The new Spotlight from the Clinica Evangelica Morava in Ahuas, Honduras, is very varied. See here. First, Will Cuthbert, the youth pastor of the Moravian Church in Costa Rica, talks about his visit in August 2024. Then there is talk of the clinic's financial need for help and the volunteer work of a six-person dental team from Florida in the clinic's dental department. The team worked in the remote La Mosquitia region on the Atlantic Ocean under the motto Being God's Hands & Feet. The work of the clinic's management is also the subject of a separate section. The clinic is indispensable for indigenous people with a wide range of illnesses, for pregnant women and women in labor, as well as for children and the elderly in need of care. They often travel several dozen kilometers to reach the clinic. The clinic also offers a child nutrition program and preventive health care.

Under the motto All with Nicaragua, the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious have invited the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops' Conference to an international day of prayer for Nicaragua on September 24, 2024. Prayer is the main tool of Christians. The country is now facing a crisis of hope, prophecy and solidarity. The Church in Nicaragua is living through the darkest chapter in its history. There are four intercession requests: “We pray that those in power will hear the cry of the people. We pray for the thousands of exiles. We pray for the Church, which is suffering the same pain as the Crucified One. And we pray for the poorest, that is, for the most vulnerable people who are left alone.” Anyone in the world could register in advance for this international day of prayer on the internet. See here and here.

On 16 August 2024, the Nicaraguan government banned over 1000 different NGOs. Among them is ADSIM, Asociación Instituto de Desarrollo Social de la Iglesia Morava, the social organisation of the Moravian Church in Nicaragua. ADSIM has worked in many ways to improve the living conditions of the people on the east coast (mostly Miskitos), for example by providing health services, promoting agriculture and training. ADSIM has also provided Emergency Aid during disasters such as the recurring hurricanes. The ban on ADSIM appears to be part of the Nicaraguan government's fight against the churches.

As the first Thursday in August is the day of prayer for the Unity Province of Honduras in the Moravian Church in North America, Fr Angel Yoperel, the President of the Province, after thanking for a variety of material and personnel support in difficult times, passes on the following prayer requests: ‘Please pray 1. that there will be no more schism in the Moravian Church in Honduras; 2. that there will be no kidnappings and no murders in Honduras; 3. for the upcoming Synod in 2025; 4. for the construction of the provincial office in Honduras, the construction of the Bible school in Puerto Lempira and for the mobile Bible institute in La Ceiba, Atlantida; 5. that there are no natural disasters in our country; 6. for our reconstruction projects (houses and plantations); 7. that we have the necessary money for our ecclesial-social work and that we receive the spirit of unity; 8. that our two bishops give good advice; 9. for the needs of the two provinces; 10. for the dissemination of the watchwords in our country.’

A new eight-page spotlight was published in July 2024 from the Clinica Evangelica Morava in Ahuas, Honduras. See here. Firstly, it is reported that there has been a generational change in the clinic's bookshop. The new bookkeeper is 22-year-old Belly Floridalma Goslen López, a single parent from the nearby town of Wawina. Several young and older volunteers are then introduced, who have proven themselves in various areas of the clinic, especially in building services. In April and May 2024, seven volunteers were present at the same time, who also worked in the clinic's outpatient paediatric nutrition programme. Briefly presented are a) the clinic's large vegetable garden and the new cocoa project, in which self-sufficiency is an important topic, b) three male scholarship recipients at the clinic and c) the impact of the clean drinking water project. Finally, an interesting statistic can be viewed that provides information on medical issues in the first quarter of 2024.

The two provinces of the Moravian Church in Honduras (Unity Province and Mission Province) have been working together for several years in an informal group called Yamnika Laya (Blessings Flow).  They have coordinated a water filtration project with the long-term goal of reaching around 100,000 households in La Mosquitia. On 22 April, we distributed 220 filters in the village of Kuhrpa. Yamnika Laya has set its sights on the north-east coast of the Caratasca Lagoon as the next area to distribute water filters. The funds donated by the Sturgeon Bay Moravian Church will cover the cost of repairing a well drilling rig owned by the Clínica Evangélica Morava in Ahuas. A work team from Sturgeon Bay painted the main building of the clinic in April and repaired one of the houses for the inpatients.  A dental team treated 125 patients in two villages and extracted 175 teeth. A work team from North Carolina sent additional funds to complete work started in February on a student house.  The bean harvest has been severely affected by the drought, while rice seeds purchased with funds from Samaritan's Purse will be distributed before the heavy rains in early June. Three Mískito students received scholarships to take part in a one-month cocoa training programme at the university in La Ceiba.  They will use the knowledge they acquire to support cocoa projects in Wisplini and Kihpani.  We hope to find funds to purchase Mískito Bibles, which are currently not available in Honduras.  Yamnika Laya and the North American Moravian Board of World Mission BWM hope to continue working with organisations such as Feed the Hungry, Convoy of Hope, One Atta Time and Samaritan's Purse to provide food, water filters, medicine and seeds to the often overlooked region of La Mosquitia. The entire report in English here.

The bishops of the Unity Province of Nicaragua living in Nicaragua have spoken out about the divisions that have existed for a decade within the Moravian Church in the country. These divisions, which in some cases have already led to physical and structural violence, are based partly on differing political views and partly on ethnicity. The bishops call on the members of the Moravian Church to give a practical Christian witness to life by working for peace, reconciliation and true unity in the Unity Province of Nicaragua. The leaders of both groups in the Unity Province of Nicaragua join the call of their bishops and ask those responsible in the congregations to pass on the attached text (see here) to the members in the various Moravian Churches through all information channels, including announcements in the weekly church services.

From 19 to 21 March 2024, the Medical Committee of the Clinica Evangelica Morava in Ahuas held a consultation in Honduras with Justin Rabbach, Executive Director of the Board of World Mission, and Andrew Starr of the Ahuas Committee. The ongoing support of the clinic was evaluated and reports were received from the medical staff, the administrative and technical departments and the health care staff. Together, they analysed statistics that provided information on the treatment of almost 3,000 external patients in 2023. The analysis of the statistics showed the enormous demand for the services offered at the clinic, particularly for women. The proportion of female patients in 2023 was more than twice as high as that of male patients, which is mainly due to care for pregnant women, women giving birth and maternity counselling. Four children were born at the clinic on the first day of the session! More in English here.

In many areas of the Costa Atlantica, the lack of clean water affects the lives of the indigenous Miskitos. In Honduras and Nicaragua, women and girls in particular spend many hours a day in some places fetching clean water for eating, drinking and washing. The quantity and quality of the harvests (grain, fruit, vegetables, roots, herbs) is reduced or deteriorating. Because many children suffer from malnutrition, the Moravian Church has set up a nutrition programme for infants and children in remote Krupunta, Honduras. Photo of the children waiting for food here. Children and adults who have contracted an infectious disease (nausea, diarrhoea, fever and stomach cramps) from drinking contaminated water receive appropriate advice, medical assistance and medication at the small polyclinic with an attached pharmacy in Tumtum Tara. Photo here.

Many regions of the world suffer significantly more from climate change and the associated socio-economic changes than Europe. Because government action and insurance are often lacking, people in many regions of the world are affected by recurring natural disasters more directly and in a more totalitarian way than in the western world. Record rainfall and prolonged flooding are now almost part of everyday life in Central America. As a result, the water quality in Honduran Mosqitia has also deteriorated significantly in recent years: Hurricanes, modern agriculture and the felling of old rainforest trees are causing severe soil erosion. In November 2023, large parts of Honduran and Nicaraguan Mosquitia were once again under water and contaminated with pollutants. Obtaining drinkable, healthy water is increasingly becoming a problem. Drinking water must be filtered. See here.

Justin Rabbach, the head of the Board of World Mission of the Moravian Church in North America, and Jørgen Bøytler, the Unity Board Administrator, also took part in the 19th Synod of the Unity Province of Nicaragua from 8 to 12 November 2023 in Managua. On the fringes of the synod, there was a meeting of the leaders of the opposing church parties to initiate a path of reconciliation. The synod elected several people to a commission that is to list the questions that need to be answered in order to achieve reconciliation by the beginning of 2024. The new church leadership is as follows: Freddymil Muller = superintendent/chair; Gerda Bendlis (South/Bluefields region) = deputy; Ronaly Paterson (Bilwi region); Evaristo Fenly (Lower Rio Coco region); Airam Web (Upper Rio Coco region); Saballos López (Las Minas region); Dina Nicho (West/Pacifico/Managua region). Three pictures here. The synod motto was: Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

In times of political and ecclesiastical crisis, a synod was held in the Unity Province of Nicaragua in mid-November 2023. The synod members met in the Iglesia Morava Ingnika Raya in the provincial capital of Managua. A picture (see here) shows the new church president, who bears the title of superintendent in Nicaragua.The previous superintendent, Rev Evenor Ismaël, can be seen seated behind the liturgy table. At the microphone is the newly elected superintendent, Rev Fredimil Muller. Next to him is the 2022 elected Mayangna Bishop Rogelio Juan Zacarías. During the synod, the Rev. Crispin Orozco was also consecrated as a presbyter (ordination level between pastor and bishop). This was performed by Evenor Ismaël and Rogelio Zacarías. The Moravian Church in Nicaragua is divided into the minority of the officially recognised Unity Province and a majority that is not officially recognised. The split is primarily based on political tensions within Nicaragua and less on theological disputes. The Unity Synod, which took place in Cape Town in September 2023, is attempting to initiate a reconciliation process in Nicaragua through messages to both parts.

The Board of World Mission BWM of the Moravian Church in North America provides information on a number of patient stories from the Clinica Evangelica Morava in Ahuas in Honduran Mosquitia on its Facebook pages with the help of clickable tiles. See here. At the beginning of the post it says by way of explanation: "The doctors at the clinic have been visiting their inpatients early every morning for many years; currently following the daily staff devotions, which end around 7:30 am. The doctors are accompanied on their rounds by the head nurse, the nurse on duty and the anaesthetist. Other staff (e.g. the laboratory technicians) take part in the ward rounds if there are patients in the clinic they are helping. Family members accompany the patients and they also stay overnight in their rooms to help with daily washing and dressing and with food administration. During rounds, the family members often also give the attending doctors important additional information."

Women from the Moravian Church in Honduras (Mission Province) are planning a new handicraft programme for young women. The aim is to help them become more financially independent. The Unity Womens Desk UWD wants to support the women by bringing in a business consultant. It recently asked on its Facebook pages if anyone could help the Honduran women get a craft kit of something like. Glass beads here; hooks for earrings here. The chairperson of UWD wrote just before she left for the Unity Synod in Cape Town, South Africa, "I will arrange for the chairperson of the church leadership of the Honduras Mission Province to receive these items by 'Moravian Mail' to deliver personally to the women leading the programme after Synod. Welcome, of course, to any other beads and jewellery that you have and no longer need."