| September 2003
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Dear Brothers, Sisters, and Friends,
From June 29 to December 20 last year we were studying English
at Maryville College in Tennessee. We had a great time! We had
the opportunity to meet many friends from different parts of the
world. We visited Presbyterian churches in different states in
the United States, and we shared with brothers and sisters who
wanted to know about the work in Honduras. We also studied English
with excellent teachers at Maryville College. We want to say to
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and to the Christian Commission
for Development in Honduras: Thank you so much for giving us this
experience. May God bless all of the people who made possible
this wonderful experience.
Osmundo and I are in Honduras again working in the Honduran Theological
Community. We continue to teach and to carry out responsibilities
with the Christian Commission for Development in ecumenical relations
and gender programs. This year, the Honduran Theological Community
received teachers from the Latin American Biblical University
of Costa Rica, who taught “The Life and Mind of the Church
in Latin America” and “History and Theology of Salvation.”
In these intensive courses were students from the Lutheran Church,
the Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, the Christian Reformed
Church, the Assemblies of God, and the Elim, Transformation, and
Pentecostal Church. We want to give thanks to God because these
opportunities help lift up the Protestant church in Honduras.
The Honduran Theological Community has a center in La Ceiba,
a beautiful port city where the people are very friendly. Students
from the Moravian Church, Methodist Church, Lutheran Church, and
Mennonite Church participate in theological education here. In
Santa Rosa, we have another small group of students from the Mennonite
and Elim Churches. We have approximately 170 students in the basic
education program, 130 students in the Center for Pastoral Studies,
and 55 students in the university-level program, all operated
by the Honduran Theological Community.
On the first Friday of every month we have a theological dialogue
meeting where we assist pastors and leaders of the Protestant
and Catholic churches. Representatives of many churches in Honduras
come to these sessions, which gives us the opportunity to serve
as bridges and to know each other better so we can work together
as brothers and sisters in Christ. At the theological dialogue
meetings, we discuss important issues in Honduras. For example,
83 percent of the population lives in severe poverty, and they
feel threatened by political decisions taken recently. The poor
people have no access to education, and the health system is being
privatized through something called the “Strategic Plan
for Health.” A public health issue that the government has
not addressed is the sexual exploitation of children between the
ages of 11 and 13. According to a report by Casa Alianza, a non-governmental
organization, there are between 8,000 and 10,000 girls and boys
being exploited in Honduras.
The Christian Commission for Development and the Honduran Theological
Community are very grateful for the support you give us to serve
the poor through local economic development, empowerment, theological
education, and other services. God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
Osmundo and Ana Ligia Ponce
The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.249
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