Eldridge Update Fall 2021

Local Discipleship Course

The discipleship course with about 15 people from the local church here in Las Lomitas started at the beginning of November. We have jumped in digging deep into the lives of Saul and David. Discovering our false self that Saul represents when he attempts to present something on the outside that he is not on the inside. When he finds his identity in his possessions, his position and what others say or think. David contrasts this with true identity in Christ, he shows us when he chose to face off against Goliath even when not a single person around him supported his decision. His decision was fueled his personal holistic development through the years in his quiet job as a shepherd which yielded a deep relationship with God, a true self -identity in Christ and personal experiences of God's faithfulness, protection and provision.

HtH Roles

Kaleb, in his role as Program Developer, has been writing formal proposals for each of the seven programs within the ministry. His background in tech writing, graphic design and masters studies in International Development have made him perfectly suited for this detailed, professional work.

Stacey, in her role as Impact Advisor and Evaluator, has wrapped up a Theory of Change, Indicators that align with our seven impact goals (see below) for each of CPHTH's seven programs and set goals for 2022. In November she worked with each facilitator creating a system of evaluation to assess if those goals are being reached and if so at what depth. This system will be implemented in 2022. December will be spent creating all the formats/documents needed for evaluation next year - i.e. surveys, interviews, focus group questions, etc.

This next year, we hope to expand Communities of Holistic Impact (CoHI) significantly by adding a new cohort of three communities to the program! The first three communities will continue into Phase II of the program, while these new communities will begin where the pilot group did with Phase I. We are humbled to see this program continue to grow, and we are excited to see where the future of this program leads to. Thank you to those of you who have supported this program throughout the past four years. It has been, and continues to be, a remarkable program.

Beyond CoHI, the original Community Development program has now passed the 10 year mark and is undergoing a significant overhaul. This evolved program will now be known as Communities of Transformational Unity (CoTU) and is built on the lessons of this past decade, including what we have learned throughout execution of the CoHI program. In a nutshell, each of the seven communities involved in this pilot program will work over a two-year period towards the goal of one community initiative. A community commission representing churches, community councils, and other CBOs(Community Based Organizations) will receive participatory training throughout the first year in order to identify the most beneficial local initiative, manage funds transparently, build a coalition, and understand the holistic model of development. They will then use what they have learned in the second year's work of actually executing the project. We are excited to work with these communities in the most transformational way possible - generating local unity and empowerment and a recognition of our identity in Christ as we work on tangible local outcomes.

Family and Holiday plans

We continue with school from home with Alida and Eliana. Life here allows for a lot of learning as we go and we all enjoy this more fluid, natural learning style. As a family we have enjoyed football season for the first time from our Honduran home. Technology has improved through the years and this is the first time we were able to stream football games!

We very much look forward to a nice quiet December here at home in Las Lomitas, without the hustle and bustle of travel and U.S. Christmas. It will be very different as Christmas is not at all celebrated the same way here. As a family we will keep some of our Christmas traditions, enjoy advent as a time to slow down and meditate the truly greatest GIFT of all.

Locally, in our village, about the only thing that goes on is sharing tamales and visiting one another's homes on December 24th. Typically there is a church service on the 24th and 31st but it is not connected with Christ's birth, more of a regular service the 24th and a healthy option to pray in the new year at midnight the 31st.