The year at Dulce Nombre de Maria: challenges and signs of hope.

I began to write this post on January 28, the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas to thank the parish of St. Thomas Aquinas in Ames, Iowa, for their continued support of our parish, Dulce Nombre de María. The day before our pastor had told me to send them his profound thanks for all that they have shared with us. This post is an expanded version, with photos, of a letter I sent to St. Thomas Aquinas parish.

On the morning of January 28, at 7:05 am, I got a phone call from a communion minister in a nearby village. He greeted me on the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas and expressed his gratitude for STA’s support of the parish. He was going to the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the church in his village (which they do every Thursday for several hours) and told me that they would be praying for St. Thomas Aquinas Church during the day. I was moved by his call which showed me how much the people here appreciate the solidarity of St. Thomas.

That afternoon I went out to Mass in a remote village, getting there with no trouble. During the Mass, Padre German prayed for St. Thomas. Mass started late and rains began. The trip back home was hazardous; there were a few slippery hills where I wondered if I would get out. But I got home with no scrapes on me or the new truck; going over this narrow road by a landslide was one of the easier parts of the trip.

Today I want to take remembering the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas as an opportunity to review the past year. 

It has been a difficult year throughout the world and especially here. Honduras has been plagued in recent years by poverty, corruption, and a broken infrastructure, especially in the areas of health and education.

Then the pandemic hit. Honduras went on almost complete lockdown, which actually may have helped prevent the spread of the virus. But the medical system was overwhelmed and the efforts to bring in temporary hospitals and treatment equipment have been plagued by corruption and inefficiency.

For me, an introvert, this has been a time for reading, praying, and almost a retreat. I have also taken advantage of several on-line education programs, including a course on Intrafamiliar Abuse offered by CEPROME, which works on abuse prevention, especially in the church. CEPROME also provided a virtual study week on abuse for all the clergy of Honduras. Thank God for a fairly decent internet connection.

I also used the time for a lot of reading and a fair amount of baking bread. 

I am also blessed because a friend here in Plan Grande has a tomato project and even delivers the beef-steak sized tomatoes. This makes cooking and shopping much easier.

Our parish has not suffered from COVID-19 as much as the major metropolitan areas. There have been cases in several of the municipal centers and some villages – with several deaths. But the pandemic has disrupted life – and made life more difficult for many of the poorest.

During the pandemic, the pastor and I helped one municipality distribute supplies to the needy on two occasions. We went along to help assure that the aid was distributed to those most in need and was not used for political purposes (which is a great danger here, especially since elections are being held this year.)

In regard to pastoral work, we have tried to minister to the parish within the limits of the restrictions as well as in light of the need to adhere to health safeguards.

The pastor and a seminarian (ordained a deacon in December) went around to a number of places. I restricted my travels a bit more (now that I’m 73 years old), but found myself involved in pre-marriage interviews, baptisms, funerals, and more. I have presided at a good number of funerals, five here in Plan Grande. I also did pre-marriage interviews and helped in the baptismal preparation of three persons who were going to be married. There also have been a number of baptisms, not only of children but also of several adults preparing for baptism.

When the bishops conference released guidelines for public worship, I presided at Sunday morning Celebrations of the Word with Communion in the church here in Plan Grande and went out a bit more, though I adhered to travel restrictions which limited use of vehicles to certain days. When I got a safe-conduct pass, I went out a bit more and have visited a number of villages for Sunday morning celebrations.

I haven't traveled much outside of the department of Copán where I live, but the pastor and I did go to the ordination of three transitional deacons fore our diocese. 

Deacon Fernando's ordination in Dulce Nombre

Enroute to one ordination in Santa Bárbara we saw how Hurricane Iota devastated parts of that department, especially along the river Ulua.

In the midst of this, with the help of donations from St. Thomas as well as fund-raising efforts of parishioners, the parish was able to avoid laying off any of its few employees, notably the secretary and cooks. The parish was also able to continue the rehabilitation of the church in Dulce Nombre, mostly from donations of parishioners and the fund-raising efforts of some women in Dulce Nombre, selling pupusas, pasteles, and other food.

Thanks to a few other independent donations, the parish was also able to contract an artist to paint an impressive mural in the apse of the church. He will begin painting murals in the side chapels this month. 

This month the parish will start a major effort to prepare spaces in the parish center in Dulce Nombre for parish-wide meetings for formation of parish leaders, thanks to a very generous donation in the past.

The St. Thomas Aquinas parish support of the distance learning education program of Maestro en Casa has enabled many junior high and high school students to study, even during the pandemic. I remember visiting a home while we distributed provision and seeing a young man working on his homework. This year the scholarships will help about 160 young people to continue their education.

In the midst of all this, we had to attend to the parish coffee fields. We have had volunteers come out and do pruning and weeding. We have had several days when parishioners came out to harvest the coffee. A few weeks ago, more than 160 came out on a Monday and 60 more the next day and harvested more than 800 five gallon containers of coffee beans. 

As if the pandemic wasn’t enough, Honduras was buffeted by two hurricanes in October and November. Much of the devastation, especially from the first hurricane, affected the north coast, especially around the industrial center of the country in San Pedro Sula.

The parish was also affected somewhat by the first hurricane, Eta. Yet we experienced the brutal force of the second hurricane, Iota, with landslides, collapse of soils, and fallen trees. The ground was already saturated because of more rain than usual this year. The heavy rains and winds led to the isolation of many villages because of impassible roads and fallen bridges, some for almost two weeks. The rains, fallen trees, and mudslides also contributed to the breakdown of water systems in some areas as well as lack of access to electricity. Some roads are still hazardous when it rains.

But the worst damages from Hurricane Iota were to houses in several villages of the parish, as well as to the loss of farmland and coffee fields. More than 180 families in the parish were affected. Some have had to abandon their homes; others are living in hazardous areas where major storms could provoke more  landslides and destruction of houses.

At least one village will probably need to be relocated and some people in other areas will have to move to more secure places in or near their villages.

some of the destruction in San Marcos Pavas

Yet in the midst of this we have seen many persons respond to the needs of others, even though they are themselves poor. People have collected food stuffs, shared beans and corn with the parish to distribute, and even gone out to take provisions and clothing to villages. Migrants from here in the US and Spain have sent money to help respond to the needs of those affected by the hurricanes. We have also received aid from other parts of the diocese and even from some people in Tegucigalpa.

This coming year presents us with many challenges. How will we safely resume formation of pastoral workers in the villages? How will we help restructure the local faith communities, including a revival of base communities? How will we help communities that need to rebuild? How will we accompany the people as they deal with loss of houses and farmland, with seriously damaged water systems, with roads in terrible condition? How will we be present in the major health crisis of COVID-19, with hospitals overwhelmed.? How can we help assure that the vaccines, when they arrive, are distributed to those most in need and not used by politicians to garner votes in this year’s elections? How will we serve those people who are so desperate that they are thinking of migrating? 

We have received some financial assistance to help people rebuild, some from St. Thomas and some from my personal friends. 

We are doing some planning to work on restructuring the base communities in the parish as well as the work of the catechists. This coming week I’ll begin visiting catechists in the ten rural sectors of the parish.

We have work to do. But with the help of God, of the members of the parish, and of the generous friends of the parish, especially the parish of St. Thomas Aquinas in Ames, Iowa, we are encouraged in our efforts.

This year we also have the help of a seminarian, Melvin, in his year of pastoral practice as well as the transitional deacon, Fernando, for at least a few months - if not more.

On behalf of the parish, I want thank all whose who support us. We are grateful and I want to assure you that we pray for you.

May God continue to bless you. Let us pray for each other and support each other in loving solidarity.

Hurricanes, rains, and life - an unpdate

When I started this post on December 1, 2020, it was raining again. Today, the sun is out – at least for a short time. 

This year we have seen more rain than usual here in Honduras – and this was even before the two hurricanes that hit. We have had a few days of sun and heat after Hurrican Iota, but now forecast is for more rain. This, I believe, will provoke more problems for the people, especially in our area. In the wake of the first hurricane, ETA, there were landslides in several aldeas, with a number of people losing the houses. One community, San Marcos Las Pavas, has been cut off since the first hurricane.

When Hurricane IOTA struck, there were more landslides with tens of houses destroyed and scores severely damaged. In a few places, houses were washed down the side of a hill. In one case. A family escaped their house when a huge boulder fell and rushed their house and buried. Their possessions, even some stored grains. In at least five communities there are parts of the aldea that are in extreme danger. The people will probably have to relocate and build in safer places. 

The first hurricane produced several landslides that prevented passage in a few places, but Hurricane ETA’s rains made some parts of the parish almost completely inaccessible. Many communities were cut off when roads collapsed due to landslides or the rain-soaked soil. The roads were in bad condition before hurricane ETA due to heavier rains than usual and the lack of maintenance. The soil here is very slippery when it rains and if gravel has not been put down it’s treacherous. In addition, the ruts in the roads have only gotten worse. In addition, in at least one place, the river washed away half the road.

In one part of the parish, a road was collapsing and, even though some work was done on it after Eta, it was impassible in the wake of Iota. 

To get to some areas, you had to go on a roundabout route which at one time meant passing three times through a stream and navigating a slippery incline. 

In another part of the parish, which includes about 16 aldeas, landslides prevented access for several days. One aldea was cut off from Hurricane Eta until yesterday. 

In another place there was no access even from the major road on the other side of the parish that goes between La Entrada and Copán Ruinas. A bridge which had fallen about three years ago and had never really been repaired or rebuilt, collapsed; but even more, the road the led from the bridge, with access to two villages, was washed away by the river. 

 Two days in a row I was stopped at the same point on the road into Dulce Nombre. The first day a large dump truck had gotten stuck in one of these ruts and had to be pulled out by a bus. The bus was a former US school bus, perhaps the one that has Minnesota plates. The next day a bus got stuck in the same place. Finally, some work was done yesterday to make the spot more passible. 

Many of the roads have been repaired, but access to some aldeas is still precarious. I also think that the repairs area only stop-gap measures.

Electricity was off in many communities for days. In addition, service for one of the cell phone companies was unavailable for days, leaving people isolated and without communication.

Many communities which had water systems were affected by the hurricanes. Some of them were able to restore water service in a few days. Some didn’t have water for long periods. Some still don’t. Here in Plan Grande, water was restored yesterday, after almost two weeks without water. I have a tank for water and collect rainwater in four barrels (which are now full). But I conserved water – using rainwater as well as dirty water from washing clothes (by hand) to flush toilets. But there are still at least three fairly large communities who still have not been able to restore their water systems. A few smaller villages still don’t have water. 

An aside: much of the water for the water systems in rural villages comes from springs in the mountains. The source is often miles from the village, brought in by tubing to tanks in the communities. Tubes, even metal tubing, were moved by the landslides and the settling of the soil and so had to be replaced or reconnected. It’s a difficult job, not only because of the distances but because of the mud. 

One of our first priorities in the parish has been making sure people re safe and providing them with food and other necessities. Many people here in Honduras have been generous and provided help – food, clothing, blankets, and donations. Some people in Dulce Nombre have provided aid and donations have arrived from family members of people from the parish who are now in the US and Spain. A few days ago, 30 some boxes of supplies arrived from Santa Rosa, a gift from the Association of Hondurans in Madrid, Spain. 

Sunday, we picked up 180 bags of goods plus clothing and blankets donated by a group in Tegucigalpa.

But getting to the communities has been difficult. I got out to Vega Redonda November 19. People were afraid that a landslide which stopped at one point would come down and bury much of the town. Several had lost their houses; others left their houses fearful that they be destroyed by a landslide or be inundated by the rains and mud. Some people left and found refuge with relatives in Dulce Nombre and Concepción.

November 19, we went to Vertientes, on the side of a mountain. The town is split into two parts, by a huge landslide that destroyed three houses and left at least three in danger. Padre German and Fernando, a seminarian with us this year, went to see a distant part of the village where another landslide had buried houses and even a car.

On Thanksgiving I went with three other cars loaded with provisions and clothing to aid two distant communities in the parish - San Marcos las Pavas (Saint Mark the Turkeys) and Barbascales. San Marcos has bee isolated since ETA. At least five houses were destroyed, many have serious damage, and probably close to half the houses are at risk if there are future landslide or sinkholes. We had to go to La Entrada to get there, making it close to two hours. We couldn't get to the village because the bridge (which was in poor condition) had collapsed. In addition, the land that went from the bridges to nearby roads was washed out. While we were there a number of men were trying to put rocks in the river so that people could pass over.

Last Saturday, I went with several others to take basic supplies and clothing to four villages. We could see where the landslides had closed the road in several places.

We couldn’t get to the fourth village because a landslide was being cleared away and we couldn’t pass. We did, however, leave provisions for five families there who had been identified as particularly affected. They managed to send someone to pick up the supplies. 

On our way, we could see some of the damage to coffee crops. 

On the way back, I passed over this sunken part of the road near the cemetery in Delicias, Concepción. It sank because the cement drainage pipe was falling into the hillside.

Right now, we have supplies in the parish which we hope to get to the communities when we can arrange the delivery. The problems are numerous – the roads, the lack of electricity in some villages that makes communication by cellphone difficult (because of batteries running out), and more. But we will keep trying. 

 

Thanks be to God, up to this moment, there have not been any deaths in our parish from the hurricanes. 

What the future holds is difficult to discern. There will need to be massive efforts to restore the infrastructure – particularly water systems, electricity, and road. There are houses that need to be rebuilt in safer places. There are portions of at least five villages that need to be assessed because of the ongoing risks. The people may need to relocate and build in other areas. That will be a long-term project. 

 In the meantime, please pray for us and, if you can, find ways to help.

The generosity of the poor

Today I spent some time at the parish and then in my home village. 

Part of the time I spent talking with Alejandro Carbajal who is the artist in charge of the mural in our parish church. He is now working on the image of Monseñor Óscar Romero, the sainted martyr of the poor, killed in El Salvador in 1980. The image is based on a photo of him receiving an offering of beans during a Mass in Chalatenango. 

There’s a family now staying in the village where I live who lost their home when a huge boulder (about 2.5 meters high and 3 x 5 meters) fell and crush and buried all their belongings about 7 am last Wednesday. They escaped with only an abode hitting one of the four children on the head. They are staying with the mother’s sister. 

Another family from the same hamlet is also here. They rescued some of the possessions but left food stuff and chickens in their home. They have an eleven-year-old who is physically and mentally disabled. We visited them and shared a few provisions. 

 I had gotten information on these cases in the morning and went to get some supplies for them. 

In the parish, there was a Honduran woman who has lived in the US for more than 14 years. She regularly sends clothing to her family for those in need. We went to her family’s house and got two bags of blankets and clothing for the family. 

We also went to the Concepción city hall to get a note that the municipality will pay for medication for two children in family that has lives in a village which has been cut off since Eta struck. We got the medicine and it will get to the kids sometime today or tomorrow. The woman who donated the clothes drove me to Concepción, to the pharmacy, and back to the church. 

Back in Plan Grande, I spoke to the delegate who had investigated the situation of the two families. When her son returned from an errand we went – she, her son, and a grandson.

We went first to the house where the family whose house had been crushed was staying. It was basically two rooms. We shared the clothes and some rice and cornmeal. As we left, the sister who was housing her sister’s family gave us a bag of beans, a donation for the parish’s efforts for those who have been displaced! 

The generosity of the poorest. She was feeding six more people, yet wanted to share with even more people. 

As I write this, I think of the image of Monseñor Romero, accepting the offering of a bag of beans. The gifts of the poor enrich our world.

Hurricane IOTA in the parish of Dulce Nombre

Hurricane Iota struck Honduras this past week, less than two weeks after Eta devastated the country. 

Eta mostly affected the north coast and left thousands without homes. Massive flooding of many cities, bridges washed out. Even the international airport in San Pedro Sula is flooded, under several feet of water and won’t be reopened until mid-December at the earliest. 

 Iota has affected us in the southwest a bit more than ETA, though all the rain will affect the already swollen rivers on the coast. One parish, not far from the parish of Dulce Nombre, has been badly hit, first by ETA and now with IOTA, with massive flooding, 93 homes destroyed in one municipality, and much, much more. 

In our parish, the rains connected with Eta provoked some mudslides which destroyed some houses and closed some roads (and made others treacherous.) A good number of trees fell, because of the strong winds and the rain-soaked land. A number of houses were lost due to mudslides. Iota came on top of this, although we had a few sunny days between the hurricanes. But when the rains and winds came, they came with incredible force – and it’s still raining, though not continuous and with less force. 

A large portion of our parish, including Plan Grande where I live, had no electricity for about three days. Downed power lines and problems with some equipment damage caused this for thousands of people. In addition, a major landslide near Candelaria closed off the one road that provides access to more than 18 aldeas. It was repaired provisionally in a day, with about half the road fallen, but it is still muddy and slippery. 

El Zapote Santa Rosa, an aldea just ten minutes away from Plan Grande was incommunicado, until Friday when a local coffee grower got some machinery to come and fix one part if the road, so that the village would have some access to and from Dulce Nombre. But still there is no access to aldeas north of there, due to mudslides, roads fallen away, and other obstacles. That means that more than fourteen communities have no access to Dulce Nombre. There are people who lost their houses or whose houses are in danger. They have moved in with relatives or into three places where they have set up shelters. It appears that the local people have matters under control - even trying to recover some water sources in the community, since their water lines from springs have been destroyed.

Many communities have only access on foot. In addition, many of the communities have not had electricity since Monday and cell phone service of the most common provider was almost non-existent. As of Sunday, there was some electricity and cell phone service in that part of the parish, but there was no access by vehicles. 

I am trying to be in contact with folks to see what is happening, what are the needs, and how we might begin to help better. There are isolated villages, with needs for food and more, but the only way to get supplies in is on foot or with horses and mules. 

In the parish of Dulce Nombre, we have had some serious damage, with houses destroyed by landslides. Due to damage to roads, many parts of the parish are inaccessible. Electricity was off in many places for more than six days and there has been no cellphone coverage in many parts. Many places don’t have access to water. Many people have also lost their crops and their coffee fields. 

 The parish has received aid from local sources, as well as donations from Hondurans in the US. The Santa Rosa Rotary club arrived today to give out some aid in Dulce Nombre. But a major problem is getting aid to the countryside, to those communities which are isolated because of landslides. 

Thursday, I want with Padre German and Fernando, a seminarian who is with us this year, to Vega Redonda. We couldn’t get there the normal way since a major road had been washed out. We had to go through a back road, crossing a stream two times and navigating a slippery hill. We got there and distributed some water. Padre went to see an area where there had been a landslide. Some of the people returned with us to stay with family who live in Dulce Nombre and Concepción.

Friday, we went to the mountain village of Vertientes. We again had to use an alternative route along slippery muddy roads, up and down hills. There had been two major landslides in Vertientes. One landslide left four houses destroyed and at least two more in danger. Padre went to see another site int he village, about an hour away, where more houses were destroyed. 

I fell trying to walk through the fields and went to a clinic in Santa Rosa on Saturday. No broken ribs, but I’m sore. Also, I had to take a COVID-19n test. Negative!

On Saturday, the pastor went to San José El Bosque which is almost completely isolated. I have been in contact today with someone in the remote village of San Marcos Las Pavas which has had at least five houses destroyed. The village has been isolated since ETA and there is no access for vehicles. In addition, it is in a part of the parish which has no access to Dulce Nombre because of major landslides and more, leaving about 14 communities isolated. I managed to call someone from Delicias, Concepción, which is isolated. There were four breaks in the road from Delicias to the villages north of there. The problem is that some communities don’t have enough food supplies – and so they were trying to transport some rice and other supplies on horseback. 

We are just beginning to get an idea of the effects of the hurricane and what will be needed for reconstruction. Right now, we are concentrating on finding ways to save lives and protect people. This week there are forecasts of rain every day and so recovery will be even slower.

I'm well, even though the water system in Plan Grande in not working due to the destruction of pipes from the water source - even metal water pipes have been affected by the landslides. But I have water from a tank as well as from barrels collecting rain water. And I have bottled drinking water.