April 14, 1999
400 needed for Honduras projects
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___Texas Baptist Men is seeking 400 volunteers to build 100 houses and five churches in Honduras by Christmas.
___The construction teams will rebuild homes for victims of Hurricane Mitch in the El Progresso District of Honduras.
___Last year, when the hurricane devastated Honduras and Nicaragua, Texas Baptist Men led in disaster relief ministries, coordinating the delivery of 23 planeloads of food in 10 days. Once the need for immediate relief subsided, the Texans made a two-year commitment to help with recovery and reconstruction in Honduras.
___Each of the 40 building teams will include a team leader experienced in missions construction, two cooks and seven general workers. Each team will leave the United States on a Saturday and return the following Saturday.
___An initial three-member team consisting of Dick Talley from First Baptist Church of Dallas, Harry Campbell from Eastside Baptist Church in Killeen and John Lilly from Reklaw Baptist Church will travel to Honduras this week.
___The Texas Baptists will work with local residents in converting a banana warehouse into a ministry center. They will build quarters where volunteers will sleep, cook and wash.
___Potential volunteers needing additional information may contact Texas Baptist Men at (214) 828-5356.
___In addition to the rebuilding effort, Royal Ambassadors around the state are helping to raise money for agricultural development and missions advancement in Honduras.
___The RAs have set a statewide goal of raising $50,000 for the "boats and goats" project to buy about 1,000 goats as breeding stock and motorboats that can be used in navigable rivers for missionary efforts.
___At the statewide RA Congress, held on Good Friday in Belton, the boys raised more than $5,200.
___El Progresso District is the same region where Texas Baptist Men provided disaster relief 25 years ago in the wake of Hurricane Fifi.
___John LaNoue, who recently retired as state director of Baptist Men, was reminded of that initial ministry to Honduras when he returned there last November. LaNoue helped distribute 18,000 pounds of food every day for six days immediately after Hurricane Mitch struck.
___At one village in the El Progresso area, two men approached LaNoue.
___"We know you," one of the men told him. Pointing to LaNoue's Disaster Relief shirt, the man explained that he and his friend had been children in one of the villages where Texas Baptists provided relief in 1974.
___Both of the men now are pastors.Frontpage / Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!