We had the joy of sleeping in abit this morning after our long day of travel yesterday, so we so happy to have a relaxing start to the day.

Breakfast was brought down to us in the guest house and was a nutricious start to the day.

Erika came for us to drive back to Tegucigalpa for church at St Mary’s Cathdral.   Some of the students came with us, which is a real special outing, as it is not always possible to get into the city each Sunday.  We were so happy to worship with our Spanish speaking friends, recognizing so much of the same service that we know at St Luke’s.  We were so welcomed and recognized from the years past.  

With the 5 children we had with us, we stopped and picked up pupusas (a Honduran favourite) and drove to Cerro Juana, a lovely park with a central viewpoint of the surrounding city.  It was busy to get to the park as we had to pass the futbol (soccer) stadium where the Sunday futbol game was gearing up.  This is a soccer country indeed.

On our way home, we went to the grocery store and were given the task of seeing how much we could buy with the 500 lempira we were given.  We tried to meet the challenge, but failed badly.  While prices are lower than what we pay in Canada, we were still ble to get a lot of fruit.  Papayas, pineapples, melons.  And the mangos which we picked  up at the fruit stand at the side of the road on the way home from the airport yesterday.

 
We had a bit of down time and have to find the right places to capture the WiFi.  Forgive us for not getting our posts out daily, as we are having difficulty with the WiFi.  We will attempt to send something each evening.

  

          El Hogar Team 2026   

We  have  arrived!  A long day of traveling with some delays, but we are here!  So great to be back.     As we fly in, we are reminded of how mountainous this country is.  And how beautiful.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

 We have bonded as a team already, looking out for each other as we travel together                                                 

Erika met us at the airport along with 5 students who loved their job of getting our luggage all loaded on the van and headed to the Technical school, but not before a stop at the side of the highway to pick up some fresh in-season mangoes  We are comfortable and happy to be here where we will live for this week.  The campus is on several acres of land about 45 minutes from the airport and very quiet as most of the students go home on the weekend.

    

 

 Team El Hogar 2026

From as far back as September, Team 2026 has been gathering together to plan a year of fundrasing and a trip to Honduras to visit El Hogar de Amor Y Esperanza.  https://elhogar.org/  We have spent hours baking and constructing our famous Gingetbread Houses as well as Christmas Bark to sell.  And... we have gathered a group of people who wish to go on our trip for our March trip.  

There is a lot of work and planning invovled as a team before we can go down to El Hogar.   We have learned about the values of El Hogar, the history and culture of Honduras and the complexities of poverty.  We must go with an open heart and mind to want to learn what goes on there rather than to try to change things or fix things.  We want to be able to recognize the professional qualifications of El Hogar's Honduran staff and find out how to partner with them to promote their work and programming goals.  

We, Rob, Rick, Ros, Michael, Janice, Alexei and Moira are excited to get there!

In our fundrasing and prep, we have  appreciated the team members and other volunteers who have helped us build our "houses" and used our time together to build our team.  We have had a fun time doing it all.  

On February 15, Rev Leonel and Rev Sheila introduced our team at the morning service and said a prayer for us as we soon make our way to Central America.  We appreciate the time they gave to this and to feel their support and the support of the congregation was uplifting.  

Below is Leonel's prayer which is so worth attaching. 

God our Creator, we praise you, for you have revealed
your love to all peoples in Jesus, your Son, through the
power of the Holy Spirit. As we commission Alexei, Laura,
Moira, Rob, Janice, Michael, Rick and Ros, to be
messengers of your gospel, we ask for your blessing over
them. Send them, we pray, in your Holy Spirit, that they
may speak your Word, do your work, and hear and see
you in everyone they meet. Protect them, Father, from all
dangers. Grant them, we pray, all things needed for their
mission. Give them, good Lord, generosity and courage.
Keep them united in love and spirit, that their witness may
be ever so clear. And, in your providence, return them to
their families and friends, and to this church community.
We ask these things for the sake of Him who calls us all
into your service and worship, Jesus Christ, your Son, our
Lord. Amen.

It is the beignnig of the new school year at El Hogar.  They have welomed about 250 students at the primary school and the high school.  We look forward to meeting these new students and interact with them and hear all about the programs going on.  

This is the start of our activites which will be recorded on this blog for the next month.  Please follow us and please pray for the teachers and staff and the children of El Hogar as they beign their new school year.  

Post Trip to El Hogar 2024

We had the privilege of relating our stories and experiences to the St Luke's congregation at the Sunday service after we got back from Honduras.  Our hearts are full of things we want to tell.  Melina and Rob sang "Padre Nuestro" (The Lord's Prayer) and "Adios" which they had sung in Honduras with the boys at the technical institute. "Adios" was written by Rob as a good-bye to the students.  Daniel, Steve and Rob spoke passionately of their first visit to El Hogar and it was impactful to all of us who heard them.  

The theme of the children in El Hogar was even taken to the Sunday School class and the children were able to add their names and creative drawings to the mural that the boys started in our evenings of activities at the institute.    

In the past week, we have processed so much, missing the laughter and smiles of the boys we met, hearing the joyful conversation of the children as they got off the big El Hogar orange bus in the morning and the sound of the cicadas that dominated the evenings.  They loved to sing and always gathered around Rob's guitar and Melina.

We loved how the kids seemed to like our activites and crafts.  Some were really good artists.

Some were quite passionate about games.

Some were just happy to hang out - with each other.  We know from the stories that the kids have told, that many  have had difficult lives before they came to El Hogar.  They are always inspired and encouraged by the teachers and the staff to have dreams and to work hard to find success they need in their lives to be independent and productive citiizens of Honduras.                                     We loved this picture of two friends who seem to be supporting one another.  

As well as getting their full academic Grade 12, the technical courses of carpentry and electricity are included and many girls are part of the electricity stream.  They are inspired by their female instructor and you can see one of the girls is being prepared to climb that pole. 

And you have to really know what you are doing in this country when you go up those poles!

We loved our trips in the van to our various stops, as it gave us sights and sounds of the culture and fabric of Tegucigalpa.  There are so many little shops set up everywhere as people try to eke out a living in this country.  And many stops to buy their lunch.

It's not uncommon to see a truck full of bananas or fruit go by.  And there is nothing like the fruit in Honduras, probably picked off the plants yesterday instead of coming by truck for a week before it gets to us at home.  

And who can forget that excellent cup of coffee at Galeano, a special little coffee place. This Honduran coffee brand sources their specialty coffee beans directly from small, independent coffee producers in rural Honduras and then gives back to the community in many ways.   

Living in Honduras can be a mix of experiences.  The country has a rich cultural heritage, beautiful natural landscapes and a tropical climate, but faces many challenges with the poverty which we saw everywhere.  Poverty is complex indeed, but it is said over and over again, that to address many of the complexities of poverty, that one thing is to include initiatives to improve education. What a feeling of hope we have for the 230 students in the El Hogar system and for the 1,000 students who have graduated over the last 43 years to break the cycle of poverty in their families. 

In the midst of it all, and in this very hot time of the year just prior to the rainy season, we are amazed at how there are tropical trees in bloom in this heat.  The beauty of the bright colours of Bougainvillea stand out in the lest likely of places 

Looking back at a few pictures and remembering this wonderful group of women on this trip, as we visit the Tegu factory, where magnetic wooden toy building blocks are manufactured and can be purchased in North America.   https://tegucanada.com/   We were quite impressed with this company that uses hardwood which is found in abundance in Honduras' forests and creates stable jobs for many Hundurans.  Zoe, one of the students from the Technical school who soon will start a co-op there, joined us.  

Worship at St Mary's Cathedral was lively and welcoming and special.  We loved that Padre Gerrardo invited Bishop Mariann to help with Communion.  

Even the littlest ones like to get into the music and clapping was probably one of the earliest things this young lad learned in this church.  

Rob got to meet J.R. who leads the music at the church.  If they had a chance to share their music, it would be inspiring.   

We had time for our team picture.  It is a tradition to be taken at this location at the Primary Campus for the many years that we have come to El Hogar.  This is the team of 2024 and we have shared fun and stories and are grateful for each one and all that has contributed to this experience as a team. A family actually. We recognize that we are blessed and we want to help where we can and continue to learn how to be partners with El Hogar.  But this is only part of this ministry.  You all help with your donations, your encouragment, and your prayers.  We coudn't do it without you.

Even the littlest ones like to get into the music and clapping was probably one of the earliest things this young lad learned in this church

 

Friday, April 12,  2024. Travel Day

We are staying in a charming historic hotel in the middle of the historic part of the city of Comayagua.  Breakfast was in the courtyard and included the tipico breakfast of scrambled eggs, plantain, beans. 

Before we left for the airport, we had a little time to stroll, visit a few souvenir shops and have a coffee to watch the morning activity in the church plaza.  Some went to visit a small chocolateria down the street with Efren, the founder, giving us a personal tour where we learned alot about what goes into making a chocolate bar!   The cacao tree is native to Central America and Honduras is known for high quality cacao.  We can attest to that as we got lots of samples to try out.  

For $1.70, one could buy a ticket to climb the narrow staricase to the top of the bell tower.  Some good pictures for Rob to get. 

The hotel arranged transportation to the airport and so the team climbed into a van one more time.  The airport is 20 minutes away and holds some little souvenir shops to do some last minute purchasing.  On the way home with a stopover in Miami and it was here that we said our goodbyes to Mariann and Anna as they headed off to find their flights back to Washington.  It was a  joy to get to know them and share life with them for a week.  

Our head and our hearts are full of what we have experienced this week.  So much to process.  Be sure to check in again as we post more pictures in the next week.  Thank you as always, for your support and your prayers.  

 

Thursday, April 11, 2024

Our time in this place has gone so quickly, but oh what a special week it has been.  After breakfast, we met with  Denise, the Executive Director and Erika, Communications and Internal Relations where we shared stories  - of our week here and of their dreams and goals and what it means to be partners.  Such a insightful sharing time between us all.  

In the middle of the meeting we broke up to head outside during the students' morning break, so that Rob and Melina could sing a song for the kids to hear.  Rob wrote it last night and wanted to be able to say goodbye in this special way through this song called "Adios". The students loved it.  Our singers got a chance earlier to try the song out on our cook Patricia and her helper. 

As we departed for Comayagua for our last night, some of the kids gathered to see us off. In our short time there, we have built some friendships with these boys and so there were some heartfelt goodbyes.

   

Comayagua is an hour away, where we will spend the last evening together but also conveniently close to the airport and so thought it a perfect way to experience a little more of the culture of the area and give us a location to wrap up our time together and do a bit of debriefing. 

Erika brought two students along to help with all the luggage and they had never been to Comayagua before, so it was an outing for them.  They got to go up the Cathedral Tower in the town plaza and check out the view.

The town was the former old Honduran colonial capital and has a wealth of Spanish colonial architecture which we have been enjoying.  The clock in the tower seen between the middle level of windows dates from 1100 made by the Arabs during their occupation of Spain.  It was given to the city by the King of Spain in 1620.

We had discussion in a quiet room in the hotel and shared our thoughts about how we can effectively be partners with El Hogar.  The commitment is strong amongst each of the team and we shared our ideas as well as talking about how the week has transformed us.

A big treat as we shared out last dinner in a lovely restaurant just down the street.  

 

Zoe, a Grade 12 student, joined us for a picture with our hairnets

Today was our earliest morning yet! We left around 6:30am for Tegu, a factory that makes magnetic building blocks. El Hogar students can do their internships (practica) there. We got a full tour of the machines and got to partake in their morning meeting. By pure luck, the founder was in the building, and we got time to speak with him. We got to learn the company's history and ask many questions. We also heard a lot about how much the factory values teamwork and celebrates any improvement. We ended our visit by sanding and spray painting our own magnetic blocks, in a shape and colour of our choosing. 

We headed to the elementary school where we met with Denise, Claudia, 3 kids and 2 mothers. They were all very open with us and shared many of their life stories and spoke very highly of El Hogar. Denise is El Hogar's Executive Director. She described the impact of El Hogar and how it has changed remarkably over the years. Claudia is El Hogar's long time director of academics, and she spoke of her hopes for El Hogar's future in hopes to keep kids in the highschool years. These young kids told us their dreams after graduating, and their gratitude for the opportunities El Hogar gives them. The mothers explained the positive impact El Hogar has had on their children and how they are involved with the school. 

We had el grupo photo around the El Hogar logo at the elementary campus.  This spot has been the traditional place for a team photo for 14 years.  Traditions carry on!                                                                                                 

After lunch, we headed to the Youth for Honduras organization, where we met Dulce, the director. She told us her inspiring story about how she overcame her upbringing as an orphan and how it led her to get involved in helping youth in various ways. She shared deeply emotional stories and was very much an open book for us. This organization partners with El Hogar in helping residential students transition from residential living to independent living after graduation.  We learned about the three parts of the organization: the Transition Program, I Exist, and the World Orphan Fund. She spoke of the successes and challenges of all that they do.

We love the van!

Rob singing with the kids!

Our last night spending time with the boys in various activities and crafts.  They have been floating through the various stations we had set up, but the popular one tonight was when Rob got out his guitar.  Lots of hearty singing and silliness.  We will miss this and their happy smiles.