Don’t you just hate it when people call you by a name that you don’t like?   I certainly do. 

On my first mission trip to Honduras many years ago, we were introducing ourselves to a local family, one that has since  become very close to each of us.   Everyone was saying their names slowly and basically playing panamines to get the name across.   Being “Trey”, I picked up the closest food tray and pointed to it.  Little did I know that food tray was an “assafartay” in Choluteca, Honduras.  Damn.  I should have started with “uno, dos ….”

But I didn’t, and that name is used regularly for me in Honduras.  That’s okay, it is great to see the Hondurans get a good laugh!   They are wonderful people and a joy to be around.  I cannot wait to be there again!

About our involvement in the area…. Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras in 1998.  Friend and fellow Rotarian, Ronnie Strickland, went there on a mission trip and saw where Rotary International could greatly help in the region’s recovery.  Through his Rotary Club in Franklin, TN, he solicited support of Rotary International along with other clubs in Middle Tennessee and Northern Alabama.  The primary focus has been to bring electricity and clean drinking water to remote villages. 

The project has grown every year, and is currently coordinated by the Lawrenceburg Rotary Club.  Each year, we focus on a new village consisting of 50-80 homes, or approximately 500 residents.   Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on these projects, all through donations and matching grants from Rotary International.   Different clubs send volunteers for a week until the project is complete.  Our week is February 6th.

As the projects have grown, we have also expanded into dental clinics, opening school libraries, and clothing drives.  Although there is most definitely a language barrier, there is no message that cannot be communicated with a smile.  Allow me to ramble on another minute for a laugh…. The same word can mean many different things, and is differentiated only by the way you “roll your r’s.” 

One day, a woman asked me when we were leaving, in Spanish.  I pulled out the pocket dictionary, figured out what she was asking, and replied… with a best attempt in Spanish.  I didn’t roll my “r” just right.  Instead of saying “Airport on Saturday,” one of the bi-lingual guys told me I had just called her a “Saturday Whore.”  Everyone laughed.  Thank God.

Lets move on to some scenes of our past trips to Honduras.  If anyone would like to donate funds to a great cause, please send your donation to Spring Hill Rotary Club, PO Box 865, Spring Hill, TN 37174…attention Honduras mission.  Or, call me and we will make other arrangements.  I promise it will not be spent on beer.  :0)

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Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, www.OleSouth.com, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee