Delivering food, fun in Honduras

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kimberly Rae Moore
  • Joint Task Force-Bravo Public Affairs
SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras --  The Joint Task Force-Bravo team grew with the addition of its new chaplain, Maj. Daniel Thompson, who arrived in Honduras March 22. While serving as a visible reminder of the Holy, the new JTF-B chaplain provides spiritual care and the opportunity for members to exercise their constitutional right to freedom of religion.

One of the most visible projects the chapel heads is the chapel hike and the base executed one April 9, shortly after the chaplain's arrival.

Chapel hikes allow members from Soto Cano to interact with Hondurans while providing them with necessary sustainment foods. The Friendship Chapel partners with local community leaders, city hall officials and the World Food Program to provide support to the base's surrounding villages in need.

"The chapel hikes are becoming increasingly successful, it keeps growing and thriving" the chaplain said.

This chapel hike was to El Taladro and the base donated 130 bags of food to their neighbors in need.

The day before the hike, 15 volunteers packed the food bag donations and lunches for all the volunteers who would hike the bags to the receivers. And there were a lot of volunteers.
"We had 106 members from the base volunteer to do this chapel hike. That's nearly 20 percent of the base who sacrificed their Saturday and chose to take care of the people around them rather than themselves."

"And they gave more than just their time," he added. "They donated their hearts by connecting with their Honduran neighbors and they donated their resources giving school supplies and treats to the kids they interacted with."

One of those generous members was Staff Sgt. Ronald Myers, JTF-B Personnel deputy director. Sergeant Myers has participated in two chapel hikes since his arrival to Soto Cano this past November.

"I really enjoy doing the chapel hikes," Sergeant Myers said. "These hikes open my eyes to how much in life we take for granted. The people we get to interact with through these hikes have so little, but are so happy simply to be alive and have each other. Family and friends are really all you need; that togetherness brings happiness. These experiences give me an appreciation for life and that's why I'll continue to volunteer."

The chaplain hopes to continue to provide Soto Cano members with these opportunities to volunteer by keeping the Chapel Hike and other programs running as-is.

"I am humbled and blessed to serve with such selfless volunteers," the chaplain said. "There is no way we could have successfully pulled this off without them. I'm eternally grateful for all those who helped and I'm looking forward to future missions."