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| Looking down the valley at Tegucialgapa, the capital city of Honduras |
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| The end of the runway! |
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| Precision landing by talented pilot |
She quickly introduced us to her van driver, Melvin, and
various other friends she has acquired in the past six months by frequenting
the airport weekly. Walking
through the parking lot to the van I
felt as though I had landed on another planet where the eighty plus degree
Fahrenheit temperatures and warm sunshine backdropped the cacophony of sights
and sounds I had never experienced previously. The beds of pick up trucks were filled with luggage and
people exiting into a seemingly chaotic flow of traffic. 
Making our way precariously though the
crowded city streets where it seemed you could purchase anything and everything
out of an over filled bed of a pick up, we made our first stop at the mega
super market easily finding what we needed to tide us over for our visit. Leaving the stacked cinder block
multi colored flat roof homes of the city below us, we headed north up the P15
out of Tegucigalpa and into the mountainous area where the views were stunning,
but the sights along the road were baffling to my senses. The road side stands selling fruits and
vegetables, a horse standing alone two feet from the road tied loosely with a
single rope around its neck, children playing in the shoulder with
miscellaneous debris from the road, and a man with a broad brimmed straw hat
leading his ox carrying supplies strapped over its backs seem to be from a
century past. I may have been
holding my breath as I witnessed vehicles driving three abreast on a two lane
highway speed up a hill into a turn.  |
| Common Tuk tuk |
The ranch itself is comprised of a
couple thousand beautiful acres of land housing over three hundred children and
countless adults supporting their care, a fully functioning farm to provide
goods, a state of art medical clinic (with the head doc Dr. Merlin Antunes, a
former resident), school, church, and even a pool/swimming reservoir and soccer
fields. Not really knowing what to
expect, several things I saw on the initial tour made big impressions on me. The
first was the newly constructed medical center designed for meeting the needs
of the local community with the help of volunteer medical brigades from around
the globe. The second was the
school which includes a library with a "wall of fame" (as coined by
Claire) with photos of former residents who have graduated from college and
graduate school and, most importantly, empty frames for current residents to be
on the wall in the future. The
students understand that hard work and effort in school pays off for a
meaningful, independent future. This was my introduction to NPH Rancho Santa Fe Honduras. |
| Massive gardens |
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| The view from the walkway by our accomodations |
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| These guys greeted us as we toured the farm |
Every evening
after a long day at work, Claire and the other volunteers (who happen to be
from all over the world), head to their respective hogars (houses divided by
gender and age groups) for dinner, playtime or studying, and bedtime with their
children. This happens to be
Claire's favorite part of the day.
Wow. After just my first
evening spent in the hogar with her twenty five chicas, I was completely
exhausted.
As I think of my time in Honduras, I feel blessed by the experience. Twenty five girls' faces, aged 9 to 11 year old, keep popping into my thoughts. We shared so many hugs, smiles, and laughs in such a few short days. We played games, practiced our limited Spanish (giving joke material to the group), tie dyed t-shirts, shared meals (and food), sang goofy songs, cheered, and worshipped together at Mass.
What
became crystal clear to me as I sat in the beautiful sanctuary listening to a
language I do not understand is that we humans share communication universally.
A smile shares love, a fart shares humor (especially among children during the
sermon), a tear shares sorrow.
All
of this is accomplished through the power of our Creator. I did understand the message of the
sermon. Jesus Christ is forever
important in our lives. This is
seen every minute of every day of every year on this ranch. And that folks, is why I feel blessed
by my short but impactful visit to NPH Honduras.
" We promise to nurture and care for these new children. We promise to form them, educate them, guide them and love them as we follow our founder’s example, responding to the needs of abandoned and neglected children as best we can and providing them with love, security, hope and family. This is why we are here, and this is what inspires us to push forwards, even in the most challenging of times and places." -Stefan Feuerstein, National Director, NPH Honduras
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| Healthy happy kids abound at NPH |
As I think of my time in Honduras, I feel blessed by the experience. Twenty five girls' faces, aged 9 to 11 year old, keep popping into my thoughts. We shared so many hugs, smiles, and laughs in such a few short days. We played games, practiced our limited Spanish (giving joke material to the group), tie dyed t-shirts, shared meals (and food), sang goofy songs, cheered, and worshipped together at Mass.
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| The Ranch Church entrance |
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| I love these two chicas! |
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| The simply lovely sanctuary |
" We promise to nurture and care for these new children. We promise to form them, educate them, guide them and love them as we follow our founder’s example, responding to the needs of abandoned and neglected children as best we can and providing them with love, security, hope and family. This is why we are here, and this is what inspires us to push forwards, even in the most challenging of times and places." -Stefan Feuerstein, National Director, NPH Honduras
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| Hijas de Maria chicas - I miss them already!! |
