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National Association of Congregational Christian Churches,  P.O. Box 288, Oak Creek, WI  53154
414-764-1620 
Email: naccc@naccc.org   Web Site: http://www.naccc.org

by Rev. John Carson, Associate Executive Secretary for Missions, Church Development, and Regional Partnerships

At this writing, I have just returned from six (wonderful, beautiful, inspiring!) days in Honduras. It was my privilege to visit the people and the work of the Honduran Congregational Mission in San Pedro Sula.

Our association with the mission dates back to 1974. Many still remember Majken Broby, the mission's founder. It was her vision to minister to the bodies, minds and spirits of the people of the region. She ably tended the work for many years, and with the help of many others, left a legacy of clinics, schools and churches that prosper to this day.

Although their guiding vision has remained, the mission has grown and changed over time. Edsel Bodden followed Majken, and the Hernandez family followed him. At present, Julio Hernandez, the current pastor of the church that partnered in the mission's founding, heads their governing board. The board and members of his family, of the Rivera Hernandez church and now eight sister churches, oversee a variety of works _ a medical and dental clinic, a primary school, a computer lab, a bakery and a feeding station. All of these developed over time to serve the different needs and opportunities presented by the people.

Their churches are set in villages, hills and mountains close and far away from the city. Simple buildings, they open their doors to members and neighbors between four and seven days a week. Trouble is, their buildings aren't nearly big enough to accommodate all who come!

The clinics serve all ages, and mostly children. They provide much needed medical and dental care for those who couldn't otherwise afford it. The schools and clinics also share the Good News of the Gospel with those they teach and help and heal.

What are they hoping for? Our continued prayers and support. Also on their wish list are the following _ for the clinics, basic medical and dental supplies, oxygen tanks, a nebulizer, and money to purchase medicines; for the churches, donations for building, expanding and adapting their properties; for the feeding station, money to purchase a parcel of land and construct a building to continue the program currently housed in a building soon to be sold; several wheelchairs for children served by the feeding station and… more Bibles!

And speaking of wish lists, look for a Wish List for all of our missions in a soon to come all church mailing. Thereafter, the list will be posted on the NA's website, and printed in each issue of "News and Needs."

We promise to update the list each month, and we encourage you to check it regularly. On it you'll find a host of hopes that can make a real difference in the lives of others _ our brothers and sisters and children in need _ here and around the world.

P. S. Special thanks to Pedro Santana of the Bread of Life Mission in Florida. He joined me in Honduras, and helped me with my Spanish (!) so I could learn and bring back their good news!

[. . .] the form of worship, the manifestation of man's religious expressions, cannot be dictated. God's Spirit is active whenever and wherever He, the Creator Himself, wants to be. [. . .] It is the Spirit that moves the congregation, the believers, to reach out to God. [. . .] We, as Congregationalists, have to be very careful that we do not create forms, regulations, and finally laws that restrict our freedom to worship wherever and whenever the Holy Spirit moves us. Indeed, our God is a God of order and correctness, but never has God given man the right to restrict the movement of the Holy Spirit in creating expressions of worship.¹

Rev. Dr. Lloyd Hall is the Association's Historian
and serves Plymouth Congregational Church of Lansing, MI

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