In Guatemala - Meeting new friends and watching volcanoes.

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

And even, even MORE pics!

mitch honduras summer wed-thurs

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

Meet some of the kids from Helping Honduras Kids

Meet some of the wonderful children of Helping Honduras Kids.

Honduras Summer 2010 Kreie 3

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

Chris' thoughts from our time in Honduras

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

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

Hondurans Enjoying the World Cup

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

Thoughts from HHK President David Ashby.

honduras summer 2010 kreie 2

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

Grandmas and Campesino Villages...

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...

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

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

First Days Visiting Helping Honduras Kids

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!

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

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!!

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

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

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

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...

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

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

Video from Wednesday

Cooking on Wednesday



Dancing on Wednesday

Wednesday - What a day!

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

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.