Good Afternoon,
Our team of five returned this week from our ten-day mission to Honduras. As is normal, not everything went according to our plan but in many cases things turned out better than we planned!
We had numerous opportunities to spend time with the children of the Hogar which is the principal purpose of the July trips. Here are a few of the joint activities:
Pancake breakfast
Suppers with the children at the Hogar on two separate nights
Supper with the older teens and supper with the younger kiddos (separately) at our guest house (followed by Christmas in July)
Christmas in July: we had more donated items and money given for this focus than any trip in memory. The vast majority of the items given were some kind of clothing. We took good footwear for every child and their adult caregivers. Without exception, when the boys took off their shoes to try on the new footwear, they had large holes in their socks. Thankfully, we brought a ton of socks with us!
Helping with homework and book-reading for fun.
River Walk: a five-hour excursion not for the aged (like my wife and I) or for the faint-of-heart
Soccer and numerous other games during free time
Evening worship/vespers at the Hogar
In addition, Lev took on several repair projects at the Hogar, including the remodeling of the children's bathroom; Ann baked a boatload of cookies; Leah (a recent college grad and soccer player) showed the kiddos a thing or two on the soccer field; Anita read a ton of books to the children.
We are still looking for a good way to put Casa Banks to use. We have been meeting with a group that is interested in starting a school for the deaf and using our facility to do so. They met again while we were there and may, in fact, start a class in September to see how it goes. Please continue to pray about this possibility.
The board for our Clinic NGO (diagnostic clinic in our basement) also met during the trip. There has been some progress made toward government recognition/approval but, like most things in Honduras, the process is VERY slow. We would appreciate your prayers for this as well.
There are fewer children and teens at the Hogar than in previous years. From a high of about 60, there are now about 40. But, children still do find their way to the Hogar doors. Two days before our departure, a mother brought her two-year-old son, David, to the Hogar and said that she could no longer take care of him. David became the newest member of the Hogar family that day. He was warmly welcomed by the other children.
I am attaching several photos. I hope you enjoy them!
Thank you again for your prayers and support of this mission to Honduras! Our next trip will be October 25-November 1 (a medical-emphasis trip). Let me know if you are interested in going.
With gratitude,
Owen
