Hello and welcome to the St. Luke's Mission team blog. Here you can follow our adventures as we travel to El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza (The Home of Love and Hope) in Honduras on a week-long mission trip. El Hogar is a residential school that provides a home and education for desperately poor, abandoned or orphaned boys and girls in Honduras. For more information about the orphanage and the two additional schools, please visit their website: http://www.elhogar.org.

On April 10th, 2010 a team of 10 eager and enthusiastic people will board a plane to Tegucigalpa, Honduras' capital city. For some of us it is our first time and for others we are returning. We will spend the week helping with work around the school grounds, but more importantly we will be getting to know 100 or so boys and girls who will no doubt capture our hearts.

We have spent the last five or six months preparing for our trip. As a team we had to raise $2,000 to bring to El Hogar and we worked tirelessly to create goodies to satisfy any sweet tooth. From our one-of-a-kind hand crafted gingerbread churches to our hand-dipped chocolate fondant Easter Eggs and other generous donations we received, we surpassed our fundraising goal thanks to the generosity and support of our friends, family and fellow parishioners. With some of the extra money we raised we will be able to purchase some much needed medical supplies as well as some special toys and games for the kids. On behalf of the boys, girls and staff at El Hogar we thank you all very much for your support.

While we are in Honduras we hope to be able to update our blog on a daily basis and post pictures so you will be able to keep tabs on us. You will likely see us exhausted and covered in paint, but no doubt with a smile on our faces as we work to make a difference in the lives of these children in need. We look forward not only to what we can bring to the lives of the children at El Hogar, but also what we can learn from them and the message that we can share with others about our experience.

Please feel free to "comment" on our blog entries by clicking on Comments under each entry. You don't need to have your own blog to do so! Just a name! We would love to hear from you and would be happy to pass along any messages to the team or the children and staff at El Hogar.

Hasta Pronto!

The St. Luke's Mission team - Alida O'Connor, Matt Skafel, Hilary Finch, Rick Reycraft, Loraine Murty, Janice Skafel, Louise Neville, Rosalind Reycraft, Erika Skafel and Michael Skafel