Serving alongside the Honduran church to bring hope to marginalized kids

  – Written by Ana Reid –

Ana is a Missionary Associate, who upon leaving her full-time work in Honduras, still continues to be increasingly active in ministry outreach in several parts of the country.  She visits Honduras regularly and is in constant communication with those she partners with and those she serves, thanks to the commitment of her senders in the United States and the abilities of technology.

One of the communities with which Ana worked during her time in Honduras was Colonia Episcopal, Puerto Cortes – coordinating medical team visits, partnering in community development, and working with the local school.  One of the visiting teams offered Ana the opportunity to open a clinic (Sloan Clinic) at this very marginalized community that sits just meters away from the city dump, which is the main source of income for many families, digging for recyclables to sell. She jumped on the opportunity, led building renovations, hired local personnel and soon the doors were open to serve the community and beyond.  Ana continues to oversee the work at Sloan Clinic, she is also deeply involved with the local primary school and with the many other schools that students move on to once they finish 6th grade.  Ana keeps track of each student’s progress, has open communication with them, with their parents, as well as with the schools. 

 During her years in Honduras Ana also worked with Osman Hope (osmanhope.org), a Christian organization that runs four day shelters in 4 different regions, offering educational and nutritional support to children in gang-infested neighborhoods. She assisted in the coordination of conferences and retreats and offered support to the directors of each shelter.

 Now Ana is a very active member of the board and is very involved with the ongoing work, with all the challenges brought by the Covid 19 pandemic.  Ana is especially active with the one shelter that was devastated with the last two hurricanes that hit the country, forcing it to temporarily close its doors. The shelter is now open and Ana is working closely with the local personnel and the church to renovate and bring the shelter to full functionality again.

 Ana’s agenda for her visits to Honduras are always full, even prior to setting foot there.  She schedules meetings with all stakeholders: Clinic personnel, school teachers and directors, sponsored students (the old and the new incoming students to be sponsored) field trips for students, dinner with high school and technical school students, meeting with local church leaders/bishop, meeting with mayor’s office personnel, meal distribution to all the primary and kindergarten students from Colonia Episcopal….and, there is always time made to be with friends, that through the years partner with her in ministry.