NEW BOSTON — Allison McGrail of New Boston sees photography as a reflection of the human soul and how people relate to one another. And as a photographer, she believes her mission is that of historian, documenting lives and how people live in their surroundings.

It was this philosophy that she brought with her to southern Honduras in April, spending eight days serving Mission Lazarus and the Nashua Church of Christ.

Mission Lazarus is a holistic ministry located in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and McGrail was part of a mission trip from New Hampshire that would build a house for a family of 14 that lost their home in a flood.

Although photography is McGrail's profession, she was drawn to the mission by a long-held desire to help others, and she learned a lot during her first time in a Third World country.

“Even though I expected and prepared myself to see the poverty there, it was still very shocking,” she said.

McGrail said the first day she was there, a little boy named Aron kept picking at the bottom of his bare foot, having a rock that had become embedded under some skin. A nurse from the group was able to remove the rock, and the next day he was given a pair of flip-flops.

“He very proudly came over to me and stuck his foot out on the ground to show them to me, in the exact same way my 3-year-old son does,” said McGrail. “The mannerism struck me. These two boys live in completely different worlds, yet here they were so similar. It was a further reminder that we are not as different as we seem.”

McGrail brought home many stories of her experiences, impressed by how everyone was able to work together despite language and culture differences.

“We had the task of moving a large pile of cinder blocks from where they were dropped off at the side of the road, down a steep grassy bank to where the house was being built,” said McGrail.

Realizing it was too much work to carry each brick down the hill individually, they formed a line, handing bricks from one person to another.

“It became a bonding experience,” said McGrail. “We were all working together at this specific task. We did not have to speak the same language. One member of our group mentioned later that it was neat to think that everyone's hands touched every block of the house.”

For more information about McGrail's mission to Honduras, go to http://allisonhopephotography.blogspot.com/.