Siguatepeque is about half way between Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula - a little to the west. It's elevation is about 3500 feet. The highway from Tegucigalpa is good and the trip is pleasant

Padre Bill Cavanaugh and Don Candy from Epiphany, John Nicholson from St. Luke's, Dr. Rick Herrscher from Good Shepherd returned recently from a trip to Honduras. Here’s what they found:

We were met at the airport and we stayed in Tegucigalpa Thursday night. Friday morning we had a pleasant drive north on the highway that links 'Teguc' and San Pedro Sula (Good Highway!!) to Siguatepeque (See gua ta pec kay), about a two hour drive. On the way we stopped at the new home of the El Hogar Technical Institute ( http://www.elhogar.org/capital.htm ). This is where the boys go after grade school at the Episcopal St. Mary’s Institute.

When we got to Siguatepeque we met with Father Hector and his clergy/lay team, Deacon Suyapa (Su yapa), Joaquin (Wah keen) and Franklin. Suyapa was recently ordained and Joaquin and Franklin will be ordained soon. Together this team serves eight missions/churches in the Siguatepeque area. This is a Deanery and Padre Hector is the Dean. Each community has significant needs that we can help with.

We first visited San Juan (St. John), where Fr. Hector’s office is located. They are building an Episcopal school there and we saw a brigade from New York building an enclosed play area – the school will open next year. We also visited a Diocesan-sponsored AIDS clinic located close by. We then traveled to Santiago (St. James). This is Suyapa’s church and it’s really land-locked. The only way to expand is up. We met here to discuss medical, Christian Ed and construction needs. Medical needs abound in all locations.

During the meeting we discussed becoming more mobile to allow us to serve four different locations with our medical/dental/eye care during the first week. Christian Ed would follow the med team the first week with a one-day program that would be repeated at each location. The second week Christian Ed would be in a fixed location (Santiago), where the construction crew will likely be. We were very pleased to see that the Deanery has a construction plan and a budget proposal to implement the plan – with priorities already established. There is enough need in this Deanery to keep us busy for many years.

We also visited the other churches: St. Bartholome’s is an established church in the city with 2 services of 120 each plus 150 children in the kids program. Iglesia San Matias, located up in the mountains, needs a water system for the local area. Iglesia Santo Tomas, located on the Teguc/San Pedro Sula highway south of Siguatepeque. Via Alicia is a mission that currently meets in a three room school building similar to the one at Rincon De Dolores. We were not able to visit San Antonio and Germania because the church in San Antonio is two hours away and Germania is only accessible by 4-wheel drive.

The team concluded that the need in Siguatepeque for the kinds of things we do is great, the accommodations for our team are adequate, and Father Hector and his team are committed to the spiritual growth of the area and will welcome our help. It looks like a good match!