Honduras WMU: Providing the Hope and Love of Jesus through Tangible Action
Few things highlight the faithfulness of God and the strength of His kingdom like adversity. Honduras has faced many difficulties in recent years, and, through them all, Honduras WMU has stood hand in hand with the communities God has placed it in.
Prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019, roughly half of the Honduran population lived on less than $6.85 per day, according to the World Bank. The pandemic caused poverty to increase, and then the country was devastated by two hurricanes in the span of two weeks. Hurricane Eta, which hit on November 5, 2020, caused $5 billion in damages. Not even two weeks later, Hurricane Iota passed over the western side of Honduras, halting recovery efforts from Hurricane Eta and compounding the destruction. The landslides and flooding resulted in the loss of many homes, livelihoods, and lives.
Sonia Margarita Amaya, the vice president of Unión Femenil Bautista de América Latina (UFBAL) representing Honduras, shared about the struggle her country has faced during the last few years. “I have seen how God has sustained us in the middle of difficult times. … God moved hearts so that we could help with food, clothing, etc.”
UFBAL is a Baptist women’s organization for members of Latin America. Its members are primarily from South America but also include Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and the states of New Jersey, New York, and Texas. Sonia, as the representative of Honduras, also partners within her country with Honduras WMU.
Honduras WMU Impacts Every Corner of Honduras
Five hundred churches participate in Honduras WMU. Its mission is to meet the needs of the communities around it. Sonia explained how social struggles like unemployment, the failing economy, gangs, drugs, alcoholism, and domestic violence have significantly impacted women. “[Honduras WMU] has played an important role with women. We know [women] are the ones who suffer the [greatest] consequences of all [these issues].” The local churches have begun a ministry where they train women in jewelry making, baking, sewing, and cosmetology so the women can work and provide for their families.
A woman named Maira and her husband had no way to provide for their two young children. She learned how to make tortillas out of wheat flour, waking at 3:00 a.m. every day to prepare packs of tortillas. Her husband first sold them at stores, cafés, and restaurants. “Now they have a shop in a prestigious university where they work as employees, selling food. All because of the tortilla business, they have raised their children, they have bought a piece of land, and soon they will build a house. In all this, [Maira] has never stopped serving the Lord,” Sonia shared.
The women of Honduras WMU came alongside Sonia and her family when her husband was hospitalized with COVID-19. They showed love to the family through prayerful encouragement, food, and donations. Her husband was eventually released from the hospital, and they were able to recuperate together. Sonia said, “We are giving glory to our God because we see His powerful hand on our lives.”
Honduras WMU organizes women’s studies, prayer retreats, missions weeks, national and regional congresses, work in evangelism, and children’s programs like Girls in Action (known in Honduras as Messengers of the King). The women also visit hospitals, jails, and rehabilitation centers. Through three different projects, they give to and serve the children of Honduras: Project Happy Face (children’s meal service), Project Give Me Your Hand (for at-risk children), and Project Peter Scholarships (where they fill backpacks with school supplies, food, and the Word of God and donate them to Indigenous children).
“Our goal is to leave a legacy for [the] following generations by impacting them with the Word of God and our testimony so that WMU continues and can do even better things for the Lord than we are doing now,” said Sonia.
The lasting legacy will impact every corner of Honduras as the women of Honduras WMU live out the call of Jesus to serve and love those around them. Despite national challenges, they unite in giving, praying, and meeting tangible needs to help others. Sonia said, “Thank you for thinking of us, the women of Honduras.”
Pray for Honduras
Pray God would provide for those affected by the economic hardships so many people within the nation face. Pray members of WMU and churches seeking to serve those in need would be encouraged. Pray for both the local and national leaders of Honduras WMU.
Abi Khavari has lived and spent time in the Middle East and West Africa and has written articles about missions and following Christ for the last decade. Most days she can be found caring for her three young children and a dog in the sunshine of Arizona.
