A letter from Mark Wright in Honduras
May 2013
It’s been a while since I’ve written. These days the world of “social media” sort of has the upper hand, and I end up sharing a lot more on Facebook as it allows me to upload pictures and stories right away. If you are not following already, send me a friend request (search Mark Wright Tegucigalpa or something similar). But today I’d like to put a few things together and bring you up to date on some of the good things going on in the Presbyterian Church of Honduras.
Honduran youth explaining their hopes and dreams
Just a few days after arriving back in Honduras after spending the fall on interpretation assignment in the United States, I set off with a group from all over the U.S. for a weeklong cataract and eye surgery “brigade” at the public hospital down south in San Lorenzo. (http://www.khishprojectvision.com/). This wonderful partnership initiative has grown rapidly in the last few years with this year’s team performing 131 surgeries and depleting my eyeglasses inventory by some 300 pair!
The next week we were joined by other members of the KHISH group (http://www.khish.org/) for yearly medical clinics at the Presbyterian churches in southern Honduras as well as folks from Living Waters for the World (http://www.livingwatersfortheworld.org/), during which time we installed the first clean water system at a Presbyterian church in Puerto Grande. At least nine churches from five states were involved in this venture. It was truly remarkable to see how people from all over the U.S. could come together and share in the work with Hondurans to make these projects come about. And while the people of Puerto Grande may not know about the complex web of relationships and cooperation that brought both medical care and clean water to their community, they know that someone cares and there are those willing to serve and give without expecting anything in return.
Pastor Enrique Ochoa
Within the Presbytery of Honduras there is growing activity. In February a new leadership council was elected, and one of the things they are doing to help churches grow and feel more connected is having all the pastors travel to one of the rural churches every other month for meetings, joint worship, and evangelistic campaigns. Our first trip was to El Sute, deep in the mountains, where many pastors were able to see for the first time the work and growth of the church there. Most arrived on horseback, marveling at the commitment of the pastor and the members, some traveling long distances on foot or horse to hear the Good News. In the evening we hiked over to the community of El Horno, where we were amazed to see the number of folks who turned out for the evangelistic services. After the service I spoke with a man from Comayagua from a different church who said that they had come in to support the Presbyterian church in this community because they had heard such good things about its work in these mountains. This weekend we will be visiting the community of Piedra Gorda for more worship and evangelism.
Greeting old friends in El Sute
Another exciting movement within the presbytery has been among the Presbyterian youth. Just a few weeks ago Greg Klimovitz, a youth director from Pennsylvania whose youth group has developed a model partnership with youth in Honduras, came for an excellent weekend of youth leadership training. As we gathered with the Honduran youth, it was both exciting and humbling to see and hear of their commitment to Jesus Christ and the future of the church. Young leaders from eight different churches attended the weekend event that provided space and time for both fledgling and more developed youth groups to help find their voice in both the present and the future of the Presbyterian Church. One of the things we talked about was how the youth could participate in the service projects of the presbytery. A few days later youth joined a group from Carlisle Presbytery in helping construct a house for a very needy member of Peña de Horeb Church. Tomorrow they meet to discuss plans for the summer youth retreat at Yojoa Lake. In many ways the youth are modeling “church” for the adults.
These are just a few of the highlights of the year so far.
I am leaving out much that deserves note and explanation. But I wanted everyone to know that there are good and important things happening in the church of Honduras. And, yes, we would love to have your help through prayers, donations, and presence. Each time we get close to an event it’s only through faith and your help that we are able to continue and see God’s Kingdom grow in Honduras. Blessings!
Mark
The 2013 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 20
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