Sandra Duverge's reflection during worship Aug. 12

Mission Reflection
CHPC worship, Sunday, August 12
Sandra M. Duverge

I thought so much about going or not going on this mission trip. I had to come to Jane to ask for help in sorting through my thoughts. You see I grew up Catholic. I only went to church on special occasions. In my family that is what being Catholic meant.

I did not know about mission trips until I started coming to this church 7 years ago. I had many fears about situations on the trip that might give me away. For starters was I expected to know where all the books where in the bible? (I never even owned my own bible until I came to Louisville). Would I be asked to recite Psalms from memory? What if some one asked me what my favorite hymn was, and could I sing it? (You see, I have a creative mind).

Well, I put my application in with the thought that I could withdraw any time before the plane tickets were purchased. Going through the monthly orientation meetings was great. Every time we meet we learned something new about Guatemala. As time passed I wanted more and more to go.

I wanted to tell you how the planning for the mission trip went because some of the experiences I would have during this trip never occurred to me. Every time I would tell people I was going on a mission trip they would ask me what we were going to do there. I put together a little speech about going to make friendships and how we were not going to do heavy construction except for two days.

The moment I arrived in Guatemala I felt very comfortable. The scene at the airport was very familiar — all the people piled up in front of the exit door trying to see if their loved one was coming. The vendors come up to you to try and get you to buy their wares. I live it and love it every time I arrive in the Dominican Republic. There is something very welcoming about that organized chaos.

Of course I did as I always do in Dominican Republic I bought something. Yes, you are going to hear from the rest of the group that we went straight into the vans as soon as we came out of customs, but leave it to me to make a purchase in only a minute.

It was great to be riding in tall vans because it really gave us a great view. The ride through Guatemala City on the way to Rio Dulce was great — parts of the city looked so much like Dominican Republic. I was feeling very much at home, except for the weather, which was cool in July.

We had talked so much about how hot it would be that I began to worry, I did not have enough blouses with long sleeves. No problem, I would have to go shopping. How bad is that? At one of the pit stops I switched to the air conditioned van because some of the people there where getting motion sickness and needed to switch.

What a shock when I got out of the van in Rio Dulce. The humidity had gone from zero to eighty, but this was still nothing compared to what was expecting us in El Estor.

The next morning the drive was magnificent, the scenery was spectacular and best of all I knew most of the vegetation! As some of the others will tell you, I get a little carried away pointing out trees. I had never seen them in this form. This wonderful tropical vegetation covered the mountains whereever you looked. The Dominican Republic does not have as many mountains as Guatemala. As we got closer to El Estor things got a little flatter but not by much.

I was so happy to be there — it was like going to the Dominican Republic, except for the amazing humidity. If we told you a hundred times you could never imagine it. This is something that you have to feel to believe. The rest of the trip you can see in our pictures. It was amazing. Thank you for helping us get there.

The part that you cannot see in our pictures is our own personal experiences and learning. Remember I told you I never imagined some of the wonderful experiences I would have on this mission trip? Here is one of the simple lessons:

Some of you may not know me but those of you who do, know that I am not shy and I am extremely social. It had never dawned on me that some people may want to be alone at times. Thanks to one of our wonderful guides, David Wiseman, those people were able to be rescued from people like me.

The one that I am most thankful for is, being able to see Jane travel with us and be able to be kind and caring every day. She taught me what loving everyone means. This experience has really touched me and I think of her example often when I find myself in a difficult situation with a people in my life.

The other experience that will last me for ever is the stronger friendship that I built with Ada. At night when we were in our room we would tell each other stories and make each other laugh till our stomachs hurt. We where good friends before, but being together in this trip has made me closer to her. The bonding that went on in this 8-day trip probably could not occur in eight months.

I have so much I could tell you but there are other people that want to talk. Thank you for making it possible for me to have such an unforgettable experience.