During a trip to Honduras last summer missionaries from Vicksburg noticed a flaw in their assistance delivery.

People were trekking on foot across a mountain range to get food, medicine and health and beauty supplies, said Hester Pitts of First Baptist Church. But loading them down with large sacks of beans, rice and other items to be carried by hand just made their journey home more arduous, she said.

“That just blew our mind that they had to walk so far,” Pitts told Port City Kiwanis during their meeting Thursday.

There, the backpack mission was born. Putting the items into a backpack before passing them out should alleviate the difficulty of carrying them home.

“It’s much better than trying to load up grocery bags,” Pitts said.

Backpacks for upcoming trips are being accepted at First Baptist Church and Good Shepard Community center. Used backpacks and bags with company logos are welcome, Pitts said.

Honduras is the second poorest county in the Central America, behind only Nicaragua. About 65 percent of Hondurans live in poverty, according to the World Bank.

“When I tell you about poor homes, I’m talking about dirt floors,” Pitts said. “A lot of them only have one window.”

Pitts was one of 46 volunteers that made up a missionary group from First Baptist and Woodlawn Baptist churches who visited Honduras last summer and treated about 1,300 patients. They also passed out food, clothing and hygiene supplies. The group filled 6,000 prescriptions for nonnarcotic drugs and made 250 pairs of glasses.

“The reason for going is to share Jesus Christ,” Pitts said. “By meeting their physical needs, that opens the door we need for that.”

Just smaller than Mississippi, Honduras is a country of about 8.2 million people. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua and to the south by the Pacific Ocean.