Walking Bridge El Potrero, Honduras

Community CRC & El Potrero CRC articles and photos
 Community CRC is a Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Community CRC has developed a church partnership with the El Potrero CRC in Honduras beginning in 2012. This opportunity is offered through World Renew with the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). We have adopted a CRC church in the town called El Potrero, located in rural Olancho district of Honduras. Agriculture is the main source of income in El Potrero and 65% of the population lives in poverty with very limited access to income. The El Potrero CRC Church has demonstrated that they are very pro-active in helping meet the physical needs of the El Potrero community and they work closely with World Renew in Honduras.

The El Potrero, Honduras community is divided by a river that runs through the community. Over the years there have been three drownings due the flood stage of the river. During the rainy season part of the community is unable to cross the river to: Access the El Potrero Elementary School, Access the El Potrero CRC Church and they are unable to travel to the only health clinic in the area. 

Community CRC has partnered with World Renew and  Calvin College Engineering students to build this Walking Bridge. The Calvin College Engineering students (Will, Molly and Mel) are designing the Walking Bridge for their Senior Engineering Project and Community CRC is seeking to raise the $20,000 needed to build the Walking Bridge.

Walking Bridge Project Total Cost: $20,000.00
Community CRC Commitments: $12,000.00
Need to Raise by April 1, 2016: $8,000.00

Overview of Community CRC and El Potrero CRC Relationship:

We made our first visit to El Potrero CRC in April, 2012. The main objective of our mission trip was to form an ongoing relationship with the Honduran CRC church and to better equip each other as we share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Before our first visit to El Potrero in April of 2012, we heard that the El Potrero CRC church building was destroyed in a storm. During our first visit we sought to encourage the believers and assess the physical needs of the El Potrero church and community.

We returned for our second visit to El Potrero CRC in April, 2013. Before our visit, we were able to help them raise the necessary funds to construct a new Church Building. At our visit we helped them complete the painting of their new church building, provide a medical cabinet and medical training, provide pilas for four families in the village, and to take part in the dedication service of their new church building.

We made our third visit to the El Potrero CRC in April, 2014. We provided a Vacation Bible School for the children in the village, we showed the Jesus film, and we helped build a Water Tank to help provide a clean water source to the community. (Biola University along with World Renew in Honduras began to lay the piping for the water project after our visit and they completed it in the Spring of 2015.)

We made our fourth visit to the El Potrero CRC in August, 2015. The main goal of the trip was to have the three Calvin College engineering students make the measurements needed to design the Walking Bridge in El Potrero. We also led several worship services, showed the movie “Do You Believe” and visited with the families in the El Potrero CRC church. We met with Hondurans officials in Tegucigalpa to discuss the details for the El Potrero Walking Bridge Project. We also visited with the two churches that El Potrero CRC has planted since we began our relationship in 2012.

Our goal is to raise the remaining funds for the Walking Bridge in El Potrero and the El Potrero community will begin construction of the Walking Bridge in April of 2016. We hope to send a team from Community CRC in July of 2016 to dedicate the Walking Bridge, preach in several churches, work in the local school and to be determined other ministry.

Would you be willing to help us raise the reminaing $8,000 needed to complete the Walking Bridge Project in El Potrero, Honduras? If you would like to see videos or article of previous trips-visit us at www.fortwaynecrc.com