It's about Relationships

By Ed Ziegler, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at Trinity Church, Houston

In the summer of 2006, I had the privilege of going on the Mission Honduras trip with Christ Church Cathedral, Houston.  I have been on other domestic and international mission trips prior to and since this trip, and there is one thing that stands out above the rest with this one - the relationship between two communities.  This trip is part of a committed and long term relationship between the Cathedral and the people of El Ocotillo and Fe, Esperanza y Alegría Episcopal Church and School. 

It is so refreshing to be a part of something with a long term plan and commitment.  Those who had been before were able to reconnect with old friends, while the rest of us were greeted very warmly because our hosts knew this was not a trip to swoop in and work for a week before forgetting about it quickly upon return the normal life.  There is much care put into learning about individuals, not just the projects that are taken on.  This is after all a ministry of relationships, where the people matter more than anything that could be built or shared.  The people are why we go and why we keep going.  I would love to return and meet the people of the community again.  This is the best kind of service in the world, building relationships and connections that transcend distance. 

A Letter to the Team from Paul Mandell

Dear Eileen and Mission Honduras 2011,

It is hard to believe that it was exactly ten years ago this June that I went to San Pedro Sula and El Ocotillo for the very first time. Terri

DiRaddo was the Program Director at the Cathedral and with her, Dean Reynolds, Reverend Betty Adams, Wick and Rob Rowland, Sarah Lynn, Joie Weier to name but a few, I went on a trip that was going to transform me and shape the next ten years of my life.

His name was Roger. In Spanish, it is pronounced roughly "'Rowhair."

Roger was our bus driver - or chofer, in Spanish (say it out

loud) - and he did not speak a word of English. Nevertheless every

time he met up with our team, he had a smile that lit up the room

and he could not do enough to help whether it was assisting team

members with luggage, carrying tools or individuals on and off the

bus. He could not help enough. Ultimately we were to learn that

Roger's life had been one of the many lives in Honduras that had

been dramatically changed by Hurricane Mitch. Roger had owned

a series of small businesses in Honduras all of which had been

washed away by the storm. He was one of the fortunate few to

have found employment as a driver and he was very grateful for

having found that position.

One day as we were on the way from San Pedro Sula upon

learning I spoke Spanish, Roger began to share information about

where we were, the geography nearby, the history of the area and

more. It seemed only natural to me to share all he was saying with

the rest of the team. When he realized what was happening, he

began to share all the more. The result was a week of work, during

which we started building a house for a single mother and her

children; a week that was enriched by Roger's generous

knowledge shared with the team. I found my life touched to be

able to serve in such a linguistic capacity. There were many God-touched

moments in those interactions.

I am excited. I am excited for you, for the work you will do this

summer, for the people you will meet and for the lives that will

indubitably be transformed while you are in Honduras. I warn you

though; the experiences into which you enter will be filled with love

and you may find yourselves changed in ways that may not be

immediately apparent; the changes may surprise you, may be

profound and possibly quite long-lived. May God bless you, this

trip and everyone whom you encounter.

Sincerely yours,

Paul Mandell

Our Mission and You

Philip is the practical disciple.  “When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”  Philip does the math, and replies “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”  You all know the rest of the story.  Jesus takes 5 loaves and 2 fish, and somehow there is enough for the entire crowd to eat until they are satisfied.  Enough becomes the miraculous. 

Like Jesus and his disciples, we live in a world where there is significant and stark, visible need.  We can see it clearly, as through a pane of glass.  Sometimes it shouts at us.  And if we do the math like Philip, we usually seem to come up short on resources.  Globally, millions of people live in extreme deprivation of food and basic medical care. 

We all live in the tension between scarcity and abundance, and that can be an uncertain and scary place to be.   Jesus challenges his disciples and us, in the midst of that fearful tension, to a radical type of hospitality that defies all of the math and yields that miraculous enough.  He tells us to welcome this entire hungry crowd and to offer what we have with thanksgiving to God for those gifts.

Through Cathedral Missions, youth and adults alike engage in this work of welcoming the hungry crowd, by prayerfully assessing what gifts we have to offer and by walking alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ in Houston, on the Gulf Coast and in Honduras.  Together we diligently work for the restoration of human dignity and the meeting of human need. 

Two years ago, our Mission Honduras team identified a pressing need in our partner community of Fe y Alegría for significant changes to their water supply and sanitation systems for the sake of the health of the community.  This year, in addition to conducting our medical clinic and health education programs, our team will be laying the groundwork at the household level to provide cleaner water for cooking and washing and to address the widespread problem of water-bourn parasites.  Long-term partnerships are systematically being forged to address the overall water supply problems in the village.  We also seek to establish a fund for addressing urgent medical situations that are beyond the capabilities of our medical staff.

This year our Mission Possible Campaign Team asks you where we can find the resources to meet the needs of the hungry crowd that faces us and to begin this restorative and healing work.  Our 38-missioner team needs your prayers and your support.  Walk with us in this work.  Stay informed.  Pray.  Bring your gifts to this altar and get ready to feed the hungry crowd, joyful in the knowledge that, with God’s blessing, even our small gifts are enough.