Reflections from a Christendom College Student

Our recent trip to Honduras was an incredible, eye-opening experience in many ways.  Although only a four- hour plane ride away, stepping off of the airplane into the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere from the metropolitan DC area was like walking into a different world.  The first thing that hit us while driving from the hills of Tegucigalpa to the flatter region of El Conejo, where we did most of our work, was the abject poverty of the people.  Many were walking from their houses to the towns barefoot, or riding a pony.  The homes themselves were little more than cardboard, with newspaper serving as a covering for the doors and windows.  The children were carrying heavy loads of fruits and vegetables on their backs to sell at little roadside stands to help their families make a living.  All of these things which seemed so commonplace to them were completely different than we in our modern luxurious society had ever witnessed. 

Soon after our arrival, we were able to meet the children we were going to form a pretty tight bond with before our trip was over.  They were the sons and daughters of abused mothers who lived in a home for women established by the APUFRAM founder “Fr. Emil,” as we called this “Mother Theresa” of Honduras.  The home was built on the same site as an all girls’ school, which we were also able to frequently visit and make friends at.  Spending so much time with these simple, yet blissfully happy children was the highlight of our trip.  We did activities with them like making tie-dye shirts, drawing pictures with crayons and markers, and playing soccer and baseball.  One of the boys told us, “We are poor, but our hearts are rich,” which was visibly apparent with all the Hondurans we came across with.  Those who had almost nothing were willing to share with us foreigners even those few things which they had. They had a bigger impact on our lives than we, who came as missionaries, had on theirs.

All in all, it was a life-changing experience.  We are all deeply grateful to have had this unique opportunity, and thankful to Christendom College for providing it for us.  We would go back in a heartbeat if the occasion arose again, and would recommend the trip for anyone who is willing to give a very little bit to receive a hundredfold in return. 

Elizabeth Twaddle

Christendom College

Yay for Volunteers!

Last week a group of 12 volunteers from Christendom College in Virginia traveled to Honduras to work with our children and APUFRAM. This was Christendom's second year coming to Honduras and it was a very positive experience for everyone. For their work project, the group helped with the irrigation system for 200 new banana plants that were just planted. They all said they wanted to do hard, manual labor so that is what we gave them! They enjoyed learning about agriculture from Emin and Roger, the APUFRAM employees in charge of the project. By the end of the morning, they were tired, but felt good about the work they accomplished.

The group spent their afternoons doing activities with the children at the different sites- the Mother's Project, Guadalupe, and La Villa. They brought materials for every kid to have a chance to tie-dye a shirt. It was a very messy, but fun project that the kids really enjoyed. They loved seeing how they turned out when the rubber bands were taken off. When I went up there this afternoon, nearly half of them were wearing their tie-dye shirts. The volunteers commented on the great joy that they experienced when playing with the children. They said that although they have so little, they were much happier and loving than most of the kids they know in the United States. The last evening they were here, it was very hard for them to say goodbye.

I am so grateful to the Christendom College group for being the first group to come since June. I can't even explain the joy and hope it brought to the kids to have volunteers to play with again. When I got here in September, the kids asked me every day when a group was going to come. About January, they stopped asking, almost resigning to the fact that groups were not coming any more. So imagine their surprise when these volunteers showed up! Now they keep asking me when the next group is coming.

I truly think that this trip changed lives. The kids, especially those new students who have never experienced a volunteer group, were shown that people in the United States truly care about them and love them. I tell them this all the time, but it means so much more when they can actually experience that love and care first-hand. I also think that this trip changed the lives of the volunteers. They all said that they want to come back to Honduras some day, some possibly as a long-term volunteers. We look forward to more volunteer groups and long-term volunteers coming in the future. If you or someone you know wishes to volunteer, please go to apufram.org for more information.

Peace and Blessings,
Megan

School Days

Saludes a Todos!

Well, the school year is well under way and every day is an adventure. I am teaching English class two days a week and computer class one day a week. I teach both subjects to all six grades. This year, the boys from La Villa San Antonio (our elementary school boys boarding facility) are attending the same school as the girls from Guadalupe. It has definitely been an adjustment for everyone now that we have more boys that girls in the class when last year there were a lot more girls than boys.

There are a lot of new students this year and all the teachers were worried that it would cause a problem in the classes. But once again, the kids have shone like stars at the beginning of the year. The first day, many of the new students would not even talk. They were very confused and visibly nervous. It was easy to tell who was new. But after the first day, some of the "old" students started befriending the new students, explaining things to them, helping them with their work, etc. Now, a little over a week into the school year, it is much harder to tell which students are in their first year here and which ones aren't. One thing I will never get tired of is seeing the tremendous love our kids have in their hearts and how willing they are to share it with others, even someone who may be "different."

The English classes that I am teaching are going pretty well. It is difficult because some of the students have been here for several years and therefore know some English and some of the new kids have never spoken a word of English in their lives. For the most part, the kids love learning English. They always tell me what a "strange" language it is. But we play games and do activities to make it fun, so they love English class even if it a little bit difficult for them. I am amazed by how quickly some of the students pick it up. There are a few that if I teach them a word one time, they will remember it forever. It really speaks to the fact that some people are naturally gifted in certain areas. Once the kids learn a new word, they are very proud of their new knowledge. I love when they come up to me and start using the vocabulary or grammar they have learned.

Computer class is the class that most of the kids look forward to all week. Right now, we only have six working computers and some of the classes have 35 kids. Figuring out how to give them all a chance to use the computer in a 40 minute class has been a challenge. I was so scared the first day of computer class. I was sure that it was going to be a disaster, especially since I was loosing my voice and could not talk much at all. However, God must have been watching over me, because the classes went better than I ever could have expected. The kids can sense when they have to be on their best  behavior and thankfully I had one kid in each class who wanted to act as my "translator." I whispered the instruction and they repeated them to the whole class. I am actually really excited to go more "in depth" with computer class this year. The kids love it so much and know that it is a privilege to be there, so they are generally very well-behaved in class. I think I even found a way to print things that they make on the computer, so they will finally be able to see the finished product that a computer can generate.

Please continue to pray for our children, especially those who may be feeling homesick. We continue to pray for all of our supports.

Peace and Blessings,
Megan

Sharing and Strangers

Hola Amigos!

Sorry it been a VERY long time since my last post. When I realized that it had been so long, I started thinking about why I don't write as much. I think it is because this life has become so natural for me. Things that a year ago I may have thought of as "something to write home about" now seem normal and I don't think about it as much. Anyways, here are some of the highlights of the last month: 

* The kids have returned. On the day they came back, the first thing a few of them did was come running to my house to see me. It made me so happy to know that they missed me, although probably not as much as I missed them. Many students did not return, which always worries me. There are many reasons that they don't come back, but I don't think it's usually because there parents aren't poor anymore or their living situation has gotten better. I just pray that they are safe and happy wherever they are. I had a few kids tell me that next year, they don't want to go home for Christmas because here people love them and they are much happier. I almost cried when they told me this. I can't even imagine what their home is like if they don't even want to go visit. 

I was very touched as I watched all the kids become reunited with their friends. They were genuinely happy to see each other. It reminded me of moving back to college after summer break, which is essentially what it is for them. Of course, everyone was talking about what they did over their break (which rarely included anything other than staying at home and playing with family and friends). Some of the students returned with new toys and treats from different family members or friends. Some even returned with a little bit of money, which they promptly spent on candy or chips (typical kids). Some children returned with even less than they left with. What I noticed was that the kids who had new things did not brag about them or keep them to themselves. They quickly shared their doll or puzzle and gave their friends candy and chips until there was hardly any left for themselves. This is probably the one of the few special treats they will get just for themselves this entire year (if they get anything else special, usually everyone else gets it too). And without even thinking about it, they shared with their friends and even with the new girls. I find this truly incredible, but not at all surprising from these kids. 

* I had an incredible meeting of fellow Americans on Sunday, "a God moment" as we are calling it. I was treating myself to Wendy's and was just about to leave (literally taking my last drink), when this guy came up to me and said "you look American." We started talking and I found out that he was leading a group of missionaries (from my hometown of CHICAGO!). They work with orphanages around Comayagua. One is literally across the highway from the volunteer center. I see it all the time, but have never visited. They happened to be going there that afternoon and asked if I wanted to join. It is an orphanage for boys and is smaller than our place. After we spent some time there, I took them on a tour of the Mother's Project and Guadalupe. They really enjoyed seeing it. They invited me out to dinner as well. I know that they were complete strangers, but I felt comfortable with them. They were very kind and very interested in my work. 

We also went to the orphanage for girls and younger boys. I was very impressed by how well it was run. The kids all go to local schools and this all seemed to be coordinated perfectly. As I was talking to the girls, I was shocked by how similar they were to the girls at Guadalupe and the Mother's Project. They asked me the exact same questions the girls ask me all the time (is the US beautiful, do I have a boyfriend, what's it like to speak English, how do you say my name in English, etc.) I was surprised by how quickly I felt connected to these girls. Of course, I still love my kids more than anything, but it gave me another perspective. I also got some ideas from their place, the biggest being the beautiful American playgrounds and soccer fields they had. Dreams for the future for us. I was touched by the generosity of this group of strangers to invite me along on their trip and to open their hearts and minds to our kids. They gave me a bunch of clothes and toys for our kids because they saw the need when they walked through. I truly felt the grace of God in connecting me to these people. Now I can look across the street and not think "I wonder what that is" but think about the people and kids I met over there. 

*School is starting on Monday, so we have been preparing classrooms, lesson plans, and class lists this week. We will have over 130 students this year! Several classes have 30 students in them. If we don't find another teacher soon, third and fourth grade will have to be combined, leaving one teacher with 50 students! Please pray for the teachers and children as we start the new school year. 

Well once I started writing, I guess I found a lot to talk about. I hope it was not too long. Please keep all of us in your prayers and we will keep all of you in ours. Thank you for your support of our children!

Peace and Blessings,

Megan

A Honduran Christmas

Hola Amigos!

Almost all of the kids are on vacation, so it has been really quiet around here. Most of the kids will be back on Friday and I am SO excited. I was not aware of just how much I would miss them. I find myself thinking about them all the time- wondering what they are doing and if they are OK. I know that for a lot of them, their home lives are not that great (which is why they are here), so I worry about them. Needless to say, I don't know who will be happier that they are back- me or them.

A mom and her three kids and one girl from Guadalupe, the girl's boarding facility, have been here the whole time. The six of us have become like a little family in the last month. We have done lots of fun things together that we wouldn't have been able to do if all the kids had been here. I have really enjoyed getting to know these kids better.

Anyways, I am sure that you want to hear about Christmas in Honduras, so here it is:

*A few days before Christmas, I had the kids that were here come over and make sugar cookies. Decorating sugar cookies was a tradition in my family, so I thought I would try it with them. They were skeptical at first (one even asked if we could watch a movie instead), but once I showed them what to do, they got into it and were good little bakers. I had already made the dough and baked some of the cookies so they could start decorating right away. I had them take turns helping me roll out the dough and cut out the cookies. I tried to find Christmas cookies cutters but couldn't so we made mini animals that I think were made for use with Play-Doh and circles (with a plastic cup as the cookie cutter). They thought it was a pretty cool process. One girl was very good at rolling out the dough and cutting out the cookies. Eventually I just let her do it and I worked on the other things. We ran out of frosting (tragedy) halfway through the cookies. Luckily I remember reading about painting cookies before baking them. So I ran and got the recipe and we painted the cookies. They turned out really cute. It was so much fun to do something that for me was tradition with kids who had never experienced it. They liked it so much that the next day they asked when we were going to do it again. I wasn't planning on it, but next week we are going to make cookies to give the kids and moms as "welcome back" treats. They are counting down the days until we make more "galletas."

* Christmas Eve, we had Mass at the high school and then afterwards we ate tamales (the traditional Honduran Christmas food) and drank hot chocolate. Any kids that were still around as well as APUFRAM staff members and their families attended. It was fun and the food was delicious. The kids had never had hot chocolate before and were scared to drink it because it was hot. Even after 15 minutes, they wouldn't drink it. I finally showed them how to blow on it to cool it off and then to just take a sip. Once they figured out how to drink it without burning their mouths, they couldn't stop. They kept going back for more:) We stayed out pretty late, which was a big deal for the kids. We all slept in on Christmas morning.

* Christmas Day, we had a huge feast at the high school. It was very "Americanized"- turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, baked beans, corn, etc- but it was so good. Again, most of this was new food for the kids, but once they tried it they liked it. We all left with very full tummies and big smiles on our faces.

In the evening, the kids and I had "our" Christmas celebration. I brought over some of the cookies we made, we watched a Christmas movie and I gave them a couple little gifts. That is when it really felt like Christmas. When they got their gifts, they didn't even know what to do. I had to tell them to open them and see what was inside. They were just little things from the dollar store (a doll, a foam ball, a Princess toy, a bracelet, etc.), but they acted like they got a shiny new bike. Their faces when they open the presents were priceless. I almost cried watching them look at their new toys. These were the only gifts they got for Christmas and they were so happy. They hardly ever get "new" things, so they didn't even want to take them out of the package at first. But after a while, they were playing with them and thinking of all the things that these little toys could become. Did you know that a "slap" bracelet could also be a telephone and a spoon and a runway for a Barbie doll? Being with these kids on Christmas was such a blessing. It reminded me what Christmas is all about. It is not about the biggest presents or the perfect celebrations, but about being with people you love and sharing the joy and peace of the season.

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year wherever you were. May God bless us all in the coming year!

Peace and Blessings,
Megan

Through the Eyes of Children

As you know, we have been hosting Honduran retreat groups in our house on weekends. This weekend we had a group that has been coming for several years. One of the women that was attending the retreat brought her three young kids along. As I have the natural habit of befriending children, they were my buddies throughout the weekend. Basically, that means I had four boys following me around for three and a half days. They were some of the most adorable and sweet children I have ever met, which made me willing to let them use our games and watch movies.

I was particularly impressed by an eight year old boy named Daniel. One night, I was walking to my room and he was laying in a hammock. He said hi to me and asked me a question, so we started talking. He said, "tell me about your life." I asked him what he meant and he said he wanted to know all about my life in the United States and in Honduras. He was genuinely interested in my life, not just asking questions the way kids do. I told him all about my life in the states and he hung on every word and really tried to understand about snow, my big family, my job, etc. I seriously felt like I was talking to an adult. He even clarified what I was saying by saying, "oh, so you mean..." Those are listening skills that most adults don't even have.

I asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up and his answer was probably more well thought-out than most high schoolers. He told me he wanted to be an artist (the way he colored showed me he was a good artist). He said that is what he loves to do and he can't imagine doing anything else. However, he also said that he knows that he has to make money for his family so he will be a taxi driver too. But he will work for himself because the taxi drivers that work for the companies have to give some of their earnings to the boss. He will drive taxis in the day and paint at night and sell his paintings to different people. I mean, really. This kid has his whole life planned out and he is eight! I know that some kids have dreams about what their future will be like, but usually they are about being a movie star or professional athlete. This little boy's dream is actually realistic and given the way he carries himself, I think he will achieve it. At first I was kind of sad because I thought that part of a being a kid is having big dreams and believing that you can be anything you want to. However, when I thought about it, I realized that part of it has to do with what you consider being a successful person. In the US, many kids think that you have to be famous or rich to be successful and happy. But doing what you love and still being able to make money for your family is considered success in the eyes of this little boy, so in a way, this is a dream just as big as those of kids who want to be famous. The difference is that this little boy is much more likely to achieve his dream than those kids who dream of being famous. And I firmly believe that this little boy will be doing just what he dreams and I pray that achieving this dream which others may seem as simple will make him and his family very happy in the future. I also pray that we all learn a lesson from this little boy about what makes a person successful and happy.

Cero Azul

Hola Amigos!

The kids and families left for Christmas vacation a couple of weeks ago and will be gone until January 8th. This is actually like their summer vacation because the school year is over. One mother and her three kids and one girl from Guadalupe are still here so we have been spending some good quality time together.  This has given me some more free time though. Alicia, a 20-year old girl that works in the APUFRAM office at Flores during the day but lives at the mother's project, invited me to go to a national park called Cero Azul with her. I said "yes."

Alicia gave me instructions as to how to get there. I had to take a bus from Comayagua towards San Pedro Sula and get on in a place called Vaca Dia. Having never been there before, I had no idea what this place looked like and since the smalls towns aren't marked, I wasn't sure how I was going to know when I was there. I asked the guy sitting next to me if he knew where it was and he said yes and that he would tell me when we were almost there. It turns out he had no idea what he was talking about. Long story short- we passed it, I got dropped off in a different town and had to take another bus back to Vaca Dia. I met Alicia and her "friend" who lives in Vaca Dia and was going to show us around. We had to take a mototaxi to his house which is actually inside the national park. His family was extremely hospitable and even gave us lunch.

I had read that Cero Azul was a big tourist spot, so I assumed we were going to see lots of people. But we ended up taking the backwoods tour. We had to hike for 30 minutes through some rough terrain. The views along the way were breathtaking. Eventually we ended up at a beautiful waterfall. If we wanted to, we could have actually stood underneath the waterfall. It was hard to see but if you looked up at just the right spot, you could see that this was actually part of a much bigger waterfall, which made it all the more amazing.

The waterfall was wonderful to see, but what I was most impressed by on this trip was the town we visited. It very much reminded me of a small town or neighborhood in the United States. They were kind of cut off from the rest of the world (it was a 20 minute ride in the mototaxi to get there) but it was not like the other mountain villages I have seen. The houses were probably considered "middle class" in Honduran standards. They were still nothing like houses in the US, but I was impressed by how nice they were. Not to mention that they were located in the middle of this beautiful park with a waterfall literally in their backyard. When we were there, there was a soccer  game going on in the middle of the town. It was actually high school girls playing against girls from another town. They had uniforms and everything. Much of the town was watching this game. The other big event was a meeting at the church. I'm not sure what it was about, but many people were going to it to give their opinions about something. It is kind of hard to explain the feeling I had when I was there, but it was definitely one of peace. I have been to other villages in Honduras and not had the same feeling because of the great poverty the people were living in. These people were not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but they had what they needed and they all seemed genuinely happy.

It was a wonderful and adventurous day trip and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to see another part of Honduras. We said we would come back so we could see more of the park and I really hope that we do. The picture at the top of this post is of the actual waterfall. Below are some more pictures from the trip.

A babbling brook- this was the clearest water I have ever seen

Alicia and me at the top of a mountain

There were lots of little crabs at the bottom of the waterfall

A long, scary bridge that we had to cross to get to the soccer fields. There is no way this would pass inspection in the US.