The question of the day is, "What in the world is going on in Honduras?" There are so many reports going around it's hard to know what's going on but I thought that I would take a few minutes to give you a report from where we are in rural southern Honduras.
On Saturday night I sent a sincere email to the group leaders who are planning on bringing groups to Mission Lazarus later this summer. The general gist was not to worry, nothing is going to happen. I wrote that email from my nice hotel room in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. I awoke the next morning to the sound of fighter jets over heard, helicopters, and as I looked out my hotel window there was an enormous plume of smoke rising in the distance with the Marriott Hotel and the Presidential Palace in the background. Soon tanks and armored vehicle would move down the streets. I could not believe what I was seeing. The email I had sent only hours before said not to worry and here I stood, witnessing the decay of a civilized democracy before my eyes. I was also concerned with the 35 Americans that were with me that I needed to get to the airport. The group did get to the airport and was able to return home and I was able to make the 3.5 hour trek back to San Marcos de Colon. That journey was awkward; no traffic on the road at all, numerous military check points had been installed with armored vehicles and tanks.
New reports call it a military coup. I don't think that's real accurate. The national congress and the Supreme Court of Honduras ruled last week that the president's actions were illegal. The congress voted for the president to be arrested and he was. And per the nations constitution the next in power was the president of congress, Roberto Michelleti. Last night Michelleti was sworn into office to finish the remaining 6 months of the former president's term. The term military coup usually lends itself to a military general who wants to take over a country as a dictator. That did not happen. The congress has to power to remove a president, just as we have that power through impeachment in the US. That is what the Honduras government did. As a matter of fact, the new president Michelleti, is even from the same political party as the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya.
So, what happens now. Hopefully nothing. There were some protests in the streets of Tegucigalpa yesterday and into the night. Heavy rains helped to diminish their effects. The ousted Zelaya is now in Nicaragua in a meeting with his socialist supporting presidents from the Americas, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Raul Castro of Cuba, Evo Morales of Boliva, and Rafael Correa of Ecuador. Hugo Chavez, the ring leader of this group has said that he would do whatever it takes to see that Zelaya is returned to power in Honduras. There were even rumors of an invasion of Honduras. We do know that there has been a build-up of troops on the Nicaraguan border. In response Honduras fortified her border yesterday as well. The summit meeting of these leader today in Managua will determine what the outcome of this political standoff will be. It appears to me that Hugo Chavez wants Zelaya back in power in Honduras more than the people of Honduras do. President Obama was very careful with his words stating that the US did not agree with the manner in which Zelaya was removed from office. I hope that does not mean that they support what this man has done in Honduras and what he wants to do. As of last night there were rumors that Obama had said that he would send US troops if Honduras was invaded by Nicaraguan or Venezuelan troops.
What are we doing? We made frantic flight changes this morning and sent the 60 folks who arrived in Honduras Friday back to the capital to get on afternoon flights to the US. Why? Not because the situation is very dangerous now, it's really not that dangerous, but rather because no one knows what will happen. No one knows if the airport could get shut down in the next few days. Or perhaps nothing happens and this was all a bunch of talk. I hope and pray that we have over reacted by sending the groups home but as the old Spanish saying goes, "The man who takes precautions is worth 2 men!"
We have many groups scheduled to come in this summer. What does that mean for you guys? What does that mean for the Lord's work in Honduras? Satan would love to take advantage of this situation to mess up the plans of many Christians this summer. We have spent thousands of dollars on supplies for groups and have spent countless hours getting prepared. However, we also want to air on the side of safety. At this time we ask all groups to keep their options open. Don't run to cancel your plans. This week will be a very important week to see what will happen here. We plan on keeping all group leaders up to date on developments as they come available. I hope that you all can calm the fears of friends and family and stand by and see what God decides will happen this summer. Our group of American missionaries, along with the local men and women who serve with us daily, will not be going anywhere. We are here to serve the Honduran people. You can also follow updates on our blog, www.missionlazarus.org . We'll be posting there throughout the day. Thanks again for your prayers during this time of turmoil.
Jarrod Brown
President
Mission Lazarus
Apartado Postal 79
Choluteca, Honduras
