Valentine´s Day: Honduran Day of Love and Friendship

Happy Friendship Day!

Valentine´s Day in Honduras is better known as the Day of Love and Friendship.  Celebrated the 14^th of February this is a special occasion for more than just romantic relationships.  People take the time to remind one another of how much they appreciate their friendship. 

This Valentine´s Diaconía Nacional received a special visit from our friends and donors Partners Worldwide.  There special guests from Pella, Iowa have been supporting the credit program for years with training and follow-up with local producers as well as capital for Diaconía to lend out to motivated entrepreneurs.  I joined the Partners delegates and Lety, the DN credit coordinator in Olancho, in visiting some carpenters in their workshops to see how the support from Partners Worldwide and Diaconía has helped their businesses. 

In the afternoon, Diaconía and Partners hosted a seminar entitled “Overcoming the Crisis” for a variety of the credit clients in the area of Catacamas and Santa Maria del Real.  The theme stems from the economic difficulties of the last year or so and particularly the violence and insecurity that is precipitating the crisis in Olancho.  This seminar ended up being more of a forum for people to share their anxieties and receive encouragement from Diaconía, Partners Worldwide and other business owners facing similar hardships. 

Of course, the seminar´s presenters did not have all the answers to their problems and economic challenges but it did turn out to be a great event as people shared stories, ate some delicious appetizers, and recognized they have an awesome God watching out for them along with a community of support with Diaconía Nacional.  I believe that more than one new friendship blossomed that Valentine´s afternoon. 

MIracles Happening in Honduras

Miracles are certainly not in short supply here in Honduras.  It is a miracle that a couple of my Diaconía colleagues and I are alive today despite a horrific car accident that we experienced January 30^th. 

While in the community of Cañada I became very ill.  I decided to hitch a ride with Diaconía´s director Dilia and her husband, Gregorio, along with Reyna, the administrator at Diaconía.  They were heading back to Tegucigalpa after spending a little time with the Mayfair team and agreed to drop me off at the town of Limones where Isaí would take me the rest of the way. 

We were about 20 minutes away from meeting up with my husband when the truck´s back tires slid on the gravel road and we rolled a couple of times into a ravine.  It all happened in a matter of seconds.  The truck Diaconía had bought just two months previous was completely destroyed.  Reyna and I had tumbled around in the back seat as we weren´t wearing seatbelts and a local farmer helped us climb out of the upside-down wreck. 

It was truly a miracle that no one was killed – not a single broken bone or even a drop of blood from the shattered glass!   It was a scary event but we gave thanks to God immediately for taking care of us.  We looked a little farther down the ravine to where three crosses are already located from similar accidents at the site. 

After a few days of rest my bruises and soreness dissipated but it sounds like Reyna is still suffering from a bruised rib and Dilia pain in her neck.  Dilia´s husband, Gregorio, appears to be fine but since he was driving I believe he has been feeling pretty stressed as we wait to hear back from the insurance company.  We praise God for the miracle He performed in that ravine and we pray for healing and a favourable resolution to this traumatic incident. 

Mayfair CRC in Cañada, Olancho

Mayfair Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan recently sent a team to Cañada, Olancho – not Canada, CaÑada!  The eight team members were quite surprised – along with the rest of us from Diaconía and CRWRC – at the extravagant welcome ceremony that the people of Cañada put together for us.  There was a processional with special introductions for each member of the team and each Diaconía Nacional and CRWRC representative.  With our intros we each entered the small church to the music of the wedding march beneath an archway of palm branches.  The local CRC pastor, Lupito, facilitated a very elaborate ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the beginning of a fruitful partnership with Mayfair CRC, DN, CRWRC, the county mayor´s office, and the local churches and governing associations.  It was a very beautiful but long ceremony that truly demonstrated the community´s enthusiasm. 

During their week-long stay in Cañada the Mayfair team built 4 pilas for water storage and washing as well as pouring 13 concrete floors – 3 more than they initially planned!  They really enjoyed working alongside the locals in these projects although mixing cement with a couple of shovels and a hoe may have been a new experience for them.  I must commend them all for their effort and dedication to the project.  They worked extremely hard despite the vicious virus that eventually made its way through the whole team.  Plus, they were down one teammate even before they started the hard labour. 

Following their first soccer game with the community Pastor Jack took a horrible tumble on the field and injured his knee.  The day of the soccer game no one was really aware of the true extent of his injury.  The following day Jack still could not walk without pain so he went to the clinic in Santa María del Real a short four hours away.  The x-ray revealed a serious vertical fracture below the knee.  Pastor Jack was not able to return to the team in Cañada as he hopped the next flight home to receive 7 pins placed in his leg over 7 hours of surgery. 

We rejoice that Pastor Jack is doing much better and that the rest of his Mayfair teammates enjoyed the rest of their time in Honduras without him.  Cañada is a welcoming and hardworking community and I´m sure Pastor Jack and the rest from Mayfair will be eager to return next year – although Jack might have to pass on the next soccer game!