Chiquita Ships Fruit to the U.S. and Ships Mission Supplies to Honduras on the Return Trip

several of the charitable organizations with whom the Service works.  Last year, Trinity completed the paperwork necessary to become a Great White Fleet participant. This was particularly gratifying to me because my father was a freight agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad. I am familiar with the terminology of the freight shipping business including such things as demurrage, “free on board” on board and so on.

           Just before the 4 ^th of July Trinity completed a collection of Christmas toys, reading glasses and cases.  These were to be shipped on a container leaving Wilmington, Delaware a day before the shipping rate for containers underwent a significant increase.  Unfortunately, the paperwork was not completed to the accuracy required by the shipping company.   We received an e-mail on the Saturday before the ship sailed informing us that we needed to fax a Power of Attorney, signed by an officer of Trinity Church to the shipping agent’s office and that it must arrive on Monday; otherwise the shipment would cost several thousand dollars more than we had anticipated.  From many years of experience in the legal business, I knew that getting something  signed and delivered on Saturday or Sunday was almost impossible.  Nevertheless, an e-mail  to Jay Wilkins found him ready to “do his best”.  I turned the problem over to Jay and told him that since I was in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, the only thing I could do was pray.  Prayer works, even in the shipping business.  Jay found our Clerk of Sessions, Sally Bovais, who signed the needed Power of Attorney which arrived in the shipping agent’s office a day before the ship sailed.  Prayer works, even in the mundane world of shipping containers of toys to Honduras.

Affiliation with ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS

            The doctors who have accompanied us on prior visits to Puerto Grande and Moropocay have identified water born disease as a significant problem in both Puerto Grande and Moropocay. Dysentery and parasites are a recurring problem in both villages, particularly among the children. Improvement of the water supply in both villages has been a high priority item for our mission. Significant progress on this project occurred this year when Mary Westervelt joined our group. Mary coordinates the technical communication program in the School of Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, and has taught English to speakers of other languages for many years. One of her contacts at the University of Pennsylvania is Dr. Tony Sauder who is a hydrologist and is very active in the group,  ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS. Tony has expressed interest in our project and has agreed to help us get started with the design and construction of improved water supply facilities in both communities.

Water Storage Tanks-Moropocay

Dental Symposium

            Two teaching Dentists, Dr. Leonard Jensen of 

Philadelphia and Dr. Gonzi Pardo of Port Jefferson, New York have joined our group for the coming January Brigade. These dentists have teaching experience at the University of Pennsylvania and at State University of New York respectively. They will use this experience in a dental symposium in Pespire , Honduras during our visit next January. We have recruited 15 beginning dentists from the area around Pespire to participate in this symposium. We hope to expand the base of qualified dental practitioners and provide a much needed improvement in health care in Southwest Honduras .

New Honduras Responsibilities for Rev. Jay Wilkins

            When Jay returned from his sabbatical, he was asked by Donegal Presbytery to coordinate communications for the Honduras Network.  The pay is lousy but the satisfaction should be enormous.  Good luck, Jay.

Budget

            We are proposing an ambitious, expanded program for Honduras during the coming year. This requires an increased budget over prior years. We have a good start in gathering the funding for this expanded budget.

            The annual Trinity Spring Fling and Swing was an outstanding success. It was held at Surrey House this year.  A reduced cost of facilities plus aggressive bidding on many interesting items increased the profits from this event to a record setting $8,000, of which $6500 was contributed to Honduras 2009.

            Woodcock Washburn has supported the mission in Honduras since its beginnings. This year they exceeded all prior efforts. June 2008 was “jeans day” at Woodcock Washburn. On all of the Fridays in June, Woodcock Washburn attorneys and assistants wore jeans to work for a contribution of five dollars or more to the Honduras fund.  Over $3500 was collected. In addition, Woodcock Washburn made a cash contribution of $1,000 to the Honduras Mission Fund in honor of Dick Kurtz’s retirement. This show of support is much appreciated by participants in the mission and by the Honduran people who will benefit from the thoughtfulness.

            Twenty-four (24) people have expressed interest in our January Mission Trip. They are:

            Abigail (Abi) Pillsbury, Amy David,            Bob Young, Brian Baird, Candy Rogers, Cherry Corley, David Bovais, David Reid, Dawson Watkins, Denny Leeper, Dick Kurtz, Dick Streeter, Dr. Gonzi Pardo, Dr. Len Jensen, Dr. Ron David, Dr. Susan Pillsbury, Ken Draigh, Martha Suarez, Renee’ Gould, Rev. Chris Thomas, Rev. Richard Graugh, RN Lorrie Clark, RN Susan Farrell, Steve Parsons, and Sara Wilkins.

            Please let me know as soon as possible if you learn that you cannot make the trip. Our planning at this time is based on the assumption that we will have between 20 and 25 gringos on board. As we get closer to the end of the year, it becomes very important for us to get an exact count.

            The Tegucigalpa airport is presently closed but is supposed to open in August.  If you have not yet made your reservations, it might be better to hold off until we have better information.  We have set up a Group Rate with American Airlines for travel to TGU in January, 2009. The Group name is “Honduras Mission” and the group code is “A6119AI”. Acceptable travel dates are January 1^st through January 13. A 5% discount off of the normal fare will apply. Here are the flight numbers between Miami and Tegucigalpa.

            Dr. David and Dr. Pillsbury and their daughters are flying from Richmond to Miami on Saturday, January 3, 2009. The rest of us are traveling to Honduras on the above flights on Sunday,  January 4, 2009 . Take your choice, but let us know as soon as possible so that we can make sure you are properly greeted at the Tecucigalpa Airport .

            Air fares are high this year. Here is a typical fare as of the middle of July, 2008.

            Fare Summary

            Average Fare per person: Departure – 340.00 USD Return – 539.00 USD

            Passenger Type used in pricing                                             Adult

            Departure Fare per person                                                      340.00USD

            Return Fare per person                                                           539.00USD

            Total Fare per person                                                             879.00USD

            Additional Taxes and Fees per person                                     69.30USD

            Total Price                                                                             948.30USD

            If you have not been to Honduras before please get medical advice on what shots you need for inoculation. The cost varies but the range is about $500 to $900.

            We are working diligently on a budget for the costs in Honduras . These costs include Hotel, meals and ground transportation. We expect our costs to be about the same as in past years even allowing for a significant increase in the price of gasoline. Our best estimate is that the in-country costs per person will be about $1,000 ($1,100 for single occupancy).

            This amount will cover most of the meals which we have together. Allow for some “meals on your own” in places you will have access to food that agrees with gringo stomachs. Please talk with your contact person for this trip.

            The above list of gifted gringos teamed up with equally gifted and dedicated Hondurans can make a significant impact on Honduras. With God’s help and guidance all of us can work together in Honduras.

                                                                        Very truly yours,

                                                                        Dick Kurtz