Honduras, Central America, is a mountainous country in the heart of Central American isthmus. It is bordered by Guatemala on the northwest, El Salvador on the southwest, and Nicaragua on the south. The country has a long Caribbean coastline on the north and shares access to the Pacific with Nicaragua and El Salvador through the Gulf of Fonseca in the southwest.

The area of Honduras is 43,277 square miles. It is approximately the size of the state of Ohio. Much of Honduras is covered with mountains that are separated by major river valleys. In the east is a large coastal plain that has been known as the Mosquito Coast.

Although this region has a lot of bugs, its name comes from the Misquito Indian tribe that lives in this area. A few small islands known as the Bay Islands, in the Caribbean are surrounded by coral reefs and offer some of the best reef diving in the world.

The northwest corner of Honduras once formed part of the Mayan Empire. The Copan Ruins are world-famous and offer a glimpse of the engineering and mathematical abilities of the ancient peoples of Honduras. Since the time of the conquistadors, the mineral wealth of Honduras has been one of its major attractions. Now most of the gold and silver are gone but there are still prospectors in those hills.

Approximately 7.8 million people live in Honduras. The population of Honduras has a growth rate of 2.43 percent. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an average income of $900 per year (4.3 percent of the USA average). The monetary unit is called the lempira, named for an Indian chief who made a heroic last stand against the Spanish conquistadors. The chief exports of Honduras are coffee, bananas, and shrimp.

About 97 percent of the population is Roman Catholic. The Protestant population is estimated conservatively at 2 percent, but some church leaders claim it to be as high as 20 percent.

Information about Tegucigalpa

Tegucigalpa is the capital of Honduras. The name of the city comes from an Indian term meaning silver mines. Actually, Tegucigalpa is a twin city with Comayaguela on the other side of the Choluteca River. The twin cities are officially called the Central District Municipality. The population of Tegucigalpa is about one million. The total population of Honduras is over six million.

The climate of Tegucigalpa is semitropical. Tegucigalpa is nested in a valley at an elevation of 3,000 feet. The weather can get quite warm in the center of town but at the same time be rather chilly on the mountaintops around the city. Tegucigalpa receives an average of about 36 inches of rain a year. The heaviest rainfall comes during the months of May and June. The average daytime temperature is 82, but nighttime temperatures can fall into the 50s.

The business of Tegucigalpa is politics. Almost all government offices are here, as well as the majority of the embassies and consulates. Most of the government offices have relocated from the center of town to try to escape the congestion of the narrow downtown streets. Tegucigalpa's streets were designed for the oxcart and the donkey, making it difficult for today's buses and cars to maneuver.

Information about San Pedro Sula

San Pedro Sula is the second largest city in Honduras. The population is around 500,000. It is often called the industrial capital of the country. The climate of San Pedro Sula is quite warm. The city is only about 200 feet about sea level. Average daytime temperatures are in the 80s to mid-90s, and nighttime temperatures are not much cooler. Since the Caribbean is only 40 miles away, a pleasant breeze at night usually cools things off a little bit.

Much of the banana production of the country is centered in the nearby town of La Lima. Coffee harvested from mountain slopes in central Honduras is processed and shipped from Puerto Cortes, the largest Caribbean seaport in Central America. American and Korean factories that assemble clothing for the North American market are located in tariff-free zones.

WGM in Honduras

The history of the work that would later become the responsibility of World Gospel Mission in cooperation with the Honduran Holiness Church (IESH) can be traced back to the turn of the century. In 1901, two young men set out from California to distribute Bibles and evangelize in the country of Honduras. These young men were members of the California Yearly Meeting of Friends. Yellow Fever, the white man's scourge, is the most likely culprit for the deaths of Thomas Kelley and Clark Buckley in the first few years of the century. Clark was found on the trail in the mountains of Honduras, and by his side was a pack that still contained many of the Bibles he had hoped to sell.

From these less than auspicious beginnings, the work took a giant leap forward with the arrival of Hubert and Dorothy Cammack in the little town of Chiquimula, Guatemala, in 1901. Chiquimula was the center of activity for the newly arrived missionaries of the California Yearly Meeting. In 1914 Hubert and Dorothy felt God's call to the neighboring country of Honduras. They landed in the mangrove swamps of San Lorenzo, and their belongings were hauled to Tegucigalpa by oxcart. The Central American Mission had begun work in this area in 1897 and reported 33 believers by the year 1912.

The Cammacks were faithful in the face of terrible opposition by the Catholic hierarchy. The political system was somewhat more open to the new religious influence.

Hubert became a fixture at the National Congress as he left tracts at each desk. The Cammacks preached boldly in the Central Plaza of Tegucigalpa. Trips to the western border and to the rough "outback" of Olancho, Honduras resulted in few converts but left indelible impressions that would shape and define the work for years to come. The work of the Friends became defined along the lines of the card roads that meandered to the west and east of Tegucigalpa. The Cammacks were joined by Miss Irma Moody in 1928. Irvin Cammack passed away after suffering a stroke in 1930 and was buried in Tegucigalpa. Arthur and Irene Schnasses and Joy Ridderhoff joined the Friends work in 1931. The mountainous terrain of Honduras made traveling a nightmare. It was often easier to travel by air than by land. The missionaries made long trips by mule as they visited church after church as a part of their ministry.

The difficulties in travel and communications coupled with the predominance of single lady missionaries in the Honduras work led to an important change in 1944. The Friends Church of California turned their work over to the National Holiness Missionary Society, now WGM. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Vesper, Mr. and Mrs. Ellery Echlin, Rev. and Mrs. David Schneider, Rev. and Mrs. Devee Brown, Miss Nellie Thum, Miss Frances Beard, and Miss Virginia Sapp were some of the missionaries who initiated this new stage in the history of the work. The Honduran Holiness Church (IESH) is the outgrowth of the World Gospel Mission's work in Honduras. The IESH now has over 180 congregations.

Theological Education

A small Bible training institute that had been started on Mission properties in 1935 was greatly expanded when property was purchased in 1946 in the small community of El Hatillo. The mission gradually developed the campus that would become the Tegucigalpa Bible Institute in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Bible Institute was turned over to the Honduran Holiness Church in 1985. In 1992 the school was closed and the property is now used as a retreat center for the national church and other organizations. A vocational Bible school was established in 1983 at El Sembrador and has produced a number of the present pastors in the Honduran Holiness Church.

Education

Education has been one of the shining foundation stones of World Gospel Mission in Honduras. A grade school was started in Juticalpa, Olancho, in 1948. The school had operated in Tegucigalpa before this date, but the quarters were cramped and, as an early missionary recalls, "Classes were held in the sanctuary of the church and in every living room of the missionaries serving there."

In 1947, another milestone was passed in the history of World Gospel Mission in Honduras. A young Ohio farm couple, Don and Twana Hawk, sold their farm and moved to Honduras with their two small children to fulfill a vision they had to start a farm school for the poor, illiterate young men of the region. After living in Juticalpa and later Catacamas, they finally settled on a site in 1948. The work of clearing the land, planting, and building the first buildings was slow and arduous. In 1949, money was raised to buy the first 800 acres of land that up until then had been rented from a landowner. God's blessing was evident in the work, and in 1951 the Hawks were invited to join the work of World Gospel Mission in Honduras. Classes began in May of 1954 at El Sembrador (The Sower) farm school. The contributions that the school has made to the country of Honduras and to the Honduran Holiness Church are inestimable. More than 60 percent of the pastors of the church have studied in its programs. Countless graduates hold high positions in business, government, and social concern organizations.

The Evangelical Institute, now known as the Virginia Sapp Christian High School, was started by Miss Virginia Sapp in 1961 in Tegucigalpa. The sacrifices of the past have paid rich dividends as the graduates of the school have borne witness to the quality of education and the fire of Christian testimony they observed in the classroom. Today the school serves more than 900 students, and its graduates are all well-received in all avenues of work.

Roatán

In 1984, World Gospel Mission started to work with the Garifuna people on the island of Roatan. With the help of the Honduran Holiness Church, WGM missionaries opened a medical clinic and established a church on the island. The Vacation Bible School ministry of the Roatan Church has been an effective tool in reaching the children of the island for Christ. Lay people have been trained to teach and lead Bible studies. A discipleship program has been started to lead believers into a deeper relationship with the Lord. In 2004 the clinic was leased to another organization that is working with HIV and AIDS patients and thier families in an effort to alleviate their suffering. This group is also providing AIDS prevention training in an effort to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS on the island.

Choluteca

In the time since Hurricane Mitch in October of 1998, Larry and Angie Overholt, working with the Honduran Holiness Church, have established a strong dynamic, and vital church in the southern region Honduras, initiating in the city of Choluteca. There are now three congregations. The El Limon de la Cerca church has a worship center in El Limon. The Amigos por Siempre church, located in Choluteca, began in a rented house. The church has grown and now meets in a building that seats 800 people. This church is on the property that will eventually serve as a regional ministry center. The San Jeronimo church, formed in 2004, meets in a small adobe building that already cannot hold the congregation.

La Esperanza

Our ministry in La Esperanza is exciting. This is where our first churches were established many years ago. We have several churches in the area, the newest one being Mas que Vencedores that was dedicated in 2003 in the new multipurpose building. There is also a ministry of teaching Bible Classes in the bilingual primary and secondary schools. It is an open door to reach the youth and upper-class people of La Esperanza.

Tegucigalpa

Tegucigalpa serves as the headquarters for the Honduras Field. Our field director and field treasurer work our of our office in the city. It is the hub of all our mission business.

We also have a mission guesthouse in Tegucigalpa. The guesthouse is for missionaries who need to come into the city to do business and also for work teams and Honduran nationals who need lodging. It is usually staffed by volunteers or retired missionaries and is a real ministry to the missionaries.

Traveling Information

We would like to share some information that should be of great help to you as you plan for travel and your arrival in Honduras. We have all experienced nervousness about visiting new places, so we hope this will alleviate some of the apprehension you may have.

Before Traveling

For traveling abroad, a passport is necessary to prove your citizenship . U.S. citizens can obtain a passport through most post offices or their courthouse. You will need your birth certificate and two passport-sized photos, available from professional photographers.
You should not get a visa to come to Honduras. Honduran Customs will give a free 90-day tourist visa (yellow paper stapled into your passport) to you upon your arrival. If you are planning to stay longer, the field office will help you apply for a longer visa later in your trip.
Immunizations are not required to enter Honduras; however, we recommend that you update your typhoid and tetanus shots. We also recommend a hepatitis A vaccination. Check with your doctor or local health department for further suggestions. Any shots should be completed a month prior to departure and recorded in a yellow International Certificate of Vaccination Booklet.
You may be in a malaria-infested area in Honduras. It is recommended that you take a preventative medicine for your own protection. Aralen with Chloroquine, Nivequine, Maloprim, or Lariam may be used. Your doctor can write you a prescription for one of these or one that he or she may prefer.
Note: Some types of malaria are Chloroquine-resistant. Your doctor should be aware of this when he or she prescribes your medication.
Be sure to let both the home office and the field know well in advance of your travel plans and arrival dates. It can be frustrating for you and embarrassing for us if we are not at the airport to meet you.

What to Bring
It is advisable to carry some money with you in American dollars. Dollars are readily accepted here. Travelers checks are accepted in only a very few places in Honduras. Use your judgment as to how much to carry, but a minimum might be $100 per person, including children.
Personal Clothing
Be sure to bring at least one pair of each of the following: dress shows, work shoes, and casual shoes.
We are in the tropics with temperatures during the day around 80-85 and night temperatures in the 70's. Plan your clothing for this variation-bring a jacket. What you choose to bring with you should be wash-and-wear as much as possible.
Generally, we are more conservative here in dress styles and overall appearance than many are in the United States. Modesty of dress is essential. All clothing should be modestly cut. Be willing to adjust to styles, customs, and cultures different from your own!
For church services, men will need slacks and collared shirts, and women will need dresses or skirts and blouses. For most occasions, casual-type clothing is recommended. Include clothes for various work projects and sportswear for recreation. If you have a question, consult with the missionaries on what would be best.
Other items
Tools, if the field requests you to bring them.
Medical and nutritional items, only if you have special needs.
Favorite toiletries.
Camera batteries.
American Stamps! Many times we send mail back to the States with either work team members or missionaries going on furlough. They can mail it in the U.S. and it is often faster and safer.

While Traveling
Most importantly, keep very close track of your documents. Passports are worth a fortune in many countries. Keep them and your tickets, along with other documents, close to you at all times. Do not put them in your luggage.
It is a good policy to take a change of clothes in your carry-on baggage. Sometimes not all the luggage arrives until a day or two later, so the extras can be helpful.

Arrival on the Field
Upon arrival at the Toncontin Airport in Tegucigalpa, you will not see "tourist" on your entrance paper. The tourist visa (yellow paper stapled into your passport) that they give you is good for 90 days.
Your bags may take a long time to get into the baggage claim area. Remember, you are now in Honduras and time may begin to take on a new meaning! If some of your suitcases do not arrive, locate the appropriate airline representative for help.
The customs official may or may not want you to open all of your bags for inspection. Simply be honest and open with them since there will surely be nothing that you will be hiding anyway! If you need further assistance, you might mention that a representative from Mision Evangelica Mundial is waiting outside and you would appreciate the representative's assistance.
In case of emergency:
If you need to call, request assistance in calling of of the following numbers:

WGM Office: 2232-1740
WGM Guesthouse: 2232-6447