H - Honduras
The Emilia D’Cuire Special Education School in La Ceiba provides education and vocational training for disabled children who are not allowed to attend regular school.
In Honduras our team spoke of "God moments". That is the special time when you feel God is with you at that very moment. I was lucky enough to have two such moments on our trip.
My first began when I started packing for the trip. As I went to get my suitcase out of the attic, I noticed a pair of crutches that my wife had used after surgery. I felt the urge to take them to Honduras, thinking they might be of use to someone, so I did. In Honduras I was lucky enough to spend time with Jose Luiz, the physical therapist. On our second day I brought the crutches to him and asked if they might be of use. I told him they were adult size. He got very excited, went to another classroom and returned with a young man named Walter. Walter has cerebral palsey which affects his legs and cannot walk unaided. That meant that he had to lean on other people of hold on to the walls to get around. Walter beamed as he entered the room and I gave him his "new" crutches. He can now get around unaided. Why had it occurred to me to bring along the crutches?
My second "God Moment" happened after saying goodbye to the rest of the team at the airport in Honduras ( I was on a different flight to Atlanta). As I sat down on the plane, I started a conversation with the Honduran couple next to me. I mentioned that I had been in La Ceiba, and so had they. They had toured the Emila D'Cuire School that very morning! They had seen Jose Luiz doing physical therapy with one of the children I had seen him with earlier in the week. I showed them photos on my camera and they were truly surprised, as was I, that we had shared the same experience. It turns out that the man, who now lives in New Jersey, had gone to grade school in Honduras with Emilie D' Cuire and is a faithful supporter ($50 each month) of the school. Why was I was seated next to them?
Thanks for the great experience in Honduras.
Kit Campbell
Richmond, Virginia
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A - Africa
Archbishop Valentine Mokiwa’s school in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania educates Christian and Muslim children side by side, helping to bridge the divide between the two communities.
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N - Natural Disasters
After 11 Mission trips to New Orleans we have decided to support other domestic areas of the United States effected by Natural Disasters. Earlier this year we supported relief efforts communites damaged by the tornatoes in the South East.
Gulf Coast Trip
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Texas - Rebuilding After Hurricane Ike
It takes a while to know whether or not you are called to go on a mission trip. For me making that decision means prayer, discussion with others, thinking, listening and then stepping out in faith when and if God calls me.
Before leaving on our mission trip to Texas I prayed every day for God to show us His direction, give us His guidance and clarity as to what He had for us to do. I did not have a good feel about what our mission was really all about. We were going to a new area with new contacts; not our “comfortable " trek to New Orleans or Honduras.
As we worked each day and rested and reflected in the evening, I knew we were all pleased with our ability to help Richard rebuild his hurricane devastated house. We insulated walls; sheet rocked like crazy, mudded walls, sanded, tore down walls and cabinets, and rebuilt a doorway. It was physically hard work. We were a good team and happy working together. We felt strongly that we were making a difference for Richard and his sons. Richard had lost his wife to cancer, lost a job, and lost his house to hurricane Ike. Now together we were structurally rebuilding.
Some of us worked a few days at another house, sanding and mudding walls. We were helping to enable Ben, an elderly widower, to move from his FEMA trailer back into his home. Again we worked hard.
I continued to pray every day for God's presence and I prayed for God to help me let go. I felt we were too much in control and not seeing God's place in all of this work and camaraderie. We knew what we were intent on accomplishing but were we listening and keeping our eyes on God?
The last night of our trip arrived and God revealed to us in an astonishing way exactly what our mission had been and why we had been in Texas!
We had been invited to a Thank You dinner at Richard's parents' house with family and friends. During the evening in a quiet one-on-one conversation with Richard's father, a team member learned that Richard had been estranged from his family during this time he suffered devastating losses. He had turned away from any help, financially or physically or emotionally. Our being there with Richard every day for a week had reconnected him with his family and all recognized that this was a breakthrough for him.
Now I knew what the work was and why God sent us. It was not about how much physical work we could accomplish but it was about God working in Richard's life. God gave each one of us the opportunity to receive a blessing. We saw and experienced first hand God's plan and His healing love.
Lynda Tasillo
April 2010 Texas Mission Trip
Denver
The St Francis Shelter serves over 300 people daily, treating each individual with dignity and respect. Our teams help administer semi-annual censuses and provide services to the homeless through the Day Program once a quarter.
Local Habitat For Humanity
In August 2010, The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Eagle and Lake Counties for "Building on Faith Week" to help build duplexes in the Fox Hollow project in West Edwards. As this project is located between Edwards Village Mobile Home Park and St. Claire of Assisi, very close to the site of the rising Edwards Interfaith Chapel, we will have the opportunity of being "good neighbors" in every sense of the word.
"Building on Faith Week" was structured to offer the same opportunities for spiritual growth as our past mission trips to New Orleans and Honduras: there will be a team-building process to prepare for this mission, then a week of committed endeavor to the Fox Hollow project followed by reflection and sharing of experience. This is a terrific opportunity for anyone who has ever wished to be part of a mission team, but been hampered by the challenge of travelling to a distant location.
The Fox Hollow duplexes will be built to energy-efficient LEEDS standards, making the homes more ecologically sustainable while reducing utility costs for families. The summer's project will likely include framing and siding, so construction skills are very valuable. As this is a local "journey" there are also other ways to serve: we are planning to provide lunch daily to our missioners at the construction site and are also looking for parishioners willing to host our missioners for dinner in their homes after a hard day of work. Please contact Mary Cotton at cottonmary@hotmail.com for details and for the precise dates in early August, which will be set with Habitat very soon.
The big difference between this mission "journey" and our past ones? At night, our hard-working missioners will be snug in their very own beds in our very own Valley!
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D - Denver Homeless
S - Student Missions
Our middle school and high school youth serve in a variety of ways: locally with Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army; regionally through the Denver Inner City Parish; and internationally in Juarez last summer.
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