Our Caribbean Mission Field
History – Bay Islands
The aboriginal inhabitants of the Bay Islands were the Paya Indians. Many islanders are descendants of African slaves brought over by the Spanish & English in the 17th & 18th centuries. Other islanders came from England in the 18th century via Cayman and St. Kitts, a few claim to be descendants from the pirates. The islands were a pirate base during the 17th century, and in 1850 the British colonized them. In 1861, limited sovereignty was ceded to Honduras.
Helene, Honduras
Helene (Santa Elena) is a small English-speaking island, part of the Bay Islands, about two miles long and one mile wide, located 30 miles off the northern coast of mainland Honduras. It is separated from its nearest neighbor, Roatan, the largest of the Bay Islands, by only a narrow canal, but twelve miles of ocean, dense jungles, and mangrove swamps isolate Helene from the rest of civilization. Map of location.
Roatan, Honduras
Roatan is the largest of Honduras’s Bay Islands. Neighboring Roatan are five smaller islands: Guanaja and Utila (the two most popular next to Roatan), Barbareta, Morat, and Helene.
All five islands are surrounded by the second largest barrier reef in the world: The Mayan Barrier Reef. Roatan has a varying topography from lush tropical hillsides to beach fronts and mangroves. This offers the visitor or resident a unique visual environment to enjoy and experience—Roatan is as Caribbean as Caribbean gets.
Helene Mission Site
Helene has seven communities scattered along the shores, connected only by walking paths. The total population is approximately 1,200. Most of the men make a living by fishing. The friendly residents are mainly English-speaking, segregated from mainland Honduras due to their different race, heritage, and language. Life in Helene has been extremely harsh for many years. Mission Encounters produces the only clean drinking water on the island. There are other water sources, but none are filtered. Transportation is only by foot or boat.
The MEI mission site is located about mid-island, central to all the communities. Its main building houses medical and dental clinics, the kitchen, rooms for the staff and Short Term Mission teams, as well as a large open-air meeting place. There is also a connected school, with seven classrooms.
Roatan Mission Site
MEI was graciously donated an old house and property, located in the West End section of Roatan island in 2018. During the past six years, through God’s provision, MEI has been restoring the house and property. The house now serves as an MEI Mission house, providing respite for our Helene site team members, as well as serves as a training center for local pastors and leaders to be trained in missionary vision and strategy.
Our future plans include expansion of the house for housing a MEI Team member/couple for Roatan Discipleship and/or housing STM Teams for serving around Roatan.
