El Coyolar - New West CRC Partnership in Full Swing

Although I enjoy working in all of our partner communities, I have to admit that I have a soft spot for the village of El Coyolar.  My sister, Julie, spent a month there in 2010 working on the water project with the King´s University team so she knows what I´m talking about.  I´ve been fortunate enough to have been working in Coyolar with three teams over the last 16 months and with each visit I fall even more in love with the dynamic and welcoming people who live there. 

It also seems like the members of New Westminster CRC in Burnaby, BC are equally enamoured with El Coyolar too.  Their congregation is in the process of forming a long-term partnership with Coyolar through CRWRC and Diaconía Nacional.  Last year they sent a team of New West youth in March and then an adult team in November.  They must have given a pretty impressive report about their experiences because the youth team was back again a few weeks ago full of vigor to work again and it sounds like a number of adults are eager to make another trip in November! 

I was fortunate to have spent 5 days this March with the young people of New West in Coyolar.  During their week in the community they were able to undertake over 15 construction projects including some long awaited latrines, cement floors, and pilas for water storage and washing.  For some of these youth it is their second or third time serving in Honduras and they´re on their way to becoming experts in cement mixing and excavating. 

One of the great things about the partnership between New West and Coyolar is that they are truly developing a relationship.  They are getting to know more about each other, praying for each other´s needs and realizing the gifts they can mutually offer.  At the end of their week many youth remarked that although they haven´t acquired any great Spanish skills they still feel like they really connected to the people of the village.  They often played games together, sang songs, arm wrestled and played soccer even without a translator to organize the event – they refused to let language be a barrier! 

Now that the young people are back at school in Burnaby and the people of Coyolar are back to their routine one might think that the relationship is all but forgotten.  This is not the case with Coyolar and New West, that´s for sure!  Throughout the year they exchange letters including updates on the hopes, health and happiness in the community and the congregation.  In February, with the funds leftover from the November serve team,  Arturo and I went shopping for school supplies for all 18 children in Coyolar just as they were about to begin a new year of classes.  All the school children from grades 1 through 6 expressed their gratitude for the gift. 

This community partnership isn´t just about a group of youth building latrines for a week in the hot sun – this partnership is about investing in a brighter future and the building the kingdom of God on earth.  I am eager to see what the next 5 years have in store of New West CRC and El Coyolar.  I hope to have the continued privilege of joining CRWRC and Diaconía in this process of transformational development for Coyolar and also providing a cross cultural and edifying experience for New West´s youth and adults.