Feliz Navidad, Island Style

By Katie

My mom, dad and sister Emily had the wonderful opportunity to come to Honduras to celebrate Christmas with Matt and I. We went to the funky island of Utila, an island off the north coast of Honduras filled with scuba divers from around the world. We had a wonderful time visiting, swimming/snorkling and exploring a new part of Honduras together. And, my mother reports that both Matt and I look healthier than she expected. Thanks, Mom!

It was a memorable Christmas and I'm so thankful that my family got to come share the experience.

Buena Vista and Alfalit

By Katie

Just before Christmas Matt and I had the opportunity to do an intercambio, an exchange with another CRWRC-sponsored organization called Alfalit. We traveled with CRWRC staffers Ana and Irene to Olanchito to meet with the Alfalit staff and stopped in on some of the folks benefiting from their programs.

We went to one community called Buena Vista to hold a meeting with some of the community members. These folks will be receiving a group of the Carpenteros from Ontario who will be building latrines and visiting with some groups they provide microloans for. I don't often get to attend meetings like these, so I found it to be very interesting. The meeting began with introductions of everyone, and Irene spoke a bit about the work that CRWRC does through its partner organizations in Honduras. Ana then led a discussion on cross-cultural communication, which was really fun to listen to from the minority standpoint. They talked about what work the Canadians would be doing and a little about how they might react to certain things. The community members spent some time nailing down the logistics of where the Carpenteros people would sleep, who would do the cooking and reminders to get the sand and water prepared for the cement before the group came, and to help single mothers do the same. I had heard that this community was on-the-ball when it came to organizing themselves, and they really proved it at this meeting!

God at Work (or, a biodigester for grandma)

By Matt

On our most recent project for the Ag/Environment program David and I got a glimpse into how God is working through Diaconia Nacional. We spent a week in the community of Los Charcos, teaching the people how to make biodigesters and building one for free as an example. A biodigester is a system that uses manure to produce methane gas for cooking, and it is helpful because it reduces the need for firewood, and also eliminates smoke in the kitchen.

On the first day we had the exciting activity of selecting who would get the example biodigester built at their home. 18 people showed up at the first meeting, so we put 18 little slips of paper in a bowl one of which said "biodigester" and handed them out. There was one older woman at the meeting who wasn't really sure if she could make it to the training all week because her house was pretty far away and she has a tough time walking, and she had no-one to look after her house while she was gone. A lot of the other people were really glad that she had showed up, and were encouraging her to keep coming for the rest of the week. Before we started handing out papers David read a Bible verse and gave a little message (since he is also a pastor, this is pretty natural for him), and we prayed that the week's work would be in God's hands. As we picked slips of paper she was one of the last to draw, but the biodigester went to her, and everyone was very excited! She immediately got up and started hugging people. It was very clear that most of the people were hoping she would get it. It turns out that many of the women of the church have been trying to get her to come to church, and commit her life to Christ. They said that this would be a great testimony to this woman and her family and to the community since her house is near the bus stop and a lot of people would pass by during the project.
We built the biodigester and trained the group on how to build their own. The work turned out well, and the community really rallied to help out this woman, who we called "abuela"(grandma). At the end of the last day we all prayed together as a group, and Abuela left with a new biodigester and many new and meaningful relationships with the women of the Church. David and I left feeling like we had played a small part in the work God is doing in Honduras.


David, "Abuela", and I



The Biodigester

Gift Catalog

By Katie

The CRWRC Gift Catalog is an opportunity for people to give money to certain projects around the world, often in the form of a gift to your family member or friend. Check it out here. I thought I'd highlight the Honduras projects to illustrate in a bit more detail how the funds are used.

Water Storage Container (USD $65)
Matt and I just met with a group from Canada called the Capenteros who were on their way back from building a series of these, called pilas here in Honduras. They were in the southern part of Honduras building pilas and doing a variety of other things.



Nutrition Kit for Children (USD $15)
The southern part of Honduras struggles the most with malnutrition. Diaconia currently has two nurses in that area who train women in better nutrition and health. They work in twelve communities and have a woman in each community who runs a mini-pharmacy through which the contents of these kits are distributed.


Water Filter (USD $50)
The nurses in the south also do teachings about various health topics. One of these topics is the importance of clean water for drinking. They distribute these filters to families who need access to clean water.

These particular projects are directed mostly to the south, although I think there are going to be some pilas built closer to us in months to come. One of the nurses there is Lisa, a CRWRC intern from Thunder Bay, Ontario. She writes an interesting blog on her work in and around Choluteca.

¡Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas!