Christ the King Catholic Church Honduras Mission

09.04.2007
Mission 2008 is planned…

Join us as we celebrate 11 years of service to the poor in the Trujillo area of Honduras!

Christ the King Catholic Church is accepting applications for Honduras Mission 2008. Ninety to ninety-five missionaries are needed including: physicians, surgeons, dentists, eye doctors, nurses, scrub techs, pharmacists, construction workers, teachers, translators and support positions.

There are positions for only 10 high school students. Students must be 16 by the mission date and be accompanied on the mission by a parent. High school applications are due by October 15, 2007 and must include a letter to Monsignor Malone explaining why you should be chosen to serve as a missionary.

Application/Information Booklets are available after September 16, 2008 in the church vestibule, church office, and online.

The first general missionary meeting is November 14, 2007 at
6:30 pm in the Family Life Center.

The cost for each missionary is $1350. This includes transportation, lodging, and meals.

09.04.2007
Honduras Information

To obtain more information on Honduras go to the following website:
Travel.state.gov
Scroll down the left side and click on:
Travel In formation by Country
Select H, then Honduras

09.04.2007
VIRTUS: “Protecting God’s Children”

The Bishops of the United States, through the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, have committed themselves to the protection of children and the healing of those who have been victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by a person acting in the name of the church. Our Dioceses, in a spirit of repentance and renewal, have adopted and implemented policies to fulfill these goals.

In October of 2003 the Diocese of Little Rock chose the VIRTUS (pronounced Veer-tus) program to assist us in our ministry to create safe environments for our children. The Protecting God’s Children for Adults™ program teaches staff, volunteers and parents to recognize the warning signs of sexual abuse and to respond appropriately.

All employees and volunteers that are a minimum of 18 years old and interact with children and youth in the Diocese of Little Rock are required to complete the following:

Read the Diocesan Policy Statement on The Sexual Abuse of Minors and Sign the associated affidavit
Complete an Employee or Volunteer Screening Release Form (background check)
Sign the Volunteer’s Code of Conduct
Attend a VIRTUS training session
Register with VIRTUS Online for continuing education (go to www.virtus.org and click on “registration”)
All Employees must read the Diocesan Policy on Sexual Misconduct with Adults and sign the associated affidavit

These guidelines also apply to anyone representing the Diocese of Little Rock as an employee or volunteer in another state or country.
ALL CTK HONDURAS MISSIONARIES AGE 18 AND OLDER ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE THIS TRAINING, EVEN THOSE WHO ARE NOT CATHOLIC.

To register for a class log on to: www.dolr.org – go to “Protecting God’s Children” and scroll down to VIRTUS Training dates

09.01.2007
REPORT TO THE PARISH

Mission 2007 began on June 16 with 46 of our 91 missionaries stranded in the Houston airport. In spite of this we opened one medical clinic, screened patients at the hospital, while the school and construction teams operated as usual. Our travel weary group[ arrived 24 later and hit the ground running for a very busy week of service to the people of Trujillo and the surrounding villages. Below is a summary of the numbers of patients served:
Patients Treated:
Carney Clinic: 1297 patients
Los Leones Clinic: 1215 patients
Santa Fe Clinic: 1096 patients
Prison Clinic: 55 patients
Total Medical Clinic: 3663
Eye Clinic: 623 patients >1100 pairs of glasses
Dental Clinic: 208 patients 519 teeth pulled
Hearing Team: 540 patients screened 12 hearing aids fitted
Hospital: 265 patients seen 64 surgeries performed
TOTAL PATIENTS SERVED: 5,554

These numbers cannot reflect the daily miracles we witnessed: a child hearing her mother’s voice for the first time when her new hearing aid was turned on; an elderly woman seeing and being able to read for the first time in years; people given the gift of mobility with a simple walker; life changing surgeries. Amazing stories.

All of our patients were instructed by the evangelism team working together with local delegados. The lesson, developed by Bishop Sole’, was a message of love and respect within the family and how to keep Christ as the center of their lives. There were 14 masses celebrated during our week in Honduras. Abbot Jerome was an amazing spiritual leader and an inspiration to everyone he touched. Bishop Sole’ and his priests were very involved in our mission and we look forward to a future of cooperation and collaboration. Encuentros were held in Los Leones at the church we enlarged and renovated this year, and at Carney, where their new church, built with donations from our parish, was dedicated by Bishop Sole’. They named it Cristo Rey in honor of our parish.

The School Team held bible classes at 7 schools, and held a teacher workshop for over 30 of our teachers. For the first time the junior high students received information on health and respect for their bodies in separate classes for the boys and girls. The President of the Board of Education in Trujillo toured Robert Noble, our pilot school, and attended the Teacher Workshop. He was impressed with our school programs and promised his full support. Our technology team installed and networked 8 new Dell computers at the computer lab at Robert Noble School, bringing state of the art technology to this small Honduran village.

The construction team transformed St Mark’s Church in Los Leones! It was a labor of love, sweat and hard work. The new addition was completed, wired, and painted inside and out; benches were built, lights and fans installed, a bell and cross hung, and the name painted over the door. What a beautiful gift to the people! Another team replaced walls and remodeled a kitchen in one of our schools in Honduras Aguan.

New educational programs were implemented this year to provide tools for the people to help themselves. A First Aid course was taught to women in 5 small villages without access to health care. The women were given first aide supplies and taught how to use them. They in return will be available to provide first aide to the people in their villages. Their primary goal is to prevent infection.
A Handyman course was presented to 5 men from the villages we serve. They received toolboxes and spent a week working with our construction team. They are responsible for routine maintenance and repairs at the churches and schools in their villages.
An inservice was presented to 22 hospital nurses. Infection control, medication safety, and pain management were discussed, but the focus was finding out what they need. The nurses requested patient education materials and reference books for the nursing units. This will be one of our goals for Mission 2007.
For the first time diabetic patient teaching classes were held in the Santa Fe clinic for the many diabetic patients in this Garifuna community. Ten patients received glucometers and were taught how to use them and how to manage their disease. A plan for continued follow-up for patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes was implemented with the local nurses to help them care for these patients and monitor their progress.

The mission was a great success and a spiritual adventure for our 90 missionaries. One of them commented “ ..we have touched and been touched by God, who could ask for more?” Mission 2007 is planned for June 16 to 24. The theme is “Christ Our Light”. God bless Christ the King Parish for its continued support of our mission!