In Honduras, team Seis Amigas, partnered with a ministry called Hope at Hand, which was founded by a lovely couple, David and Scarleth Jones. We were located in a small exquisite Spanish town called Valle de Angeles, which is an approximate 40 minute drive from the capital city. While most of the country was experiencing uncomfortable humidity, we were living in the cool green mountains. Here’s a fun fact: we were in a cloud forest! (not to be confused with a rain forest). We were high enough in altitude that we could literally see the clouds forming. Hence the town’s name – Valley of the Angels. Neat, huh? Our team helped with a variety of fun things so I hope you enjoy this picture blog 🙂
From Monday through Friday for the month of May, we assisted in feeding the children. According to our hosts, the government of Honduras is supposed to provide three meals a day for all schools. Unfortunately, some schools are harder to reach in terms of transportation and the lack of funds only make matters worse. So instead of receiving daily meals from the government this school in particular received only a day’s worth of food once a year. But the Lord is good for He sparked a passion & called David & Scarleth to go and meet this need. They continue to faithfully provide food for these 22 children both physically and spiritually.
In this same school, we flattened out a hill with the purpose of making a soccer field. What can be accomplished with a bulldozer in half a day’s time, we did manually throughout the month! I now have an even greater admiration for the people who pick ax, shovel, or do any kind of manual labor for a living. Each time we felt like giving up, we’d yell “FOR THE NIÑOS!!!” And it would be enough to refuel our energy.
Every Saturday, we visited 2 widows whom Hope at Hand have already established a relationship with. One widow by the name of Doña Reina, particularly stood out to me. Two years ago the doctor told her that she had only 2 weeks to live. Clearly, the Lord has done a number of miracles in her life as she talked, walked, and smiled like she had another ten years ahead of her.
We helped Dona Reina’s son continue the process of building a house near hers. He thought that it was going to be an impossible project, but with our help along with previous World Race teams he’s getting closer to seeing his goal come to full completion. Also, did you know that you can make bricks out of dirt and pine needles? Pretty cool.
What was unique about this month was piñata making! The piñatas were to be used for all kinds of fun occasions. Hondurans take celebration on a whole other level and it’s awesome!
Finally, we distributed Operation Christmas Child boxes! The organization failed to deliver these gift boxes on time for Christmas so it was instead used for children’s day. This probably rates as one of my favorite moments on the race. For years, I’ve packed these boxes and imagined the child who’d receive it. Now I’ve seen it reach it’s full circle as I watched these children excitedly open their box full of goodies…and honestly, it was better than I had imagined.
If you would like to see more highlights from this month, here’s a link to a recap YouTube video created by Kegan Nall:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbzF3309iKI
