Roatán April Update 2020

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1:3-5, NIV)

We give all glory and honour to the Lord for your partnering with us. Without your support and especially your prayers, our ministry would never have been possible.  We give our heartfelt special thanks to all of you for your sacrificial giving.

Social Impact

A great family received a free home valued at $20,000.00. For those who know Rolando and Paula from our church in Coxen Hole, they were blessed with a new home at Punta Caribe, a neighbourhood not far from our location, about 20 minutes walking distance away.

On March 5th the family received the keys to the house from the donors, a great family from the USA that had come for a week to build the house; of course some work had been done before they arrived.  They came through an organization named Dwelling who build houses for families in need in Roatan, and to whom I had applied more than a year ago. Their dream came true when on that day we, friends and family, went to celebrate with them. As Rolando, Paula and their children took possession of their own home, their tears of joy touched all our hearts. We pray that other families who have applied will receive a home too. God is good!

Covid 19

We continue facing Covid 19, as you do in your city. To update you on  Honduras, at the moment we have 382 cases, 23 deaths and 6 people who have recovered.

As well, we continue with the curfew until April 12th, by order of the president. We don’t know what is going to happen after this date, but we are trusting in the Lord that we’ll be okay, no matter what happens next.

We in Roatán have no cases at the moment, and we hope we won’t; we don’t know exactly when cruise ships and airlines will be allowed to  return to Roatan. The resorts and all small businesses are closed; just supermarkets, gas stations, and pharmacies are open three days a week from 7 am to 3 pm, Monday, Wednesday and Friday; the rest of the week everything is closed, except convenience stores (pulperias) located in every neighborhood and open until 6 pm.  Free home delivery service continues to be offered by supermarkets, pharmacies and Bojangles, the only fast food restaurant in Roatan.The protocol to shop: They will allow you to get into the store based on the last number of your ID. For example, Monday, all ID numbers ending in 1 and 2 are allowed. My day for shopping is Friday.

As we know, it is a difficult time for the people in Roatán, who rely on tourism for much of their income. Society never will be the same, but we trust in God that he will help us to recover in areas like the economy, jobs, business, and debts. But we  especially hope to recover from the physical and psychological impacts Covid 19 is having on people all around the world. 

Solidarity Bags

As a church, to support Roatan at this difficult time, we delivered bags of groceries to 58 families in our congregation on March 25th and we expect to distribute more bags at the end of this week. Also, the local government bought groceries for the people in need around the Island.

At Emmanuel Episcopal/Anglican Church we are not holding services, and our Bishop Lloyd Allen cancelled all Holy Week services and other activities.

Please pray that we can continue to be safe from the Covid 19 virus, and we pray the same for all of you.

Roatán Glass Art

The group of women that work at Roatán Glass Art continue to be very positive, making their best effort to achieve success in this project. Now you can buy any items online at this website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RoatanGlassArt?fbclid=IwAR0fuMyuxJYnfU9t0yJW3N3YZiRLfLwANnNyVRjlGELIm7013cuZ34TtXTI

Items ordered are shipped from the USA, but we have good news for you. Rev. Kara Thompson is travelling to Canada on June 10th, or when the regulations of governments and airlines permit, so if you buy an item, or a few items, she will take them to Canada and ship them to your address.

Please feel free to visit the website; you may see some items you like!

At the moment the project is closed, following the local authorities’ regulations for the Island due to Covid 19. We hope the women can come back to work soon, as they need this work to provide for themselves and their families.

Financial Support

On the financial side, we continue to be very positive and to pray and praise God with faith and thanksgiving. We also ask you to continue to pray about our finances, that for the rest of the year our support will stabilize and be sufficient to cover our needs. At the moment our balance is very low. Therefore, please consider sending a special offering to cover our expenses and needs.

To donate now, please click on the following link (or copy and paste it into your browser):

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/13778

Or you can visit the Diocese of Fredericton’s website (www.anglican.nb.ca) then go to “Donate” for various ways to give online. Be sure to select “Honduras Mission Fund”.

Cheques should be made payable to “The Diocesan Synod of Fredericton” and sent to: Anglican Diocesan Synod of Fredericton, 115 Church Street, Fredericton, NB E3B 4C8

Phone: (506) 459-1801

All cheques should have “Honduras Mission” noted on the reference line.

We greatly appreciate your prayer and financial support to date and trust that you will continue to support us.

Please continue to pray for:

1.   Please continue to pray for Roatan and Honduras at a difficult time caused by Covid 19.

2.   Pray for Stephen Mejia Thompson, our son who was accepted at Providence University College in Manitoba. Providence awaits him in September 2020.

3.   Please pray for our Diocese in Honduras that is starting the process to elect a Suffragan Bishop to assist our Diocesan Bishop, Lloyd Emmanuel Allen.

4.   Continued and stable financial support for the next three years as we continue to serve the Lord in Roatán, Honduras.

5.   The ongoing construction in Coxen Hole. Pray for the remaining installation stages: Cement concrete for the floor and ceramic tiles at the moment.

6.   Our congregations: St. Peter by the Sea in Brick Bay, and Emmanuel in Coxen Hole.

7.   Please pray for the Rev. Robert Browning and for his ministry to English-speakers in Eastern Roatán.

8.   For youth leadership, that God will provide someone to minister to and guide the young people.

9.   Spiritual and practical outreach in the local communities.

10.  For leadership for the Church in Roatán.

11.  The Episcopal Church in Honduras, for the process toward   self-sufficiency and to be continued in 2020.

Thank you to all who have faithfully prayed and faithfully given to support this incredible work of ministering to the people in our congregations.

Matthew 25:40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Your prayers and continued support enable us to continue touching people’s lives with Jesus’ love.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.      Ephesians 3:20-21 

Empowering the Church

Learning, Growing and Serving

Nelson and Kara Mejia