Ephiphany IV
Chris Beal

Good morning,


Thank you Susan for giving me this opportunity to speak to St Margaret's about our Honduran outreach program and how it is helping the people of Proteccion.


When Susan asked me to deliver a message on our outreach program in Honduras as a sermon, I quickly agreed even though I've never preached before. Even though this task is daunting to me, the work of this parish through this outreach program is too important to be kept a secret.


As many of you know, St. Margaret's has supported the work of Dr. Waldo Madrid for over 15 years. Dr. Madrid provides basic health care services to people of Proteccion, Honduras three days a week. Proteccion is a town of 300 people and is located about 60 miles from San Pedro Sula. Although it is sounds like it is close to an urban area, its location is in a beautiful, lush tropical valley that is accessible only by a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Dr. Madrid is the only physician that serves the community. Our support has gone to support his salary. Without our support, the people of this community would either do without basic health care or would have to travel great distances to see a doctor.


I must admit that I was filled with anxiety when I made a commitment to go to Honduras. I had no idea what I was getting into. No one from our parish had been to Honduras for several years and it had been even longer since anyone had spent any length of time in Proteccion. Therefore, I had to go meet with Dr. Madrid, find out more about his work and bring back and report back to St. Margaret's.


Each summer, the EDOW organizes a trip to Honduras as part of its work with our Companion Diocese. These trips usually have over 30 to 40 participants and you literally travel from project to project without much opportunity to spend time in one location or on one project. I wasn't sure if it would be possible to spend much time in Proteccion.. Fortunately, there was a group from St. Paul's K Street that was going to Proteccion to help with the construction of a new clinic. I could either spend my week going from project in Honduras, or I could join the St. Paul's K street group and spend my week in Proteccion. If I went with St. Paul's I could be assured that I would get to spend time with Dr. Madrid and even help out with the construction of the clinic. I made a quick decision to go to Proteccion.! I am so glad I made that choice.


"What a way to spend a vacation - August in steamy Honduras." I thought. I knew where Honduras was on the map, but I had no idea with Proteccion was located. Was it in the mountains where it was cooler??? Was it along the hot sultry coast? I had no idea. Even doing a Google map search didn't help. All I knew when I left to comfort of my DC home was that I would be spending the nights on a mattress on the floor of a non air conditioned rectory. Since I was familiar with rural Latin American living, I imagined the rectory had large openings in the walls that provided much needed ventilation, but also let the creeping, flying, crawling insects in during the night. No hot water for showers. During the day, this white collar gringo was going to be loading cinder blocks and cutting rebar for the construction of Dr. Madrid's new clinic in the hot Honduran tropical sun. I was going to be out of my North American comfort zone. I must have been out of my mind for agreeing to go there.


I was wrong.


I wish all of you could have witnessed what I witnessed when I was in Proteccion. The gratitude and love that was expressed by the people of Proteccion was beyond words. It transcended barriers of language, culture, politics and economic status. I was truly humbled by it. I witnessed the knowledge of God that is referred to in our Second reading. "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him." I experienced that love in Proteccion.


It was dark when we arrived in Proteccion. Father Monje, the Rector welcomed us to his home and within minutes the parish's leading citizens arrived to welcome us. When they learned I was from Santa Margarita, they acted like they already knew me only because they already new about the good works of Santa Margarita. Father Monje asked about Santa Margarita and wanted to know more about our Parish.


The next day, I awoke to the sound of roosters crowing at 4:00 am. I got up and looked outside and watched the sunrise over a green, fertile valley. Around day break, curious teenagers and a few children noticed this strange gringo outside the rectory. They wanted to know more about where I came from and they wanted to practice their English or to laugh at my attempts to communicate in Spanish. As the day grew warmer, more curious children arrived at the Rectory to find out more about the strangers who had arrived the night before. I realized quickly, that no matter where you went, children and adults would follow you. Because it was Sunday, no work was going to be done. We had the day and the week I might add to be objects of curiosity.


As I prayed and remembered the reason why I answered God's calling to be in Proteccion, I decided to think in terms of being a humble servant, rather than being an arrogant North American control freak. I had to stop, listen and observe. At that moment, I began to recognize the beauty and gifts that were all around me. These gifts help me recognize the universal love of God and how that love helps bind the world community.


The first gift was the children. The children of Proteccion have little in terms of material possessions. For the most of them, they go to school through sixth grade and drop out. At that point they go on to work the land around them. They are eager to share with you their love of their land and the their appreciation of the nature that surrounds them. One day they were pestering me to go with them on a hike through the coffee fincas to look at native birds. The oldest boy was probably around 10 or 11 and he was joined by five or six others who were probably between five and ten years old. I had no idea where they wanted to take me. I decided to let go and let them take me wherever they wanted to go.


It was an incredible journey. Beauty was all around us. Within yards outside of town, I watched and listened as the pointed out birds, plants and other sights. Birds that these Gringo eyes would never find suddenly appeared. Sounds that would have gone unnoticed were clues these boys would quickly pick up as signs of tropical birds you only see in textbooks. Trees that were full of butterflies of every color and hue appeared within my sight. As we hiked through the finca, a barbed wire barrier had to be crossed. Because the kids were small and they were used to crawling over or under the wire on a daily basis, it was not a barrier to them. I tried to climb over it, but tripped and fell flat on my face. As I grabbed a tree trunk to pull my self up, a colony of ants were disturbed and started to crawl all over my hand. The kids shrieked with laughter as they saw a look of panic on my face. I brushed the ants off my hand and laughed with them. We quickly established a bond.


The second gift was the way we were received as brothers and sisters at Santa Lucia. Santa Lucia is the name of the Episcopal Church in Proteccion. It was the center of our nightlife. Each night, we attended mass. The first night was memorable. After the Homily, Padre Monje asked me to stand up and appear before the 75 parishioners who were attending mass and asked me to say a few words. He began his remarks by mentioning that I was from Santa Margarita. He went on to recognize the support our Parish has given to Dr Madrid. At that point, everyone stood up and gave me a standing ovation. I was humbled and surprised by the outpouring of affection. I don't remember if I said anything other than greetings from our parish.


On subsequent nights we integrated ourselves into the daily life of the community and the church. Yes, I hauled cinder blocks, cut rebar and dug some ditches, but much of the time was spent getting to know the people and getting to know Dr. Madrid. He personifies the humility of a servant of Christ. Each day, he gets up and walks ten miles from his family's house to the clinic in Proteccion. All he carries is a small knit satchel.. Most of his patients suffer from various maladies you do not see in the developed world. Dengue fever, leishmaniasis, diarrhea, and most recently, a few cases of HIV. Malnutrition continues to be a big concern of his. I am sure he could make a lot more money if he practiced in one of the larger cities in Honduras, but he has chosen to make a difference in Proteccion.


Unlike other communities in Central America that receive medical help from North America, Dr. Madrid has not had a medical mission in Proteccion for over five years. He has requested that we organize a group of HCPs who can help him do health screenings and patient education. I am looking for volunteers from our parish who would be will to spend a week in Proteccion.


Much like those people who attended the synagogue in Capernaum and were astounded by Jesus' teaching and authority, I was astounded by how our outreach program in Honduras has touched so many peoples' lives in Proteccion. No, unlike today's Gospel, I did not witness an exorcism. I did witness the sharing of the same love through Christ and our outreach program is an expression of our Christian love where we express our love of our neighbor just as Christ loves us. Just as Jesus relieved the suffering of the man with the unclean spirit, our parish helps relieve suffering of people through our outreach programs.


On behalf of Dr. Madrid, Padre Monje and the good people of Proteccion. Thank you.