Honduras Happenings

Is Honduras Repressed?

2009-07-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

Check this out! It will answer this question and ask another.....

Progress!!

2009-07-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

Hey!! Check this out!!

The chamber of commerce of industry and agriculture of Panama says economic and commercial sanctions against the new government of Honduras are inappropriate!! Come on Hillary, Barack and friends get with it!

More Good Information

2009-07-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

Here is another great article from a very credible source...

Maybe the tide is turning and our government will see the light.

Yes...I'm a dreamer...

--tom

Amazing!!!

2009-07-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hugo Chavez has challenged Obama to remove all US troops from Honduras. It will be interesting to see what the result is...

Just a taste of how Chavez operates. The state runs the media in Venezuela. There were six reporters from Venezuela detained in Honduras because they stole a car from a rental agency. Check out the links...I'm not making this up!

Just a note of interest. We buy 1.2 million barrels of oil per day from this guy!

A coup or not??? NOT!!!

2009-07-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

Check out this article from the Cato Institute.

Just a Little Spending Cash

2009-07-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

Geee...Why do you suppose one of ex President Zelaya's officials would be "withdrawing" $2 Million in cash from the Central Bank a couple of days before the proposed "referendum"? They wouldn't be trying to buy votes would they?? It's on video folks!

http://laprensahn.com/Ediciones/2009/07/08/Noticias/En-maletas-sacaron-L40-millones-del-Banco-Central

This is good!!

2009-07-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry this blog has concentrated so much on the situation in Honduras rather than what we are accomplishing in the villages but this is a pivotal time in Honduran history. World opinion is being formed without the facts. The Chavez propaganda machine is working overtime and we cannot allow an injustice like this to take place.

Read this for a good assessment of what actually took place and see if you agree with our government's position.

http://hondurassituation.blogspot.com/

Even the Cardinal of Honduras Supports the New President

2009-07-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

Check out this article in the main newspaper of Tegucigalpa...What are our government, CNN, and the Organization of American States missing?

http://www.heraldohn.com/Especiales/Honduras%20en%20contra%20de%20la%20ilegalidad%20del%2024%20de%20junio%20de%202009/Ediciones/2009/07/04/Noticias/Cardenal-Oscar-Andres-Rodriguez-pide-a-Manuel-Zelaya-que-no-regrese-a-Honduras

Cardenal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez pide a Manuel Zelaya que no regrese a Honduras

This translates as: Cardenal Oscar Andres Rodriguea asks Manuel Zelaya to not return to Honduras.

tom

An Uphill Battle!

2009-07-03T08:53:00.001-07:00

Well folks, we are in an uphill battle. It still amazes me that our government and world opinion is what it is in relation to this event. People are obviously making judgments about the happenings without getting the facts, and the mainline news agencies are not doing justice to the people of Honduras.

Here is a link to a blog of a North American lady who now lives in Honduras. She has a very good perspective and there are lots of pictures.

http://lagringasblogicito.blogspot.com/

Thank God there has been some movement toward a resolution. Keep fighting the good fight!

Contact your representatives...links are at http://www.helphondurasnow.com

--tom

Progress Is Being Made!!

2009-07-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

The tide may be turning...
Chet sent me a copy of a letter from the head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs that she is going to give to Mr. Obama personally. Here is the text of that letter:

The Honorable Barack H. Obama

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I would like to take this opportunity to raise growing concerns about the U.S. approach to human rights, democratic principles, rule of law, and constitutional institutions in the Western Hemisphere, focusing on your Administration’s response to the constitutional crisis in Honduras and the U.S. role at the Organization of American States and the United Nations with respect to this situation.

I expected the Administration to adopt a deliberative, responsible approach to developments in Honduras. However, the U.S. stance from the onset appears to have been focused on supporting one individual, President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales, irrespective of the Honduran constitution, rule of law, and democratic institutions. This myopic, Zelaya-centric approach has intensified in the last 72 hours since reports surfaced that the Honduran military had taken Mr. Zelaya into custody and that Mr. Zelaya had departed Honduras.

There are numerous conflicting reports about the events that have transpired in Honduras in the last few days. Facts are in dispute. Yet, there has been no apparent attempt by the U.S to discern the truth about the status of democratic and constitutional order in this Central American country, before making summary conclusions and issuing condemnations based on incomplete information.

However, Mr. President, the constitutional crisis in Honduras did not commence on Sunday, June 28th but, at least, three months earlier, when Mr. Zelaya issued his Executive Decree on March 23rd of this year calling for a referendum to extend his presidential term to be held before July. Despite the clear limitations established in Article 5, Article 374, and other articles of the Honduran constitution concerning the presidential term and parameters for a referendum, the United States appeared to unconditionally embrace Mr. Zelaya’s plans. The Honduran Supreme Court, the Administrative courts, the Attorney General, the Commissioner for Human Rights, the Electoral Tribunal, and the National Congress all declared the referendum to be illegal. Additional legislative action was taken by the Honduran National Congress on June 23rd to prevent Mr. Zelaya’s violations of Honduran rule of law and constitutional precepts. The U.S. failed to take effective steps, bilaterally or through the Organization of American States, to support these legitimate efforts by the other co-equal branches of Honduras’ democratic government to enforce Honduran law. On Friday, June 26th, Mr. Zelaya issued another decree ordering government employees to participate in the “Public Opinion Poll to convene a National Constitutional Assembly,” which would have reportedly triggered Article 239 of the Honduran constitution requiring he be relieved of his duties and office. The U.S. failed to respond. This marked a serious failure in U.S. diplomacy and democracy advocacy. As such, many would argue, that the U.S. is complicit in the escalation of the constitutional crisis in Honduras.

At the OAS and the UN General Assembly this week, the U.S. accepted resolution texts drafted by Mr. Zelaya and his immediate advisors and agreed to proposals put forth by the leaders of Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia—all for the sake of consensus. Joining the “race to the bottom” or serving as an echo chamber is not helpful to our political, economic, or security interests in the region.

Looking forward, it is my hope, Mr. President, that your Administration will not have the U.S. response hinge on unconfirmed reports and accusations by sources with a vested interest in ensuring a particular outcome that may, or may not, be in the interest of the United States. Instead, we must work together to advance core U.S. principles and achieve the stated goal of consolidating and strengthening the rule of law and democratic institutions in our Hemisphere.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

Ranking Member

Alex J. Cruz

Director Of Communications

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

4960 SW 72 Avenue, Suite 208

Miami, Florida 33155

Press Line 305-668-5994

FAX 305-668-5970

Cell 202-225-8200

An Urgent Call to Action!!!

2009-07-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

Friends,
As what seems to be a pattern lately our government is on the wrong side of an international situation and does not seem to be making the effort to gather the facts. I am embarrassed and appalled by the lack of support for the rule of law in Honduras and was gratified to confirm my understanding of the situation with Chet Thomas. He has been in Honduras for more than 30 years and knows many of the top political figures in the country, is very familiar with the laws of Honduras, and has been involved in helping the poor for 30+ years. I trust his judgment implicitly. Please take a moment to read his letter and contact your Senator, Representative, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and President Obama concerning the travesty that could take place over the next few days if there is not an uprising of support for this struggling democracy.
Thank you,
Tom

Go to http://www.helphondurasnow.com to contact your representatives.

---------------------------------

Dear Friends,

Our warmest greetings to you from Honduras. Many of you are well aware of what is happening in Honduras although a lot of the information being transmitted is being twisted by some of the news networks. CNN has only covered the situation from the standpoint of the ex President Zelaya. Unfortunately this has been the focus of most of the news services until now. But the real information that is beginning to come out is different from what the world has been fed until now.

What has happened is a new paradigm for the world as an army has disposed a constitutionally elected president in order to restore a democratic system of government but not to break a democratic system which was characteristic of military actions in the past. This case cannot be catalogued as a “coup de etat” as it does not represent two important elements of such a action: one is the taking of power by the military and the other is the breaking a democratic form of government. The action taken by the Armed Forces was based on a judicial order given to them to follow and the purpose was to reestablish the Rule of Law, which was being consistently violated by the President of the country who did not respect the decisions and orders of the two other powers in the government- the Supreme Court and the Congress. (the checks and balances)

After the intervention of the Armed forces in removing ex President Zelaya , the Constitutional Order was followed as the succession to power has been fully respected as described in the Constitution with the naming of a new Constitutional President who has been sworn in and confirmed. This action from a political science point of view, Honduras has set a precedent , which will be studied by universities, diplomats and politicians around the world.

For the first time in Latin America , a country has rebelled , and without shedding any blood and without violence, against a constitutional and democratically elected President who has violated the constitution and legal orders from the Supreme Court, the Congress and the Attorney General of the country. The international press had not understood this nor have they taken the time to study what has been happening in Honduras over the past year . They have simply taken a position saying that this has been a military overthrow of the government of Honduras - as something coming out of the cold war of twenty – thirty years ago. However the lesson coming out of this is that a President who has been democratically elected by the people of this country, does not have the right to disobey the constitution and the laws of this country. The message of Honduras is simple, if a president has received the popular vote of the country, this does not give him or her the license to break the laws, as all the effort going into governing a country for the common good should be done within the framework of the law. The general public of democratic countries will be seeing these actions and will see that they no longer need to tolerate the abuses of power by constitutionally elected presidents who many times consider themselves untouchable because they were elected by the people. Big mistake….. ask Mel Zelaya!

The current situation in the country is the following:

- Honduras is being isolated and the borders are being blocked by neighboring countries stopping all economic transport between countries.

-Venezuela is stopping all shipments of refined gasoline and diesel to Honduras which will starve the country until other sources are found.

- Power is being shut off periodically in certain sectors of the country and a curfew is in place from 6 pm to 6 am.

-Nicaragua and Venezuela have troops at the Nicaragua - Honduran border

-Communication channels (TV and radio) are being restricted

- Over a thousand Cuban and Venezuelan ”civilians” who have been trained in subversion have crossed the borders and have entered Honduras with Honduran passports.

-The Honduran general public is very supportive of the change in the country and the new government , especially the Catholic and the Evangelical church members who have joined in massive concentrations to show support for the government since the change happened this past Sunday.

Honduras is a small country, very poor and with thirty years of a democratically elected government after years of a military dictatorships. Honduras has been the US government’s strongest ally in the cold war that existed for ten years here in Central America. Knowing that the cards are stacked against this country , the members of the government, the congress and Supreme court and the newly named President are facing incredible challenges right now to survive and critical international support is needed to respect the Government of Honduras’s self determination. Honduras is the only country that has the guts to stand up to the socialist/communist threat posed by Chavez , Ortega and the cronies of the ALBA group in South America. Chavez cannot allow his coalition of leftist leaning countries to begin to fall apart and is fighting desperately to keep this demonstration down as it can begin to happen in his country and others who may follow this same example. .

Prayer is needed for this country and letters and emails of support for Honduras need to be sent to our State Department (Hillary Clinton, President Obama and members of Congress.)

Chet

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

· OPINION: THE AMERICAS WALL STREET JOURNAL , also run in the Washington Post - June 30, 2009

· JUNE 30, 2009
Honduras Defends Its Democracy
Fidel Castro and Hillary Clinton object.
By MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADYColumnist's name

· smallerText larger

Hugo Chávez's coalition-building efforts suffered a setback yesterday when the Honduran military sent its president packing for abusing the nation's constitution. It seems that President Mel Zelaya miscalculated when he tried to emulate the success of his good friend Hugo in reshaping the Honduran Constitution to his liking. But Honduras is not out of the Venezuelan woods yet. Yesterday the Central American country was being pressured to restore the authoritarian Mr. Zelaya by the likes of Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega, Hillary Clinton and, of course, Hugo himself. The Organization of American States, having ignored Mr. Zelaya's abuses, also wants him back in power. It will be a miracle if Honduran patriots can hold their ground. Associated Press

That Mr. Zelaya acted as if he were above the law, there is no doubt. While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite, the power to open that door does not lie with the president. A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress.

But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chávez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela. The Supreme Court ruled his referendum unconstitutional, and it instructed the military not to carry out the logistics of the vote as it normally would do.

The top military commander, Gen. Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, told the president that he would have to comply. Mr. Zelaya promptly fired him. The Supreme Court ordered him reinstated. Mr. Zelaya refused.

Calculating that some critical mass of Hondurans would take his side, the president decided he would run the referendum himself. So on Thursday he led a mob that broke into the military installation where the ballots from Venezuela were being stored and then had his supporters distribute them in defiance of the Supreme Court's order.

The attorney general had already made clear that the referendum was illegal, and he further announced that he would prosecute anyone involved in carrying it out. Yesterday, Mr. Zelaya was arrested by the military and is now in exile in Costa Rica.

It remains to be seen what Mr. Zelaya's next move will be. It's not surprising that chavistas throughout the region are claiming that he was victim of a military coup. They want to hide the fact that the military was acting on a court order to defend the rule of law and the constitution, and that the Congress asserted itself for that purpose, too.

Mrs. Clinton has piled on as well. Yesterday she accused Honduras of violating "the precepts of the Interamerican Democratic Charter" and said it "should be condemned by all." Fidel Castro did just that. Mr. Chávez pledged to overthrow the new government.

Honduras is fighting back by strictly following the constitution. The Honduran Congress met in emergency session yesterday and designated its president as the interim executive as stipulated in Honduran law. It also said that presidential elections set for November will go forward. The Supreme Court later said that the military acted on its orders. It also said that when Mr. Zelaya realized that he was going to be prosecuted for his illegal behavior, he agreed to an offer to resign in exchange for safe passage out of the country. Mr. Zelaya denies it.

Many Hondurans are going to be celebrating Mr. Zelaya's foreign excursion. Street protests against his heavy-handed tactics had already begun last week. On Friday a large number of military reservists took their turn. "We won't go backwards," one sign said. "We want to live in peace, freedom and development."

Besides opposition from the Congress, the Supreme Court, the electoral tribunal and the attorney general, the president had also become persona non grata with the Catholic Church and numerous evangelical church leaders. On Thursday evening his own party in Congress sponsored a resolution to investigate whether he is mentally unfit to remain in office.

For Hondurans who still remember military dictatorships, Mr. Zelaya also has another strike against him: He keeps rotten company. Earlier this month he hosted an OAS general assembly and led the effort, along side OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza, to bring Cuba back into the supposedly democratic organization.

The OAS response is no surprise. Former Argentine Ambassador to the U.N. Emilio Cárdenas told me on Saturday that he was concerned that "the OAS under Insulza has not taken seriously the so-called 'democratic charter.' It seems to believe that only military 'coups' can challenge democracy. The truth is that democracy can be challenged from within, as the experiences of Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and now Honduras, prove." A less-kind interpretation of Mr. Insulza's judgment is that he doesn't mind the Chávez-style coup.

The struggle against chavismo has never been about left-right politics. It is about defending the independence of institutions that keep presidents from becoming dictators. This crisis clearly delineates the problem. In failing to come to the aid of checks and balances, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Insulza expose their true colors.

Write to O'Grady@wsj.com

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A12

Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company

--
Tom Muhlbeier
509.531.9790

"Do something wonderful; people may imitate it!"

San Pedro Sula

2009-06-26T20:39:00.001-07:00

Good evening!

The team is in San Pedro Sula enjoying a nice motel. The kids were pumped to learn that the pool is open 24 hours and have been lobbying to stay in the pool until 11:30pm. However, they need to be at the airport at 5:00am so Daniel is struggling to make the call as to what time to end the fun....

He has commented many times in the last week about how well behaved, courteous, and polite this group of young people is. He has been out with groups of many types for quite a while and he says this is the most respectful group he's ever been with. Good job parents!!

They will be in Pasco at about 7:30pm tomorrow Saturday evening. Be prepared for some tired but excited young adults. In my mind they left as teenagers and will return as young adults. The experiences and things they have learned on this trip have helped them to make that transition. Pretty cool huh?

See you at the airport!

--tom

Wow!!

2009-06-25T20:28:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe how fast this week has gone!! Tonight is the team's last night in La Masica!! Tomorrow morning they will be packing things up and heading out to San Pedro Sula where they will stay in a motel, and Saturday morning bright and early, head to the airport. They will begin the journey home about 7am and will arrive in Pasco at about 7:30pm.

This has been a remarkable trip for these kids. They say that in the seeds of adversity lay the seeds of a greater benefit. Well, the adversity they encountered with the road block and the long hard detour evidently galvanized their resolve, and they have experienced some remarkable things. I'm not going to steal their thunder but suffice it to say lives have been changed. There will be stories to tell for weeks to come and you as parents and friends can help these young adults re enter our world. The best thing you can do is to listen....really listen to the stories and engage them. Until you have experienced something like they have experienced you cannot fully understand how difficult it is to re enter our society...be patient with them...they may sound like they are rambling, but they need to express what they have seen and experienced.

If you have not been on one of these trips perhaps you should consider it. The next adult trip will be in January or early February. Think about it!!

I'll post more updates as I learn of their progress toward San Pedro Sula.

Bendiciones!

--tom

April Showers....

2009-06-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hola!

Well they made to La Masica yesterday afternoon. The tents were set up and they started work on a foundation for the next home to be built. Everyone is working hard and by all reports are having a great experience. Daniel commented several times this morning about what a great bunch of kids they are...you should be very proud.

One little ummmm over site? No, that's not it because we talked about it before they left...when they set up the tents they evidently didn't get the rain flies staked out properly. Well, last night there was a little shower...Ok well there was a wonderful lightning and thunder show that was spectacular and shortly after the show the gentle rains began to drench the area. Evidently the talk about the rain flies being properly staked and not touching the tents didn't sink in and there was a bit of moisture that entered the tents...more like puddles from what I was told...or maybe as Rick named it Lake Dean. Everyone was equally wet but it's a warm rain so it's one of those experiences they will all be able to talk about.

Everyone is well and as of noon today, no one had any illness to report. Things are going very well. Gracias a dios.

I'll report more as I get the latest...

Shalom!

--tom

Challenge of the Day

2009-06-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

The protesters are a persistent lot...they have not given up and the road is still blocked. However, Daniel and I put a plan together to circumvent the roadblock. We went around it. After checking out the safety of the route they left Comayagua early this morning and traveled many hours on rough, difficult roads. The last contact I had with Daniel this afternoon they were just leaving La Liberad which is about an hour from La Masica. The cell coverage is very poor between La Libertad and La Masica and I'm sure they are in the community enjoying the evening.

Daniel will call me as soon as he gets a cell signal, and I'll update the blog as soon as I hear from him.

Take care!

--tom

Welcome to Honduras!

2009-06-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hello!!

Well, in Honduras when ever anything goes wrong they have a saying, "Bienvenidos a Honduras!" It means welcome to Honduras...well "Bienvenidos a Honduras!".

This morning when the group was about to start out for La Masica it was learned that there was a strike/protest going on along the only road to La Libertad, one of the towns along the way to La Masica. The people were blocking the road and not letting any traffic through. After a lot of phone calls between Daniel and myself we decided that the best course of action for today would be for the group to stay another night in Comayagua. The motel was very willing to work with us and they are staying in the same place tonight as last night. It's a very nice little B&B that is far from the conditions of La Masica.

This little bump in the road is not all that uncommon. In developing countries like Honduras you have to stay loose and be flexible with all of your plans. You just never know what kind of adventure you will be presented with. Daniel and I had actually talked about something like this happening a couple of months ago...never thought it would happen, but hey, we talked about it!

This afternoon we found an orphanage for the team visit. As it turned out it was a very rewarding experience for the team. They played soccer and other games most of the afternoon, and really enjoyed the kids. The boys at the orphanage really enjoyed the time too.

Our hope is that by tomorrow morning the protesters will have petered out and the team will be able to make their way out to La Masica. Everyone is doing great. There has been no illness of any kind reported.

Stay tuned for more...tomorrow!

--tom

2009 Teen Vision Trip!

2009-06-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hey parents and friends!

Well they have arrived in Honduras! They got into Tegucigalpa on time and Daniel met them at the airport. All, I repeat, ALL of their luggage arrived with them so all is well on that front. The kids were hungry when they arrived so their first authentic Honduras experience was lunch at Pizza Hut.

They are now in Comayagua at the hotel. They were going to go for a tour of the town square which is very safe during daylight hours. I'm sure they will have some great pictures of a 400 year old church, and various other sites to share with you.

Tomorrow they will be up fairly early and will start the trek to La Masica. They should be there by about noon tomorrow.

I'll report more as I get the info from Daniel...stay tuned!!

--tom

Daniel

2009-02-19T10:39:00.000-08:00

Newsletter Article

2009-02-15T22:34:00.000-08:00

This is a reprint of a letter to the people of our church that I was asked to write for last week's mailing...

What an incredible week! As I sit in my comfortable office and write this letter my mind is spinning with the events of the last several weeks. The final preparations for the Adult Vision trip to Honduras occupied my mind and activities prior to our departure. There are thousands of things that must be thought through, arrangements made, contingencies planned for, things to be confirmed and reconfirmed, and with the distance, language, and cultural barriers, it can sometimes be frustrating. I sometimes ask myself why I do all of this when I have two other full time jobs, and yet in the midst of my self pity I'm always brought back to reality with one look at my office wall. There hanging where I can see them are pictures of the first trip I took to Honduras. The eyes of the children who I knew would “get” me. The eyes of the parents of those children who took me by surprise. I didn't think they would “get” me. But now, along with both of those are the memories of the adults and young adults from this trip, and previous ones, who were “gotten” and continue to “get” me.

Many factors contributed to the success of this trip and as I recount some of the experiences we had I hope you can catch a glimpse of the great, wonderful, and world changing things this church is doing.

After we arrived in Tegucigalpa and got our luggage loaded up we headed out to a city called Comayagua where we spent the first night in a very comfortable bed and breakfast. We went to one of the cathedrals in the city that is over 400 years old. Imagine that. Almost 200 years before we were a nation this cathedral was built. Amazing!

The following morning we loaded up and began the trip out to La Masica. The roads are difficult and travel is slow and dirty, but we made it to the river crossing where we were to leave the van. As we rounded the corner there were members of the community there to greet us. This is about a mile from the village and the people had walked down to meet us like you would to greet your family that you hadn't seen in months. The difference is that there were only 4 of us who had ever seen these people before. It didn't matter. Everyone was greeted as family.

The first order of business after we made it into the village was to set up camp. However, the villagers had other ideas. They called all of the people together in front of the school they had built last summer and proceeded to welcome us to the community. Joseli, the president of the community, and Fausto the policeman gave us a welcoming address and used the words brothers, sisters, and family numerous times. These people are our family!

Once the welcoming ceremony was completed we began the task of setting up the tents. Yes, I said tents. Our plans were to stay in the community and we brought 4 large tents along with us. No sooner had we begun erecting the tents when Jamie Tucker and Jennifer Jackson were attacked by the children of the community. These two wonderful young ladies had kids hanging off of them the entire time they were in La Masica. The love they have for these kids is heartwarming.

One morning I woke up before any of the others and as is my habit, I went off to be alone for a while so I could visit with a dear friend. As I was walking down the road I saw a large rock overlooking a beautiful valley so I climbed up on the rock and sat down to supervise the sunrise. As I was listening to the water dancing over the rocks and the birds singing their greeting to the new day my heart was filled with gratitude. Gratitude for a church like ours that would be so amazingly generous that it would give many, many thousands of dollars to help people who most of them will never know. People who for no other reason than pure luck of the draw were placed in a land where the struggle to merely exist is a daily battle. People like 89 year old Jorge who lost his wife last summer and misses her dearly. It was Jorge's home that we were working on in our time in La Masica. Gratitude for people who are not only willing to pay their own way to travel to a “developing country” to sleep in tents, risk insect bites, intestinal problems, and many other potential maladies, but are willing to love unconditionally. This group of people had such a humble and loving countenance about them that one night after working hard all day, they decided to give up their dinner and serve it to the people of the village instead. I have tears in my eyes as I write this thinking about the love and bonding that took place within this group of virtual strangers from North America. Bonding not only with each other but with the people of La Masica. This group was complimented after this dinner in a way that is amazingly meaningful. Several of the community members, who are very shy and hardly ever speak in front of people, stood and thanked the group for the work they did, the things they taught the villagers, but most of all they thanked the group for their humility. Well done my friends! This is huge because most missions groups are perceived by the people they are sent to help as arrogant in post mission trip debriefings.

My heart was also filled with gratitude for the seeds that Pastor Dale planted in my heart. He gave me the freedom to dream, to listen to God, to implement the plans God placed in my heart to reach out to these the poorest of the poor. Gratitude for the transition and restructuring that is taking place in our church to position us to move ahead with even better ways of ministering to not only the people in our faith community, but to the world. Gratitude for Pastor Bryan and Tami, and Thomas. For Pastor Marty, and Phil, and yes Pastor Dick my mentor. Perhaps someday I can tell that story.

Oh yes! Did I mention we did some work too? My heart was also filled with gratitude that we had the ability to repair and recondition some machines that would make blocks out of dirt. These machines are remarkable. They take soil after it had been prepared and compress it into a block that can be used to build comfortable, safe homes, and do it quite inexpensively. Our plans are to offer these homes to the people of La Masica and with their cooperation and participation, we hope to build about 20 homes.

After I had finished my conversations with my friend, still sitting on the rock I heard a noise down the road. I looked up and saw a familiar face. He was walking toward the village. He exclaimed, “Muy buenos dias don Tomas!”. He had left his home in another village on foot at 4am to come help in La Masica. Muy buenos dias indeed.

Often people ask me if there was a “spiritual” aspect to the trip. To answer that I'd like to relate this story:
Francis of Assisi once invited an apprentice to go with him to a nearby village to preach. The young monk quickly agreed, seizing an opportunity to hear his teacher speak. When they arrived in the village, St. Francis began to visit with the people. First he stopped in on the butcher. Next a visit with the cobbler. Then a short walk to the home of a woman who'd recently buried her husband. After that a stop at the school to chat with the teacher. This continued throughout the morning. After some time, Francis told his disciple that it was time to return to the abbey. The student didn't understand. "But we came to preach;" he reminded. "We haven't preached a sermon." "Haven't we?" questioned the elder. "People have watched us, listened to us, responded to us. Every word we have spoken, every deed we have done has been a sermon. We have preached all morning."

The following people preached some of the very best sermons I have ever heard.

Tonya Callies, Dick Sanders, Rosie Sanders,Teri Tucker, Jamie Tucker, Jennifer Jackson, Jacquelyn Serrano, Andy Serrano, Danny Rezendes, Lee Celski.

Thank you all!
Tom

2009 Adult Vision Trip

2009-02-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

Here is a summary video of the trip...You cannot capture the feelings of the event in photos or video but here is an attempt to bring a little of it to you...

Two Weeks Before the Adult Group Arrived

2009-02-15T21:09:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, we are starting into a housing project in La Masica. The way we are going about that is to make inexpensive blocks using a technique called compressed earth blocks. The soil is compressed under 2000+ psi and made into a very strong and stable block. They are then stacked like bricks and a roof is put on and viola!! folks have homes that would otherwise never be able to have a home!! Cool!!

The audio on this got messed up so mute the sound....Here we were making the first experimental block in La Masica...Check out the looks on the people's faces when they see the block.

We're baaaaack!

2009-01-15T14:43:00.001-08:00

Yeah, Yeah, I know it's been almost a year since I posted. I'm sitting here wondering where the heck the last year went. We've been rolling along in Honduras and many many good things have happened along with an occasion bummer too! But the long and short of it is we are still moving ahead with the projects.

In fact the latest hit is that we are starting a housing project. Yup, we got all trained up on how to make blocks out of compressed earth and when the adult group is there in La Masica on January 25th we are going to get started building the first home. Pictures to follow....

That being said we are working hard on getting the group ready to go. We only have a little over a week and we'll be off. We'll keep you updated

Check back soon!!
Tom

New Things Are Happening!!

2008-03-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

There is so much stuff happening in La Masica I don't know where to begin!

Maybe an explanation of the first project would be a good place to start..ya think??

We thought we would offer the villagers is a way for them to realize an immediate financial gain. Much of their corn crop is lost each year to insects, mold, and rot in storage. We decided to offer them a way to help store part of their crop in a more efficient manner. We have a design for a corn silo that will virtually eliminate this problem for very little investment on their part. We presented this opportunity to them and they jumped at the chance. There are 18 families in the village and 18 families decided they would like to borrow the money from us to build the silos...I'm not real good at math but I think that is about 100% participation!

As you can see in the first photo above Daniel is having them sign the contracts in a ceremony that was very meaningful to them. They are now committed to this project and the silos have now been built. We will be doing some training and education on the methods of storage and they will realize an immediate financial gain from this.
They can now use about 30% more of their crop and if they choose to sell the corn, they will be able to sell it at a higher price because they will have the option to hold the corn until after the peak harvest season when the prices will be higher. Cool stuff!!

Another thing going on as we speak is that a study of the water source has begun. We will be doing a water system, and the first step is to determine the amount of flow from the source. Then measure the distance from the source to village and begin the cost analysis. That is cookin' right now! We aren't gunna mess around here!

I've got about a half a billion other things to talk about but I'll wait for the next post. I wil really, really try to get back to a once a week posting...at least for a while. Really...I will...

Bendiciones!!!

tom

I'm Still Here!!

2008-02-13T13:16:00.001-08:00

Hi There!

I bet you thought I'd decided to stop updating this, huh?? Well, that's not true. I've been incredibly busy with all the things going on in Honduras, Christmas, helping with finding a new pastor for the church, and all the other stuff that goes with making a living and having a family. But, I hope I'm back on track now.

Here is the latest video presentation about the Adult Vision Trip to Honduras. We had two teams go for a week each and we covered a lot of ground. We stopped in all 6 villages we are working in and everyone caught the malady I have. I call it Honduran Allergies. Many times when I'm talking with the people in the communities my eyes start to water, my nose starts to run, and I get all choked up. There is no doubt that we were more blessed than the people we are trying to help.

Take a look and I pledge that I will try to be more regular in the updates from now on...

Oh yeah. If you notice the map to the right you'll see that we've added another pin. We will be moving ahead and working in La Masica. We have tons of ideas I'll talk about in the next post.

Bendiciones!!
Tom

In Honduras Again!!

2007-11-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys!!

Guess what?? I'm in Honduras aaaaa
gaaaa
annnnn. Yup, we had a workshop at Los Pinos for the representatives of the villages where we will be putting filters. The "Health Promoters" will go back to the villages and begin the process of promoting the concept of BioSand filters and we will be building them real soon in Santa Fe.

We also had some people from another organization called Pure Water for the World attend. They have been putting filters into use here for some time now and we have received a lot of help from them. They are more than willing to share their experience and so in return we invited them to participate in the training, and they sent 5 people. It's great to cooperate with other organizations that are after the same thing we are. Although they are a secular organization, their goals are very similar to ours.

The young lady who put on the training is from the Center for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) in Calgary Alberta Canada. You talk about a lady that has it together! Andrea Roach did an awesome job of presenting the material in a relevant and entertaining way. Everyone had a wonderful time and the fact that she is fully bilingual added very much to the value and ability of the villagers to understand the concepts presented. She is obviously passionate about the work she is engaged in and truly enjoys the people she is working with. She has an awesome story to tell about how she came to be working at CAWST and sometime soon I'll probably tell that story. Andrea is the one holding Yoda. Andrea, YOU ROCK!!!

I have other stories to tell about this trip but I have the feeling I will be presenting some things when I get back, and I don't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet.

We were used of God again today in a near miss. We were traveling from one of the villages back to Tegucigalpa for meetings on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and a pickup nearly hit us head on. He corrected at the last second over correcting and rolled the truck. A passenger and a young girl were trapped in the vehicle, and fortunately we were able to get them both out.

The driver and the passenger were unhurt but the young lady sustained cuts and bruises and Dr. Daniel Bell (our boots on the ground in Honduras) patched her up and stopped the bleeding until the ambulance could get there. As in all parts of the the world the highways are dangerous places.

I'll be returning home this Friday and I have all kinds of stories and pictures and news to tell 'yall about. Those of you who want to hear 'em will have the opportunity and those of you who don't want to hear 'em will have the opportunity to hear 'em too!

See ya later this week!!

Jalu!! (That's Salvadoran for aloha!! Thanks Andrea!)

-Tom