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The Bainbridge Rotary Club met for their weekly meeting at the Kirbo Center on Tuesday. The guest speakers of the day were the Lawrence family, specifically Layne, Trent and Kodi, children of Lee and Tiffany Lawrence, owners of the Bean Cafe. But rather than talk about their work at the Bean, the three instead spoke about their family’s mission trips to Honduras.

Layne spoke first, describing how she spent her early years participating in her grandparent’s mission trips to Honduras. After a few initial trips she recounted, “My grandparents wanted to be more hands-on in the community, so they moved to another location and decided that that would be called Jeremiah 29:11, which states, ‘I have a plan for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope, and a future.’” Layne recounted some of the programs offered at the Jeremiah 29:11 mission, including sewing and jewelry making classes for single mothers in the community, as well as helping with the medical, educational and spiritual needs of the local children. She also recounted the story of a boy named Axel suffering from an autoimmune disorder. “To put it generally, this sweet boy should not be alive today,” she said. This disorder prevented his body from properly absorbing nutrients from food. “But today, because of proper medication and proper diagnoses, he is now running around playing… he’s the personality of the mission and quite the flirt,” Layne laughed. “I have been able to see the growth and endurance of Jeremiah 29:11, and I thank God for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of it,” she concluded.

Trent spoke next, detailing the daily routine at the mission, which began with waking up at 4:30 AM. “The reason we had to get up so early was because there were a lot of kids there, and at the building we were staying in, there were only two showers in the whole building. So we had to get up early so all the kids could get showers,” he explained. Trent recalled the ball games the kids enjoyed there, as well as things like repairing their bikes, and even a humorous incident with some of the kids throwing grasshoppers on each other during devotion.

After Trent, Kodi closed out, recounting a humorous misunderstanding with some of the girls in a devotion. “We were going around the room and asking the girls ‘Do you think you’re a good person?’,” she recalled. “All the girls were saying ‘Yes, yes, yes.’ Well when it got to me, I said no, but before I had time to explain myself, they had all assumed I had murdered somebody,” Kodi laughed.

The Lawrences concluded the meeting by answering the audience’s questions.