Nancy

This will be the first in a series of posts about Nancy, because since the day we met her- she stole our hearts!  Nancy is about as tall as a 4 year old and wears her messy ponytail on the top of her head.  She barely talks and is the smallest in the school by the river.  One day at lunch, I noticed her plate was divided perfectly, with only half gone.  I asked a teacher if she was going to finish and her teacher said that they let Nancy take half of her meal home since she most likely will not have any other food that day.  Nancy always returns the next day with her plate.  As the week went on, we found out that Nancy is so malnourished that she is actually 8 years old.  Nancy is one of our concerns for seeing a doctor as soon as possible and trying to figure out how we can help her regain some health.

Steven

Steven quickly became our new best friend.  He adored Brad!  One of the first things we noticed about Steven was that he had no shoes.  His feet were badly marked up with blisters, blood and scars.  Since we had money to work with from people that supported our trip, we took Steven to the store to buy socks and shoes.  Brad also cleaned up his feet, tended to his wounds and checked on them each day to see the progress of the healing. 

As the week went on, we learned that Steven's parents live in Mexico and he lives in town with his grandma.  He misses his parents. 

Steven quickly became part of our Honduran family- always in the park waiting for us (where the electrical project was being done) and eager to help in any way possible. 

It was sad to say goodbye to him, but we know it is just see ya later.

Shoes

Many children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or going to school, these children are at risk:
•A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause.
•Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected.
•Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential.
-Taken from Tom's Shoes.....check it out

Have you ever gone a day without shoes?  I suggest you try it.

Hola!

Last year, my mom convinced me to serve on a mission trip to la Villa de San Francisco in Honduras.  She had gone the year before and fell in love with the Hondurans.  I had been on 2 foreign mission trips before and was excited to go on this adventure with my mom.  It was amazing!  I instantly fell in love with the country and her people.

I was blessed to have the opportunity to explore a new area of Honduras this year, Pinalejo.  My boyfriend, Brad, also went for his first mission trip ever.  Along the trip, we had so many experiences and "Holy Hookups" with incredible people that we both felt a strong calling to continue to minister to Pinalejo beyond our week long trip.

The biggest "Holy Hookup" was meeting Graciella, or Grace.  Grace is a Honduran that worked in Florida for 27 years and retired with her husband in Pinalejo.  Grace teaches English to the children in the school by the river 4 days a week as a volunteer.  She has also helped many families that live by the river to get food, clothing and pray with them.  When we shared our hearts with her, Grace began to cry because she had been praying for God to send her help to minister to the people who seem forgotten.

Our dream is to tell the stories of the people we met in Honduras.

Our dream is to return to Pinalejo to continue our ministry.

Our dream is that you feel moved to join this movement in any way.

Our dream is to inspire the children by the river to Sueno Grande.