New Maryland's 10-person mission

By Bruce McKenna

In preparation for a mission to Honduras, we at Holy Trinity, New Maryland, offered our five loaves and two fish to God. We are amazed and grateful to God for the way he graciously moved in the lives of so many people so that we might give him all the praise and glory.

On Jan. 23 of this year we offered a tithe of the adult Sunday congregation to God and to Saint Peter’s by the Sea in Brick Bay, Honduras. When we Anglicans hear the word tithe we usually think of money. In this case the tithe consisted of 10 people who, with the full support of the church, offered themselves, their souls and bodies to be a reasonable, holy and living sacrifice to God. As a church we witnessed the power of a tithe humbly offered to God.

Mission team members use the word humble frequently. When we began to plan our mission, we decided as a team to pay our own airfares and a large portion of our accommodations and food. This allowed us to focus on raising money for the mission.

It seemed a daunting task to raise funds to purchase the materials necessary to replace the rotted walls of Saint Peter’s with pressure treated lumber, prime and paint them, take out the old windows and create space for new glass windows.

God addressed our concerns in many gracious ways as we began our journey of faith. Frank Johnston Main with the South American Missionary Society (SAMS) Canada came to the parish to meet with the team and also speak at Sunday services. He gave us wise counsel and encouraged us in our journey.

 Since this was the first Mission to another country for Holy Trinity, he also helped the church understand what we were doing and why we were doing it.

Three memorable community breakfasts, a spaghetti dinner and an auction filled with laughter and purpose later, we had all the funds we needed and more. We also had some special memories, like the four mince pies that went for $20 each, and the piñatas made by our Sunday school children, one of them sold at auction for $55! We were humbled by the caring generosity of people in the church and the community.

The people of Brick Bay humbled us again. When we arrived in this community of 150 people, our brothers and sisters in Christ came alongside us and worked with us in our project. The women of the parish prepared wonderful lunches for which we are truly grateful. Two carpenters and a painter also worked with us. Even the children helped us by collecting nails.

As we worked together we became aware of something we have lost in Canada — community. The people in Brick Bay truly care for one another, and the children are cared for by many mothers. We saw the village raising their children and again we were humbled.

In addition to working on the fabric of the church, we also offered a Vacation Bible school, and because school was on holiday we were able to use the neighbourhood school.

It was a delight for the VBS team to get to know the names of all the children as they taught in a cross-cultural environment. One of our team members is a seamstress so she was able to work with some of the women of the church too.

We held two Bible studies in the evenings in the church. Yet again we were humbled, this time by the depth of people’s faith, by the way they trusted God for all things. A grade nine student on our team wrote: “The Wednesday night at Bible study is a vivid memory for me. The teenagers are really deep when they speak about Jesus.”

We are grateful for the way God worked through our mission. Initially unknown to us, the people of the Parish of Lakewood, where I once served and led a mission team, were planning a mission to Honduras as well. When we became aware of our similar visions, we were amazed to discover we would be in Honduras within five days of each other. Amazed again by God’s goodness, we were able to plan continuity of ministry while we prayed for one another.

We are also so grateful to God for the Revs. Nelson and Kara (Thompson) Mejia, two friends of Jesus who did all they could to support us. On our arrival we were presented with a cell phone so we could stay in touch with our families at home. We purchased additional minutes and were able to speak to them throughout the mission.

Nelson, also a carpenter, ensured that supplies arrived at the right time and we could not have completed our work without him. Kara (daughter of the Rev. Gordon and Bell Thompson) is an exceptional translator who effortlessly went from Spanish to English and English to Spanish. We are most grateful as well for their gifts of hospitality, administration, and faith.

 

The Rev. Bruce McKenna is rector of the Parish of New  Maryland

Diocesan Communications

08 September 2009