Books, brushes and a whole lot of Honduran humidity

My daughter Sara has a gift for talking me into things. It started small: "Dad, just come to one board meeting." Then it was, "Dad, just help us move some boxes." And somewhere between the board meetings and boxes, I found myself on another plane to Honduras, sweating through my shirt at 8 a.m. and painting a mural I had absolutely no business painting. That's how the Brakhane family trip to Honduras with the Chispa Project came together last week. The Brakhanes are the family of Sara's husband. On the same plane was a son-in-law, his parents, his brother and their family, aunts and cousins – and my very cute grandchildren. Then there was Becky and me. Together, we constituted one proud extended family showing up for something bigger than any of us. For those unfamiliar, Chispa Project is the nonprofit Sara founded to build libraries in rural Honduran elementary schools. "Chispa" means spark in Spanish. After this week, I believe it. Our base of operations was the D&D Brewery in Los Naranjos, near Lake Yojoa. Yes, a brewery. My Southern Baptist dad would have raised an eyebrow. The place was a peaceful oasis – hammocks, a fire pit, fellow travelers swapping stories in the evening air. Community, it turns out, doesn't require much square footage. The work itself was humbling in the best way. "No specific skills required," says the Chispa website. Our team unpacked box after box of bright, colorful books – many of them the first picture books these kids had ever held. We labeled. We inventoried. The kids in our group helped paint bookshelves while the more talented among us contributed to a gorgeous mural. Thanks to many of the donations you sent last month, this library became Chispa Project's 126th – the latest spark in a 10-year run reaching more than 125 schools across Honduras, with more than 700 more on the waiting list. Let that number sit with you for a moment: 700 schools, waiting. What stayed with me was Thursday's inauguration. Children rotated through the newly finished library in waves, eyes wide, hands reaching for book spines with the unbridled joy of someone who has just discovered something the rest of us forgot to treasure. One volunteer described kids peeking through doorways with anticipation, then radiating smiles as they opened their first picture books. I watched it happen live, in real time, and I am not too proud to tell you it got to me. There's a question I've carried throughout my chaplain career, in hospital wards, in combat hospitals in Iraq, in hospice rooms: Where does God show up when things are hard? I've come to believe the answer is almost always the same. God shows up in the people who chose to be there. The volunteers I worked alongside didn't come for the résumé line. They came because they decided a child in a village near Lake Yojoa deserved to hold a book and feel the specific magic of a story. That's not a small thing dressed in modest clothing. That is, in fact, a very large thing. Sara's family served together this week – painting, laughing, sweating, occasionally arguing about which color went where on that mural – and we are better for it. Service recalibrates you. It strips away the noise and leaves something cleaner behind. Now here's the part where I ask you to do something more than usual this time. After nearly 25 years, I'm retiring this column at the end of June. This is my last appeal on behalf of Chispa Project, and I can't think of a better note to go out on. Library number 127 needs to happen. And 128. And still 700 after that. A donation goes directly toward books, shelves, paint and inauguration festivities that turn a room into something a child will remember for life. Consider a monthly online donation at chispaproject.org or mail a check to Chispa Project, 10556 Combie Road, Suite 6643, Auburn, CA 95602. And if you're feeling adventurous, there are volunteer trips. Sara will talk you into it. Trust me – I know how she operates. Sara, I'll always be grateful you talked me into this one. What a way to finish. Norris Burkes is a syndicated columnist, national speaker and board-certified chaplain. His 25 years of columns remain available at thechaplain.net. Learn more about Chispa Project at chispaproject.org or email Sara at sara@chispaproject.org. Reach Norris at comment@thechaplain.net.