Lisa Armstrong is a registered nurse and the administrator of the Fellow Man International project. She founded the project in 2000 with the help of many generous donors including churches, Rotary clubs and interested individuals in the United States who believed that the greatest expression of love for one's fellow man is charitable work aimed toward self-sufficiency and development for the benefit of the poor. She represents the interests of both the Fellow Man International Foundation and the Honduran non-government organization Projimos Internacionalists.

The Dream

I first became familiar with Honduras in 1988 after having become acquainted with some very fine Latin American students who were working toward advanced degrees at Kansas State University. After a life-altering experience in Honduras, I returned home sure that something had to be done for the many nameless and faceless people living beneath the shadow of an unbelievable oppressive poverty. I remember asking my Honduran friends what they would do if only they had the resources to change their country. They had many answers, but little hope that there would ever be sufficient financial assistance to make a real difference. I dedicate this work to the glory of God and pray that my dear Honduran friends might be pleased when they find I truly listened to their thoughts and ideas all those many years ago. This project is the realization of their dreams.

Autonomy and Self-Sufficiency Only when the project is self-sufficient will the dream be fully realized. I was devastated to see a great "brain drain" among the best and brightest Honduras had to offer. Because of lack of living wages, opportunity and insecurity many of those who could truly help their country were forced to find residence in other countries. It is my most cherished desire to provide competitive wages for qualified Honduran professionals that they might be afforded the opportunity to help their own people. This goal is an ambitious one, but with the help of the Fellow Man International Foundation, development projects such as Green Parrot Coffee and the cooperation of professionals within Honduras I believe it is possible. Above all things, my hope is to achieve self-sufficiency for the project. At such time, I will wave goodbye with much joy in my heart, leaving this work of God in the hands of those Honduran professionals who have the heart and vision to ensure the sick always have access to quality medical care and the hungry a bite of bread.

"What so ever you do to the least of these my brothers and sister, you did unto me."

THANK YOU

April 2008
May God’s peace and joy be with you today and everyday.   As I sit here on top of the mountain, gazing upon the majesty of the Honduran landscape and listening to the hints of children’s laughter stirring among the rustle of the leaves on the trees, I am reminded of how grateful I am to be able to appreciate the natural beauty of this place once again.  You see, somewhere between my arrival and now, there was a moment in which I could no longer take pleasure in seeing smoke rise from the red tile roofs or watch the clouds descend over the coffee fields.  Reality had set in and my quaint, precious, magical Honduras had turned itself into real   anguish and suffering.  I wondered which child would die next from pneumonia or dysentery.  I thought about the shivering coffee field    workers picking in their bare feet with threadbare rags to cover their backs as the cold, driving rains poured down upon them.  As I looked toward the coastline where bits and pieces of virgin tropical rainforest still  exist, I felt real pain for the poor woman, giving birth alone in an adobe hut with a dirt floor, having no       transportation in case things should go wrong.  Today however, I feel joy and Christ’s peace in my heart  because much of this has changed.  There is real hope for tomorrow and that moves me beyond words.

Thank you notes are one of my most difficult tasks.   It seems no matter how hard I try, there simply is no way to express to you the depth of my gratitude for what God has made possible here in Honduras through you.   You have opened your hearts and given so generously of your resources to help those whom you will never  know.   It has always been my deepest desire to share the love of Christ with those in need by attending to their physical and emotional needs.  I feel blessed beyond all imagination to be able to do just that.  Thank you , from the depth of my being for your support of the Fellow Man project.  Because of your kindness fourteen families have dignified employment with living wages as they give of their best gifts to their own people through their service to the mission.  Over seven thousand patients were treated at the clinic last year.  Every woman who delivered at the clinic had a safe delivery with no complications. Countless hernia repairs, gallbladders and other semi-elective surgical procedures were performed for those in need by Dr. Arnulfo Madrid, the clinic’s surgeon and President of our Honduran non-government organization Prójimos Internacionalistas (Fellow Man International).  More than five thousand grade school children received   fluoride  applications and oral hygiene education, even those living in the most remote villages.  Thousands of pounds of poultry, pork and vegetables were produced by the mission’s agriculture project which fed the hungry and provided hot school lunches for the grade school children of Buenos Aires.  How abundant are the blessings that have been showered upon the least of these our Honduran brothers and sisters.  God’s grace, Christ’s love and the presence of the holy spirit are among us here in so many  tangible ways.  I pray that you will be abundantly blessed because you have opened your hands and your hearts to the Honduran people.  May God be glorified and may the poor in spirit know that Christ is alive and moving among us all.  Thank you for the privilege of allowing us to care for the poor and for returning hope to this mountain! 

 

As often as possible, hopefully daily, I will try to write about my experiences in this place. Perhaps it will help you to understand our struggles. Perhaps it will help me to know that I am not alone in those struggles. It is my belief that the face of Christ is visible on a daily basis in the eyes of the poor. I would pray that these short stories and observations bless you as the experiences have blessed me.