Decent Housing

I remember sometime in the mid 1990’s on a 3 hour bus ride across Honduras’ north coast, Bob Eberly of Here's Hope Ministries leaned over and showed me a paragraph in the UB Discipline. Under the heading “Social Standards”, it was listing all the things the UB denomination believes a human being has a right to. He was particularly interested in the phrase, “the opportunity for decent housing for all.” For several weeks we had witnessed some atrocious living conditions. He said it’s in our bylaws that we advocate better conditions for everyone, but what is the church doing about it?

As I look back today, since that day on the bus UB congregations have come together to rebuild an entire community in La Uba, Honduras that was wiped out by hurricane Mitch. 3 hours away in El Pino, another community was built for retired and homeless UB pastors and their families and other hurricane victims. Mount Olivet has helped in building or improving about 34 houses for families in Mount Solon, VA, Big Laurel, KY, and La Uba, Bonito, Puerto Cortes, and El Pino, Honduras. But there is still so much to do. Many people trapped in poverty feel hopeless about ever seeing improvement in their conditions. But God can work through others to help provide that hope.

So what is decent housing? At a minimum a house should be healthy and safe. Many of these families that have received help were living in conditions that were not healthy or safe. Those of you who have worked in Kentucky can attest to that. We have been praying for and helping the family of Alex Rosales in Honduras this fall and winter. Kent and I spent 10 days and nights in their current house, and we can say from experience that it is not “decent”. Some of the food has to be prepared over a fire on a rusty metal lid. The house is full of mosquitoes. There are rat droppings in the window sills. The floor is too rough to be cleaned. The water supply is very unpredictable and for 3 of the 10 days there was no water. There are holes in the rusty metal roof. The homemade scrub board for doing laundry is propped up on a stick frame in the muddy back yard. These are just a few of the daily problems this family faces. We plan to return toward the end of January to help finish the new house that was started in December. It is 21’ x 25’ in size, with room for expansion in the future. It has 2 bedrooms, and an indoor bathroom with shower. It has a reliable water supply. And it will have screens on all the windows to protect against mosquitoes. Alex and his family want to personally thank all those who have given financially and have prayed for them. Very soon they will be able to move into decent housing. Your continued prayers are appreciated for the health of those involved and for the remaining funds to be provided.

~Kevin