Good Q/A while they are in Honduras!

Mom and Dad are in Honduras as I type this and experiencing the realities of this right now.  Maybe reading this will give you some perspective on their posts.  I know it did for me.

Also please check out the link below and please be praying!
Travel warning for Honduras

Why is being an American so

mehow helpful in this situation (ministry and leadership with OMS's Train and Multiply in country)? 

Gary - Most of those we meet and work with in Honduras feel some kind of affinity with the United States. Whether it is mostly through pop culture like movies and television, the abundance of American fast food restaurants or from the abundance of missionary and humanitarian work done in Honduras, I can't tell. But apparently from the time of President John Kennedy and his visit there early in his term, there has been a strong tie.  Historically, Kennedy was working to prevent the spread of communism in Latin America following the events in Cuba. In the city of Tegucigalpa, there is even a neighborhood that is named Colonia de Kennedy.  Apparently, at the time, a great deal of American funds were put into building up our relationship with the Hondurans.

Their cable television services carry American television shows and until very recently, English was taught and spoken in the better schools to the extent that many of the young people that have completed high school are bi-Lingual in Spanish and English.  

As one might expect, since most of their impressions of the United States are based upon television, they have some misconceptions.  I believe one of the many of these is that we have a society that is fairly volatile and violent, just watch all the police and action shows on TV.  Also, they believe that even the average American is quite wealthy. Of course, it is fair to say that the average American is far better off than the average Honduran and the conclusion is valid on that basis.  On the other hand they think that Americans have a lot of disposable income and discretionary spending which of course is not always true but again in comparison to Honduras is probably more accurate than we would like to admit.

Ultimately, our mere presence adds credibility to the program and for us that is good because we are not sure what else we have to offer, we are still learning and if our following where God leads us helps accelerate the program, we are blessed to be a part of it.