Day One, July 21, 2013: Flight from Phoenix -- Honduras
The whole group from All Saints met at the Phoenix airport at 3am. We flew to Houston and met up with Joy and Bob and continued on together to Tegucigalpa. We were greeted at the airport by staff from the home. We had a whole pickup filled with our luggage and took a van to Valle de Angeles. After arriving in Honduras, we first got situated in our hotel, La Posada del Angel. Aside from a few flooded rooms due to rain, lack of running water at night, and a few room changes, this hotel proved to be comfortable and the staff was very friendly and helpful. Since it was already late into the afternoon, we did not go to the hogar (the children’s home) on the first night. We spent some time meandering the streets looking at artisan shops and had a wonderful Honduran meal at La Casa de Las Abuelas.
Day Two, July 22, 2013:
We all walked over to the home, unpacked our supplies (96 bottles of vitamins, cough medicine, allergy medicine, childrens pain reliever, supplies for lice treatments, 15 spanish devotionals, 5 spanish bibles and 6 childrens Spanish books of Bible stories, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade early readers and teachers manuels in English, 50 notebooks, 100 pencils, pencil sharpeners, 80 pens, 20 sets of markers, new shoes for all the kids, 3 soccer balls and a ball pump, and lots of craft supplies) We had lunch with the kids , free time for soccer, playing, making headbands and reading with the kids. Some of us on the trip are sponsors to kids at the home and it was an indescribable experience to actually meet the kids we had been corresponding with. They call us as sponsors “Godparents”. The kids put on a wonderful welcome show for us all!
Day Three, July 23, 2013
This was a lice treatment day at small mountain school about 1 ½ miles from the home. Besides caring for the kids at the home we are reaching out to the community. This school was poverty stricken. We ran into some difficulty with no running water at the school. Water was carried from a pump down the road. We started out by explaining in the classrooms to the kids what the procedure was. They were very eager to get treatment and all immediately raised their hands. We treated as many kids as we could and provided written instructions in Spanish to many parents who were all wanting treatments for the siblings of the school kids. We went back to the hogar for lunch with the CVoH kids. Then some of the group went to start a paint job at the school the CVoH kids go to. There were 8 toilet stalls to be painted. Some of the group stayed at the home and made tie dye shirts with them.
Day Four, July 24, 2013
This was a day with multiple tasks. The teachers in the group spent the morning helping teach English at the kids school. Some of the men (with the help of 2 of the older boys from the home) continued the painting project and the rest worked on the lice treatments at the CVoH home. We arrived and the kids had already stripped their beds. We went to the volunteer house to wash the bedding but minimal hot water and treatment requires 130 degree water. Some stayed and washed the blankets, some went into Tegucigalpa to purchase new sheets and pillow cases for all the beds, and some brushed the mattresses, flipped and turned them. When the kids got home from school the shampooing began. We had a hose running up through the bathroom window into the shower, timers to make sure the treatment did not stay on their head longer than 10 min and multiple nit combers. The kids were grateful. One little girl received a call at the home and proudly announced “I do not have any bugs anymore!” The new colorful sheets were also a big hit.
Day Five, July 25, 2013
The kids were off school today. What a treat! We played some soccer, read with the kids, worked on some math and made crafts. We had lunch with the kids every day. The cook is excellent! Each child made a cover for a journal and decorated it. They also painted some wooden frames and decorated them. Very artistic kids! Some of the group left early to go to the local technical school INFOP and have conversations with the students who are trying to learn English. Two of us stayed late and did a talk with the older kids on sexually transmitted diseases at the request of the house staff. We did have a nurse practitioner on the trip which helped and thank goodness for Kelly’s bilingual skills. The discussion led into a talk on what to look for in a partner. We were impressed by some of the answers, “honesty, trust, respect and that they love God above all else”. These responses put smiles on our hearts. In the evenings we had some fellowship and always ate out as a group. Very fun and interesting dining experiences!
Day Six, July 26, 2013
Again a mixed day. The men finished the painting at the school and worked on a few plumbing issues at the home. They also helped some of the boys use a drill and saw to make some game boards. The teachers helped in the English class at the kids school, and some of us built wooden helicopters and cars with some of the kids. We all met for lunch with the children. Then at 1:00 all the children staff and volunteers met as a group. We passed out all gifts we brought. Each child got either a Bible or devotional, a new pair of shoes and the 4 new girls to the home each got a handmade blanket made by a friend of Gary. Again, the kids are so appreciative and thankful for everything. We headed back to INFOP for the afternoon session then evening group time and dinner.
Day Seven, July 27. 2013
We loaded on a school bus with all the kids and staff and went on a field trip! The ride to Tegucigalpa was fun and we arrived at the science and history museum intact. The museum was amazing and the college age kids who worked at the museum were amazingly entertaining and informative. They held the kids attention the entire time. The whole group went to pizza hut for lunch. Pizza is a big treat for the kids. One girl 17 told me it was only the 2nd time she had had pizza. We road back to the home and said good bye to the kids. There was a group prayer, some hugs and tears and we all shouted Adios Omegas as we walked away. The kids and staff truly had become our Omegas (friends). We had alittle time for souvenir shopping. We had our final dinner together back at La Casa de Las Abuelas , the wonderful restaurant where we started our week long journey of experiencing Honduras and the beautiful, humble, amazing kids of CVoH.
Day Eight, July 28, 2013
The van was right on time, We checked out of our hotel and said good bye to our very helpful front desk staff. There were no problems getting through customs with our 100 pounds of locally grown coffee (which we will hopefully sell and make some money for the home). The flight left Tegucigalpa on time but back home in Houston we were delayed 4 hours. Finally arrived safe and sound back in AZ. It was an amazing experience to get to know the kids at the home. They are obviously well cared for. The older kids help the younger ones with homework, the kids all have chores which they do with no complaining. They treated each other with kindness. There nutritional and health needs are being dealt with by loving staff. If anyone looking at this blog is considering sponsoring a child with financial support , please visit the CVoH web site
YOU CAN NOT HELP BUT LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!! To donate or sponsor a child go to www.cvoh.org
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