I wanted to share briefly on the trip I made to Honduras (March 9-16). The purpose of the trip was to provide pastoral care to two of my church members who had been deported and to learn what life is like post deportation.
“Faith in Motion: Pastor Irv Heishman’s Experience in Honduras” is the first “Faith in Motion” live, virtual event hosted by the Deportation Defense Response (DDR) Team of the Church of the Brethren. The event takes place online on Thursday, June 18, at 7 p.m. (Eastern time).
The last set of grants for 2025 from the Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI) rounded out the year by supporting needs around the world, from Honduras to Rwanda, Nigeria to Ecuador, as well as local projects in Pennsylvania.
There were many languages spoken around the tables at the Global Mission Dinner held during Annual Conference, as international guests from several countries joined Sharon Brugger Norton, the new executive director of Global Mission for the Church of the Brethren, under the umbrella of Rev. 21:1-5, “The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) for a tornado response and rebuilding program in Kentucky, aid to Ukrainian refugees and others affected by the war, a hurricane response in Honduras, projects of the Church of the Brethren in the Democratic Republic of Congo, among other needs.
Frequent hurricanes, political instability, high crime rates, and deforestation are just a few of the challenges to successful development work in Honduras. The Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI) is supporting an urban chicken project with a local church partner, Viviendo en Amor y Fe (VAF, Living in Love and Faith).
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff have directed grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) grants to support a rebuilding project in Tennessee, the work of Children’s Disaster Services and Church of the Brethren congregations in Florida following Hurricane Ian, flood recovery work of the Christian Solidarity Program for Honduras, a flood relief program of the Church of the Brethren in Uganda, and a flood relief program of ASIGLEH (the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela).
Brethren Disaster Ministries has directed grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to various needs in recent weeks. A main focus has been the needs of Ukrainian refugees, with major grants going to Church World Service (CWS) relief focused on Ukrainian refugees sheltering in Moldova, to aid displaced Ukrainians with disabilities through L’Arche International, and to Child Life Disaster Relief programming for an orphanage in Ukraine.
of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI). Recently, allocations have been made in support of an agricultural initiative of L’Eglise des Freres d’Haiti (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti), a pig project of Eglise des Freres au Congo (the Church of the Brethren in the Democratic Republic of Congo or DRC), an urban poultry and vegetable garden project in Honduras, and a goat herd at Capstone 118 in New Orleans.
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff have directed grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) to Honduras, where relief work continues following last year’s Hurricanes Eta and Iota; to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the Brethren in Goma continue aid to those affected by the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo; to India, in support of the COVID-19 response of IMA World Health; and to Northern Plains District, which is helping organize rebuilding following the derecho that left a trail of destruction in Iowa last August.
Honduras
An additional allocation of $40,000 supports the Church World Service (CWS) rehabilitation program in Honduras for families affected by Hurricanes Eta and Iota. CWS has longterm partners in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala that provided emergency relief programs and were supported by an initial EDF grant of $10,000. CWS has updated its response plan to include the rehabilitation of livelihoods and housing in Honduras. The goal of the program is to support 70 highly at-risk families in rebuilding their homes and livelihoods.
A grant of $30,000 for the Proyecto Aldea Global (PAG) response to the hurricanes was approved concurrently with this grant. All programing will be coordinated by and between CWS and PAG, a long-time partner of Brethren Disaster Ministries. In the past 10 years, support has been given through the shipping of canned meat and EDF grants for PAG’s relief work following various storms. After Hurricane Eta, PAG quickly organized a relief program that included providing 8,500 family food bags for a week of provision, used clothing, mattresses, health kits, blankets, shoes, and family hygiene kits. These items reached 50 communities before Hurricane Iota struck. The relief work has continued after Hurricane Iota, reaching more communities and providing medical aid in more remote regions.
