Susan Hunsinger, The Trumpet, June 2009

On Russ Wallace’s first visit to Honduras in 1993 he met Salia, a young 15-year-old girl with a serious medical problem. What was initially thought to be a tapeworm was actually a tumor, large and growing, and serious enough to cause paralysis. Dr. Wallace and others at Honduras Outreach arranged for Salia’s treatment. Today she is a schoolteacher in her thirties, married and the mother of her own thriving five year old. Russ knows because he’s enjoyed seeing her almost every year for the past fifteen years. And he smiles when he tells you the story.

Salia’s is just one of the lives positively impacted by Honduras Outreach, one of the many people giving back to Honduras and one of the many people touched by Dr. Russ Wallace.

On May 17, Holy Trinity honored Russ at the 10:30 service, giving thanks for his ministry through Honduras Outreach. For 16 years, Russ has traveled there bringing medical care and more to the people of the Agalta Valley. Holy Trinity’s annual trips are an outgrowth of his work.

Honduras Outreach is a non-denominational Christian non-profit whose projects include medical clinics, education, construction projects, economic development and more. Their mission statement is “to improve the lives of the citizens of the Olancho in central Honduras and the lives of the North Americans who visit there.” Honduras is the second poorest country in our hemisphere and the average family income in Olancho is less than a dollar a day. Although the poverty is overwhelming, it’s the spirit of the people and the richness of the experience that draws Americans back again and again.

And when you ask most people at Holy Trinity why they first became interested in Honduras Outreach, they’ll tell you it was because of Russ.

As a neurologist, Russ was one of the first to prescribe anti-convulsants to effectively prevent seizures in the clinic at Ranch del Paraiso, the home base for Honduras Outreach’s operations. He was puzzled on his next visit as to why patients whose seizures had been non-existent or controlled for the first 10-11 months he was away experienced recurences the month before he returned. He discovered that their medicines had run out. After he shared the story with Holy Trinity’s Brotherhood of St. Andrew, they generously donated funds to stock the clinic with medicine year round.

Jack Kinkade was the next parishioner to get involved. He traveled with Russ and a Newnan, Georgia, group and their work included not only medical outreach, but construction projects in a village as well. Impressed by the work there, Jack went on to share the projects with associates at Emory and expanded and coordinated a public health dimension with his colleagues.

Six years ago, Holy Trinity sent its first mission group to Honduras. After traveling to Tegucigalpa, they stayed at the ranch at night and spent the days with their partner village. There they worked on construction projects, such as laying concrete floors to replace dirt ones, building latrines and constructing walls for houses, typically the size of one of our American bedrooms.

In 2005 Holy Trinity sent two groups. That year church members alongside Hondurans helped construct a water project, spearheaded by Holy Trinity parishioner Ed Buckley, bringing clean fresh water to Los Hornos’ citizens. They continue using the clean water system daily and are no longer forced to rely on the drought-prone creek they shared with their livestock.

That year Holy Trinity visitors also began offering a Vacation Bible School to the children. The Rev. Dr. Deborah Silver was involved, and with others went on to form an economic development project selling prayer beads and jewelry handcrafted by Honduran women. They market the jewelry at American fair trade sales, including the popular one held annually at Holy Trinity the weekend before Thanksgiving. Income generated from these items help women to support their families, buy food, and send their children to school.

Although Russ is not planning to return to Honduras this year, his impact will continue to be felt and his presence missed by Hondurans and traveling Atlantans alike. He cites better nutrition due to family gardens and other sources as the single greatest improvement since he began traveling there 16 years ago. Other accomplishments such as new clinics, the new high school, and improved medical care also make the list. There are many ways to measure the benefits of the partnership materially, but the real sense of accomplishment and friendship run much deeper. Those who travel there all agree their lives will never be the same.