Global Connect

Mucho mas fotos!

2011-07-31T12:24:00.001-07:00

Videos from Friday and Saturday

2011-07-31T08:03:00.000-07:00

For several of us, the final day

2011-07-31T05:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the last day in Guuatemala that our entire group would be together. Andrea, Betsy and Ashley will move on to more fun throughout Guatemala and then Belize, but for Mitch, Steph, Sammie and I, yesterday was our final day to enjoy the beauty of this great country.

I'll keep things brief because our work at Common Hope had finished on Friday, and yesterday was just a day for fun and adventure. And fun it was.

We left the city around 6 o clock and journeyed by van to the Pacaya Volcano. Will, our guide, then led us up the volcano where we enjoyed beautiful views, closeup glimpses of a steaming volcano and lava flows that happened during the last decade, and even a marshmallow roast in a crevace that remains heated to temperatures hot enough to...well...roast a marshmallow. It was a rigorous climb but well worth it. We snacked on stuffed sandwiches and chips before heading back down and then back to Antigua.

After showering and reorganizing a bit, it was time to go back into Antigua. Mitch, Steph, Sammie and I first hit the very wild central market where we bought some final gifts and just soaked up the experience of a scene we don't see back home. We then walked around the city, stopped for some nachos and Gallos, and finally settled in the central plaza. I got my traditional shoe shine from my pal Gregorio while Sammie had a woman braid a woven "thing" in her hair. Sammie and I then enjoyed one final father daughter moment at the Cafe Barrista. We chatted about the trip and about how glad we both are that we did this together. She's an awesome girl and I'm so proud to be her dad. Tears... The night ended with the four of us enjoying a pizza and some wine and coffee, then one final ride back to Common Hope from our new friend Chicki.

I won't make an effort to sum up the trip in a tidy couple of sentences, but I do want to say that this has been just another fantastic experience thanks to the efforts of EPS Global Connect. My hope is that trips like this will continue well into the future. If you ever have a chance to join us, and I hope you will, please do it. You won't ever regret it!!!

A remarkable day!

2011-07-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

Of all my time spent in Honduras and Guatemala over the past few years, I've had some pretty good days. I can honestly say, however, that today was one of the best days I can remember.

This morning Sammie and I were very touched, as was the rest of our group I'm sure, by Sylvia, a member of a Common Hope affiliated family who has been receiving help from Common Hope since 1998. At that time she was a single mother who was struggling to provide for her family. She applied to become affiliated and quickly worked the 300 hours of sweat equity necessary to receive health care and eventually a small home. Because she proved herself to be a very hard worker, eventually Common Hope hired her on as part of the cleaning staff. Now she is thriving, able to care for her children and her grandparents, and looking forward to seeing her children graduate from high school. She has persevered through very difficult circumstances and has come through on the other side of it a very strong woman. She was more than impressive.

Later, Sammie, Betsy, Ashley and Steph helped out at the preschool/day care while Andrea, Mitch and I worked with Pablito and Miles doing some construction prep. We put together probably a dozen or so wall panels and helped the large work crew unload what seemed like tens of thousands of concrete pavers from a very long flatbed truck. The physical work was fun and quite rewarding. I love pounding a hammer. Some day I may even become good at it!

The afternoon brought two very special events. One was the blessing of the home that we had helped to construct during our time at Common Hope. We said some words to the family, took some pictures, ate cake and horchata, and visited with the children. Mitch said a prayer, Steph spoke eloquently on our behalf, and Betsy led us in a song. Sammie and I presented a gift from all of us to the family. Sammie got very emotional, as did I. The most rewarding part for her was the connection she made with the little four-year-old daughter of the family, Alejandra. When it came time to say goodbye, Alejandra gave Sammie and big hug and whispered to her "adios." It really touched Sammie's heart.

The other event this afternoon, the one I'd been waiting all week for and the one that was worth the price of the entire trip, was our meeting with Jackeline, our sponsor daughter. During the past year she and I have been exchanging letters. She has been on my mind a lot because I met her during a social work visit on our trip to Guatemala last year. I couldn't wait to see her and the visit did not disappoint. She is such a smily, happy, positive girl and it was a true joy just to spend even a short amount of time with her. We talked about her school, her favorite music, soccer, her family, Minnesota, and much more. Her mother, Rosa, was also there along with her younger brothers Jose and Eswin. We laughed a lot and even ate fruit from a pomegranate tree they have in their courtyard. Their house is simple, just three bedrooms and they have a difficult life - Jackeline's mother works six days a week, about twelve hours a day, leaving the children home alone for much of the day. I feel so fortunate to help out with Jackeline and her family. My only wish is that the visit could have lasted longer. I can't wait to come back.

The day ended with a terrific little closing ceremony where we were all thanked and given small, woven tapestries with our names woven in them. After that we did a final reflection with Lys and headed into Antigua for a very cool dinner where we danced, listened to marimba, and watched some dancers perform a Mayan ritual dance. Quite a finish to a completely remarkable day!!!

Check us out online!!!

2011-07-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

... which I guess you are already doing. Haha

We are on Common Hopes website in the photo gallery as their most recent vision team.

http://www.commonhope.org/get-involved/join-a-vision-team/vision-team-diary/

Donations

2011-07-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks to so many of you out there who helped us collect money and materials for our trip. Yesterday we unloaded the supplies and presented them to Common Hope. Of course they were very thankful. Our largest category of donations was school supplies which will go out to affiliated families and also to the several schools with which Common Hope has a relationship. It was all much needed stuff and we can't say how much we appreciate it. THANK YOU!

A big day

2011-07-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

We knew it was going to be a big day...social work visits and putting the house together on-site...and it was.

Betsy, Andrea, Ashley and I met the social workers and headed out to visit some families. While Chris, Sammie, and Mitch headed out to build the house.

This was a day that I had really been looking forward to. Even though I would have to have much of what was said during the visit translated later, I knew that I would still gain much from the experience. As we entered the first house, we were greeted by Ima and Rolando, age 5 and 3 respectively. Their smiles truly warmed my heart. This family had 3 cinder block rooms for sleeping and had their kitchen outside under a tin roof. As we went inside to sit down, their mother was very excited about a new bed and the kids could not stop rolling around on it. I kept thinking, my kids would do the same thing!!

As we settled in, I really started to observe my surroundings. The dirt floor, the animals, the flies, the smoke...I don't have words to describe my emotions as this all become more real to me. All that I have, all my possessions, my complaints, seemed ridiculous compared to how this family lived every day. My heart was heavy as we left but I did feel some hope because of what CommonHope can offer this family.

I arrived at the house site with curiosity to see what had been accomplished so far. Most of the walls were up!! The energy was contagious...the family was excited, we were excited...so cool. We had a goal of finishing the house by noon. Soon all the walls were up, the trusses, and then it started to drizzle. It could not stop our momentum. The CommonHope workers, Felix and Pablo, were amazing to watch and had buckets of patience working with us as volunteers. The family was so gracious and made us homemade toritilla's and eggs for a snack. Everyone gobbled it up and we had energy to complete the job.

As the last peice of ceiling went up the rain began in earnest and it was as if someone knew that the house was complete. It was a day filled with emotion and we were blessed to have experienced it all.

Adios, Steph

Mas fotos!

2011-07-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

Our second day at San Miguel Escobar school

2011-07-28T05:39:00.000-07:00

We spent another great day at San Miguel Escobar. Wish we could keep going back!

Construction!

2011-07-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

These videos give you a glimpse into Common Hope's process for helping families acquire a small house. Much of the work happens at Common Hope then the materials are transported to the site. It all happens very quickly.

"Buenos dias, Profe."

2011-07-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day in Guatemala! For the past few days, the skies have been hinting at rain with darkening clouds and rumbles of thunder over the nearby volcanoes. Last night we did get a bit of rain and it was nice to hear it pattering on the red tiled roof. But today we awoke to another beautiful day in Guatemala.

Today was similar to yesterday with our teams splitting, some of us going to schools in the morning and the others working construction and reversing roles after lunch. We woke up early, as we have been each morning. The sounds of the city coming alive as cars, trucks, and "Chicken busses" passing by on the road outside the complex walls has become the norm. Birds sing and we begin to hear the din of construction and children laughing as La Familia Esperanza (Common Hope) awakens to another busy day.

We (Betsy, Steph, and I) taught another round of lessons to the fourth and sixth graders. These kids are amazing with thier bright eyes, laughter, and welcoming grins and greetings of "Buenos Dias Profe'". Yesterday the kids worked on some pages for an A-Z book, and this morning we were able to present the completed book to the class. This was accepted with thank you's and a hearty round of applause. We, Betsy really, led a typical morning meeting with the class which really isn't typical here in Guatemala. After the meeting we read a book about popcorn as the students munched on some popcorn we brought for them as a little engaging snack.... popcorn book, popcorn to eat.... you get the idea. Following this, the kids worked in small groups on a "Waterfall" activity. On this they worked off the lesson from the day before, writing short eight word poems accompanied by rhythm and movement which was shared for the whole class. The kids were excited, though a bit nervous, to do such an activity. It seems that these types of lessons that involve group work and/or movement are rare and it seemed to be a fun way for these kids to play with language and learn. We see that our role here is to teach the teachers as much as it is to teach the kids. We are hopeful that sharing these and other simple strategies might have a lasting impact on the teachers and the system as a whole. Much of what we have done over the last couple of days has been way outside of the Guatemalan teachers' boxes.

Teaching in these classrooms has been an amazing blessing. The rooms are sparse and lack pretty much everything we have grown accustomed to each day back home. What they aren't missing are kids who are excited about learning and welcoming visitors. So much like home in so many ways. But, this does give one room to pause and appreciate all that we have been given. For thse who have been given much, much is to be expected.

After teaching our two lessons we returned to Common Hope for lunch and then got ready for an afternoon of construction work. Today we did a finish troweling job on the cement floor tiles the other group made earlier this morning. This was pretty new for most of us. It was fun to learn a new skill and pick up our first Guatemalan blisters in the process. After finishing the tiles we worked on building a few wall panels for an upcoming house that will be assembled. Steph and Betsy really enjoyed the cahnce to swing some hammers and use a power drill! The houses Common Hope builds are totally prefabricated and assembled on site. They are sturdy and provide a much cleaner and safer living condition than these families currently live in. Our construction hefe (leader) Pablo (aka, Pablito) is excellent at his trade and very kind the the gringos who don't know what they are doing. We have really enjoyed the diversity in work experiences while here. A little teaching in the morning and construction in the afternon. Tomorrow we will assemble a house and go on some social work visits. On Friday we will give a house blessing and spend some time with the preschoolers here at Common Hope. It is sure to be an great ending to an already fantastic week.

We rounded out the day with a little reflection with Jeff from Common Hope, and Lys who has been our coordinator and friend throughout the week. She has an amazing gift of hositality and has done so much for us this week. After this we ate another delicious dinner and chilled. Some read books and relaxed while the rest of us played some fooseball and ping-pong. Just a typical evening beneath the volcanoes in Antigua, Guatemala.

Peace,

I chose the right profession.

2011-07-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

Day 4. The day has arrived. We are about to start the activities that we came here to do. Teach and build a house. For this we had to split into two groups. Group 1 started in the construction and Group 2 started in the schools. Group 1 consisted of myself (Andrea), Chris, Ashley and Sammie. Group two will write about their day, I will continue with ours as they were similar but different.

So... after filling our bellies we met with Lyz to begin our construction adventure. We headed over to the construction site where they put us right to work! Our plan was to bring part of the supplies with us to a home where they had already started laying the floor. This was an "affiliated" familiy who has been working with Common Hope for some time as they had already done the sweat equity hours for their first one bedroom home that was up and running and had now finished "paying" off their second. This family does not own their land so the homes they have are constructed of portable (although super heavy) cement blocks and portable walls so that if/when the times comes that they need to move they will be able to take their home with them.

We were immediately given the job of filling a few bags with sand and a few bags with rock for mixing some cement on site. Pretty simple task right?? We sunscreened up, drank some water and got our working gloves on. Ashley jumped right into the rocks and started shoveling rocks into the bag I was holding. We were told to fill the bags a little over half full. Good idea since they were quite large bags. So we did just that, soon realizing that the fuller they got, the heavier they got and the more impossible to lift. We were able to find a wheelbarrow to help carry the load only to struggle immensely and eventually needing help from the men giggling at us from the side in lifting the bags. How these men do this everyday, I do not know. We did make it through the all of this with minor scrapes and bruises. Needless to say, I chose the right profession and am not cut out for daily construction. (My large muscles may make you think otherwise ;-)

Once loaded up we headed to the home where the floor was just about set. We pounded a few metal rods, dug some trenches, made cement, and poured and leveled the cement around the flooring. Tomorrow and Thursday we will work on getting walls up and hopefully see a finished project.

Dirty, hot, sweaty and tired we made it up the stairs to shower before lunch where we were able to meet up with the rest of the group and hear how successful their time at the school was, making us feel all the more excited to jump into our own classroom of students to do a similar lesson.

We packed our backpacks and were off to school. Renato, Common Hope's educational coordinator, drove us the 5 or so minutes to a nearby school in San Miguel Escobar where we worked with two 4th grade classrooms for about an hour a piece. The students were amazing and the entire experience went beyond my expectations of a Guatemalan school. Renato explained that they have around a 10 year program with the schools, working towards the schools feeling independenct and with all the tools that they need to run a successful building. They were in about year 2 with this particular school and the effects of their integration and training were immediately obvious particularily in the area of classroom management. From classroom rules to a daily agenda, there were some good things happening at these schools so that students could be getting the most out of their day.

At each school that Common Hope works with they place a graduated teacher to help with planning and ideas and just all around support for the teachers already in place. Our Common Hope teacher was not more than 18 years old and someone who very obviously loved his job and had some good training in classroom management. He started each classroom with a review of the schools 5 rules for being respectful and how to support everyone in their learning. He had them tell him what the rules were, reviewed quickly how they look, sound and feel and then praised them appropriately for what he was seeing right away. It was quite impressive and unexpected. Then it was our turn. I led our team and students in a morning meeting similar to what we do back in Eden Prairie. The kids seemed to enjoy sharing their favorite food by smiling and laughing at others comments. Ashley led us all in an amazing rendition of "La familia sapo" which is a fun dancing/singing type chant. She had another activity planned but due to some technical difficulties she had to switch to the chant, which was super fun and the kids really got into it. Chris finished it off with reading our message to the students about what we would be doing over the next two days.

We continued with a reading of a book about a market teaching the students the strategy of Taxonomy which is used to organize ideas and vocabulary in alphabetical order which led into our creating a class book about the Guatemalan market. The students did an excellent job thinking about foods found in the market and an even more amazing job making their individual page. They were so creative, and really impressed me with their neat writing and wonderful sentences. In many ways they were showing work equivelent if not more impressive then my own 4th graders last year, which really is quite amazing considering they do not have a library, textbooks, college educated teachers, etc... It was so wonderful to see such good work being done with so little.

I could go one, but to sum it up, today was just another day that helped me remember why I went into teaching. Smiling eager faces just ready and yearning to learn something new. These children are the future of Guatemala and they are off to a great start.

In short, I chose the right profession.

Pictures!

2011-07-26T05:47:00.000-07:00

Video from Nueva Esperanza

2011-07-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

2011-07-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a full day! We just arrived back at Common Hope after spending the entire day on the go. Our group split into two smaller groups for the majority of the day, Sammie and I going to “New Hope” and the rest of the gang going to the weaving cooperative.

Sammie and I started our day at 7:00 as Lys and her driver, Julio, picked us up in their van and got us going on our journey to New Hope. New Hope, or Nueva Esperanza, is a school/clinic/library and more all wrapped into one. It’s north of Guatemala City and it is Common Hope’s second largest site (next to their main site in Antigua). They started this site after Hurricane Mitch in 1998(?) when many people near Guatemala City lost their homes due to mudslides. Since then Common Hope has developed this awesome site including a school that could rival those in many parts of the states.

Our trip to New Hope involved very heavy traffic through Guatemala City, a stop at the Auto Mac (McDonald’s drive thru for those of you who have never been to Central America), and a very precarious mountain road – no pavement, lots of twists and turns, honks around corners to make sure the other drivers knew you were coming, and more. It was great fun and all part of the adventure!

After arriving at New Hope Lys gave us a general tour of the New Hope facilities and introduced us to many of her friends. We got lots of welcomes and hugs from both the children and the staff. Right away we could tell that this was a very special place. The crown jewel of the day was the project we did with the 2nd grade class. It was a simple arts and crafts project involving paper plates and foam sheets, but the kids loved it. Sammie and I dug right in doing our own fish and helping the kids. The children were great. It was obvious that they are smart and well cared for. All of them wanted to know how to say their name in English. It was cute. I wish we could’ve stayed longer or come back multiple days.

Unfortunately our time at New Hope ended too quickly and we were back on our way to Common Hope. Sammie and I both got a little shut eye before meeting the rest of the gang of a super lunch in the back garden of this nice little restaurant. Sammie ordered a mixed meat, cheese and veggie tray while I ordered some typical kind of chicken in a cheesy, creamy sauce. It rocked. For dessert Sammie and I shared a piece of chocolate cake, plum ice cream and a café con leche. As the Wiggles say, Yummy Yummy!

To wrap up a super fun day, we enjoyed a tour back at Common Hope, did some planning for our educational experiences, and chilled out. Sammie and I played some soccer – of course she beat me. The night ended with another terrific meal in Antigua followed by some strolling in the plaza. There was a salsa band playing and many people milling slowly around the plaza. Sammie and I both agree that we could spend a part of each day just sitting in the plaza and watching the city of Antigua pass in front of our eyes.

Weaver at the Loom

2011-07-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hello there! This is Betsy writing on my first full day and everyone else's second day in Antigua. We had a wonderful day off due to a holiday celebrated here in town. Throughout the whole day fireworks could be heard all through town and in the main plaza there was plenty of activities to partake in like a book fair and music.

We split into two groups today. Chris and Sammie left early and drove out the Nueva Esperanza, one of Common Hope's other schools. You will be hearing about their experience a little later.

Ashley, Andrea, Stephanie, Mitch, and I went to the weaving cooperative in Santiago Zamora, a small pueblo about 30 minutes from Antigua. A Common Hope volunteer, Shelly, who happens to be a Minnesota native, picked us up at around 9am to bring us out there. Our driver, Jose, dropped us off at an unmarked door on a small street at the top of a hill and Shelley knocked on the door. We had no idea we were about the enter an incredible place with incredible women inside.

We entered a home made of stone and covered with an aluminum roof. Throughout the whole living area there were tapestries and woven materials scattered and hanging all around. All the women in the room were dressed in traditional clothing like los cortes and los guipiles. The first woman scattered flower petals and lit candles on the floor while she told us an interesting legend/story about the town and the Mayan people.

She told us that a long time ago on today's date, the men in town made alcohol to celebrate the patron saint's day that is celebrated today. Everyone was very happy and fell asleep at the end of the day. In the middle of the night a home caught fire and since their homes were made of corn stalk the whole town burnt down. The people were so sad their homes were destroyed they started to get headaches and nose bleeds. In order to cure the sickness, the people had to give over the deed to their land to the rich man in town to pay for medicine to cure the sickness. The people were cured but since he had the deed to their land he wouldn't let them plant their harvest there anymore. Eventually he allowed them to plant but the people were indebted to work for him for the rest of their lives. Still today the people of Santiago Zamora help the man with his coffee harvest every year.

The coop was started by 35 women 17 years ago in order to send their children to school. The women faught against their disapproving husbands by weaving products to sell in the market. Now the women keep part of the funds for their materials and give part to the community to keep their children in school.

We had such a great time! It felt like we were really getting to know the culture of this people. They showed us all four steps of weaving by hand the traditional shirts, skirts, purses, tablecloths, etc that they sell. Everything was incredibly intricate. We also saw a traditional dance done today on the last day of the festival complete with music and incense. We also all had the chance to try grinding coffee beans by hand grown from the mountain outside. They are ground with a large stone plate and a stone "rolling pin." The stone is from the mountain and was bought by her grandmother a long time ago. Each woman has four different stones. One for grinding coffee beans, black beans, corn for tortillas, and herbal plants.

They made us a delicious meal called pepian which consists of rice with vegetables, a special sauce, and chicken raised right in their home instead of bought at the market. Accompaning the pepian was a juice made of pineapple, canteloupe, honey, and water. Que rico! Another very interesting part was watching the women made tortillas. They had a wood burning stove with a flat top. An older woman, who only spoke Maya, was sitting next to the stove and made perfect torillas. Receiving the ball of dough in her hand, flattening it by throwing it between her hands, and stopping at the perfect consistency, size, and smoothness. Later on we found out this woman was blind and making tortillas by memory and experience! We definitely struggled making them ourselves. We ended up making volcanos, maps, and Mitch was even told that he wasn't allowed to leave until he learned how to make a proper tortilla.

It was an incredible visit where we learned so much about the people, the detailed process of weaving, and the food. Finally we ended our visit by purchasing their beautiful woven goods of so many colors. Ashley and I definitely had a hard time controlling our pocketbooks and bought all our gifts for family and friends in one visit! Totally worth it.

We ate lunch at a beautiful restaurant named Saberico that is made of complete open air gardens. We walked through an incredibly old building with 2 foot thick stone walls into the beautiful garden. On the patio there were pomegranite trees, lime trees, guanava trees, and love birds in cages. We had our own secluded space surrounded by flowers and had incredible food. One part of the garden we discovered had a hammock you could rest in after a large lunch. We ordered a range of food from Guatemalan enchiladas (with cabbage, beets, and chicken), to tacos and bruschetta. For drinks we ordered various mango, strawberry, and wheat grass smoothies. It was great!

After lunch we began planning for our first day of work tomorrow at the schools, got a tour of the Common Hope compound from our guide Lys, and got picked up by our favorite driver, Cheeky, to go to dinner. Dinner was at a great place named La Peña de Sol Latino where we ate incredible food and listened to live music being played in front of us. It is agreed that every place we have eaten at has been very romantic, small, and with great food.

We ended the evening by listening to a full piece band in the main plaza (dressed in white tuxedos) play music and watched a couple dance salsa infront of a large croud. It was a great way to end a full day celebrating the patron saint holiday with the people.

Thank you for reading this whole post to the end! Tomorrow we officially begin our work with contruction and teaching at the two schools, Santa Catarina and San Miguel Escobar.

Gracias!

"I"ve never actually seen a sacrifice"

2011-07-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

Said our guide Marian as we traveled through the country side of Guatemala on our way to Iximche, but I'll get back to that later...

Our second day in Guatemala began cool and peaceful with much anticipation of touring some Mayan ruins. We met up with our Common Hope host Lys and learned more history from Marian on the drive. We asked about politics, education, and religion and enjoyed hearing one native Guatemalan's opinion.

The drive to Iximche was eye-opening for me. Seeing more of the rural areas and observing the harsh living conditions made it hard not to think of all I have at home in Minnesota. The beautiful country side and volcanic mountains were somewhat shrouded in sadness for me, as I could not imagine living as many Guatemalans do.

Arriving at the ruins brought me to another place of wonder about what this amazing culture must have been like more than a thousand years ago. Marian was so knowledgable and shared information on the Mayan number system and some of the symbolism found on the Guatemalan currency, "Quetzales". We wandered through the plaza's and imagined what a market day might look like, a "ball game", and just what day to day life must have been like in a "city" such as this.

So about that sacrifice...
Marian shared with us that because it was Sunday we may see a Mayan ceremony going on at the ruins. We walked a short trail and started to smell smoke and saw some fires on the ground. Sure enough there were about 3 families conducting rituals which we could sit and observe. It was intriguing to watch them place an egg in the fire, pour sand, sugar and then...
pull a chicken out of a bag. We looked at one another and I think all had similar thoughts...we are going to see a sacrifice today. It's hard to put into words what watching someone else's spiritual practice is like, especially when it's so different from your own. I"ll just say it was fascinating.

We left the ruins and had an amazing lunch at a popular roadside restaraunt. The ride home to Antigua was quiet and sleepy. We picked up our last team member, Betsy in Antigua and ventured out on our own to do some people watching and shopping before dinner back at Common Hope. Looking forward to another memorable day tomorrow!

Quick first day recap from Chris

2011-07-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it to Antigua (Common Hope) alive and well. It was a very easy travel day, if I can speak for the group. Yes, it was a long day, but everything went off without a hitch. Two flights, a short layover, and a 1-hour shuttle ride and we arrived in Antigua. Lys, our guide from Common Hope, met us at the airport then treated us to a nice, refreshing lunch in Antigua. Most enjoyed the smoothies and guacamole. I, myself, went with the cappuccino instead of a smoothie and was not disappointed.

As I'm writing, Mitch, Andrea and I are sitting in the open air common area adjacent to our dorm rooms. The facility is amazing Ð very relaxing and comfortable. WeÕre just chillin' out tonight getting ourselves rested and ready for what should be a busy day tomorrow.

I've totally enjoyed seeing how my daughter Sammie is reacting to everything. She has had a smile plastered to her face most of the day. I can tell that she is feeling this experience in a deep way. And it's only day one! It was funny to see her point out things she's never seen before Ð a banana tree, an avocado tree, a gecko on the side of our building. She loves the mountains, too and the volcanoes nearby. It's been a little cloudy since we arrived so we haven't yet had a chance to see the very tops of the volcanoes.

Well, tomorrow should be a great day. We're visiting a Mayan ruins site, I think we'll be taking in a Sunday market in a small village, then we'll be exploring the city of Antigua in the afternoon. We'll put on our walking shoes and experience it all!

2011-07-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

And, we are here! Great day of travel today. We arrived at the MSP airport at about 5:00am for a 6:45 flight. Travel was smooth and we were wisked through Guatemalan customs unscathed. Our guide, leader, mentor and friend, Lys, from Common Hope met us at the airport and we were off to Antigua. There we were dropped in town for a delicious and relaxing lunch including beautiful fruit smoothies, fresh guacamole, and sandwiches.

We arrived here at the Common Hope complex around 5:00 where we have settled into our space. The accomodations here are wonderful and we have a whole area to ourselves including a common room, bathrooms, and kitchen and laundry facilities. We have all that we need. We spent some time organizing our donations and just hanging out talking and reading.

The weather is exceptional. Sunny and warm about 78 F or so and cooling down as night has fallen. This is a great escape from the past week in Minnesota and the 116 degree heat index! I might even have to put on a sweatshirt soon!

Tomorrow we will travel to Iximche, a Mayan ruins, and spend some time in Antugua. It is sure to be a great day and we are all excited to take in some history and culture.

Please continue to check in on us as we blog each day about our adventures.

Peace,

Mitch Hegland

Time to Go Back to Guatemala!

2011-07-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

Once again a group of Eden Prairie Schools staff members and their families are preparing to embark on an adventure to Central America. This time the trip is to Guatemala - specifically to the organization Common Hope outside of Antigua, Guatemala.

Our mission will be to support one or more schools in the area by helping to facilitate some literacy instruction strategies that are new to the most of the teachers in those schools. Those strategies will include elements of Responsive Classroom and NUA. We will model strategies by instructing students in their native language, and we will also meet with teachers to help them begin to understand some cutting edge ways to help their students become more proficient readers, writers and thinkers. Of course our contribution while in the country will just be a start to what will be an ongoing relationship between Eden Prairie Schools and the schools of Common Hope.

Along with the educational portion of our trip, we will be working with children and families in Guatemala in other ways as well. We will be involved in a portion of the construction of a home for a Common Hope affiliated family, we will get a glimpse into family social work visits that are integral to the work of Common Hope, and we will have time to enjoy the culture of the area. It is shaping up to be another wonderful experience for Global Connect!

The trip will take place from July 23rd through July 31st. Take a look at the members of this year's group below, visit our blog daily while we're away, and please keep us in your thoughts during our journey. Thanks, as always, for your support!

Students from a village school in the mountains near Antigua.

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These awesome kids and their teachers came to town from their village to perform for tourists in Antigua.

Mitch's pics from Antigua.

2010-07-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

Click above to see Mitch's pics from our time in Antigua. Fun!!!

Likely my last post from C.A.

2010-07-17T06:38:00.000-07:00

Chris again, probably for the final time -

I'm sitting in a beautiful, flower-encircled patio at our small Antigua hotel, preparing for our last day of strolling, shopping, eating and relaxing. Hopefully we'll catch some music, too.

Yesterday we spent the morning with Felix and his construction team at Common Hope. We did a small amount of work, helping them prepare some construction materials. How Common Hope helps affiliated families with housing is that it creates all the materials for prefabricated homes at its site, then takes those materials to the village and in a matter of a few days can erect the home for the families. We did a bit of the prep work for another group that is coming down next week. This group with then take the materials that we helped prepare, and construct the house out in a village.

We really just got a flavor for the work, as we only did it for about two hours. We were also joined by Laura, a volunteer from Chicago. After finishing some of the work, we took a 10:00 coffee break with Felix, who is also a member of a coffee cooperative in the area. He and several other families grow coffee then pool their resources to sell their coffee as an organization called "As Green As it Gets." Felix brewed some of his coffee (stong espresso!) for us and we enjoyed his company during the standard 10:00 break that all workers take at Common Hope.

The coffee experience didn't end there. Felix then took us in his truck to a couple of neighboring villages where not only did he show us various stages of Common Hope house construction, but he also showed us all the elements that go into taking a coffee bean from the tree to the bag.

There is much to it, and with Felix's cooperative, most of it is done in small batches, all by hand. Each family does various things to make the entire process happen.

With coffee being such a ordinary part of life in the U.S., it was really cool to see just how some of this Fair Trade coffee arrives in our kitchens and coffee houses. Upon our return to the Common Hope site, each of us bought a few bags of coffee from Felix to take home with us. He also gave us his business card and a way to get his coffee back home.

Around noon we ate lunch then said "goodbye" to Renato, Louise, Laura and others at Common Hope. They crammed a lot of experiences in for us in just a couple of days, and we were extremely grateful. It was a memorable stay.

The remainder of our day was spent roaming around Antigua, shopping and taking in the sites. We sat down for a tasty dinner in the early evening, then wandered and found some music in a cinema/lounge a few blocks from our hotel. Quite another great day.

And... a great, great trip to Central America!

In Guatemala - Meeting new friends and watching volcanoes.

2010-07-16T06:29:00.000-07:00

Chris here -

Our trip is nearing its end. All that’s left is a bit of physical work this morning at Common Hope preparing building materials for a Vision Team that is coming down after us and some R and R in Antigua. I must admit that the thought of returning home sounds quite nice right now. We’ve had a FANTASTIC experience, full of great adventures, learning and fun. But I’ve hit my threshold a bit for taking in new information. Our days have been so packed full of experiences that it’s hard for me to step back and process it all. I look forward to sitting at home or up at the cabin in the next few weeks and being able to do that.

Yesterday was quite a day. Renato from Common Hope gave us the whirlwind look at a lot of what his organization does. And he did it in less than eight hours.

It started with a tour of the Common Hope complex by a long term volunteer from Morehead Minnesota. She showed us all that Common Hope does here on site and all of their facilities including: a health clinic; a day care for the Common Hope employees; a library; a work site where all the materials are prepared for house construction out in the villages; their offices; recreations areas; volunteer housing; and more. It’s quite a large and cool place. It provided us with a very stark difference coming from Helping Honduras Kids in which David is working on a shoe string budget and they have absolutely no paid employees. One isn’t better than the other. One isn’t doing work that’s more or less important. The organizations are just different. One serves about 70 kids and focuses on raising a family of 22 children. The other serves hundreds and hundreds of children and families in the area around Antigua. I feel that Global Connect could not go wrong in choosing either of these wonderful organizations to support.

Our tour was followed by a drive up into the mountains to visit the village of San Rafael. Renato showed us around the village, pointing out some of the work that Common Hope is doing to support the families there. Included in that support is the construction of houses for some of the affiliated Common Hope families. This village is 100% indigenous, with many of the families working small plots of land terraced on the sides of the mountains. They work hard and struggle, and they are greatly helped by Common Hope offering them things like health care and education.

I’m going to have to stop for now. There’s not enough time to finish writing but I’ll check back in later. We are leaving soon to help with putting together materials for house construction. We’re going to do that this morning, then off to Antigua for the remainder of our trip. Oh, and by the way, as I’m writing I’m looking off at an active volcano that’s blowing big puffs of ash into the air. Way cool! Ciao!

Okay, back now. Now I'm sitting in the little interior courtyard of our Antigua hotel. We checked in here a few hours ago after enjoying more of what Common Hope had to offer.

But back to yesterday. After visiting San Rafael and the school there, we came back to Common Hope where Mich, Andrea and I were each paired with a social worker. We then drove a van into some of the villages near Antigua. In each various place, one of us got off the van with their social worker. The social worker I was with (can't remember her name!) and I debarked in the small village of San Miguel Escobar. It was there I met Jackeline in this photo along with her little brothers.

The experience in San Miguel Escobar truly became one of the most enriching experiences I have had in my several times coming down to Central America. Here I followed the social worker into several homes where she visited the families to check up on them and to see what, if any, needs or concerns they had. This is a big part of what Common Hope does, and it's a normal experience for volunteers to tag along. At first I thought I would be an intrusion, but I was assured that this was a very typical thing. These families have become very used to it.

Anyway, we knocked on the doors of about six homes of Common Hope affiliated families, several of which had no one at home, or the mother or father were gone. We entered two homes. Each home was very different. In the first was a boy of 13 years who had dropped out of school. The social worker visited with him for at least 30 minutes talking with him about all the problems he would face later in life if he doesn't finish school. She had a very difficult time getting through to him. He did not engage, and he barely said a word. On a couple occasions small tears fell out of his eyes. It was a sad situation. Clearly the boy is on the verge of falling into a life of endless poverty and struggle. Yet, he says that school is too difficult and that he does not want to attend.

The other home we visited was the home of Jackeline. Jackeline and her brothers, though facing huge struggles ahead, were very bright eyed and energetic. When we arrived they were picking limes from a tree inside the tiny courtyard of their home. This was a much different experrience from the first home. These kids seemed happy, intelligent and optimistic for the future. I was so taken by Jackeline, with her energy and her smile, that this morning I asked if I could become her sponsor.

Her mother and their family have just recently become affiliated with Common Hope. They have many needs. I was told by the social worker that families are given classifications of red, yellow and green, red being the worst situation. She explained to me that Jackeline's family, right now, is considered in the red category. Their mother works all day long, coming home sometimes not until 8:00. And with those long days, her monthly income is only around $104. But with the help of Common Hope's programs, the future may be brighter for this family. It makes me very emotional to know that this family is now receiving some assistance, and that I am doing a small part to help make that happen. I will remember Jackeline and her smiley face for a long time to come. And hopefully I can visit her again some day.

honduras summer 2010 kreie 4

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And even, even MORE pics!

mitch honduras summer wed-thurs

2010-07-16T06:26:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture above for even MORE pictures. We're in Guatemala now!

Meet some of the kids from Helping Honduras Kids

2010-07-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

Meet some of the wonderful children of Helping Honduras Kids.

Honduras Summer 2010 Kreie 3

2010-07-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

Click the above picture to see more photos from our trip to Honduras and Guatemala thus far.

Chris' thoughts from our time in Honduras

2010-07-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

It’s difficult to sum up my thoughts and experiences of the past few days because we have been packing so much into each and every day. I will try my best to summarize and perhaps focus mostly on Monday because that was the day in which we experienced so much of what HHK is doing for the children in northern Honduras.

David carted us around most of Monday. We started with an early breakfast at Helen’s before he picked us up. We then journeyed east toward Cebia and north up the mountains to HHK’s Jungle School. The school is located on the Congrejal river, up into the mountains adjacent to Pico Bonito National Park. The road up the river is just a dirt road full of twists and turns. Many villages are located along this road. The Jungle School is just a short journey up the road. The road then continues several hours by car up the mountain.

We enjoyed some time at the Jungle School, interacting a bit with the children, visiting with the cooks and teachers, and just taking a good look around at how the school operates. I was impressed. The school is nothing more than a few small buildings carved out of the mountain, but what they do with what they have is quite amazing. Over 70 children attend the school, only 20 of those being students from the hogar. The others walk through the jungle each day, some two hours one way, to get to school. The school serves students in K-6. Two grade levels are combined into each classroom. The students have a more than decent set of supplies – pencils, individual workbooks that they can write in, a couple of well-stocked libraries of books, and more. And order seemed to reign, as kids were invested in their work with few distractions or little misbehavior. The school was a well run facility.

After an hour or so of visiting at the school, David drove us further up the mountain to visit some of the villages along the road. We stopped at one village in particular in which HHK has a relationship with three grandmas who live there and care for a large group of children. From time to time David visits them, bringing them clothing, supplies, and rice from Kids Against Hunger or other similar organizations. We walked with a group of about 20 children and David treated them to some snacks and drinks at the local pulperia. This area is so amazing beautiful. The rushing river cutting through this lush mountain landscape is spectacular. Yet that played against the poverty and difficulty of those living there is a troubling thing to see.

David drove us even further up the mountain, along with the 20 kids whom we had picked up in the first village, then back again just to get a closer look at the area. We then returned to the Jungle School which was ending for the day when we arrived. At the end of the day the children who walk from jungle villages are given a noon meal before they return home. The hogar children ride back home with David or catch the bus then have lunch at home.

We continued on with David. He did transport a few of the Jungle School children, the ones who live nearby, back to their homes further down the mountain. We said goodbye to those children then headed in La Ceiba ourselves for lunch. David recommended a little rotisserie chicken place operated out of the front of someone’s home in town. It was great. For a plate of chicken, cooked carrots, and coleslaw the price was roughly $2.00.

Continuing on David took us east where we checked out his former site outside of La Ceiba and a day care, after school care center operated east of La Ceiba by a friend of his. This place is really just a place where kids can go when school is not in session as a way to have something to do and a safe place to hangout. They do some educational projects and they also feed the kids two meals if they are there all day. It was a neat little operation, staffed by the man who is running the place, a couple of Honduran women, and some U.S. volunteers.

Our final stop along the way was to a tiny village near the town of Jutiapa. This is a village of people who were forced off their land by a company who claimed ownership of the land. David and a separate missionary group found new land for them and assisted them in their moving. The people are now in various states of living – some have mud huts, others have makeshift wooden homes covered in plastic, and the well-off have concrete block homes. But it’s a very tiny little development of houses, I think only 30 or so lots. David continues to drive out to the village from time to time, again to provide them with Kids Against Hunger rice or other essential items.

By day’s end we were wiped out. It was an amazing day, and a lot to take in. We appreciate immensely the time and energy David is giving to us by showing us all of the facets of his small but productive organization called Helping Honduras Kids (HHK). He is doing a tremendous amount of good for the children in this area. I will have absolutely no trouble coming home and singing their praises and working very hard to convince people I know to help them in any way that they can.

Our evening ended with a relaxing time in the hotel bar, in the pool, having dinner, and relaxing in our air conditioned cabin. It is not difficult for all of these things to remind me how very different my life is from those of all the people we have seen and met today.

Time at the Helping Honduras Kids Hogar

2010-07-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the hogar (home)!

Hondurans Enjoying the World Cup

2010-07-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

See how some of us in Honduras enjoyed the World Cup final. World Cup fever is everywhere - including on a tiny island off the coast of Honduras. We watched the game there with about 20 other islanders who gathered together around a TV. Also, listen one of our new young friends singing the song that has definitely caught on - Waka Waka.

Thoughts from HHK President David Ashby

2010-07-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

Thoughts from HHK President David Ashby.

honduras summer 2010 kreie 2

2010-07-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

View this photo album of pics from our last few days near the north coast of Honduras.

Grandmas and Campesino Villages...

2010-07-13T06:03:00.000-07:00

More reflections on our travels from Mitch....

Well, it is about 5:15am and I guess I was just done with sleep for the night. I am up sitting in the outdoor restaurant of our hotel with a beautiful view of the mountains on my right and the waves of the ocean on my left. It is cool, but a bit humid already and I’m sure it will be another hot day. The weather is amazing here, but to be honest the only time I have stopped sweating has been when I have been in the water.

Yesterday was a very busy day. David took us all over the place- we started at the Jungle School where classes were in session. We were pleasantly surprised at how organized the school is and the materials the students had. Don’t get me wrong, I have more “stuff” in my classroom than they do in the whole school, but we were pleased with what we saw. It was so cool to see the kids, who we had spent time with on the street or playing games with at the home yesterday, here at their desks and in their uniforms studying and working hard. We had time to just see it all happen and then hang out with the kids when they had a little break. This is the time when the kids all get a fortified milk drink. HHk serves this milk and a hot meal to about 70+ kids and a few adults each day. The kids played some soccer or just hung out like kids love to do. This was a great time. This is a truly impressive facility!

David then took us up the mountain through some very small villages and on to some TINY villages of maybe 8 or 10 houses. This is where the “Grandma Houses” are found. Here we met two little old ladies, each easily 80 years old if not older. They were surrounded by kids who were pretty much dirty, shoeless and undernourished. They are not her own, but she has taken on these kids who have pretty much been abandoned by the community. David and HHK have taken these kids and “Grandmas” under their wing and do what they can to get them food and clothing donations when they are able. Perhaps one of the most beautiful things I have seen here has been when we arrived in this remote little place and all of the kids came running out to greet David and give him hugs. For the remainder of the time he was holding at least two little hands as we walked. It is easy to see why he has chosen this work, he was meant to do this. He is kind and gentle man with a bid, big heart.
We headed back to the school to pick up some kids to give them a ride down the mountain and dropped them off along the way to help shorten their walk a bit. One group of about 6 kids hopped out and would have to cross the river to get home. Jose was the oldest at about 12 years old. I’m sure he would take care of the little ones. We then headed into La Ceiba for a quick lunch. Half a chicken, some veggies and a coke… all for about $2.50… you gotta love Honduras!
Finally David took us out to a Compesino (Peasant) Village. This was again an eye opening experience. This little community is a place of transplanted people who were kicked off of their land a few years ago when some company basically took back the land they had settled on. Here, there a few cement block houses that were built by a local church with American connections. The rest have built their homes of sticks and mud or sheets of plastic. They are pretty tight little community centered around a one room Kindergarten. The poverty here is obvious, but the people are happy… a pretty common theme as you make your way around this beautiful place.

We ended our day back at the hotel, unpacking everything we had seen and done throughout the day. It was a lot to take in. A new blessing, a new adventure, a new cultural experience around each wind in the rugged roads we have traveled. This had not been “vacation” Honduras. We are working hard, seeing and doing a lot and all along trying to processing it all. But, this has been an amazing adventure and I cannot wait to see what this will eventually mean for us all back home.

Peace~

Mitch

And the Journey Continues...

2010-07-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

Mitch's reflections, thus far....

We have been very busy since arriving in Honduras. The first adventure was navigating our way from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba. We chose the $6.00 cheapy bus ride and it was great. It took a little over 3 hours and was just fine. I have no idea why anyone would need to take the $25.00 ride... but maybe we got lucky. Not a chicken, goat, or any other livestock aboard! That night we connected with three girls from Tierra Santa (they are spending part of the week with us), met the founder of HHK (David Ashby) and had dinner with him.
Yesterday we had the chance to help out with an HHK fundraiser. We spent time with the kids holding signs and asking for donations from passersby on a very busy street. It was fun, but the kids ended up working at this from 8:00am-4:00pm. We did not. Instead, we took a break from this to go over to the hogar (home) to play with the younger kids who were too young to be on the busy streets of La Ceiba. We played soccer on a very tiny "field" on the side of the yard, read with kids, played hide and seek and a very clever spin on Rock-Paper Scissors the kids taught u.. it goes something like this.... Mickey Mouse, Micky Mouse, Mickey arriba (up) Mickey abajo (down) Mickey aqui (here) Mickey alla (there)... then shoot your rock paper or scissors. I'll teach you the rest when I see you but I will say that it involves holding your opponent's ear! :-)
Later, David took us up to the jungle school for a tour. I don't know what I had in my mind, but it wasn't what I saw. This place is incredible. We (Global Connect) have already sent money to help with this which has helped to start construction on another classroom. But as it is, they have now run out of money and the project is sitting waiting for further funds.

Today we came out to a hotel on the beach and spent a few hours on a boating and snorkeling expedition. This was fun and a very new experience for the Tierra Santa girls. After snorkeling a bit we went to a tiny island that holds a Garifuna (sp) village. The Garifuna are descendents of African slaves in the area and live mostly by fishing. They live a very simple life on their own tiny island... yet they somehow were able to gather around a small TV to watch the world cup finals. Here on this island we ate a great meal of fresh fish (head, tail, the whole nine yards!), beans and rice, and fried plantains. It was great and quite reasonable... about $3 or $4! We rested the rest of the day and just finished up with dinner.
We will go back to the jungle school tomorrow while the kids are in school to see it all happening. Some of these kids walk 2 or more hours each day, one way, to get to the school... some even have to cross the river to make it. Amazing! We are also hoping to go further up the mountain and deeper into the jungle to see where some of these kids are coming from and where HHK has further outreach projects in these little jungle villages.
Honduras is a beautiful place. We are nestled between the northern coast and the mountains. the water in the ocean is beautiful and warm and the mountains are green and dense with vegetation and the tops are almost always shrouded by the clouds. This creates what is known as a cloud forest which is, for all intensive purposes, a rain forest. The kids of course are awesome. We had fun hanging out and playing silly games and just lovin' on em! Totally possible even when I don't speak Spanish.

Well, this pretty much covers most of what we have been up to so far. I'd like to include more and tell you more about the girls from Tierra Santa, but I think I should hold that for another time.

Peace, grace y Buenos Noches... Hasta la Pronto-

Mitch

honduras summer 2010 1

2010-07-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

Our first couple of days in Honduras - July 2010.
Click the photo below to view the picture album.

First Days Visiting Helping Honduras Kids

2010-07-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

It’s Sunday morning when I’m typing this. So far we haven’t had any Internet access and really not time to wander to an Internet café. So, no blogging for now. We’ll be going to a hotel on the coast later this morning that will have access.

Things have gone great to this point. Friday was our big travel day. We had two 2 ½ hour flights followed by a 4 hour bus ride from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba. It all went off without a hitch. We had been told by several people not to take one of the more inexpensive buses from San Pedro. Not because they are dangerous, just because they are slow and hot and uncomfortable. We had a fantastic time. The bus was slow and it didn’t have air conditioning. But we cranked the windows open and enjoyed every little stop in which locals would jump on the bus and try to sell you fruit or tortillas or tamales. It was a fun cultural experience that would have been much different had we taken an expensive, air conditioned express bus. We paid 4 bucks and were better off for the experience.

In San Pedro we wandered a bit but finally were able to meet up with Kenia, Margarita and Senia. These are three girls that used to live at Hogar Tierra Santa. I have sponsored Kenia in the past and really wanted to see her while I was here. I was equally happy when she wanted to have Margarita and Senia join her. They took a bus up from another city in central Honduras. After meeting them we were greeted by David Ashby who drove to pick us up at the bus station. David is the president of Helping Honduras Kids (HHK), the organization we came to visit in La Ceiba. David then took us out for dinner where we were able to talk about our week and begin to understand the workings of HHK. The best treat of all was when David left to pick up the HHK children from church and then brought them back to the restaurant to meet us. The kids greeted us with smiles and open arms, immediately wanting to interact and tell us their names. After a long day of travel it was good to be reminded why we had taken this journey in the first place.

After dinner, David dropped most of our group off at the volunteer house in La Ceiba where we would be staying. He then took me back to the children’s home to pick up some water. I didn’t stay long, but it was great to see the home right away and have some of the kids show me around, showing off their bedrooms, dining room, kitchen, etc… They clearly were excited to have a visitor. Of course I had lots of mixed emotions, having made a relationship with another home, Tierra Santa. I miss those kids with whom we all opened our hearts to on three previous trips. It’s not easy to just transfer that energy and emotion to a whole new group of kids. It will take a bit of time, and probably another trip or two, for me to be able to fully embrace this new group of children. I miss the Tierra Santa children, but just seeing the smiles and feeling the hugs of the HHK children makes me know that building new relationships with these kids will not be difficult in the end.

¡Regreso!

2009-06-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

It is great to be back in Honduras! I´m going on day 3 and it is so fun to see the kids! When Sarah and I walked into the Hogar, we heard shouts of "Sarah!" and that was followed by "yeah, yeah, yeah-ah yeah!" (from the dance that I taught last year). Everywhere I went I heard kids singing the part from the dance. They want me to teach the dance again and are excited to learn a new one!

Spring 2009 Trip Slide Show

2009-04-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

A little picture show from Honduras. It's a bit heavy on the Parkers (our camera's pictures) and a little long but folks who were on the trip will recognize the music.

-Jeff

OOPS this never got posted!!

2009-04-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be posted on Thursday!!

Yesterday we made dinner for all the kids at the Hogar! It was quite interesting. We made them an “American” meal complete with hot-dogs, mac and cheese, chips, baked beans and cookies. It was really fun. We also ordered a band to come and play for us and all the kids had a lot of fun dancing.
Unfortunately three people got sick yesterday and the day before, so they didn’t get to hang out with us all day yesterday. Good news is they are all feeling better!

We got to go to one of the schools near by that nine kids from the Hogar attend. It is a private catholic school, so they acted out the Stations of the Cross. It was really interesting even though I couldn’t understand some of it. We had another Honduran driving experience today on the way home from the school. We fit 17 people inside and in the bed of one pick up truck!! I was a little crowded but definitely fun! We got pulled over by the police though. It was a little scary but kinda funny at the same time. Good thing my mom had her drivers license!

Today we are doing more of the same. We are going to put on a program for the kids because we are leaving today. Tomorrow we are off to La Ceiba with four of the girls from the home! I am really excited, it should be really fun!

Adios,
Allison

A week in review

2009-04-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

Well, this is Holly. We are home now for 2 days. My mind is always on Honduras. I can't stop thinking about our trip, how I've been changed (for the better), how our family has changed and how I can't wait to go back. I have so much unfinished work.

What follows are excerpts from some emails I sent to the States while in Honduras. They may be a tad random but they were what I was thinking and feeling at the time

Sunday - March 29
Well, getting on the internet is much harder than I thought. It's Sunday night at 9:30. We've had a wonderful day today. The kids at the Hogar are so cute, polite, not shy, loving etc. It's warming on one hand and so very sad on the other. Despite the language barrier, we seem to communicate just fine. Mostly, the kids just want someone to sit with them, play with them, smile and laugh with them. It's heart-warming to know how much our work is needed and appreciated. The wood carver we went today told us that he talks to the members of his church about the Eden Prairie groups that visit to use as an example of great work in the name of God. It was neat to know what we do means so much to the people here. I need to run as we never know how long the internet will be up. We will have great stories to tell. I'm so proud of Jack and Allison. They have taken this opportunity head on.

It’s Monday Night.
We are having so much fun and working very hard. The poverty is undescribable, yet at the same time, the people are all so friendly and the city of Comayagua is so very clean. They work hard to keep what they have well maintained. The Hotel Quan is simple yet clean. I already feel like it's my home away from home. After 2 days of cold showers, we finally got some hot water, I actually think I enjoyed the cold showers more. Funny how quickly we adjust.

We went to the Central Square after dinner. Here, people gather at night to enjoy the view of an amazing cathedral built in the early 1600's. It was truly spectacular. The central square had trees and benches and lots of families enjoying the beautiful evening. It was a wonderful sight.

Tomorrow, we’ll work on building more desks/countertops for the computers. We’ll also make yarn dolls, sock puppets and help the kids with a photography project. They love taking pictures and they all know how to use a digital camera. They are so comfortable with technology. It’s so hard to imagine the internet can get to places in the world that don’t even have clean drinking water. But I now appreciate how important the Internet will be for the kids here. The internet gives them a chance to learn about the world in a way not possible before. It will open new doors and opportunities for them. I would love to be here when they start exploring the internet.

Wednesday

Yesterday we danced with the kids before we left. It was really a great time. The language barrier seems less of an issue now. I’m thinking in Spanish more and more which is really cool. I can see how if you lived in a place for a while you would slowly learn the language.

We had a great dinner last night at a restaurant not too far from our Hotel. We walk to dinner every night and more aren’t too far. It feels good to be outside in the cooler evening temps. . I had grilled chicken, beef and pork, It was delicious. Tons of food and all very good. The 15 of us ate for $90. Can you imagine that. More food than you could eat and all for about $6/person.

We went to a brick factory yesterday. They make the bricks my hand. The man has been doing that for 30 years, he makes 360 bricks a day for about $12/day. So, he’s making a pretty good living on Honduran standards since the poverty wage is about $2/day. He seemed very proud of his work but it was back-breaking. The clay is extremely heavy and working in the hot sun all day much be very tiring. The people here work very hard to earn a living. It's difficult to stop comparing everything to the US.

Jack loves the fact that the people here really LOVE futbol (aka soccer) . And, unlike in the US, they really appreciate and understand the game. Tonight, Honduras plays Mexico. It will be huge. He’s excited cuz you’ll hear the locals yell from all over town if their teams scores. He’s looking forward to watching a bit of the game. It’s sort of like Super Bowl Sunday when the Honduras National team plays futbol. But, unlike the Super Bowl which is only once/year, the Honduras National team plays probably 1/week. If Jack were here he'd correct me on this.

I love the busyness of Comayagua. Trucks all over delivery goods to wherever. People sweeping up sidewalks and getting ready to open their stores, people riding bikes to school and work, older folks taking strolls. I don’t think any of us will ever be quite the same after this trip. I’m getting to know some of the kids pretty well. Most just want love and affection which is true of any kid. They love to hold hands and be hugged and held. Jack is great with the little guys. Allison loves to hang out with the girls and just talk and goof around and laugh. They laugh alot together.

Thursday

Good Morning! Today is Thursday. It’s 6 a.m. I’ve been up for awhile and finally decided to get out of bed and sit on the balcony. Despite being so far from home, this is so comfortable here. The noises of the birds, roosters, trucks, dogs all seem like we’ve heard them forever.

Today is our last day with the kids, except for the 4 that will join us in La Ceiba on Friday and Saturday and Sunday. This morning, we will go to a Catholic Girls School in La Paz called Santa Clara. About 7 girls from the Hogar attend this school. They are some of the older girls. We will see the students perform the Stations of the Cross for us. It should be great. Then we will head back to the Hogar to finish up our projects and say our good-byes. It will be hard to say goodbye to these kids. I’m glad a few get to join us for our final days.

Jack did get to watch the Honduran soccer team play and beat Mexico in futbol (soccer) last night. The restaurants were all packed with fans. People brought their TVs outside to watch together. It was great. After the game, people screamed and honked horns for hours, literally. It was very fun for Jack to experience this because it’s nothing like you’d ever see.

We made dinner for the kids at the Hogar last night. What an adventure. Imagine no running water, to make homemade baked beans, hotdogs, mac and cheese, jello and cookies. At first, the task seemed impossible. Afterwards, it was like, “wow, we did it”. We made the mac and cheese over a fire which they keep burning 24 hours a day. They use that to make their tortillas and beans each day. If it wasn’t hot enough, we stood by that fire for hours. Yet, we had about 10 girls to help. And oh my gosh, I don’t think we could have done it without them. They knew exactly what we needed. They all worked together to dice 15 lbs of cheese, slice 150 home made hotdog buns from a local baker, make the kool-aid, cook up bacon for the beans, etc. I didn’t think they’d be of much help at first, but without them, I don’t know we’d have eaten before midnight. After our dinner, we hired a local band to play for all of us and we danced for a hour or so.

Jeff and I have become very attached to Rosa. I think she enjoys being with us and seeing our whole family together. She seems to like us and has written each of us a letter that we cannot read until we are on the plane. She’s 15 and is very smart . She will be going to the Czech Republic in September to study. I worry about the culture shock she might experience. We want to get her address so we can write her while she’s there. She’s a great kid. She’s only been at the Hogar for 3 years. So she arrived when she was 12 or so. I’m sure it was very hard for her. It's hard for me to know that when we come back, she will be gone and so I may never see Rosa again.

We just arrived back from Santa Clara School. The Stations of the Cross was amazing. It was a wonderful experience. then I drove the truck back from the school with all 15 of us. The horn, blinkers, drive shaft all did't work. But it was really fun. I had to maneuver 2 round-abouts, several cows and folks on bikes all while looking through a cracked windshield. I then got stopped by the National Police. I'm assuming it looked a tad strange to see a Gringo woman driving with 19 people, 15 of whom were in the back of the truck in the truck bed. He was very nice and thank God I had my driver's license. A Honduran jail wasn't looking all that good to me. I'm sure he's telling his family about this crazy women from Los Estados Unidos driving a beat up old pick up with tons of gringos in the back.

That's not all that went on in my head during this week. Most of it I'm still processing, but wanted to share a few things I was thinking and doing. We will all be forever changed. I'm so grateful we had an opportunity to take this trip and to do it as a family.

Peace
Holly

One last post

2009-04-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

This is Jeff. We returned last night and arrived home at 1:15 in the morning.

It was real culture shock returning to school today. My thoughts were still with the 4 girls who accompanied us to La Ceiba. They were wonderful for the 2 and 1/2 days they were with us. Several of us commented on what an emotional roller coaster those days must have been. They had never seen the ocean and had certainly never snorkled or swum in the ocean or seen an island of golden sand far enough from shore so that the mainland couldn't be seen, or lifted a conch shell to their ear, or spirited away a few shells in a pocket, or squeeled as a boat bounced over 3 foot waves, or ridden a zip line high over trees and rivers, or froliced in a pool at a hotel built on the beach and so on. Yet, we know at times they missed their friends at home at the hogar and found it hard to keep up with the english being spoken around them and must have thought about the family lives they saw unfold before them and the lives it was possible to live as teenagers nearly their age and the contrast of those lives with their own and they must have had a few dreams run through their heads that were in stark contrast to their own realities. Still, it was a joy to watch them relish a few days of fun in a new environment.

And then, we went in two different directions, geographically and economically.

Today, I frequently found myself thinking often about the 4 girls and about other children at the hogar. Emotionally, it didn't hit me until today. Like many others, I'm sure, who have been there the first time I am struck by how much could be done for these kids and I long for ways to have a lasting, personal impact on their lives. It remains to be seen how that all unfolds.
Bob, Debbie and Chris are doing great things, truly great things for these kids. But there is so much more to be done. If you are reading this blog and have not considered a trip to this hogar to meet and help these kids, I strongly urge you to give it consideration. I traded emails with my dad over the last couple days and he reminded me that none of us can save the world but if many of us try to impact a life at a time, we can have an impact that matters.

I'd be happy to share my experiences and I know Chris, Debbie and Bob would as well.
Jeff

Notes from Saturday

2009-04-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

Well, a few days have passed since my last entry. That always seems to happen on these trips as the last few days are chock full of activities and leave little down time for writing and organizing pictures.

Currently I’m looking at two great views. One is the Caribbean Sea stretched out in front of me on Honduras’ north coast. The other is Jeff Parker and Jasmin, Jessica, Rosa and Isabel playing like kids together in the swimming pool. I guess they all are kids, except for Jeff, of course, but who at times seems to have drifted right back into his younger days.

Before I talk about today, let me catch you up on what’s happened the last two days. Thursday was the final day at the Hogar which meant a short work day and a long goodbye. We started that day by going to Santa Clara secondary school in the city of La Paz. There we witnessed the children, some of whom live at the Hogar, perform the Signs of the Cross. Because Holy Week is approaching, these children put on this program which is a yearly event for them. I’m no Biblical scholar by a long shot, but the signs of the cross are basically the steps along Jesus’ path on his way to his crucifixion. It was interesting to see the Tierra Santa children out of their regular environment and to see them interacting with non-Hogar kids. All in all it was a fantastic cultural experience.

Topping off the cultural experience in La Paz was my driving to the school in one of the Hogar’s pickup trucks, and Holly driving us all back. And the highlight of that was when Holly got pulled over at a police check point. She was very calm and collected and simply smiled as the police officer checked her driver’s license. Those of us in the back of the truck took pictures and tried hard not to snicker.

Our day at the Hogar involved a little work, quite a bit of final farewells, and a program that we put on for the children. Debbie, Luis, Annie and I prepped the little ones and performed with them for two songs – “De Colores” and “Aya en el Rancho Grande.” Jeff, Ronny, Joey, Austin and Luis acted out “Little Red Riding Hood” in Espanol. Many of us danced along with Tahire the dance she taught us on Tuesday. And to top it all off, we danced the Hokey Pokey with all the kids. Jeff gave an awesome farewell thank you to the group, and I presented Santiago with a photo collage from our most recent trip.

Saying goodbye was not easy, by any means, but definitely easier than my first trip to Tierra Santa. I hugged and kissed dozens of kids, received letters from many, and did a lot of “no adios, hasta luego” with the kids. In other words, “not goodbye, see you later.” Kenia was especially difficult to say goodbye to. She’s older and ready for college in a few months, and she is feeling some anxiety over this. I just want her to be happy and to have success and to not worry. I hope she can overcome her fears and go off to happy days at the university.

As always, our group touched the lives and hearts of many Tierra Santa kids. I feel very proud of the work we did. Chief among the positive things we did with the children was to form close relationships with many of them. Of course the hope is that those relationships can last a lifetime.

Friday was the day of the road trip. We traveled by Coaster (a small coach bus) from Comayagua to our hotel near La Ceiba. The four girls from the Hogar joined us in the morning and we were off by about 7:00 a.m. It was a fabulous drive. We stopped many places including Bongos for breakfast, a sugar cane processing plant, Lake Yajoa, the Pulpahanazac waterfall, and another stop for lunch. We didn’t get to our hotel until around 5:00 in the afternoon, but the trip was a very pleasant one in my book. The best part for me was sitting next to Jasmin during the ride and listening to my iPod. We each took an earbud and jammed out together to Kumbia Kings, Celia Cruz and other Latin stuff I had put on my iPod before the trip. It was awesome! She sang all the songs and tried to teach some of them to me. She got pretty frustrated, though, at how lame a student I was.

The night was fun at the hotel. We had a couple hours of daylight after we arrived so of course most of us swam in the ocean which was quite a kick. Dinner followed soon thereafter, proceeded some some chatting on our balconies, and then bed.

I definitely need to write about today´s events, but I just moved into the Internet cafe down the beach and it´s excrutiatingly hot. Gotta go for now!

Some thoughts...

2009-04-02T12:08:00.001-07:00

This is Jeff. I found myself awake early this morning pouring over thoughts about poverty and this trip to Tierra Santa. As a group we’ve had several discussions about what we’ve seen in Honduras in comparison to what we see in the states and it’s made me question my definition of poverty. So, after mulling it over, a few thoughts have come to mind. Let me know what you think.

In some ways I’ve started thinking about poverty in both an absolute and a relative sense. To me, absolute poverty looks like lack of clean water, lack of housing or at least lack of housing that keeps rain and pests at bay, lack of clothing that is clean and in good shape, lack of enough food to allow bodies and brains to develop, limited or no opportunities for education. I’ve seen absolute poverty here in Honduras. Or at least I think I have. It’s possible I’m being presumptuous. I thought $12 a day was a very low wage until Annie told us that the poverty level in Honduras was closer to $2 per day. In any event, the Hogar provides children a place where absolute poverty is put at bay most days and in many ways. The kids have clothing although they could use more, they have clean water to drink but it comes in jugs and it’s expensive and they don’t have as much as they could use, they have a roof over their heads and beds to sleep in but the walls have termites and brick would be better than wood, they have food to eat but some suffer from the effects of inadequate nutrition before they got to the Hogar.

The difficulty I was having with the word “poverty” stemmed from my experiences in that states. There is poverty in Eden Prairie and in Minnesota and across the U.S. And, while I know there is absolute poverty in the U.S. it is not so easy to see. It is not around as many corners in the town in which we live. It’s harder to see and in some ways harder to have an impact as a volunteer. Instead, I think we see and react to relative poverty. What looks like poverty in Eden Prairie or Minnesota may not look like poverty in Honduras. Many who are in poverty in the U.S. have clean water, have a place to live that is tolerable, have food and education. All may be limited in some way but for most there are clear differences between what the poor have in the states versus a place like Honduras. At the same time we can’t diminish the stress and strain that too little money and too little food and a sense that opportunities are nonexistent put on any family in poverty, whether in the U.S. or not.. In that sense, I think every country has people who are relatively poor, who seek a better life for themselves and their families, and who suffer gravely from the effects of poverty. The family in Honduras making $2 per day may dream of $12 per day while the family in Eden Prairie that has accepts food from PROP may dream of buying their own food all the time.

I’m getting long-winded and I’m not sure I’m getting my point across but to close out the thought…. I think we can all draw circles starting with a circle around Eden Prairie and choose to have an impact that makes good use of our time and resources. There are families in Eden Prairie who need food, clothing and shelter. By Honduran standards of poverty they may be living a more decent life but they have needs that put great strain on their lives and cause physical and emotional damage. We can draw a circle that extends to Louisiana or south Texas and find people in need who are without basics and who have had their lives turned upside down by hurricanes. They are poor in by any definition but have opportunities greater than a large portion of the population of a place like Honduras. Yet, spending time and resources to help them is clearly a noble endeavor. And then, we can draw the circle globally and catch a place like Honduras. Not everyone here is poor, of course. Most aren’t. There is commerce and education and health care and all the things we might use as markers of prosperity. But, by our standards, the needs are great and it is worth our time to find ways to help in place like this as well.

I guess my point is that at various times in our lives we can draw different circles and find different ways to have an impact. Absolute poverty or relative poverty, Eden Prairie or Texas or Honduras or wherever. We can’t get hung up on local versus global and whether we should help at home or 3000 miles away. We should do both. We should change the size of the circles we draw and today, have an impact inside a small circle and tomorrow have an impact inside a big circle.

For what it’s worth.
Jeff

Debbie's Reflections

2009-04-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

Hola a todos!

This morning we went to visit a private high school in the small town of La Paz, just a short distance from La Villa de San Antonio where we are located. It is a Catholic high school where 7 or 8 of the Hogar Tierra Santa children attend school. They are in exam week now, but had a presentation of the fourteen Stations of the Cross. All the students had roles, either speaking or acting. It was a wonderful experience for all of us. The kids were appreciative that we came to see them.

We are so quickly approaching our last few hours at the Hogar. Our plans are to have an exhibition of the art projects that the older students learned how to do with Luis, our Nicaraguan friend, and member of the group. The cards turned our beautifully. The students will keep apportion of the proceeds to buy new materials to continue making more of the artwork and cards, and to continue selling in the future, as well as to teach the younger children how to do this technique called “repujado.”

Well, my last project here is with the preschool age kids. We are going to work on a few songs for our farewell program. Even though this is my fifth trip here to Hogar Tierra Santa, it is always hard to say goodbye to our dear friends of all ages. I hope to post some of the video I have taken soon, and hope to see a large group ready to return her next year!

Hasta pronto……
Debbie Bjerke

Videos from Wednesday

2009-04-02T10:10:00.001-07:00

Video from Wednesday

Cooking on Wednesday

Dancing on Wednesday

Wednesday - What a day!

2009-04-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

I’m sitting here this morning writing from the volunteer house in La Villa. Last night Kate, Joey and I spent the night here instead of going back to the hotel. We just wanted a bit of a taste of life in the Villa and life for long term volunteers who are living here. I am also interested in possibly bringing a group of Minnesotans here sometime and doing our overnights in La Villa instead of at a hotel in Comayagua. I am interested in providing a lower cost option for people back home who want to come down here but would rather have a more scaled back experience that costs less money.

It’s about 6:00 a.m. which means the kids over at the Hogar are beginning to make the walk to their buses for school, and the kids who go to Tierra Santa School are heading there as well. The kids get up between 5:00 and 6:00 every day. They have long days and they work very hard. Most kids come back from school early in the afternoon, they eat lunch at the Hogar, then spend a couple hours studying before later doing chores. The kids are given lots of responsibilities and accept them.

Yesterday for me was one of those days in which I felt completely happy and purposeful that I was back in Honduras. It was just a terrific day. As each day passes my Spanish gets better little by little and I’m able to talk more and more with the kids. I just love spending time with these kids, shooting the breeze, laughing, finding out small things about their lives, you name it. At one point yesterday I was talking with a group of girls who are about 15 years old. Two of them, Yaneth and Kensey, asked me a question that just touched my heart. They asked me, and they were very serious about it, “why are you so friendly to all the children?” It just made me melt. It made me realize that these kids really do appreciate all the love and affection we shower on them while we’re here.

Again, yesterday was a special day. It was just one of those perfectly wonderful days at the Hogar. We did a little work at the school again, this time doing more picture framing and making sock puppets. Then in the afternoon we enjoyed a lot of down time with the kids, Kate and Kim and I went to the soup kitchen, and several people from our group continued with the project of constructing the tables for the computer lab.

The only unfortunate thing about yesterday was that several from our group became sick. Ronnie was the first, then Austin and then Jack. We think it had something to do with the heat and the sun, but it could have been something they ate as well. In the early afternoon Santiago brought Debbie and those three back to the hotel to have some time to relax and cool down. Thankfully all of them were able to return later in the day to enjoy the evening’s festivities with us.

Speaking of festivities, what a night it was. We hung out at the Hogar last night until about 8:00 instead of the usual time of 4:30. We did this so that we could prepare a meal for the kids and enjoy some evening time with them.

Throughout most of the afternoon a group of us, headed by Kim and Holly, prepared the meal. Beans had been put in the oven and lots of things had been prepped. And thanks to the help of many, many girls, the work became much easier. I helped with getting the noodles ready for the mac and cheese. Kenia Yolanda and I got a fire going in the back of the kitchen and put some water in a huge kettle to boil. After the pasta was done, Holly showed some kids how to make the cheese sauce over the same wood fire. It was amazing to watch and impressive to see that it all worked out, that we were able to make a meal for so many children.

The meal was received really well by the kids. We had an assembly line in the kitchen plating up then serving the food to the kids. Mirian and a friend helped with the beans and putting hot dogs in buns, Tita helped with the plates and the chips, and Ingrid was the ketchup girl spreading ketchup on all the hotdogs.
During the dinner we also had a local band come and play for us. This was a huge treat and the kids loved it. They played in the main courtyard of the Hogar and most of us got up and danced the entire time. I dance with Nahin, Yogenis, Maria and Zonia, among others. It was great. Do I need to say it one more time? It was a perfect day at the Hogar!!!

Kate and Joey's Blog - Wed 1st April

2009-04-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

So we just realized that it's April Fools Day...
Go us.
We started the day off with a visit to the Hogar farm. The farm included fruit bearing trees, chickens, pigs, goats, cows, dogs (guarding the area), and an empty talapia pond. The farm was not like those in Minnesota because of lack of water, irrigation systems, storage, and crops in general. Currently the Hogar is in the process of building a water tower and an irrigation system for the many trees and future crops. The hope is to have the water tower finished by Monday. Volunteers from Canada plan to finish constructing an irrigation system.
Right now the boys are dropping like flies. Three guys have had to leave the hogar early due to feeling under the weather.
We made sock puppets with the second and third graders today which was very chaotic due to a lack of communication. Several kids would hide the materials in their desks and would ask for another sock or two. One kid decided he was going to wear his instead of using them for puppets. We manaed to get a few tables done today but it's still slow going.
Everyone is in the process of making dinner for all the kids tonight which includes hot dogs, mac & cheese, jello, beans, and tang.
At this point we are all very tired. Those of us who are staying at the volunteer house aren't planning on a good sleep.
None of us are looking forward to saying good-bye to the kids tomorrow. It will be difficult to say good-bye with the kids' sad faces and giving that final farewell hug.
Off to make dinner now. Thanks for reading.

Wednesday midday

2009-04-01T11:32:00.002-07:00

Hola amigos

Jeff and Jack posting to the blog. The last couple of days have been eye-opening in many ways. Yesterday we paid a visit to a brick making location in Comayagua. We essentially saw one dozen or so long 1/2 acre plots of land, each of which was it's own brick making business. Imagine 85-90 degrees, bent at 90 degrees most of the day and having a job that required you to make 350 mud bricks per day, in forms on the ground. Then imagine being paid the equivalent of about $12 per day for that work. While the laborers had pride in their work and politely explained how the did their trade, many of us found it difficult to stand there in our clean clothes, with a few cameras in hand, like tourists. Later, Annie, Debbie's daughter who lives in Nicaragua explained to us that $12 was a very good wage in Honduras. Made the entire experience all the more surreal. I'm glad we went. It's important to be pulled out of your comfort zone in that particular direction.

Later in the day we visited the comedor (sp?) which is an outdoor, covered "soup kitchen" for children run by those who run the Hogar. About 20 children at there including children from the Hogar and children from the area around the Hogar. They had a better meal than I expected and many of them read books with us before and after they ate. Most were 11 years old or less and the boys in particular ate like any young boy I've seen. They ate heartily and wore some of what they ate.

I've been building shelves for a computer room. My father would be proud. Measure twice, cut once. I'm remembering that most of the time and Bob has been very patient with us desk-job types. Jack and I went to the local school yesterday and today with cameras, a printer and materials for frames and worked with 20-25 kids to take, print and frame pictures. They took some beautiful pictures of each other and those at and around the school. It's quite a contrast to see their school and then to see the students in their bright white shirts/blouses and blue pants/skirts.

Last night we wrapped up the day discussing what was the same and what was most different from home. Many agreed that the love shown and behavior of kids is much the same as at home. The differences we discussed are too great to mention but included everything from the living conditions, to the definition of poverty here versus the US, to the constant security we see on streets (guys in uniforms with big guns), to the definitions of needs and wants.

I think that's it for now. It's been a great experience already and we have several more days to look forward to.

Peace

Jeff and Jack

Videos from Monday Night and Tuesday

2009-04-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

Video from Monday Night

Tuesday

Tuesday Dancing!

Slideshow from First Few Days

2009-03-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

Videos from the First Few Days

2009-03-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

Video from Saturday

Video from Sunday

Video from Monday

Day 2

2009-03-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

Hola from Jeff. Day 2 at the Hogar started at the outdoor market. We went to buy fruit for lunches that we eat together. Fruits I’d seen and fruits I’d never seen being sold in the open air next to clothes, pop in a bag, meat, jewelry and about anything you can imagine. We went from there to the grocery store. We were buying food for our lunches – simple stuff like bread, meat, crackers and then hot dogs, chips, and home made cookies for 120. No, that’s not a typo. Can’t imagine how we looked in the grocery store. The cost in the local currency was four figures in the local currency, lempira, which on conversion was remarkable cheap in dollars.

The kids are amazing. Affectionate! Oh my gosh. My hand has been held and I’ve been hugged by more kids under four feet tall than I can count. And the older kids, some shy, some not, are also anxious to sit and talk. Many of wish our Spanish was better so we could have deeper conversations but a lot of communicating is going on. Everyone is trying. For Holly and me, it’s great to see Jack and Allison using their Spanish. Jack is asking questions and having a ball with the kids (futbol today) and Allison is playing with the kids and translating for Holly and I when necessary.

The contrast between our lives and the lives here couldn’t be more stark but the importance of friendship and love is the same – a common bond, a common need. We’re all touched by the beauty and friendliness of these children and those who care for them. After two days I think we all see the world a bit differently. Can’t imagine what it will be like after a week.

Appreciate your life.
Jeff and the rest of the Parkers

Kate's first blog - 31st de Marzo

2009-03-31T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hola a todos.
When we first arrived at the Hogar, it was hard not to notice the smiling faces and loving eyes. We have been spending a lot of time communicating and doing activities with the kids. Through this, I know that I have learned a lot about the lives of the children and what they need in the future.
Yesterday, a group and I helped some children in the school reply to letters from EPHS students that we brought to the Hogar. The younger ones seemed to enjoy drawing pictures and watching us write out what they were saying. The older children decorated the edges, added stickers and wrote a lot about themselves. Near the end they were able to keep the letters, they seemed to love this.
Today Allison and I made sock puppets with the kindergartners and preschoolers. It was crazy and fun with glue all over and fabric glue on their faces. The two teachers did a tremendous job and there is no way we would be able to do it without them. The end result was a classroom full of proud children. They loved to show off their masterpieces to friends and volunteers.

This program has been very well organized in my opinion. We are able to spend quality time with the children and time working on things they need. But before and after our hard days work we have "cultural experiences". We have visited the wood shop, the market, the brick "factory," and the fruit stands. Also, each meal has opened us to new tastes and smells. Thank you Bob(ito).

So far I have noticed so many things that I wish that I could include in a blog, a typed document. Unfortunately, this is not possible. The experiences are unimaginable and unexplainable. I cannot put into words what this spring break has done for me so far--and it's only Tuesday. I wish that people would or could take the time out of their busy, fast paced lives to stop for a moment, and watch the world around them.
This honestly feels like the longest week of my life, but I wouldn't change it for a thing. The "Honduran time" as some people call it is... so much different. It's calming in a sense. I can wrap my head around what I'm doing and analyse every bit without hesitation.
Well....at this point I am just rambling.
So maybe I'll try and type some more later. Take care and thank you for reading.
Kate (Cati) Johnson

Day 2... or 3... I dunno

2009-03-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

I have basically lost track of time--I have no idea what day it is. I don't think it's the heat although it is quite warm.

Some deep thoughts from yesterday...

Today was funny. I spent most of the morning working on videos and Skyping with Kali’s class. Meanwhile Kali was busy having the preschool kids cling to her. She went to their class for a while and they hung all over her.

The afternoon was filled with laughter as we chased kids around, tickling them when we caught them. Our kite making class turned into a fiasco as we could find only one pair of scissors. Kali, Allison and I began cutting the kites out, but only produced 6 in an hour. We had planned to make 20; needless to say we weren’t very productive! We had six kids decorating their kites when we made the next “mistake.” Pulling out the balloon rockets before finishing the kites didn’t work in our favor as most of the kite makers became more interested in the balloon rockets. The kites didn’t get finished, but the kids had a blast with the balloon rockets.
Kim

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Today wasn’t the most productive but it was still fun. I worked in the preschool in the morning. It was hot and stuffy in the room. They ended school earlier than the regular school so we went to their room to change into casual clothes and the music was playing so they started dancing in their underwear. I dance with them. We had lunch that the Parkers put together. Mmmmmmmmmmm. After that we went to play outside, but not many kids were out because they were doing their homework. They didn’t finish for about 2 hours. Once they were finished, we started making kites with the kids. As we were doing that we made a big mistake by bringing out the balloon rockets—though they were a big hit! We went to dinner and when we got there four kids from the Hogar were there—what a great surprise! After, we went to the town square where we saw lots of families visiting and a huge church. Then we had ice cream and walked home.
Kali

Our beautiful friend, Karolina, had our camera most of the day… most of these videos are from her.

Okay--- MAJOR difficulties uploading the video--either my patience is dwindling (ha-- if you know me at all- you get that), or attempting to upload for 6 hours just isn't worth it-- I'll try again manana (that's tomorrow for anyone that isn't as fluent as I (I'm cracking myself up-- again, if you know me at all, you'll get the humor cuz MI NO HABLO ESPANOL- not even un poco!)

Day 2 at the Hogar fue muy bueno

2009-03-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

Day 2 at the Hogar!

Hola, this is Holly. Today was just another amazing day in many ways. First, it was blistering hot today. Not that I’m complaining, but it was hot enough that the kids from the Hogar were saying the heat was making their heads hurt. So, I guess that means it was hot. When we arrived on Sunday, the had had no water at the Hogar for the 3rd day. Yes, no water at all. First, you need to understand that they can’t drink the water anyways. But they rely on the water from the city to do wash, cook, take showers, use the toilets, etc. So, for three days there was no water to do the daily chores we take so for granted. In order to carry out their tasks, they had to take huge buckets and pails and go find water somewhere in the area. Sorry, I can’t remember but I know they were lugging water quite a distance, and to think, they couldn’t even drink it when they found it.

But, despite what appears to be steep challenges to perform even the simplest tasks, they do it with a smile and a look of gratitude to have what they do have.

Today, we went to the local school. There were about 120 kids all wearing white shirts and either navy blue pants or skirts. They were adorable. What was amazing to me was that despite having no books or supplies in the rooms, they were learning about the internet. Imagine that, in the middle of Honduras, where the water isn’t drinkable and the poverty is oppressive, they are learning about the internet. The dichotomy was amazing. Yet I believe the internet can provide them with an important link to the rest of the world - which leads us the work project we did today.

We began building countertops which will hold numerous donated computers that will allow the kids to study and explore using the internet. I can’t even imagine how their minds will be opened up to new and amazing things. With the help of JR, the son of the Hotel Quan’s owner and a computer genius, some very old computers will be put to great use.

Peace,
The Parkers

Monday, March 30th

2009-03-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

Hola todos!

Hoy fue un buen dia - un dia buenisima! Que grupo de Minnesota!

We're having a fantastic time. I suppose I should really speak for myself, but I feel fairly confident to speak for the entire group in this regard.

In a nutshell, we shopped in the morning for food in La Paz at a grocery store and an outdoor market, we worked at the Tierra Santa school helping many of the students write letters back to students in Eden Prairie, some of us got started on building tables for the new computer lab, we played soccer, we constructed kites, we played with balloons, and we began a weeklong art project.

When I say "we", of course I cannot include myself in all those experiences. At any given moment we have two or three various things going on simutaneously. And if you asked the group, they'd probably tell you that I wasn't really doing any of them. Ha Ha. Actually I love to bop between activities and give my support wherever it's needed.

I pitched in this morning at the school helping with the letter writing. Thankfully, so did Debbie. She was a big help in talking with the teachers and making sure we all knew what we were doing. The first class was a bit difficult considering we were working with 1st and 2nd graders. Think about writing letters with 1st graders back home, and you'll know how difficult it is writing letters with students in Honduras who have not had nearly the quality of education that most Minnesota kids have had. In most cases, we read the letters from the EP students to the Tierra Santa students out loud. And in many cases, we also wrote the letters back taking dictation from the kids here. They told us what to write and we wrote it. The second class was much easier. This class was made up of 5th and 6th graders. They seemed to love the project and love the fact that they were corresponding with real live kids an ocean away.

One of my highlights outside of Tierra Santa today was the open air market in La Paz. I just love that place. I started out my stroll by buying a plateful of fresh fruit. Later on when that ran out I bought a donut from the local bakery. I was tempted to later buy some fresh french fries cooking in grease before my eyes, but I held off. Regretting that decision just a bit. I reunited with some old friends in the market. Not really - but I did deliver pictures to some of the vendors I had met last time. They thought it was quite a kick that I had a picture of them in my pocket. One of the guys even stared me down as I was walking up to him. He actually remembered me, and I remembered him. He's my new friend now, Luis.

At Tierra Santa I had a lot of time to hang out with the kids today. I spent a lot of time with Ricky. I am his padrino, or in English, god father. He just stayed at my side most of the afternoon. Earlier in the day, I delivered to him a gift I had brought with me. It was a Twins shirt, Twins shorts, and a Justin Morneau cap. He loved it all. He's a great kid, nine years old just like my daughter Sammie.

One of the best things for me, and I've mentioned this before, is just strolling around the Tierra Santa courtyard and having children yelling out "Christopher" as I pass by. I love the fact that I'm getting to know these kids on a more personal level.

We ended the night with a dinner at La Fonda. We were joined by Jeff and four Tierra Santa kids - Jesus, Henry, Karolina and Yani. After dinner we all strolled down to the central square and enjoyed some ice cream. My favorite moment of the night was watching all the kids, Tierra Santa kids included, playing catch with three juggling balls at the foot of the cathedral. I think that image with stay with me for a very long time. Thanks to all the EPers for a great journey so far!!!

Allison's First Blog!

2009-03-30T13:06:00.000-07:00

So far we have had a wonderful time here in Honduras! The first day was really long, but it was worth all the traveling to be able to meet all these kids. Today Chris, Debbie, Kate, my mom, and I went to the elementary school to give the kids letters that Ausitn and my Spanish class wrote. They then wrote some letters back to the kids! The first and second graders had a harder time with it, but we helped them write and they drew a lot of pictures. The fifth and sixth graders were wonderful and wrote suprising long letters back. It was a neat experience to see their school, and how different it is from anything that I have ever attended. The kids get done with school and noon so when they came back we just hung around with them and talked. I am really surpised at how much spanish I actually know. I am able to communicate really well which really surprised me!

Kali, Kim, and I found out really fast today that the girls LOVE temporary tatoos. They basically ripped them out of our hands! That was really fun too. They are also very good photographers and i-touch users! It is kind of amazing.
so
The food here is SO good! We had the best chinese food I have ever had on Saturday. Sounds weird right? Well there is actually a fairly large Chinese population in Honduras.

I am bloging from the new building at the Hogar which has a preschool, some computer rooms, and of course the water treatment plant. We got a tour of that yestarday and it sounds really cool. They are really excited for it to be up and running!

Well I have to get back to the kids!
Saludos,
Allison

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

2009-03-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

Wonderful Sunday in Honduras.

I’ve learned after three trips that the Sunday routine is very much the same. But, that hardly means it’s routine or that I’ve grown tired of the experience on the first day at the Hogar. In fact, after my experience on my last trip here back in December, I’ve learned that this first day, as routine as it is, is one of the best days.

I enjoy it so much largely for the fact that when I walk through those front gates of Tierra Santa I am greeted by name by so many of the wonderful children that I have gotten to know this year. The kids remember me. The kids know me. What a joy that is to have made these connections with so many awesome kids. It just warms my heart to know that I have over 100 friends living thousands of miles away from my home.

Berto was one of the first kids to come running up to me. Berto is probably about seven or eight years old and is the twin brother of Keekay. He ran up to me, called out my name, and opened up his arms for a big hug. Then the rest of the day I was hard pressed to not find his hand intertwined with mine. He didn’t want to lose me during the day. He also kept asking me if I was coming back tomorrow.

As I said, we did all the typical Sunday things including a tour of the home, a banquet of Honduran food at Santiago’s house, then a welcome reception put on by the kids back at the Hogar. In between all that we unpacked donated items and spent tons of time kicking back with the kids, shooting hoops, reading books, looking at pictures and more.

Books were again a bit hit. After unloading some of our stuff, I grabbed an armload of some books written and created by students from Mrs. Holtan’s class back at Oak Point and brought them out in the courtyard. Within seconds, students were swarming around the books, grabbing them and sitting down to read them. It’s terribly rewarding to spend time looking at books with the Tierra Santa kids. They just eat it up. They love to read and they love to be read to. And you can tell that they think it’s really cool to hold in their hands a book created for them by a child back in America. They loved looking at the “about the author” section at the end of the book to see just who it was who wrote the book. Spending time with the kids and seeing how much books mean to them makes me feel like we, as an organization, really need to keep fostering this love of reading with these kids. They just soak up these good books. And, of course, what a great way for them to learn, to become more literate and to be able to continue to be successful in their education.

Primer Dia y Segundo Dia

2009-03-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

Ronny and Austin (3/28 and 3/29):
We started the trip by waking up at 3:00 am, which was terrible. Our plane left at 6:00 am and it was a three and a half hour flight to Miami. We had a two hour layover at Miami where we ate some Chinese and walked around. Our flight to Honduras was a two hour flight and the airport in Honduras was smaller compared to the ones in the US.
We soon found out what the weather in Honduras is like when we stepped out of the airport: hot and sticky. Fifteen kids from the Hogar joined us one the three bus ride to Comayagua from San Pedro Sula. An hour into the bus ride, we stopped at an open air market and bought bananas, pineapples, and a papaya we named Larry.
We arrived at the Hotel Quan in Comayagua and then went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant that was delicious. We packed up the extra food and brought it with us to the Hogar the next day. We went back to the Hotel to swim and watch TV.
Today (Sunday) we woke up and ate a delicious pancake breakfast. We then took a bus to the Hogar where we proceeded to make many friends as soon as we stepped off the bus. All the kids were very excited to see us and were all over us for the rest of the day. We got a formal tour of the Hogar and we could see how the Hogar has been improving over the last twenty years. After the tour, we ate a delicious lunch at Santiago’s (director at the Hogar) that included tortillas, beans, beef, fried platanos, quesadillas, fresh fruit juice, and taquitos. After lunch, we continued playing with the kids and unloading all the supplies we brought for the Hogar. Before we left, they gave a wonderful welcoming program that included dancing and a fashion show. The kids were so energetic and made the day great.
We walked to dinner at a local barbeque joint and enjoyed the great Honduran food. On our way home, we had our first Honduran riding experience. We had sixteen people jammed into a five person pickup. Six people were in the cab while the other ten rode in the back and got some fresh air.

Saturday, March 28th

2009-03-29T14:02:00.001-07:00

Our first day of Honduras Spring Break 2009 was a good one. With no flight delays we made it to San Pedro Sula on time at about 1:30 in the afternoon. This was appreciated most by me, due to our malfunctioning bathroom experience from the last trip that delayed our arrival in Honduras by many hours.

We were greeted at the airport by about 15 kids from Tierra Santa, along with Bob and some of the Tierra Santa workers. We had a great bus ride. Of course it was a long trip, but that didn’t really matter since we were all having so much fun talking with the kids. Among the kids who met us there were Leonardo, Christian, Jessica, Alba, Sindy, Sisi, Carolina, and more. What kept the kids the busiest, besides talking and eating snacks, was playing with some of the iPods that people had brought with. They were totally taken by the iPod touch.

On the way to Comayagua we stopped at a fruit stand along the road and enjoyed some coconut milk, fresh pineapple, and mini bananas. We all stood around passing the various fruits from person to person, then spent the next several minutes on the bus passing the big banana stalk from seat to seat until they were gone.

As we neared Comayagua the weather got cooler. Some people were even seen putting on a light jacket. Once in Comayagua we said farewell to our new Tierra Santa friends, settled in, then went to Meng Ying for a traditional Chinese-Honduran dinner. J Bedtime followed soon thereafter as we all had full stomachs and were all very tired after a full day of travel.

2009-03-25T14:05:00.001-07:00

Hello all!

The Parker family is getting very excited to travel to Honduras this Saturday. We feel fortunate to be able to take this opportunity to travel together and with others from EP Schools. We look forward to updating you about what we are doing, learning, experiencing, feeling. Thanks for reading.

The Parkers
Jeff, Holly, Allison and Jack

Preparing for Spring Break 2009

2009-03-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Global Connect's group from Eden Prairie, MN is just a week away from embarking on another journey to Hogar Tierra Santa in Honduras. Needless to say, we're all very excited and can hardly wait to board that airplane. Take a look at the handsome faces of all the trip goers. The trip is a great blend of generations. We have experienced trip members and several young people including Kali who is only nine-years-old. It should be a great mix and should make for a very entertaining trip.

At Oak Point Intermediate School in Eden Prairie, students have worked the past few weeks to help the children of Tierra Santa. Students from Mrs. Holtan's class, and other classes, have designed and created their own bilingual children's books that will be delivered to Tierra Santa and placed on the shelves of their library. These students did an awesome job, and the books will be wonderfully appreciated by the children who are awaiting our visit.

Please stay tuned to our blog as we will begin posting daily updates beginning March 29th through April 5th. Wish us well and chime in with your thoughts!

Eden Prairie Schools Service

2009-01-20T18:44:00.000-08:00

Why do we do what we do as teaching staff? Why do we seek to help others around the globe as part of Eden Prairie Schools Global Connect? We all choose to make this commitment for a variety of different reasons. But a common link between us all, I assume, is our desire to give back and our desire to make the lives of others better.

As our nation begins a new chapter in its history, I was struck by a line from the inauguration address of our new leader, President Obama. This is what he said today...

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.

This is the work we, as members of Eden Prairie Schools and Global Connect, have taken on. We stand together in support of our friends from Honduras in hopes to do just what President Obama said. His words couldn't be more appropriate.

Tierra Santa is striving to make its farm productive and flourishing. Global Connect hopes to help. Tierra Santa and its supporters are erecting a water treatment facility to provide clean water to its children. Global Connect hopes to help. Tierra Santa struggles every day to fill the hungry bodies of its children. Global Connect hopes to help. And Tierra Santa seeks to meet the educational needs of all its children. Global Connect hopes to help.

Thank you, President Obama, for reminding us of the importance of reaching out beyond our borders to help others. Global Connect hopes that with the continued support of Eden Prairie staff, students and families that we can follow his advice and continue to make the lives of our Honduran friends better.

Video Hellos

2009-01-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

During my recent trip to Honduras, many of the kids of Tierra Santa asked me about their friends from Eden Prairie who had traveled to Honduras last spring. Take a look at the following video messages from the kids to these friends. And please forgive my horrible Spanish! :)

Damaris Hello to Jeanne and Sarah

Norma, Norma and Maria Hello to Sam and Jeanine

Leonardo Hello to Nick, Shelly, Ben and Holly

Videos of the Tierra Santa fresh water process

2009-01-14T10:06:00.000-08:00

Take a look at the following videos to learn about how Tierra Santa has taken control of its drinking water problems.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Final Days

2009-01-11T07:22:00.001-08:00

Since the time flew way too fast during our week in Honduras, I wanted to touch base on a few things we did later in the week that didn’t get written about. On Thursday, our last day at the Hogar, Lisa and I enjoyed baking over 250 sugar cookies with about six teenage girls. We all had a great time. The girls stirred, mixed, rolled and decorated. They loved putting all types of sprinkles on each cookie. Kenia was a huge help with the ovens and swapping pans in and out. I was surprised that none of them asked for or tried to take cookies that had just come out of the oven – definitely not the way it is at home. When we were all done, they each enjoyed a cookie. Tita said they would all eat the cookies after supper that night and I was thrilled that we had made enough so each child could have two. I wish I could have seen their faces that night.

Thursday afternoon was very very hard for me to say goodbye to the kids. Abby and Drew quickly found out how sensitive I am and how quickly the tears come. The week had flown by so fast and it is amazing how quickly relationships formed. On Friday, as we made our way through the Honduras countryside on our way to Tela, I couldn’t stop seeing the kids’ faces in my head and not knowing when I would see them again.

On a much lighter note, we arrived in Tela on Friday afternoon to an incredible view of the Caribbean. Four of the older girls from the Hogar and Jeff, the administrative director at the Hogar, were able to join us in Tela for the last two nights of our trip. It was such a treat to have them along on this portion of our trip and to see the girls experience Tela. On Saturday morning, about eight of us took a boat ride to Punta Sal, a national park, and hiked through the jungle, snorkled, swam and ate a wonderful shore lunch. It was a perfect day!

Over this past week, I have constantly been thinking about the kids at the Hogar, and wonderful what would they be doing now. I look forward to continuing the relationships and seeing the kids again. This trip was an incredible experience that I will be grateful for always.

Some reflections

2009-01-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

Reflecting on another trip is a bit of a difficult thing, as I sit here at the J&B Internet Café on Thursday evening. Just like the trip last spring, so much happened on this trip that it’s difficult to condense those experiences into a few paragraphs.

The group was a true band of dynamos, accomplishing an incredible amount of work in what amounted to about four days. Most impressive in terms of overall accomplishments would have to be the new Susan Seitz Memorial Preschool Room that is located in the new water treatment facility at Tierra Santa.

When we arrived, the room was there, empty and ready to be designed and readied for children. To see the before pictures alongside the after pictures is a pretty amazing thing. From the paint crew to John and Geovani constructing the shelves to the crew that found perfect preschool furniture at a store in Comayagua, everything turned out fantastically.

Today we needed to finish and paint the shelving, then organize the toys and teaching materials prior to welcoming the kids to their new school room. Santiago and Bob said a few words about the importance of the room and dedicated it to Bob’s wife, Susan. Following that, all the Tierra Santa kids packed into the room to see Bob and Santiago hang a ceremonial photo of Susan on the wall. Both Santiago and Tahire said several words of thanks to our group from Minnesota, as well. It was a very moving experience, and a fine tribute to a wonderful woman.

The rest of the day including Tricia and Lisa baking over 200 sugar cookies with a group of eager girls, Rose doing haircuts in the courtyard, and the distribution of ball caps, soccer socks and hand-created pillow cases to all the kids. There were big smiles all around, including, of course, on the faces of all of us from Minnesota.

Saying goodbye at the end of the day was difficult, but I must say, not as difficult as the last time I was here. I think I now see the reality of myself returning to Tierra Santa often, and the fact that I know I’ll be coming back in March probably doesn’t hurt. The children are so awesome, though, that spending just a couple months away from them will be tremendously difficult. Part of me wishes I could just pack up my entire family and live in the Villa. But service trips from time to time will probably have to do for now.

This trip was a great one. On the list of unexpected things, were the new relationships I formed with a few of the children at HTS. On my previous trip, I spent a lot of time talking with kids, but much of it was laughing and joking around, nothing real serious. But on this trip, I spent quality time with two children in particular, both of which I barely spoke with last time. Those two kids were Kenia and Nancy. Kenia is 21 and is the child Tricia and I sponsor, and I only really met her late into the trip last spring. This time around I talked with her a great deal and really got to know her on a personal level.

Nancy is a girl who I just connected with on this trip, I’m not sure exactly why. She is such a sweetheart. She is 14 years old and in her second year at the secondary school in the Villa. For the first couple of days here, I kept wondering why she constantly looked at me in a confused way whenever I spoke to her. But eventually I figured out that she is slightly hearing impaired. She and I just clicked for some reason and seemed to always have something to talk about.

Last night gave us even more time to interact. Last night we stayed at HTS until about 12:30 p.m. so that we could take in the New Year’s celebration with the kids. Let me tell you, it was really a highlight for me, dancing with the kids, eating with the kids, lighting a stuffed artificial man on fire with the kids (that’s another story). But the best part of the night for me was just sitting and talking with Nancy for a very long time.

For a long stretch, Nancy, Kenia and Argentina sat in the courtyard. The girls practiced their English. Tricia and I practiced our Spanish. We counted, we sang songs, we practiced the alphabet – we did it all.

I guess to wrap up, this experience matched or even exceeded my first experience at Tierra Santa for the simple fact that I got to know the kids of HTS that much better. They remembered me, I remembered them, and we built on the foundation that was created last spring. I can’t wait to continue building on that foundation even more in the years ahead.

Video from Tuesday

2009-01-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

Take a look at some video shots from Tuesday at Tierra Santa

The 2nd Best Blog Ever

2008-12-31T15:28:00.001-08:00

Today we (Abby and Drew) went to farm in the morning. We were expecting a ton of dirty jobs - feeding pigs, cleaning the tilapia pond, etc - but instead found very little to do. The kids said they were going to start work at about one in the afternoon and didn't need much help. We did, however, clean out the old toolshed. There were a ton of huge cockroaches living in there so it was pretty intense/disgusting. That took about 20 minutes so then we just talked to some of the kids. They taught us some games and we struggled along to play them. I (Drew) was excited to be there because I got to hang out a little more with Geovanni because I hadn't seen much of him this week. So then we left and returned to the Hogar. We took a little Facebook break in the sala because Abby needed to feed her addiction - three whole days is a dang long time. Drew was impressed by his parents immediate response to his nice email (oh wait, it took them over a day to respond - and they don't answer my phone calls). Next, we headed into the preschool room to help out. We got there just in time to help the kids put their handprints on the wall. It was so cute to see their exited faces as they got to play in the paint and help decorate their room. Drew was the best at getting perfect looking handprints on the walls. Then we ate lunch.

After lunch, I (Drew) helped John make the shelves for the preschool. It was really fun and cool to see because Geovanni basically made them himself. He was all over the measuring, drilling, hammering and everything else. It was fun to just chill out and make the shelves rather than run around with kids.

I, (Abby) wrote letters in the school with Rosa and a few other girls. They wrote letters to kids from Oak Point. After that I just talked with Sofia and Sarahi. They showed me pictures and Sofia told me about her family.

After that we went as a group for a tour of the Villa. We saw a huge valley and some of the volunteer's houses for the Hogar. We bought some weird frozen coconut vanilla things and ate them. They were so good! Abby even liked them. Now, we're writing this blog and getting ready for the celebration tonight!

Rose Leapaldt

2008-12-31T14:08:00.000-08:00

December 31 New Years Eve. Today we began our day at 7:15 and visited a tortilla factory in Via San Antonio. They made 16,000 tortillas today rather than the average 8,000 due to the holiday. Next, we visited an outdoor market where various goods and foods were sold. We arruved at the Hogar about 9:30 and began our jobs. I helped complete the Pre-K room by applying a second coat of chalk board paint to the lower part of two walls. We all did hand prints along the boarders along with all the nursery school children. The room looks fantastic, bright and cheery. John B. began building 6 large shelving units and the girls plus some volunteer kids painted each a different color. This room will provide the kids with a wonderful learning enviornment inwhich to attend school.

In the afternoon, I taught a class in stamping. I had two helpers but the kids were very busy and it was a crazy class to say the least! At one point, I saw a little boy paint a girl's hair, another
4 year old grab the roller and take off, two little girls arguing and throwing things, and on and I think I would rethink this painting activity before ever attempting it with such young kids.

Tonight, we will have a wonderful meal and celebrate New Year's Eve. at the Hogar with all the children. They have a program planned for us and have been setting up a stage with flowers and
other fun things.

Videos from Monday

2008-12-30T15:40:00.000-08:00

Enjoy some scenes from our first full day (Monday) at Tierra Santa.

Rose Blogging from Tierra Santa

2008-12-30T13:11:00.000-08:00

Hello from Rose -

Monday, we had breakfast at 7:00 at the hotel and then loaded onto the bus for the Hogar at 8:00. My job today was to prep the Pre-K room for painting. It’s a very nice room on the second floor with lots of windows and ceramic floors. I was able to tape and clean up with Heather before we ended our a.m. work shift. At 1:00 we broke for lunch and then headed out to find Pre-K classroom furniture and storage bins.

We went into Comayagua to a place called Plastic Anna. It was considered to be their Target but it was no bigger than a small hardware store. We purchased bins and storage boxes but could not find tables and chairs. We found a place called Gordon’s and they had the cutest primary colored wooden table and chairs that had pencil shaped legs with actual erasers on the bottom. Downtown is a very bustling place with narrow streets and loads of people traveling about on the narrow uneven sidewalks, too unusual to describe. Shopping here was a cultural experience unlike any other I have witnessed.

Tuesday we began our day by having a cultural experience. We visited a brick yard where each brick was made by hand with wet mud, placed in wooden molds and eventually baked in kilns to dry. No automation here or fancy tools…only hard labor with bare hands and homemade molds. The children around the neighborhood came running, hoping for candy or other goodies. I bet 30 kids arrived in less than 5 minutes. Luckily, Heather had a bag of candy on the bus and each child was given a treat. We commented that we wished we had had a few boxes of clothing to leave behind for these children.

We arrived at the Hogar about 9:00 and began our projects for the day. I continued with painting the Pre-K room. We decided to paint two lower walls with chalk board paint so that the children could use chalk on the walls. We were amazed that the paint store had this product. Nothing is easy to come by here so this was a real accomplishment. The room is really shaping up. Later today, another crew will paint the walls with a second coat of light blue and begin our clean up before beginning the construction of the wooden shelves which will be installed all along one wall. I have jump rope classes this afternoon so I will continue painting tomorrow. Tomorrow, the fun stuff: placing our cute tables and chairs, storage items and all the wonderful posters and education materials into the educational room. We’ll be sure to take pictures before and after so that everyone can see the progress we made to successfully complete this amazing project.

Abby's blog

2008-12-30T10:41:00.000-08:00

Last night we had traditional Honduran food for dinner, it was really good! That’s exciting that I really liked it, I even ate it all! That’s a big step! We also went to the grocery store yesterday and got some crunchy peanut butter, cookies, chips and salsa, and Fanta! Today we made bracelet’s again. It was better today, not quite as messy which was definitely nice! But I have lots of bracelets that my new friends made me and a necklace, too! I played with Cici this morning, and…another girl, not sure what her name is, but she loves my camera! Yesterday, all of my pictures got deleted by one of the little girls, so today I’m starting fresh, but I have lots of help with that! This morning Keekay saw me and ran up to yelling “Mi amiga, mi amiga!” Later on today we’re going to jump rope a, dance, play soccer, etc. Tomorrow is New Years Eve! I am getting excited! We are spending all day at the Hogar which will be sweet I’m sure!

I love it here and I love these kids!

Dancing, food, and enthusiasm

2008-12-30T08:33:00.000-08:00

After a long day of travel and adventure in Miami airport it was nice to arrive in Honduras and be greeted by children from the Hogar. They rode back in the bus with us to our hotel, although most of us were a bit tired and fell asleep on the bumpy mountainous road.

The first day was all about introductions and hanging out with the kids. Not knowing much Spanish was a challange, but I did figure out that some things don't need words (hand games). We ate lunch at Santiago's house too, who runs the Hogar...it was delicious. His wife prepared an authentic Honduran meal, and since I'm all about eating I was happy!

Yesterday morning I prepared the preschool walls for painting, listening to some music at times and watching the man selling oranges out of his truck. We also grocery shopped for the group which was an adventure with Bob. Bob seemed quite content to watch us silly Americans pick out "safe" food for the week.

In the afternoon I danced with a small group of girls and Abby. We attempted to do some 50's dances to Grease, but the girls actually knew the dances from the movie and showed us a thing or two. Then, Sophia (one of the girls) taught us a dance to a Christina Aguilera song. Fun times.
Abby and I also played jumprope with them and I played hopscotch with some of the little girls.

In the evening we ate another Honduran meal for dinner. My new favorite food items here include the sour cream...yum, and the beans. We were able to walk around the town a bit last night too. While in one of the squares, a young man named Michael (I think) walked out of a side door and took us on a tour of the bell tower. We climbed up and up and were told not to talk as he wasn't supposed to be giving tours. It was neat to get such a good view of Honduras at night, and see how the clock worked. Then, off to search for ice cream for Bob. We found one place with internet access and had a chance to check email and eat ice cream. Thanks Bob!

Some of my favorite things so far this trip include...
1. The food.
2. Hanging out with people at night.
3. Working with the kids and seeing them smile and laugh.
4. Seeing groups of cows run down the street.
5. Donkeys.
6. The chicken, except when I scared it and made it fall.
7. The wood "factory" which wasn't really a factory afterall, just some woodmakers in some guy's backyard. :)
8. The food.
9. Preparing things for the preschool.
10. The view (from my shower I can see mountains...nice!).

I'm excited to go on more "cultural adventures" too. We went to a brick factory today and I gave out candy to the neighborhood kids. That was nice. Bob has some more planned, but he is so mysterious I'm not sure what they are right now.

Well, I'm off to paint some chalkboard paint on the walls of the preschool.
Later.
(Heather Adams)

Tierra Santa - My second trip

2008-12-30T07:54:00.000-08:00

Experiencing Honduras and Tierra Santa a second time around is definitely a different experience from the first time. Walking around the home and having many of the kids remember me from my previous trip is such a cool thing. And what’s really fun is that I’m interacting with both the kids I spent a lot of time with last trip and a bunch of kids who I hardly talked to on my previous trip. So I feel like I’m building a whole new bunch of relationships.

One of the kids who latched on to me this trip who didn’t before is Umberto. Umberto is about four years old and is the twin of Keekay. When he sees me across the grounds of the Hogar, he’ll come running up to me and wrap his arms around me. Yesterday he grabbed me by the arm and said, “Vamos. (let’s go). Then he proceeded to take me back to the courtyard adjacent to his bedroom and hop on the swing. I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to push him or take his picture on the swing, so I did both.

We had an amazingly productive day on Monday with multiple classes being taught and a good amount of work being accomplished in the preschool room. Heather and Rose prepped the preschool room in the morning, then a bunch of us, including three Tierra Santa girls, started the painting process in the afternoon.

John and Geovanni went after a dead tree hard core in the courtyard. Not only did they cut it down with a circular saw, but they even removed the stump with an array of tools including an axe, a shovel, and a machete. John has assumed the role of Doug Duchon on this trip. He’s the Honduran Bob Villa, attending to all sorts of miscellaneous projects. In the afternoon it was his assignment to repair a bunch of strands of Christmas lights. He later was proud to report that he managed to fix one strand. John’s other hidden talent in the afternoon was his ability to paint the tops of the walls in the preschool room without a ladder. This may not seem like a big deal, but if you got a glimpse of the Tierra Santa ladder, you’d understand why a 250 pound plus guy wouldn’t want to get up on it.

Of course I was once again impressed by our Eden Prairie teachers and how easily they shifted into “teaching” mode with these kids. Jill, Tricia, Christy and Erin led a craft class in which kids used all sorts of materials to decorated the Christmas boxes that are sent to them by their sponsors. Jill blew us all away with her ability to hand cut each child’s name out of craft foam while keeping all the letters connected. We’re finding out that Jill is a woman of many talents!

And the EP teens really impressed us by how well they could maintain crowd control during their beading class. They must have had twenty or so kids coming and going throughout the morning – kids of all ages and with varying degrees of need. Abby and Drew did an awesome job jumping right in talking, teaching, showing, and interacting with the kids. Lots of bracelets and necklaces were produced.

So…that’s all I’ll say for now, but I missed a whole bunch of other things that happened Monday. Hopefully some of the others will blog about their experiences as well so you can get a view of the day through their eyes. It was just a classic great day in the Villa!

Top Ten

2008-12-30T07:16:00.000-08:00

Top Ten things Drew and Lisa learned while playing soccer with the children of the Hogar Tierra Santa:

10. Jersey color means nothing.
9. Playing with one shoe is better than two...playing with no shoes is the best.
8. They are better at English than we are at Spanish.
7. Tires help to keep the ball from going all the way down the street.
6. All you need to play a game of soccer is a ball and a dirt patch.
5. These kids are scrappy.
4. Say the word futbol and all the boys come running.
3. Dirt…even dry dirt…can be very slippery if you swing too hard.
2. Water breaks are not a necessity.
1. Whoever is ahead when the cow comes on the field wins the game.

What a fun experience we had taking the younger boys who we had not spent much time with to play soccer. As soon as we walked into their house and said the word futbol their faces lit up and we had to run to keep up with them on the way to the park. They showed us a few things about how to play the game of soccer…Drew is implementing a few of the pointers into his game back home. Overall, it was a blast and we can’t wait to get out there and play again today!

2008-12-29T12:22:00.000-08:00

Sunday in Honduras was a good day! Of course, due to our late night the day before we rose a bit late in the morning. We had a breakfast of French toast at the hotel before embarking for Tierra Santa.

Once at the home, we were greeted by shining, smiling faces. Everyone had a chance to just hang out a bit and get to know some of the kids. And yes, this is easier for some then others. Heather and Tricia reported feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the kids and the fast Spanish-speaking going on. Early feelings of “too much” are quickly replaced with feelings of being right at home, however.

At lunch time, we were treated to a full meal at the home of Iris and Santiago, complete with tamales, beans, tortillas, plantains, pico de gallo and more. It was wonderful and we all pigged out.

Following lunch the kids of Tierra Santa performed a program for us. They sang, they danced – it was a good time. Some of the dances were traditional to Honduras while others clearly had more of an MTV influence. In one dance, some of the women from our group were even pulled up to join in. Erin, I must say, did a nice rendition of the Electric Slide.

In the evening, we stopped at the wood shop to order some hand-carved souvenirs then had a wonderful meal in Comayagua. Sunday was a great day, but Monday will be even better, no doubt!

Best Blog Ever!

2008-12-28T14:08:00.001-08:00

Hola! So, here it is Lois and Kimps… This counts for both Abby and Drew because we are both writing this right now.

Yesterday was basically the longest day of our lives. We spent a total of 22 hours in airports, on planes, or on buses. It was exhausting – and Drew ate a pistachio we’re pretty sure. Whoops, but nothing happened so it’s all good. When we finally arrived in Honduras, we quickly found the kids. Sarahi and Geovanni (sp?) were both there and we were excited to see them again! They both asked about our parents and siblings and we struggled through our first conversations en espanol. Then, we traveled by bus under the impression that we would soon arrive at our hotel. We would arrive at our hotel, but not soon. It took four hours to get to Hotel Quan and we wanted to sleep but there were these kids that sort of wanted to play/talk with us. So, we dealt with it. But really, the bus ride was fun. We talked to Geovanni, Sarahi, Kensy, Dulce, and Jacoba and sang some songs as well. When we arrived at the hotel, we just went right to bed.

The next morning everyone was up and ready to go. We all showered (“we all” does not include Drew or Abby) and then had breakfast. Don’t worry, I (Drew) made sure Abby ate something. We had French toast and it was good. Then we headed out to the Hogar right after Drew dropped his water bottle and it broke, so thanks for the Christmas present mom! We got to the Hogar safely and the kids immediately grabbed us by the fingers and took us away. We got a full tour of the grounds and then just had time to chill with the kids. Pretty much Rey is Drew’s favorite right now and Keekay is Abby’s favorite (not that we have favorites). The kids are awesome and will tolerate our poor Spanish most of the time. They like piggy backs and holding your hand. Later, we went to Santiago’s casa for lunch. The food was so good! Even Abby had two platefuls! Quite the accomplishment right there. Drew also had two platefuls, but his probably had way more food on them (Don’t worry, once again Drew supervised Abby’s diet). Then we got to go back to the kids! We’ve met lots of kids that we can’t quite remember their names because when we learned them we didn’t actually understand what they were saying but we get by (one example: Spider-Man). Now, we’re unpacking the suitcases and writing this amazing blog. Don’t worry, we’ve actually interacted with the adults and they are really sweet! So, one down – six to go. Hopefully tomorrow, we’ll have showered! Love you parental units!

Chris - Our First Day Winter 2008

2008-12-28T12:32:00.000-08:00

I’m not going to go into too much detail about our travel day on Saturday, but as it was, our day was a very long one. We started at the airport in Minneapolis at 4:00 a.m. and were greeted with a four-hour delay due to a toilet part that needed repair. From there we hopped to Miami and from there to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Much waiting, some card playing and reading occurred in the many hours we were forced to spend in the airports. The silver lining in the day was our bump to first class on our flight from Miami to San Pedro Sula due to our earlier flight delay. We all felt like celebrities getting our hot towels, our complimentary beverages, and our fancy meals. It was a treat! It’s amazing how differently the flight attendants take care of you in first class!

Speaking of treats, upon arrival in Honduras at 8:30 p.m. we had our best surprise of the day. Santiago and about 15 Tierra Santa children were waiting for us at the airport. I was immediately greeted by my young friends Alba, Jacoba and Miriam. Also there were Geovani and Sarahi, the two young people who came to Eden Prairie in the fall. My eyes got watery as we all exchanged hugs and big huge smiles.

The bus ride to Comayagua was a joy. Everyone was interacting with the kids and getting their first chance to flex their Spanish-speaking muscle. It was particularly fun to see Drew and Abby be the center of attention with a group of the teenage girls. The two EP kids dove right in and began speaking Spanish immediately. Way to go EP Spanish teachers!

As we were serenaded by singing from the kids, including a rollicking rendition of “Feliz Navidad,” many of us drifted off to sleep. A few hours later our bus arrived in Comayagua at the Hotal Quan. By the time we hit the mattresses it was 1:00 a.m. What a first day!

Sending the Kids off to Honduras!

2008-12-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

In March, Mitch and I had the pleasure of being a part of the crew that went to Tierra Santa. We are unable to go this time, but thanks to Chris and Tricia Kreie we are sending our daughter and her friend (and the son of our very best friends) in our place. Although I am a bit envious, I am still very excited for them as I know what lies ahead. They are going to hate the hours and hours of waiting and the long drives from here to there, but they are going to love spending time with those kids of the Hogar....and I think the kids are going to love spending time with them as well. How cool to have visitors from the U.S.A. that are your same age!

Looking forward to seeing and hearing about how lives have been changed as a result of this trip. Heaven knows Mitch and I have never been the same since the moment the gates opened and we were greeted by little hands, dirty noses and small voices saying "hola"!

Peace and safe travels!

Lois and Mitch Hegland

Questions from Mr. Flom's 6th Grade Class

2008-12-19T11:30:00.000-08:00

Prior to our most recent trip to Tierra Santa, Mr. Flom's 6th grade students from Oak Point posed some questions for me to answer following our trip. Here are my responses. Thanks to Mr. Flom's students for their genuine curiosity!

1) What other major problems are in Honduras besides water pollution and how do they affect Tierra Santa?

Water pollution and lack of clean drinking water is definitely an issue. Very few children in Honduras receive the water they need. Most get just enough to survive. And while it may not be a health problem, so to speak, many Honduran families do not have water that flows into their homes. Many rely on water flowing through open canals as the water they use to bathe in, wash their clothes, and wash their dishes. Many, many homes in Honduras do not have indoor plumbing.

Besides the issues around water, Honduras has many of the same issues that affect developing countries around the world. Remember, too, that Honduras is the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere. Honduras has a huge poverty issue, with over 27% of its adults unemployed, adults averaging incomes of just over $2,000 per year, and 22% of families living below the poverty line.

This nation-wide poverty has a huge affect on Tierra Santa, in fact it's the primary reason Tierra Santa exists in the first place. Most of the children at Tierra Santa are not orphans. Rather, they come from families who just can no longer support them. The families do not have enough money, adaquate homes, or sustainable income to provide for the children, so the children end up at Tierra Santa. Tierra Santa can provide food, shelter and an education - things the children's families cannot.

And speaking of education, this is also a major problem in Honduras. Many children do not attend school at all and most of those who do, stop going after 6th grade. Very, very few children finish high school and a very minute number finish college. It is almost impossible for the cycle of poverty to be broken when children are not receiving a proper education. This is another reason why Tierra Santa is such an oasis of goodness in these kids' lives. All Tierra Santa children attend school as long as they live at Tierra Santa. This means that if students stay at Tierra Santa though their teenage years, they are guaranteed of finishing high school. Many Tierra Santa children also continue through to college.

2) How can kids like us help the water situation?

This is a great question, and I'm not sure I have a fantastic answer. Tierra Santa has taken control of its water problem and has done something about it. Through donors from the U.S. and elsewhere, Tierra Santa has constructed a water purification building at the home. It is not yet operational, but will be soon.

The concept behind the water purification building is that Tierra Santa will now be able to take city water and purify it. This has never been done before. Until now Tierra Santa has been forced to purchase all its water in the form of large bottles that are very expensive. Now, not only will Tierra Santa be able to provide its children will all the drinking water they need, they will also be able to bottle water and sell it to the community, thereby providing a source of income for the home.

This is really an astounding step for the kids of Tierra Santa. They will soon be able to drink all the water they want to. Never before have they been able to do this.

So back to your question, how can EP kids help with the water situation. Well, thankfully, this problem has all but been resolved. We can be grateful and say that thanks to the help of others before us, Tierra Santa no longer has a water problem. The next issue to tackle, I suppose, would be food. Tierra Santa struggles every day to provide adaquate food for its children. Maybe this is the issue that you, as EP students, would like to help resolve for the kids of Tierra Santa.

3) What service project can we do to assist the kids at Tierra Santa?

Again, thanks for this terrific question. Right now the Eden Prairie School District through an initiative called Global Connect, has established two ways that we can help Tierra Santa. Those two things are constructing a new boys home for the boys of Tierra Santa and helping to provide funds to keep Tierra Santa children well-fed for years to come.

Currently Tierra Sanat boys live in two rental homes adjacent to the main Tierra Santa home. Over 15 boys are crammed into each of these homes, causing a less-than-ideal living situation for these boys. Also, besides the poor living conditions, these homes are rental homes which means the landlords could kick the boys out on a moment's notice.

It is imperative that Tierra Santa find a stable, suitable home for these boys. The plan is to build a new boys home on the Tierra Santa property. But, of course, this costs money. Oak Point is planning to do a fundraiser this spring to help fund the construction of the home. You, as OP students, could be instrumental in this effort. I'll be looking for OP kids to play leadership roles in this fundraising process. If you are willing to fill one of these roles, you will be helping the kids of Tierra Santa in a huge way! Let me know if you'll be willing to help!

Regarding raising funds for the food needs of Tierra Santa, we are always open to donations. Anytime you would like to donate money, throw a birthday party in which guests give donations to Tierra Santa rather than presents, or have a lemonade stand in your neighborhood, we would welcome that with open arms. I know that you could get very creative regarding ways in which to help the kids of Tierra Santa. They would greatly appreciate any help you could give them! You have the power to make a difference in the lives of these kids!

4) What is your goal to accomplish the next time you go to Honduras?

I will be returning to Tierra Santa over spring break 2009. Once again I'll be joined by a group of EP teachers, students and families. I cannot wait!

As always, one of main goals will be to build relationships with the kids of Tierra Santa. This is the greatest thing we can do for these kids. Remember, that these kids either don't have parents or never get a chance to see their parents. And at Tierra Santa, there are about 12 kids for every adult. These kids just do not get the adult attention that you do, nor do they get the adult attention they deserve. One of our greatest gifts for these kids is to just give them the attention they deserve - sit with them and talk, play games with them, do craft projects with them, whatever. Then most important of all, we continue those relationships with them after we leave Tierra Santa. These kids need us, and deserve our love and attention. Maybe one day you can visit, too, and forge a friendship with a child a world away.

We also hope to continue our work in the Tierra Santa preschool. On our most recent trip we prepped, painted and decorated the preschool room using materials we brought with us from Minnesota. The next step is to make sure the teachers at Tierra Santa have the skills and tools necessary to utilize this room to the best of their ability. Preschool is a foreign concept to most in Honduras. School starts at Kindergarten, unlike in the U.S. where many kids spend one or two years in preschool prior to entering kindergarten. Because of this, teaching preschool is not something teachers know how to do in Honduras. We hope to give the teachers at Tierra Santa the education they need to help teach these little preschoolers. Educating kids at ages 3, 4, and 5 will be a huge jumpstart for them before they enter kindergarten. Preshool has been shown to provide huge results for kids in our country. We hope the same will be said for Tierra Santa kids in the future.

5) What are some differences between the students at Oak Point and the kids in Honduras?

There are so many differences, but also a huge number of similarities. Tierra Santa kids are kids, just like you. They love to play games, they love sports, they love music and fashion, and they love to laugh and enjoy life. I wish you could meet all of them. You would have a blast hanging out with them and discover that they are very similar to you. Come to Tierra Santa with your family and discover this for yourself! Seriously, you can do it!

The kids of Tierra Santa are different from OP kids in some ways, though. This is true. Many of the kids of Tierra Santa had no schooling prior to coming to Tierra Santa, so in a lot of ways they are not as educationally advanced as kids from Oak Point. For instance, you might find a 13-year-old Tierra Santa child in third grade. That is because the child didn't come to Tierra Santa until they were 10, and never had any formal education prior to that. This is the reason why many Tierra Santa kids don't graduate from high school until they are 20 or 21.

Another difference is that many of the kids of Tierra Santa have had very difficult lives and have experienced very difficult things in their early years. They may haved lived on the streets prior to coming to Tierra Santa, they may have come from abusive homes, they may have faced severe hunger or serious health issues prior to coming to Tierra Santa. Kids in Eden Prairie, for the most part, haven't had to deal with these types of things in life, thankfully. Of course, these types of experiences shape the kids of Tierra Santa. Quite a few children suffer anxiety or depression due to the difficulties they have had in life.

Lastly, not to knock OP kids, but the work ethic of the Tierra Santa kids seems to be stronger that OP kids. Tierra Santa kids are constantly doing work around the home. They don't have custodians to clean up after them. They are responsible for keeping the home and school clean, for washing clothes, and for cooking meals. The kids of Tierra Santa work, work, and work. They take pride in their home and school and take the responsibility to keep things looking good around them.

6) How has this experience affected your life, and how will it help you in the future?

The experience I've had working with Global Connect and interacting with the kids of Tierra Santa has affected my life in huge ways. I'll never be the same because of it. I hope all of you can one day experience what I've experienced. You, too, will never be the same.

I'll never again wish I had a bigger house, or more "things." I now realize that I have enough. I don't need more stuff or more material things. The people of Honduras live with so little. It seems unfair, really, that we in America have so much and people in Honduras have so little.

One thing that struck me from the first instant I was at Tierra Santa was how happy the children and adults that live there are. They all have so little - little food, little water, just the basics in terms of shelter - yet they know how to enjoy life. They seem happy, they seem to know how to live life for the moment and enjoy the things that they do have. We in America have so much yet we struggle at times to be happy.

I've also learned a lot about love - as corny as that may sound. The kids of Tierra Santa are so loving. They open their arms to you for hugs and they have no hesitations about saying "I love you." It's really pretty amazing. Coming back to America I realized how important love is and that I shouldn't have any issues telling those close to me that I love them.

Lastly, I've learned to slow down and not to sweat the small stuff. Life in Honduras is so laid back, and people spend so much time just talking with one another and enjoying one another's company. In our society we're constantly busy, rushing off to the next important thing. In Honduras "NOW" is the most important thing. The other stuff can wait. Talking and chilling out with people is a priority. I really like that and hope to make that a part of who I am.

The lessons I've learned from the kids of Tierra Santa and the people of Honduras are huge. We often think in America that we have all the answers because we're such a rich, successful, powerful country. But we don't have all the answers. The biggest lesson I've learned from these experiences and the lesson I'll take with me in the future, is that you need to open your mind to learn from everyone you encounter in life, even the homeless 6-year-old.

7) Do you think you have made a good impact on these people’s lives, or do you think there is so much more to be done?

Both, really. I know that I've made an impact. Anyone who goes to Tierra Santa and chooses to make an impact, does. It may be small, it may not hugely change the lives of the kids, but going to Tierra Santa and working with the kids definitely has an impact on them. When they see people coming from the U.S. just to be with them, the kids of Tierra Santa feel valued and feel that their lives have worth. We take that for granted in our country, but these kids need to feel valued. Visiting them and becoming their friend, gives them that value.

It's the old saying, too, if I can affect just one kid, then all the effort is worth it. I really believe that. Perhaps one of the kids I meet will be inspired to go to college because of me, perhaps one kid will choose to study English because of me, perhaps one more kid will not go hungry because of me, perhaps one kid will have a roof above their head because of me. If one kid is affected because of my work, then it's all worth it.

But, yes, there is a lot more to be done. We've really just begun our work as partners with Tierra Santa. Eden Prairie Schools Global Connect has many more goals for this partnership. We want to educate as many EP students to the issues facing Tierra Santa and kids from all over the developing world, we want to raise funds to construct the new boys home, we want to lead many future trips to Tierra Santa giving these experiences to hundreds of EP students and families, we want to provide Tierra Santa with the food and resources it needs, and so much more. I hope you can be a part of all of these fantastic projects as we move forward in the future.

8) Because you have seen these kids, has it changed the way you think about how thankful and lucky you are?

YES! Is that a simple enough answer?

We are all lucky to live in the U.S. I know that now for a fact. The problems we have in this country dwarf problems that most Honduras live with on a daily basis. We have drinking water that flows endlessly from our taps, we have food stocked in our fridges and cupboards, we have cars, we have big homes with green yards, we have money to travel and buy the toys we want, we have safe neighborhoods, we have wonderful schools and colleges, we have high-paying jobs, we have garbage collection and clean streets, and we have a government that we believe in and feel a part of. I would safely say that most of us take most of these things for granted. But we shouldn't. We should wake up each and every day and be thankful for what we have.

But more important than being thankful for what we have, we should recognize what others around the world do not have and begin to do something about it. As Americans, we are part of the larger world and we need to remember that. We cannot isolate ourselves from the issues that face people around the globe. This is my opinion, you may disagree, but as members of the world it's not enough that we look out for the concerns of Americans, we need to look out for the concerns of everyone who shares the planet with us.

If kids are starving in Africa, if kids' homes are being bombed in Gaza, if kids are living amongst garbage heaps in India, those are our problems, too. We can't ignore these problems and pretend that they don't affect us. They do. We are very lucky to be America citizens. We need to not just recognize that, but also do something about it to try to make people around the world just as lucky as we are.

Remember, these are my opinions. Don't just read what I say and agree. Learn about these issues and come to your own conclusions. That is the important thing and why you come to school every day.

9) What do you think the process is for water purification?

I'm going to leave this last question unanswered, because in a few days I'll be posting a video that will answer it better than I can in words. You'll see video footage of the water purification building and a man explaining how it works.

Prepping for Global Connect Winter Trip 2008-09

2008-12-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

EPS staff members and friends, through Eden Prairie Schools Global Connect, will once again travel to Honduras on a service trip. This time we'll be leaving Minnesota winter behind and journeying down south in December. Our group will be gone from December 27 - January 4.

Please come back often during that week or so to learn about our progress. We are all looking forward to another wonderful experience.

Our plans are to do edcational activities with the kids of Tierra Santa and to help establish the first-ever preschool program at the home. Of course there is only so much we can do in the short amount of time we're there, but we hope to lay the groundwork for a program that can last into infinity. Thanks to the bold work of groups that have come before us, a new building has been constructed that will not only house this new preschool, but through a water purification process contained in the building, will provide clean drinking water for the home.

Again, please check back often and post lots of questions and comments for us as we go!

A Legacy - Honduras – Our Legacy

2008-04-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

Like a cigar – a mission trip and a vacation rolled together to make the finest brand.

Like a pastry – layers of relationships and scenery that rise with the sharing of stories among people, baked to perfection, filled with new adventures and covered with a light glaze of the smiles of children.

Like a plant – growing from a tiny seed, planted by a few, sprouting through care, planning and organization to become a tree that blossoms with every experience.

Like a tapestry - threads of intertwining experiences woven and braided, weaving a blanket that spans from Minnesota to Honduras.

We have each experienced our own journey, traveling through differing tastes, sights, sounds, smells and feelings that will forever affect our lives…our very own Honduran legacy.

R. Duchon

Lessons learned in the Honduras-Part 2

2008-04-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

After taking the great leap back into my comfort zone, these are some of my "quirkier " memories:

-Electricity and water can peacefully co-exist in the shower-except in the Duchon's room

-On the highways and byways of Honduras, the right of way exists in this order: cows, horses and other four-leggeds, motor vehicles of any size or horsepower (including those cute red taxis), followed by pedestrians

-Don't lean on the sink!

-Britney Spears is alive and well in the Villa San Antonio, is over 6 feet tall, and has hairy legs.

-When you're a teacher, it's good to let someone else lead for a change.

-The Pepsi truck is so highly thought of, it even has its own armed guard!

-If you've had a long enough day, even a marimba band outside your window won't keep you awake.

-There's no such thing as too much Immodium

-We can successfully push taxis up a hill

-It's great to step outside the "tourist bubble" we usually travel in

-A smile from a child is the gift of a lifetime!

Ann

Last Days

2008-04-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

Friday and Saturday were our tourist days. I'm not going to bog this down with all the details (basically because I don't have time as the bus for San Pedro is almost to our hotel) but sufice it to say, we had mucho fun (after the less-than-great bus ride, that is). We did the City of Copan Friday night including a group dinner. Then on Saturday we toured the Copan Mayan ruins in the morning and did various activities in the afternoon. Some did a zip line, others a horseback ride, and others a bird sanctuary. The evening ended with a very special, and great, dinner at Twisted Tanyas in which many of us stood up to say something special that they saw or did or felt from the trip.

Vamanos a Copan

2008-04-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

Copan is a beautiful little city. The ride here, though a bit long and rough was beautiful. We made several stops along the way for some shopping and a short tour of a cave and a coffee factory. We had a great evening of shopping, eating, resting and just hanging out. Some of us were not feeling that great, I think it was a combination of giving all we had during the week at the Hogar and the long bus ride. Most of us are feeling much better this morning as we prepare to tour the ruins and an afternoon choice of activities. Some of us will ride horses, take a rainforest canopy zip line excursion, or visit Macaw Mountain. Too many great choices. We'll check in later to tell you how it was.
Peace,
Mitch

The Trip To Copan

2008-04-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

It was different to wake up today and not have the kids of the Hogar on the agenda. I wonder what they are doing. I wonder if they miss us the way we miss them. I wonder when I'll get to see them again. Hmmmm.....

If you like bus rides then you would have loved our day yesterday. The drive was complete with steep mountains, winding roads, beautiful scenery and lovely views. We made a couple stops along the way, which for many of us was a God-send as we were suffering from pretty severe cases of motion sickness....YUCK!

Copan is a beautiful, intimate and interesting city. Today will allow for the tour of the Myan Ruins and some additional adverture walks. Maybe even a 5 Kilometer zip line experience! (THIS IS WHERE MY FRIENDS AT HOME SHOULD BEGIN PRAYING THAT I DON'T BREAK A LEG WHEN I RUN INTO A TREE AT HIGH SPEEDS!)

Rumor has it there is a great coffee house just around the corner and I am going to head out now and check it out!

I cannot wait to begin the L-O-N-G journey home tomorrow....I miss my babies!

Lois Hegland

Reading on Wednesday

2008-04-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

Video from Thursday

2008-04-05T05:47:00.001-07:00

Chris from Thursday

2008-04-05T05:28:00.000-07:00

Hola –

As I’m writing this we are sitting on a bus bound for Copan. It’s about 6:00 a.m. and we’re climbing through some hills outside of Comayagua. We are joined by eight of the students from the Hogar along with Jeff the administrative director and Matt, one of the volunteers living and working in La Villa.

Yesterday was quite the day. I didn’t do my usual writing on the bus ride from La Villa to Comayagua because I just couldn’t. I just needed that time to collect my thoughts about everything I had seen and done during the week. I had ripped a couple CDs from Omar and Jacoba prior to leaving so I just popped in the earphones, listened to some of their music, and thought about the trip.

I have all of these faces of these children in my head whenever I close my eyes. They are all such magnificent kids, smiling and loving and embracing. I cannot believe how much love and affection they showed us. The best times were when we had moments to just sit and be together. The kids just drank up the attention and wanted to touch and hug and be close. I can’t help but think how little of that we give to one another in America. How often do we just sit and touch and hold the children in our lives? Of course I do it with my own children. But it’s rare that I hug and hold my nieces and nephews, and the thought of holding hands with or hugging students in the U.S. is out of the question. We do some things better and smarter in the U.S., but I think we have to bow to the Hondurans when it comes to the way in which they show love and affection to one another.

Yesterday I had a chance to tell Dilcia that I plan to be her sponsor. I found her near the basketball court and asked her to join me. I then grabbed Sarah to help with the translation. It was an awesome moment where we could just sit apart from the buzz of activity and visit with one another. When Sarah told Dilcia that I planned to be her padrino a big smile lit up her face. She is such a beautiful girl. She is a little quiet and a bit serious but she shows me that smile whenever I see her. She has this deep voice that is wonderful to listen to and she seems to need some support. Dilcia is not one of the children who would be likely to approach one of us and just shower us with attention like some of the other children do. She hangs back a bit, watching more than taking part. I cannot wait to build a relationship and friendship with Dilcia.

Dilcia comes from a family of 15 children. She only arrived at the Hogar back in January. I cannot recall exactly how old she is but I believe she is around 10 or 11. I hope that all goes well for Dilicia. She says that she is happy at the Hogar. I hope that is the case. And I hope that she will find some way to blossom in life.

Thursday was just a day of celebration. Our morning was fairly routine as we did some more teaching but also tried to finish up some of the projects we had started earlier in the week. It was a bit more of a laid back morning. I think this was the case because we all knew that this was our last day and we just wanted to drink in as much of the experience as we could with our last few remaining hours.

Around lunchtime I joined Ann at the comidor, which is a soup kitchen paid for and operated by the Hogar. It is a place where children from the village who do not live at the Hogar but who still need food can go and have a nutritious lunch every day. The comidor is operated by Alba who is this amazing lady who lives in this tiny shack herself. She does the cooking in her home then serves the food to the children under an awning in her yard. The comidor was set up as a way for the Hogar to give back to the citizens of the village. It serves about 20-30 children each day.

While at the comidor Ann and I read books aloud to the children as they ate. I read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See in Espanol to the kids. It was a lot of fun and a book with simple words and repetition which made it easy for me to get into. It also made for a convenient English lesson as I asked the kids to practice the English words for the various animals on the pages. It was a lot of fun.

Following the lunch, we distributed gifts of books to the children at the Comidor. Ann had brought with her about 30 books that had been donated by a girls group back in Eden Prairie. Each book was individually wrapped in colorful paper and came with a personalized note from one of the girls. The children washed their hands after the meal and then were each given a book to open and look at. All the books were written in Spanish. This event was hugely impromptu, but proved to be one of the more rewarding experiences in the village for me.

In the late afternoon we had a program in the courtyard. Right prior to the program, however, I said my goodbyes to some of the girls who were leaving on a bus to pick up a group of Canadian high school students from the airport. I climbed on the bus and gave a big hug to all the girls. I don’t remember exactly who was on the bus but I do remember Jessica and Rosa for sure. Then was the program. The first part of the program was us doing our best to entertain the children. Nick did a Brittney Spears lipsync, several of us acted out the Three Little Pigs, Debbie told a cute, little joke, we did a group dance led by Chris, and Mitch and Lois led the entire group in prayer. Following our performances, the kids put on a program for us of dancing and music.

Then the hard part came – saying goodbye. This lasted for a good half an hour as we all tried our best to say goodbye to as many of the children as possible. The kids I remember most from the goodbye ceremony are Mirian, Jacoba, Alba, Dilcia, Simona, Julieth, Idalia, Sarai, Christian, and Jogeni. It was extremely emotional and difficult. I just kept thinking, “Am I ever going to see these kids again,” “I just don’t want to leave these kids.” I worry about what will happen to them in the future, but I really need to remember to be comforted by the fact that they are in good hands, they are well-cared-for, and they are happy. I’ll just hope and pray for these kids as I return home and resume life.

My hope, of course, is that I will return. When that will happen, I’m not sure. I just cannot see myself never coming back here. The relationships I built with some of the kids are too important for me to just let fall away. One of my fears coming down here was that I would get hooked and feel the need to keep coming down. Well, my fears have been realized. I need to come back. I will come back.

Lunch at the Comidar

2008-04-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

One of the great things the Hogar does for the community is offer lunch every day for the neighborhood children. Alba opens her home to 20-30 neighborhood children every week day.
Today, there were about 20 children from age 1 to 11 eating spaghetti and cabbage amidst the dogs chasing the chickens in the yard.

Today was a special day at the Comidar because Ann and Chris K. read books to the kids as they ate. Then, after lunch, the kids washed the spaghetti off their hands and faces and waited for a special surprise. Wrapped in paper, each child received a book of their own. It was so fun to watch them open their gift with such excitement. It will be a lunch to remember.

Larry

Fishing and Kindergarten day 2

2008-04-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, was another eventful day. After my kindergarten lesson we headed out to the fishing pond, where we proceeded to teach the children the basics to our way of fishing. Many have fished before, but never with poles. Sometimes they have used a string and a close pin. Other times they have used a net. They loved casting out and reeling it in. Although we didn't catch any fish, the children had a ton of fun. On my next trip the plan is to make it out to Lake Yahoa, which almost occurred on this trip.

After fishing, all 18 of us piled into the truck with the fishing gear. However, there was one small problem, we didn't have any gas. We spent the next 40 minutes walking back to the hogar with all of the gear. The truck we used doesn't have a gas gage, so that makes things very difficult. It was a fun walk, because I got to have a very long conversation with Julisa about life in Honduras. Julisa was the first child that I met when I got off the plane. We road back in the school bus together for four hours so our connection was immediate. Anyway, on our long walk back we talked about hopes and dreams. I have a strong connection with Julisa and plan to correspond with her for a long time.

This morning I spent working in the kindergarten room. We played the "Cheerio Math". It was so fun, but also extremely difficult. I cannot wait to show the video and pictures to my students in Eden Prairie.

It was great having a lot of extra hands helping with the project. Thank you Kevin, Jeanine, Larry, Chris, Mitch, Lois, Becky. The kids really started to get it, which is one of the reasons I became a teacher. Many children had the "Ah ha!" moment. It was a total rush. It's great to be a teacher!

Hasta luego!

Nick Windschitl

Beth and Marcela

2008-04-03T08:34:00.000-07:00

When i first brought up Hogar Tierra Santa at Eagle Heights, Beth told me that she had been there before. We quickly sat down and shared our experiences and pictures with each other. Beth told me one story of a little girl named Marcela. During Beth's first week, Marcela arrived at the hogar. She was only about a year old and in desperate need of attention. She clung to Beth and called her mama. Marcela and Beth were together everyday while she was here. Beth asked me to check up on Marcela while I was here. Well Beth, Marcela is doing great! When i first got here she ran up to me and gave me a big hug! Shorty after, i sat down with her and told her about Beth. I told her that one of my friends that i work with was here the day she arrived at the hogar. I told her that Beth still thinks about her and loves her. I will never forget the look on her face. She said "really? she remembers me?" And i told her of all of your pictures Beth, and how she is the one you talked about most. She just had this huge smile on her face. It was great. I am going to talk to her more about you today. I just wanted you share that with everyone and with you Beth. I know that this story has made her month...or year. I hope some day you can come back and reunite with your little girl. Lots of love!

Sarah

Weepy Wednesday

2008-04-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

The day began as most others in my life…chopping the mortar off bricks in the 90 degree weather! O.k., that’s not exactly what I do for a living, but some days at RSM are equally as aggravating...I mean challenging....I mean rewarding!

Next on the agenda for the day was Lice Shampoo treatments for over thirty of my closest girlfriends. This was quite the process but what was most impressive is how the girls, even the two and three year olds, knew exactly what to do and how to use a lice comb. Not a talent shared by many toddlers and teens from Minnesota. YUP, I did save two bottles so we could do a group de-licing before we leave on Friday. Head Lice is a souvenir you do NOT want to take home from Honduras.

Although my natural reaction was to feel sorry for my brothers and sisters of the Hogar, I can’t help but think about how lucky these kids are to have each other and to have this safe place to call home. It certainly may not meet my personal standards, or those of many of us from Minnesota, it is their home, a SAFE home, and they take great pride in it.

There were countless awesome moments throughout the day. I brought a journal along and began to have the kids sign it / write in it today. Those pages will be cherished and read and re-read for a long time. Oh my goodness…how are we going to make it through Thursday afternoon - driving away in the bus and not knowing “tomorrow’s” fate for the boys and girls we have begun to claim as our own? I believe we have indeed found “the least of these” and all we can do is continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers for the days, months, years to come.

Lois Hegland

Video from Wednesday afternoon

2008-04-03T08:26:00.001-07:00

Video from Wednesday morning

2008-04-03T08:21:00.001-07:00

Hi from Chris from Wednesday

2008-04-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Guess what? We had another dia fantastica a el Hogar!

As other days, there were just so many activities going on throughout the day. At any point during the day there were probably five or six groups doing five or six different activities. We did everything from lessons in the kindergarten room to window sill repair to tie-dye to lice removal to fishing to reading to the kids. It’s like this constant buzz of activity going on at any given time. I try my best to capture it all on pictures or video and still have time to do some work myself and visit as much as I can with the kids.

Ann and I worked a bit more in the library in the morning preparing for a lesson later in the day. In the course of the last couple of days we had removed some of the outdated books or books that had a great deal of damage. We placed them in a box with the idea that they could be thrown away. But today Iris, Santiago’s wife, took a look at the books and did not seem to like the idea of getting rid of them. Sarah explained to us that for the Hogar it is very difficult to throw anything out. But from our perspectives as librarians we know that if a library is half-filled with books the kids would have no interest in reading that the kids will have less successful experiences using the library. If the kids have to sift through shelf after shelf of poor quality books to get to the good stuff, they’ll get frustrated and just give up. I don’t know how we’ll ever communicate this to the folks at the Hogar, however. But the library job could be a large, ongoing project that, if given the chance, we could really make better. We’ll see what happens.

In the afternoon, Chris A and Karla helped Ann and me organize a library lesson with about thirty or forty of the kids. We held the class out in the courtyard. Chris helped us translate. Ann and I talked to the kids about how to properly take care of and handle books. We also gave them some basic things to think about when using the library. But by far the best part was when we gave the kids time to touch the books, read the books, or have the books read to them by the many adults who helped us. All the books were in Spanish so the kids were able to pick them up and dig right in. The older kids, anyway. The younger kids were read to by many folks from our group, even though many of us don’t really speak Espanol. But we tried, and that was awesome!

We also showed the kids the book that I wrote, which was really fun for me. Because it is a graphic novel, the students I sat with could actually follow the story without knowing how to read the words. They asked me lots of questions and I tried my best to help explain the story.

Beyond the books that were donated by Capstone and Scholastic, the kids also got to take a look at the books that were created by students from Deb Haraway’s 6th graders back at Oak Point. This was super fun! I sat with a couple different groups and read them a counting book about foods. They were able to practice their English words. Another girl sat and read two of the story books. The books were written in English and I don’t think she knew what she was reading, but she pronounced the words very well. The kids from Oak Point should be proud of the gift they gave to the Hogar.

Enseñando a los de Kinder

2008-04-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

¡Hola a todos! Hoy pasé la mañana ayudando en el salón de Kinder. Era muy diferente de las clases de Kinder en Eden Prairie. Solamente tuvieron 2 mesas, y aproximadamente 20 escritorios. Habían 3o niños en la clase y una maestra. Los niños aquí también tienen merienda y recreo, pero es muy diferente de lo que tenemos nosotros. ¡No puedo esperar para compartir mis experiencias con todos ustedes!
¡Un beso y un abrazo fuerte!
Srta. Asuquo