A few parting thoughts

The week at El Hogar was certainly a life changing one for me. I'm hoping to go back in a year or two to see how the children have grown.

Our team did an excellent job of fund raising. Thank you for all of your support. Through the generosity of our friends, family, and coworkers, our team was able to make a $17,000 donation to El Hogar. Even with this, donations are always needed.

Finally, here's a picture I took at El Picacho National Park of a lizard overlooking Tegucigalpa:

The Final Two Days (part 3 - the final day)

The final day at El Hogar, the day came too soon (and so did the morning considering how late we were up). We got up in the morning to have our final cups of coffee (and hoping that maybe the coffee pot wouldn't clog today). We got up early so we could make sure we had enough time to clean and finish packing before we left for the home visit. How is it the one day we need brooms is the one day all week the boys weren't out sweeping at 5:30 in the morning. Like other things this week, cleaning up was a good team effort.

Once done cleaning we got to have our final breakfast of pancakes, honey and fruit (I think that was our going away present :-). While cleaning Lori and MarkB went up to the market to pick up a few things for the home visit. It was so thoughtful, Lori picked up flowers for Marvin to give his mom for Mother's Day.

We finally got on the road to the with Marvin to see him mom and 2 sisters. His home is only a few minutes away, but it seems that the close proximity doesn't make the separation any easier. When we got to the home Marvin went in first to make sure they were ready for us. We didn't get to see Marvin give his mom, Christina, the flowers but later in our visit she thanked the group for the flowers. Her eyes welled with tears as she said how much she appreciated the gesture. I bet that Marvin giving his mom flowers was a nice moment for them both. Thanks so much for giving that to them Lori.

Christina is 42 years old, but she looked like she was coming up on 70. She has recently quit her job because it was no longer safe to leave her 2 little girls at home. Her youngest daughter will most likely be at El Hogar next year, but her older daughter is just too old, so they are trying to find something else for her. In the meantime Christina is making some tortillas for El Hogar to make a few dollars. It is amazing how out of their way Claudia and Raul will go in order to help the children and their families.

It was hard to see the conditions in which this family lived. The space was small and dank, but Christina still seemed to have pride in her space. She was amazingly open and gracious letting us into her home.

The one thing I saw which I did not expect was her love and pride for her son. Over the week we had heard many stories about parents not wanting their children, discarding their children and being cruel to their children. On this day we were with a loving mother just trying to do right by her children. She handed over her son so that he could have a better existance. I wonder if Christina knows what a strong person she is. I can't imagine how hard it was seeing Marvin for only a few minutes. When she hugged him she didn't look like she wanted to let go. For me seeing that was so much harder than the living quarters.

Once we got back to El Hogar we had our final good-bye presentation with the children. This is the moment I had been dreading all week - our final moments with the children. When we got back they were all sitting and waiting for us.

Jose Adan sang two songs for us and the children sang along. He is really talented! He seems like a shy young man - who knew he had this amazing voice inside him. Raul mentioned that Jose Adan will be participating in a contest in the upcoming weeks. I hope he does well and we get to hear about it.

The children then tried to recite all our names and then had a chance to get up and say something to us. The children were so sweet thanking us for coming, for playing, for caring and for the ice cream! Some of the children spoke in Spanish and Raul translated and some did their best to speak in English. No matter the language, the words were so great to hear.

After a few of the children made their statements our group got to make our own. Several people expressed thoughts I think most of us were having. The group was rounded out with Diane and Lori. Diane's words were amazing and had me almost as choked up as she was. I really wanted to tell the children how much the week had been to me and how they have impacted me in ways they may not understand. They are amazing little human beings and I hope they know that.

The children then gave us these sweet cards they made themselves and then we got hugs good-bye from everyone. Once Raul told the children it was time to say good-bye my little buddy Ramone bee lined to me and was my first hug. He put his arms around me and just held on. I told Ramone that he was a handsome boy (thanks to help from MarkT) and he just looked up at with a big smile. I looked at him and said Si? And he nodded yes with a big toothy grin and hugged me tighter. I am getting teary eyed just thinking about it.

Claudia and Raul found out about Ramone when he still had a cleft palate. El Hogar doesn't normally take children like Ramone, but they were able to find a doctor that would come to Honduras and do the surgery for free. Ramone didn't come to El Hogar until after his surgery 4 months ago.

Becaust the surgery and the change to his face is still pretty new he still doesn't speak much. It is amazing how you can feel such a connection with a child when you have barely spoken to each other. I think Ramone is amazing. For a child that only a few months ago used to hide his mouth and stay away from people as he was an outcast - he has one of the biggest, sweestest smiles. He still needs more surgeries and Raul and Claudia are still trying to get that worked out. I am so happy El Hogar was able to give Ramone this opportunity and I am so happy I got to meet him because of it.

After lots of hugs and a final tickle session with Roques Sevilla we had to load up the van. Thankfully there were no clouds threatening to rain down on our bags.

Christopher came down to watch us load up the van and leave. It was so hard seeing him sitting on the wall as we drove away. Christopher being the newest, I wonder how the groups coming and going impacts him. People coming and going must still be so new to him. This is a little boy that didn't seem to say alot over the week, but was warming up the last few days. It was great to see him stand up and say thank you and good-bye. Christopher's mom died of cancer and his sister just couldn't take care of him any more. They are experiencing some behavioral issues with Christopher as he is expressing anger over his mother's death. He looks like such a sweet boy and hope they are able to help him heal.

Thankfully we made it to the airport, got checked in and paid to get out of Honduras without issue. It was hard to say good-bye to Raul and everything he represents.

Thankfully taking off from Toncatin airport is less interesting than the landing. We did have a slightly scary moment as we were getting closer to Miami. The plane seemed to be speeding up and we hit some turbulance that had us all flying and some of our belongings flying out of our seats. Even after that scary dip it seem to take the plane a few minutes (or what felt like a few minutes) to settle. The rest of the flight was fine, but gotta say that was the scariest moment on a plane I have every had (well, airline food not included). The flight to Boston had a little more turbulance, but it was expected and tolerable.

It was great to see my parents as soon as I got through customs. I was originally going to take Logan Express, but it was so great to have them there. It was so nice to see the group getting picked up by loved ones. Of course I tried not to think about how much they know about all of us - 'What happens in Honduras... Goes on the blog' ;-)

While I missed the children already, I was home and it felt good. I can't wait to tell people about what an amazing trip this was and how thrilled I am to have gone. Next stop seeing my Maggie!

The Final Two Days (part 2 - the ice cream party)

After Valle the group stopped at the supermarket to pick up 4 gallons of ice cream for an ice cream party. We didn't make it in time for dinner, but the group served the ice cream to the boys in the auditorium while they watched t.v. The children's response to ice cream is pretty universal - you show them ice cream and their eyes just light up. They were all antsy in their seats until it was their turn to line up for a cup full.




Rachel, MarkB and Lori preparing for the mad ice cream rush











Lori and MarkB scooping ice cream for Melvin and the boys.








Jose Adan, Alexis, Christopher and the boys.









Watching t.v. while eating ice cream.








Stuart, Jen and Jaime scooping away before the ice cream got too soupy and the boys got restless.











Don't these boys look happy!

My buddy Ramone enjoying his ice cream.

Roques Sevilla taking his eyes off his ice cream for a quick picture. Is he a cutie or what?

And of course we need a picture of Wilmer...

Next we were off to the girls dorms to give ice cream to the Niña’s. The girls approach to the ice cream was more refined as they sat and slowly ate their ice cream

Not sure what is sweeter the ice cream or the smile it brought.

Diane reading a post ice cream story while the group listened in :-)

While in the girl's dorm we got to see the doors Rachel painted - Nicely done Rachel!

After the ice cream party the group took Raul and his daughter out to dinner. We went to a restaraunt called Los Cebollines which is a small Mexican chain that is also in El Salvador, Guatamala and Costa Rice.

We had amazing salsa made at the table. The key seemed to be the roasted tomato. Or maybe it is just that it wasn't beans ;-)

It was a great end to a great day. But of course reality was setting in that 24 hours from then we would be home (or almost home). Only one more chance to see the children before we leave :-(. For all the joking we have done about showers, plumbing and of course beans, I wasn't ready to leave yet.

The Final Two Days (part 1)

I have been wanting to write about the final 2 days in Honduras and how it felt to be home, but sadly life has already gotten back into its normal rhythm (well sort of, more on that later).

As others have mentioned the last days in Honduras were jammed packed with sight seeing, shopping and fun! Between checking out La Pacacho National Park, visiting MathWorker Julie Rodriguez's family home, lunch and shopping at Valle de Angeles, an ice cream party with the kids and ending the day taking Raul and his daughter out to dinner.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day:

La Pacacho National Park. Walking through the park was a nice change of pace. The park was full of pretty flowers, stonewalls, the replica of a Mayan Temple, amazing views and of course Jesus larger than life.

Here is the group on the steps of the Mayan Temple replica

Here is one of many amazing views. From such a distance you can see the beyond the poverty towards beauty of Honduras.

Mark waiting for the Continental flight to land. It is almost as cool to watch from a distance as it was being on the plane.

The ladies enjoying the flowers as we checkout the view

Here is me with the big guy in the background

Julie Rogriguez was amazingly thoughtful and allowed us the opportunity to see the home where she grew up. We got a tour of the groups that were absolutely beautiful. We got to walk through the woods and see coffee plants and bamboo and saw her mom's garden that had pineapples, carrots, bananas and so much more.

The day was so beautiful and this area was so serene I wouldn't have given to take a siesta in one of these hammocks.

To the left is a coffee plant and to the right is where the coffee beans are cleaned. You can see what the beans look like before roasting.

Here is the group taking a quick walk on the trail behind the house. Thankfully no one got lost in the woods :-)

Here is a pineapple plant - isn't it cute!!!

When we left Julie's family home we headed to Valle for lunch and shopping. We started off lunch with a bean dip and chips. Even though we had a lot of beans this week, the dip was really good. The dip seemed like it may have had some cheese in it that made it all gooey. It was REALLY good. Some of us then split pizzas and had local beers and wines. The pizza was a really nice change of pace.

After eating we did some shopping. People went looking for soccer shirts, cigars, coffee and myself a hammock. In about 30 minutes time we did our part to help stimulate the Honduran economy.

On one hand it was hard being away from El Hogar and the children for the day, especially with this being our last full day in Honduras. But it was great to have a different view of the country. One thing I keep seeing is that amidst sadness and poverty there is a lot of beauty and joy. I have been seeing it in the children all week and now I am seeing it in the country as a whole. For such a poverty stricken country, they do have some riches.

Greatest hits

It is always weird blogging from home after the trip ends. As many of you have reminded me, this blog "went dark" on Thursday of our trip. That's because Friday was pretty much wall-to-wall. We went from activity to activity, from the aforementioned trip to Pachaco, our trip to Valle de Angeles, to the ice cream party.



Most of us didn't lay our heads down until after 11pm.

Saturday was a travel day. The kids gave us an amazing send-off, where there was not a dry eye in the house, but there was no time to get to a computer.

Rather than try and pontificate about our experience, I thought I would let pictures tell some of our story. Below are some of the best shots that capture part of our experience.