El Patronato

La Ceiba, Honduras is made up of more than 80 separate communities.  Each community is run by a “patronato.”  This is a group of elected members much like a city council.  We work with the patronato through all of our different ministries to get the community’s blessing and to ensure that any ministry we start belongs not to us, but to the people.   In our community of Las Delicias, there are 11 members on the patronato.  When we first started our work, the Lord led us to focus on the Upper Part of Las Delicias, where the poorest and needest people reside.  The Upper Part is home to nearly 3,000 people and makes up about ¼ of Las Delicias.  I was amazed to discover that not a single member of the patronato lived in the Upper Part.  They were completely without representation on their own community council.  This probably only intensified the poverty and separation felt in the Upper Part.

This past month, elections for the patronato were held.  I was overjoyed to learn that two outstanding residents of the Upper Part were elected.  Dionicio and Johana were chosen as part of the new 11 member group.  These two have been strong voices in support of our ministry and often serve right alongside of us.  Please pray for wisdom for the patronato of Las Delicias.

Dionicio with his daughter

Michelle with Johana