A letter from Tim Wheeler in Honduras
February 2012
Dear Friends,
This January 1 Gloria and I reflected on our work and processes in community programs. We decided that we really need to develop a very intentional process from the start based on values to use as a methodical approach as we move ahead in an array of focuses during the year. We started by thinking about ongoing processes and new starts as we thought about the year that had passed and the one that was beginning. Many times we catch things in midstream, already started with the strengths and weaknesses that they have brought along in a process that has unfolded, sometimes intentionally, but sometimes unintentionally. Naturally my plea is to be more intentional, to have a thought-out process and points of reference to guide us as we go along in a process. By coming together and defining a nucleus of values we can add the actions that are logical outcomes of these values in order to achieve any intermediate or longer-term goals. Then during the process, when the going gets tough or things do not develop as we thought that they would, we can come back to this nucleus of values and review and come to a new understanding. This is the give-and-take of a positive community process or church social action program. With the birth of a new year we are inclined to think that everything starts anew, but when we think of it, with the period of conception and gestation, things start really beforehand….
The image of new life, conception and gestation offers a helpful image to our reflection. We are told this in Luke 1:14. “And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.” Life starts with the conception. Many times it takes time to achieve a conception; those involved need to gain a common purpose and vision for the future. During the period of gestation a great deal of care is needed, not just by those who conceived but by all those who are now involved. Once a new idea or being is born it needs care and nourishment so that it can become strong in order to confront the challenges that it will face. It needs the support and nourishment of everyone involved. When I think about the type of accompaniment that is needed for ongoing processes, new starts and new birth, I think of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
I was able to see how the definition of a nucleus of values was important in two different situations during the first two months of the year. Orangewood Presbyterian Church from Phoenix defined their mission values while on a trip in Honduras one evening during reflection time.
Mission Values
- Compassion, empathy, love
- Respect / authenticity
- Awareness / open-minded / present in the moment
- Commitment / justice
- Pragmatism / practicality / purpose
- Empowerment / advocacy
- Flexibility
- Patience
- Unity of Spirit
Then in a Honduras Heifer staff meeting I was asked to talk about the role of values in development programs and how they can be used in the four steps that we so often refer to: Defining the situation, envisioning the future, planning the program, and monitoring and reviewing the progress. Naturally the stage was set so that the staff worked on defining their own nucleus of values as a part of the exercise during the workshop.
Now both Orangewood and Heifer Honduras can come back and review their values in the future, define what is going well and what can be improved on.
Gloria and I had a wonderful time at Christmas in Pennsylvania with Marsha, Pamela and Grace. Now we are looking forward to our next get-together in May when Grace will be getting married and graduating from medical school all during the same week.
Thank you for your prayers for us and for those who are less fortunate as we strive together with common core values to improve the world around us.
Faithfully,
Tim and Gloria
Apartado 15027
Colonia Kennedy
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
The 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 10
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