Message from Derm Westcott, VisionQuest 2012

From surreal to surreal

It was about 7:00 pm when we arrived back in St. Andrews, NL after our long 2-day journey back from VisionQuest 2012, Honduras.  I dropped in to the local corner store near my house and was greeted by the owner, Johnnie MacIsaac, “Did you go to Honduras yet? I have some baby clothes up at the house for you”.  Feeling jet lag and having had only a few hours of sleep at Toronto Pearson Airport on a few lined up restaurant chairs, I responded, “I am just getting back now, bye!  Put them aside for now, Johnnie, and we will bring them next year”.  This seemed all too familiar. Yet, as if I was in a dream state, I still felt I was back in Honduras.

It was so nice to visit old friends and acquaintances during our visit to Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  We enjoyed every moment.  It was like we were returning home. Yet it seemed so surreal. Having lived there for over six years and travelling in and out of the country over these years certainly added to the feeling of returning home.  The one week visit seemed short and we were not able to visit all the wonderful places that bring fond memories, like Cafemania where over the years we had many chats over coffee.  However, the purpose of the trip itself, VisionQuest 2012, was a success.  
It has always been a remarkable experience for both Viola and I to see the reactions of first-time visitors to Honduras as they see the conditions of poverty and how the Honduran people hold up.  This is especially so when they interact with the children’s ministries and see how children can be happy and smiling while having so little. This was evident during our visit to several feeding centers and local schools.  The children were so welcoming and loving it took everything in us to choke back the tears. The missionaries and locals treated us like honorary officials as they explained the vision they have for the various projects they operate as it relates to the children.  Ironically, our purpose was to bring them honor and encouragement. It turned out to be a two-way street.  We all need to be affirmed in the walk we are on with the Lord.  None of us stand alone. We need each other.

I was so delighted and blessed at the same time when the Lord orchestrated a blending of two of the ministries that we were visiting.  On the day that we visited the hospital maternity ward to bless the new Mom’s with baby clothing and food for them and their family members, we joined with the ministry that we had visited with the day before.  This was not planned.  Coincidence or God-Incidence? With open hearts and a sense of purpose both mission organizations worked side by side ministering to the Mom’s…praying for the Mom’s, speaking works of encouragement and giving hope.  It was as if they had been doing this together all along.  One of the attritions that Missionaries have to overcome in the mission field is competition between missionaries and mission organizations.  It was a blessing to see these two mission organizations side by side living out an answer to Jesus’ prayer, “…that they may all be one…”

A question that was asked of me several times in the later part of our visit...”Was VisionQuest 2012 a success; did it meet your objectives?”.  My initial reaction was to consider if the participants on the VisionQuest Team thought it was a success for them individually.  According to the responses I have heard, I believe they have gained a rich experience and an understanding of the life of missionaries and some of the challenges they have to face daily.  Also, they came away from their experience with a sense of questioning “where to from here?” and open to the next step in their own personal journey with the Lord and the call He has on their lives.

On a personal note and response to the question, “Was it a success?”  Yes, yes and yes.  Along with the participants being satisfied, I, too, have been met with satisfied expectation.  On several accounts we witnessed divine appointments that brought confirmation and encouragement to Viola and myself regarding the mission we are on.  Dave, the US Army Engineer who approached me, and after some conversation, confirmed my thinking that there is a wealth of hotel furnishings that can easily be made available for His Secret Place, when the time comes.  Kristie, an energetic missionary we met while we were visiting the Statue of Jesus expressed what a blessing our ministry is to missionaries and the great need for such a ministry as Ministry to Missionaries. Jim and Francis Martin, missionaries that we visited, said that they are doing just fine and can hold their own.  Jim concentrated his conversation on the needs of the mission rather than their own personal needs.  However, he came away from being just fine to realizing that he and his wife needed a break, a getaway, and that they needed to be at this year’s M2M in Rocky Harbour. It appears that is going to happen. For that alone, the trip was a success!


So, here I am back in the saddle again, behind in my email responses and piled-up snail mail. It’s the third day after our return from Honduras and I still feel like my head is in a cloud. Surreal! Some may say, what’s different about that Derm?  LOL