Youth on mission to Honduras working through tensions of coup

I share with all this news just released by the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland:

June 29, 2009

A Message from the Honduran Missioners Working in Talanga, Honduras

In the news today (Monday, June 29) are reports of a non-violent military coup in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, on Sunday, June 28. The Diocese of Maryland is in the midst of its annual high school youth mission trips to the country, serving El Hogar de Amore y Esperanza, an Episcopal orphanage in Tegucigalpa, and the orphanage's agricultural and technical training school in Talanga, located north of the capital city. We are pleased to report that the 13 youth missioners currently working at the training school in Talanga and their adult chaperones are safe, having arrived in the country on Friday morning, June 26, prior to the changing political situation. The group destined for the orphanage on Saturday, June 27, returned to Baltimore after reaching Miami, the first leg of the trip. A phone conversation yesterday with the Rev. Wes Wubbenhorst, youth missioner for the diocese and on-site leader of the mission trips, confirmed the group's safety, upbeat spirit and willingness to stay undeterred. "Everyone here is fine, the city is quiet and we will be in touch with reports as we find out more," Wubbenhorst said. He added that this is the third time in his 20-plus years organizing these trips that something of this magnitude has happened and each time the groups have been safe. Wubbenhorst had been in touch with diocesan point-of-contact the Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool by Sunday afternoon, who in turn contacted the parents and spouses of those on the trip. Many of the parents were unaware of the political situation and all were glad to have been informed. There are three overlapping mission trips to Honduras. The first group arrived in Talanga on June 19 and returned to Baltimore on the 26th. The second group, also in Talanga, arrived June 26 and will return on July 3. The group headed for the orphanage would have arrived June 27 and returned July 4. To learn more about these and other mission opportunities for youth in the Diocese of Maryland, visit http://youth.ang-md.org/index.php/missions.

===================== A quick way to keep up with what's happening in Honduras is to visit http://news.yahoo.com/world A note: Wubbenhorst, the diocese of Maryland's youth missioner, is a former Peace Corps worker in Honduras.