Since we have been back...

It has been several weeks since we arrived home from our week in Honduras.  We miss so much about the place - the sounds of the city just on the other side of the campus wall, living and working together, and the laughter and play and hugs of the children.  This trip affirms that what we give in time and prayer, efforts and support is repaid many times over.  We have witnessed and seen the devastation of poverty and because of this place, have seen the lives of children transformed out of that poverty.  Indeed, we have witnessed the hand of God at work here.

  We are well protected on this campus and life changes as we go through the big gates onto the world "outside".







 


In spite of being the dry season waiting for the rains to start soon to refresh the land, we drove through interesting aspects of the area. Like through the parts of Tegucigalpa (of over a million people) where the city sprawls up onto the hills around.

The countryside can be breathtaking and the area up to Santa Lucia where the teenage girls live is particularly so!

The view from the girl's residence. 

 




There is nothing like viewing a papaya grove as we see at the Agricultural School.  

It was amazing to be part of such a giving team and we enjoyed our evenings of sharing and devotions and preparing the next days crafts.  

As well as sharing meals together - dying for a little breeze through those open windows.

We had a number of handmade dolls lovingly made by a group of ladies in Burlington that we left with Erika who would make sure that they would be distributed - perhaps as companions for homesick girls or as a reward for hard work or with the teachers.  This would be left up to the staff as to how they would be used.  We also left the 'finger puppets' made by another group of ladies.  The kids loved them and we used them in our 'one-on-one' times with the children, but also left them with Erika to give to the teachers to use as teaching aids or any way that would work for them.

It is a blessing to witness the encounters of our team with their sponsored children.  Jorge, the first child we sponsored at St Luke's is now in his last year at the agricultural school.  Rony is at the technical school and Nelsin, his sister, is at the girl's campus at Santa Lucia.  And as well, there are those  relationships of team members with their children -transformative relationships for both sponsor and child. It is important for a child to have a special person or family in their life who is specifically “theirs” reminding them that they are important and loved. This is more significant than we can imagine for a child who has no one else in their lives to provide that.

The boys at the agricultural school share some game time with their fellow students in a game of "Connect 4".

Taking a little break in the middle of the soccer game between the Technical school and the Agricultural school. 

The younger children who had come to watch the game, enjoyed their own half-time activity. 

The memories of each day embedded in our hearts and prayers for ever.