St. Matthews has been at the forefront ministering to the “least of these” outside of our nation’s borders.  For over 15 years, we have sent mission teams through the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission program.  In each of the last 5 years, we have partnered with Salt & Light Ministries to send a mission team to Honduras.  There, our team has built houses for families living in scrap-metal sheds, provided medical services to hundreds of patients, conducted Bible schools, offered sewing classes, distributed food and clothing, and worshiped with and witnessed to the people of Honduras.  Several of our team members sponsor children they have met through Salt & Light Ministries.  Below you will find more information about specific areas of need that we minister to in Honduras.

Housing

Each year, we help construct cinder block houses for people living in the particular village we minister in that year.  These families live in shacks constructed of scrap-metal, cardboard, plastic, or any other materials they can find.  Often they are barely large enough to hold all the family members.  Each house has two or three bedrooms, a bathroom, stove, and running water.  The walls are constructed of cinder block and the roof is made of tin.

Medical Team

Our medical team sees over 800 patients each year.  We offer limited diagnoses of illnesses and hand out medicine to those who need it.

Water Team

For the past two years, we have worked in cooperation with Living Waters for the World to provide clean drinking water for a community in Honduras.  LWW works around the world to provide communities with clean, fresh, drinkable water.  The lack of clean drinking water is staggering: 80% of disease in the poor parts of the world is due to poor drinking water; one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water; three million people die each year dur to water related diseases-the majority of them being children.  The money used to purchase the water purification system is raised through Sunday School classes and special donations and purchased at cost from LWW.  LWW trains team members in the installation of these systems and also trains community members in the maintenance of the system.  The community must agree to establish a water committee that oversees the maintenance of the system once it is in place. 

"Dedication of the system at the end of the week brings a large crowd, all who are willing to stand in line for a cup of clean water. It is a huge blessing to know we have provided a clean water system to improve their overall health situation & for them to feel the love of Jesus from our volunteers."  Cliff Mains

We would love to see you on a future Honduras mission team!  If you are interested in knowing more about our foreign missions, contact Brian Johnston at brian@stm-umc.org or (601) 856-9581.