Florida Baptist Children’s Homes remains committed to Honduras mission

Jul 28, 2009

MISSIONS COMMITMENT A missions team from Florida Baptist Children’s Home at Renacer, an orphanage outside of Tegucigalpa had to cut their trip short because of unrest in the Honduran government. From l-r are Stephanie Wells, Amanda May, Jay Boyd, Lauren Boyd, and Paul May. FBCH photo

LAKELAND (FBCH)—Having been tipped off that there unrest in the Honduran government, Ron Gunter gathered his group of missionaries and calmly told them that as a safety precaution they were going to cut their seven-day mission trip short and try to arrange for an earlier flight out of Honduras.

The Florida Baptist Children’s Homes has been conducting international childcare missions for more than a year and this was the first time that a mission trip was threatened because of instability with a country’s government.

Gunter was able to arrange for a flight out the next day. Three days later, on the morning of June 28, about 100 soldiers stormed President Manuel Zelaya’s residence in Tegucigalpa, the capital city. He was put on a plane and taken to Costa Rica. Later that day, Roberto Micheletti was sworn in as president.

The coup occurred over a dispute over whether or not President Zelaya could convene a process for rewriting the constitution in order to allow him to run for re-election, which the current constitution forbids.

Ron Gunter, vice president of international childcare for the Florida Baptist Children’s Homes said that they are committed to their mission objectives in Honduras and plan to return as soon as they can.

“We have two mission locations in Honduras that we are focusing on that desperately need our assistance and the assistance of many others. The first is an orphanage just outside of Tegucigalpa called Renacer and the other is the city dump in Tegucigalpa, called Trash Mountain,” Gunter said.

At Renacer, a facility currently housing 75 children, Gunter said FBCH is working to make repairs and improvements in order to expand its capacity to 120.

At Trash Mountain, where various ministry activities take place at a Christian school that serves children at the dump, there are plans to build four or five new homes for families living at the dump.

Jerry Haag, FBCH president, said safety is of paramount importance in all mission endeavors, but that is considered in balance with informed risks in order to care for and share the Gospel with some of the world’s most disadvantaged children. Haag noted the FBCH takes warnings issued by the U.S. State Department seriously, but proceeds with caution.

“However, we can’t sit back and wait for the world to be 100 percent safe before we go,” Haag said. “We can’t guarantee complete safety on any mission trip. Wherever we go there is a measure of risk even when things may appear to be quite tranquil and serene.”

Gunter said the ministry’s next planned trip to Honduras is full and no one has cancelled despite the situation.

For more information contact the Florida Baptist Children’s Homes at 863-687-8811 or online at www.FBCHomes.org.

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