Ken Bosveld

Thanks for sharing this, Norman.  I know that the authors' intention was not "if you can't do missions perfectly, then stay home."  But it can come across that way, especially for some of the participants.  As our methods for engaging in short-term missions continues to mature, you have expressed an important part of that conversation.  The group I am involved with has encouraged past participants to read When Helping Hurts, and we are in the process of incorporating the books and videos of Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions and When Helping Hurts: The Small Group Experience into our orientation process. But each person is different, each team is different, and each host community is unique.  So one of the the things we have also brought into our 'best practices' is to, at the first opportunity to meet with the host community, ask that our time together be covered by grace and a spirit of forgiveness.  We explain that we are not on this mission trip because we are 'model Christians', but that we are sinners seeking to serve our Saviour.  Through some of those conversations we have discovered to what extent the host communities can also feel pressured, and that they too can feel as though they have been placed high on a pedestal.  Several communities have let out a collective sigh of relief as we together agreed that neither party is perfect, but let's do our best at learning about each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.

For those who are interested in great tasting coffee and want to take a step beyond Fair Trade, the Association of Rio Olancho Coffee Producers in Honduras is comprised of growers, many of whom belong to the Christian Reformed Church of El Carrizal. You can find out more at www.rioolancho.com. While this year's shipment has arrived and supplies are limited, there may be opportunities for interested churches to participate in this project in future years.

Thanks for the encouraging words, Wendy. The Carpenteros have been blessed to labour alongside Honduran brothers and sisters for the past 10 years, and the friendships we have established are truly gifts from God. We can't lay claim to the swimming in the river incident, and I am best not to mention the two team members who were washing up at the 'pila in the field' -- but we interrupted by the cows who came to drink ;-)  And, in a shameless plug for our Honduran friends in rural Olancho, individuals and churches interested in high quality, Direct Trade coffee grown by farmers - many of whom are members of the Honduran CRC - please email [email protected] and we'll pass along the details.

Finally, excellent staff like Irene, Ana and their team at CRWRC-Honduras deserve credit also for the tireless work they put in to prepare teams, communities, and look beyond the trip for ways that North Americans and Hondurans can build relationships that go much deeper than the short time that a team is in the community.

God is doing amazing things in Honduras.  His Spirit is transforming communities.  Christ's love is evident in so many ways.  He doesn't need us to accomplish what He is doing there, but He blesses us by allowing us to catch glimpses of His love in action.

My sense is the vast majority if not all of the N.A. teams serving in Honduras are aware of the situation faced by ASJ/AJS, and are aware that Dionisio's killers have been released even though they were each sentenced to 20 years.  We definitely need to keep these matters in our constant prayers.

But it is not just human rights/justice advocates who face daily dangers in Honduras.....the message below arrived a few hours ago, and knowing that many who read this will know Arturo Colindres, please keep him and other DN workers in your prayers.

Arturo called this morning asking for you to excuse him because he won't be able to send a picture of all the coffee farmers; it seems like violence is also reaching El Carrizal, a  few months ago the former mayor of Santa Maria del Real (he is originally from El Carrizal) was murder, this has bring a family and now a community feud between del Real and Carrizal because a relative of the victim returned from the US looking for vengeance and establish himself in Carrizal.  Claudio and others recommended Arturo not to come because he is danger just by living in Santa Maria, they warned him they could take him as a spy.  One of the (coffee) producer Glenda Mejia is the sister of the victim; so Arturo is trying for all of them to meet him in Guacoca but is not sure when it will be.

we need to pray for our friends in El Carrizal so that none of them become victims.

Thanks for sharing this Abe, and thank you for the work that you and your colleagues continue to do to transform Honduran society.  May God bless, protect and strengthen all of you.

Skype has become a great way to connect with missionaries who are members of our congregation.  It has allowed us to bring them into our worship service to share prayer requests and to pray together. Skype isn't as good as a 'real' hug, but when missionaries are half-way around the world, it's a wonderful way to keep congregations and missionaries connected with one another, and to pray together.

Staci, you have always been a delight to work with. Your cheerfulness and positive attitude are inspiring and have a marvelous way of bringing out the best in others.  Shouting "Thank You" is insufficient for expressing gratitude for all that you have done.

My prayer is that your additional Mom Time will instill memories for your children that rival the beautiful memories you have shared in this post.  And may God bless you richly in the important ministry work to teen moms.  Thank you! We will miss you.