Keith Jones

A former Chattanooga Church of Christ minister who was in Honduras this week on a mission trip said he is afraid the governmental unrest in the Central American country will scare away short-term missionaries from assisting the poverty-ridden country.

"There is no end to the poverty here, and there is so much need," said Jim Black, who formerly served as youth minister at Brainerd Church of Christ and now is preaching minister at Washington Street Church of Christ in Fayetteville, Tenn. "Hundreds of missionary groups come down every year from all sorts of denominations, building houses, helping the poor and sharing Christ with a wonderful and happy people."

Last Sunday, Honduras President Manuel Zelaya was taken from his residence by soldiers and flown to exile in Costa Rica. Roberto Micheletti was installed in his place, setting off nearly a week of demonstrations.

Mr. Black was in the country as part of a team that included members of Gallatin, Tenn., Church of Christ, Manchester, Conn., Church of Christ and his church. The three churches team up every year for work in the capital of Tegucigalpa and in the Valle de Angeles 30 miles away. This year they built houses for two families, assisted with community food needs and offered a roving vacation Bible school for some 150 children

Many Chattanooga area churches also have made mission support of the country a priority.

Glen Gray, minister of involvement at East Brainerd Church of Christ, said his congregation has supported Predisan, a medical mission at nine facilities in eastern Honduras, with surgical, construction and ministry teams as well as donations for at least a decade.

He said a team from the church was there most recently in March. He said a teachers strike due to actions by President Zelaya and a rise in the minimum wage that kept some businesses from operating were indications even then of problems within the government.

Mr. Gray said e-mail from Predisan director of international relations Kyle Huhtanen indicated the country was "in a wait-and-see mode," with some citizens supporting the ousted president and others supporting the new one.

In an e-mail, Mr. Black said his perception is that many people want Mr. Zelaya to return. However, he said the government appears to be behind Mr. Micheletti, so he is unsure what will happen.

"I'm pretty anxious about what might happen on his return should Michelleti continue in his refusal to back down," he said.

Allison Alexander, a Chattanoogan who runs Eternal Family Project in Omoa, Honduras, said in a message on the ministry's Web site that the orphans who live with her are safe, that the area is under curfew and that there was a military presence on the streets and at the airport. There was no panic among the people in her town and no protests, she said.

Unlike Mr. Black, though, she said "the people ... far and wide seem very happy with the outcome of Sunday's events."

The Rev. Keith Jones, pastor of New Hope Presbyterian Church, is one of four people from his church who will travel to Honduras late this month to install a water filtration system in an children's home in Yamaranguila.

He said while he has "some concerns" about the trip and would have preferred the political turmoil not happened, he is grateful for the opportunity through a division of the Presbyterian Church USA denomination's Living Waters for the World program to change lives.

"It's really an exciting chance to form relationships," Mr. Jones said. "The program really emphasizes that this is not us going down and giving them something but joining with them."