A small Honduran woman came in from the street, sat in an empty chair, and watched the young people put spoonfuls of food in their mouths.   A minute passed.  Another minute.  A few of the youth glanced up from their plates and, uncomfortably, went back to eating their food.

After another minute the woman began to cry.  More than a few tears came down her cheeks. She began to wail—loud, uncontrollable sobs with broken Spanish sentences in-between breaths.  The youth stopped eating.

The woman, who had prepared the meal, came out from the kitchen to calm the woman.  She discovered that her infant son was sick, had no money for food or medicine, and needed help.  Quickly the students gathered some money, and put together some plates of food for their guest.  The woman went on her way.

“Our kids were really rattled,” shared one of the leaders.  “They’ve never encountered that kind of situation.  Many are reevaluating their lives—they are realizing how much they’ve been given.”

The kids were having what behavioral scientist call a “disorienting dilemma”.  Momentarily their world had been turned upside down.  They were confronted with the reality that they had led privileged lives.

Many people question the value of short-term mission trips.  “It’s a lot of money,” they claim. “They could do something in their own backyard.”  There is a lot of truth to the statement.  Short-term mission trips can be expensive and the impact can be fleeting.  I don’t think there is a definitive answer.  Some mission trips can be extremely impactful, others not so.

My hope and prayer is that some of these young people will go back to Canada changed and begin living from a different set of values and commitments.  My hope is that some of these young people will allow the seeds planted from this experience to germinate and give clarity to their life’s calling.  That will make the trip worthwhile.

This morning we dedicated a new playground for a school in Los Pinos.  The playground was designed by the third grade teacher, Francisco, and build in partnership with the faculty and the visiting workgroup.   The groups labored together and learned together.   The result:  a place of beauty for beautiful children to play.

Since I last wrote I was not sure if I would be able to join the youth leaders from our program on their end of the year youth retreat. Our youth leaders are paid staff members of UrbanPromise Honduras.  They work in our after school programs and summer camps with the children that we serve, planning and teaching classes, mentoring kids in homework, teaching Bible lessons, acting out skits, and simply loving the children and the community we serve.  The youth are also poured into by our staff and given leadership training, help with high school and possibly college prep, fellowship opportunities, and much more.  The youth leaders are a significant and important part of our organization and truly make a difference in the lives of the children we serve.

Since I was feeling better last week I was able to join the retreat in which we traveled 9 hours to the town of La Ceiba, a little coastal town.  We spent our first night in the house of ministry friends who run their own nonprofit organization for the deaf in La Ceiba called Signs of Love.  They were so gracious to us and let us pile our group of 17 into their office space as a place to stay.  They lent us their 15 passenger van for us to use as transportation and joined us in a few of our activities.  The second day we traveled to the Jungle River Lodge in a national park in La Seiba.  The lodge was right along a river, with a breathtaking view of the rushing river below, large rocks and bolders, and beautiful trees all around.  We jumped off rocks into the rushing water, swam, and went white water rafting.  The youth had the time of their lives, full of fun, fellowship, training, and debriefing.

The retreat was intended to be a time of reflection on the past year, evaluation, and self- reflection and rejuvenation for the youth.  The theme was puzzle pieces, and how each one of the youth is so significant in God’s eyes, each one fulfilling a significant role in the lives of the children that we serve and in our staff.  The youth leaders truly were so blessed by this retreat.  They were able to fellowship with one other in the love of Christ, search within themselves to find out more about who they are and who they want to be, and reflect upon the amazing things that the Lord has done in their lives over the past year.  It was such a unique and wonderful thing to be a part of, to help them process a lot of these things and encourage them as they look towards their future.

These next two weeks will be filled with lots of administrative and office work for me.  I am hoping to finish the two brochures that I have been working on this week which will include information about UPH programs and will be used as promotional materials both here in Honduras and in the United States.  I need to finish them this week so we can translate them into Spanish and send them to print before I leave.  I will also continue to work on details for a potential “Promise Partner” program forUrbanPromise International and will be brainstorming and putting together more details as the ideas for this program unfold.

This coming weekend we look forward to a two day staff retreat in which we will reflect on this past year, evaluate our programs, and look and plan for the coming year of UPH.  This will be a very crucial time for the staff here.  We will work very hard and hopefully come out of the retreat with a rejuvenated vision for the coming year of UPH.

Please Pray :

-          For details to come together for my time of service in Malawi.  I am still in the process of working out all the details for this time and need prayer for discernment and ease of details to come into place

- For these next to weeks to be very productive as I finish up my projects here and prepare to leave

- For our staff retreat coming up this weekend.  We will be taking time to reflect on the year and to plan and pray together for the future of UrbanPromise Honduras

-  For Luis as he continues to study and prepare for his upcoming exam on December 5th

The middle-aged kids took a day trip to the Mayan ruins and the hot springs.  We crammed about 10 kids and 6 leaders into a travel van and took off for our adventure.  At the Mayan ruins we met up with our very energetic and captivating tour guide.  He took us all around the ruins, telling stories, asking questions, playing games, and teaching the kids about the amazing history of the Mayan people who lived in this place literally 10 minutes from Copan.  After our time at the ruins we traveled about an hour outside of Copan to a natural hot springs park.  There we grilled hot dogs and ate bananas for lunch and played in the natural hot spring pools, and went on a short tour of the more expensive part of the hot springs with natural waterfall massages, quiet pools to soak in, and other beautiful natural sites.  The kids had such a wonderful time playing and splashing in the warm water, enjoying a nice lunch together, and simply being kids, which they are not given the opportunity to do very often.

Friday afternoon we left with the old kids for a four hour trip to the closest big city to Copan, San Pedro Sula.  Our first stop upon arrival was the mall, with a food court, movie theater, and bright stores with new shiny things.  My favorite thing to experience with the kids for their first time was the escalator and the hand blow dryer in the bathroom.  They thought these were two very amusing things.  We ate dinner in a food court where they could pick whatever they wanted for dinner, and took them to see a movie–a real movie in a theater.  They hardly knew what to do with themselves in the theater because they were so full of excitement.  We saw Nanny McFee, a very fun kids’ movie that they all enjoyed.  We stayed in Pastor Lee’s house, a friend of the ministry who runs a bilingual school about an hour outside of San Pedro Sula.  He had a big house with some extra rooms with bunk beds and a big yard for the kids to play in.

Saturday we piled back into the van to head to Tela, a beach town about an hour away.  Again, the beach was another first time experience for most of our kids.  They loved playing in the waves, burying each other in the sand, and finding little rocks and seashells along the shore.  That night back at Pastor Lee’s house he led a devotion with the kids, encouraging them to take hold of the dreams that the Lord has placed on their hearts,   to trust in the Lord, and to work hard to accomplish their dreams.  Sunday we took the kids to the best anthropology museum in San Pedro Sula, ate bagged lunches and headed home.  Saturday night I came down with some sort of intestinal sickness.  I had not been as careful with the things I ate that weekend, so it was probably a bug of some sort.  The kids were so sweet to me, giving me hugs, telling me to feel better, giving me the best seat in the van so I could try to rest, and showing me their love through their hugs and smiles.

It was just an amazing thing to see these kids experience so many things for the first time this past week. Their eyes were literally opened up to so many new things these past few days.   Many of the kids who come to our programs don’t have the same opportunities as most children that you and I come in contact with in the States.  They go to school, help their parents gather food and firewood, make meals, clean the house, take care of livestock, and raise siblings.  They are given so much responsibility at such a young age that they barely have time to simply be kids.  This is something that we try to provide for them at UrbanPromise Honduras–a place to dream, to have fun, to be given new experiences, and to just be kids.

I would love to write more but I am still recovering from being sick the past couple of days and am still pretty weak.  If I feel better later this week I will be joining the youth on their end-of-the-year retreat to La Saba for a few days.  I hope to write again sometime next week.

Please Pray:

-  For my health and strength to come back after being sick for the past few days.

-  For the UPH staff as we take some time over the next two weeks to evaluate and plan for the future of UPH and what next year’s programs will look like.

-  For wisdom and discernment as I continue to work on a sponsorship program for UPI.

-  For details to start coming together for my time of service in Malawi starting in February.

-  Praise the Lord for the wonderful experiences that the children have been able to have over this past week–for their dreams and big hearts.

I am nearing the end of my second week here in Honduras and it is starting to feel like home. I am able to communicate and understand the children a little better, and they have latched onto me as if I were one of them, helping me work on my Spanish, holding my hand, and showing me their projects. I am able to help some of the students who go to a local bilingual school with their homework. I quiz them in Spanish, and they answer me in English–this way we both are able to practice. Every day we walk 30 minutes down dirt, gravel or muddy paths, across streams, and through garbage piles to Camp Hope, the after school program in a local aldea. An aldea is another name for an outer- lying village from Copan where many of the poorer, indigenous people live. Our after school program for this time of year serves this aldea and the children from this poorer community.

The children we serve come to camp every day, ready to do their homework and cooking experiments, have English class, have a snack, and listen to a Bible lesson. They are just as children should be, with big smiles on their faces, laughing, playing games, chasing each other around, without a care in the world. But they are different than most children in many ways. They come to camp in their dusty, dirty clothes, with shirts that don’t fit them, holes in their pants, and sometimes with no shoes on their feet. They walk from a mile or less away to come to camp, by themselves, through the rugged terrain. A few of the kids carry their baby brothers, sisters, and cousins with them because they play the role of care giver in the family during certain times. They have skinny arms and legs, and a few have little bellies that stick out from lack of good nutrition. Most of the children we work with are shorter than the more Hispanic descent population in Copan. Their nutrition is not what it should be for a growing child, so they do not grow in the ways that “healthy” children should grow. They are beautiful, playful, loving, innocent children, showing the face of God to those around without even knowing it. These are many of the children that we serve.

Wednesday after camp we were invited to one of our little camp girls, Yeslin’s, birthday party. She lives in a little house about a 10 minute walk up the mountain. We walked into the back of the house where there were boards of wood laid with stones on either ends of them to create benches for about 25 or so children who crowded the back, dirt floor, open birthday party area. There were a few men who were playing guitars and singing birthday music, and about 4 or 5 extremely skinny dogs running around trying to steal the kids’ food from their plates. We quickly became the source of entertainment as “gringas” (white people) and so different than the people they normally see. The family was so generous in making us feel welcome, offering us our own plates of food for dinner and a glass of coca-cola, which is a special treat for most of the children. . We were welcomed as family although we had never been there before.

This is something that I have experienced over and over again during these past two weeks in Copan– a simple, loving form of generosity–the giving of so much from people who have so little, people who don’t even know me. I am offered meals, drinks, and gifts. I am so blessed by these people’s generosity, I can learn so much from their example. Nothing we have is our own–it is a gift and blessing from the Lord. Who am I to hold onto my money, food, car, clothes, and time as if it were my own? Who am I to hold onto the things I have been so blessed with when people who barely have enough to sustain themselves give so generously?

The UPH staff is traveling back to UrbanPromise in Camden NJ in about 2 weeks for the UrbanPromise summit. The three full-time leaders– Blair, Rachel, and Matt, will be running a half marathon while there. We are nearing the end of the school year for the kids from the after school program, in which we take them on special trips to local places around Copan. I will be creating a fundraiser for the half marathon to help send the kids on these trips.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. I appreciate all your support and miss you all very
much.

Please Pray:

- Thank the Lord for my host grandmother Maria’s successful surgery. She is back in Copan this week and seems to be recovering well.

- For the fundraiser to come together for Camp Hope’s special end of the year trips, and for funds to come in for that trip.

- For the details to come together as I begin to plan for my time of service in Malawi.

- For me to truly immerse myself in this circumstance– to embrace the people, culture, children, language, and program while I am here–to focus on what the Lord has for me here.

My first few days in Copan have been focused on getting settled into my new house with my host family, meeting the kids from our program, getting to know the leaders of UPH, exploring Copan, working on my very rusty Spanish, and simply seeking the Lord’s presence in this place. I am living with a host family right across the narrow cobblestone street from our UPH office. My host mother’s name is Brenda. She and her 11 year old daughter Angie are so welcoming. I love being a part of their family already. Angie gave up her room for me to stay in, and she and Brenda sleep in the same room together. Brenda’s house is right next door to her sister Carla’s house. I eat my meals at Carla’s house with her family and the many guests that she has in and out of her house each day. Carla hosts many different types of people in her house. She has a few extra rooms and rents them out to travelers, people taking Spanish lessons in the Spanish school down the road, and one of my new friends and soon to be new AfterSchool Program Director, Katie. Katie has dedicated the next two years of her life to live here in Copan and run the AfterSchool Program and Summer Camps for the children we serve. She already is a wonderful friend and so helpful when it comes to speaking and understanding Spanish.
So far I have played in a football (soccer) game with some of the local Hondurans and some of our staff, helped with a special scavenger hunt for some of the kids, walked an hour and 45 minutes to the top of a mountain to visit the sweetest, most joyous young woman I have ever met who lives more simply than any of us could ever imagine, attended a Spanish church service and was so blessed to worship with believers from Copan, walked the 30 minute very strenuous hike to Camp 8 times, had my first Spanish lesson, and have begun to form loving, life-changing relationships with those around me. It has only been one week and the Lord has already done so much. I will be working a few days in the office with some of the full-time staff, working on some fund development projects in order to sustain and grow their programs to reach more of the children and surrounding communities. I will also be working with the children and staff in Camp a few days a week, assisting with Bible lessons, English class, homework help, games and special activities, and simply forming meaningful, loving relationships with the children in our camps.

It is such a unique and blessed experience to be a part of this community. To be loved and accepted despite my cultural differences, lack of understanding and ability to know and speak the language. I begin a regular schedule next week and can’t wait to get into the routine of things and see what the Lord is going to do.

Please pray:

- That I will be able to learn Spanish quickly. I am taking classes at a Spanish language school down the road three days a week. I can get by but still have a lot to learn. I practice it with my host family and the children. It is difficult for me to understand those around me because they speak so quickly.

- For my host grandmother Maria. My host mother Brenda has to take her to Guatemala for the next few days because she is getting surgery to remove kidney stones.

- That the rest of the funds needed for my second service trip to Malawi will come in. $600 of support still needs to come in.

- For the Children of camp Hope. For their health, salvation, and future. They are from a very poor community yet have some of the richest spirits I have ever seen. That I will be able to show them the love of Christ despite my language barrier and cultural differences.

The Lord has provided already in miraculous ways. In preparation for my time abroad I went to an international clinic to get the shots and other medications I need. The clinic is up to date on diseases and medical dangers in all areas of the world and advises its patients as to what is best for them depending on where they are going. One thing recommended for me to get for Honduras and Malawi is the rabies vaccination. This vaccination is a serious of three shots for $270 each shoot. That’s $810 that I was not expecting to spend on medical expenses, and had not factored into my support goal. I was going to go without getting the vaccination because of the cost. However, a coworker of mine had heard of and showed me a patient assistance program through Sanofi Pasteur that gives free vaccinations to people who do not have health insurance and are under poverty level. I applied for the program, and put it in the Lord’s hands. Praise the Lord I was accepted to the program and only have to pay for the doctor to administer the three rabies shots. Also, the doctor is rushing the administering of the shots to one shot a week until I leave. The shots are supposed to be given over a month and half time period. The Lord worked these details out so perfectly, and I know He will only continue to amaze me.

I appreciate your support so much, and any support that is raised over and above the $9,000 needed, will go directly to ministry needs in the sites in Honduras and Malawi. I know that while I am serving at these sites, various needs will come up for the children and communities that we serve. Boys in SafeHaven orphanage may need school books, children in Copan Honduras may need Bibles in their language, ministry needs will come up and if I have raised excess finances, I can help with these needs.
I am a week away from leaving for Honduras on October 7th. It is going to a quite a busy week of finishing up my work in the development office, and preparing for this journey.

Please pray:

•That the Lord gives me the grace and the time to accomplish
everything that I need to get done over the next week.

•That the Lord prepares my heart for the things I am going to see and experience.

•That my host family and I will connect and truly be a blessing to each other.

•That the remainder of the financial support needed will come in.

•For the families, children, and youth that I will be working with and serving in Copan. For their salvation and well being.

Honduras (the country, the cities, the villages), is a mixture of beauty and stark poverty. While sightseeing, we were astounded by the history and complexity of the Mayan ruins, we were stunned by the brilliant colours of the scarlet Macaws, and we still laugh about being chased by a psycho Toucan! The people of Honduras were, without exception, full of character, insight, beauty and treated us with love, care and attention. What a wonderful people.

Spending a few days helping the UP team at Camp Hope in Nueva Esperanza was inspiring. We had so much fun with the kids, wrestling, singing and playing in unknown languages. They would roll their eyes when I couldn’t understand their Spanish, then patiently repeat what they said veerrryyyy sloooowwlly… hoping that I would catch on. We were usually able to figure each other out, and if not, there was always the universal language of smiles.

Spending time with Matt, Rachel and Blair, as well as the teenleaders and the kids – it became clear they have a vision for UrbanPromise in Honduras that is greater than one camp, and even one town. Walking the cobblestone streets of Copan, and the dirt packed streets of Nuevo Esperanza, holding the hand of a young child, looking into trusting and joyful eyes, I am excited to see where these cobblestone streets will lead.

A Franciscan Benediction

“And may God Bless you with enough foolishness

To believe that you can make a difference in the world,

So that you can do what others claim cannot be done

To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen”

-Neil Singh

Visitor and supporter of UPH

I arrived in Honduras on Wednesday, making it out of New Jersey just before the second big snow hit.  Blair and Elias (a local businessman) met me at the airport and we took the 3 hour ride out to Copan Ruinas.  Honduras is a beautiful country.  It’s very green and lush.  The ride to Copan was filled with beautiful scenery.  When I was a child, I liked pretending that if I blinked my eyes, I would take a picture, capturing whatever scene I saw in my memory forever.  On this ride, I wanted to capture a small and simple white home at the top of a small rolling hill with a foggy mountain backdrop.

Arriving in Copan Ruinas, I was impressed by the quaint town with cobblestone roads and colorful buildings.   We unloaded the van and Blair and I headed to a local restaurant to meet Matt and Rachel (these are the three people initiating UrbanPromise Honduras).  It has been great reconnecting with all three of them… great people enthusiastically pursuing their vision for the children of this town.

Since my arrival, I’ve been spending time with Rachel, Matt, and Blair, hearing about their progress since they launched UrbanPromise Honduras last summer and their plans for growth and development.  I was also able to spend time at their AfterSchool program in Nueva Esperanza, a small area bordering Copan Ruinas.  Among my favorite moments:

• Matt and Blair squawking like chickens as they taught the kids a chant called “Pollo Loco”.  You may know the English version, “The Funky Chicken”.
• Rachel engulfing the kids in her hugs and their brilliant smiles that came in response.
• Watching the kids play water games where the object of the games shifts from getting your opponents wet to getting others to soak you as much as possible.
• Pouring a 24 ounce cup of water on Blair’s head to get the kids excited.  They responded with a joyful chant, jumping up and down with their fists shaking.

What’s most exciting to me is to see how the UrbanPromise model is reaching another community and adapting to another culture.   The kids engaged in high-energy games, songs, and activities that stimulate their academic, spiritual, and social growth.  Teens are given responsibility in programs that challenges them to grow into responsible leaders in their community.

I’m excited to see how UrbanPromise Honduras grows and develops over the coming years and am encouraged in the work of UrbanPromise International as we train leaders and launch new ministries.

You can read more about the work of UrbanPromise Honduras on their blog at http://urbanpromisehonduras.wordpress.com/

Bruce Main and Messy/Water Day

4 08 2009

Every morning at 6:15am, seven year old Milton begins his 45 minute walk down a steep rocky path toward the small mountain city of Copan Ruinas.  Copan Ruinas—famous for its Myan ruins that provided the foundation of a dynamic civilization built over 2000 years ago—is now famous for its tourism and small coffee plantations.  Milton is a descendant of the Myan people.

At 7:30am our little friend catches a bus at the foot of his mountain that winds through the city’s cobble stone streets and drops him at Camp Joy—UrbanPromise’s first summer day Camp in the country of Honduras. 

Some of you have been watching the political situation in Honduras, which is currently unstable.  Citizens of this wonderful country are nervously watching their televisions.  Although the protests have not reached the city of Copan Ruinas, the impact of the political unrest is devastating.  Tourism, the life blood of this city, has slowed to a mere trickle.  Hotels and restaurants, usually filled during this time of year, are vacant.  People have lost their jobs.  “If it continues much longer,” shared the owner of one coffee shop, “we’ll all be out of business.”  This will drive the area into deeper poverty….which will impact the lives of children.

That’s why programs like UrbanPromise are critical.

Camp Joy has been created by three former UrbanPromise interns—Blair, Matt, and Rachel.  These committed young leaders have a passion to create an UrbanPromise-type ministry for the children and teens of this small city—a city where poverty is high and opportunities for children to engage in life changing, Christian-based programs are non-existent. 

Children like Milton would typically spend their summer sleeping, hanging out in the streets, or doing odd jobs to help support the family.  Now they get a chance to improve their English, learn about the Bible, play games, cook food, sing songs and watch skits.  Their joy is palpable.  Their smiles intoxicating. 

“The potential for this kind of ministry is incredible,” shares director Blair Quinius.  “There is nothing like it for the children in this community.  Parents and community leaders are excited.”

They are not the only people excited.

Otherwise, why would a seven year old named Milton get up before dawn, walk  for 45 minutes to catch a bus, just to come to camp?  Why: because he loves it!