A letter from Tim Wheeler in Honduras
August 2012
Dear Friends,
The concept of shalom, of “total well-being,” is central to our theological conceptions. In the beginning this is the way things were. There were right relationships between people, men and women, and with nature.
The struggle of God’s people to recapture that sense of shalom is a continual struggle that we see today. So often people try to do it under their own terms, perhaps missing the message that we are called to relearn how to love and walk with God.
Jesus proclaims that the peaceful kingdom is possible, that the Reign of God is present. We are invited into that life that is our peace, with God’s grace but also with our participation with an active faith.
In Luke 7 when the woman washes Jesus’ feet—a sinner who was welcomed and accepted by Jesus—Jesus tells her to go in peace. Where can there be a community to await her and accept her where lost sinners are welcomed into their midst? We need to be that community today where we live and where we serve.
Gloria has been asked to be a peacemaker for the Presbyterian Church. She will travel to four presbyteries for a month in September and October and talk about her point of view and reflections on peacemaking as it relates to her mission work and the Third World.
Zulmi Abigail Pineda learns new skills working on her grandmother’s house
Recently she went on a trip to talk to a community that had requested some assistance for families to improve their houses. I decided to shadow her on the trip in order to document the process that she followed with the people in the community and see how it related to the theme of building community and peacemaking. Gloria and I went to a community called El Mongual. They were requesting a housing project (actually a house improvement program), not a traditional project where they would make a request and an organization or the local government would respond by providing what they are asking for, in this case houses. Our approach is completely different. People have to become organized and work in a group as a whole and in smaller groups to work together on all of the aspects of building a house. They work together on each other’s houses, one at a time, block by block. In this process they start to build up positive community relations and good relations with their neighbors. Suddenly instead of each being immersed in a situation of poverty with everyone on their own, living out their situation with little contact, encouragement or benefits from surrounding families and the local government, they are working together for the first time, establishing ties of solidarity with others. Perhaps this is the first step that Jesus teaches us about reaching a situation of shalom. They are able to rip off the doubts of worth and capabilities. They no longer wait for others to come and solve their problems and improve their lives. They are active in their own process of improvement and well-being.
To achieve this level of change and well-being is not easy, however. We were reminded this by the meeting at hand that day in El Mongual. All of the "buts" came out, the unknowns, the “what ifs,” the self-doubts of capabilities. What could be expected? They were on unchartered territory, never having worked together with their neighbors for the common good. Society teaches us at an early age to look out for ourselves. Jesus’ message of love thy neighbor is heard on Sundays but what about the rest of the week? This happens to all of us, not just the people of El Mongual. That is why I think we can gather lessons from these community processes that become universal in a way, a light in the world.
Gloria set the tone by asking; “How can we see today in our meeting the solidarity among ourselves, both men and women, with our own Christian and human values?” Discussion began as all introduced themselves. Working based on values is one of the main tenets of our approach, values that we all have and identify with.
Gloria told them that not everyone has the same abilities, which is why we need to work together. It is so important to reinforce the idea that we need other people, that we have certain gifts and abilities and others have others. Our strength is through diversity. As a group, people will listen to us, alone they will not.
Other key statements during the meeting were:
We are making a road by walking it. This concept is important because it allows us to start a creative process and build it as we go. We are not held back by our lack of experience or knowledge of the task at hand. The process and project will be a learning experience and we will grow as a natural part of it, making our road wider and smoother as we go.
What methodology can we use in order to visualize and take into consideration the most vulnerable families? Yes, it is important to have strategies that are flexible and adapted to including those who are fragile, or who could be easily written off at first glance, such as single mothers. It would be easy to say that they can’t participate in a housing project since they cannot do the same type of work as men. The challenge is to find a strategy so that they can. When given the chance we have seen women who become bricklayers, women who mix cement and haul materials, or women who assign a teenage son to participate fully in the project.
We will work in support of each other in solidarity in small groups. This methodology is especially important since it facilitates a friendly way to work in a group that is not overwhelming and in which all can participate and grow. This allows participants to work together with those that they know the best and get along with, making it easier to overcome difficulties along the way. Often all will not participate at the being of the project, especially the most vulnerable people. Gradually more people can be incorporated into the process once they understand it and can visualize their ability to do so.
It is necessary to get all of the living forces of the community involved in this project, to come together, to recognize the most vulnerable families and get them involved. By including all of the community forces and groups we are more apt to gain their support. In this way the project will be understood more fully and receive the full support of all so that people will understand why they are organized in such a way and the requirements that are necessary for people to participate in it. Also local government support can be gained in this way.
Later I talked about the appreciative approach in development work with community groups by focusing on what had been going well in the community and what can be improved on. When answered by members of the community themselves this has proven to be a powerful tool in self-affirmation and motivation for working together in order to achieve common goals.
I think this brief description of one experience in one community on a given day gives you an idea of the huge challenges that are faced in attempting to achieve some degree of shalom, of well-being and in this sense, of peace, in communities that have very little of this in their common history. In spite of this, there is hope and we have seen great changes come to communities through this type of process. Then we feel that this is God’s will, this is the vision of well-being that Jesus taught us in a different time. By overcoming a traditional way of doing things, the lack of education, the injustices and inequalities of a system made so a few succeed, community processes can make a difference for those who are willing to try.
We reflected on this thought a little bit before closing: “No one is so poor that they do not have something to give, and no one is so rich that they don’t need something or someone.” We have hopes that the process in the community and others where we are working will move ahead and flourish.
Faithfully,
Tim and Gloria
Apartado 15027, Colonia Kennedy
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
The 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 10
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