The Companion Program between La Iglesia Cristiana Lutherana de Honduras (ICLH) and the North/West Lower Michigan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began in 1998 when teams traveled to Honduras with Habitat for Humanity and made brief contact with ICLH. That first contact developed into a yearly trip to Honduras where Synod members serve as ambassadors for Christ who promote healthy living by educating health volunteers and increasing access to life’s basic needs.
Stay up to date with what’s happening in Honduras by following Honduras Health for Life on Facebook!
Salud Para La Vida: Health for Life Project
Honduran Lutheran Church leaders had a vision for a sustainable health project. Along with members of the North/West Lower Michigan Synod, Salud Para La Vida: Health for Life began in 2005. Though the mission of accompaniment and sharing of gifts, we make a different in Honduras by:
- Teaching volunteers ways to improve the health within their communities
- Providing nutritious lunches for children in two communities
- Distributing water filters to families so they have safer drinking water
- Offering cancer screenings
- Providing dental care for children
- Offering encouragement to members of HIV support groups
- Offering spiritual workshops to aid volunteers in their personal life and in contact with their neighbors
Health for Life Projects
Nutritious Meals: This project provides meals for local kindergarten children in La Cañada, a rural village outside of Tegucigalpa where a Lutheran congregation provides the only formal preschool education available. Lunch is also provided in Santa Cruz de Yoga at Monte de Getsemani Lutheran Church for children up to 13 years old.
Health for Life volunteers teach the mothers basic cooking and health concepts to extend the church’s health ministry into their homes. They also monitor the growth and development of the children and support healthy growth by providing food for children whose families struggle to feed them. Meals are served five days a week during the school year.
Water Filters: As part of Health for Life, water filters have been given to hundreds of families. After receiving a water filter, Health for Life volunteers provide the necessary education follow-up for effective use of the filters.
Cancer Screenings: In Honduras, cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women and prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. The Health for Life project provides screenings for cervical, breast, and prostrate cancers with timely results. Before the screening, the men and women receive training in a workshop and follow-up care is provided when needed.
Dental Care for Children: The children are taught basic dental care and are provided with toothpaste, a toothbrush, and dental floss. Fluoride treatments are carried out and children are evaluated by a dentist twice a year. Follow-up care is provided for the youth who have cavities or other dental needs.
HIV Support Groups: Several volunteers work with self-support groups by sensitizing the communities on the issues of HIV. They work to eradicate stigma and discrimination for people with HIV and their families. Workshop topics include spiritual, emotional, and social activities.
Spiritual Encouragement: All workshops include a spiritual message of acceptance, love, and support for all volunteers and their communities. Longer workshops include services where travelers from the Synod participate alongside Honduran leaders.
Learn More
Stay up to date with what’s happening in Honduras by following Honduras Health for Life on Facebook!
If you are interested in learning more about upcoming opportunities, please contact Connie Lenkowski or Pastor Megan Crouch.
Contributions for this ministry may be sent to the North/West Lower Michigan Synod (P.O. Box 517 Dewitt, MI 48820) with “Honduras Health for Life” on the memo line.
Mission Trip Participant Information
Previous Mission Trips
- 2015: View Photo Journal Book; Read Composite Report
- 2016: View Photo Journal Book
- 2017: Read about the ICLH visit to Michigan
- 2021: Video by a health volunteer concerning the Uterine Cancer Project; Video of children’s health activities in two communities
- 2022: Read Zoom 1 Report; Read Zoom 2 Report