Ryleigh Barrett

Dear Saints John & Paul Parish,

I would like to thank you for the most incredible five days of my life. In those five days I met the most amazing friends, I learned more than I could have ever imagined, and I’ve truly witnessed God’s love. Thank you for allowing me to experience Honduras and it’s beautiful people. I feel so blessed and beyond grateful for this opportunity, it’s truly unforgettable. Back in the fall when I interviewed for the trip I really didn’t know any of the missionaries. However as the year went on I met people fundraising and at meetings but no words can describe how close we all got in those short five days.

We laughed uncontrollably together, we cried together, we went through an incredible life changing experience together and I’m so grateful for those memories. However I’m also so grateful for the friendships I’ve made with the people who live in Honduras. I never could have imagined how close I would get with our translators and drivers, Raul, Darwin, Cristhian, and Romell. They are definitely the most incredible people I’ve ever met and their stories are so inspiring. I also became close with the people we met at our distributions. The kids I had the pleasure of meeting were so welcoming and full of love. They had open arms to our group even as strangers with a language barrier. My favorite memories from the trip were playing soccer, jump roping, coloring, and painting nails with the kids. Everyone on our trip grew so close with the people in Honduras and I believe that is what made it so difficult to leave.

During my stay in Honduras I learned that there are different ways we all are poor in our lives. Yes the kids we met were poor from materials but these kids had more joy and love than anyone I have ever met. I witnessed real happiness over the smallest things. I feel that sometimes in our community we are the ones who are poor from happiness and we forget to love each other enough. In our community we are blessed with so many opportunities and so many nice things but we take it for granted. We complain about school when there are kids who have to walk five miles everyday just to attend a school. We fight with our parents when there are kids whose parents aren’t alive anymore or whose parents abused them. We waste our food and water when there are kids starving and begging us for water. I learned so much in those short five days that I hope to take with me as I grow. I think the most important lesson I learned on my trip is that God’s love is everything. From meeting people and kids face to face I learned their stories and how their faith got them out of really bad situations. One of our drivers Raul had a difficult past but he has completely turned his life around. Not only this he also has helped so many other kids like his son Sammi. Sammi was forced into very dangerous situations at a very young age but Raul adopted him and turned his life around. Love has helped so many people change their lives. I also witnessed how love can unite everyone even with a language barrier while playing with the kids. The kids in the communities we went to may not have much but they really showed us real kindness and love. No words I can write can truly express how thankful I am for the opportunity to go on this trip. I loved every minute of it and I miss it so much. I’ve learned so much from this mission trip and it’s definitely something I will never forget.

Thank you,
Ryleigh Barrett