My name is Hannah Bunting and I am a recent high school graduate from Middleton. In the fall, I will be attending UW-Madison. Now, I could dive into the plans that I have made for myself and my majors and my classes and my extracurriculars, but I am not going to. You see, in preparing for this mission trip, I have learned that while my plans are not holy, God’s are. The decision to go to Romania this summer was one that I greatly struggled with.

Throughout middle school and high school, God blessed me with multiple opportunities to travel to Honduras with Blackhawk’s student ministries. We worked with an organization in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Amor, Fe, y Esperanza (Love, Faith, and Hope), that ministers to the residents of the city’s local garbage dump. These trips drastically changed how I viewed my God and my life.

I grew up in a world where my every need was cared for. I have never known hunger or thirst, so I sure liked to tell myself that I could help those who have. My material wealth imparted on me an arrogance that told me I could save the Hondurans from their wretched state. My trips to Honduras shattered this illusion of my ability. I was in shock, entirely unprepared, surrounded by people who had nothing. Here were people desperate for a drink of water free of thickened animal feces and a bite of food not infested with larvae. And there I was, coming into their home, thinking that I could solve all of their problems. But amidst this population who has next to nothing I found some of the most joyous and Christ-centered people that I had ever met. The problems that they faced were not ones that could be fixed without the mercy of Christ. This made me rethink how I lived my life. Before those trips, I was ungrateful and selfish. I didn’t see all that I had, and I continued to desire more; more friends, more money, more time. I did not appreciate God and all that He was offering me. Befriending those Hondurans, and learning about their stories and their faith walks truly opened my eyes. Through the relationships I made there, I learned what a legit relationship with Christ looks like, and how to give over everything to Him.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a work in progress. I am still ungrateful and selfish at times, but I have learned how to acknowledge these flaws, and how to give and seek forgiveness from myself, my friends and family, and from my God.

When I found out that Blackhawk would not be returning to Honduras the summer after my junior year of high school, I was disappointed, but I had hope that we would be going the next summer. But that didn’t happen, and I was devastated and I was angry. I didn’t understand how God could take away this trip that meant so much to so many people. How could I NOT go back? There were so many Hondurans that I needed to see, that I needed to hug. I had given my heart to that beautifully broken country, and I had learned how to truly love and trust God and others. I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else in the world, or giving my heart to any other organization.

When somebody asked me if I was going to apply for the Romania trip, my initial response had been, “Pshh, of course not.” But I felt a tugging on my heart, and it was not a tugging I wanted to feel. I didn’t WANT to go to Romania. I wanted to go to Honduras. But you see, that’s where the problem laid. (Lay? Lie and lay and their present and past tenses are confusing. . . 😛 Go Middleton High School’s grammar lessons) As the tugging persisted, I turned to prayer. In my times of quiet, I felt God calling me to Romania. For the longest time, I resisted. I argued with Him about why I shouldn’t be going and about why my plans were righteous while His were mediocre. I knew it was what He wanted, for me to go on this trip. I knew He was trying to teach me that it was not I, but Him who had given my heart to Honduras, and that He could do that again. In Romania. (Here’s where that selfishness comes into play. . .I wanted what I wanted.) Patiently, He waited for me to cool it and listen. When the application came out, I begrudgingly applied. And I was accepted.

I didn’t know how I felt about that. I was excited to be chosen because, hey, it felt great. But I wasn’t excited for the trip. And I was excited for my team because holy cats they all rock my socks. But, again, I wasn’t excited for the trip. I still didn’t WANT to go. And that was hard.

These months leading up to the trip haven’t easier. In fact, they’ve been harder. My heart yearns for my Honduran amigos, but I can’t help but notice God’s hands all over this trip; He is proving to me, even though He shouldn’t have to, that His plans ARE holy.

One example of this is the verse that was chosen for camp this summer. . . Jeremiah 29:11, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. This is my life verse, the one that I turn to and recite in my head over and over and over during hardships.

As I’m sitting down to write this, I can feel that small spark of excitement fluttering around in my heart. I am beginning to imagine going somewhere else in the world, and giving my heart to another organization.

I am ready for all that God and the Romanians have to teach me.

Thank you for all of the love and support that you have sent my way. Your prayers mean the world! I hope that you will continue to follow my team via this blog as God takes us on this incredible journey!

And thanks for reading another obnoxiously long post.

Stay cool, you lovely human beings.

Love from,

Hannah Rose (Taletha seems to have set the sharing-of-our-middle-names trend)