Honduras

Our bus driver, Don Marco - He has a tough job because driving there is an extremely aggressive and dangerous thing, but he did a great job. He can maneuver a bus as if it were a mini cooper! He is such a sweet man!

A sweet older lady who we brought food to. She lives in a tiny shack with dirt floors.

We tried to have an organized water balloon game, but it turned into chaos and water balloon war broke out.

This is our entire team at the girls shelter that we worked on most of the week

One day Brandy and I were left behind to play with the boys while the rest of the team finished up the painting and bunk beds. We got to stay behind because it was our first trip and the rest of the team (Ladies) had been before.

A sweet little boy who lives next to the older lady with his mom and sister, I think. They are also in a tiny shack with dirt floors.

This is Luis and me - my mom is sponsoring him and they call their sponsors their "mom" so that makes him my new brother. :)

This is the ministries church out by the farm. Michelle, Pat and I did a tri on Sunday morning and Michelle and I did a duet on Wednesday night. It was neat getting to worship with all the boys.

THis is a sweet little boy named Nelson.

Don Marco, our bus driver, and one of the boys at the farm

Luis

Sunday after church we went to INFA which is like our child protective services, but instead of placing the kids with foster parents, they go to the INFA building. That is where FCM (Forgotten Children Ministries) gets a lot of their boys. We fed the older kids pizza after we sang for them (Abre Mis Ojos O Cristo- Open the Eyes of my heart, Lord) and then we went back and played with the babies - ages 1 month and up. So sad. They were all just laying in cribs in dark rooms with the lights off even though they were awake. No one ever holds them and plays with them because there are just so many of them and not enough workers.

Luis and Reinaldo showing off their artwork

Some boys we handed out candy to when we were out doing food ministries.

This is Hector and Me yesterday morning before I had to leave for the airport. It was so hard saying goodbye. We were both really sad about it.

I consider Hector my son. He is such a sweet heart and I wish I could have brought him home with me.

Some sweet older ladies who showed up to get some food. We passed out hundreds of pounds of beans and rice.

Thursday afternoon we took the boys swimming near the farm and Reinaldo decided to use that time to teach himself how to ride a bike. He had it down by the time we left. Reinaldo is being sponsored by my sister, which makes him my new nephew! :)

My dear friend, Michelle, with one of her two boys, Brian (on the left) and also pictured are Daniel and Nestor.

This was when we first arrived. It took a bit for Hector to come out because he was really nervous to meet me.

Here is one of the more than 10 rooms we painted this week... and here is the first bunk bed the men built. They did 5 total.

Reinaldo

Michelle holding a sweet little girl while Richie was sharing God with those who showed up to be fed.

Luis

This is the street view of the boys shelter. This is where they also do school through grade 6

Francis (we call him Fi Fi), one of our three translators, carrying some food to the bus.

This is Will, one of three men (Milton and Santos are the other two) who take care of the boys around the clock. They do such a great job with the boys. Here, Will is holding Nelson.

This was a shot from our bus window as we were driving. This is in Tegucigalpa.

Sorry the pictures are all out of order.

The trip went so fast and was such a blessing. I definitely left part of my heart there with Hector and the boys. I left Florida thinking this was a one-time thing. Now I can't imagine how I'm going to make it a few months without seeing Hector.

I got home last night at 10:30 and the kids were up waiting for me. Today I'm staying home from church with Judah and Paeton because Judah has a bad cough and a runny nose. Paeton just wanted to stay home with us because she missed me.

Pray for the country of Honduras. There is so much extreme poverty and so many children living on the streets having to fend for themselves. If you have any interest in sponsoring a little boy from the shelter (or a girl - though they won't have info on any of the girls for a few months probably) it's only $25 a month and every penny of that $25 goes towards helping take care of them. If you are interested, you can let me know and I'll tell you about a little boy and send you pictures, or you can go to Forgotten Children's Ministry website:http://www.forgottenchildrenministries.org/sponsorships.php