By KATHY PAULSEN
Staff Writer
Would you like to help build a new home and help provide for a needy family in Honduras?
Several members of First Baptist Church in Clarks Grove are again looking forward to traveling to Honduras on New Year’s Day, where they will be doing just that.
Most of the homes in Azacualpa, Honduras are very primitive compared to our little corner of the world.
Carolyn Weller and Mike Peterson from First Baptist have helped build new homes for needy families in Honduras many times before, and Michelle Peterson will be making her third trip. Mike, Michelle and Carolyn pay for their own airfare, which Carolyn said was more costly this year. Ten members of the Fillmore Free Methodist Church, located in the Harmony area, also plan to join them.
Typically, at least three teams from around the United States help with the construction of the new home. Some teams are able to stay for two weeks.The first team helps demolish the “house” that the family is currently living in made of mud, sticks and rock. They level the ground and possibly help get the concrete floor poured for the new home.
Another team will put up the concrete walls, do the plumbing for the bathroom, and place a corrugated roof on top of the cement walls. They will help also get water supplied for the kitchen area, which is usually in the open air. Since it is never very cold in this corner of the world, most cooking is done outdoors.
The walls of the home are often spackled with a fine cement mixture that is sort of “flung” on the walls. Carolyn said, "It is real interesting to see the local people from that area perform that task. Once they are done, the walls are very smooth and can be painted."
The next team will do the painting and finish up other projects in the home. Sometimes they are even able to make bed frames and tables for the family to use. If electricity is going to be added to the home, it is done using conduit, as wiring can not be installed in the concrete walls. Carolyn explains that this type of wiring it is not very safe, but somehow they manage.
The people who will be live in the house help with the construction as they are able. They usually stay with relatives while their new home is being built, and their belongings stay with them too. The people in this corner of the world don't have a great deal of material possessions.
First Baptist Church has made plans to hold a Community IMPACT fundraising event on Monday, Oct. 19 at the Pizza Ranch in the Northbridge Mall in Albert Lea. The event will take place during the hours of 5-8 p.m.
The Pizza Ranch donates a portion of the cost of the bill that supporters of the event will pay. The cost of the meal will be $10.73 for adults, $9.95 for seniors and the cost for children is 80 cents per year of age.
The proceeds received from this fundraiser will be used to help purchase basic food needs such as chicken, rice and pasta, etc. along with basic items, such as toliet paper, laundry and hand soap, etc. for the people they are going to help in Honduras. Proceeds from a rummage sale held in May, as well as a portion of the offerings collected on World Mission Sunday Oct. 12 will go towards the cost of the building materials.
They also plan to take homemade quilts to Honduras and the church is also helping provide coloring books, crayons and even some candy for the children too.
Mike, Michelle and Carolyn plan to stay in a mission home on the grounds of a Christian Children's home in Honduras. They are excited about being able to share Christ’s love with the people of the area and know they will be blessed by them in return.
The Christian Children's Home has a feeding program which helps provide a meal for the children in Azacualpa. The children are picked up in a bus and brought to the home for a noon meal. For some of these children, that is the only meal that they will have that day.
First Baptist Church appreciates the support they have received over the years for similar fundraising events at the Pizza Ranch and they hope that many will turn out to support this fundraising event Monday evening.