We are excited to share with you that next year, in the spring of 2023, we will be visiting you in your parishes and sharing our experiences with you. As soon as we have the dates, we will share them with you.
Financial support appeal
On the financial side, we continue to be very positive and to pray and praise God with faith and thanksgiving. We also ask you to continue to pray about our finances, that for the next year and in coming years our support will stabilize and be sufficient to cover our needs.
At the moment, our balance is very low; in fact, there is a negative balance of CAD 10,464.00. Therefore, please consider sending a special offering for our ministry in Roatan.
To donate now, please click on the following link (or copy and paste it into your browser): https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/13778 Be sure to select “Honduras Mission Fund.”
Cheques should be made payable to “The Diocesan Synod of Fredericton” and sent to: Anglican Diocesan Synod of Fredericton, 168 Church Street, Fredericton, N.B. E3B 4C9 Phone: (506) 459-1801.
All cheques should have “Honduras Mission” noted on the reference line. We greatly appreciate your prayer and financial support to date and trust that you will continue to support us.
What's happening in the Roatán Churches?
On the 4th of July, thanks to an initiative of our Honduran Diocese, we made a second donation of groceries worth CAD $60 to 29 families in the church in Roatán.
Most of the families said, ‘We are grateful for these donations that help us to feed our loved ones.’ They will receive this help three more times. Reina, a church member said, “It came at the right time, because that day I did not have enough money to buy groceries. I am very grateful to God!”
Victor Montoya’s story
The head of a family of five members, a wife and three children, Victor is the stepfather of three older kids.
Victor is a bricklayer and through this trade he has provided for his family.
During the pandemic, his wife was let go from her job and, with the reopening, Víctor began to do occasional jobs. A few years ago he had a problem with his spine, but he always managed to continue working as a bricklayer without any trouble.
In February this year he had the opportunity to build a big house and earn some money, a great help toward living expenses. Suddenly his spine began to give him so much pain that he could no longer work.
Now Victor can't grab a shovel, or other heavy building tools, and he has had to trade them for a pair of crutches so he can walk. The worst of it is that his problem can’t be cured with surgery. Victor and his family are in the process of accepting and living with this new stage in his life.
Victor was one of the first beneficiaries of the grocery provision and he said, “I am thankful to God, the Church and the donors. God bless them 100%!”
Now Victor’s wife is the one working, as a server in a hotel, but with the high cost of living, what she earns is not enough. The Food Program bags, he said, have been and will continue to be “a provision from God for my family.”
Discipleship at the church in Roatán
This fall we celebrated a special time with members of both churches participating in a discipleship course.
There was worship, a time of testimony and certificates awarded to many church members from the two Episcopal churches who attended and finished the ‘Identity in Christ’ discipleship classes.
There were four sections in all, and the classes lasted several months at each location. Rev. Kara Thompson de Mejia taught most of the classes and three people had perfect attendance, so they each received a gift. It was a beautiful evening that we all spent together worshiping Jesus Christ.
This discipleship was prepared by Kara, in collaboration with Joy Dodd from Joy to the Nations International Ministry, and the Rev. Nelson Mejia helped with reviewing the translations into Spanish.
Lambeth Conference
Our Bishop Lloyd Emmanuel Allen from Honduras Diocese had the privilege for the first time to attend the Lambeth Conference in England, and we gladly prayed to God for him as he met with Bishops from Anglican communions all over the world.
We want to share with you our prayer needs, and at the same time you can share your needs with us so we can pray for you, as the Word says to pray for each other.
• Our family: Nelson, Kara and Kelly as we continue serving the Lord in Roatán, and Stephen in Winnipeg.
• Continued and stable financial support for the next years as we continue to serve the Lord in Roatán, Honduras.
• Our congregations: St. Peter by the Sea in Brick Bay, and Emmanuel in Coxen Hole, that we can continue growing, worshipping and focusing on Jesus Christ.
• The Rev. Robert Browning and for his ministry to English-speakers in Eastern Roatán.
• Evangelism and practical outreach in the local communities.
• Leadership for the Church in Roatán that embraces the challenges as we serve in the Kingdom of God.
• The Episcopal Church in Honduras and our Bishop Lloyd Allen, as he continues leading our Diocese for the next five years.
• For Carmen, Arlin, Charon, Ingris and Alexy, as they continue at university here in Roatán.
Thank you to all who have faithfully prayed and faithfully given to support this incredible work of ministering to the people in our congregations.
Matthew 25:40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Your prayers and continued support enable us to continue touching people’s lives with Jesus’ love.
Submitted by the Rev. Nelson and the Rev. Kara (Thompson) Mejia. Kara is the daughter of the Rev. Gordon Thompson and his wife, Bell, who live in northern New Brunswick.
PHOTO CAPTIONS
1 & 2 - Discipleship course participants.
3 - Victor Montoya, the recipient of groceries from the parish. Victor's past back injury reappeared earlier this year, rendering him unable to work as a bricklayer.
All photos submitted