Surviving a Month Off the Grid

A month on the mountain – a month spent off the grid, doing strenuous manual labor, sleeping in a tent. It was about as out of my comfort zone as I can fathom. I’d say I haven’t quite fathomed it yet. It would explain my silence in the week since we’ve left. It would explain the 6373 thoughts that enter my mind when I try to talk about it.

My yard was carved into the tranquil side of a mountain face. It had a stunning view of sun-kissed mountain sides which reveal peaks between whispy clouds. It was a breath of fresh air as I tore the rain fly off my tent each morning. I felt convicted to render complete surrender in my pursuit of God this month. That meant deleting all shows downloaded  on my phone and fasting completely from wifi. This left me no escape from the heaviness of the mountain other than C.S. Lewis’ contemplative mind and the music downloaded on my phone, of which I had limited power to use. 

I was stretched, spent, and salvaged. I encountered the Holy Spirit in a tangible way for the first time. He sees me searching, and has been faithful in revealing. His ways are mysterious and other worldly and contain in them a promise far greater than anything we will encounter in this world. Oh yeah, and I turned 26 on the mountain. Never would I have believed if you had told me on my 25th birthday that I would have been here, on this mountain, with these strangers, cut off from everything I know. On top of that, God would have provided nearly $19,000 for me to do so. If you need proof that God is working in powerful ways, look at my life now.

We worked with Catracho Missions. Their latest projects are taking place in a small community called Granadilla located an hour up into the mountains of Comayagua, Honduras. Its people are kind, humble, and simple. Most live in mud huts with a few tiny windows. This makes for a very dark and humble home.There was a heaviness its people exuded, worn down by their harsh lifestyle. The community was still recovering from a hurricane that devastated in October of 2020. The woman are quiet and submissive, working to keep afloat a household of often 3-9 children. The men have dark skin, and harsh lines on their face from the immense sun exposure they work in each day by manual labor. They often cultivate crops on steep mountain slopes or carry bricks and planks of wood up and down steep inclines. Life on the mountain is not for the weak.

I can attest to it personally. We hauled lumber over a mile up, we moved cement, we walked the 2.5 hour trek that men carry bricks through. All of this done on steep mountain inclines. We harvested veggies and coffee and did numerous house visits, seeing for ourselves the lifestyle on the mount.

There are dark cultural norms that have been passed down throughout generations. These include fathers impregnating teenage daughters, men prohibiting woman to read the Bible or attend church without consent, and living in communities guarded by men 24/7 so that others don’t come in and “take their woman”.

Catracho had a sewing house where they taught woman valuable skills that could help them provide for their family. It also served as a space for woman to be taught Bible stories. They hosted a soccer league where they could bring the boys of the community together. It also taught them new and beneficial ways of leading a family.

We hosted woman’s events while the children attended a vacation bible school we hosted. There were three drawing activities throughout the week. We asked them to draw thought compelling images that would reveal to us their relationship with God and their perspective. Each time a majority of woman drew the same thing: a house with flowers in the mountains. It seemed as though life on the mountain is all that they know.

We encouraged them to talk to one another to try to cultivate a community of support and friendship that would last after we left. It was like teaching someone how to hold a conversation for the first time. The level of isolation these woman were accustomed to has left me in shock still. 

Catracho Missions is led by Paul and Tania, a former engineer and lawyer who left the security of their former life to chase after the thrilling and fulfilling pursuit of all that God has called them into. They church plant where God calls them. We were privileged enough to partner alongside them as they finished building a church and community center in a community forgotten.

They were starting on a school after we left. The hope that they plant in that community is incredibly evident. A man from the community thanked the Pastor for bringing not only a place of hope and worship, but for bringing work and a space that brought people together. It’s incredible to witness the ripple effect that one person’s call can have on so many.

It would be a lie to say I was sad to see the mountain grow smaller behind us as the truck pulled away. I braved too many late night thunderstorms in my tent, ate too much questionable meat, and encountered too many strange bugs. However, it was bittersweet because I met so many incredible people both who lived in that community and served on the Catracho team. We did life together in a special way that I won’t soon forget.

Please pray for the people of Granadilla. Pray that there is revival of that community, that toxic cultural norms would be broken, and that a pastor steps up to be appointed for the church planted there. 

As for now, I’m in a community called Rio Grande in Paquera, Costa Rica. It’s quite remote, we have to take a ferry to get here. We’re serving a community church. I’ll give you more updates when I can. I’m sorry for not being very responsive via social media. Good wifi is hard to come by, and this whole experience is incredibly taxing in mind, body and spirit.

Thanks for following along 🙂 I love you all and think of you often. 

All the best,

Lindsey