We returned to Honduras May 17th and, surprise, surprise - it has been HOT in the tropics. However, the sweat has apparently greased the transition quite well - we reintegrated very smoothly after a long absence. We were hoping the thunderstorms that typically start in May and bring an end to the Honduran summer (March-April) would have set in by the time we returned, but we only had about a 5-day tease before continuing with humid 95 degrees+ weather. The past few nights have finally brought some relief: rain in the cistern and cooler nights.
As a family we celebrate 3 out of our 4 birthdays in May. Alida is now 5, Eliana 2.5 and we will celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary this June 20th. Kaleb wrapped up his first of two years of grad school in Pittsburgh end of April and we began the mental and physical switch back home to Honduras. We found our house and animals in great condition thanks to our loving and kind neighbors who always take care of everything for us.
10 chickens (plenty of fresh eggs daily!), 2 dogs (for protection), 1 cat (to eat the mice and bugs in the house) and 1 goat (who is actually our neighbor Argelia’s now but still lives in our corral). Our girls have done great, adjusted immediately and love being in their home and with their local friends. The reunion went a bit like this...
Alida:
"Hi Abi. (Big Hug). You want to play?"
Abi:
"Ok!" (both run off to play)
We are praising God for that very smooth transition and that our now 7 year-old "homemade" rain water system is still working in our home after some basic maintenance. The 3 hours of water that we normally get each week from the community water system is down again after the community pump broke 2 months ago. We continually pray for rain to fill our cistern - prayers that have been answered recently. One of the many things that have truly become a part of us over the years here is to depend solely on God for some of life’s basic elements like safety, health and water.
Kaleb is enjoying a much-needed break from grad studies at Pitt and Stacey is enjoying the relief of having him back to share more of the work load in our HTH job. This time returning we have noted the big difference having daughters that are a bit older and require less constant supervision/provision. It amazed us how different it is having a 2.5 year old in Honduras than a 18mo old (Eliana when we left last Aug.) It’s been 5 years of high demands from babies, but now we are thankful for the ability to breathe and think a bit more clearly! Of course each phase has it's challenges and requires parents to continue to evaluate and transition their efforts from diapers to discipline, from making sure they don't put bugs IN their mouth to watching what comes OUT of their mouths!
Locally the good news is that for the first time our village, Las Lomitas, has some hope for 24/7, running water. A Honduran cell phone company who built a tower on the same mountain as our village cut down a few more trees than they legally should have and is now trying to make up for their mistake by doing some (compulsory) charity work. When the community was approached by them they quickly said, “We are working to get running water! Come alongside THAT!” We have been in two meetings with engineers sent by the telephone company and municipality yet again analyzing possibilities for a local source of water enough for our village to have constant running water.
Local church services are currently Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and we are settling into that rhythm coming alongside the church leaders and supporting in the ways they ask us. We regularly prepare and share the Word in a variety of settings and topics. We have had many invitations to travel to other communities and share in special church services this summer and are planning them into our schedule. All of this in addition to our full time job with Heart to Honduras 7am – 5pm week days!
Heart to Honduras
As we explained again in our spring update there are 2 parts to our job in the ministry: the Community Development Department and the Communities of Holistic Impact initiative. Since we are in country for 3 months, we have 3 CoHI workshops we plan and execute together with Fredy and Otto. Already in May we did “How to protect Healthy Development in your community. June brings “How to carry out a quality community meeting.” July will be "Conflict Resolution" since many true roots of poverty are found in broken relationships, especially between local leaders. We very much enjoy these times interacting with the locally-elected Holistic Development “Commissions,” and we will send out a separate update that includes a report on those 3 workshops at the end of the summer.
In addition, Kaleb has also been spending some time with Honduran staff in launching the Honduran' office's newest program - Aviturismo (Birding Tours). Using the remarkable resources surrounding them (including trained staff, significant private and public wildlife reserves, and facilities), the CPH staff will use the Aviturismo program to introduce new potential partners to the organization, generate organizational funds and local employment, and place value on local natural resources. This program can also hopefully introduce many local communities to the potential benefits of preserving natural resources as opposed to using them for simply extractive purposes.
Prayer
We always appreciate prayer, thank you to those you support us in prayer. Here are a few specific prayer requests:
- Dengue outbreak in our area. Nationally there are more than 10,000 cases and 34 dead to this mosquito-born illness.
- National unrest. Following the contested national elections of 2017, deep fissures have remained within Honduran culture leading to widespread frustration with the government.
- Las Lomitas potable water possibilities, community leaders to be free from addiction/vices, Local Pastor Eduar and wife Xiomara, rain to fall regularly for all of us in town
- Our family: Good health physically, mentally and spiritually, protection from the evil one, for us to not allow the devil a foothold, to be filled with the Holy Spirit and his abundant Love and Joy
- Heart to Honduras: Community Development, Camp ministry, Soccer ministry, Summer teams partners with community initiatives, Joint staff retreat in Honduras July 30-Aug.2
- Community Visits: Over the course of the summer, we'll be spending a few nights out in different communities as an entire family, either getting better connected, sharing at a church service, or facilitating workshops.
2019 Giving Challenge
Do you want to be a part of these amazing things that are happening in Honduras?
As most you of understand a "non-profit" organization like Heart to Honduras functions thanks to generous donors like yourself. Despite some of the most truly exciting and successful years, financial support for the ministry has been down. As a result, at this moment we are seeking financial support. Specifically, we are asking you to consider to partner with us at HtH with a monthly donation. Last year, donations for the Eldridge salary were only 70% of what HtH would like to pay us for the work we do as employees. This does not include plane tickets or insurance on top of salary.
A monthly gift carries the incredible advantage of being a reliable and sure source of income for the work that we do. A consistent monthly gift as opposed to one-time gifts allows us all to establish healthy expectations and budgets. If you are able, please consider giving monthly.
Small monthly gifts could multiply and fill the need if many are doing it. If you and 5 other families from your church or community commit to $50/mo. that is $3,600/year and has an enormous impact. $50/mo. is less than $1.70/day. What are we spending $1.70/day on right now? $50/mo. may be equivalent to a meal or two eating out each month for your family. Use this opportunity to share and teach your families and churches that TOGETHER we can do so much more.
Many of you joined us last year at this time, and you have made a tremendous impact in the life of the ministry. THANK YOU!
We would love to add 10 monthly givers this month. Will you help us reach that number? Will you join Heart to Honduras as a monthly giver? We would love to report back at the end July that we hit that goal together.
You can quickly and easily give a one-time gift or set up a recurring monthly donation by simply clicking the button below.
Over the years, so many difficult and amazing changes have been made within HTH, and we can honestly say it is a credible ministry doing amazing, true, holistic development work in the name of Jesus. We would love to see more people engaging with it as a whole. Would you join us?
Who we are:
Kaleb and Stacey Eldridge - Our shared passion for people and our faith led us to marriage in June of 2009. In 2010, Heart to Honduras offered us the opportunity to step into a full-time International Community Development role. In 2011 we left our full-time teaching and tech-writing jobs in order to move to Honduras and have been here ever since. Why? Our faith leads us to the understanding that we cannot just view people as only souls (to be saved) or only bodies (to be fixed or provided for), but as whole people.
We are all in poverty - mentally, physically, environmentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually – not one of us escapes the grasp of oppression and suffering. We believe that only through hope in Christ can we ever fully escape this vicious cycle. As holistic beings, our response to poverty must also be holistic. We can no longer just engage the world in only church, only poverty alleviation efforts, only counseling, only microbusiness, only education, only medical work, or only environmental advocacy, but work to bring all these elements into one holistic model that ministers to unique needs in each individual or community. This understanding leads us to live intentional lives that focus around relationship with God, ourselves, our environment, and others