Newsletter - May, 2020
| May, 2020 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 |
And whoever shall give one of these little ones merely a cup of cold water to drink in the name of one of My disciples, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. (Mark 9:41)
As we explained in the last newsletter, most of Honduras has been under total lockdown for the past two months. Mail is not even allowed to enter the country. The Society of the Good Shepherd has been delivering to needy families large garbage-size bags stuffed full of basic food items like rice, beans, and corn flour. The food bag is accompanied with eggs, and with a second bag containing sanitation items like soap, Clorox, and toilet tissue. Here is a report from our correspondent in Honduras:
It’s hard for us to comprehend life without even the basic necessities like food and water, but these needs have become ever more real here in Honduras. The quarantine continues to place the neediest people in total reliance upon the Lord for their daily food. With the generous help from the Society of the Good Shepherd, many people here have seen the Lord show up at their doorstep through His kingdom workers. The food distribution has been done under the direction of two of the Society directors here, Luis Vega and Alfredo Lainez. 
Alfredo expressed to me how it is hard to imagine that people here literally have nothing: no food, no work, no income to support themselves and their families. Furthermore, they don’t have savings, and they don’t have options during this quarantine. All the people who receive the emergency food bags from the Society have close to nothing and no way of getting help in any other way. Alfredo told me that after giving out a food bag to one family, his wife received a phone call from the mother of the family. She was crying on the phone with tears of gratitude. She told Alfredo’s wife that until the food arrived, they literally had nothing to eat. From some missionaries, the Society learned about Luis and Carla, a blind couple who had completely fallen through the cracks and were in desperate straits. So Luis brought a food parcel to them right away.
Chepe and Ventura, who live in the countryside, walked twelve miles to Luis’ house to ask for a food parcel. They explained to Luis that they had been reduced to eating the flowers from yucca plants, which grow throughout the countryside. These flowers are edible, but they don’t provide much nutrition. Chepe and Ventura had been boiling them and eating them with tortillas. They were grateful beyond words to have real food once more. Simona lives in a very humble dwelling and is supported by her son. However, he has been unable to work because of the quarantine. When Luis entered her house with a food parcel, he discovered that her cupboard was completely empty except for a small bag of salt and a little bit of rice.
Gerson is one of the persons who has had a Society loan, and he had faithfully paid it off several years ago. He and his neighbors, Antonio and Lucia, all sell souvenirs along the highway. However, with the forced lockdown in place, very few vehicles have been on the highways these past two months. This has brought each family’s income down to less than $1.00 a day. So Gerson rode his motor bike to Luis’ house to pick up bags of food for his family and for the families of Antonio and Lucia. Within hours of receiving her food parcel, Lucia called Luis and told him that her food had just run out that morning. She had nothing further to feed her children. She did not know what she was going to do. She could not contain her gratitude for this gift from God. We have been praying for rain here in Honduras as the dry season has been longer than usual. The reservoirs are dry, and most families in the communities surrounding Siguatepeque have gone 17-22 days without receiving a drop of water. The lack of water creates another type of desperation. With this need in mind, Luis loaded a large tank (about 5-6 barrels) on his pickup, filled it with well water, and was able to bring it to a family who was in desperate need of water.
As he was emptying the tank, several neighbors came up to inquire if there was any way for them to get water as well. Luis made two more trips and was able to give four more families much needed relief from the drought. One of the families was living in a small makeshift shelter by the road. They were out of both food and water. This week we have received two rainstorms, and we are thanking God that this dry season appears to be ending. So at least people will now have water. Thank all of you for your generous help. It has made an unbelievable difference in people’s lives. Julie Nyhoff
Note: The government of Honduras announced that they hope to lift the nationwide quarantine on May 24. There will still be tough restrictions in place, but it should ease the desperate situation that presently exists. We will keep delivering food parcels as long as the need remains, which may continue for another month or so.
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
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