6/6/22
Cindy prepared us a classic Honduran breakfast this morning 🙂 She had to show us how we might eat a cheese quesadilla topped with refried beans and a fried egg and/or salsa. Breakfast was a little earlier today so we could make sure we were at the school in Ciudad Espana on time for our 8 AM meeting with the principal, Olga. Groups of 3 (including an interpreter) were ready to go into 2 grade levels to teach. COR’s own Callie Williams, who has been teaching at the school for two years, had the kids prepared with their family trees to share. Each 40-minute class time went by quickly. We all look forward to returning manana!
Today, we got to visit a new community. Karla drove us to Los Pinos where her father and mother are both pastors! We were pleased to help dig the foundation and prepare rebar for a new kitchen at their church(where they feed upwards of 60 children every Sunday!) Some of our group might have some sore muscles tomorrow. All were touched as we worked alongside church members and saw reinforcements coming in after returning from work
18 yr old Maria, a new translator who just started a week ago, offered a beautiful dinner grace and we indulged in another fantastic meal of Cindy’s (with help from Gina). When was the last time you had hand-cut cole slaw?
Natalie’s devotions focused Wesley’s covenant prayer…”put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will…” We hope we are being that kind of servant!
6/5/22
After a pancake and bacon breakfast, we headed from the Mission House through Tegucigalpa to Ciudad Espana. After coming through in rain and darkness last night, it was good to see Tegucigalpa in daylight. The city is surrounded by mountains and we traveled on several of them today! It was a scenic drive to Ciudad Espana.
Upon arrival at the church, we noticed a number of children in the courtyard. By the beginning of worship, there were probably 50 or 60 young children through middle school age many of whom came without an adult! Several loving adults took great care in leading the children through prayer and then an hour of dancing in front of the congregation as everyone sang songs accompanied by a keyboard and drums. The sermon was delivered by a pregnant female pastor who is due in 15 days! She reminded us that God is with us, fights for us, and calls us by name, we only need to respond.
Following the service, the church folks served us a very tasty chicken and vegetables and rice dish. Interpreters were throughout the room, so we could visit with other worshipers. Ruth was thrilled to be able to visit with Rebeca, the student she sponsors for school. Rebeca’s family was also present. The Honduran Sponsorship coordinator, Amanda, introduced us to many of the church leaders.
We ended up heading to Park of Christ in our church attire because of uncertainty of the weather. (It’s winter in Honduras and that means more rain.) The view from the base of the Christ statue was in credible. A couple of our more in shape members ran up a set of steep concrete stairs (while the rest of us wondered if it would be an incident that would have to be reported). We saw the section of the city that were destroyed by hurricane Mitch in 1998. The Christ statue was placed in memory of the thousands who lost their lives in that storm.
Enroute back to the mission house, we stopped at a and upscale grocery store and purchased more snacks. Our cook, Cindy, prepared a wonderful dinner that was topped off by pineapple upside down cake (made from scratch!) our Honduran leader, Milton, exhibited great cooking skill in preparing the sauce for the chicken😀. Cindy and her assistant Gina, joined us at the table for dinner. We are really coming to love and appreciate our hosts and interpreters!
Milton, Jorge, Franklin, Bessie, and Maria are worth their weight in gold for the members of our group who can’t speak Spanish! After dinner, we planned our first day of lessons, were reminded today is PENTECOST and shared selected persons we met today that we will pray for. Milton seems excited about our service opportunity tomorrow…hang on, we’ll tell you about it then!
BLOG…day 1
It was a middle-of-the-night arrival (4:45am)at KCI for our merry band of 11. Having had several ore-trip meetings & a meal together, we were excited to gather veteran (Cheryl, Joel, Melissa and Natalie) and newbie (Bill, Monty, Ruth, Ryan and Sally) Honduran travelers for this adventure. Under the capable leadership of Alex and Joyce, the team just clicked!!
We cleared long check-in and TSA lines with our personal carry-on bags…our 4 pre-packed suitcases with supplies for our Honduran friends were checked. The flight to Dallas went smoothly and lunch at TGI Fridays was tasty (great waitress named Amani, too!) Ruth and Sally enjoyed “talking Pittsburgh” with a Swedish flight attendant who spent 25 yrs in their hometown (home of the Steelers). Seeing the beautiful terrain as we approached the airport at Comayagua brought home the reality that we were, indeed, headed to do God’s work Ciudad Espana.
It was a happy reunion for veteran Honduran missioners when they saw Milton after clearing Control de Pasaporte. Next, it was over the mountain to the Mission House in Tegucigalpa! Milton and Jorge navigated the mountain road with great skill…through the rain! One stop was made enroute…to purchase mangoes at a roadside stand. Several yellow diamond-shaped signs warned of rabbit crossings!
Cindy had a delicious dinner of baleadas which are home made tortillas filled with beans, avocados, plantains, sour cream and cheese. Most of us hadn’t had nance, a tasty fruit drink. We found out we like to sing…for our supper…& in worship. We were blest by the update from Osias Segura a United Methodist Volunteers in Mission. He works to help equip pastors throughout Latin America alongside his wife Desiree they are based in Tegucigalpa. During devotions, Sally read from Colossians 3:23 reminding us of our call to be in service to others. Several members of the group were hard-pressed to come up with a “low” for the day…
“highs” seemed to come easily!!
BIG IDEA
Relationships bring hope tasks can't do that. People always come before tasks.
Call to Action – Try a Serve trip!
Did listening to Courtney & Robin inspire you to try a serve trip? Maybe listening this week reminded you why you love to serve cross-culturally. It's not too late! If you're worried that you don't live in KC no need! We can Zoom you in for team meetings so anyone anywhere can join us for serve trips! Learn more, or sign-up here: cor.org/trips
Key Info
As you were listening to Milton & Joyce you might have heard them using two different acronyms. In Methodism we seem to really love those acronyms! UMVIM stands for United Methodist Volunteers in Mission and IMT stands for In Mission Together. (read more about these programs by clicking the acronyms that are blue)
Milton serves in both roles for all the United Methodist Churches in Honduras. As an UMVIM coordinator Milton helps schedule and plan for Mission teams. As an IMT coordinator Milton helps manage cross-cultural church partnerships. Church of the Resurrection partners with two different congregations one in El Obraje and one in Ciudad Espana. Milton helps facilitate partnerships like ours so they remain focused and intentional.
Milton Illovares - UMVIM & IMT coordinator - Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Milton has been working as a Missionary or doing some form of mission work for over 20 years. He is motivated to continue by the results he's seen. These results are not necessarily buildings that were built, or a number of meals given out. The results he's talking about are transformed lives and communities. He thinks the world would be a better place if people were empowered to serve alongside one another instead of just doing things for people. He believes in living this out. A few fun facts about Milton, he's incredibly competitive, he loves traveling, he's a trained chef, and he LOVES coffee.
TAKEAWAY
"The key to flexibility is a sense of humor!" On serve trips and in life flexibility is key. You can plan something to death but things inevitably change last minute. Be as prepared as you can, but be ready to laugh and pivot when it doesn't all go the way you anticipated. Look for those moments to connect with people and build relationships.
BIG IDEA
How do we think about relationships? We prioritize people over tasks.
Strong & trusting relationships are the foundation of every partnership, whether they be personal or professional. Without a solid relational foundation, communication can be misinterpreted, partnerships can be fractured, and progress will be stalled. Join us as we dig deeper into the importance of relationships as we hear from Milton in Honduras, and Hugo & Mercy in Malawi.
Do you want to do a deeper dive on the benefits of relationships? Check out this Forbes article!
What does it mean when we talk about equal partnerships? Clear and open communication, intentional relationship building, prioritizing local leadership and vision, a focus on connection not tasks, and more listening than talking!
CALL TO ACTION
This week we are highlighting partner schools. You can serve in a local partner school or support a global partner school.
There are multiple ways to engage whether your local to Kansas City, or elsewhere! You can pack backpacks with food for the weekends, tutor students, work the book mobile, or even donate to the Partner School Amazon wish list. We also have global partner schools where you could sponsor a classroom for as little as $37.00 a month!
Learn more by following the link below!
https://cor.org/leawood/localimpact/serve-youth
MEET THE VOICES
Milton Illovares – Honduras – UMVIM & IMT Coordinator
Milton is a coffee enthusiast who went to culinary school. He decided to become a missionary instead of working as a chef because he could not ignore his call. He strongly believes in the power of building relationships. Milton works at the United Methodist Mission in Honduras as the UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers in Mission) & IMT (In Mission Together) Coordinator.
Milton is competitive and hilarious – he will beat you at board games. Never to fear, after he beats you, he still tells you where to find the best coffee, and how to pick the perfect piece of fruit.
Hugo Ngwira – Malawi – Director of Opulence
Hugo has been involved in our partnership since 2010. At the beginning of our relationship Hugo worked for the United Methodist Church in Malawi. Now, in addition to working for the UMC, Hugo is the director of Opulence. Opulence is a non-profit organization in Malawi focused on holistic community development. He graduated from Africa University, and recently completed his masters – it’s fair to say he is a very busy & intelligent man. He loves God deeply & an outstanding example of Christian love.
Some advice on building relationships from Hugo, "Encourage people who are discouraged."
Mercy Chikhosi - Malawi Founder & Director of Wandikweza
Mercy graduated from Africa University, with a BS in Nursing. She received a Master's in Public Health from Walden University.
After Mercy worked as a nurse and served as the Health Coordinator for the church MUMC (Malawi United Methodist Church). She then served as the Malawi Country Manager for ZOE empowers. She currently is Founder and Executive Director of Wandikweza, a mobile healthcare organization that delivers care to everyone who needs it. They support the Malawi Public health system and prioritize care for maternal and child health.
Mercy has 3 children, Grace working in the health field, Isabelle in Marketing and Jean Claude is doing an internship, in his final year at university.
Some advice on relationships from Mercy - Relationships take relational capital. You have to invest your time to be part of a community. It took Mercy two years to become a part of her community. She attended weddings, funerals, and major celebrations and worked at building trust. She recommends listening and learning as much as possible from people. Be present, be willing to do the work.
Thanks for listening!