What does $200 buy? That is the amount of money that the First Baptist Church of Cooperstown, New York annually sends through American Baptist Churches to missionaries in Honduras, Haiti, Mexico, South Sudan, Lebanon, and Thailand. This year, Lizzy and Cindy Falk from Cooperstown got to see firsthand what a difference that small amount of money can make. With it we were able to distribute food (chicken, rice, beans, noodles, coffee, tomato paste, flour, and lard) and other necessary items (toilet paper, laundry detergent, garbage bags, and soap) to 10 families in the mountains of northern Honduras. Because ours was not the only donation, our mission team packaged and delivered food to 20 families that are part of a small congregation in an area only accessible by heavily rutted dirt roads leading to a wood-planked suspension bridge. The congregation there had been praying that God would provide for their needs, and through God’s grace and the diligence of missionary Dilia Zelaya in Azacualpa, Honduras, their prayers were answered. This was the first time that donations of food from the American Baptist ministry in Azacualpa found their way to this remote location.

Cindy and Lizzy were part of a team of six from the United States who traveled to Honduras from June 10-18. Luke Palumbo, also from FBC Cooperstown, was also part of the trip, but he did not help deliver food because he was engaged in more grueling physical labor, helping a team of Honduran workers remove trees from land that will soon be the location of a kindergarten. Cindy and Lizzy visited the children who will be attending school there soon. The class is currently borrowing space and during our visit the center of the classroom was already filled with rebar to be used to fence in the new property. Our group taught the children about God’s promises through the story of Noah’s Ark. Like the rainbow, their new school will also be a sign of God’s goodness.

We worked with children throughout most of our week in Honduras. Our home base was a mission center know in English as the Honduras Children’s Home, which is overseen by Dilia. It is home to nine children who are orphaned or separated from their families, as well as short term missionaries like us who have come to volunteer their time and talents. It serves as a school for approximately fifty young people in kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a church where Sunday school classes and worship are held. It provides a feeding program for area children who come by bus Monday through Friday for lunch at no cost to their families. And it is a place of joy with a playground, soccer field, space for dance classes, and gringos like us who provide diversion and a chance to practice English.

We did some work to improve the house where we stayed, painting two bedrooms and the common area. We also went into the local community, where we painted the home of a couple and their adult son, who is inflicted with polio, a disease almost unheard of in the United States today. Their house has been built with the help of other mission teams, and we transformed the walls from white plaster to a jubilant rosy orange. We also got to see the completed house we had helped with last year by mixing concrete for the floor.

Most importantly, our team served as the hands and feet of God, whether it was by delivering food, pulling trees, acting out Bible stories, painting walls, or just playing with the children. As our leader John Buskey explained, by God’s grace we have an abundance, and we therefore are called upon to share with those in need. Honduras is one of the poorest counties in Latin America, and it has the highest murder rate in the world. Yet during our time there we came to understand that God is good and ever present, a constant source of strength, comfort, and hope, even in the most trying of conditions. We were privileged to be part of God’s work, and we thank others for being part of it, too, through their financial support and prayers.

If you would like to know how YOU can participate in a ministry trip to Honduras, email us or call at 1-800-222-3872 ext 2366.