October 28, 2009

Dear Friends,

In an article in the newspaper on October 6, our friend Mario Argueta, a historian, wrote, “I hope that we become a country not only for a few, but rather a common home in which all can live decently with optimism and dignity, building for ourselves and our descendants a country that all can share.”

Since our last letter, many things have happened in Honduras. Since President Manuel “Mel” Zelaya was detained by the military on June 28, the story has of course dominated the news media. The legitimacy or illegitimacy of the interim government is hotly debated. The (so far) unsuccessful efforts of Zelaya to retake power and his daring and unexpected appearance in Honduras are a national drama with a new act every day. There has been violence—something uncommon in Honduras—and a hardening of positions and not much progress has been made toward resolving the political standoff.

The failed peace process called the “San Jose dialogue” has led now to an internal process called the “Guaymuras dialogue.” After months of hedging, both factions have finally sat down at the same table to talk. Mel Zelaya is effectively a captive in his own country, having snuck into the country and quickly taken sanctuary in the Brazilian embassy. If he took one step out of the compound he would be arrested on several judicial orders. But in a sense the whole country has been captive during this time, borders closed down for a time, the economy at a standstill, personal plans postponed.

During this whole period Honduras has been trying to qualify for the World Cup soccer competition to be held in South Africa next year. The climax to the process came on October 14 with a win, away, in El Salvador. This time the soccer match didn’t result in a war as a match between those two countries did in 1969, but instead a national celebration. A national holiday was declared for October 15 even though the Guaymuras dialogue was stuck on the one remaining point—whether to reinstate a deposed president. Clearly, the importance of soccer is hard to explain in a small, poor country. It has to do with national pride and identity, something to feel good about in the face of burdensome problems. Perhaps some of the lessons learned in the soccer process should be carried over to the political, public realm—values like solidarity, teamwork, leadership, integrity, and discipline come to mind.

People who have the new eco-stoves have to collect about 70 percent less firewood than before.

During a time of national crisis, village life seems remote, cut off from the national scene. This shouldn’t surprise, since it is cut off during normal times too.  People carry on as they always have, mostly by themselves without outside aid. The idea of community development during times of crisis recently occurred to me and Gloria when we were doing a program to build 40 eco-stoves with the people of the community of Estanzuela.

The project had been planned for some time, so we decided to go through with it despite the national political crisis. During the first day of the workshop, two villagers would be trained to build the stoves. Then they would build the rest of the stoves in the community. We like this methodology because there is a huge benefit in terms of getting the smoke out of the house, having a nice, waist-level cooking grill, and saving 70 percent of the firewood. But the training aspect in which villagers learn new skills and feel empowered and independent is also important.

The eco-stove design requires less fuel and produces less smoke, which is a significant cause of respiratory irritation, especially for Honduran women.

A visiting mission team assisted the first day. They witnessed the process and provided part of the funding. Three other churches had provided funding for this project. This seemingly simple but life-changing project—when we take into consideration the problem of deforestation—was carried out during a time of national crisis. The people didn’t have to put off their plans due to a situation that was out of their control, but could move ahead with their lives.

When Gloria and I visited Estanzuela a week later we heard some funny comments reflecting the villagers’ sense of humor. One man said, “We’re getting lazy now that we don’t have to work very hard to get our firewood.” A mother of two teenage girls said, “My girls don’t want to use the old stove, only the new one.” Someone in the mission team replied, “Teenagers are alike everywhere: they always want to use the latest gadgets.”

Community development is always being done in a time of crisis due to the precarious living conditions in which rural Hondurans live. We hope and pray and ask for your prayers—that Mario Argueta’s wish for Honduras will come true, that the country will become one house that all can share, with more equality and justice, and that the Guaymuras Accord will be signed and bring peace and a long-term vision for the future based on some of our common values.

Yours,

Tim and Gloria

The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.281