Quick first day recap from Chris

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!

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!

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.

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

Mitch's pics from Antigua.

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

Likely my last post from C.A.

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.

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