Couple braves Honduran political unrest

When political situations hinder mission work, the progress of growth for a nation in need comes to a halt. Determined not to stop ministering, one local couple has continued their mission service and have found safety despite reports to the contrary abounding at home.

Sam and Roxanne Turnipseed's lives are dedicated to spreading the word of God and have been called to Honduras. They joined the Honduras Agape Foundation when it formed as a relief effort to Hurricane Mitch in 1999. Since that time the couple has made several trips each year to the country both with the foundation as well as on their own.

In late June of this year, political turmoil struck the nation causing the U.S. Embassy to call for restricted travel to the country. On June 28, President Jose Manuel Zelaya was removed from office and sent him into exile. Zelaya wanted to hold a referendum which the nation's supreme court ruled as illegal and the congress voted not to hold it. When Zelaya proceeded with the referendum, the military stepped in and removed him from power.

"It is just sad this situation is dragging on and we can't get the work done for our boss, the Lord," said Turnipseed.

Despite travel restrictions, Turnipseed joined his wife in early July who was in Honduras when the political unrest began. He spent two weeks in the country before returning to Aiken last week; Roxanne continued her mission work and will return later this month.

"I think the work we do is so important that we can't be deterred in this more than is absolutely necessary," said Turnipseed.

He openly admits his cautions to traveling in the area earlier last month. In fact he delayed his own trip and the Honduras Agape Foundation canceled several other trips to the area. However, what he found when he arrived in the country was one demonstration and one road block that was a bit out of the ordinary.

"The most interesting demonstration, we saw was when our 747 landed on the runway. We stopped at the end of the runway to taxi. A mare and a colt were feeding on the edge of the taxiway on bright green grass. The Red Cross, the police and airport personnel were all trying to put an end to it," said Turnipseed with a twinkle in his eye.

A few days later, they went through a military/police roadblock as is typical along certain portions of the highway when traveling near larger cities.

"We were stopped by policeman at the roadblock who said we needed to carry the original car title in the vehicle, not a copy. We went back and forth until I wore him out," said Turnipseed. "I am sure he was looking for a small bribe."

His only concerns for his wife's safety involve her own multitasking actions such as driving, playing card games and talking on the cell phone.

The Honduras Agape Foundation mission work involves offering Vacation Bible School, a highway ministry focused on feeding the hungry, education programs, heath and dentistry, building projects and much more. A complete list of missions may be found at www.hondurasagape.com.

The Turnipseeds are starting a new foundation whose primary focus is on building a children's home in the area where they have been working as there is not one near by.

"Doing the work that we do is in my estimation extremely important but we can't take chances with groups and children going down there during this political turmoil. It is sad but mission groups can't go in the face of it, but the work still needs to be done. I hope this can be resolved quickly," said Turnipseed.

Contact Rachel Johnson at rjohnson@aikenstandard.com.