Berea UMC Disaster Response and Outreach

Fundraiser Lunch This Sunday

2010-01-27T07:44:00.000-08:00

You are invited to join us for a Fundraiser Lunch
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Location: Parish House
Time: 12:15 until 2:00 pm

Entrée:
Baked Chicken Breast cooked with Country Ham, sour cream, and cream of mushroom

Sides:
Green Beans cooked in Chicken Broth
Mashed Potatoes
Tossed Salad
Homemade Sourdough Bread w/assorted Jellies

Dessert:
Assorted Fruit Cobblers

Drinks:
Tea, Lemonade, Punch, and Honduran Coffee

Host: Berea UMC Missions Committee and 2010 Romania Summer Mission Team

Donations will benefit 2010 BUMC Romania Mission Team

United Methodist response Haiti Earthquake

2010-01-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

Haiti Earthquake News
Posted by Dalton Rushing at 3:50pm UMVIM, SEJ continues to respond to the earthquake in Haiti. We praise God for the news that our friends at UMCOR and Mission Volunteers are alive after spending 55 hours trapped in the rubble of the Hotel Montana! Still, we recognize that for tens of thousands of other families, the news is not so good. We know that as God calls us to the broken places of the world, that we will be working in Haiti for many years.

At the request of UMCOR, we will continue to be the clearinghouse for individuals from the SEJ interested in traveling to Haiti to assist in disaster recovery and humanitarian aid. Interested missioners can visit www.umvim.org/haiti and enter their contact information into the form on that page. This list of contacts will be activated as soon as UMVIM has news about scheduling a mission trip to Haiti.

Please continue to give to UMCOR as they do the important work of initial recovery. You can give online at umcor.org.

This will be the last notification concerning this phase of the Haiti disaster, barring major new developments. Continue to watch www.umvim.org/haiti for ongoing news.

A Note about Disaster Response & Outreach

2009-12-14T06:39:00.001-08:00

In the last year our community has experienced ice-storm, floods, tornados and damage from wind-storms. Our disaster response team will begin to look at various types of responses and how our local church could be involved. We currently have a team prepared to tackle debris removal – fallen limbs, damaged trees, and tree removal. If you become aware of a need within our community – a church member, a community member, a coworker, a neighbor, a friend, etc… please contact Skip Little at 625.2824.

Check out the following link to work on preparing your household for a disaster http://www.ready.gov/

We can always use a few more volunteers. Areas we currently need assistance in are administrative, snacks and meal coordinator, and really anyone willing to serve.

by Brent Billings Youth Team Member

2008-08-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

Shared By Brent Billings – Age 18 on Sunday 8/24/2008 at Berea UMC

Good morning. How is everyone doing this morning? Good?? We’re sitting in our nice cozy pews, in our fancy dress up cloths, in our cool air conditioned church. We even have windows and doors. What about that. It’s nice to be rich… “Rich?! I’m not rich!” Is probably what most of you are thinking right now. Well let’s define rich shall we?

We wake up every morning from our soft warm beds, take a long hot shower, and pick out what we will wear for that particular day from our wide variety of cloths in our closet, fixing ourselves a tasty breakfast, then get in our cars and leave for work or school. That’s not what rich is… That’s middle class…… Well if that is our definition of middle class, then what do we view as rich??

Is Rich waking up in a mansion, having servants pick out your cloths for you. The chef has your breakfast waiting for you on the table and it’s still warm. You get in the limo and your driver takes you where u want to go that day. Is this what we see as middle class and rich??

Now before you decide, take a second and imagine this lifestyle. Put yourself in these shoes…

Waking up on the dirt floor of your one room house with your family of 8, it’s hot because there are no windows or doors to keep out the hot sticky summer air. You are hungry because you didn’t have dinner last night so your kids wouldn’t go hungry. You are curious to see what’s for breakfast….or if there will be breakfast. No need to worry about what to wear because of the two changes of clothes that you have (one which you are wearing now) and the other being your church outfit which you only wear to services. There is also no worry for a shower because it hasn’t rained in the past week so no water. And even if there was, it would be cold, dirty rain water that gets caught in a big rain barrel out back. You can leave the kids asleep on the dirt floor. Don’t worry about getting them off to school because you don’t have the money to send them. They will wake up whenever they want and run around in the streets with the other kids during the day.

Now what would our society classify that lifestyle as?? Poor?? You see its funny because our society defines them poor and us as middle class, where as their society classifies their lifestyle as middle class and ours as filthy rich.

Ok let me make a transition and ask you another question.

Are we happy?? Shouldn’t we be happy?? I want you to raise your hand if you have been upset or unhappy since you woke up this morning. What about the last 24 hours. Ok now I want you to think about that time or a time recently when you were unhappy about something. Any why. Why were you unhappy? It couldn’t have been that big of a deal right. I mean look at everything we have to be happy about. Why are we unhappy??

While in Honduras our team met and saw A LOT of people. And you can ask anyone who was on that trip with us how many unhappy people we witnessed. There wasn’t a single one I can remember.

Let’s think about this for a second shall we??

As a whole, people in our society today are unhappy and complain about too many of things. If the people in Honduras saw us right now they would ask “They are rich. They have everything. What are they complaining about? They shouldn’t be worrying about anything.” But yet we still take everything we have for granted.

So with all this new insight, lets define rich again…..

Our first definition was – A nice house, nice cloths, a lot of money.
I think our new and real definition should be “rich – love, happiness, and Jesus Christ in your heart.”

And that’s what Honduras has. Loving, happy, Christ filled people.

This VIM team went to Honduras to help a poor broken nation. But instead what we got in return was help in our own lives from the richest people I have ever met. We did a lot of hard work down there but I honestly believe they helped us and touched us more than we even began to help them. Its funny to see how God works in his mysterious ways. He used what we thought were the poor, needy, and helpless (which are truly the most helpful, rich and bountiful) to help the real poor and needy……..US.

Reflection by Chuck Conley Team Member

2008-08-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

I volunteered to go on the Honduras trip, and then I decided I could not go. Then over the next two weeks I simply could not get it out of my mind. I told my Sunday school class that I had no idea why but I just had to go. So, I did.

I had traveled to Central America in the past and I believe I knew what to expect. I found things different than before. On one hand they seem to be connected, at least to the internet and other modern trappings to which we are accustomed to in the U.S. On the other hand the poverty I remembered was still there.

I remember how confused I was as a younger man at my inability to make sense of how the poor people of Panama seemed otherwise to be happy. This was magnified on this trip because the construction of the church was in its third year. How could these people be pleased with progress so slow? Why I could get a crew from the U.S. to come down and with just a few more modern methods we could have this up in no time.
Then I remembered my promise to myself before leaving Berea. First, I wanted to bring to the trip no prejudgement. God loves all people no matter how they live and where they live. I needed to have that acceptance and love as well. I decided there were three things that I could do to help me reach this goal, a lofty goal for me. Number 1, I started the week before going with introspection. Why was I going? How could I be what I needed to be at the right time and place? Then simply to take a good hard look at who I am. Number 2, I wanted to be a part of a team and really it appealed to me that I did not know some of the people going very well. What better way to learn about people than to be with them for 10 days of service to others? Number 3, I wanted to be able to minister to the people I traveled with and especially the people we were going to help.

I never worked any harder in my life. I was dog tired at the end of each day. I did take the time to sit down each evening and evaluate the day, and then we did it as a group. This helped, yet I was unsettled about some feelings of frustration. We could do this much faster if we had the right tools. Why can’t they get supplies to us when we need them? At the end of the week we finished the task set before us, and in record time. Still I was frustrated because I knew with the right tools and materials on time we could have done a great deal more.

Then I thought over the church services we attended with the people we were helping. They were grateful to their Lord for the progress, for their lives, and their blessings. They laughed easily. The dog was welcome in church. After church we left for the last time where we had labored for a week. What I remember are the happy faces, the handshakes, the children who had been our constant companions and hugs from all expressing their thanks. It was hard to leave.

On the return trip something kept nagging at the edges of my consciousness. I just could not quite figure out what was there. After a week at home and not being able to get my mind off of all I had seen and heard. It finally struck me. I went to minister to them and they had been the ones doing the ministering to. I also realized that the speed that the church is being built is of no concern to these loving people. Indeed, it had provided for nearly three years a stream of other Christians from far away coming to them to help reach a goal, and in so doing, the spirit of Christ permeated that place for all the participants. They reveled in the joy of anticipation of what is to come. One day a church. One day Christ.

In conclusion, everyone wins when one serves others, and as I found out the servers become the served. Our beloved Berea United Methodist Church is a winner for the encouragement provided to our team members. In the event you have an opportunity to serve, here at home or somewhere far away, keep in mind that by doing so you will create a community of winners in Christ.

Sincerely submitted by,
Chuck Conley

Team Sharing Dates

2008-08-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in hearing more about our experience in Honduras please make plans to come to one of the following events at our church.

Sunday Worship - August 24 The team will be sharing at the 8:30 and 11:00 services.

Wednesday - September 3 - Our church is having Pot-luck meal and the team will be making a presentation at that time.

We also will be scheduling at least one over event.

Back Home

2008-07-23T08:50:00.001-07:00

We haven't posted in a couple of days. Everyone is resting up and sorting through the volumes of photos. We just want let everyone know we made it home safely, and that good ole American cheeseburger and fries sure hit the spot.

We'll have more updates soon, and also posts on other mission work going on.

Back in Tegucigalpa

2008-07-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know we are back in Tegucigalpa at the Casal Bed and Breakfast. We will be going to dinner soon.

We met up with Ron and Loretta here and they took us to an artisan village to do some shopping. We had to spend the last of that Honduran currency some place!

I'll try to get some comments from some of the other team members and post them later tonight.

Tomorrow we are leaving for San Pedro Sula. It is a 6 hour journey, but believe me, by the time that 6 hours are over you feel like you've driven to Oregon in a car with no suspension. It is very taxing.

Thanks again for everyone's prayers, we are all safe, all of the little queasy stomachs are better now.

We all can't wait to get home and see everyone.

Wednesday in El Paraiso

2008-07-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

First of all thank you to everyone praying for us. Please continue your prayers as some of our members are little under the weather including Alehandro. Nothing serious, just some getting used to the food I think.

Church is on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights. The internet cafe closes at 8 local time so tomorrow there will not be a post. However on Friday morning we are leaving for Tegucialpa again. We should be able to post Friday evening and Saturday, and hopefully on Sunday from Houston.

I thought for this post I would just post some random notes from my personal journal and then on Friday we are going to post some from team members journals and comments.

Tonight I put comments on the pictures I posted the other night and I'll try put up some new ones.

Thanks again for everyone's support.
Bob

Day 3 - Sunday

We went to the work site after breakfast. It was a 15 minute walk through streets deep with mud and ruts from tires. There were a couple things that needed done before tomorrow that should have only taken a couple of hours. However the trustee with a key to the tool shed was two mountains away and had to come by bicycle. That took a couple more hours. So we waited and played with kids who flocked around us.

Alfredo was a huge hit, drawing them pictures. Chuck made them some paper airplanes which they flew all over the place, and Josh, Brent, and Alex played soccer with them in the muddy street.

Finally the trustee arived as did a load of sand. The sand was shoveled into buckets and passed brigade style inside the walls, up a scaffolding, up a ladder and dumped into piles onto the roof. A second load of sand was delivered and the process started all over again.

After we got these tasks accomplished we went back to the hotel and took showers, then went with the pastor and Alehandro to Danli where they showed us around. We got to see the Methodist church there that is the model for the one we are working on. It is really nice. It is the second largest Methodist church in Honduras. We also got to meet the pastor. He told us they have about 110 adults and about 80-90 kids coming to their service. He said they have about 165 members.

After we got back from Danli we went to worship with the church and to hear Pastor Santos preach. They had an extra guitar and asked Brent to play with them. He did an awesome job. The service was fantastic. Very lively and the people just welcomed us and were so grateful we had come to work.

A couple things about the service that really struck me was the enthusiastic singing and the fervent, heartfelt prayers.

Day 4 - Monday

Today was our first real work day. We are all amazed at the un-organization we face at the job site. The culture down here is very different from our fast paced, hectic days. They think nothing about waiting two hours for a load of sand or gravel. And EVERYTHING gets re-used. Nothing is wasted. Some of the boards we are using as supports have long seen their better days. But they get the job done.

Yesterday and today we formed bucket brigades and moved 5 loads of sand and gravel from outside where they dumped it to up on the roof. Brent and Josh kept looking to see if their biceps were any bigger. It was a tough job, but everyone jumped in and got it done quickly.

Again today the kids were all around us when school let out. They are so fun. They loved to have their picture taken and today took Donna's camera and took her picture with it. She ended up with a huge number of pictures, most of them of fingers in front of the lens and the ground. The kids just bond so easily with everyone. By the end of the day today, when we left to walk back to the hotel they were hugging us and giving us kisses. The boys love shaking hands and doing fist bumps.

Day 5 – Tuesday

One really cool thing today is that Melvin invited me, Corey, Alfredo, Alehandro, and Jon up to his house. We went in and his sister immediately started getting out chairs for us to sit in the living room. She made is this fantastic coffee, and served it to us in a china tea pot with cups and saucers. During the conversation they made mention to Melvin's dad that Jon wanted to ride a horse. The next thing we knew, here comes Melvin's dad leading a horse through the house! He brings it in the back door, through the kitchen, through the living room and out onto the front porch. It is about half a meter down from the walk to the street. He leads it down the sidewalk to where the walk meets the street and into the street. Jon got on it and rode bareback up and down the street a few times. Much to the amusement of all the locals who came out of their houses to watch “Gringo” ride past on a horse.

After that we walked up to the top of the hill to where the big cross is that overlooks the town. From there you can see all of El Paraiso and have a great view of the church we are working on. We also realized just how close we are to Nicaragua. We had discussed going there to cross the border and get our passports stamped, but Pastor Santos said that was not a good idea and we respected his wishes. From the top of the hill, the very next hills over is in Nicaragua. Less than 10 minutes away from the center of El Paraiso.

Day 1 – Travel and Arrival

2008-07-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

This post today is from the journal of one of our team members, Chuck Conley. The internet connection here is really slow and the cafe closes early. Tomorrow I will try to post two posts if possible. Tonight I also was able to post a few photos. You can see them from the link to the photos.

Everyone is doing great and we are all safe.

Chuck's entry:

We left Berea about 12am on July 10^th. Arrived at the airport in Knoxville at 3:30am. Houston at 7am, then San Pedro Sula at 11am.

The drive from San Pedro Sula was quite an experience. This was a 4 to hour trip to Tegucigalpa. Our drivers were aggressive as are all drivers here, and although most miles were on 2 lane highways all the driver considered them three lane highways. What appeared to us to be narrow escapes were, I am sure, every day driving experiences. Another surprise was the mountainous terrain. Most of the driving was up mountains and then down. It was high enough to make the air much cooler.

Tegucigalpa was a surprise in that it was in a bowl in the mountains with houses stacked on the hills and 2 lane streets with buildings and houses right up to the street. Traffic was chaos. No stop signs and if there was one occasionally ti was ignored.

It was a shock to many of our gang to find guards with shotguns at places we stopped.

The hill sides have been denuded with very few trees to provide fuel for cooking. Man 1 room shacks, no doors, no glass in windows. They use cloth coverings. Many hammocks on porches. Many bicycles on the roads, along with many older vehicles. Horses and cows tid up on the side of the roads where they grazed.

We stayed in the Casal Bed and Breakfast in Tegucigalpa and had dinner in an Italian restaurant down the street. Charles Bertrand gave a short devotional.

After about 22 hours of traveling every one was extremely tired. We went to ed about 9:30m local time. It is 6:50am on the 12^th and we are getting ready for breakfast and the two hour trip to El Paraiso.

The team is an interesting mix. I have bee surprised at the lack of awareness of time and place. Perhaps this comes with age. I think Alex is opening up more as many of us have been showing support for him. It is good to interact with the younger people. They are wide eyed. Maxine did not go to dinner last evening. The day was difficult for her although Jon and I handled her baggage for her. She seems recovered this morning. Although I left not feeling well I did Ok yesterday and feel still better this morning, not 100% yet.

It is a great asset to have Alfredo with us. It makes everything much easier. He is also a great people person. He reminds me of Morris.

One of the funniest things was watching people sleep on the 5 hour trip to Tegucigalpa. Bobble heads were everywhere!

We made it

2008-07-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Today we made it to San Pedro Sula airport and met the guys who were there to get us. All went smoothly, not a hassle in the bunch.

We all exchanged a few dollars at the airport, loaded the truck and vans and took off. About 5 hours or so later we ended up at our bed and breakfast in Tegucigalpa. Tomorrow morning early we continue our trip on to El Paraiso.

Tonight we are all turning in pretty early as we have been up since Thursday morning with no sleep.

We hope to be able to continue these updates from El Paraiso so check back often.

T minus 2 hours

2008-07-10T18:01:00.000-07:00

Well, we are all double checking our luggage and making ready to meet at the church in just two hours. From there we will load up the van and head down I-75 to Knoxville. Tomorrow we will be eating lunch in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Emotions are running high now, excitement, nervousness, anxiousness. "Do I have everything?" "Will the weather be ok?" "I hope I can remember enough Spanish to ask where the bathroom is!"

We will do our best to keep everyone up to date on what is going on and where we are. Check back often next week and please pray for us often.

Will You Pray for our Honduras Team?

2008-07-09T19:06:00.000-07:00

July 10-July 20

7/10 Thursday - Pray for last minute details to be completed. Pray for Safety as our team departs from Berea and travels to Knoxville, TN.

7/11 Friday – Pray for Safety Flying from Knoxville, TN to Honduras. Pray for travel to Tegucigalpa.

7/12 Saturday – Pray for safety as we travel to El Paraiso. Pray for team orientation. Pray for open minds and hearts of team members.

7/13 Sunday – Pray for our Honduras worship experience.

7/14 Monday – Pray for our work on the construction project

7/15 Tuesday – Pray for team members’ family in Berea.

7/16 Wednesday – Pray for team members’ Health.

7/17 Thursday – Pray for team members’ closeness to God.

7/18 Friday – Pray for a day of fun and fellowship.

7/19 Saturday – Pray as the team reflects over the week’s experience.

7/20 Sunday – Pray for safe return from Honduras back to Berea.

Less than 7 Days

2008-07-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

In less than 7 days our team will be departing from Berea, KY. We're flying out of Knoxville, TN through Houston, TX and then on to Honduras. We are very grateful that our team funding is almost complete and that all of our travel arrangements have worked out. We have 15 team members and will be taking almost 200 personal hygeine kits and several boxes of kids clothes down to give to the local church. We've had a great support from our individual team members, from our general church body, from our Vacation Bible School kids, and from our community. Please check back in the upcoming week for more up to date post and hopefully additional links that will be on the right side of this page for photos and other interesting links.

Gratefully.
The Berea UMC Honduras Team

Honduras Bound

2008-05-19T12:50:00.001-07:00

July 11-20 our church is sending a team of 15 to Honduras. Our 9 day trip will focus on construction of a church and a school facility in El Paraiso (approximately 1 ½ hours outside of the capital Tegucigalpa). Our hope is for each of our team members to be open to a life changing experience in both their personal relationship with the Lord and their understanding of the various needs of different cultures. We plan on developing relationships with other Honduran Christians and encouraging the work that is ongoing there.

Our trip is less than 8 weeks away and we need your help in a couple of ways.

Financially: We need assistance from our supporters to raise the last 10% or $2500 of our trip expense. The majority of these funds will go directly to pay for our material and construction cost. Checks can be made payable to BUMC and sent directly to the church office or placed in the Sunday morning offering with a memo Honduras Mission Trip.

Supplies: We are collecting Personal Hygiene Kits in partnership with the United Methodist Women. We are also in need of new or nearly new children’s clothes and shoes.

Prayer: Pray that our team will stay healthy both prior to departure and during the trip.
Pray that the hearts of our Team members will be open for what the Lord has in store for them. Pray for the people of Honduras with whom we will be working

Most importantly, we need your prayer support. Prayer is the fuel that will allow us to be successful as we follow God's leading in ministry in Honduras. Without prayer, nothing will happen.

Beginning Spanish via Alfredo Lesson 2

2008-02-10T18:45:00.000-08:00

1. Wall.................................... Pared (la).................. pah-red
2. Hammer............................. Martillo (el)............... mar-tee-yoh
3. Nail..................................... Clavo (el)................... klah-voh
4. Tasty.................................. Sabroso/a................. sah-broh-soh/sah
5. Husband............................. Esposo (el)................ es-poh-soh
6. Wife................................... Esposa (la)................ es-poh-sah
7. Daughter............................ Hija (la)..................... ee-hah
8. Son/child............................ Hijo (el)..................... ee-hoh
9. Grandfather....................... Abuelo (el)................ ah-bweh-loh
10. Grandmother..................... Abuela (la)................ ah-bweh-lah
11. Grandchild/Grandson......... Nieto (el)................... nee-eh-toh
12. Granddaughter................... Nieta (la)................... nee-eh-tah
13. Neighbor............................ Vecino (el)................. veh-see-noh
If your neighbor is a female, use “vecina”
14. Neighborhood.................... Barrio (el).................. bah-rree-oh

Team Meeting Update

2008-02-10T17:07:00.001-08:00

The lunch fundraiser netted the team more than $500 in support. Thanks again for all the supporters who helped the team prepare and for everyone who came to lunch.

Our new set of Spanish phrases will up posted soon. Don't forget to practice.

Don't forget to be praying for the Team Leaders and Team Participants.

We're close to having 40% of our Team funds in. Don't forget to send out your individual support letters over the next couple of weeks.

Our departure will have our team leaving out of Knoxville, TN on Friday 7/11 and returning to Knoxville on Sunday 7/20.

The next team meeting is set for Sunday, March 9 at 3 p.m. at the Parish House.

Hams for Sale for Easter Weekend

2008-02-10T17:03:00.000-08:00

15-17 lb Smoked and Glazed Hams are now for sale for Easter Weekend.

They will be ready to pick-up at the church on the evening of Friday 3/21 and Saturday morning 3/22.

Half Hams are $30 and Whole Hams are $55.

You can contact any team member to order or contact Skip Little at Skip.little@gmail.com or 859.625.2824.

How Can I Help?

2008-01-21T09:48:00.000-08:00

We've had several family members, friends, and others in the community ask - How can we Help with the Trip?

PRAYER

Pray for our team as we continue to meet over the next several months.
Pray that our team will stay healthy both prior to departure and during the trip
Pray that the hearts of our Team members will be open for what the Lord has in store for them
Pray for the people of Honduras who we will be working with
Pray for the Leaders of the team: Corey, Charles, Skip - that we will work to prepare the ourselves and the team for the trip
Pray for our Fundraising Efforts over the next several months

FINANCIAL

Each team member will be sending our support letters over the next month or two. Pray that this will go well and that any financial needs will be met or exceeded.
Trip Planning - pray for the leaders of the team as we work on airfare and other trip details
Fundraisers - That the group fundraisers we are planning will be successful

VOLUNTEERING

Help with setting up and planning for the fundraisers
Help with travel to and from the airport in July
Help by having a group you are affiliated with collect particular items to give to the people of Honduras
Help with packing support materials prior to the trip
Praying consistently from now through July for the trip and team members

Please contact Skip Little at 859.625.2824 or via email at skip.little@gmail.com for information on making a financial donation for the group or designated for a particular team members cost.

Lunch on Sunday 1/27

2008-01-20T10:56:00.000-08:00

Here is the menu for next Sunday's lunch after church at the Parish House. You don't want to miss it!

Baked Chicken over Country Ham surrounded with a light sour cream and mushroom sauce

Steamy Baked Patato

Herbed Green Beans

Salad

Hot Yeast Rolls

Dessert

Drinks

More Fact About Honduras

2008-01-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

Economy - overview:

Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Growth remains dependent on the status of the US economy, its major trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on containment of the recent rise in crime.

Unemployment rate: 28% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line: 53% (1993 est.)

Industries: sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products

Agriculture-products: bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp

Exports - commodities: coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber

Currency: lempira

http://www.honduras.com/vital-statistics/

Team Update

2008-01-17T10:48:00.001-08:00

Team Members are requested to assist with the Fundraiser Lunch on Sunday 1/27 at the Parish House after the 11 am service. If this day does not work for your schedule please plan on helping the set-up team on Saturday 1/26 at 10 am. Please contact Corey, Charles or Skip if you have questions.

The next team meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 10 at the Parish House.

Support letters should be sent out this month.

Honduras Stats

2008-01-07T12:31:00.000-08:00

Area - comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

Borders: Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Carribbean Sea and North Pacific Ocean

Population 6,560,608

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.8%
15-64 years: 54.6%
65 years and over: 3.6%

Religions:
97% Roman Catholic
Protestant are in the minority

Information from: http://www.honduras.com/vital-statistics/

Team Meeting Update

2008-01-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

PASSPORT - if you have not complete the PASSPORT application process please do so immediately. IF you do NOT have a passport this will prevent you from going on the TRIP.

SHAREHOLDER LETTERS - please begin working on sending your shareholder support letters out. You should have received an email from Corey. You are welcome to put the letter in your own words and we encourage you to make it personal (either by telling why you want to go on the trip in a typed format or by writing a brief note on each letter).

FUNDRAISER - January 27 we are hosting a fundraiser Lunch right after the 11 am worship service. Please make plans to attend and help so this will be a successful event.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact Corey, Charles, or Skip.

Beginning Spanish via Alfredo

2008-01-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

Buenos Diaz ............. Good Day

Buenas Tardes ........ Good Afternoon
Bueanas Noches........Good Evening
Breakfast....................Desayuno
Lunch .........................Almuerzo
Dinner........................Cena
Church....................... Iglesia
Tengo hambre..........I’m hungry
Tengo sed................. I’m thirsty
Comida......................Food
Café............................Coffee
Donde esta el bano...Where is the bathroom
Dios te bendiga.........God bless you

Team Update

2007-12-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

Thanks again for taking the time out of your schedule to join us for our first Team meeting.

Our next team meeting will be on January 6 at 3 pm at the Parish House.

We're also planning a Fundraiser Meal after church in late January.

If you haven't begun to work on applying for a passport please do so by the end of this year. If you already have a passport please make sure that it will be valid through August 1, 2008.

Also begin working on coming up with 25 names for our Prayer and Financial Support Letter. Please have a list of these names by our Meeting on 1/6/2008. You may wish to consider discussing your upcoming trip with family during the Holidays.

You should be receiving an email with the Support Letter and Share Certificate. You can add your name and an addres to this letter or write it in your own words. All checks should be sent to you individually and then you are responsible for getting them to a team leader for proper credit.

If you have any questions before our next meeting please contact a team leader.

First Team Meeting

2007-12-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

The Team is now full although we are accepting a couple of additional individuals as alternates in case something changes over the next several months. Our First meeting will be this Sunday December 9th at The Parish House in the Church.

Reminder - if you haven't started working on your Passport please go ahead and begin the process.

If you have any questions about the trip please contact Corey, Charles, or Skip.

Thanks again for being willing to take time next summer to make a difference in Honduras.