Honduras Mission Trip 2023

We have a lot of exciting information regarding the March Presbytery of Arkansas Honduras trip! Leigh Woodruff, Roy Horan, and I were just with about 15 of the Honduran Presbytery leaders in Tampa, FL, and we have been able to develop a proposed itinerary that our Honduran siblings in Christ believe is viable and will be a genuine help to the presbytery and its vision.

We are currently seeking the best flights for Saturday, March 16-Saturday, March 25. We are still seeing one flight on American (from Tulsa through Dallas) that is under $700, and that is a very good price. FUPC has a nice bus that we can use to take the NWA group to Tulsa. We want to act quickly (this week) before it goes up or seats for our size group are taken. We will stay in touch about that. If you would like to meet us in the connecting US airport, that should be possible. We will also check Delta and United. If we can arrange a flight in this price range, we expect total cost to be around or under $1200. If you need scholarship support, please pursue that with the pastor or mission committee chair of your congregation.

Leigh will be updating the application form this weekend, and we will do our best to get it out to you by very early next week.

Here is our proposed itinerary, which has the informal tentative agreement of leaders of the Honduran Presbytery, as the way proves to be clear.

Arrive Saturday afternoon or evening in Comayagua, traveling by rental bus to Villa Gracia, which is a basic but pleasant church camp-like environment, with all meals provided. I’ve attached a picture. The latest development is that the showers now have hot water!
Worship Sunday morning in Tegucigalpa at Pena de Horeb congregation, and Sunday evening at Tierra Prometida congregation in the Nueva Suyapa neighborhood. After each worship experience, the plan would be to hear about the history and ministries of that congregation and to pray together for God’s continued empowerment for their mission.
The Presbytery of Honduras believes God is leading them to build a modest home for Rev. Gloria de Huete. Her husband Fernando was the pastor of this congregation for many years, and was raised in Christ recently. She has served other congregations, and is currently following her husband as the pastor of Tierra Prometida, but is ready to retire. The couple lived in an apartment above the church for much of their lives. When Gloria retires, she has purchased a piece of land but it has no home on it. There are no retirement plans for Honduran pastors, and they don’t receive salaries like US pastors do—they get very modest support from congregational offerings but have to be “tentmakers” (meaning they support themselves with other work as they are able). Obviously in retirement as people age and their health declines, this no longer possible. Material for a very modest home runs $3000-$4000. Our proposal is for the congregations of the Presbytery of Arkansas (especially those that we March travelers represent) to raise these funds as soon as possible, and send them ahead to Honduras. They would like to get started on the foundation and have it laid by the time we arrive, and we propose that we would spend Monday and Tuesday of our trip working with the Hondurans to build the block walls of the home. Members of Tierra Prometida and other Honduras presbytery congregations and visiting groups from the US would work together to complete the construction after our visit as they are able.

Then on Wednesday, we would like to visit and worship with a small rural church so that we can all have that exceptional experience. The urban environment and the rural environment are each unique, and various churches are flourishing in both settings. Our goal would be to encourage and celebrate with the members, and to learn about how God the Spirit is working in that small congregation and community. The church at Agalteca is pastored by Rev. Annaly Castillo, and is a strong possibility. It is in a beautiful area at the base of mountains and has a vital ministry in the community.
The following day, Thursday, we hope to travel south to the Pacific Coast, to visit and worship with the very active and vital Puerto Grande congregation. Rev. Nectali Posadas and his wife Luisa serve this congregation. It has a remarkable youth ministry that touches the entire community, and is a strong witness to God’s love in the community. The possibility of seafood meals and boat trips on the Bay of Fonseca is strong. There is a hotel in Puerto Grande where we can stay for Thursday evening.
Friday we would return to Villa Gracia, and prepare for a return flight home on Saturday from Comayagua.

I hope this itinerary will help some of you who are still unsure of whether you will be joining us to get excited enough to make the commitment. We will be bathed in God’s love, in exciting and transforming worship, in cross-cultural friendships, and in mutual partnership and support. We also plan to make a substantive contribution to a genuine need among our Honduran Presbyterian partners, and especially for pastor Gloria.

A few more trip details:

Negative COVID tests are required within 72 hours of travel.
Mask wearing in public is still mandatory in public in Honduras.
Villa de Gracia serves breakfast and dinner only. We may ask them to also pack our lunches if needed.
Wifi installation at Villa de Gracia is planned for March currently, but we're not sure exactly when.

When you receive your application form, please return it as soon as possible so that we can know who is coming and firm up the flights we will be taking together. It is important for you to check your passport to be sure it will not expire within 6 months of our planned trip, and to talk with your doctor right away about needed inoculations.

Please also check with the Mission committee of your congregation about any needed scholarship support for your trip, and about potential contributions to the construction materials for the home construction for pastor Gloria. See her pictured in the center in the white patterned dress. (Below, see the Tierra Prometida church) If your church can help financially, please have your pastor or mission chair be in touch with me by February 10.

Let’s aim to have definite commitments from everyone who will be traveling with us by February 10. Hopefully, many of us can confirm our participation (and arrange the least expensive possible flights) well before that deadline. If you want to come but won’t know for sure by then, it may still be possible, but it’s likely the flight prices will go up significantly.

Please don’t hesitate to call, text (479-200-6473), or email me or Leigh (479-601-1437) with any questions or concerns that may arise.

And let’s all hold this wonderful opportunity for cross-cultural and spiritual growth, partnership, learning, and service in our daily prayers.

Rev. Dr. Philip W. Butin

Co-Pastor, First United Presbyterian Church