Newsletter - April, 2012
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April, 2012 Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matt. 25:40 Published by the Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210. (717) 349-7033 |
Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the merchants. Pro. 31:10-11, 23-24.
Aminta Arce is a recent beneficiary of the Society of the Good Shepherd in the small town of La Paz. She is a minister’s wife and is actively involved in the church her husband pastors. Unlike the United States, most Honduran churches are able to provide only minimal financial support to a pastor—if any support at all. So Brother Arce has had to find various odd jobs to provide for his family. As a hard-working Proverbs 31 wife, Aminta also helps to supplement the income for the family.
About five years ago, Aminta came up with the idea of making tamales and baking bread at her home to sell to others. So her husband built her an outside brick oven and two outside brick stoves. It took him a week to build these by hand. He also made bread trays for her out of scrap metal. 
The reason the oven and stoves are outdoors is that it would make the house too hot to try to bake bread commercially indoors. Also, the cost of electricity and propane is so high, it would make it difficult to earn a profit on the bread and tamales. So both the oven and the stoves are wood fired. Unfortunately, in La Paz there is not an abundance of readily available firewood. A person has to purchase wood from persons who scour the countryside for sticks. The sticks sell for about 10˘ each, and it takes 30 to 35 sticks to fire up the oven. 
For the first five years, because of limited resources and her responsibilities in the church, Aminta baked bread only twice a month—or when she received large orders. She also made tamales only two or three times a month, making about 150 tamales each time. I can personally attest to the fact that Honduran tamales are delicious. However, it is a lot of work and requires a lot of time to make them. Recently, as their children have grown older, Aminta and her husband have seen the need to expand their bread and tamale business. However, they did not have the capital to buy larger amounts of supplies and to hire outside help. So the Society helped them out with a small interest-free loan at the beginning of this year. Aminta is now able to bake bread and make tamales more often, and her business is doing well and is growing. Thank you so much for your support and prayers! DB
Click on the following link if you would care to make a donation to the work in Honduras: Donations
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