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Help for Honduras |
In the News! Part 2 What follows are a story and an editorial that appeared in the Times Mail newspaper from Bedford, Indiana. MISSION of MERCY Despite political turmoil, Help for Honduras continues charitable work BRYANTSVILLE — Another load of corn left the bagging and loading facility of the Bryantsville Hunger Relief Project, Inc. on Oct. 27. That, in and of itself, is nothing new. It has been going on in some form for the past 24 years. But this load was special for Allen Burris, minister of the Mitchell Church of Christ and long-time supporter of BHRP. This load was going to Honduras to people he knew and whose needs he knew as well. Burris and a team from the Mitchell Church of Christ were in Honduras earlier this year at a time of political unrest, and an overthrow of the government took place during their stay. It was a troubling time for friends and family here, although those on the trip said they felt secure. They did limit their activity to outside the major cities, where most of the unrest was taking place. It was during this time the team members became aware of the needs of the people of this third-world country. But they got to know more than the needs; they got to know the people, by visiting and working with them in various projects. It was with the people in mind that Burris and the church founded Help For Honduras, which partners with other Christian ministries actively serving the Honduran people. Help for Honduras is also partnering with two other Mitchell area missions to further help the Honduran people. First they are working with the Bryantsville Hunger Relief Project, Inc. to provide high lysine corn to the hungry people in the country. They also are partnering with Capstone Ministries, the parent organization of the ReGeneration Store in Mitchell, to ship excess clothing, toys, household goods and more to the people who need it in Honduras. “The load of corn and other supplies for the people of Honduras we shipped last week is hopefully the first of many,” said Burris. “I’m really excited to bring together several of my interests to meet the needs of people that we actually know, giving them such simple things as shoes, toys and clothing.” Several boxes of surplus items from ReGeneration were included in the Oct. 27 shipment. “We had a group from the church who just returned from Honduras on Oct. 25. They went back to the area where we were working in June and they were able to do some of the work we were unable to do because of the political situation. They built houses and installed water treatment systems.” More piping was shipped with the corn on Oct. 27 to assist with additional water treatment facilities to be constructed in the future. The main goal of the new mission is to build houses for the people of Honduras. The people there live in large family groups in very small houses. By building houses, the ministry is meeting one of the greatest needs of the people. |
The houses built are simple homes and can be built in a few hours. They cost about $1,200 to build. “We went to Honduras in June as part of a larger group,” Burris said. “After that we wanted to be more involved than going down once a year for a week or two. We want to go three or four times a year. Our goal is to serve God’s creation in real, practical ways.” Burris said he believes that those who go on mission trips, even short-term ones, find them to be life-changing, Or at least they come back with a greater appreciation of what we have in this country, and they also generally experience some significant spiritual insight. “These people may never go on a mission trip again, but they are more aware of people’s needs,” Burris said. “They may see a need across the street or in their community and they try to help. There are places to serve right here in our own community.” ^^^^^ The Sin of Sodom and helping the Poor by Allen Burris Most of us think of a certain thing when we hear of the sin of the city of Sodom. Here’s a startling thought. God, speaking through Ezekiel, says that the sin of Sodom is this: “They did not help the poor and needy.” Why? Because they “were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned” (Ezekiel 16:49). A few years ago I arrived at one of those highlights of life. I had just defended successfully the culmination of my doctoral work. Relieved and mentally exhausted, I went for a short run to unwind. As I was cooling down, I heard a voice. It was my voice, but I am fairly sure God was doing the talking. A question came several times, “What are you going to do with the rest of your life?” My answer was surprisingly quick and decisive. “I am going to serve the poor.” How, I was not sure, but many opportunities presented themselves and continue to do so. Serving the poor is important to God. Jesus said that the poor would always be with us. It seems that in some ways the poor are a test to see how well we have appropriated the love of God. Jesus identifies himself with the poor and even says that service to them is service to him (Matthew 25:31-46). Thanks to a lot loving people in our area I have had the opportunity to serve the poor and needy in lots of good and interesting ways alongside some of the most caring people on earth. There are endless opportunities to get involved; just look around. Last summer 16 of us from the church where I work left our homes and went to Honduras, and 16 of us came back as changed people. We saw poverty unlike anything we had seen before. We built structures that would not pass here for lawnmower sheds and then watched people weep as they received them not simply as houses but as homes. Sometimes people ask, “Why go there when there is so much to do here?” It’s a good and fair question. I think we should not neglect our local area, but I also believe God wants us to think and work globally. He does not see borders and boundaries. He sees precious people created in his image no matter where they to live. Sometimes, if not most of the time, people living elsewhere are suffering more than people living here. Both should be helped; all should be helped. Jesus repeatedly said that the most important thing for his followers is to love God with all they have and to love their neighbors as themselves. In one of his most famous stories (found in Luke 10) he makes it clear that our neighbors are not simply those near us or like us, rather the Christian concept of neighbor reaches across all boundaries and borders: racial, national, socio-economical, and others. It is gratifying to see a connection from this area to people living in Honduras. Corn grown in Bryantsville feeds people living in Tegucigalpa and beyond, and has for many years, thanks to the vision of Sherwood family. Shoes, shirts, toys, and other things collected by individuals and churches are meeting the needs of people living on the edge of desperation. Excess donations to the ReGeneration store in Mitchell find new life on the bodies of precious people who speak another language. It’s easy to sit back as overfed and unconcerned people. Maybe it’s an unwilling and unintentional arrogance, yet it leads to neglecting the folks who most need help. Working with the poor is hard and sometimes frustrating and aggravating. Yet if we are faithful to our identity as people of God, then we must not neglect them, whether they live here or there. I’ve learned that in many ways we are all the same; we are fellow travelers in life, just trying to make it through. I am thankful to live among so many people who do care and model God’s love everyday. Go to: Front Page Houses Latest News Trips Taken so Far Links In the News In the News part 3 |