Disciples New Church Start Pastors Trip to Honduras

January 30 to February 8, 2008

a partnership between

New Church Ministry and

Global Ministries

We met in Miami the day before our departure to Honduras to receive the Ministries and Mission Interpreters (MMI) training before our trip.

We ended the MMI training that day with a Communion and Commissioning service and where launched out by God’s grace!

We first arrived at Monte Carmelo Retreat Center outside of Tegucigalpa. Here Martin greets the cooking staff and offers to help with breakfast one day.

In our first church visit in Tegu, Pastor Efrain shared about his ministry to gang members and the work with children. We were all challenged by the “risks” he took in listening to God.

In our second church visit that day, Pastor Miguel, his daughter and several church members shared how they started this churchby reaching out to meet some needs in this poor community.

That afternoon we went to Monte Horeb to visit the Christian Community Development of Honduras (CCD) vocational Training school in La Ermita, Talanga.

One of out stops at the Monte Horeb complex was the Sewing Workshop where these young women were learning to make clothes.

During our entire trip we were accompanied by Soila Matutewho served as our guide and translator. Here she is translatingthe presentation of the director of Monte Horeb.

The next day we had time to relax and be “tourists” during our visit to Valle de Angeles. Our Global Ministries Missionary in Honduras, Kevin Howe, was a great help and fun during our trip!

That afternoon we returned to Tegu and participated in a theological dialogue at the Theological Community of Honduras(CTEH). The topic was “youth at risk” in Honduras.

The Minister of Religion was present at the dialogue and gavepins to the participants (even Felix!) Here he is pinning Neomie Espinoza, the president of CCD (and former GM board member.)

We had a special treat during our 5 hour trip to San Pedro Sula.on Saturday. While we ate lunch a group of Mayan musicians entertained us. What a treat!

We all enjoyed the fish dinner! This is Bob’s fish. On Ruben’splate (our driver) only a few bones where found! And during the Mayan entertainment there were even a few kisses given!

We made it to the Hotel Gran Sula situated in the center of SanPedro Sula. This is a view of the cathedral from the hotel balcony where we watched the fireworks one evening.

On Sunday morning we traveled to Robles to worship with an Evangelical and Reformed church (IERH) in a community that was rebuilt after Mitch in 98. Tons of children in worship!

Pastor Joel serves this community part-time. He also is the President of the Association of Evangelical Institutions of Honduras (AIEH) which is the social action arm of the church.

Ketty Santos preached and shared her story. She encouraged the members of the congregation to dream and act on their dreams with God’s help.

Trip participant, Paul Lampley, participated in Sunday Schoolclass with the children and even helped one of the groups singand share their Bible verse.

One of our favorite eating spots during our time in San Pedro Sula was Power Chicken. We were quite a rowdy group when it came to eating!

For you chicken lovers, how about that for a restaurant logo! We learned later that one of the members of the Evangelical and Reformed Church is the owner of this place!

Sunday evening we were back in worship. What an incredibleband and time of singing!

Group participant, Daniel Arroyo, shared a powerful message from the book of Joshua where Joshua was called to lead thepeople across the Jordan after Moses departure….

This congregation said good-bye to Pastor Mario and his wife (left) and welcomed Pastor Feliciano and his wife (right). Felix shares at the invitation of Juan Carlos, the president of IERH.

Each morning our group gathered for devotions and during theevening we concluded our day with a time of evaluation as eachparticipant took a turn in recording the day’s events in a journal.

On Monday, we met with a group of pastors from IERH and shared the challenges of carrying out God’s mission in our respective cultures.

The next day we drove to the distant Yoro region. Our first stopwas this medical clinic where we were inspired by this young doctor who returned to her remote village after her studies.

At the same clinic dental services are also offered. There wasalso a pharmacy and delivery room for mothers who have already given birth once before.

Both the doctor and the dentist are leaders in their church andwe went to the building where we sang and prayed with them.

We couldn’t resist stopping and taking a group picture with thispicturesque landscape as a back drop. During our travels wewere often in awe over the beauty of Honduras!

That day we visited a second congregation of the Reformed Church and were able to meet the Sunday School teacher of this pastor of the Synod.

Our last visit that day was to CEVER, a vocational trainingschool run by the church that is empowering youth to find jobsand provide for their families.

The director of CEVER shared with our group some successstories of the training center and the dreams that he has for the future.

Here one of the students explains his work on this metal lathe And shares with us his hopes of using the skills acquired in thisworkshop to find a job.

We were also surprised during our visit as the UCC ConferenceMinister from Maine personally delivered a check for the workof CEVER to Pastor Joel.

The next day we made the trip to Copan to visit the Mayan ruins there. Our guide helped us make the connection between Mayan history and our current history.

During our last day of visits, our first stop was a Garifuna community where the Reformed church helped rebuild houses after Mitch. Here we witnessed Daniel’s commitment to return.

Our next stop was the Japan Community where we met the couple that Ketty Santos married. They shared their story andwe were touched by the work they are doing with the children.

The children that are a part of the ministry of this congregationshared a dance and a skit with our group. Most of us were in tears as we witnessed the joy of these children

After sharing our “action plans” for telling the story back in theUSA, we shared communion together and, once again, were launched out by God’s grace to return home the next day.