Dan Edwards is a retired United Airlines pilot and has previously been to Honduras, having flown the Boeing 787 all around the world, including much of South and Central America. He will be celebrating his 50th anniversary as a pilot this year, and even though he still flies as a contract pilot, he is excited to take advantage of his retirement to do more of what he loves - ministry in the global church. Read on to hear more about his experience as a group leader for Bible Church of Owasso through MIM’s short-term mission program.
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What brought you as a leader and your church to MEDA?
This was a recurring visit for us. We fell in love with MEDA in 2012, and we were incredibly encouraged when we first came to see how much we shared in common – in ministry, in philosophy, in doctrine, in theology. We were so excited and so eager to be a part of this, and now we're happy that we have become affiliated with you as a partner.
How did you get involved?
For me personally, I came on that first team, and we did a lot of physical construction work at Betania, and that was very difficult. But it was a joy for us, and we sang together and learned the names of the people and became part of the church and the family here. And that was so exciting to get involved on that level. We became more involved in future years as we did Vacation Bible Schools and all kinds of other ministries. But for me, I was just so happy to be an encourager and a supporter and a cheerleader for MEDA and for [the leadership of] Carlos Montoya and Chino [Edwin Zelaya]. And that's what really drove me to want to be actively involved here for the future.
How did you see yourself and others impacted on this trip?
This trip was really special, I think the best trip for me, in that we had a lot of firsts. It was the first time that we had Kenny directing us as a leader and a coordinator. That facilitation was fantastic – with the Managed Missions website. It was a learning process to learn how to use it, but as we got more familiar with that, it was fantastic and answered so many questions. There's so much logistical information that has to be interchanged, and Kenny is doing a fantastic job with that.
It was the first time we flew into the new airport. That was amazing. Having gone through the security lines for hours at San Peter Sula where it’s hot – to just breeze through and be done at this brand new airport – we were like, “Wow, that was easy.”
And then it was the first time for our team to be in the house. We weren’t sure what to expect or how it would go, but what we learned was this is absolutely the most fantastic thing for the team to be experiencing the one another’s together. We were able to pray together, we had testimonies, we had a devotional every night, and we got our younger men involved in teaching devotions. And I pray that we get to do that next year and for the future, because it is so wonderful to have that team unity.
The other thing was, this is the first year that we've ever come when seminary has been in session. And so we got to meet students, got to hear the testimonies of a lot of the international students. I hope that continues because it built a relationship that we've never been able to. We've heard about the students, but now to get to put a face and ask them questions and get to know them is wonderful.
What did you learn about the culture in Honduras?
We learned that 7:30 might mean 7:45, or maybe 8:00 – that Honduran time is a little more flexible. I had explained that to the team before we came, and then we got to experience that culturally.
There's a lot of affection here and a lot of warm, engaging interaction with the people. We have loved all of that, and we love the mealtimes.
We love the culture. We love the laid back, “Hey, you don't have to be in a rush. We don't have to worry. Things will get done.” The schedule’s just a rough idea of what we might do but not necessarily something we’re going to stick to strictly. So that was fun.
How did this trip affect your view of the global church and short-term missions?
I think that the eye-opening experience for our team was that God is at work. He's working around other places in the world and especially here in Honduras, and we love it. We're happy to participate and partner and be supporters of what He's doing here, because He's doing a lot and that was very encouraging for us.