Walking with the poor - notes from the field

MISSION AWARENESS TRIP TO HONDURAS
June 23-30, 2007

CFCA started in Honduras in 1985 in El Progreso,Yoro, where Co-founder Jerry Tolle had lovingly served as a missionary for many years. Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras in 1998, leaving 6,500 confirmed dead, 13,000 missing and 1.5 million homeless. The Honduran Department of Agriculture estimated that 70 percent of the crops were destroyed. Considering the tremendous need and at the request of many poor families, CFCA began projects in Suyapa, Santa Barbara and Juticalpa.

Al Hauck with his newly sponsored little girl Lina, Lina’s mother and little sister.

Progress in Ocotepeque

In 1992, CFCA began working in Ocotepeque with 10 families and 15 sponsored children. Currently, CFCA-Ocotepeque consists of 12 subprojects with 2,524 sponsored children, 75 aging, and 123 scholars (on CFCA scholarships). The project serves 1,495 families in 30 rural communities and 16 urban areas. To date, 160 sponsored children and scholars have earned professional titles. In addition, 53 new homes have been built for families and improvements have been made to about 800 homes.

On our final day in Ocotepeque, we visited the 209 sponsored families in the rural area of San Marcos. Seems like all the families were present when we gathered in the shade of the huge ceiba tree (Tree of Life for the Maya). Sponsors characterized these unspoiled, affectionate people as “walking love.” This group of sponsors came to Honduras prepared for further involvement. Twenty new children were sponsored this beautiful day.

After seven years as sponsors, Shirley and James Ranieri are welcomed into the village of their sponsored boy, Isaias. While here they sponsored another boy from this village who had lost his sponsor.

A beautiful rolling tide of children

Thursday was spent in the beautiful mountainous country well beyond the town of Dulce Nombre de Jesus in the Department of Santa Rosa. Our large gathering took place beneath the natural canopy of branches in a place called San Jose del Bosque (St. Joseph of the Forest). For the rural poor, fresh pine needles on the ground signify that something special is about to happen.

Like a beautiful tide rolling in with each song, dance, dramatization or poem during the welcoming program, rows of little children kept moving in waves closer and closer to center stage. Sweetness and enthusiasm characterize the CFCA families of these rural villages. It’s the rainy season now. In four-by-four pickups that look like they’ve been somewhere, we viewed strikingly beautiful countryside. Our enchantment with the shades of green was sobered later when we learned that most of the land we had seen this day is owned by one wealthy family.

By splitting into five groups, we were able to visit 10 families. Each family expressed great gratitude and hope for the CFCA program in their settlement (too little to be called a village). Early this morning, most of these families had walked over hill and dale to attend our gathering. Not one of the families I visited owned land on which to plant. They either rent from the landowner or hire out as field hands earning $3.00 per day.

Luis Alfredo Jaco, son of Luis and Miriam Jaco, and friends at a rural area of San Marcos, Honduras.

Freedom for God’s people

A beautiful full moon accompanies us as we drive between Santa Rosa and San Pedro Sula—even wilder than usual—it’s the fiesta patronal (patron saint celebration). This has been a very good and full trip. I want to hold on high the staffs of Ocotepeque and Santa Rosa Projects. I also want to recognize and honor the tremendous contribution to the trip of two young men, our son, Jake Hentzen, and Luis Alfredo Jaco, son of Luis and Miriam Jaco.

As I pray in gratitude on July 4, I want to strive each day for the true freedom of God’s people. Thank you for being with us in our efforts to encourage and enable communities of compassion in Honduras and around the world.

Bob Hentzen
Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras
June 30, 2007

The June 2007 Honduras mission awareness trip group in the mountain wind above Ocotepeque.

Sponsor a child in Honduras

Read the notes from other mission awareness trips