I made the most of my two days in SPS last week. On Monday, I worked on the alumni album and interviewed Ovidio Flores, a former MCCer, about his experiences with MCC during the 70s-90s. I'll use the content in my series of four articles I'm planning to write in honor of MCC's centennial this year by sharing stories from the 4+ decades that MCC has had a presence in Honduras. On Tuesday, Elieth and I tried to pick up our residency cards at migration but were told that the person in charge of printing them had been on vacation... So we'd have to come back 😅. I also reviewed the recording of Ovidio's interview, taking notes for the first article in the series.
The MCC board has come up with a four-part strategic plan for the next five years, so as it is the beginning of the 2020-25 cycle, we needed to get together to brainstorm how we can focus on these points in the Honduran context. We'd decided to have these meetings in Gracias, Lempira, so on Wednesday, we braved the 5-hour bus ride out there.
The SPS cohort makes it safely to the hotel!
3pm pizza lunch while we wait for Kara and Keyla to make it to Gracias from Tegus
Thursday we got a comp day for the work we would be doing on Saturday, so Elieth, Keyla, Kara, and I decided to catch the half-hour bus to La Campa to enjoy the highest-up canopy (zip line) in Central America!
Wheeeeee!
Friday and Saturday we had our work meetings. We took time for devotionals and life sharing; Sarah prepared a particularly lovely devotional and reflection time on Saturday. Here we are reviewing the driving forces of displacement in the Honduran context and brainstorming action strategies for how our team here can best “Increase the capacity of the church and other partners as they support and equip vulnerable people, especially people who have been uprooted and displaced,” as the MCC text reads. We did the same for the other bullet points you see in the linked article. The reps will use our input to finish crafting the plan for this country's program over the next five years.
Impulsores de migración
On Saturday evening after dinner, we went to the aguas termales (hot springs) close to town. It was a great way to wind down from the meetings and get all relaxed before hopping back on the busses on Sunday. Our bus only took 4.5 hours back to SPS, so that was nice.
Sometimes it feels good to get back to a normal rhythm #Don'tMindIt'sMonday
Thank you, Lily! What a busy time since Christmas! I appreciate the link to the MCC strategic plan summary. The quote chosen there that climate change "matters to the younger generation" as a reason it was incorporated surprised me a bit. While that's true, it matters to ALL of us on this sweet globe we call Earth! And yes, the author did include a broader rationale, that climate events and natural disasters affect what humans everywhere can or cannot do in support of important programs and causes. Such good work being done by you, your team, and MCC as a whole. Blessings!!
ReplyDeleteHi Lily! Jim and I used our drive time to Pittsburgh Friday to catch up on your last few months of blog posts. We posted a comment which completely evaporated ... wah! Thank you so much for all you wrote about Christmas, and your reflections on differences and what you love and value in each place. We love your pictures, especially. It's wonderful to know you are with your parents and enjoying showing them some of the places and people that have become so important to you over these past few months. Also, the Ovidio you interviewed, was someone whom our MCC colleague Linda Shelly spoke often of in the years we worked with her. Let's hope this comment doesn't disappear once posted...
ReplyDeleteAnn, it was so fun to read your comment that you know Linda! I mentioned the connection when I interviewed her on Friday for that same set of articles. (A li'l Mennonite Game to break the ice never hurt, right? 😉)
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