And so it is that all 12 women returned safely to their homes in Massachusetts late on Saturday evening. So many contrasts throughout our week together. We began with a long, two-day traveling experience, and concluded with a seamless trip home on Saturday.
The beautiful "Bienvenidos y Muchas Gracias" Talent Show on Friday night (Padre Mateo's Welcoming and our teams goodbye) went late in to the evening. Therefore, our team decided to have our last Devotion together early Saturday morning.
This was a very special reflection, one which included tears, laughs and Padre Mateo.
We then cleaned up the Volunteer house in rapid fashion with all women working hard. Once we were packed, (with plans on departing for the airport at 11:30am) we headed outdoors to spend time with the children. Last hugs, pleasant conversations with the teachers and staff, more hugs, more tears,... and then a message from Takerly and Arturo that we needed to depart for the airport at 10am due to a radio announcement that more Teacher Strikes would be taking place starting at 11:00am. (In hindsight, this probably saved all of us from the tearful floodgates with the children! )
No problems getting to the airport. At the airport, we had time for lunch, last minute trinkets at the airport shops, and off we were to Miami. Through Customs at a good pace and off to a quick dinner before boarding our flight home, which was a 1/2 hour delayed (no problem with us - 30 minutes is nothing to 30 hours). We were welcomed at the airport at 12:30am by Whit, David and Jason, the husbands who drove most of the women home. We said our goodbyes to our amigas with love in our hearts.
It is amazing to me that in a one week time period, twelve women, can build relationships with one another in a new way, build relationships with los ninos de El Hogar, and feel such a close connection to God's love. God's love gives us a renewed hope this lenten season--- a hope for endearing friendships, trust in God, and hope for the future of El Hogar.
Julie shared this poem with our team and though we do not know the author, it is a great summation of our week of contrast and reflection.
Thank you to all of our friends and family who prayed for us this past week. We hope you will continue to pray for the many children, teachers and staff at El Hogar, The Farm and The Institute. And we hope we can all pray for Padre Mateo, his transition away from his family in New Jersey and in to the arms of El Hogar... the home of love and hope.
With love,
Jenny
A Prayer for the Children
We pray for the children
who sneak popsicles before supper,
who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
who never "counted potatoes,"
who are born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.
We pray for the children
who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.
And we pray for those
who never get dessert,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who can't find bread to steal,
who don't have rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.
We Pray for the Children
who spend their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
who never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
who squirm in church and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and
whose smiles can make us cry.
And we pray for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything
Who have never seen dentist,
Who aren't spoiled by anybody,
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
Who live and move, but have no being
We pray for the children
Who want to be carried and for those who must,
Who we never give up on and for those who don't get a second chance.
We pray for those we smother and for those who will grab the hand of
anybody kind enough to offer it.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
April 1, 2011
This morning we woke up to our last full day at El Hogar! After a sip of coffee we walked up to the outdoor area in front of the classroom to join the children`s circle for morning devotions. We have enjoyed this 7 AM tradition each day with the children. All week the children have been wearing school uniforms of light blue shirts and dark blue long pants but this morning they all looked soooo adorable in their white shirts and khaki shorts. Their Friday uniform they told us. Half our group went to the classrooms and half of us painted this morning. The first grade classroom has been the most talked about this week. The children in first grade are not just the 6 year olds. Their ages range from around 6 up to around 11 because some older children come to El Hogar not having any previous schooling! Two of us spent one on one time with students in this class.The ability of these children have a wide range. They can be working on 4 different lessons in this one classroom. Liz sat outside the classroom, with one of the sweetest but neediest little boys here, patiently working on the assigned lesson.
Some outside painting was completed this morning. Where some cement work had been done earlier this week the adjacent wall was painted. We didn't have quite the right shade of aqua paint but it looks fine. Maybe the children will paint a mural in this area! The wall in front of the dorm building is now a brighter brick red color...and with a lot of scrubbing we got the paint off our arms and fingers!
We went shopping today at a great area of shops selling souvenirs, esp. Honduran made pottery and textiles. This afternoon was the knitter's last workshop of our week. We just love all the little girls that come to play with the dolls, learn to knit and crochet, and also teach us finger knitting. They still want to start new projects. Hard to explain about us leaving.
This evening was very special! Padre Mateos has arrived who is the new exec. director of El Hogar Projects and the 2 boys high schools! An amazing talent show was held including incredible Honduran dance routines presented by some of the older children in colorful costumes. The children were a hard act to follow but we got some laughs with a skit of Doctora Ginger and her clumsy assistant treating our illnesses. We sang an original song welcoming Padre Mateos and thanking the children for our week with them. Lots of hugs followed the show. The children were treated to a party of ice cream and cookies before they went off to bed.
Hard to believe that is time to pack our suitcases.....
Love and Peace,
Jean for the week 2 team
Some outside painting was completed this morning. Where some cement work had been done earlier this week the adjacent wall was painted. We didn't have quite the right shade of aqua paint but it looks fine. Maybe the children will paint a mural in this area! The wall in front of the dorm building is now a brighter brick red color...and with a lot of scrubbing we got the paint off our arms and fingers!
We went shopping today at a great area of shops selling souvenirs, esp. Honduran made pottery and textiles. This afternoon was the knitter's last workshop of our week. We just love all the little girls that come to play with the dolls, learn to knit and crochet, and also teach us finger knitting. They still want to start new projects. Hard to explain about us leaving.
This evening was very special! Padre Mateos has arrived who is the new exec. director of El Hogar Projects and the 2 boys high schools! An amazing talent show was held including incredible Honduran dance routines presented by some of the older children in colorful costumes. The children were a hard act to follow but we got some laughs with a skit of Doctora Ginger and her clumsy assistant treating our illnesses. We sang an original song welcoming Padre Mateos and thanking the children for our week with them. Lots of hugs followed the show. The children were treated to a party of ice cream and cookies before they went off to bed.
Hard to believe that is time to pack our suitcases.....
Love and Peace,
Jean for the week 2 team
Friday, April 1, 2011
March 31, 2011
Today the team spent time in the classrooms again. The first grade classroom seems to be very demanding for the volunteers and clearly is for the students and teacher. There are many very disparate levels of ability among these new little ones and it is hard for one teacher to cover all the needs. The volunteers in this room hold onto their hats and come out exhilerated and exhausted. Others on the team continued the painting project in the dorm teachers apartment. Once 10am came around, we piled into the beloved van for the long drive out to the Agricultural School. Arturo drove and the ride, although long, was gentle and ´the driving was smooth. One of the Farm teachrs, Josue, gave us a great tour with lots of information about the newest things going on at the Farm. This includes a large field of very tall grass that is feed for the cows so El Hogar doesn´t have to purchase any, a newly fenced in corral for goats, and we learned that the Farm´s production of milk has quadrupled since February. Yony is off to a great start with management of the Farm. At the Farm they are eagerly awaiting a new chicken plucker, donated by a group in MD, that will help increase chicken production also.
We returned home and tumbled into the afternoon workshop activities. Who would have guessed that the knitting and crocheting group would have gathered such a following here at El Hogar? Little girls are spending hours sitting and making colorful creations from yarn that Martha, Susan, Jane and Jean then take back to the volunteer house to complete every night. There are requests for scarves and doll dresses and headbands and all manner of knitted goods. Well, not sweaters. Not yet anyway. Another week and perhaps all 100 children would be well outfitted for a NorÉaster.
The evening playtime is magical. The soft warm air and the sound of children´s voices, the locust_like swarm upon any volunteer who ventures outside carrying books or blocks or cards or cars or jenga or Uno or beads or sidewalk chalk. The theme for this week that gets discussed and elaborated on every mornng at the devotional time is WILL. By this they don´t mean willfulness but rather the strength and conviction to do one´s best and carry through on commitments despite obtsacles which will undoubtedly appear. The teachers diligently reminded the children of this tonight during playtime when some boys, to remain unnamed, began pocketing small cars and pretending theyhad given them all back to the volunteers. When the teachers got wind of this crafy behavior, they halted the playtime and gathered all the boys in a circle to discuss the matter. They were not doing their best nor were they keeping their commitment to follow the well known rules of play at El Hogar which clearly say that the children may not pocket all the toys and lie about it to others. What followed was a grand search for all the various hiding place where small things like cars could be hidden, such as under trees and behind bushes, until all the MIA cars where safely returned to the volunteer house.
Today I also had the pleasure of assisting Dr. Virginia Barrow for awhile in the medical clinic . We saw Pedro Sosa who appeared with a gash on his head that needed cleaning and bandaging. He also pointed out to us several other small abrasions he had on his hands, some of which had been there for quite some time. It is clear, from the youngest to the oldest, that all who sought the care of la Doctora ths week received gentle and thoughtful care and attention and went awayhealed on more than one level. We also saw a new girl who had asthma that seemed to have never been untreated in her life. After some discussions with the pharmacy, translations with Arturo and Dona Suyapa, references to the pediatric apps on Dr. Virginia Barrow´s iPhone, she wrote some prescriptions which Suyapa took to the pharmacy ahorita - immediately. Daniela returned to play,being able to breath better and she will have a regime to help manage her asthma in the weeks and month to come.
Tomorrow everyone at El Hogar welcomes the arrival of our new Executive Director, the Rev. Matthew Engleby, or Padre Mateo as he will be known here. There is much excitement and anticipation asa new chapter in the life of not only Matt, but El Hogar, begins. Dios les bendiga, Mateo y El Hogar!
Dona LeesKeenchen
We returned home and tumbled into the afternoon workshop activities. Who would have guessed that the knitting and crocheting group would have gathered such a following here at El Hogar? Little girls are spending hours sitting and making colorful creations from yarn that Martha, Susan, Jane and Jean then take back to the volunteer house to complete every night. There are requests for scarves and doll dresses and headbands and all manner of knitted goods. Well, not sweaters. Not yet anyway. Another week and perhaps all 100 children would be well outfitted for a NorÉaster.
The evening playtime is magical. The soft warm air and the sound of children´s voices, the locust_like swarm upon any volunteer who ventures outside carrying books or blocks or cards or cars or jenga or Uno or beads or sidewalk chalk. The theme for this week that gets discussed and elaborated on every mornng at the devotional time is WILL. By this they don´t mean willfulness but rather the strength and conviction to do one´s best and carry through on commitments despite obtsacles which will undoubtedly appear. The teachers diligently reminded the children of this tonight during playtime when some boys, to remain unnamed, began pocketing small cars and pretending theyhad given them all back to the volunteers. When the teachers got wind of this crafy behavior, they halted the playtime and gathered all the boys in a circle to discuss the matter. They were not doing their best nor were they keeping their commitment to follow the well known rules of play at El Hogar which clearly say that the children may not pocket all the toys and lie about it to others. What followed was a grand search for all the various hiding place where small things like cars could be hidden, such as under trees and behind bushes, until all the MIA cars where safely returned to the volunteer house.
Today I also had the pleasure of assisting Dr. Virginia Barrow for awhile in the medical clinic . We saw Pedro Sosa who appeared with a gash on his head that needed cleaning and bandaging. He also pointed out to us several other small abrasions he had on his hands, some of which had been there for quite some time. It is clear, from the youngest to the oldest, that all who sought the care of la Doctora ths week received gentle and thoughtful care and attention and went awayhealed on more than one level. We also saw a new girl who had asthma that seemed to have never been untreated in her life. After some discussions with the pharmacy, translations with Arturo and Dona Suyapa, references to the pediatric apps on Dr. Virginia Barrow´s iPhone, she wrote some prescriptions which Suyapa took to the pharmacy ahorita - immediately. Daniela returned to play,being able to breath better and she will have a regime to help manage her asthma in the weeks and month to come.
Tomorrow everyone at El Hogar welcomes the arrival of our new Executive Director, the Rev. Matthew Engleby, or Padre Mateo as he will be known here. There is much excitement and anticipation asa new chapter in the life of not only Matt, but El Hogar, begins. Dios les bendiga, Mateo y El Hogar!
Dona LeesKeenchen
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