Newsletter - May, 2014
| May, 2014 Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matt. 25:40 Published by the Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210. (717) 349-7033 |
This past February, I wrote a newsletter article about an extremely poor Honduran widow named Carmen and her son, Omar. Carmen is 47 years old, but because of severe crippling arthritis, she is unable to work. So her son Omar, who is now 13 years old, was working two jobs to support them. They live in a small tin shelter that was constructed for them by the former mayor of Sig-uatepeque on a lot that he owns. At the time I wrote the newsletter, Carmen and Omar were sleeping side by side on a twin box springs on the dirt floor of their shelter. They had no furni-ture. In the February newsletter, I also spoke of several other extremely poor people in and around Siguatepeque whom we had come across. We invited our readers to help us to build better hous-ing for these people and to purchase a bunk bed and other items for Carmen. We received a very generous response from our readers, and so I thought I would update you on what we’re doing right now for Carmen and the others.
Shortly after we sent out the February newsletter, Luis (our main director in Honduras) obtained a bunk bed, mattresses and linens for Carmen and Omar. He also bought her a tortilla press and other items. The tortilla press will allow Carmen to make tortillas despite her arthritis. On our last visit, we had already donated a rocket stove to Carmen, on which she can cook tortillas. Luis also took Carmen to a local doctor for a checkup. It turned out that, in addition to her arthritis, she has also been suffering from parasites, for which she is now being treated. After sleeping on the bunk bed the first night, Carmen told Luis, “I slept great for the first time in years! When Omar and I were sharing the box springs, he always kicked me in the ribs in his sleep.” She also loves her new tortilla press and rocket stove, which enable Omar and her to have tortillas at their meals each day.
Luis was able to get Omar re-registered for school, and Omar is now attending school. He dropped one of his jobs in order to attend school. Luis talks periodically with Omar’s teachers and has learned that he is doing well in school. Sadly, Omar’s other job has run out, and so right now he is out of work. To help Carmen and Omar, three different people are presently bringing them food on a regular basis. These three people are (1) Luis’ wife Etelia, (2) the wife of the former mayor (who provides the place for Carmen to live), and (3) Carmen’s former employer.
Housing On the housing front, we’ve run into an obstacle that I hadn’t anticipated. It turns out that the poor families we told you about in the February newsletter are all either squatting or living with tacit permission on someone else’s land. So first we have had to find some land for them before we can build anything. Otherwise, if we build houses where each of them presently lives, the houses will belong to the owners of the land, who could evict them at any time.
Thankfully, a brother has donated some land to help out one of the families. So the work is pres-ently in progress to build them a house. Luis was able to get two of the local churches involved in the project, which has been a real help. Luis thinks it may work to build a house for Carmen and Omar on this same land.
Please pray that we will be able to come up with additional land for the other needy families. Also, please pray that Omar will be able to find another part-time job that he can work at after school each day. Finally, you may remember Bibi, the young woman we wrote about last fall with the serious health problems. She had recovered her ability to walk, but now she is having severe problems again. Please pray for her.
David Bercot
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: Donations
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