My third trip to Honduras lay somewhere between the joyous novelty of the first trip and the somberness of the second. Having been fortunate enough to come down to Honduras several times now, I feel like I have a better, albeit still incomplete, understanding on how to balance the harsh realities of poverty and the hope and joy that can be found in Honduran life. It is now more and more evident to me that serving in Honduras is something I want to do long term and as part of my life.
I remember being depressed last year thinking how all the effort I could ever put in working in the hospital would benefit just one hospital, in one city, in one poor country of the world. But then I recalled a quote from one of my favorite movies, Before Sunset, about how the people who do the most good in the world aren't necessarily the ones who are always thinking big, revolutionary thoughts. They're the ones who are focused on getting pencils to schoolchildren in Mexico, on small pragmatic steps on how to make the world better.
In between the doctors who are rushing to make their rounds and parents who are stressed out over their child's sickness and making ends meet, I realized that the kids in the pediatric ward, for whom life should be about carefree play and laughter, actually see very little play and laughter. And if our team can bring a smile to a child's face or help melt away a few painful hours in the hospital, then I think our time and efforts in Honduras were more than worth it. I'm not saying that it's not good to have big ambitions to change the world, but like in our team's situation in Honduras, it's important as well to look at the opportunities you have in front of you and make your mark there. A small difference is still a difference nonetheless and maybe after enough small differences, you'll see that the difference you made was a big one after all.
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