Time to Reflect

I've been home for almost two weeks now. It has been great to spend time with family, friends, and time by myself to just relax and reflect on what has happened over the past five months. I made a decision to change my life because I felt myself getting pulled towards Honduras. I went to Honduras to be a teacher but within a few weeks I was head over heels in love with Breaking Chains homeless ministry and it wasn't long before I started working with them. I love the ministry I work for, we have an amazing team in place with people from all over the states working together to help those who have trouble helping themselves.

I knew when I came home I would miss the kids but I didn't know exactly what that meant. It is seemingly impossible to put into words the feeling I get when I think about Honduras, it is a mixture of not only missing them but the feeling I get that I need to be there.

I get the obvious question of "how long are you staying there?" every few hours from friends and family and my answer is always the same... I am going to take it year by year but I'll know when it is time for me to step away. That time could be next November or 20 years from now I just don't know. I love it that way though, I love working on His time and not my own. God has blessed me with not one but two jobs that I miss with all of my heart and two jobs that I can not wait to go back too. I find it tough to explain my current situation to everyone because these two worlds don't seem connected. It seems like a night and day difference. It is that reason that I am excited for one of my friends, Caity Davis, to come down and see what I do first hand. I sometimes get looks along the line of "you must be crazy" to work so much, so far away, to not even draw even every month. But, I respond the same way when I get those looks, I can't imagine being anyway else right now in my life, and until I can feel right about being somewhere else Honduras will be my home because it is certainly the current location of my heart.

School Starts Early

This last Monday we started our first adventure into bilingual education. Arol is 9 years old but is just now learning how to read and write. He is always excited to have lessons with Michael and I but a few nights a week was not getting him to the level that he needs to be at. That being said I was able to get him enrolled in Nashville School, a sister school to my own school, and have him start in 1st Grade there to catch up in time for him to be in 2nd Grade this coming February. Nervous doesn't begin to describe how Arol felt the days leading up to his first day. His anxiety reached a level of acting out that we hadn't seen in him before and finally he told us that he wasn't going to go. Michael and I marched up to his family's room the night before his first day and were determined to here him say "I am going to school tomorrow." Since my Spanish is well mostly nonexistent, Michael did most all the talking. After lots of "We love you" and "You can do it" like phrases he finally agreed to go on one condition, I go with him. So the next morning we headed to school and he went nervously into his classroom, Michael and Amber left after shedding a few tears and I sat for 7 hours praying that all was going well in the classroom. Come lunch time he ran out of the classroom to sit next to me and I told him he should go play with his new friends, not me. He did not want to do that. But then as if we were in a Disney movie his new classmates were calling his name and he went running to play with them. The rest of the day went great and so did the rest of his first week. I was so relieved to see the new kids accepting Arol, stepping into a new school, a new language, and children who live in an entirely different world than he does was not easy. We know this will be a difficult road for Arol but we pray we are making the right decision about his future. Please keep him and the other kids at Breaking Chains in your prayers as they embark on this new and challenging journey.

"Hakuna Matata"

My Spanish gets a little better everyday... and when I say a little better I really mean just a little. But I am slowly learning how to have actual conversations with the kids here and that means sweet little moments are becoming more and more abundant. Last week we took a few of the teens around the corner to a Pulperia to buy some ice cream and I brought Jonatan with me and he convinced me to buy him one as well. When we got back I told him we should sit outside to eat it since the other kids at the building did not get any ice cream. So as we sat there we started talking about our favorite things. Food, music, movies, that kind of stuff. When I asked him what his favorite movie was he responded with "HAKUNA MATATA" as loud as he could say it. He finished my explaining to me that he means the movie with the lion I took him to see, followed by his own rendition of the song. I wish everyone could have witnessed an ice cream covered Jonatan singing Hankuna Matata it was seriously one of the cutest things I have ever witnessed. As my Spanish gets better I can't wait for more awesome moments with my kids down here!

A Visit from the States

This past Friday we had a group from the States come visit our Breaking Chains building! When I told the kids that we had some "gringos" coming they got extremely excited. The little ones understand that means they have an extra 15 people to climb all over and play with for the night. When the team arrived I was standing outside with Jonatan and when he saw them get off the bus he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards them so he could meet all these new people. The group was awesome and gave the kids at the building an evening full of laughter and fun! It was also refreshing to me to see all these people come in and witness exactly what I have fallen in love with here in Tegucigalpa. I sometimes lose focus and get caught up in the routine that is my life down here. It was good to look back and see all that we have accomplished over the past four months and great to see how excited people were for all the plans we have for the future of our ministry! I can't wait to show other people the great stuff we are doing here and all the awesome plans God has for our ministry in the upcoming year!

Jesus Banquet

Last Wednesday I had the privilege to be a part of an event called the Jesus Banquet. The Jesus Banquet is an annual event put on every December to feed the people living in the communities around the city dump here in Tegucigalpa. The goal is to give these families a nice meal and an opportunity to sit down and enjoy it as well. A local restaurant called Carnitas did all the cooking and it was delicious. David, Mark, and I picked up the workers at 6 am so that they could start cooking early to hopefully start serving lunch at a reasonable time. The people were lined up and ready to eat and luckily everything went as planned and our estimate is over 1200 people were served that day. One thing that still gets me is the amount of children that live in these communities. It seems every family has 5 or 6 kids and it always seems to break my heart to see the condition they are in. However the bright side of having all the kids around was it gave me an excuse to go play with them all day! It was a really awesome experience and I hope to be here next year to help with it again.

Lesson Learned

This Saturday I will be heading back to States for a few weeks. As much as I am looking forward to seeing my friends and family it would be a lot easier if they would just come here instead and save me the trouble. I find myself thinking that a lot, people ask me if I miss "home" and to that I answer I miss my friends and I miss my family but I do not miss the States. I love waking up each morning not knowing what my day might bring, not knowing what God might have planned for my day, and just living this adventure. I've already warned everyone that I will definitely be crying at the airport, then I get my flight to Atlanta, then a 15 hour layover... awesome. But that in itself will be another adventure, thousands of new friends that I'll be bothering for hours on end. I worry who might have left the homeless building during my time away, and what exactly will be waiting for me when I fly back in January. But I have realized this is where I am supposed to be for now, and I'll just let the pieces fall into place in good time. I am extremely excited for my friend, Caity, to come see all the people who have grown so dear to me and who I talk about all the time, and I plan to convince everyone reading this to come down here to see what exactly it is that I've fallen in love with. Yesterday while at the airport here I found out something about myself that I didn't know I had learned so soon. I purchased a book, only $10. This was the first tangible thing I have purchased for myself since I moved here. As I was handing over the 200 Lempiras I found myself thinking about what that money could be used for and how I didn't "need" this book but someone out there "needed" that money to buy food for the day. I hope I never lose sight of that lesson and I carry it with me wherever my life takes me.

Fundraising Information

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” - 1 John 4:18
There are no truer words I can think of when I look at my journey so far and I look at the long road that still awaits me. My name is Corey Bryant, for those of you who may not know me, and I live in Tegucigalpa, Honduras! I can safely say that I love it here and that God has shown me what I need to do here and I have begun His work with the people of this country who need help the most.
I came here to be a teacher, 4th Grade teacher to be exact. That is still one of my main focuses and will always be a driving factor in all my work here. I am a teacher at Interamerican School, an amazing bilingual school here in the country’s capital. Everyday is a new adventure when it comes to teaching, especially when it comes to teaching kids in their second language. I have grown to love the school and will be teaching there again this upcoming school year ( February to November ).
However, as much as I love teaching during the day I found my true calling at a ministry called Breaking Chains. Breaking Chains is a homeless ministry here in Tegucigalpa that seeks to help the homeless community here in the city. The needs of these people are great. I am the Co-Director of Education at Breaking Chains as well as the self appointed Director of Fun. I am responsible for the day-to-day education of the children and teens of the homeless shelter we have here. My school, Interamerican School, has given us the opportunity to enroll a number of children between the ages of 5-10 to school free of charge this upcoming school year. This is an amazing opportunity for these children. However, with this opportunity comes greater responsibility for myself. I have already begun the task of teaching the kids who cannot read the basics of literacy and hope to expand that to weekly English lessons for those who do not attend my school. I will also be spending my evenings at Breaking Chains tutoring not only the children that come to my school but also any person who has a passion for improving themselves through education.
I write this letter not only to inform you but also ask for your assistance in my journey. I will need the generosity of donors to help me with the day-to-day expenses that I encounter on the ground here in Honduras. I hope to gives these kids the best possible learning environment to help them succeed and break the chain of poverty that has ravaged the community they live in and the families they come from. With your help I hope to accomplish all these things and more as God guides me in my journey to love and educate the impoverished youth of Tegucigalpa. You can donate one of two ways. First you can send a check to my mother Laury Bryant at my US address 489 Beech Row Dr. Norton, OH 44203, or you can send a donation via paypal by visiting my blog at http://coreysfearlesslove.blogspot.com/. Also if you have any questions regarding the specifics of donations or just want to stop by and say hello you can email me at corey@bchonduras.org and visit our website at www.bchonduras.org.
Corey Bryant

Christmas Plans and Resident Information

Hey everyone, posting this a little late but you can all still help! We are planning to take all of our Breaking Chains friends to the beach for Christmas... sadly I will be in the states for the holidays and miss out on this awesome adventure :( The following link shows how you can help our dreams become reality and give the people we serve a Chirstmas they will never forget! All of our residents are sponsored but that doesn't mean you can't still donate to help us out for any extra costs we might be in need of. Also I would love for everyone to read the entries of Michael's blog to find out a little information about all the people here who made me fall in love with the country.
http://livingoutmyfaith.wordpress.com/

"Can you teach me how to read?"

As you know from my previous blog a few of the kids at Breaking Chains have gotten the go ahead on attending Interamerican School next year. However, there is still work to be done because we have hopes for a few more of the kids to attend as well. One of those kids is Arol. Arol is 9 years old and has become one of my favorite kids at the building. He is always right by my side at movie nights and is the first person to greet me when I arrive at the building (even though he probably just wants to make sure he can play with my phone before anyone else has a chance.) Arol is a very ummmm expressive child, and you can always tell exactly what he is thinking from his facial expressions. Aside from that he has just about the cutest smile you could ask for. Since I have begun my Spanish lessons he has begun talking even more and he helps me practice every time I am at the building. We are usually the best of friends but one night at a feeding he was furious with me.

It was the day we had taken Jonaton and Dayana to my school for a visit. Arol just sat in the church room with his head held down. When I went up to greet him he handed me the crucifix I had given him weeks ago and stormed off to the other side of the room. I knew why he was mad but I wasn't sure how to best explain it to him since my Spanish is still in its infancy. Amber was nice enough to explain the reason he couldn't visit the school yet. We didn't want them to visit the school if were not sure if they could attend or not. The last thing I want to do to these kids is get their hopes up just to have them crushed. After Amber explained everything to him he came back to the room and apologized to me. I could already tell he wanted to ask me something but I was gonna wait for him to be the one to ask it.

Fast forward about a week. Arol and I are sitting alone up near our aquaponics farm and I am talking with my limited Spanish vocabulary. He stops talking and I can tell he is thinking about asking me the question I knew he would. He grabs my hand and looks up to me and says " Corey, can you teach me how to read?" Of course my answer was yes. I told him we would start Friday and we was extremely excited at the aspect of finally learning how to read. Being in 2nd Grade and not having the faintest idea how to read and not even knowing your alphabet shows you just how sad the public school system here can be.

Friday arrived and when I arrived at the building I told Arol it was time for reading lessons. he immediately told me he no longer wanted to have any classes and he ran to his room. I asked his siblings to leave their family's room so I could talk to him. I found him hiding under his sheets in one of the beds. He told me he was stupid and that he couldn't learn how to read. Arol is far from stupid but no one has ever given the kid a chance to succedd. I doubt anyone has ever even told him that he could do anything. Negativity is all around him so who could blame him for being scared. I told him as best I could that he was smart and that he could learn how to read and promised him that I could help him. After some more convincing and a big hug he grabbed my hand and we went to class.

Michael Lemmons and I have begun teaching the kids how to read. Our fist class was only two kids but it seems everyone who can't read wants to attend which means our next class will be about 5 times as large. We are going to try to give three lessons a week and start english classes once that is finished. Between my limited Spanish and the face that Michael and I have never taught anyone to read in english let alone in Spanish the lessons are sure to be comical. Keep updated on our attempts to educate our friends at Breaking Chains on my blog and her blog by clicking the link Michael L on the side of the page

Arol after he asked me to teach him how to read.

Amazing News

Last week we had our first "Teen Class" at Breaking Chains. To begin the meeting everyone wrote down five metas or goals. My first goal was to learn Spanish and my second goal was to begin taking an active role in the education of the younger children at the building. Within just a few days these goals are off and running.

First I have finally begun taking Spanish classes which I should have done months ago. The Spanish teacher at my school, Ms. Cristina, is my teacher and things are going great so far, I am learning so much!

However, the goal that really got me emotional was the education of the children at the building. The children at the building currently either go to a public school or don't go to school at all. The public school system here in Tegucigalpa is far from good. Teachers are often on strike and this means school is not always in session. The kids also lack a lot of support at the building when it comes to homework and studying. When you parents have so much else on their plates education will most often be taking the back seat. However, if these families hope to "Break the Chain" and get off the streets one of the most, if not the most important, step is for them to get educated. And the prospect of a bilingual education will open up endless opportunities for children who are coming from nothing. I am blessed to work at one of these bilingual schools and especially blessed with some of the most amazing Directors and Administrators that this country has to offer. I approached the boss, Ms. Dania with the idea of sending a few of the kids to Interamerican starting in February, when our next school year starts. I asked what the monthly cost of the school is and how much transportation and books and etc. would cost. She answered with the best possible answer i could have hoped for..... Free monthly tuition for children at the Breaking Chains Building!!! The children at the building who are of age to attend my school (Nursery to 6th Grade) have the opportunity to attend Interamerican with no monthly tuition costs! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that will change these children's life forever. It will be giving them the opportunity to one day get off the streets and to have a job in any number of fields! We still have a few things to discuss such as book costs and transportation but the news is still amazing. At first it may only be two of our kids from the building attending but that number could grow after the kids come to visit the school next week. Currently it looks as if Jonathan and Dayana, aged 6 and 5, will be starting in February! These two are some of Rosie's older siblings and children of Belkis. I hope the number of children attending my school from Amber's building will grow over the next few days but just having the opportunity to send these two sweet kids is such an amazing blessing that I could not help but get a little emotional when I was given my answer. Below are photos of Dayan and Jonatan, hopefully our first two bilingual students at Breaking Chains!

With this great news comes some additional responsibility on my part. I will be helping the kids with their homework and their studies a few nights a week. I also will be raising money for their school books and uniforms. Donations for this or any other purpose can be made here on my page via the pay pal link on the right hand side of the page! Thank you all for your support and stay tuned for more great news from the Director of Fun and Education!

Love in the Underbelly

The Underbelly is the rough part of town. But it is the place where the people I have come to love are living. A place where 20 people sleeping in front of a building is a daily sight. A place where prostitutes outnumber cars. A place where the people who need the most help roam the streets at night. A few nights a week David and I have begun checking in on our friends at the homeless ministry. We go later at night after our feedings at a time where they are all "supposed" to be in the building with the door locked. We expanded this adventure to drivng around the neighborhood that surrounds the building in search of people who needed help. Whether it was a person who needed a baleada or someone who needed a fresh wound to be tended to or one of our friends on the street who just needed a hug and some kind words we decided that someone needed to check up on these people. Everyone in this world deserves to know that they are loved and that someone out there cares for them. Our last few trips have seen the number of people accompanying us grow. Last night Amber and Courtney joined us for Courtney's first trip to the "Underbelly". All was quiet until we reached the building. As we pulled up Jose De La Cruz came running down the street. He informed us that a few of the teens from the building were being beat up a few blocks away. We jumped in the car a sped to the location that DLC had told us to go. When we finally arrived it was a very sad scene. The altercation had ended but the teens looked crushed. I couldn't even begin to put myself in the mindset of these kids. They have been through so much and to continue to have these awful things happen to them is just plain heartbreaking. We began talking to the teens and giving them some much needed hugs and attention before loading those willing to come back to the building in the car. Hugo a.k.a. "The Mexican" did not want to join us but he reached out his hand to me for a much needed handshake before we headed back to the building. When we returned Amber spoke with the teens for a few moments before we prayed for them. Seeing someone at their lowest gives you an idea just how much the kids want to change their lives. I can only give credit to God for making sure that David, Amber, Courtney, and I were there last night to give these sweet kids from the street exactly what they needed at their time of greatest need, love.

WOP, Didasko, and a Reunion

I have been SUPER busy with school recently, and combine that with the women's retreat means I have had very little time for blogging, and for that I apologize. This past weekend I had the privilege to help with the Women of Purpose retreat here in Honduras. WOP as it is known is a retreat for the female missionaries of Honduras. They come from all over the country to relax and worship. It was pretty amazing to see all of these selfless women together in one place. Saturday of the retreat David, the band members, and I went to a children's home, Didasko, to drop off some clothes and food. We would have about an hour to spend some time with the kids. I saw a soccer court and knew exactly how I was going to spend the next hour. I asked the first kid I saw, Juan Pablo, where the ball was to play. He grabbed it and challenged me to a race. I won. We played for a little while by ourselves before we noticed that no one else had followed us to play. We returned to where everyone was at and I played soccer with Juan Pablo and his friends. I really enjoyed being able to spend the afternoon with the kids there at Didasko!

Sunday was one of my favorite days here in Honduras. It was one of the last days of the retreat and we had been working on a surprise for Jen Wright for a few days. David's plan was to get ahold of the 8 brothers and bring them to the retreat so that she could visit with them since we had not seen them since they moved in early August. We finally got ahold of them on Saturday and planned to meet them in Comayagua to bring them to the airport to see Jen. We woke up early Sunday morning and took our road trip to meet them. We were to meet them at the Wendy's in town so as we sat and waited for them excitement levels were reaching an all time high. When we finally spotted them coming around the corner Carlos had to tell me not to scream. Marvin came to me first, gave me a great big hug and asked, "COREY!!!? What are you doing here?" It was all I could do not to cry. We then set off on our journey to the airport where Jen was helping a few of the ladies with their flights back home. As we drove back Jen called David a few times but since we had 11 extra people with us we couldn't answer. When we arrived at the airport we hid the boys from sight so they could jump out and surprise her when she walked through the doors! It was an amazing surprise and Jen was overjoyed to see her boys! After the airport we spend the afternoon at the women's retreat with the boys. It was pretty awesome to spend time and play with all of them, but also sad knowing that the next morning they would be taking the bus back home. Needless to say that night I had some sad goodbyes. However, it was great to see them and to see that they are ok.

Excited

Well it is official! I will be teaching Fourth Grade for the entire year next year! I am super excited! Starting at the end of this month I will spend a month at Nashville School helping them in whatever aspect they see fit. I will then be home for a month before returning to start the school year at Interamerican! The teachers and administration here have been so helpful and friendly and I can not wait to be with them for an entire year! My class size next year will almost double! I also hope to do some language school over my break to be able to help in more ways at Breaking Chains while I am here.

"Love each other as I have loved you"

We are always taught as children to treat other how we would want to be treated. This lesson would come to my mind a lot when I first came here to Honduras. Now however it seems to be second nature. I have met the widest variety of people here in Honduras. From my various students and my new coworkers, to the people from the street here in Honduras, I LOVE them all. This message is so very important. It doesn't matter what we are or where we have come from, it doesn't matter the clothes we have on or the cars we drive. What truly matters is the relationships we can forge and the lives we have the power to change. If you are reading this it means you are on the hard side of the equation. The side of the equation that can shape, mold, and save the other side. We have the means to do amazing things for people less fortunate than we are. Whether its a smile to a stranger or a hug to someone in need it is important for us to do these things because it is what He would do. We need to be open to everyone God puts into our lives because there is a reason for their presence.
I can now say I treat people the way I want to be treated. I want people to smile, laugh, and give me a great big hug. So that is what I'll do. And it is as simple as that.

Breath of Fresh Air

The last few days have been pretty frustrating for me at school. My kids were not doing homework assignments, not paying attention in class, and just flat out behaving badly. With only a few weeks left of school I can't blame them for being antsy but it has been really tough, and to top it all off I have a head cold and have been losing my voice all week. Today, yet again, the majority of my 4th graders didn't do their homework. They were punished with a day without recess and they were yet again pretty mad with me. On the bus (van) ride home I sat in the back of the van instead of where I usually sit which is up front. In the back is where most of the younger kids sit and because they are just beginning to learn english I usually can't talk with them too much. As I sat towards the back the kids kept pointing out everything they could find that they knew the english word for. I realized they were doing this because they wanted to show me that they could speak my language. Also I now know just about every house's color in the entire city thanks to them. It was just what I needed today. I needed God to show me yet again that there is a reason that I am here. I was put here to help these kids and not just the 4th graders I spend the majority of my time with. I am here because of the entire school, I am here because of the sweet faces at Breaking Chains, and I am here because of the countless people I will still be meeting on my journey here in Honduras.

My Students

My kids and I at the Museo para la Identidad Nacional!

The Faces I Love

A few of the people I have come to know at Breaking Chains

This is Kimberly, however everyone else calls her by her other name Nicole. I love this girl. She might be a bit mischievous but she is my favorite. She greets me with a big hug everyday and is constantly starting tickle wars with me.

Here we have Kimberly, Diana, and Escarleth. These are some of the sweetest girls you could meet. Well Diana not so much.... She is a handful but her and I have been able to share some sweet moments together. Escarleth loves running with us. She has recently been the only child that comes with us and she keeps up with the adults just fine.

A sweet moment for Diana and I!

This is Martin. But I call him Luscious because of that great hair of his. He does not live at the building but shows up consistently now. At first he would not allow us to give him clothes but that has changed. My next goal is to get him to accept a pair of shoes.

There are two babies at the building and I constantly get their names mixed up. This is me slowly getting over my fear of holding babies.

Jonatan and Arol. These are two brothers that can always bring a smile to my face. They are my movie watching buddies even though Jonatan has succeeded in falling asleep at every movie so far. I am especially excited about bringing these two kids to see Lion King this week!


For even more info on some of the people at the Breaking Chains Building visit Amber's blog at http://amberinhonduras.blogspot.com/ She updates the blog all the time with stories and some beautiful photos!

A New Family

Last night was a monumental day at the Breaking Chains building! The number of people living there has not reached 40! The newest addition is a family which includes a boy with down's syndrome, his two siblings, and grandmother. The family is as sweet as can be and had nowhere else to turn. They first arrived at church on Sunday and said that they were being evicted from their current residence because they could not afford to pay the rent. The move in date was set for the next day and last night we went to help them move their belongings. I was amazed by what I saw.

David, Amber, Rosie, Yovany, Escarleth, and the mother of the family went in David's truck to pick up the family and all their belongings. It was raining when we arrived at a small apartment building. The entrance to the building was wide open and we walked down a long corridor until we reached their room. Yes just a room. A room where 6 people live. A room the size of the room I am sitting in right now. They had only one mattress. It suddenly hit me how much I take for granted how truly blessed I am. I can't imagine having everything my family owns fit into half of a truck bed. I though about all this as I sat in the truck bed with two homeless teens, Yovany (a.k.a. King Kong) and Escarleth. These two are always smiling and always quick to make you laugh and two of the most fun loving kids at the building. It shows a lot about them seeing them be the first to volunteer to help a family they had just now met. When we got back to the building everyone came outside in the rain to bring all the family's belongings into their new room. I appreciate more and more everyday just how awesome the things my new friends down here are doing to help show the people of this country love and friendship.

Love

It is OCTOBER! Wait that can't be right. Two months ago I started my journey when I got offered a position to come down here to Honduras and teach and I have been blessed with such an amazing experience so far. Between school and the homeless shelter the last few weeks have been super busy which means I have been neglecting the blog so I apologize for that. It is a holiday weekend down here so I don't have to work again til Monday! It will be nice for a few days of sleeping in. This last Friday was definitely one of my favorite days so far at Interamerican. They day was filled with traditional Honduran games and events which meant I got to play with the kids almost all day! The highlight of this was when the school chanting "Mr.Corey" while I was jumping some rope! I was in charge of encostalados. Which is a potato sack race back in the states! The kids from grade pre-K to 6th (and of course the teachers) all had a great time! One of the things I LOVE most about working at Interamerican is the amazing teaching staff here. They are all so helpful to one another, and especially helpful to me! But also they are always ready to have fun with the kids and one another!

We have now begun having movie night every Saturday night at the homeless ministry! This has become the highlight of me week down here. Every week we bring a projector and watch a movie with all the people at Breaking Chains. The residents absolutely LOVE the movies and I have to admit I LOVE being able to share my Saturday evenings with them! The last 3 movie nights Jonatan has managed to fall asleep on me, he is definitely one of my favorite kids ever!

I really LOVE this country. It has welcomed me with open arms and has taught me so much about myself already in such a short amount of time. I am so excited to see what He has in store for me next as every day brings with it another amazing adventure.

Hugs

I might not be good at speaking Spanish but I think I've more than made up for that with hugs. Hugs go a long way especially when someone is having a bad day. Last night at the BC building there was some arguments and some all around chaos. I went inside to play with the kids and keep them busy while the craziness went on outside the building. Most of the kids were fine, running around and screaming and playing with each other. However I couldn't help but notice towards the end of the night there was a familiar face missing. Diana wasn't running around or playing with the kids. I assumed she had went to bed because it was getting rather late. I went in to a room to check on the dog when I saw Diana crying in a corner. Diana is not one to be sad. She is either angry at you or she is very excited and running all over the building. I went up to her and asked her what was wrong. All I could really get her to say was that it was about her mom. I picked her up and gave her the biggest hug I could manage. We then went to find one of the cats and sat against the wall for awhile. After a few minutes the crying stopped. It was at this moment I realized I am supposed to be here. I thought to myself that if I wasn't there to help her she would have cried herself to sleep. God gives us the opportunity to be where we are needed. He allowed me to come here and is putting me in positions everyday to help those around me. I am so thankful for the opportunities he has given me and I can't wait to see where else he will be taking me in the coming weeks, months, and years!

Home

Before coming to Honduras I could only name a few places that have ever had that "home" feeling. I have been here for over a month now and we just returned from a three day trip to El Salvador to renew some visas. The trip was amazing! Beautiful beaches and relaxation were both needed and I feel quite refreshed. However I could not shake the feeling that I was missing something while I was gone. After visiting the homeless ministry tonight I realized that I was missing the kids here in Honduras! The smiles you get from the kids here are impossible to beat. After just a few days of not getting to see the smiling faces that I've become so accustomed to seeing on a regular basis I was definitely missing them. When we arrived tonight and Kimberly came up and gave me a big hug and a smile I felt at home.

I also want to let everyone know that I plan on taking the kids from the homeless ministry to see the Lion King here in Honduras! The cost of the movie is roughly $4 so donate that amount and you have paid to allow a child here to see the best movie ever made! I can't wait to share my favorite movie with my favorite kids!

Children's Day Part 2

Saturday was Children's Day at Breaking Chains Homeless Ministry! David, Amber, and I spent the days leading up to it collecting and packing up toys, making cupcakes and cakes, and getting mentally prepared for the unknown chaos that awaited us. My day started with meeting the parents at school to give them their child's report card. This was actually pretty awesome as almost all the parents I met were excited to have me here teaching their kids. After this it was off to the building for a fun filled day with over 125 people. We played games, served some good food, and ended the day with watching Rango! In between all this we had a little chaos that ended in some people being escorted from the building. But overall I would have to say the day was a success because there were plenty of smiling children filling the building. Here are a few photos from the day at Breaking Chains!

Children's Day Part 1

I had the privilege to celebrate Children's Day twice! On Friday we celebrated at Interamerican and on Saturday we celebrated at Breaking Chains! For those of you who don't know what Children's Day is it is basically Christmas for the kids here in Honduras. It is filled with presents, candy, games, pinatas, and just about everything else that would make a child smile.

Friday at Interamerican we had a "Disco" which is basically just a big dance party that we had on the soccer field at school! The kids LOVED it. Especially since we started giving them candy at 8 a.m. All the grades from pre-k to 6th grade were out dancing on the field! It was really awesome seeing everyone at the school, including us teachers, having a great time. Throughout the day we had a total of 8 pinatas set up and each grade had their own to break open. Luckily no one was hurt as multiple bats were flying through the air all around the school. Each child also brought in some kind of food to share! Here are a few photos from the day!

A few of my students!

The "Disco"

Michael getting ready for his crack at the pinata

Thank You Mr. Corey

I though I would share with everyone a cute little story about my day. Every day at recess and lunch I monitor or small soccer field to make sure none of the kids get hurt. Usually it is uneventful and I try to go on the field and play with the kids. Last Friday however one of our 1st graders fell on the ground and seemed to be hurt. I stopped the game and ran out to see if he was ok. It was one of the kids who I have spoken to a few times who loves to show off his english skills whenever he has an audience. He scraped his arm and had a few tears. I picked him up and carried him back over to where I was sitting and calmed him down. I let him slowly explain what happened to him and then we discussed soccer for a little bit until he had stopped crying. Once he realized he was going to just fine he ran back out onto the field and rejoined the game. This morning when I arrived at school he ran up to me gave me a huge hug and said "thank you Mr. Corey for make me feel all better before." Moments like these make this whole experience beautiful.

This Saturday is Children's Day here in Honduras. It rivals Christmas and all the kids are getting very excited! I have the privilege of celebrating Children's Day TWICE! First on Friday we will celebrate at school! There are no classes all day instead its basically one big party! We are planning a "Disco" for the students and each kid will bring in food, snacks, and drinks for their classes to share! Then on Saturday I will get to celebrate with the kids at Amber's Building. She is expecting around 200 kids!!! These two days will definitely be different and I will make sure to document as much as I can to share with you all!

I came here to Teach, but all I do is Learn

I knew that coming down here I'd be doing more learning than teaching but I never expected it to be this extreme! Everyday I learn something new about the culture, the people, but also about myself. I learn things I hope and pray that I will never forget. The last few days have truly been a blessing. Amber, who runs a homeless ministry down here, has her car being worked on and is without any means of transportation these past few days. David has been driving her around which has given me the opportunity to spend a great deal of time at her homeless ministry getting to knows the people there! The members of the homeless shelter are all so unique and special! Their community is truly a beautiful thing to witness. They come together, especially at church on Sunday, and show how much of a loving family they are! As expected the kids there have a special place in my heart! They have taught be a lot about being grateful for everything that I have. These kids don't have much but are constantly smiling. They are grateful for something as small as a trip to play soccer! After an awesome afternoon today of playing soccer with the kids we dropped them back off at the shelter. Before going inside the whole lot of them hugged David goodbye to thank him for taking them to play soccer! Tomorrow I will be helping again with Children's Church and I am so excited! A lot of kids only come to Amber's on Sunday to come to church and attend the feeding that takes place after! These kids are some of the sweetest kids you'll meet and I can't wait to get to know them even better as well!

My Classroom

Sunday School with Corey and David

Today David and I had the privilege of teaching the children at church! Since Courtney and Hines have returned to the states, and because Darwin had a soccer game there was a slight change in the normal line up for church at the homeless ministry. Amber preached, this left it up to me and David to think up a quick little lesson for Sunday School. We decided to continue to talk to the kids about love (my favorite topic). We asked the kids to draw on a piece of paper what love meant to them. We also cut hearts out of coffee filters and had them color them. We then sprayed the coffee filters with a little water to make the colors look like tie-dye. We had around 20 kids with us this evening and the majority of them were quite hyper! One child in particular stood out to me tonight. His name is Noey and I hadn't seen him at Amber's building before. He was extremely sweet and well behaved and was very motivated when it came to drawing his interpretation of love. He drew Jesus surrounded by hearts and he took his time to make sure everything was just right! It was simply adorable. After Sunday School had finished it was time to eat! Noey sat next to me and as he ate he kept offering me food from his bowl. It hit me that this little boy who may not have eaten yet that day was more concerned about making sure his new friends had food than he was about his own apetite. After realizing this I spent the rest of the night playing with Noey and making sure I got as many smiles out of him as I could! However, this did not include letting him win at arm wrestling, I beat him every time. I hope to see this little guy come to the homeless ministry more often so I can get to know him better! After dinner it was time to run! As usual I had a child with me, instead of Jonathan I had his brother Arol run with me. Arol was more up to the running challenge and fortunately I never had to carry him.

The most memorable image from tonight came from two unexpected members of the homeless shelter. Diana is one of the youngest children at the shelter and is usually acting like any 5 year old girl does. Running around, screaming, and causing chaos. Melvin is one of the most caring people I have ever met, and even though he has never seen my face he made an attempt to get to know me today. He is blind and also has recently injured his leg quite badly. Melvin was walking into church and between the loud noises of all the people and all of the people running around he couldn't find a place to sit. I was on the other side of the room and was about to go help him when I saw Diana walk towards him. She reached up, grabbed Melvin's hand and led him to a seat. These images of Honduras will never cease to amaze me.

More Fun With The Homeless Ministry

They last few days have been filled with awesome activities at school and with the people at the homeless ministry! On Friday I attended my first Honduran field trip! The majority of the school (pre-K through 6th grade) went to the Air Museum. It was really interesting to hear and see and learn a good deal about some of the history of the country. They had planes dating back all the way to the 1930's and explained a little about some of the wars the have participated in. The field trip was great other than one of my students pushing another child down in the plane we got to go in. This was only a big issue because the plane was on a slant the child rolled and I mean rolled down the length of the plane. Needless to say that was the last field trip my student will be attending this year. Next week is exam week at school so we spent the rest of the day Friday working on our long division so they are prepared for their first exam, Math! After a little one on one tutoring with some of the students who were struggling I am confident they will all do great on their exam!

Friday evening we were back to training with the awesome people from the homeless people. There is going to be a 5k that we will be participating in sometime in early November and we have decided to run 3-4 times a week to train. This Friday little Jonathan, pictured with me below, decided we wanted to run the entire time. The first two days of training he only did half. Unfortunately he was not quite ready to be running the whole time so he spent a good deal of time on my shoulders. This slowed me down a little and the people at all the street shops really enjoyed seeing this gringo running through the streets at night, covered in sweat, with a child on his shoulders. We didn't give up and finished just a little ways behind everyone else! This week a new child has joined the family at Breaking Chains. His name is Herman and he is determined to talk to me even though my Spanish is still awful. He just doesn't seem to understand that I barely understand him. But he is really good at hand motions and has taught me a lot over the past few days. He is definitely an awesome kid!

Today we went to Baxter to play soccer with the kids and teens from the homeless ministry. The ride there was interesting to say the least. We had 11 people consisting of me and 10 Hondurans riding in the bed of David's truck. Of course five minutes into the car ride it decided to rain and we all enjoyed the ride anyway. When we arrived the rain had stopped but not for long. Right after we started playing we were part of a good hour long downpour! This didn't stop anyone of the kids from having an awesome time! I played goalie and they were all impressed every time I made a save. As long as I am here they will always be surprised when I do anything athletic. The people at the homeless ministry are definitely growing on me. They are all so loving and are always so excited whenever me and David arrive! I definitely look forward to every visit and activity that we have with these amazing people!

Running Through the Streets

The last few days have flown by but they have been some of my favorite days here! We are starting to train for a 5k with the people from Amber's homeless ministry and EVERYONE is participating! We started Monday and will be training every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening after we feed. We run in the streets and it is probably quite a sight to see when a couple gringos and about 20-30 homeless people ranging in age from 6-70 come running your way. The cops seem to give us the best looks of confusion. We are starting out slow and Amber has a training regiment set up so I'm sure it will be getting more and more challenging as we continue. She has support in the states for fundraisers of people running their own 5k the same day we will be running down here!!!

Today as we ran I was towards the back because I was holding hands and running with our youngest runner Jonathan who just celebrated his birthday! (Amber made cupcakes!!!) He refused to keep his shoes tied so we stopped every couple minutes to put his shoes back on putting is farther and farther behind. However, the entire time I would put my money on Jonathan having the largest smile on his out of the entire group! He is definitely one of the sweetest little guys I've meet down here and I really enjoy getting to spend time with him four days out of the week! He always greets me and David with biggest hugs and smiles you could imagine!

Running in the streets also gives me a great time to reflect on the short time I've been here so far. I've realized how much I've already changed and how far I still have to go. Today I though a lot about my communication with the people here in Honduras. I realized why people learn a language so fast when the move to another country. Yes part of it is because you are surrounded by it. But I think the biggest reason is people yearn to communicate better with the people they care about. That is exactly what I'm going through. I am learning as much as I can because I can't wait to have more in depth conversations with the people at the homeless shelter as well as the countless number of people I have yet to meet that I'm sure I'll want to talk to. Luckily the wonderful teachers I work with at Interamerican are working with me everyday on my Spanish skills and everyday I am getting better.

I'm not used to going to bed every night so excited for the next day that I struggle to fall asleep. Everyday down here I am excited to wake up and start. Thank you all again for your support!

First Day Teaching

Today I finally got to teach and the 4th grade kids at Interamerican were more excited than I was! We have exams next week so we spent half the day reviewing for their tests. Math is definitely tough for them it takes a lot of drilling and repetition but after today they seemed to finally grasp long division. The afternoon we dedicated entirely to preparation for Wednesday's Spelling Bee that will have all the school's 4th, 5th, and 6th graders in it. This means my class is already at a disadvantage being the 10 youngest participants. However I like our chances because I've never seen 10 kids more excited about spelling. Literally jumping out of their seats just to have a chance to be the first one to spell "awkward." I can already tell I am going to love this experience and I am praying that it will last a long time because I'm already learning so much from these kids!
I had lunch duty today and what that means is make sure the kids don't kill each other as they run around for 30 minutes since they already ate their lunches during recess. (it seems really backwards doesn't it?) As I sat there all the kids not in my class would stop in their steps when they saw me. At first I though it was probably because I was the new teacher but then I realized the obvious answer. I am the only white person in the entire building. It was really humbling. I've never been in a situation where I was alone like that yet every time after they stopped they would come up and talk to me to show off their english skills! Everyday before school the teachers meet up to pray. Today they started to pray in Spanish, looked at me, smiled, and changed to English. I honestly could have cried right then and there. Every one from the students to the teachers to the bus drivers have been more than accommodating and more than excited about my arrival at the school. Feeling this welcome makes me realize that I'm going to love waking up every morning more than I ever have before.

A Very Special House

Today we build a house!!! The house is for a 20yr old and his family, including a child! We had the privalage of working with a small group that had not experienced the awesomeness of the build before. The were very enthused and very excited for the opportunity to be a part of something so important. I was also excited because since I've been sick I knew I would not be of much help today when it came to work. We set out for the build around 7 and Mark had already dug the four holes we needed to get started! Unfortunately the terrain to get to the house was a little rough but we had some very impressive Hondurans with us who more than handled brining all the wood. (and even I carried a couple pieced from the insistance of Jonny) The house went up extremely fast because as usual we had a good deal of help from the neighbor kids! I managed to continually hand off my hammer and nail to play with the kids and my spanish is improving so I even managed a little conversation or two while I was at it. One kid in particular stands out in my mind. I believe his name was Josue and he was quite the little thief. Within five minutes of our arrival he managed to take my limon frio gatorade, my favorite flavor. I knew he took it and I would have gladly given it to him had he asked. He then was pretty mischievous throughout the day, at one point David even told him to get out of the house. We noticed him pocketing some screws and told him to give them back as well. This kind of behavior isn't out of the ordinary but what struck me the most is when we finished and prayed for the house. He made his way to me and sat on my lap and held my hands as we prayed. Little moments when we see the good side of people are truly awesome sights. It is also awesome to see God provide a house for someone so deserving! Mark said something really awesome today that I guess I hadn't really thought about before. A house to you and me is the same as a house to someone living in poverty. Even though a house to us is large and a house for them is small. Imagine a group of people you may have never met showed up on a plot of land you just bought and put up the house you and your family need. They didn't charge you for it, they didn't ask for any favors in return, they just built because God had provided them with the ability, tools, and materials to do so. It is Awesome.

A Couple Photos From Honduran Football

We have the same smile!

Casa

If you know me you know that the one thing that might get me out of bed if I'm sick is the promise of going to play with some awesome kids! I hadn't left my bedroom/bathroom since Monday, so when I heard we would be heading to see the Casa kids I decided to take my chances and head out. The purpose of our trip was for Jenn Hines to say goodbye to the kids she has fallen in love with over her many months her in the country and it was awesome watching her interact with the kids, Cindy and little Josue especially! When we arrived Fernando grabbed me instantly because he wanted to show me his many tricks on the trampoline. I'll try to post some of the videos later because they are pretty impressive! After explaining why I wasn't going to be jumping on a trampoline anytime soon he decided our best plan for the afternoon was drawing pictures of ice cream cones. I'm not sure why, but I must say I draw a mean triple scoop ice cream cone. It took the combined efforts of a few of the kids but they got me to go play soccer but sadly after about five minutes I was done for. This was the third time I've been with the Casa kids and each time you interact with them you get more and more attached to them. They are truly amazing kids!

Sick Away From Home

Sorry I haven't written the past few days but I haven't really had much to write about. Sunday night I started feeling ill and by Monday afternoon I was done for. Luckily before I got to sick I was able to go to school! I will be teaching at Interamerican which is associated with the Nashville School. I will be a long term sub for 4th grade while the current teacher has her baby. They are on a different school schedule then in the US so they finish up school on November 20th. I'm not sure what I will be doing after that but like most things on Honduras I guess I'll just have to wait and see. I will have 10 students and after meeting them I can't wait to start teaching! The school's spanish teacher told me that while I am there her goal is to teach me as much as she can. I am very excited about that, free language classes! I'm still feeling a little sick but hopefully later on today I'll feel well enough to venture out to Casa with David and Hines.

A New Home, and a New Job

Yesterday we built a house! In case you haven't seen it yet. Watching me attempt to build houses is very comical. During our missions trip earlier this summer I spent more time trying to escape the build site to play with kids then I spent actually building. However, this was not the case yesterday. We were helping Mark Connell with the build and it was in quite an interesting location. To get to the build site you had to climb a very steep set of stairs that were made out of old tires. Once you got to the build site the first thing you would notice would be the lack of space. We literally had exactly the right amount of space to build a house in so we had to be careful not to fall on the roof below us. After getting the four posts of the house lined up, the hardest part, the house went up quickly! Mark's wife Lori also came to help us build! They are a pretty awesome couple doing some amazing things down here in Honduras!

One thing I have noticed down here is that when someone sees something good happening it is hard for people not to come on over and help. As we were finishing up the final wall I noticed that my height would be an issue in reaching the last few nails. All the bricks were being used to help others climb higher and I knew I would have to figure something out rather quickly. A young boy had been watching us from up the hill. He had just been sitting with his dog investigating just exactly what it was we were doing. I decided since Honduran kids love sitting on shoulders this would kill two birds with one stone. I had Jenn Hines ask him if he would come over and help us finish and we rushed down the hill to assist us. I picked him up, put him on my shoulders, and got to work!

In other news I found out today that I will be teaching 4th grade at Nashville School here in Tegucigalpa! I'm very excited and can't wait to get to work on Monday morning!

Street Ball... Pun Intended

Today we had the privilege of playing soccer with the boys who stay at Amber's shelter! I love soccer and I love Honduras so this was definitely an equation for a successful Thursday afternoon. After hanging out at the homeless ministry for a little while and getting to know some of the people there better, we headed out to play soccer. The field, like many here in Honduras, is concrete. This is a little different from what I'm accustomed to back in the states. We shot around for a little bit and then picked teams. I'm not sure why but they decided to pick me second which was probably going to hurt our teams chances of victory. Even though I'm far from good they didn't hold that against me throughout the game. The one thing I noticed while playing is that they were always smiling. If you didn't know it you would never guess what these kids have gone through but I doesn't prevent them from enjoying the little things like soccer with their friends. After a little break we got back to playing and they literally had to pull me back onto the field because I was enjoying the break from physical activity just a little too much. We played a little longer before calling it a day and heading back to the homeless ministry. Amber's shelter is definitely one of my favorite places here. There is never a dull moment and you always see some amazing smiling faces!

A Night at the Homeless Ministry

After a long day of travel I got to relax in a pool for a little bit but then it was off to the city. David, Hines, and I went to the homeless ministry which is run by an amazing woman named Amber. A large group from North Carolina was there and they were quite energetic! Running around, playing soccer, and even doing a little dancing with the people of the homeless shelter. I was pretty tired from my long day of travel so I sat back and watched the going-ons of the place. I hadn't really gotten a chance to do much watching and learning when I was down here earlier in the summer because I was constantly doing something. Watching the people there was pretty awesome! I was also lucky enough to talk to one of the guys there who spoke english (even though at first I couldn't tell hehehe) He was carrying around his birth certificate which David could tell confused me. He explained that in Honduras anyone under the age of 18 must carry around their birth certificate or they will be put in jail for the night by the police. Once you turn 18 you get your ID and then you must have that on your person or you spend a night in jail.

Thank You

I am getting really close... like really really close to embarking on my adventure. I will be sending out letters to continue my fundraising but I also want everyone who reads my blog to know they can help! My cost of living each month will exceed the amount I am making from my work at the school... (by a good deal). I am relying on YOU to help me! There is a link here on my blog that allows you to donate directly to my paypal account. Any donation is appreciated and will be used to help the children in Honduras. I will be updating everyone on exactly what their donation is doing and how it is helping the people of Honduras! If you have questions beyond this about donations such as a place to mail a check or the exact use of your donation please email me at cbryant518@gmail.com
Thank you all so much for your support, donations, thoughts, and most importantly your prayers!

I'll know my name as its called again

It's werid, I had months to prepare myself for my week long missions trip. However, I only have a couple days to prepare myself for this awesome adventure. I know I am ready though. My bags might not be packed. I might not have any idea what I'll be doing exactly. And if you have traveled with me you know my hatred for being alone in a line. Having said those things I am not afraid though. I am not afraid because EVERYTHING fell into place in a matter of 48 hours to allow me to do this. Everything from a former employee returning to Best Buy to help me leave to a wonderful place to stay in Honduras. God truly does great things and sometimes he can do them in the blink of an eye. I guess this is what they call a leap of faith...

New Adventure

I just booked my ticket! I am headed back to Honduras and for an entire school year! I will be working at Nashville School in Tegucigalpa! I will have more details once I get down there next Wednesday so stay on the lookout for more updates. Thank you all for the support so far it means the world to me knowing that so many people are in support of what I'll be doing!

Honduras Missions Trip

The Gift Honduras Gave Me
I am back home now and all I can think about is hopping on a plane and going back to Honduras. The experience was only a week but it has changed me forever. The people I met, the relationships I built, and the kids of Honduras that I fell in love with. All in all it was probably one of the best weeks of my life and I just hope all the memories stay as vivid as they are right now. If you know me you know that kids are my passion. I am going to be a teacher and getting the chance to be with kids all week was amazing. Whether it was hanging out with the brothers all day or just playing with some kids in some random village in the mountains it was all just so awesome that words can’t even begin to describe how much I loved it.

I can’t wait to go back and when I do I hope it is for a more extended period of time so I can get to know the country and its people even more. I fell in love with the country and its people in just one weeks time so I can not wait to see what a longer trip can do. I miss the boys already and I can’t wait to see them again soon. I can’t thank them enough for what they taught me.

A Mountain of a Day
Today was an up and down battle emotionally for our team here in Honduras. Our first stop of the day was to the special needs orphanage. When we arrived we were told some devastating news. The girl Ashley had been telling me about all week, Izzy, had became ill and had passed away. Even though I had never met this girl I knew she had to be absolutely amazing from just listening to Ashley talk about her with such love and admiration. While at the orphanage all of us had some great experiences with the children. Their smiles and laughter are some of the most amazing things here in Honduras. The boys spent the night again last night so they were with us all day again!

After the first orphanage we went to the Dump. The Dump here in Tegucigalpa you have to see to believe. Hundreds of people live, and I do mean live in the dump. Our goal today was to feed some of them. As you drive towards the dump the scenery goes from sad to heartbreaking as you see men, women, and children in conditions you never thought possible. As we drove in we had to have people guard the food on the back of the truck so that it was not taken. When we got to a crowded spot we had the kids stay in the van as we got out to great the masses. The man in charge of the feeding is Mark Tindel. He works at Casa de Esperanza and at least once a week comes to the dump to feed. We passed out beans, rice, tortillas, and water to the people at the dump. Mike and I were in charge of passing out the water and it went fast. I got down to just one pouch and my goal was simple, give the last bit of water we had to a child. Two people came towards me, a man with a machete, and a little girl with a smile. I don’t even have to tell you who ended up with that water.

After leaving the dump we went to the Mother Theresa Orphanage. This place had some amazing kids. Daniel quickly made a new friend who wouldn’t part from his shadow. And his name was Daniel too! Steve also connected with a child, Kenny. They were inseparable all afternoon! One of the nuns there pointed out a small girl, Jacqueline who was shying away from our group. She was such a sweet little girl! The nun told me that when I leave the little girl would cry. But it didn’t take that long because as soon as anyone but me touched her she started bawling. Luckily Hines was there to help me calm her down. Side note, she also covered me in warm strawberry milk.

Our busy day continued when we went to the Jesus statue at one of the highest points of the city. From there we got to see a storm roll in and the view was breath taking. We then had to run back to the car to beat the storm and luckily we all made it back before the storm came.

Our final trip of the day was to KFC where we took the kids from Casa de Esperanza for dinner. Those kids are quite possibly the most energetic children I’ve ever associated with. The KFC has a soccer field in it so Daniel and I got to play some soccer with the kids! There were some sad goodbyes as we left KFC though.

In closing please keep Ashley in your prayers tonight as well as anyone else whose life was changed through Izzy.

One More House & Mario
Today we got up bright and early to build another house! And by bright and early I mean Mario woke me up at 5:55 by saying “Corey… GET UP” The boys stayed over last night and they can be a handful but they are awesome. We arrived at the build site with the wood already unloaded (by Mike, Daniel, and I) which means we were ahead of schedule! The brothers as usual were all about helping us build the house by doing whatever they could do help, even if sometimes that just meant running and giggling. We finished the house early even though we faced a lot of difficulties. I was so proud of our team as no matter what happened they continued to work hard and didn’t let these issues get in the way of providing for a family in need. The family we build the house for was so very gracious. The look in their eyes when the gazed upon their new house was all the satisfaction we needed!

During the building of the house Mario, one of the middle brothers, was by my side helping me for most of the day. He hasn’t said much to me so far on the trip but today he was extremely chatty! Mario’s story is a long one and to see him thrive is awesome. Whenever we have been around kids his age he is the center of attention and is always sharing with the other kids. Its amazing to see someone that has less that me give without even batting an eye. He is inspirational. On our ride home Mario, Marveen, and I sat in the back of the bus. Marveen was passed out after a few minutes but Mario and I were talking, singing, and dancing the whole way back. He is an awesome kid and I am so very thankful that I got to know him a little better today! Everyday down here has been a great gift and the things I have learned I will not soon forget. The boys are staying the night again so its time to get them ready for bed. Tomorrow we are going to the special needs orphanage, the dump, and taking some great kids out for dinner.. this all means that tomorrow will be my favorite day of the trip!


The Brothers and The Hospital Today was all about the kids so naturally I loved it! We started the day by going to the hospital here in The city to visit the kids and give then stuffed animals. I was in the verge of tears the entire time. The first child we stopped to talk with had traveled four hours and was exhausted. He was very weak but still managed a smile from something as simple as a beanie baby. The next child was being treated for cancer and his mothers optimism touched me. The love for her child was simply amazing and she had no doubt he would win his battle.
After the hospital it was off to the boys house to clean. As usual they were all about helping! Marveen even got on the roof to scrub the windows! The kids amaze me more and more everyday with their laughter and smiles even when they are facing difficult situations. And tonight they are all over for a sleepover! Music was all over the place today! I wore my favorite shirt, my “swim for your life shirt”! And while heading to the homeless shelter the song “bad day” came on and it made me think… it made me think that even on my worst days its not even comparable to some of the days the people here face. I dont think I’ll ever have a bad day anymore now that I know what a real bad day is. A bad day is not a flat tire or a long day at work. A bad day is not being able to feed your children, a bad day is not having a bed to sleep in. A bad day is the feeling that no one cares. Now that I know what a bad day is I try to best to help those who truly have bad days. And the day of music ended with a dance party to Katy Perry and Taylor Swift on the ride home! Ill end the post with a quote I saw on the wall of the homeless shelter that is stuck in my head. “There is no fear in love” :)

Stuck in the Mud & Valley of the Angels
Yesterday we spent all day up at a farm in the mountains! The reason we spent all day was because all our vehicles got stuck at least once. The farm we were working on has some amazing plans! They would like to employ people from the dump to work on the farm as well as donate a majority of the food they grow to those who need it most in Honduras! As usual my favorite part of the day was playing with the kids! They are truly amazing! They seem to love to work just as much as they love to play. After a few hours of work it was time to get the vehicles out. I was so proud of our team, even though it was storming and we had been out in The sun all day no one quit.

Then today it was off to the Nashville school which is a bilingual school near the valley of the angels. We built bookshelves and picnic tables for the school! After that we got to enjoy some awesome honduran food! Working at the school today was especially enjoyable for me since I will one day be a teacher! Yet again the boys joined us to help and Marveen was especially ready to work today as he helped me and Daniel build a table and then shared some of his favorite foods with me! Out of all the brothers I’ve spent the most time with Marveen, he is quite an amazing kid! He has a better work ethic than I do and I’m pretty sure he is better with a hammer than me too. He has also been trying to teach me some spanish but its not going great. He also loves helping me find places to buy Coca Cola but thats probably because he knows I’m gonna be buying him stuff too! Its relationships like this that make me know without any doubt that I’ll be back here… for as long as I possibly can be! I love these kids.


Today was my favorite day but I’m sure I’ll say that everyday! We started out by going to church with the brothers. After that it was out to lunch where Mike and I played soccer with the brothers in the playplace! The brothers we’ve been spending time with are six of the most amazing souls I’ve ever been with. Their smiles and their laughter are intoxicating. To see them have so much joy after all they’ve been through is truly inspirational! After lunch we ended up in a village in the mountains where the rain was coming down. The soccer field was empty when we arrived but soon Mike and I had quite the game going with some kids from the village. I had more fun playing soccer in the rain, on a rocky field, and with total strangers then I’ve ever had before! It was amazing. The children of Honduras continue to change me and it is beautiful!

"All I Have"
I believe thats what went through the heads of the Hondurans whose house we torn down then rebuilt in a matter of hours… They were the most gracious people I have ever meet , our act of kindness brought the mother to tears. My favorite part of the day was playing with the neighbourhood children once we had the house built! What amazed me the most was the willingness of the community to help countless children, neighbors and even our driver spent their day hard at work to improve the lives of an amazing family. Yet again another amazing day in Honduras!


Up… thats all he had to say to me. One word from the youngest child at casa de esperanza that started to make me think. Today my life changed and it only took an afternoon. One afternoon with the most amazing kids ive ever met. All it took was us taking time to play with them and the smiles never stopped. Josu (probably spelled wrong) spent the afternoon on my shoulders singing and dancing and the whole time smiling, they were all smiling and it warmed my heart like nothing ever has before :)


So close...
So its finally here and I can’t wait… a life changing experience just days away. Its all I can think about. I know it will be everything I want it to be and more. I already wish that I’ll be there longer. I can’t wait to give all I can to people who really need it. If possible I’ll be posting my adventures here. I hope you will all take the time to read and check up on me. Thank you all for your support!