovey-dovey,” look into each others’ eyes and see our souls’ couple. I am much more likely to slap her on the rear, with her response being “SHANE, don’t do that in public.” Now that you have idea of how we connect, how do you think we behave as a couple in Honduras? The truth is Unanticipated. The token answer is “this trip is bringing us closer together.” There is something TRULY SPECIAL about witnessing first-hand your wife’s immense love for people who are not your immediate family or friends. And while her servant’s heart is very apparent to others at home, it often goes unnoticed by me as normalcy. This week is making me very aware of how intentional, compassionate, loving and dedicated my wife truly is.
So why write this for everyone to see? My hope is that this gets read by men who have either gone on the Honduras Men’s trip (or possibly never gone on mission), who desire to not only grow closer to their wife, but also deepen their bond with each other by witnessing how they serve others. It could prove to be life-changing and something that will bond the two of you for a lifetime. And, as I mentioned at the beginning, I am going to continue to be honest … watching your wife tie rebar is WAY MORE ATTRACTIVE than that little black dress!! :)
- Shane Harmon