Back in the USA

I'm back in Ames, Iowa, for a few weeks to connect with St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Catholic Student Center where I worked fro 24 years and which is supporting me and providing a means for others to support me and the other ministries in the diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras.

It is good to be back, to see old friends, to relax a little. But it has been really a blessing to spend some time with the children in St. Thomas Aquinas' Religious Education program. They have provided a lot of support. The Vacation Bible School had Honduras as a sub-theme and raised more than $1000 for the silo project in the parish of Dulce Nombre de María. See their photos at http://www.staparish.net/gallery/v/vbs08/.

The children in Vacation Bible School had sent a number of drawings and messages to the children of the Dulce Nombre parish which I passed out to the catechists. The children in one village, Plan Grande, sent back small hand-made cards which I'm sharing with St. Thomas.

Ames, a university community, seems not to be too much affected by the current economic crisis in the US, but I am sure that there are more people suffering here and that contributions to churches and other groups have suffered. But all the indications are that the economy here is in trouble.

People are asking me about how this affects Honduras. It is hard to tell, since I am not in touch with all the figures. But the cost of living has increased significantly in Honduras in the last few months and people are having a hard time meeting basic needs.

That's why I am glad that I have been able to help with the Santa Rosa comedor de niños (lunch program for kids) and that Fr. Efraín in Dulce Nombre and others in the diocese are looking at ways to assist people with some agricultural projects, including a projected project to encourage and support small family gardens, with both fruit trees and vegetable gardens. That's one project I hope I can support when I get back.

In the meantime, it's a privilege and a blessing to be able to help connect St. Thomas and my friends and families with the diocese of Santa Rosa and the parish of Dulce Nombre - to help us share each other's joys and pains.

And our hope for you is confident,
since we know that, sharing our sufferings,
you will also share our consolations.

2 Corinthians 1, 7