Dear family and friends,
Though we have safely returned to the US and have begun to re-enter our normal routines, I promised to share with you our last beautiful day at El Hogar.
On Saturday, we arose to the normal cacophony of roosters and car horns though the boys must get to sleep later on Saturdays so there was no sweeping to add to the morning wake up noise. Our first activity started at 7:30 so we had a little more time ourselves to ease into our last day. We began the unpleasant process of packing and tidying up the volunteer house and drank our many pots of coffee. In an effort to not be late, we headed up to the new dorm a few minutes before 7:30. All of the children were streaming out onto the wide front steps and sitting down. We were thrilled to see the 28 boys that had moved into their new room (that we had completed) the day before! Once everyone was gathered, we began the blessing of the new garden that we had planted with the help and strength of the 7th grade boys from El Hogar. Claudia Castro, the director of El Hogar, and Claudia Bell, WE translator extraordinaire, each said some words about the garden and the love and friendship that built it and that it represents. We sang in English, the children sang in Spanish. Claudia, the 7th grade boys and the WE team sprinkled water on the garden with a palm branch. We said the Lord’s Prayer together in both languages and one of the older boys played a song on his guitar and sang. I honestly don’t remember the actual order of events as you can now imagine, I was trying not to cry AGAIN! We all wore our “powered by love” t-shirts that Barbara F. and her daughter Elizabeth had made. It was a beautiful event on a beautiful day in the sanctuary that is El Hogar. From there, we had ½ an hour to pull ourselves together and have breakfast. We were to meet at 8:30 under the basketball hoop near the kitchen for the “Despedida”, the goodbye ceremony. You know where this is going, right?!
We arrived to find several boys playing the Marimba and drums. The music was upbeat and joyful. Once gathered, Claudia and Claudia, said goodbyes in English and in Spanish. A few children volunteered to speak to us, many in English. They thanked us for coming to El Hogar, for playing with them and for our love. Alejandro, the guitar player, again sang to us and then 15 children came forward with cards and huge hugs for each of us. If we had somehow made it through the students thanking us without crying, it was all over now! Thankfully, the marimba music started up again and the dancing began. We danced around the property in a conga line and when that fell apart we danced with groups of children. The ceremony ended with all of the children hugging us and saying goodbye.
As we headed back to the volunteer house to finish packing, Claudia invited us into her office to buy t-shirts and/or CDs of El Hogar marimba music. A former student, Carlos, was also there selling some of his paintings. El Hogar prospered from 15 women buying up most of what they had to offer! We loaded up our luggage and headed to the airport at about 10:15 am- what a morning! An incredible trip, a remarkable place, a fantastic group of deeply caring women, a life changing experience.
I am so blessed to have been on this journey. I know that it is not over yet- there is more work to be done.
With love and gratitude,
Betsy
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Friday (March 20, 2009)
Dear everyone,
I think this is our last official email from Honduras.
I think this is our last official email from Honduras.
I (Carol Kellogg) have been asked to write about something that happened yesterday involving the distribution of the sneakers which we brought with us.
As you may know all work teams have names and the sneaker team was dubbed Team Nike. All during the week we have been asking when we might distribute the 142 pairs of sneakers which we brought. We brought many pairs to the farm yesterday. We brought some of the sneakers back, and on the way back the extra sneakers got to travel in the roof rack with three large bags of pollo poo. But, I digress.
Yesterday, around 4 pm without warning, we were asked to distribute the remaining sneakers here at El Hogar. It was very fun with large bags of sneakers being hauled by small boys, whose eyes were eager with expectation. Sadly, many of the sneakers were too big for the boys, but we were able to make about 10 "sales" to boys with size 7 or 8 feet. Several boys tried on many pairs and they enjoyed when we pretended to be shoe salesmen. Dona Claudia watched the whole thing with amusement. All the remaining pairs made it safely into the bodega. (The bodega here is basically a general store. When Dona Claudia opens the bodega the children wonder what will appear.) It seems they are happy with anything. Even those children who will have to wait for Jason and the next batch of shoes were more patient that might be expected.
The rhythm of morning here is lovely. The roosters are the first to rise and begin crowing between 4 and 5 AM. They seem to wake up the other birds. At some point this commotion wakes the buses who wake the taxis and horns prevail. The roosters still crow, but as they have done their job, they go off to do other things while the buses bring everyone to work. The gates to El Hogar are opened when horns honk. When they slide they make a lot of noise. Then comes the giggling as the boys sweep the grounds. By now it is approaching 6 AM and the volunteer house is drinking their first cup of coffee.
The morning devotion begins at 7 AM. This morning the boys were watching Sponge Bob Squarepants in the auditorium. They were also dressed for casual Friday, which means that they had on shorts and T shirts as opposed to white shirts and jeans. One shirt said "Experience the unexpected in Maine". We all got a kick out of that. The devotion was short and soon Dona Claudia arrived and gave us some more information about the specific children we sponsor. When we hear the specific circumstances each boy has faced we are often moved to tears. I think that crying may be contagious. I also think that I have started many a round of crying, but I think it is good crying.
Today I was thinking about how people sometimes view poverty in America. I remember the expression about people pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. The response often given is, what should people do if they don´t have any boots? Well, here in Honduras it seems like there are many people without boots. Happily, there are now some people with new sneakers. In the future people will pull themselves up by their sneaker laces. Its really the same idea, and one that Team Nike strongly supports. We might not accomplish very much, but we do it with a lot of love.
After Claudia's talk we went on a home visit to a house very close to El Hogar. The student who lives there, Marlon Javier Matamoros Menocal, was allowed to come with us and visit his mother and sisters. We stopped for some groceries on the way. We purchased 2 dozen eggs, which were packed in a plastic bag! We had Dona Claudia carry those! We brought many other staples, such as bread, lard, spagetti, etc. We spent about $20 dollars.
After Claudia's talk we went on a home visit to a house very close to El Hogar. The student who lives there, Marlon Javier Matamoros Menocal, was allowed to come with us and visit his mother and sisters. We stopped for some groceries on the way. We purchased 2 dozen eggs, which were packed in a plastic bag! We had Dona Claudia carry those! We brought many other staples, such as bread, lard, spagetti, etc. We spent about $20 dollars.
When we arrived Marlon's mother was filled with joy. She had an unexpected visit from her son and we brought food. She told us that otherwise she wouldn´t have had anything for lunch. Literally, no food of any kind. The house was on someone else's roof and had one room. She had one double bed where everyone slept. It was very tidy and had nice postcards and things on the walls. She impressed all of us as a very loving mother with little in the way of resources and lots in the way of love and grace.
Next we made a shopping trip which seemed a little out of place after our home visit. Nonetheless we headed off to Valley of the Angels. The ride was beautiful. The shops were well stocked with local handicrafts and we provided an economic stimulus to the village. We had a nice lunch on the way home at a resteraunt which was almost a hotel. The scenery was spectacular.
Afternoon projects included finishing work on the dormitory and completing the garden. The dormitory team has renamed themselves Team Roll With It. Besides the obvious assosciation with painting it basically describes Honduras. Things happen when they happen. Or other things happen. If a project seems large and difficult only focus on the next step and then the next. The point is to try.
Tonight we dined on spagetti and meatballs. Sadly, our trip is winding down. Tomorrow there will be a garden dedication as well as a farewell program organized by the children. We should bring tissues. Although we will be leaving El Hogar, we will each be bringing part of its spirit home with us. We are all eager to share that spirit with you.
With blessings and peace,
Carol
Next we made a shopping trip which seemed a little out of place after our home visit. Nonetheless we headed off to Valley of the Angels. The ride was beautiful. The shops were well stocked with local handicrafts and we provided an economic stimulus to the village. We had a nice lunch on the way home at a resteraunt which was almost a hotel. The scenery was spectacular.
Afternoon projects included finishing work on the dormitory and completing the garden. The dormitory team has renamed themselves Team Roll With It. Besides the obvious assosciation with painting it basically describes Honduras. Things happen when they happen. Or other things happen. If a project seems large and difficult only focus on the next step and then the next. The point is to try.
Tonight we dined on spagetti and meatballs. Sadly, our trip is winding down. Tomorrow there will be a garden dedication as well as a farewell program organized by the children. We should bring tissues. Although we will be leaving El Hogar, we will each be bringing part of its spirit home with us. We are all eager to share that spirit with you.
With blessings and peace,
Carol
Friday, March 20, 2009
Jueves (March 19)
Hola a Los Familios y Amigos,
The theme for today seemed to be laughter. We had a great start with our morning devotional, again focused on responsibilidad. Priscilla drifted in a bit late due to her enthusiasm for one of the team projects...pintar con blanca. The rest of us had pretended to sleep while she dressed, had happily enjoyed our morning coffee, and were quite punctual.
The one-hour drive to the farm was an exciting lesson in the ways of Honduran roadways and drivers. The beautiful mountains were a welcome distraction as we raced around trucks on blind curves on a road with no line down the middle. (Don´t worry mom, we`re here to type up a report!). When we finally arrived at La Escuela Agricultura we all enjoyed the peaceful scenery and quiet, a welcome change from the bustle and horns of the city. Hector covered everything on our tour of the farm from the cultivation of crops to care and reproduction of the animals. It was quite impressive. We saw horses, cows, chickens, goats, stampeding sheep, a vicious dog and one big 250 lb. pig!
Our ride home was made more exciting knowing that if we did end up in a ditch, we would be covered in 300 pounds of chicken ¨"fertilizer". The sweet boys from the Farm graciously topped our van with enormous bags of chicken poo-poo, next to the five bags of Nike shoes. (more manana from Team Nike Carol)
We came back to El Hogar ready to work! We cleaned the dorm room and bathroom, swept the floors and walls all with the goal of moving the boys into the new dorm tomorrow. We were 15 women on a mission. While team Fresh Air (dos Jennys, Betsy, Celia, Ginger, Carol, Priscilla, Molly) tidied up team Green got started outside.
Team Green (Sandy, Nancy, Kate, Barbara, Stephanie and Claudia) benefited tremendously from the enthusiasm, motivation, and muscle of the 7th grade boys. They seemed to be thrilled with the work in the garden and managed to dig out a cement wall, spread lots of new, healthy dirt, and race to finish planting over 100 groundcover plants. We have a little more planting to finish up tomorrow afternoon but we made unbelievable progress in 2.5 hours.
The boys seemed to be very excited about the garden and ready to take ownership of it - hopefully thinking about watering and keeping the soccer balls and footballs out of the planting area - or at least away from the more fragile plants. They were sorry to end as the sun set, given that we still had some more planting to do, but are looking forward to finishing up tomorrow. Hopefully we will find a rock on which to paint a tribute to these amazing boys and plant it visibly in the garden. In addition, we will have a short blessing of the garden on Friday evening. Overall, a very successful day for Team Green and the 7th grade boys!
After many well deserved showers we all headed to the lovely Hotel Maya for dinner. Team WE-ep donned our finest (non-smelly) clothes and transformed into Team Giggle. We celebrated Father´s Day with Raul and laughed while we enjoyed a delicious dinner. It was a carefree and joyful time. Back at El Hogar we have full stomachs, sore muscles, and happy hearts. As a team we look forward to the wonders that tomorrow will bring.
Con Mucho Amor,
Sus Amigas: Dos Jennys, Ginger, Barbara, y Celia
The theme for today seemed to be laughter. We had a great start with our morning devotional, again focused on responsibilidad. Priscilla drifted in a bit late due to her enthusiasm for one of the team projects...pintar con blanca. The rest of us had pretended to sleep while she dressed, had happily enjoyed our morning coffee, and were quite punctual.
The one-hour drive to the farm was an exciting lesson in the ways of Honduran roadways and drivers. The beautiful mountains were a welcome distraction as we raced around trucks on blind curves on a road with no line down the middle. (Don´t worry mom, we`re here to type up a report!). When we finally arrived at La Escuela Agricultura we all enjoyed the peaceful scenery and quiet, a welcome change from the bustle and horns of the city. Hector covered everything on our tour of the farm from the cultivation of crops to care and reproduction of the animals. It was quite impressive. We saw horses, cows, chickens, goats, stampeding sheep, a vicious dog and one big 250 lb. pig!
Our ride home was made more exciting knowing that if we did end up in a ditch, we would be covered in 300 pounds of chicken ¨"fertilizer". The sweet boys from the Farm graciously topped our van with enormous bags of chicken poo-poo, next to the five bags of Nike shoes. (more manana from Team Nike Carol)
We came back to El Hogar ready to work! We cleaned the dorm room and bathroom, swept the floors and walls all with the goal of moving the boys into the new dorm tomorrow. We were 15 women on a mission. While team Fresh Air (dos Jennys, Betsy, Celia, Ginger, Carol, Priscilla, Molly) tidied up team Green got started outside.
Team Green (Sandy, Nancy, Kate, Barbara, Stephanie and Claudia) benefited tremendously from the enthusiasm, motivation, and muscle of the 7th grade boys. They seemed to be thrilled with the work in the garden and managed to dig out a cement wall, spread lots of new, healthy dirt, and race to finish planting over 100 groundcover plants. We have a little more planting to finish up tomorrow afternoon but we made unbelievable progress in 2.5 hours.
The boys seemed to be very excited about the garden and ready to take ownership of it - hopefully thinking about watering and keeping the soccer balls and footballs out of the planting area - or at least away from the more fragile plants. They were sorry to end as the sun set, given that we still had some more planting to do, but are looking forward to finishing up tomorrow. Hopefully we will find a rock on which to paint a tribute to these amazing boys and plant it visibly in the garden. In addition, we will have a short blessing of the garden on Friday evening. Overall, a very successful day for Team Green and the 7th grade boys!
After many well deserved showers we all headed to the lovely Hotel Maya for dinner. Team WE-ep donned our finest (non-smelly) clothes and transformed into Team Giggle. We celebrated Father´s Day with Raul and laughed while we enjoyed a delicious dinner. It was a carefree and joyful time. Back at El Hogar we have full stomachs, sore muscles, and happy hearts. As a team we look forward to the wonders that tomorrow will bring.
Con Mucho Amor,
Sus Amigas: Dos Jennys, Ginger, Barbara, y Celia
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday's Letter from Honduras
Greetings One and All,
Today is Wednesday, and we are more than half-way through the week. Hard to believe! Today was another very full day. Here is the report:
After a lively breakfast (as usual) in the VHouse, we were sadly once again late to the 7am devotional, although we were successful in our plan to get there before 7am, in order not to be delinquent once again. No one seemed to mind, as they were well into the discourse for the morning. The theme this week is `responsibilidad` and today focused on taking pride in homework and other activities and duties comprising the Mission for the children of El Hogar.
Today is Wednesday, and we are more than half-way through the week. Hard to believe! Today was another very full day. Here is the report:
After a lively breakfast (as usual) in the VHouse, we were sadly once again late to the 7am devotional, although we were successful in our plan to get there before 7am, in order not to be delinquent once again. No one seemed to mind, as they were well into the discourse for the morning. The theme this week is `responsibilidad` and today focused on taking pride in homework and other activities and duties comprising the Mission for the children of El Hogar.
Today`s morning excursion was to the Technical Institute where the group had a tour of all the buildings while Liz and Rich and Lazaro met to discuss a few things. The group then had the most wonderful treat to have Lazaro spend the better part of an hour talking with us about the Institute, the boys, and most amazingly, about his personal history with the early days of El Hogar and his life before coming to El Hogar. He spoke with love and passion and his commitment to his ministry here was clear to everyone. In a stroke of fortuitous and surprising forethought, Liz had put the audio recorder in her pack and got it out in time to capture most of Lazaro´s words. She is anxiously awaiting some free moments to check that it worked!
After a lunch of chicken and rice and potatoes, we rounded everyone up to return to El Hogar. There was lively discussion about the yet-to-be realized windows for the chapel, as well as the non-existant books and computers for the library and computer lab. Fifteen smart women can come up with lots of great suggestions. All were impressed with the beauty and spaciousness of the buildings and grounds at this new Institute.
Fifteen women can also tackle a multitude of multitasking activities and the afternoon was spent in pursuit of three efforts: one group (Team Green) of gardening aficionadas went to the local nursery to purchase shrubs, trees and flowers to plant in front of the newly painted and spruced up dorm building. Rumor has it they were there for 16-17 hours making many decisions sometimes several times over, and providing a week´s worth of entertainment to the very patient fellow who ran the nursery.
After a lunch of chicken and rice and potatoes, we rounded everyone up to return to El Hogar. There was lively discussion about the yet-to-be realized windows for the chapel, as well as the non-existant books and computers for the library and computer lab. Fifteen smart women can come up with lots of great suggestions. All were impressed with the beauty and spaciousness of the buildings and grounds at this new Institute.
Fifteen women can also tackle a multitude of multitasking activities and the afternoon was spent in pursuit of three efforts: one group (Team Green) of gardening aficionadas went to the local nursery to purchase shrubs, trees and flowers to plant in front of the newly painted and spruced up dorm building. Rumor has it they were there for 16-17 hours making many decisions sometimes several times over, and providing a week´s worth of entertainment to the very patient fellow who ran the nursery.
A second group (Team Fresh Air) stayed at El Hogar and continued with painting and touching up and using every last drop of paint from every can on the property. Tomorrow they will get yet more paint and continue with painting the walls until every last inch is satisfactory. I am told to report that the wooden lockers from the past couple days of painting are now happily installed in the bedroom, complete with child´s name affixed and clothing in place. ¡Gracias a Dios! This team can now move on to conquer new challenges.
The third group (Team Bed Care), modestly appointed with only Liz and Raul, went on a hunt throughout the city for new mattresses and plastic mattress covers. After an interesting stop at the local Honduran bank to do some money changing, this team arranged to have 48 new mattresses delivered tomorrow and experimented with heavy-duty mattress protection. It should be noted that after Team Bed Care was finished with their tasks, they encountered Team Green still at the local nursery pondering more floral options and discussing dirt and manure.
Seriously, the mattresses are a gift from the WE team, using the extra funds raised by all those soup lunches. The plants will create a beautiful garden in front of the dorm building, purchased with money that was spent in lieu of the standard pizza party that teams usually provide for the boys and staff. The plan is that on Friday afternoon, beds will be moved from the last remaining old dorm into the new dorm, new mattresses and pads (and sheets) installed, and the last group of children not yet living in the dorm will spend their first night in their new (fully painted) and beautifully gardened home. This will be a convergence of a week of much blood, sweat and tears, rotating project managers, and loving devotion to the completion of all these various projects.
Seriously, the mattresses are a gift from the WE team, using the extra funds raised by all those soup lunches. The plants will create a beautiful garden in front of the dorm building, purchased with money that was spent in lieu of the standard pizza party that teams usually provide for the boys and staff. The plan is that on Friday afternoon, beds will be moved from the last remaining old dorm into the new dorm, new mattresses and pads (and sheets) installed, and the last group of children not yet living in the dorm will spend their first night in their new (fully painted) and beautifully gardened home. This will be a convergence of a week of much blood, sweat and tears, rotating project managers, and loving devotion to the completion of all these various projects.
Stay tuned to see whether Friday afternoon indeed unfolds as planned. Other things we will be doing Friday afternoon is going on home visits, meeting with the dental team who is coming to install the 3rd dental chair in the El Hogar dental clinic (unloaded from a pick-up truck in one massive, unwieldy, and extremely heavy mass, and maneuvered under a canopied walkway and up two flights of narrow stairs by no less than 10 Honduran men), and perhaps distributing 100 shoes to eager children. Some say this is a Type A group, but don´t you believe it!
To back up about 24 hours, last night Dra. Barbra McCune came to the volunteer house to spend some time with the team talking about her work and life in Honduras as a missioner physician. We leaned about the health care situation in Honduras, her work with her rural clinic, and some stories of her experiences with patients. Thank you Barbra, for sharing your time and love for the people of Honduras with us!
Tomorrow we plan to visit the Farm, and in the afternoon, plant the garden and finish up the painting, and enjoy a Honduran dinner outside of El Hogar. Tune in for further adventures of Team WEep, so dubbed because of the pounds of collective tears shed daily, over heartbreaking stories of the children, inspiring and moving speeches from the staff, witnessing acts of repentance and forgiveness among the children, connecting with little ones who melt our hearts, hearing stories of Barbra´s patients, and also tears of laughter and appreciation, born of the bonds we are forming with each other.
¡Hasta manana!
Con amor y gratitud,
Liz
To back up about 24 hours, last night Dra. Barbra McCune came to the volunteer house to spend some time with the team talking about her work and life in Honduras as a missioner physician. We leaned about the health care situation in Honduras, her work with her rural clinic, and some stories of her experiences with patients. Thank you Barbra, for sharing your time and love for the people of Honduras with us!
Tomorrow we plan to visit the Farm, and in the afternoon, plant the garden and finish up the painting, and enjoy a Honduran dinner outside of El Hogar. Tune in for further adventures of Team WEep, so dubbed because of the pounds of collective tears shed daily, over heartbreaking stories of the children, inspiring and moving speeches from the staff, witnessing acts of repentance and forgiveness among the children, connecting with little ones who melt our hearts, hearing stories of Barbra´s patients, and also tears of laughter and appreciation, born of the bonds we are forming with each other.
¡Hasta manana!
Con amor y gratitud,
Liz
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Day Numero Tres
Hola Familias y Amigos!
Nancy is your scribe tonight for amazing day three at El Hogar!
The WE Tribe woke, as usual, to the blaring horns of traffic and the happy shouts of the boys sweeping outside our doors at 6:10 a.m. Great guffaws from the Presidential Suite (the noisiest room) inhabited by Jenny and Betsy, our most staid members, ensure that the 15 of us are up for coffee, the first of at least 4 pots, by 6:30. Your lively crew headed to daily chapel at 7 a.m. with the 107 beautiful children we´re so honored to get to know this week.
The chapel service held every morning with brief sermonettes takes place in the plain wood chapel with a stone floor decorated with the children´s handprints. Led by Dona Claudia, director, today's sermonette focused on "responsabilidad"--the theme of the week. Claudia, whom we all agree is one of the most remarkable human beings we have had the grace to know, clearly is mom to many. Her fierce love for "her" children, dedication to their spiritual growth, and articulate demand for their respect and commitment to learn and grow is awe-inspiring. Today, her brown eyes snapping them to attention, she talked about taking responsibility for yourself'--fully and completely. She said to them (and us), because of the love of God for you and for your brothers and sisters, you have a responsibility to love yourself and each other. When you fight, do not blame the other personñ take responsibility for your body and your actions. If you treat a teacher with disrespect, you need to ask forgiveness. You, no one else, is responsible.
Claudia commands the room, her eyes sweeping their faces, her two fingers raised in ¨"dos," demanding silence. Who, she asks, has not taken responsibility? Who? Slowly, a hand goes up in the back, and a little boy, Carlos, marches to the front and confesses to all that he fought with Yelson. Yelson comes forward and they apologize to each other, and hug. Next, a teacher comes forward and tells them all how sorry he is for having been impatient with them yesterday and that he´ll try to do better today, and he asks for their forgiveness as the children applaud. More hands. More marches to the stage. More shy smiles as little ones as small as six and as old as twelve come forward and ask forgiveness and take "responsabilidad." A few confesses to having stolen something, or having not shared, or having been unkind.
The chapel service held every morning with brief sermonettes takes place in the plain wood chapel with a stone floor decorated with the children´s handprints. Led by Dona Claudia, director, today's sermonette focused on "responsabilidad"--the theme of the week. Claudia, whom we all agree is one of the most remarkable human beings we have had the grace to know, clearly is mom to many. Her fierce love for "her" children, dedication to their spiritual growth, and articulate demand for their respect and commitment to learn and grow is awe-inspiring. Today, her brown eyes snapping them to attention, she talked about taking responsibility for yourself'--fully and completely. She said to them (and us), because of the love of God for you and for your brothers and sisters, you have a responsibility to love yourself and each other. When you fight, do not blame the other personñ take responsibility for your body and your actions. If you treat a teacher with disrespect, you need to ask forgiveness. You, no one else, is responsible.
Claudia commands the room, her eyes sweeping their faces, her two fingers raised in ¨"dos," demanding silence. Who, she asks, has not taken responsibility? Who? Slowly, a hand goes up in the back, and a little boy, Carlos, marches to the front and confesses to all that he fought with Yelson. Yelson comes forward and they apologize to each other, and hug. Next, a teacher comes forward and tells them all how sorry he is for having been impatient with them yesterday and that he´ll try to do better today, and he asks for their forgiveness as the children applaud. More hands. More marches to the stage. More shy smiles as little ones as small as six and as old as twelve come forward and ask forgiveness and take "responsabilidad." A few confesses to having stolen something, or having not shared, or having been unkind.
The love in the room is palpable, and once again the moms from Epiphany are in tears, and it´s only 7:15. By 7:30 as the parade of penitents begins to thin, you could wipe us off the floor, we are so moved. Such direct connection to God and each other seems to be the heart of El Hogar. From afar such a scene seems improbable, but as a witness, it felt immediate, honest, and saturated with love: children being honest with each other and with themselves, adults modeling the humility of accepting responsibility for one´s choices. It was beautiful.
Back to the volunteer house, gulping rounds of coffee, grabbing hard biscuits and watermelon for breakfast, 15 minutes later we headed--back to church! Since the children do not leave El Hogar generally, church comes to them once a week. Today, we gathered again for a full service, complete with guitar and hymns and full sermon from the local priest, this time on the ten commandments. (Remember, dear ones, that all of what we are witnessing is in Spanish, so we stumble in our comprehension, but we have no trouble deciphering the beauty all around us.) The kids all participated, naming the commandments, politely raising their hands, and the warm, wide priest spread her large arms around us.
We had spread out throughout the congregation (to our delight) so we could sit next to the children (and enjoy being mauled by them). We were sternly warned, however, not to disrupt the service (now when had we done that?!) by playing with the kids. Nearby, the teachers sat on benches at the side, with children hanging all over them, brown arms and bodies pressing against these talented maestras and maestros with giant hearts. Dona Claudia had so many girls hugging her that at one point you could only see her head peering out of the body press of eight little girls with ponytails sticking out in all directions. When the peace was passed, the room exploded in hugs and a melee of little bodies and warm hearts and weepy Epiphany-ites!
Church over (it's amazing how you can be exhausted by 9 a.m.), we headed off for our first full day of serious work. Our day before had been hampered by a lack of supplies, as might be expected, so today we were raring to go with our gloves and masks and rakes and rollers, we tackled the walls and yard of the new dorm. The dorm, by the way, is palatial. The dorm the kids are currently in has bunks stacked three high in tight quarters with no space between. The new dorm sits on a hill, overlooking the campus, with white wrought iron balconies, white marble-style tiled floors, beautiful spacious rooms, new modern bathrooms and cubbys for each child. It's awesome.
And we were awesome, too. Forewoman Rappole ensured we adhered to a tight schedule and Walsh and Burns and co. carried huge water bottles up the hill to the dorm so we wouldn´t be tempted to take any siestas by leaving to refill ours. Stephanie and Barbara and Ginger had raked debris from the yard yesterday and smoothed the dusty earth so the outside walls could be painted. Raul showed up with gallons of paint and sandpaper and scrapers, and Team WE tackled the upstairs and downstairs and in-between. We don´t have drop cloths so as one group spattered paint up and down the huge walls, another group followed behind scraping the dried spatters off the beautiful white marblized floor. Betsy, Cecelia, and yours truly had spent hours the day before using oil paint on cubbies, and we finished those off.
Back to the volunteer house, gulping rounds of coffee, grabbing hard biscuits and watermelon for breakfast, 15 minutes later we headed--back to church! Since the children do not leave El Hogar generally, church comes to them once a week. Today, we gathered again for a full service, complete with guitar and hymns and full sermon from the local priest, this time on the ten commandments. (Remember, dear ones, that all of what we are witnessing is in Spanish, so we stumble in our comprehension, but we have no trouble deciphering the beauty all around us.) The kids all participated, naming the commandments, politely raising their hands, and the warm, wide priest spread her large arms around us.
We had spread out throughout the congregation (to our delight) so we could sit next to the children (and enjoy being mauled by them). We were sternly warned, however, not to disrupt the service (now when had we done that?!) by playing with the kids. Nearby, the teachers sat on benches at the side, with children hanging all over them, brown arms and bodies pressing against these talented maestras and maestros with giant hearts. Dona Claudia had so many girls hugging her that at one point you could only see her head peering out of the body press of eight little girls with ponytails sticking out in all directions. When the peace was passed, the room exploded in hugs and a melee of little bodies and warm hearts and weepy Epiphany-ites!
Church over (it's amazing how you can be exhausted by 9 a.m.), we headed off for our first full day of serious work. Our day before had been hampered by a lack of supplies, as might be expected, so today we were raring to go with our gloves and masks and rakes and rollers, we tackled the walls and yard of the new dorm. The dorm, by the way, is palatial. The dorm the kids are currently in has bunks stacked three high in tight quarters with no space between. The new dorm sits on a hill, overlooking the campus, with white wrought iron balconies, white marble-style tiled floors, beautiful spacious rooms, new modern bathrooms and cubbys for each child. It's awesome.
And we were awesome, too. Forewoman Rappole ensured we adhered to a tight schedule and Walsh and Burns and co. carried huge water bottles up the hill to the dorm so we wouldn´t be tempted to take any siestas by leaving to refill ours. Stephanie and Barbara and Ginger had raked debris from the yard yesterday and smoothed the dusty earth so the outside walls could be painted. Raul showed up with gallons of paint and sandpaper and scrapers, and Team WE tackled the upstairs and downstairs and in-between. We don´t have drop cloths so as one group spattered paint up and down the huge walls, another group followed behind scraping the dried spatters off the beautiful white marblized floor. Betsy, Cecelia, and yours truly had spent hours the day before using oil paint on cubbies, and we finished those off.
We were told, however, that no one has measured to see if the cubbies (very huge) will actually fit through the now installed doors of the dorm room (tomorrow should be interesting!). Carol and Barbara often did sweep patrol after the painters and spacklers, and Jenny Rappole did more showing off by climbing to the top of a very tall ladder with a giant roller on a long long pole to paint the stairwell (Pricilla and Carol made sure the ladder stayed still, so Jenny is still in one piece, thankfully. Molly manned the drips on the stairs while Kate and Celia and Jenny and Claudia painted their hearts out. Walls glowed, dirt disappeared, much paint spilled, much paint wiped up, much water drunk, much happiness and WooHoos all around.
Happily tired at 12, back for lunch outside--yes, folks, it's a glorious barely 70 with light breezes here--we even went to the little shop on the campus for Frescas and Fantas and some odd chips while we waited for a lunch of fresh cucumbers with carrots and tomatoes and flavorful rice and pulled beef with tortillas for lunch on benches around a giant tree. Back to work at 1:00, we painted all that hadn't been finished before and did drip and spatter patrol yet again. We spent a lot of time on our hands and knees returning the tiles to their pristine condition and worked until a team of 8 tackled the last room and did the whole thing in about 20 minutes! Muy rapido!
Time for showers, journals, Dove chocolates, plaintain chips, and trail mix. Dinner was al fresco as well, and we caught up with Ginger, Sandy, and Barbara McCune, Rick´s fiance, who had just returned from a day visiting a hospital. Ginger, like Barbara, is a physician and Sandy has worked in labs, and the three of them had sad stories to share over dinner about wards with no physicians, stroke victims with no PTs or OTs, and an emergency ward with 50 people in them with only one medical person writing notes in the room. Each time we learn more in this place, we are humbled by all that we take for granted.
After dinner ( chicken stew with rice and tortillas), we headed out to play with the boys. And a wild evening it was! Between the jump ropes, new coloring books, new games, and balloons--which we tied into perros, flores, sombreros and espadas (dogs, flowers, hats and swords!)--tonight was a circus of laughter, color, and excitement--as well as many full laps. I had a bag of balloons on my lap and when, two seconds later, I looked down, the entire bag was empty, and a crowd of children surrounded me each with a single balloon.
Happily tired at 12, back for lunch outside--yes, folks, it's a glorious barely 70 with light breezes here--we even went to the little shop on the campus for Frescas and Fantas and some odd chips while we waited for a lunch of fresh cucumbers with carrots and tomatoes and flavorful rice and pulled beef with tortillas for lunch on benches around a giant tree. Back to work at 1:00, we painted all that hadn't been finished before and did drip and spatter patrol yet again. We spent a lot of time on our hands and knees returning the tiles to their pristine condition and worked until a team of 8 tackled the last room and did the whole thing in about 20 minutes! Muy rapido!
Time for showers, journals, Dove chocolates, plaintain chips, and trail mix. Dinner was al fresco as well, and we caught up with Ginger, Sandy, and Barbara McCune, Rick´s fiance, who had just returned from a day visiting a hospital. Ginger, like Barbara, is a physician and Sandy has worked in labs, and the three of them had sad stories to share over dinner about wards with no physicians, stroke victims with no PTs or OTs, and an emergency ward with 50 people in them with only one medical person writing notes in the room. Each time we learn more in this place, we are humbled by all that we take for granted.
After dinner ( chicken stew with rice and tortillas), we headed out to play with the boys. And a wild evening it was! Between the jump ropes, new coloring books, new games, and balloons--which we tied into perros, flores, sombreros and espadas (dogs, flowers, hats and swords!)--tonight was a circus of laughter, color, and excitement--as well as many full laps. I had a bag of balloons on my lap and when, two seconds later, I looked down, the entire bag was empty, and a crowd of children surrounded me each with a single balloon.
One boy, Carlos, handed me his sister´s balloon, demanding a flower for her. He showed off by pumping it up with me with his strong arms. When her balloon popped, he promptly handed me his (which was to have been a sword) and said, Angelina can have mine, make her a flower, por favor. Carol played Memory four times with one child, Molly received a drawing from one little girl, Barbara and Ginger and Kate kept the jump ropes swirling all night long and others played Jenga or drew while Betsy handed out friendship bracelets from the Epiphany Sunday School kids to all who lined up. We stayed out late until Banana Time was called (each night before bed each child receives a snack, no hungry tummies) and the kids turned in.
Tonight Barbara McCune is speaking of her missionary work here as a physician in Honduras where she charges $6 a visit in a local clinic, and today we found Liz's devotions (finally) so we will share the New Zealand prayerbook instead of Compline.
Two final notes: Kate and Stephanie and Carol and others have done a shewoman´s job of putting together the 200 Nikes we have brought in our luggage to donate. Somehow, somewhere, the shoes got mixed up (thank you for the smart spouses who suggested tying the shoes together) so we ended up with many right feet only and mismatched sizes which had to be carefully sorted and recorded. The volunteer house looks like a shoe store!
The other note is for the Owaydas and all the sponsors (Pam, will you forward to Suzanne?). I brought down a photo album for them of the Owayda family for the little girl they sponsor, Reina ("queen"). Well, I gave the photos to her last night, and she was so touched to receive them that she couldn't decide whether to share them or to horde them and did both alternately, a response which Liz says is typical.
Tonight Barbara McCune is speaking of her missionary work here as a physician in Honduras where she charges $6 a visit in a local clinic, and today we found Liz's devotions (finally) so we will share the New Zealand prayerbook instead of Compline.
Two final notes: Kate and Stephanie and Carol and others have done a shewoman´s job of putting together the 200 Nikes we have brought in our luggage to donate. Somehow, somewhere, the shoes got mixed up (thank you for the smart spouses who suggested tying the shoes together) so we ended up with many right feet only and mismatched sizes which had to be carefully sorted and recorded. The volunteer house looks like a shoe store!
The other note is for the Owaydas and all the sponsors (Pam, will you forward to Suzanne?). I brought down a photo album for them of the Owayda family for the little girl they sponsor, Reina ("queen"). Well, I gave the photos to her last night, and she was so touched to receive them that she couldn't decide whether to share them or to horde them and did both alternately, a response which Liz says is typical.
At chapel this morning, I noticed that Reina had the album in her hand, was secretively showing it to her friends during the sermon, and when hands were called on, hers was always in the air, album held high. So, this is just to say to all you sponsors, you matter a whole lot, a whole whole lot. My brother sponsors a young boy here, Johan, and tonight, he and his buddy came and poked me until I understood to play hide and seek which we did all over campus while they laughed and corrected my (non)Spanish!
Hasta Manana, mis amigos! Dios te bendiga!
Nancy
Hasta Manana, mis amigos! Dios te bendiga!
Nancy
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Day 3, March 16 - Email from Molly Joseph
Buenos noches from the Gals in Honduras! This is Molly Joseph typing tonight`s email.
Today was a busy and fun filled day for all of us. After waking up bright and early at 6 AM, we went to have the morning devotional with the kids. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and beans (again), we met with Claudia, the Director of El Hogar. She filled us in on the mission of El Hogar and how she considers all of the kids "her children".
Some members of El Hogar`s newest class were introduced to us, with Claudia telling their very moving stories; there was not a dry eye in the house. Later this morning, we all went "back to school" with the children. We observed Spanish, Math, Social Studies, Science and we interacted with the first grade class.
This afternoon after lunch, we all got to work. Raul (Claudia`s husband) showed us the work that needed to be done in the big, new gorgeous dormitory. We all donned our surgeon`s maskes and got to work sanding, painting, and cleaning the sceond floor of the dorm so the boys can move in as soon as possible!
After we got back to our lovely lodgings, we all took showers before our dinner of tortillas and beans (again). Tomorrow it is more painting and fixing up the dorms. We you all love and we are all thinking of our friends and family back home.
Until tomorrow,-- Molly Joseph
Today was a busy and fun filled day for all of us. After waking up bright and early at 6 AM, we went to have the morning devotional with the kids. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and beans (again), we met with Claudia, the Director of El Hogar. She filled us in on the mission of El Hogar and how she considers all of the kids "her children".
Some members of El Hogar`s newest class were introduced to us, with Claudia telling their very moving stories; there was not a dry eye in the house. Later this morning, we all went "back to school" with the children. We observed Spanish, Math, Social Studies, Science and we interacted with the first grade class.
This afternoon after lunch, we all got to work. Raul (Claudia`s husband) showed us the work that needed to be done in the big, new gorgeous dormitory. We all donned our surgeon`s maskes and got to work sanding, painting, and cleaning the sceond floor of the dorm so the boys can move in as soon as possible!
After we got back to our lovely lodgings, we all took showers before our dinner of tortillas and beans (again). Tomorrow it is more painting and fixing up the dorms. We you all love and we are all thinking of our friends and family back home.
Until tomorrow,-- Molly Joseph
Day 2 - Email from Kate Reynolds
hola from El Hogar on day 2 !
We woke up to a beautiful, sunny, clear day, temp around 80, leasurely morning with time to chat over coffee and cornflakes, make a few friendship bracelets then dress for church after 15 showers 1 half the night before and 1 half in the a.m. All 15 of us actually fit in the van as we zoomed into Tegucigalpa traffic with Raoul at the wheel driving like he was in a video game.
We drove 20 minutes to a contemporary and airy church, Santa Eucarista Rito Dos, entering to native, lovely music playing from the loft overhead. The service was nearly 2 hours long en espagnol with some parts easier to follow than others. The congregation recited the Credo Niceno quite briskly. About half way through, some specially chosen el hogar children, dressed up and smiling, paraded in to sit with us. They were noticeably well behaved and attentive. At the peace the entire church greeted each other in such a warm and friendly way.
We then treated the children to lunch at Pizza Hut where there was a playplace which they thoroughly enjoyed. After lunch we visited a plentiful supermarket to pick up some milk, fruit and munchies. This well stocked market visit contrasted sharply to the view from our return drive through one of the poorer sections of town on the way home, many shacks with people looking hungry, tired and bored.
Upon our return we played with the children, everything from legos to football and soccer. They are great players, thoroughly immersed in the task at hand and appreciative of our attention. When the bell rang, they lined up for dinner, orderly in 6 straight lines and waited for their names to be called. Dinner was beans, fried bananas and scrambled eggs with ham then many from our group read bedtime stories in the new dorm to the girls.
All in all, a unique Sunday for all of us !! Check out a blog started at http://poe-el-hogar.blogspot.com . Buenos Noces and photos coming soon . . . . .
We woke up to a beautiful, sunny, clear day, temp around 80, leasurely morning with time to chat over coffee and cornflakes, make a few friendship bracelets then dress for church after 15 showers 1 half the night before and 1 half in the a.m. All 15 of us actually fit in the van as we zoomed into Tegucigalpa traffic with Raoul at the wheel driving like he was in a video game.
We drove 20 minutes to a contemporary and airy church, Santa Eucarista Rito Dos, entering to native, lovely music playing from the loft overhead. The service was nearly 2 hours long en espagnol with some parts easier to follow than others. The congregation recited the Credo Niceno quite briskly. About half way through, some specially chosen el hogar children, dressed up and smiling, paraded in to sit with us. They were noticeably well behaved and attentive. At the peace the entire church greeted each other in such a warm and friendly way.
We then treated the children to lunch at Pizza Hut where there was a playplace which they thoroughly enjoyed. After lunch we visited a plentiful supermarket to pick up some milk, fruit and munchies. This well stocked market visit contrasted sharply to the view from our return drive through one of the poorer sections of town on the way home, many shacks with people looking hungry, tired and bored.
Upon our return we played with the children, everything from legos to football and soccer. They are great players, thoroughly immersed in the task at hand and appreciative of our attention. When the bell rang, they lined up for dinner, orderly in 6 straight lines and waited for their names to be called. Dinner was beans, fried bananas and scrambled eggs with ham then many from our group read bedtime stories in the new dorm to the girls.
All in all, a unique Sunday for all of us !! Check out a blog started at http://poe-el-hogar.blogspot.com . Buenos Noces and photos coming soon . . . . .
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Email from Priscilla Burns March 14, 2009
Hola from El Hogar! we all arrived safely ... including Priscilla flying standby, Sandy coming from Denver and Nancy coming by a more circuitous route.
Everyone was impressed with their landing at one of the world´s top 10 most ... well, let´s say challenging airports! Also, we were all astounded at the gorgeous new Tegucigalpa airport ... we were expecting a Quonset hut, but arrived in a truly lovely new facility ... Sandy and I arrived together on Delta and wondered if we were in the right place!
Those of you who have been here before would be amazed to see the magnificent new dormitory. Originally, I thought it was for the girls, but it is for all the children and it is a wonder -- up on a hill at the back of the property with an incredible view. They have moved in the youngest boys and all the girls. The girls´room is painted bright pink and each bed has a Disney princess bedspread. We came in just as everyone was finishing their afternoon showers and the girls were getting their hair done. They are absolutely adorable and loved learning our names and teaching us theirs. We will be doing some finishing work on that building -- sanding walls, painting, etc.
We are blessed to have with us Claudia Bell who is a retired Spanish teacher. Not only is she fluent, she knows how to interact with the children and has led us in a variety of games including gatto gatto perro . . . the Honduran version of duck duck goose! For those of you not bilingual as we are . . . it is cat cat dog! We drew with sidewalk chalk and jumped rope and will all sleep through any street noise tonight for sure!
My biggest thrill was showing pictures my daughter Elizabeth took 5 years ago and learning where each of the boys in the pictures is now. Some of them are still here and two of them have come and had their pictures taken holding the picture from 5 years ago!
The weather is lovely -- we are all beyond thrilled to be in warmer climes! The showers are interesting, but two have ventured in and lived to tell the tale. We had a delicious dinner of chicken and rice . . . tho´the vegetarians among us had to manage with granola bars and cereals. Knowing that it will be a challenge to get 15 women up, dressed and out of the ´house at the same time, we came up with a schedule and hopefully won´t be late to church a la manana!
We are going shortly with Claudia to read a bedtime story to the girls ... and then will probably collapse in bed ourselves.
Buenos noches from all of us to all of you. We love you and appreciate your support and prayers!-- from Priscilla tonight . . . and other on other nights ... and perhaps tomorrow with pictures.
PS -- there doesn´t seem to be spell check on this, so please forgive my spelling errors!
Everyone was impressed with their landing at one of the world´s top 10 most ... well, let´s say challenging airports! Also, we were all astounded at the gorgeous new Tegucigalpa airport ... we were expecting a Quonset hut, but arrived in a truly lovely new facility ... Sandy and I arrived together on Delta and wondered if we were in the right place!
Those of you who have been here before would be amazed to see the magnificent new dormitory. Originally, I thought it was for the girls, but it is for all the children and it is a wonder -- up on a hill at the back of the property with an incredible view. They have moved in the youngest boys and all the girls. The girls´room is painted bright pink and each bed has a Disney princess bedspread. We came in just as everyone was finishing their afternoon showers and the girls were getting their hair done. They are absolutely adorable and loved learning our names and teaching us theirs. We will be doing some finishing work on that building -- sanding walls, painting, etc.
We are blessed to have with us Claudia Bell who is a retired Spanish teacher. Not only is she fluent, she knows how to interact with the children and has led us in a variety of games including gatto gatto perro . . . the Honduran version of duck duck goose! For those of you not bilingual as we are . . . it is cat cat dog! We drew with sidewalk chalk and jumped rope and will all sleep through any street noise tonight for sure!
My biggest thrill was showing pictures my daughter Elizabeth took 5 years ago and learning where each of the boys in the pictures is now. Some of them are still here and two of them have come and had their pictures taken holding the picture from 5 years ago!
The weather is lovely -- we are all beyond thrilled to be in warmer climes! The showers are interesting, but two have ventured in and lived to tell the tale. We had a delicious dinner of chicken and rice . . . tho´the vegetarians among us had to manage with granola bars and cereals. Knowing that it will be a challenge to get 15 women up, dressed and out of the ´house at the same time, we came up with a schedule and hopefully won´t be late to church a la manana!
We are going shortly with Claudia to read a bedtime story to the girls ... and then will probably collapse in bed ourselves.
Buenos noches from all of us to all of you. We love you and appreciate your support and prayers!-- from Priscilla tonight . . . and other on other nights ... and perhaps tomorrow with pictures.
PS -- there doesn´t seem to be spell check on this, so please forgive my spelling errors!
Welcome and Introduction
This BLOG is a place to post emails and pictures from Parish of the Epiphany members who travel to El Hogar. The first posts include emails and photos from the the Women of Epiphany trip in March, 2009.
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