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SCHOLARSHIP DONATIONS NEEDED
About 25 of our students are still in need of scholarship funds for the 2013 school year. Please donate to our scholarship fund.

$300 will send a child to school for a year !

Click the donate now button and choose to give to scholarships.
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PREDISAN Video
See our newest video promoting the work and ministry of Predisan
 Predisan Video Link

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PREDISAN IS A CFC APPROVED INTERNATIONAL CHARITY # 61105


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PREDISAN IS A MEMBER OF THE EVANGELICAL COUNCIL FOR FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
 
THRIVE

 

Predisan has partnered with THRIVE Farmers Coffee to support our ministry work in Honduras.

 

THRIVE Farmers Coffee is a unique, farmer-direct coffee company that provides coffee directly from the farmers in Honduras, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.  With THRIVE, every cup serves two - you receive artisan quality, specialty grade coffee and the farmer receives economic support greatly impacting their families and communities.

 

With a simple cup of coffee, you are able to support Predisan's mission program and the support the farmers in Honduras!

 

Click here to
BUY THRIVE COFFEE NOW and
enter code: PREDISAN
 

 

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FEBRUARY 2013
Greetings!

Spiritual, physical, and emotional healing programs are flourishing at Mission Predisan as we kick off 2013. 

 

Our board enjoyed a productive January board meeting in Honduras. We enjoyed a special treat as Dr. Amanda Madrid, Predisan's Executive Director, organized a reception for our board and staff, with The Honorable Lisa Jean Kubiske, Ambassador of the United States to Honduras, and several key members of her staff who work closely with NGO's in Honduras.  Check out our Facebook page to see pictures of this event! 

 

We continue to covet your prayers and your gifts of time, talents, and treasures as we strive to serve those who need it most in Honduras.  In this edition of the newsletter, we share with you the stories about key ministries and individuals in the Predisan community.

 

We hope to see you in Catacamas during 2013!

 
In Him -  

Linda 

 

 


Linda Trevathan, Board Chair
 

 

Highlighting one of our
Hard-working 2012
Graduates
" I have many dreams in my life and PREDISAN helped me to open doors to achieve these dreams"   
Reyna, Class of 2012 High school graduate
Congratualtions to our 2012 High School Graduates
Congratulations to all our 2012 High school graduates!
Reyna Del Carmen Garcia Hernandez is one of 14 students in Predisans' Future Leaders of Catacamas Scholarship Program  that graduated from high school in December.

 

Known as a friendly, respectful and responsible young woman, she excelled in math and accounting. Now 19, she is now applying for a scholarship opportunity in the United States.

 

"Reyna is a leader and has applied herself in all activities," says Jhonny Savala, who worked with Renya, along with other Predisan staff members including Flavio Hernandez and Teresa Mejia. "Although her family is poor, she has moved forward with her goals and dreams. She is very persistent and an excellent ambassador of Catacamas and Honduras."  

 

Through the support of generous donors, Predisan sponsors 155 students in The Future Leaders of Catacamas Scholarship Program. It costs about $300 per year for a child in Catacamas to go to school. An education can make a huge difference in the life of the student and the student's family and community.

 

"Reyna hopes to help her brothers and sister and family before everything," Jhonny says. "She wants to work helping her community, her city, and her country."

 

She started school in 2001 and made excellent grades from the beginning. But when it was time for her to start high school in 2010, her family could not afford it. Predisan awarded her a scholarship. "To get a scholarship from Predisan is one of the greatest things that I have received in my life," Reyna wrote in an essay. "It was a huge positive impact on my life to receive this scholarship."

 

Jhonny was impressed with Reyna throughout her high school years.

 

"She worked really hard to maintain her academic level and get more involved in community activities," she says. "She shows a lot of respect and love for her parents. She believes strongly in God and is well-grounded in her Christian faith."

 

Reyna hopes other students will have the opportunity to get an education through Predisans scholarship program. "I have many dreams in my life and Predisan helped me to open many doors to achieve these dreams," she says. "Now I am a person who helps in the community, a person who is looking to help my city, my country, someone who has new dreams to help my family and share with others the values I received through Predisan."

 

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Potter's School Volunteers Help
Hondurans and Help Themselves

 

Community served by TPS
The Potter's School students benefit from relationships built in Ville de San Antonio since 2008.

The Potter's School, a homeschooling enrichment program with classes offered live over the Internet, offers several opportunities for students to step away from their computers and do mission work.

 

"We offer extra-curricular opportunities for students and parents, so they can serve in different ways," says Chris Williams, who oversees family ministries and activities at TPS. "They gain experiences and prepare for life beyond high school."

 

One of TPS' most successful partnerships is with Predisan. The relationship dates back to 2006, when the school sent its first team to Honduras and found Predisan well-equipped, well-organized and ideal for TPS families.

 

"What really impressed us with Predisan was their concern about the spiritual and physical needs of the people they serve," Chris says. "That fit with our school's philosophy, which places an emphasis on relationships. We're not looking to solve a problem and walk away."

 

In the early years, TPS volunteers focused mostly on helping with Predisan's Healthy Schools program. They weighed and measured students, checked their eyes, checked for lice and inspected their hands and feet. While kids were waiting their turn, volunteers played games, taught Bible lessons and led activities.

 

When TPS returned in 2008, the school took a different approach. Instead of visiting multiple villages during the week, TPS adopted the community of San Antonio de Capapan. Since then, they have formed deep connections with the residents of this mountain community of 50 families. "We love the model of partnering with one community, because we can see them growing year after year," Chris says.

 

Volunteers have led a Vacation Bible School program, taught English lessons, led crafts and outdoor games, provided Bible studies for the adults and helped build latrines for each family. The experience has been life-changing for the students and parents who have participated on the TPS teams.

 

Chris sees students grow in their faith and understanding of what it means to serve. "When they have familiar things taken away, they can see who they really are and what's important to them," he says. "We want them to understand God's heart for the world and understand what it really means to love thy neighbor."

 

Students grow spiritually, develop leadership skills and improve their Spanish. "We place a heavy emphasis on devotions and relationships within teams... They have no Internet and no cell phones, just each other."

 

For Chris and other adults, the trips help cement their belief that to help people in need, you have to take the time to get to know them. "If you just find an orphanage, paint it and leave, what have you really accomplished?" he says. "If you can invest in the people, you can make a difference even after you're gone."

 

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Oklahoma Christian Nursing Students 
Find Many Rewards
on Mission Trip

Shawna Hood, an instructor of nursing at Oklahoma Christian University, has taken six trips with undergraduate students to Honduras, where they serve as Predisan volunteers.

 

The trip gives students an opportunity to log required clinical hours. But the Predisan experience offers so much more. "There is a lot of opportunity," Shawna says. "There are a lot of different learning opportunities between Honduras and the United States."

 

Students travel to clinics and work alongside Hondurans. "We have a great opportunity to do some teaching," she says.

 

They also visit the local hospital as well as many schools, where they hand out soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes for their healthy-habits education. They teach children the importance of nutrition and exercise.

 

OCU Nursing 2012
Oklahoma Christian Nursing students, and instructor Shawna Hood, serve Predisan communities.

The program is a great fit for Oklahoma Christian. "Our university is very mission-minded," Shawna says, adding that some students have returned to Honduras to continue doing mission work. Mission trips to Africa can be expensive. Honduras provides the opportunity to work in international communities, without the long flights and high cost.  We also have students who choose to go to international missions outside of school. 

 

"Predisan makes it easy to go," she says. "Predisan is wonderful at taking care of us. I love the people. Our group is allowed many different learning opportunities and we have never had a situation where we were concerned for our safety."

 

The group also makes time for fun. "We go to the caves, and we go swimming," she says. They visit local restaurants and get to know people. The poverty is not depressing, Shawna says. "The people are inspiring," she says. "When you think about these people living without much, they are unaffected by it," she says.

 

Honduras may be a poor country, but Shawna finds beauty every time she visits. "The beauty is in what you see and in who you see as well."

 

 

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Staff Changes at PREDISAN

Teresa Mejia, the friendly face volunteers see when they first arrive, has a new role. She is now Groups Coordinator.

 

Since 2011, Teresa has made sure volunteers had everything they needed, including translators. She stays with groups throughout their trip, including visits to the rural mountain communities. "I enjoyed doing this so much, because I really like meeting and knowing more about people," she says. "This has helped me a lot to grow in my personal and my spiritual life."

 

Teresa Mejia
New Groups Coordinator, Teresa Mejia

Now, as Groups Coordinator, she is more involved in preparing for group visits, including hotel reservations, transportation and logistics. She works with group leaders to make sure they know what they will be doing. She coordinates with the different Predisan programs to make sure they are ready for the volunteers. "What motivates me with this type of job is the satisfaction of knowing that everything planned will get to a good end and be successful," she says. "It is true that the results may not be 100 percent, but this will help us plan better for the next group."

 

Teresa's goal for 2013 is to learn more about her new position and contribute as best she can to Predisan. "Also, I would like to continue my university education and grow more in my spiritual life."

  ____________________________________________________________  

 

Mike Miller, CEO and CDO at Predisan for almost two years has taken a new job as Atlanta Director of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He oversees the staff and is responsible for the area-wide vision in 17 counties. "Before taking the role with Predisan, I served with FCA for almost 23 years and held several leadership roles within the ministry," Mike says. "My heart was to be closer to the field and working directly with staff."

 

He is excited about the opportunity FCA will have to directly serve in partnership with Predisan. "It is our desire to send groups to serve in helping reach the next generation in Honduras," he says.

 

In his Predisan role, Mike focused on organizational structure, board unification, organizational vision and donor development. The position is currently open. The successor should have spiritual depth, the ability to build relationships, a desire to equip and empower the board and volunteers in ministry, the ability to minister to the hearts of donors and the ability to ask people to invest their time, talents and treasures.

 

"I believe Predisan is an amazing organization serving Christ in Honduras," Mike says. "The staff members are incredible and work so diligently in very tough conditions."

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OUR MISSION AND VISION
PREDISAN exists as a Christian healthcare organization so that individuals in our service area (currently eastern Honduras) can experience wholeness - spiritual, physical, social, economic and environmental health - according to God's redemptive plan.

We focus on three areas of ministry that provide a holistic approach to healing lives: Healthcare, Community Development and Spiritual Formation.


Predisan's calling and its name are based on two Spanish words:
predicar (to proclaim) and sanar (to heal), taken from

Luke 9:2, when Jesus sends his disciples "... to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick."

 www.predisan.org 



Predisan is a non profit 501(c)(3) corporation registered in the U. S. as Predisan USA, Inc.
and a non-profit corporation registered in Honduras as
Asociacion Hondurena Predicar y Sanar (MISSION PREDISAN)


Copyright � 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Predisan | 770-955-1512 | [email protected] | http://www.predisan.org