|
NEXT TRIP 2024
PLEASE PRAY as we plan our next 2024 trip. When is the best time to go? Where will we stay? How will we get from place to place? So many decisions to be made! |
Previous Mission Trips include: |
February 2024
With teams from Georgia and South Carolina, this was one of the largest gathering of people to serve the Mission House residents and the lady artisans from the Santa Elena area of Honduras. An emphasis was place on medical treatment for the children at the Mission House with professionals in the fields of physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech pathology. In addition, a well-known potter and artist traveled to assist with designing and painting with the children, a beautiful mural on one of the walls at the Mission House. Jewelry making techniques were again demonstrated to those ladies from the local village so their efforts (jewelry) could be sold in the United States and all the money of the sale going to the individual Honduran artisan.
October 2023
Another great mission trip occurred with several persons from the Brunswick, GA and Atlanta, GA areas traveling to the Mission House to assist the missionary husband and wife team with 30+ resident children and a workshop for the lovely ladies from the Santa Elena area. The ladies' workshop reviewed jewelry improvement techniques, paying the local artisans for items sold since last trip and celebrating with cake and soft drinks.
February 2023
HOW took a team from Georgia and South Carolina for the first time since the worldwide pandemic. Many local women (20+) received hands-on training at a local conference room. Over 50+ ladies received a big payday for their handmade items sold in the US. As always, the Honduran artisan received 100% of the selling price of the sold item. The next mission trip is tentatively scheduled for October of this year. If interested in attending this upcoming trip - drop an email to Susan.
October 2022
Due to flooding by Hurricane Julia and the closing of the airport in Honduras - this October 2020 team had to delay their arrival until a later date. Please pray for additional knowledge for a safe subsequent time for this team to minister to these wonderful people.
April 2021
Right after our February 2020 visit to Honduras, COVID changed our world. If you think we had it rough in the US, you should have been in Honduras. When they said, "Stay at home", they meant it! People were not allowed to leave their community----period!! The government later allowed travel but only one day of the week, the day each person could travel was based on their government ID #. If a citizen was out on a day they were not supposed to be out, they were arrested. Buses were not allowed to run which had a huge impact on the communities because tremendously large numbers of people in the outlying communities rode buses to jobs in San Pedro Sula. There is no Social Services System in Honduras----no Unemployment benefits---NO STIMULUS $$.
Since we were also shut down, I was unable to sell jewelry for the ladies.........I felt helpless rather than helpful. The Methodist Annual Conferences have been cancelled for two years (so far)......I was selling $3,000 worth of jewelry for the ladies each year!! We have been receiving money from various supporters of the Jeremiah 29:11 Mission and sending it on to Chuck and Joyce Harper. They are overflowing with children that they were already serving and new children who have been abandoned by their parents because they just did not have enough food for them. Some children have been abandoned in parks and even in the weeds by the side of the road.
We are hoping to take a group to Honduras in September for a ten day trip. We have several work sessions with the ladies from the Santa Elena community AND help with whatever needs to be done at the Mission House. If you are interested in traveling with us, please email us at: helpotherswork@gmail.com. If you have special skills that would be helpful to the Mission, please include that in the email.....if you think you do NOT have any special skills, we will discover them when we are in Honduras. If you have the desire to go, I guarantee you have special skills to share!
February 2020
After almost a year's absence - due to civil unrest during the time period of two previous scheduled 2019 mission trips that had to be canceled - - HOW returned! This trip was very productive with many projects being completed. Over 40 children at the Mission House received a variety of training experiences. Classes on personal hygiene to include stressing the importance of washing hands to prevent the spread of disease was an emphasis. Basket weaving, jewelry and pottery making - for a daily average of 32 participating ladies - was taught for 3 days. The team also did physical labor by painting the inside of the Mission House's Activity Building. Also, the outside bathrooms of a local public school were painted by this team. New plants were placed in the Power Garden to allow the Mission House to grow fresh vegetables for the children and staff. All items made by the local artisans and sold in the USA result in the individual receiving 100% of the sale price.
March 2019
Judi the Potter traveled on this trip and continued to train an in-country volunteer to be the pottery mistress as she modeled teaching children various pottery skills. Soon we will have some beautiful pottery for sale! Another artisan wore many hats as she taught basket weaving skills using palm branches to the ladies from Santa Elena. Several ladies showed great potential for creating some beautiful baskets that will be for sale. She also taught the children at the Mission about how disease spreads and how to prevent the spread at the House. In addition, she taught lessons in seed/plant germination and found two volunteers who are really interested in getting the three Tower Gardens operational NOW! We were blessed to have a pharmacist use her pharmaceutical skills to screen our ladies AND the children at the mission house for diabetes and high blood pressure. She also reviewed and restocked all the medicines that are needed for the children and staff at the Mission House.
August 2018
An 11 member team traveled from both Brunswick, GA and Hartsville, SC to minister to children and adults in Honduras. 39 children 12 years of age and under were outfitted with 3 sets of clothes and 2 pair of shoes. 28 older children went shopping for clothes and money was left for 10 more children to have new clothing. 80 eye exams were given by the team with 33 pairs of glasses given to those needing to improve their eyesight. 6 oscillating fans were mounted on walls and 8 exhaust fans mounted on windows within the children's sleeping quarters. 38 ladies met for the general jewelry making meeting with 2 later smaller groups for new project training. The electric kiln had 3 successful firings for the pottery projects. Physical therapy exercises were modified for the 5 children who have been receiving rehab treatments. A Healing Retreat was attended by 3 of the newcomers to the Mission House. Much was accomplished by these 2 teams for the missionaries and children at the Mission House and many within the local community.
April 2018
A small group of like-minded people can accomplish great things. As soon as our group landed in Honduras we split into two smaller groups. One group of four headed to the beach to prepare the hotel for a Healing Retreat for the girls living at the Mission House who are 14-20 years old. The retreat was centered around the girls recognizing the experiences they have had that were difficult - praying and healing - and preparing to move forward with Christ as their guide. Most of the girls have gone through some extreme situations and were ready for the healing. The other group of two went to the hotel near the Mission House and set up for meeting with the ladies in the community. More than 50 ladies are presently participating in our jewelry program. The ladies were paid 100% for the sale of each and every piece of jewelry they had crafted and previously sent to the USA for sale. Both groups also started painting bedrooms for the girls which were finished when they returned from the retreat - this signified their "new" beginning.
August 2017
Two great churches - St. Lukes' UMC (Hartsville, SC) and College Place UMC ( Brunswick, GA) have teams that just returned from Honduras. Local artisans (50+) have been trained by HOW participants focusing on the new catalog highlighting the best selling designs for hand made necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc. The maker of the item receives 100% of the selling price - congratulations
June 2017 - Great News! Lots of items arrived in Honduras!!
1. Susan broke down and oiled 9 operational sewing machines and also sorted bundles of fabrics for the local community near the new Mission House. These items will be used so locals can make items for sale.
2. A professional massage table donated by Help Others Work (HOW) for message therapy for the physically handicapped children. 3. Tower Gardens - Three of them have been donated by a very special person so the 50+ Mission House residents can have fresh produce. 4. The children at the Mission House received three huge boxes of clothing and shoes. 5. A professional grade kiln and pottery wheel now allows interested local villagers to receive training and produce pottery items to make money for their families. 6. More life jackets arrived - - not one person has drowned in the 3-years since life jackets have been donated by HOW and used by non-swimming locals during the Holy Week celebration at the local lake! 7. Boxes of learning materials received by the Mission House students and their wonderful teacher Mama Joyce. Thanks to the generosity of the many people who have made these items possible - smiles will be coming to many in our Honduran Family.
April 2017 - Team took record monetary payments to 54 Honduran artisans - for their received items sold in the USA.
July 2016
College Place United Methodist Church made a return trip with a whole different crew. We continued some of our May Projects and started some new ones! Take a look:
With teams from Georgia and South Carolina, this was one of the largest gathering of people to serve the Mission House residents and the lady artisans from the Santa Elena area of Honduras. An emphasis was place on medical treatment for the children at the Mission House with professionals in the fields of physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech pathology. In addition, a well-known potter and artist traveled to assist with designing and painting with the children, a beautiful mural on one of the walls at the Mission House. Jewelry making techniques were again demonstrated to those ladies from the local village so their efforts (jewelry) could be sold in the United States and all the money of the sale going to the individual Honduran artisan.
October 2023
Another great mission trip occurred with several persons from the Brunswick, GA and Atlanta, GA areas traveling to the Mission House to assist the missionary husband and wife team with 30+ resident children and a workshop for the lovely ladies from the Santa Elena area. The ladies' workshop reviewed jewelry improvement techniques, paying the local artisans for items sold since last trip and celebrating with cake and soft drinks.
February 2023
HOW took a team from Georgia and South Carolina for the first time since the worldwide pandemic. Many local women (20+) received hands-on training at a local conference room. Over 50+ ladies received a big payday for their handmade items sold in the US. As always, the Honduran artisan received 100% of the selling price of the sold item. The next mission trip is tentatively scheduled for October of this year. If interested in attending this upcoming trip - drop an email to Susan.
October 2022
Due to flooding by Hurricane Julia and the closing of the airport in Honduras - this October 2020 team had to delay their arrival until a later date. Please pray for additional knowledge for a safe subsequent time for this team to minister to these wonderful people.
April 2021
Right after our February 2020 visit to Honduras, COVID changed our world. If you think we had it rough in the US, you should have been in Honduras. When they said, "Stay at home", they meant it! People were not allowed to leave their community----period!! The government later allowed travel but only one day of the week, the day each person could travel was based on their government ID #. If a citizen was out on a day they were not supposed to be out, they were arrested. Buses were not allowed to run which had a huge impact on the communities because tremendously large numbers of people in the outlying communities rode buses to jobs in San Pedro Sula. There is no Social Services System in Honduras----no Unemployment benefits---NO STIMULUS $$.
Since we were also shut down, I was unable to sell jewelry for the ladies.........I felt helpless rather than helpful. The Methodist Annual Conferences have been cancelled for two years (so far)......I was selling $3,000 worth of jewelry for the ladies each year!! We have been receiving money from various supporters of the Jeremiah 29:11 Mission and sending it on to Chuck and Joyce Harper. They are overflowing with children that they were already serving and new children who have been abandoned by their parents because they just did not have enough food for them. Some children have been abandoned in parks and even in the weeds by the side of the road.
We are hoping to take a group to Honduras in September for a ten day trip. We have several work sessions with the ladies from the Santa Elena community AND help with whatever needs to be done at the Mission House. If you are interested in traveling with us, please email us at: helpotherswork@gmail.com. If you have special skills that would be helpful to the Mission, please include that in the email.....if you think you do NOT have any special skills, we will discover them when we are in Honduras. If you have the desire to go, I guarantee you have special skills to share!
February 2020
After almost a year's absence - due to civil unrest during the time period of two previous scheduled 2019 mission trips that had to be canceled - - HOW returned! This trip was very productive with many projects being completed. Over 40 children at the Mission House received a variety of training experiences. Classes on personal hygiene to include stressing the importance of washing hands to prevent the spread of disease was an emphasis. Basket weaving, jewelry and pottery making - for a daily average of 32 participating ladies - was taught for 3 days. The team also did physical labor by painting the inside of the Mission House's Activity Building. Also, the outside bathrooms of a local public school were painted by this team. New plants were placed in the Power Garden to allow the Mission House to grow fresh vegetables for the children and staff. All items made by the local artisans and sold in the USA result in the individual receiving 100% of the sale price.
March 2019
Judi the Potter traveled on this trip and continued to train an in-country volunteer to be the pottery mistress as she modeled teaching children various pottery skills. Soon we will have some beautiful pottery for sale! Another artisan wore many hats as she taught basket weaving skills using palm branches to the ladies from Santa Elena. Several ladies showed great potential for creating some beautiful baskets that will be for sale. She also taught the children at the Mission about how disease spreads and how to prevent the spread at the House. In addition, she taught lessons in seed/plant germination and found two volunteers who are really interested in getting the three Tower Gardens operational NOW! We were blessed to have a pharmacist use her pharmaceutical skills to screen our ladies AND the children at the mission house for diabetes and high blood pressure. She also reviewed and restocked all the medicines that are needed for the children and staff at the Mission House.
August 2018
An 11 member team traveled from both Brunswick, GA and Hartsville, SC to minister to children and adults in Honduras. 39 children 12 years of age and under were outfitted with 3 sets of clothes and 2 pair of shoes. 28 older children went shopping for clothes and money was left for 10 more children to have new clothing. 80 eye exams were given by the team with 33 pairs of glasses given to those needing to improve their eyesight. 6 oscillating fans were mounted on walls and 8 exhaust fans mounted on windows within the children's sleeping quarters. 38 ladies met for the general jewelry making meeting with 2 later smaller groups for new project training. The electric kiln had 3 successful firings for the pottery projects. Physical therapy exercises were modified for the 5 children who have been receiving rehab treatments. A Healing Retreat was attended by 3 of the newcomers to the Mission House. Much was accomplished by these 2 teams for the missionaries and children at the Mission House and many within the local community.
April 2018
A small group of like-minded people can accomplish great things. As soon as our group landed in Honduras we split into two smaller groups. One group of four headed to the beach to prepare the hotel for a Healing Retreat for the girls living at the Mission House who are 14-20 years old. The retreat was centered around the girls recognizing the experiences they have had that were difficult - praying and healing - and preparing to move forward with Christ as their guide. Most of the girls have gone through some extreme situations and were ready for the healing. The other group of two went to the hotel near the Mission House and set up for meeting with the ladies in the community. More than 50 ladies are presently participating in our jewelry program. The ladies were paid 100% for the sale of each and every piece of jewelry they had crafted and previously sent to the USA for sale. Both groups also started painting bedrooms for the girls which were finished when they returned from the retreat - this signified their "new" beginning.
August 2017
Two great churches - St. Lukes' UMC (Hartsville, SC) and College Place UMC ( Brunswick, GA) have teams that just returned from Honduras. Local artisans (50+) have been trained by HOW participants focusing on the new catalog highlighting the best selling designs for hand made necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc. The maker of the item receives 100% of the selling price - congratulations
June 2017 - Great News! Lots of items arrived in Honduras!!
1. Susan broke down and oiled 9 operational sewing machines and also sorted bundles of fabrics for the local community near the new Mission House. These items will be used so locals can make items for sale.
2. A professional massage table donated by Help Others Work (HOW) for message therapy for the physically handicapped children. 3. Tower Gardens - Three of them have been donated by a very special person so the 50+ Mission House residents can have fresh produce. 4. The children at the Mission House received three huge boxes of clothing and shoes. 5. A professional grade kiln and pottery wheel now allows interested local villagers to receive training and produce pottery items to make money for their families. 6. More life jackets arrived - - not one person has drowned in the 3-years since life jackets have been donated by HOW and used by non-swimming locals during the Holy Week celebration at the local lake! 7. Boxes of learning materials received by the Mission House students and their wonderful teacher Mama Joyce. Thanks to the generosity of the many people who have made these items possible - smiles will be coming to many in our Honduran Family.
April 2017 - Team took record monetary payments to 54 Honduran artisans - for their received items sold in the USA.
July 2016
College Place United Methodist Church made a return trip with a whole different crew. We continued some of our May Projects and started some new ones! Take a look:
MAY 2016
Where to begin? There were only 15 of us from College Place United Methodist Church, Glyndale Baptist Church, (both in Brunswick, GA) and St. Luke United Methodist Church in Hartsville, SC. We may have been small in number BUT we got a TON of work done!
Where to begin? There were only 15 of us from College Place United Methodist Church, Glyndale Baptist Church, (both in Brunswick, GA) and St. Luke United Methodist Church in Hartsville, SC. We may have been small in number BUT we got a TON of work done!
March 2016 Prayer Planning Praise Mission Trip
A small group of ladies from 3 different areas came together in Honduras for the sole purpose of looking at the Harper's Mission from the viewpoint of "what do you need and how can we make sure you get it"! It is amazing what great ideas come forth when everyone is focused on one goal. Many of the ladies did not even know each other when the trip began but were tightly bonded when the trip came to a close. What the Harpers need most is people--yes, people who are committed and can commit for 5 years to live with the children alongside this special couple....loving on the children, teaching them academically and showing the children how to live in harmony with God by example. Please be in prayer with us for those special people to listen to God's call for them.
A small group of ladies from 3 different areas came together in Honduras for the sole purpose of looking at the Harper's Mission from the viewpoint of "what do you need and how can we make sure you get it"! It is amazing what great ideas come forth when everyone is focused on one goal. Many of the ladies did not even know each other when the trip began but were tightly bonded when the trip came to a close. What the Harpers need most is people--yes, people who are committed and can commit for 5 years to live with the children alongside this special couple....loving on the children, teaching them academically and showing the children how to live in harmony with God by example. Please be in prayer with us for those special people to listen to God's call for them.
Holy Week 2015
The mission goal for this trip was to save lives. Since schools and many businesses close for Holy Week, many Hondurans head to the nearest swimming place. In our community of Santa Elena, there is a beautiful lake for swimming. Many children do not know how to swim and in years past there were usually at least one or two drownings. Chuck's heart was broken anticipating another drowning, so he and Rebekah Saveland from St. Luke's UMC in SC came up with the idea of a mission trip for lifeguards to prevent any drownings this year. The trip was declared successful as NOT ONE precious life was lost this year. We took floats, swim rings, etc. as well as providing life guards to achieve our goal. Let's hear it for the Life Guards from Georgia and South Carolina!!! Whoo hoo!!
The mission goal for this trip was to save lives. Since schools and many businesses close for Holy Week, many Hondurans head to the nearest swimming place. In our community of Santa Elena, there is a beautiful lake for swimming. Many children do not know how to swim and in years past there were usually at least one or two drownings. Chuck's heart was broken anticipating another drowning, so he and Rebekah Saveland from St. Luke's UMC in SC came up with the idea of a mission trip for lifeguards to prevent any drownings this year. The trip was declared successful as NOT ONE precious life was lost this year. We took floats, swim rings, etc. as well as providing life guards to achieve our goal. Let's hear it for the Life Guards from Georgia and South Carolina!!! Whoo hoo!!
Holy Week - Cabinets
Since there are so many children living at the mission house, there is a huge need for storage cabinets. Pete made Missionary Joyce Harper SO happy by adding storage cabinets and shelves. Pete didn't know it, but he is quite a carpenter. Hopefully, we will have a carpenter in attendance on every trip we take and we can leave one or more new cabinets when we leave. You can never have too much storage!!
Since there are so many children living at the mission house, there is a huge need for storage cabinets. Pete made Missionary Joyce Harper SO happy by adding storage cabinets and shelves. Pete didn't know it, but he is quite a carpenter. Hopefully, we will have a carpenter in attendance on every trip we take and we can leave one or more new cabinets when we leave. You can never have too much storage!!
June 2015 Projects
JUNE MISSION TRIP
Elderly Feeding Center
St. Luke United Methodist Church from Hartsville, SC and College Place United Methodist Church from Brunswick, GA make a dynamic team. We have done it before in 2014 and we did it again in June 2015! This was the largest group yet....we were not sure how it would go, but man, was it wonderful! With so many people on the trip, we could have multiple projects going on at once! Our main project was building an Elderly Feeding Center in Santa Elena, Honduras. For that project we needed the best mason around so Jim Kowalchuk was our man. He knew exactly what needed to be done AND he is the best teacher of his skill. Since the foundation is the most important part of a building, we are delighted that he was able to work on that portion of the building. Our group learned so much, plus Jim taught as much as he could to several of the boys/young men living at the mission house.
Elderly Feeding Center
St. Luke United Methodist Church from Hartsville, SC and College Place United Methodist Church from Brunswick, GA make a dynamic team. We have done it before in 2014 and we did it again in June 2015! This was the largest group yet....we were not sure how it would go, but man, was it wonderful! With so many people on the trip, we could have multiple projects going on at once! Our main project was building an Elderly Feeding Center in Santa Elena, Honduras. For that project we needed the best mason around so Jim Kowalchuk was our man. He knew exactly what needed to be done AND he is the best teacher of his skill. Since the foundation is the most important part of a building, we are delighted that he was able to work on that portion of the building. Our group learned so much, plus Jim taught as much as he could to several of the boys/young men living at the mission house.
June Mission Trip
Sewing
Erin Ashurst Just our homegrown "sewing artist" joined the June 2015 team and artist fits her to a tea! The ladies learned to make rag rugs, bowls from clothesline rope???? Yes, Erin taught them to sew on the machine AND by hand using rope to make bowls. Check them out on the Honduran Market page! We have quite a few of these goodies for sale.
Sewing
Erin Ashurst Just our homegrown "sewing artist" joined the June 2015 team and artist fits her to a tea! The ladies learned to make rag rugs, bowls from clothesline rope???? Yes, Erin taught them to sew on the machine AND by hand using rope to make bowls. Check them out on the Honduran Market page! We have quite a few of these goodies for sale.
June Mission Trip
Storage Cabinet
As you might imagine, with so many people in a facility, there is a huge need for storage. That being said, every trip's goal is to add another cabinet or two for the Harper's to be able to store items that we and other teams bring for their use. We hope to always have a carpenter or carpenter wanna-be on each and every trip!
Storage Cabinet
As you might imagine, with so many people in a facility, there is a huge need for storage. That being said, every trip's goal is to add another cabinet or two for the Harper's to be able to store items that we and other teams bring for their use. We hope to always have a carpenter or carpenter wanna-be on each and every trip!
June Mission Trip
NEW Clothes for everyone!
About a month before the trip, someone got the idea to get a new set of Church Clothes for every child/adult at the mission house! At that time there were 42 children/adults at the house. With the help of College Place UMC and ST. Luke UMC, we pulled it off in just a month. We even had two of our trip participants designated to fit each person with new undies, clothes, and shoes. Talk about a big and FUN job!! Check out some of the new outfits in the pics below.
NEW Clothes for everyone!
About a month before the trip, someone got the idea to get a new set of Church Clothes for every child/adult at the mission house! At that time there were 42 children/adults at the house. With the help of College Place UMC and ST. Luke UMC, we pulled it off in just a month. We even had two of our trip participants designated to fit each person with new undies, clothes, and shoes. Talk about a big and FUN job!! Check out some of the new outfits in the pics below.
There are so many beautiful children in the Santa Elena. They are so sweet and loving. We were greeted by a group of smiling, happy children each and every day. An experience that will last in our hearts forever!
Yes, it rains in Honduras. Many days, the rain came during the mid-day which brought not only rest but cool!
Check out our Picture Gallery
just a few shots from various mission trips
just a few shots from various mission trips
Look at all these Christ-like folks working for our Kingdom!