Mission Honduras International
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty ... One Child at a Time |
December 2009
Newsletter
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Give the Greatest Christmas Gift of All
A New Life of Hope and Love for a Child in Liberia
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This Christmas, give a gift that is meaningful and life-changing both to the recipient and to you: Sponsor a Child or make a donation to Liberia Mission.
As a special gift when you sponsor a child, donate online or send a check by December 24, 2009, we will send to either you or to a person you designate a free copy of the wonderful book Christmas Presence: Twelve Gifts That Were More Than They Seemed.
 This best selling hardcover book (valued at $17.95) features short stories by award winning authors and is a great way to get in the spirit of Christmas. Thanks to our supporter ACTA Publications for its generous donation of this book to our supporters.
"Christmas Presence moves from strength to strength with nary a weak link." Publisher's Weekly. "The stories are emotional without being maudlin, nostalgic without being sappy, timeless without sacrificing contemporary situations." St. Anthony Messenger
To sponsor a child or donate and receive your free book, simply go online or mail a check payable to Mission Honduras International by December 24th to:
Mission Honduras International / Liberia Mission, Inc.
P O Box 56007
Chicago, IL 60656-0007
Below is a letter from our Mission Directors in Liberia and a response to a recent letter to our supporters from APUFRAM and APUFRAM International.
All of us wish you a Blessed Advent and
a joyful Christmas Season! |
| Greetings!
 It is with heartfelt gratitude and appreciation that I write this letter to you. Liberia Mission was blessed to host their first-ever medical mission here in Africa.
Our group was lead by Jake Schroeder who has a long and respected record volunteering in Honduras. The group he brought to Liberia was made up of members from Florida, South Carolina and Montana.
Jake's group arrived on Sunday night, October 18th, and they returned to the United States on Monday October 26th. What happened between these dates was INCREDIBLE. Jake's group held a clinic on Liberia Mission grounds on October 19th and 20th. On Thursday, October 22, in conjunction with the Teach Peace Foundation, the group made their way to the Our Lady of Fatima Rehabilitation Center and worked all day addressing the medical needs of severely handicapped and disabled children. Throughout the entire medical mission, three Teach Peace staff members proved invaluable assistance with crowd control and translating the indigenous Liberian dialects.
The medical mission that Jake brought to Liberia literally served human beings that not only had never been served by a medical doctor, but also had never been in the presence of a white person before.
The people came from the "bush" villages that are prevalent throughout Liberia. Many of them only spoke the Bassa or Kpelle dialect and those who spoke English spoke in the thick Liberian patois that often needed to be interpreted. Still the 15 members of the medical mission plugged on in the name of love and in the name of God. They were working 12-14 hour days under stressful conditions and yet they were determined to love at all costs.
One of the most dramatic moments for me came on Friday, October 23rd.
I was walking the fence line of our newly built chain linked fence and I noticed a young lady trying to "throw" something over the fence, which is topped off by two large strands of barbed-wire. When I arrived I realized that the bundle that was caught on the barbed wire was a baby. The mother told me that her baby was very sick and she thought if she "chucked" it inside the compound it would have a better chance of seeing the doctors.
 This is the desperation that the Liberians face everyday. The good news is that both baby and mother were seen and treated a few hours later and both are fine. In the end, as I was speaking to head doctor Santiago Rosado, he mentioned that the medical group had seen over 2,000 people during their time here in Liberia. What an incredible gift of love and faith Jake, Santiago and the rest of the group were able to give to the people of Liberia. As usual our beautiful children of Liberia Mission were ecstatic to have our visitors and our visitors were equally moved to be in their presence.
So to Jake, Santiago, Father Hediberto, Sue, Janet, Teri, Al, Bo, Jenea, Denise, Janet, Karla, Jim, Mike and Lorenzo the road wasn't always easy.... in fact the road wasn't always there! But how proud you made all of us; and how you blessed all of us.
 Thank you so much for all you did. Thank you for loving Liberia and its people enough to come, and thank you for hearing Christ's call. The children and we already miss you and your presence here!
Peace and Prayers,
Jerome and Clarisa
Liberia Mission Directors |
| Greetings!
The sexual abuse of children and
students at Catholic institutions has devastated the Church over the last
several years. Now, at Mission Honduras
International (MHI) we find ourselves deeply involved with many serious
allegations of sexual abuse in APUFRAM-managed projects in Honduras and, before
they abandoned the project, in Liberia.
We have treated these allegations with great seriousness. We must do what is right, and this is
what we have been doing over these last several months.
Unquestionably, it has been a
long and painful process. It is
especially painful because of repeated distortions of the truth. For example, in their November 19 communication,
APUFRAM International (AI) states that a November 17-18 meeting in Cojutepeque,
El Salvador was "attended by EL PADRE, 5 from APUFRAM, 4 from MHI, 2 from AI
and 7 independent observers." In
fact, those seven persons are Franciscan friars, members of the definitories
(governing boards) of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation and the Central
American Custody. They were the
conveners of the meeting, not observers.
We have found a strong ally in
the Franciscans of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation. Earlier this year, MHI approached the
Franciscans with deep concerns about Fr. Emil Cook and APUFRAM. Friar Jim Kent, the Vicar Provincial,
believed these allegations to be so serious that he explicitly forbade Fr. Emil
from carrying on any fundraising on behalf of APUFRAM. The Franciscans are right now preparing
for a formal investigation.
Most recently, Friar Kent has
requested that APUFRAM International remove Fr. Emil's name from their
communications. This is why they now refer to Fr. Emil as EL PADRE.
In the face of these events,
APUFRAM International continues to solicit funds for APUFRAM and Fr. Emil by
proxy, openly defying the legitimate authority of the Catholic Church.
Certainly it has taken some time
for the process to develop to this point, and we still have further to go. However, any suggestion that the mission
children in Honduras will suffer because funding from MHI was suspended is
grossly overstated. APUFRAM has
extensive land holdings and income producing properties. They have an endowment that we believe
has a value in excess of $1 million.
APUFRAM has exclusive control of these properties and funds. They are beyond the reach of U.S. legal
authorities and the Catholic Church.
If APUFRAM reduces services to children, they do so by choice and not
necessity.
We realize that you may be both disturbed and confused by
the events and dueling communications of the last several months. Do not lose heart. We encourage you strongly to remain
faithful to the Catholic Church and let this faithfulness direct your
almsgiving.
For a complete report of the November meeting with Fr.
Emil Cook, the members of the Franciscan province, and APUFRAM, please click here.
God Bless,
Bob O'Dwyer, Acting President
John Dewan, Former President and Current Treasurer
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Mission Honduras International
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