722 N. 145th St. | Shoreline, WA 98133
food for the poor

Ministry among the poor of Honduras

Some of you have asked, “where have you been, Mother Carola???” I’ve been all over since Easter, when I was last at St. Dunstan’s on a Sunday. I’ve missed ministering among you! And I’ll be back more, eventually. In the meantime, let me share about my recent trip to Honduras with Food for the Poor. Occasionally, I have the opportunity to travel with my fellow speakers to one of the countries where Food for the Poor serves with relief and development work. Honduras is a major focus of our work.
 
On this trip, we had the opportunity to see both the needs and the fulfillment of those needs: food, housing, education, medicine, agriculture, fishing, and many other programs. This was my third trip to Honduras and gave me a new image of how we can be instruments of God’s transforming power.

 The story that touched me the most deeply was a visit to a community in desperate need of adequate housing. Among the families we visited there was a young couple with two small children. The “house” — built of sticks, tin, cardboard and plastic — was clean and tidy. The parents were desperately trying to provide for their children in this remote community. The father had been employed in masonry work, but now has colon cancer and is no longer able to work. The mother is dealing with his illness, and the needs of their children. Their most immediate need is for the post-surgery colostomy bags, which cost them $4.00 per day. For a family that might earn $5.00 per week, this is an insurmountable burden. Food for the Poor is looking for a source for such bags for this family. And donors to Food for the Poor are providing a home for them. As we were leaving, we gathered to pray for the family, and especially for healing for this young husband and father. The wife wept through our prayer time. I went to her afterwards and hugged her for some moments. But I could not stay and provide pastoral support or hugging arms. That will have to come through ongoing love, donations and support from Christian communities such as ours. It is awesome to get to do so much more than be a fundraiser with Food for the Poor. We all get to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
 
In my next installment, I will write of some of the sustainable development projects Food for the Poor is involved with in Honduras—projects that support themselves. Hint: truck driving.
 
Blessings,
Mother Carola