Honduras – Day 5 – Part 2 –  HO272

February 6, 2014

By Lisa Pickering

HO272 – Colonia Jose Angel Ulloa

After lunch at Power Chicken, we headed to HO272 North of Tegucigalpa.  We were only going to spend a few hours at the center, because of the danger in the area.  We would need to leave before dark to make sure that everyone was safe.  It is sad to think that these children live in such a dangerous area, but considering Honduras is called the “Murder Capital of the World,”  that means that there are a lot of these children that deal with gang wars on a daily basis.  I am glad that Compassion works with the churches in these areas, as they are very important to make sure that these children do not join a gang.  They need to know that Jesus Christ is there for them and that He loves them. For those who have been following my blog to learn about my trip to Honduras, we are on the downhill side of the trip. After Day 5 at HO272, all that is left is “Fun Day” while the highlight of our trip, also the sad point as well.

At the Project

 

When we arrived at the center, they guided us downstairs to a classroom.  The pastor and his wife came in and were introduced to us.  They started a video on Youtube.com, “Nuestra Nueva Casa Parte 2“.  The video is written in Spanish, so I used a online translator to translate.  

It was neat to see the rooms know that they are finished and furnished, and filled with children.

We were then taken to meet the children. We split apart into our “family groups”.  The first room we visited, was the nursery that is used during services. It looked like a nursery that you would find at most churches in America.  It was nicely decorated with beds and toys.

Then our group went down a winding staircase to another floor, and saw a group of children playing. They use this room for the children to run around and play, since they do not have an area outside that is safe for the children to play.  The children were happy to see us, and we started handing out stickers.  I had a stack of Disney Princess stickers, and the boys did not care, they were happy to have any stickers.  They had stickers all over themselves, even on their forehead.  It was so fun to watch the children.  They loved the attention from the visitors.

We were told to go back upstairs to help with lunch.  We got to see the new kitchen that was installed with Compassion’s “Complementary Intervention Program” (CIP).  We served the children their lunch, but before they got their food they went into the room behind the kitchen and washed their hands.  There was a cistern in the room with water, and they shared water in a bowl and soap.

 

 

After we fed the children we head back to some of the classrooms, and handed out a few more stickers and some small items, including suckers.  I had brought from Church some little puzzles, that one piece is missing, and you move the pieces around, and then try to get the picture back in order.  It was funny watching all the adults trying to get the little circle out from the corner, so they could move the pieces around.

Home Visits

Well it was time for us to go on the “Home Visits”, and I was going to finally meet my new Compassion child, Genesis.  I was so excited, we were told to put our cameras, cell phones, and other valuables out of site. The area is not very safe, and it was best to keep the items put away. Well as we started out with one of the teachers, we went to one home, but it was the wrong Genesis, apparently there are at least four Genesis in the project who were waiting for a sponsor.  I had Genesis’s card, so I gave it to the teacher, and we headed back and meet up with the director of the Compassion center, and she was not sure where Genesis lives, so she was trying to call and find someone who knew where she lived.  They finally realized that she was a 20-minute walk the opposite direction, and is not a safe area for us to go.  While I was disappointed that we could not go to her home, I went with Hilary’s group, and she was going to the home of her friends Mom, Sandy’s sponsor child.  We went to the young girls home, and visited with her father, brother and her uncle.  Hilary gave her a gift from Sandy, and apparently Sandy had been there to visit her the previous year. Her father was very happy that we were there, and glad that Hilary had come to see them.  He told us that his mother had passed away after Sandy’s last visit.  Besides her family, her Uncle and his wife also live in the home.  The home had belonged to her grandmother before she passed away.   In the room that we were sitting in, there was a large bed, and a hammock hanging from the ceiling, and was tied up out of the way.  There were two other rooms in the home. The teacher that was with us, asked if she could get her letter’s from Sandy.  She went into another room, and brought them out.   You could see the pride in bringing out the letters.   We took a few pictures of Hilary with the sponsor child, and with her family.  We then prayed over the family, and the Uncle was either overtaken by the Holy Spirit, or by other “spirits”.   The teacher helped hold him up, and then helped him into a chair. Well, it was time to head back to the center, and we were running late, so we had to hurry back. When we got back to the center, Grace and Mark had great news for me.  The said when we were done at the center, we would all get on the bus, and another teacher would take us to Genesis home. He knew where they lived. In the meantime, we got to visit with the children, and of course Jay was being “Mr. Cameraman” and was having the children pose for pictures.  He would point at a person, or people, and the children would rush over to get their picture taken. We had so much fun, and then the director brought out ice cream for us to eat. It was so nice and refreshing to enjoy.  Of course there was Mark, ready to sneak a bite of Hilary’s ice cream. (We had a great group of people, and had so much fun, it was like we had known each other for years, not just days.)

Genesis Home Visit

Well, when it was time to leave, we loaded up, and headed to Genesis’s home!  We went up a steep hill, and then stopped, and we got out, and walked up a steep hill, with lots of loose rocks and a little stream of water running down.  We watched out for the “little stream” as we did not know what it was from. When we got up a ways, we were lead to Genesis house, and she came out and greeted us.  I showed Genesis her picture, and said is this you? She said “Sí”.  I told her I was her new sponsor, and was happy to meet her.  Her older brother came out with her, and then we went into her home.  It was small, and in the front room, they had a refrigerator, and you could see they had electricity.   We talked for a little while, and she asked me why I picked her, and I told her that when I had seen her picture, and how sweet she was, I knew that God had brought her to me.  She smiled.  I think she was a little shocked, and did not say a lot. Her mom and dad were at work, and her oldest brother is also a Compassion Sponsor child. He is 15 years old.  They called behind a curtain, to another room, which her other brother was in there watching television.  He is 13, but is not a Compassion Sponsored child.  They were both very polite and nice.  I knew that there were three children in the family, but did not know much more. After we left, I was told that she would be at the “Fun Day” the next day, and I was so glad to get to spend more time with her.  It would have been nice to have meet her parents, but meeting Genesis and her two brothers was great.  It is nice to be able to picture where they live, and how they live.  I know that a television may seem like a luxury, but when they live in such a bad neighborhood, they need something to keep themselves busy while their parents are at work, so that they can keep away from the gangs in the area. After we left, we headed back to the bus, and after dropping the teachers back off at the center, we headed back to our Hotel.

End of Another Day

Another emotional day, and the biggest day was still yet to come in the morning.   That evening, like every other evening on this trip, Cissy and I would debrief by talking about everything that we had done that day, and I would write notes in my journal, so I would remember everything when I got the time to write these blogs.  My plan next time, is to write the blog each evening when I get back to the hotel. I am so glad that I came on this trip, and that I decided to sponsor two more children.  Each night as I said goodnight to my roommate, Cissy, I would close my eyes, and sleep the best sleep I had in a long time.   With everything ready for the next day, it was time to get some good sleep, so I would have the energy for Fun Day at a house full of “Bounce Houses!”

More information in Next Blog Post “Day 6 – Fun Day″

 

Previous Posts “Day 1 – HO372“ ~  “Day 2 – HO330”  ~  “Day 3 – HO330”  ~ “Day 4 – Travel Day“  ~ “Day 5 – Headquarters“