A few months ago, we wrote a newsletter about Ada Luz, a widow who has persevered through some trying times and has supported herself with a business that sells school and office supplies. Ada is a friend of another Christian sister, Iris Fernandez, who has also persisted through some tough trials. Here is Iris’ story.
Iris and her husband lived in Siguatepeque for thirty years or more. Many years ago, Iris’ husband decided to illegally enter the United States to work there for awhile and get ahead financially. This is a practice that the Society strongly discourages. Not only is it in violation of Caesar’s law, but in most cases it destroys the family. One or both spouses usually end up becoming unfaithful to the other.
Iris’ husband left for the United States, and she has never heard from him since. No one knows if he met some tragedy on his journey, or if he made it to the United States and decided to abandon her and start a new life. Either way, Iris refused to give up. She knew God would see her through the trials ahead if she would trust in Him and persevere.
Before her husband left for the United States, Iris had been operating a specialty cake business out of her home. She has been running this business for 28 years now, and it has supported her through these difficult years. Ten years ago, Iris began to supplement her income by raising flowers and succulent plants in her backyard and selling them. Her dual business is called “Iris’s Corner.”
Iris has an adult daughter who was a preschool teacher until the pandemic hit. Now this daughter helps Iris with her home business. They are both active Christians and attend a church located right across the street from their home. They are involved with Sunday school and in cooking for various church events. The church has been a wonderful provider of emotional support for Iris and her daughter since her husband disappeared.
For a Honduran bakery, there are two holidays that bring in the most revenue during the year: Christmas and Mother’s Day. Iris was gearing up for the Christmas season this past November, when her mixer suddenly broke. Her friend Ada told her about the ministry of the Society of the Good Shepherd, and the Society provided Iris with an interest-free small business loan. She used the funds to purchase a new Kitchen Aid mixer and a blender for her baking business. She was also able to restock her baking supplies in advance of the holiday rush. Not only that, with the remainder of the loan, Iris was able to purchase more potting soil and clay pots to expand her plant business.
God has blessed Iris with many talents, which has enabled her home businesses to prosper. Her bakery customers request all sorts of specialty items—from unique wedding cakes to specially decorated cupcakes, to distinctive homemade candies. And Iris is able to satisfy their wishes. She normally bakes and decorates anywhere from five to twenty cakes a week. The picture above shows some fruit-shaped candies that Iris made from marzipan at the special request of one of her customers.
Iris is a tremendously hard worker, and she has also made her home flower and plant business thrive. She has hundreds of succulents and flowers growing all throughout her backyard. In Honduras, the growing season is year-round. Iris receives orders by internet and from local customers, and she ships orchids, begonias, and other popular floral plants throughout the country in various ways. She can re-pot up to 50 succulents a day, and she loves participating in the annual flower garden event that Siguatepeque hosts every October. She is also very thrifty, and she tries to use recycled pots in any way she can.
Iris wanted me to thank the donors of the Good Shepherd Society for making her loan possible. It saved her from a crisis situation (when her mixer broke), and it has enabled Iris and her daughter to support themselves in these trying times in Honduras.
Julie Nyhoff de Valladares
The Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210 • (717) 349-7033
Click on the following link if you would care to make a donation to the work in Honduras: Honduras Donations