Dear Friends of Honduras

The Board of the Washington Overseas Mission wants to make certain that all of our friends and supporters are aware of our plans for ongoing activity in Honduras in light of the recent political crisis and violence.

Perhaps many of you have seen the scenes of the violence near San Pedro Sula, along the highway between the airport and in Choloma. Individual lives and livelihoods have been placed in great danger. Pimienta, where Dr. Raul lives, has experienced more peaceful protests. Dr. Raul was re-elected with 86% of his community supporting him. He is a point of local stability for his community. However, the frustration that boils over when people feel that they do not have a say in their future destiny has been evident. Irregularities in the electoral process are being reviewed by the Honduran election board, the Organization of American states and other impartial oversight organizations from around the world. All attempts are being made to validate the election of the next president of Honduras, but final results may not be known until after Christmas. He will face the enormous task of bringing calm and order and establishing trust in his administration. We are a volunteer organization dedicated to serving the needy of Honduras. I believe our job will be to continue to be of service.

The Board of the Overseas Mission recently met to discuss the current political and social instability and it’s potential effect on our work. We made the decision to continue with our plan to send a container of humanitarian aid via our container program on December 28th. That shipment will deliver our team supplies and much needed medications. After consultation with Dr. Raul and our community leader in San Antonio Yoro (Carmencita), we have elected to continue with ongoing planning for our March visit to Honduras. The communities that we serve are in very rural areas and have not been directly touched by scenes of violence. However, because the safety of our volunteers is paramount, our plan is to monitor the situation in Honduras very closely over the coming weeks. If we do not feel it is safe for our volunteers to travel, then the Mission trip in March 2018 will be delayed. We continue to plan for our August 2018 Mission trip.
We are so very fortunate in the United States that, in spite of our own political differences and our own long history of electoral irregularities, our political institutions have been strong enough that we have largely been able to avoid the violent and dangerous political eruptions that are now plaguing Honduras. Please keep the people of Honduras in your thoughts and prayers as they go through these very dangerous transitions. Those who seem to suffer the most are those who have the least resources to endure. The Washington Overseas Mission will continue to offer support and hope to these most vulnerable people.

Tim Long MD –Pres. Washington Overseas Mission