A Tour

I am so thankful for the invention of the camera. Looking back on the pictures taken in Honduras, I suddenly am there again, talking with friends, laughing at all our Spanish mistakes, worshiping side-by-side on Saturdays. One of the things I like most about photos though, is I can bring you along. You can meet some of the people I met, and see some of the things I saw. It's not much, but it's a window to my summer, and I would love it if you would peer through with me.

This is the team, minus the leaders. The friendships formed with this team (along with all the inside jokes!) made this summer something special that cannot be replaced. I'm so glad I met every single one of these jovenes (young peeps).

This is the team who went to Limon. They either helped in the day care, the nutrition center, the English classes or the computer classes. I know from what the leaders have said that they really blessed the children and the staff with their presence, smiles, and friendships. 

This is the HIV/AIDS support team. These two women are fantastic -- they pour themselves into everyone they meet -- the people they assist, and the two girls from our team that got to spend a summer with them.

And here's my homies (haha): the Casa Hogar Vida team. I love that we got to hang out every day for two whole months! We were definitely a close family by the time we left... Mrrr! Miss them!

We hosted an exercise class for the women to get a chance to meet each other in the Casa Hogar Vida neighborhood. By the end, four women were consistently showing up (unfortunately one was sick this day) -- by the end of the summer, it was a normal sight to see the four women sitting together in the park or on a porch. I loved sitting with them. So much fun. The women were excited about the class, not only to get to know each other, but also to get healthier -- the woman in the middle-left lost twelve pounds in a month! Xan (left) did a fantastic job of teaching the women exercises and really emphasizing that God loves our whole selves -- the spiritual part of us and the physical part!

Speaking of the spiritual part of us, here's the women's Bible study we had every Wednesday. We went through Acts 2:42-47, which talks about the early church community. It was so encouraging to share what we knew with them, and to have them share with us; I think we all learned a lot! I was inspired to witness their passion to know God more.

Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday were class days for the kids! Tuesday was Bible class, and the other days were English. It was challenging but awesome to see the kids grow -- a few of them were extremely dedicated and learned a ton. The girl in the pink shirt is one of them :-)

 This is Sarah -- she goes to my school too. We worked now and then in Manualidades, the craft shop. Sarah was the main girl of our team to help Manualidades -- I mostly just helped with translating and making bracelets. It was fun! Everything they sell is handmade, and gives the women a source of income, which is desperately needed. They're talented, too! The bags and jewelry are very well-made. 

One day, I had the opportunity to teach mediation to the leaders at Casa Hogar Vida. I had just taken that class in the spring, so I was able to translate my notes into Spanish and teach them the basics. As with every community, there have been relational conflicts, and I was glad I got to share what I know to help resolve them. God definitely planned that out, giving me tools at the right time to pass on to others. He's pretty cool like that!

Once I got more confident in Spanish, I spent a few mornings reading the Bible to some of the women at Casa who can't read, one of which is pictured with her family. It was wonderful to talk with them, to share what I liked about the passage and to hear their insights. After, we would just chat about life. This was my favorite part of my job :-)

We went to the malnutrition clinic at the city hospital, where six babies and their mothers were crammed in a tiny room. It was heartbreaking to see, and to hear the stories of the women. They had to stay at the hospital 24/7, even though they often had other kids at home in the more rural areas of Honduras. The hospital would take care of the symptoms of malnutrition, but then send them back once they were out of the crisis -- too often the babies would die later.

It was sad to hear, but it made me hold onto God even more. He cares about the mothers and the kids in that sweaty, dingy room. He can bring them hope and provide for them, if we would just open our mouths and tell them about Him, and open up our resources to help. That's one of the biggest things I learned this summer: Jesus, and all that he brings, is the only solution. His death and resurrection for us, to reconcile us to him, is the greatest love story of all time. And that's what these people need: LOVE.

Thank you for looking through the window to my summer with me. I'm going to leave you with a couple more quick pictures, but I wanted to end with this: The world needs Christ. If you don't know him, you should give him a chance. He will change your life in awesome ways. Ask me how he changed mine sometime :-) If you do know him, I just want to ask you, does it show? Are your actions ones of love towards others? Are you using your resources to help others and bring God's kingdom to earth?

Now I leave you with some last quick glances out the window:

These are the twins who live in the orphanage at Casa Hogar Vida

This is the tia (aunt) who works at the orphanage. She became a good friend of mine.

This woman has HIV, but she doesn't let it interfere with her friendly spirit.

This woman also has HIV -- her story is beautiful! She also became a good friend of mine

These are her two boys, who rock my world and brighten my life!

Thanks for coming!