2013: An Update

Hello All, The first month of 2013 has come and gone quicker than I thought possible. I've spent half of it here in Ohio visiting friends and family I haven't seen in over a year and it has been wonderful! This next year I will be back teaching at Interamerican School teaching (a lot of) 4th Graders again! I will also be taking on the challenge of being our very first Literature teacher as I take charge of the 7th Grade Literature class! I can't wait to get back in the classroom for these awesome challenges of education. David and I have been expanding our home to some awesome teenagers in need of direction this past year and God seems to be pushing us in a direction where this will become our ministry focus. Carlos graduated this past year and is now enrolled in a four year college program! Cristian is continuing his educational program to attain his high school degree as well as continuing his work at a local mechanic's shop. Saul is continuing his bilingual education at the Nashville School this year and will graduate from 6th Grade this spring! Cristian's younger brother, Henry, is in need of a place to live in the city that will help him continue his education to become a teacher, and that place seems pretty obvious to us, our house! We are also beginning to work, again, with Eduardo the middle brother of Saul and Carlos, as he tries to turn his life around and go back to school. As we begin to outreach to more and more teenagers our cost of living will increase with each teen. Paying for education costs, transportation, food, and of course some fun family activities as rewards for these amazing young men. David and I are looking for individuals and groups that are willing to partner with us on a monthly or one time basis to help us meet these costs and continue to help these inspiring young men. If you are interested in helping we are looking for 30 individuals or groups that feel called to help us at $15 dollars a month (or more). Above these needs we are also always in need of prayer and guidance as we work everyday in a city filled with crime, drugs, and violence. Donations can be made to the Melbourne Church of Christ located at 810 Hollywood Blvd. West Melbourne, FL 32904 with the name David Logue in the memo line. If you are interested in helping please let David and I know as we continue to rework our budget for this year and the future. Thank you all for your love and support over the past year and half and your continued support in the future. In Him, Corey Bryant

New Year, New Adventures

The holiday season is winding down and I will be heading home soon for some rest and relaxation that feels much needed. I haven't been home since last January and I am really looking forward to seeing my family and spending time with friends. We rang in the New Year in Honduras with a bang, literally, lots and lots and lots of fireworks all over the city. We also have a house full of willing hands here to serve until the 11th and they have been quite busy. Today they worked on their second house and continued work at Breaking Chains Homeless Ministry. The coming days will see us feeding at the dump, having a clothes giveaway, visiting children's homes, and also building at least one more house. It has been a blessing to see two groups of relative strangers get together and already accomplish so much work here in Honduras and I am sure the following days will see so more great things happen. Half of this group is full of some of my best friends and it has been so great to have them here around the holidays. We have also added a new member to our household, Captain Jakob. He is a Husky puppy who has been pretty sick, but thanks to some great puppy-sitting by Carlos and Saul he is doing much better. This next year promises to be extremely exciting. Full of new opportunities and adventures. I already can not wait to be back in February to hit the ground running on some of the amazing things that will happen this year in Honduras!

My Students

I have spent the past 10 months with the same 18 kids. My students. They were the constant this year for me. When I was missing my family and friends, or if it was dealing with the deaths of some of our teenagers, or missing the Ochoa kids, my students were always there. They kept me busy, they tried my patience, they kept me together when I was at my breaking point. I don't think they will ever fully understand how much they taught me this year and how important they are to me. When the year started my goal for our class was to be a team. Seems simple enough, work together. Well put together 18 kids from totally different backgrounds and upbringings and that is a tall order. We worked hard though. When we started the kids wouldn't each lunch together or play on the field together. When the year ended I had 18 kids that were inseparable and would defend each other through thick and thin. I had students who could all do a pretty good Mr. Corey impersonation also. My students will always have a special place in my heart and I wanted to give them something for them to understand how awesome they are. I'm a poor missionary so buying them all Playstations was out of the question. So instead I wrote them all a personal letter. I told them each about their strengths and how they have grown and learned over the past year. I told them each how proud I am of them and how they each have so much potential to make a difference in the broken country. Yesterday was report card day at school and each parent that came to talk to me could not stop talking about how much their child loved and cherished that letter. Needless to say I cried a few times. These 18 kids will always be "my students." I can't wait to watch them grow and have an impact on the world around them. I will be there to help them along if they need help from Mr. Corey.

Our Kids

As you probably know my role with Breaking Chains is mostly entirely with the kids. That being said as you know most of the kids are part of one family. Recently the kids have been living with Michael, this is due to some unfortunate events that transpired with their mother, Belkis. The kids had been doing great with Michael and I have been able to spend even more time with them. As if I didn't love these kids enough already, this just strengthened it. We were hoping that this situation would become permamnent, unfortunately on Friday afternoon the kids were taken to IHNFA (child services). The condition of the place they are in currently is far from ideal, but they have a roof over their head which is important. We didn't get to say goodbye, and we are not entirely sure what happens from here on out. We go Monday to speak about what we can do, please pray with us as we face the unknown. Pray for our kids as much as you can, they need everyone they can to be on their team. Pray for Michael, Amber, Courtney, David, and I as we feel the unimaginable pain of separation from our kids. Pray for me Tuesday morning as I go to school for the first time this year without being able to see the sweet faces of my kids and not being able to watch Jonatan and Arol play at recess without a care in the world. The pain I am feeling is impossible to describe, everywhere I look I see their faces, and it destroys me. I know God is in control but please pray that my faith doesn't waiver in this, one of the strongest storms I have every faced....

Didasko Water Park

You know how the saying goes "If you can't take the kids to the water park, take the water park to the kids!" Maybe I made that up but it sounds good. This past weekend David and I packed up a giant inflatable from the garage and headed out for an adventurous day. We were going to celebrate a belated Children's Day with the kids. We were accompanied by my friend Lilian who was on her first trip out to Didasko. The kids knew we were coming but didn't know what we were bringing with us. We showed up unloaded the car and started filling up the inflatable. The kids were in awe. They saw this giant toy full with a pool, sprinkler and not one but TWO slides! It took about ten minutes to get one of them to jump in because they were just so amazed. After the first kid jumped on there was no stopping them. All of the little kids were having a blast. Some of the older kids like Bryan and Diana were hesitant at first, acting "too cool" to be part of such childish games. However that was soon forgotten as all of the kids were playing together. It was awesome to see the kids enjoy the day with each other without fighting or getting bored. It was non stop enjoyment for three hours. Even two really big kids joined the fun (David and I). We have some great pictures from the day and hopefully we can go back soon!

So you are telling me it's September already?!

Wow, didn't think I would have to say it again, but again I'm saying sorry it's been over a month. Can't tell you how busy the last few months have been, and when I finally have some relaxing time... boom asleep. Some amazing things are happening here in Honduras and I'll be keeping you all posted in the coming weeks and months what my future will look like here. Let me tell you I am beyond excited about what is in store! Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as my ministry in the country evolves into something truly amazing. Now back to what has been going on here. We had our last few groups come through and even had a new group stay with us here at the house, it was their first time in Honduras and they had a great time with medical clinics, and of course a trip out to Didasko! Plus they were pretty great cooks, so they are welcome back anytime. They left some food, medicine, clothes, and toys for us to bring back to the kids. This past weekend we had time so we headed out to deliver some much appreciated supplies. It was also the week of Juan Pablo's birthday so I brought him a new watch and a bunch of candy, he was beyond excited! David and I spent the afternoon playing with the kids and having a great time! Here is Juan Pablo the birthday boy!

This past month has also seen some amazing moments in school. We had our first ever "Camp Day"! We went to a national park and played games and competed in races all day! This included the teachers, I was sore for days. It was great to get out there with my students and compete, the green team put up quite a fight. Sadly we finished 4th, out of four teams.... I was so encouraged however watching Arol and Escarlen participate and see all their classmates cheering them on! I love watching them with their friends and teachers, they truly love their new school! Speaking of Arol and Escarlen, grade cards were this week. Arol, yet again, is on the Honor Roll! We are so proud of him and all of the hard work he has put in this year! Escarlen saw her grades take a little dip in the third partial, but with hard work and extra studying, improved in almost all of her classes! Jonatan has been doing his work very fast and unfortunately for him that means he was doing his work with many mistakes. He was kept off of the Honor Roll so that his teacher can help reinforce the lesson that we need to take our team and complete assignments in the correct way.

I don't think we won this one....

Preparing for the next intense battle with my lineup card Yesterday at school we celebrated Children's Day or in Spanish Dia del Nino. This basically means kids get to play and eat candy all day, so that is exactly what we did at school, I behaved the same as the kids, and then went home with a headache. Dayana was able to attend the events yesterday at school! She behaved perfectly all day, you heard me right, she behaved perfectly all day! We are so proud of her and pray that she continues to improve so that we will see her back at school full-time this coming year.

My Class on Children's Day

Again sorry for the delay, but I hope you enjoy keeping tabs on me. I ask you to keep me in your prayers as I continue my work here in Honduras. Pray for patience and guidance with the coming adventures. Thank you all for your support both financially and spiritually!

My First Honduran Birthday

Last year for my birthday I was thinking about moving to Honduras. I celebrated my birthday with some friends at King's Island amusement park! I had a great time, one of my favorite birthdays. Just about two weeks after I packed my bags and ended up in Honduras. This past Sunday was my very first Honduran birthday. Everyone here had been asking me what I wanted to do and really I had no idea. Finally, David asked "you want to go to Didasko don't you?" Well of course. So my birthday started out pretty awesome, no power. So I took a cold shower in the pila (meaning I just poured cold water over my head) Then we went to take Cristian to school. After that it was out towards Didasko for a lunch of chinese food and paddle boat riding. Yes, thats right, paddle boat riding. There is a Chinese restaurant that has a man made lake out front with paddle boats, so of course we had to spend the five dollars and take a paddle around the lake. After that out to one of my favorite places, Didasko Children's Home. It is hard to imagine me ever being in a position to say that what I wanted for my birthday was to go play with 20 some kids. Honestly, I couldn't have imagined a better birthday. The chorus of "Cor" when I got out of the truck and spend a few hours talking and playing with some of my favorite kids was just what I needed. After Didasko it was off to church at Breaking Chains. I was thrilled when during worship time Leopoldo, one of the street kids I haven't seen in a long time, walked through the door! After church we talked and played and it was great to see him after such a long time of not knowing where he was. Then after church, sushi! I love sushi so this was quite a treat for ol' Mr. Corey! Then it was back home to skype with my family, I was tired so I was only able to chat for a little while before it was time to go to bed. It was probably my best birthday I can remember!

Minor, David, and Juan Pablo I love these boys!

I picture with the birthday boy!

Leopoldo and I at church!

Normita likes to play with my hair :)