Didasko

Going to different children's homes will always be my favorite part of having groups here. I have only been to Didasko one time and it was just for around an hour or so when we brought the WOP band out to play with the kids and drop off food. Even though it was only for a short time I remember playing with a boy, Juan Pablo, almost the entire time that we were there. Since this was October I doubted he would have remembered such a short encounter. David and I showed up a little after the group and the were about to begin their Easter Egg Hunt. As I walked towards the starting line one of the kids ran up gave me a huge hug, it was Juan Pablo. Since nothing can take a kid away from the fun of an Easter Egg hunt we saved the catching up for after. He proceeded to tell me all about the last time I was there. He talked about playing soccer, how long I stayed for, when I visited, asked how my teaching was going, and of course remembered my name. I was floored when he asked the question why it took me so long to visit since I live just an hour away.

I told him that I will try very hard to visit more often, especially since I have the ability to see him being on a little under an hour away. He then showed me all around Didasko introducing me to all of the other kids including his two brothers that live at Didasko. His older brother is David and his younger brother is Minor. We then sat down and looked through pictures of my school and my old pictures where we found pictures from my last visit to Didasko.

As our time at Didasko came to an end we gathered up to pray over our meal. As we walked towards the cook out Juan Pablo asked me if he would be able to say the prayer. I asked the group if that would be okay and of course the agreed it would be awesome. As he prayed over the food and thanked God for the life he has and the great visit from loving people I was floored again at what an amazing litte guy he is and how I knew right then and there I would be finding a way to return to this awesome place on a regular basis to do what I can for the children of Didasko.

Return to the City Dump

I have not been to the city dump here in Tegucigalpa for weeks. With working at school and the normal feedings taking place on Wednesdays and now on Fridays also I am rarely able to go feed. However this week being Semana Santa gave me the opportunity to help on a very special feeding day. We started the day early as we were building a house in one of the nearby communities. Our group was amazing this week and was able to have three walls up and the roof started by 11 when we headed to the dump. This day Mark Tindall was spending the entire day working with the the people of the dump, digging through trash and sorting what would be valuable enough to sell back. David, the teenagers, and I went looking for him when we arrived and found him on a large pile of cardboard trying to tie it all up in a tarp. David and I ended up jumping in to help some of the people carry their findings.

As I was helping carry some cardboard I looked back to see Jose Antonio, one of our BC teens, also lending a hand to help. It was really amazing to see him jump in and help. After our first dump stop we headed up to the top of the dump to give out the rest of our food. When we arrived one of our teenagers, Arnol, asked me if he would be able to go around the outskirts of the dump to hand out water to those too busy to come get food. Of course we said yes. So Arnol and I walked around the perimeter of the dump handing out water. Seeing these two teenagers begin a journey of helping is truly amazing. I pray that God continues to work in them and mold their servant hearts to provide more and more assistance to the less fortunate members of their society.

Semana Santa

So yet again I am way behind on my blogging and so much has happened it seems impossible to begin but I guess I will try. I'll start by talking about Breaking Chains! The kiddos fromt he building that go to my school (Dayana, Jonatan, Arol, and Escarleth) are all doing great at school! I am so proud of all of their hard work in and out of school. Michael and I have our up and downs with them but overall it has been an amazing transition for them. They all seem to have no trouble making friends at school and are all well known around the school already, however much of this might be because most all of the students think they are my children.... I absolutely love seeing them all play with their friends at school, especially Jonatan! He was brave enough to dance in front of the entire student body this past Friday to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean with his friend. It was one of the cutest things I have every seen! Arol continues to show off how smart he is by excelling in all of his classes which makes me very excited to get a peek at his report card when I get back to school! Dayan is improving everyday and the time and effort that Michael has but in with her is showing! She can even write her name know! Escarleth is well Escarleth, I love this sweet little girl so much even though sometimes it would seem otherwise. I love seeing her enjoy her new environment and I love doing homework with her because the look on her face when she accomplishes something new is absolutely priceless!

Other than the little ones we have some great victories and some struggles from our teenagers. My main focus with the teenagers is Arnol. He was really the only one of the teenagers who would attempt to do a lot of communicating when I knew absolutely no Spanish, so as of right now we are able to communicate extremely well. I love this little guy so much because I see a lot of myself in him. He struggles a lot with being a bit of a loner, and can be quite annoying at times ( just ask Amber). He lives in a building full of 50 other people but really only spends time with us gringos and his girlfriend Rosa. I love when Arnol's brother Jorge comes to visit because Arnol just lights up when he is able to play and talk with his brother and best friend. I worry a lot about Arnol especially with him and Rosa, his girlfriend, expecting a baby in a few months. He is currently going to a vocational program to learn about computers and he loves it! The first thing he tells me everyday after I get to the building is the different things he learned. I pray everyday about his continued growth as a person and as a soon to be Dad, I remind him whenever I can that we will all be here for him as he and Rosa embark on their challenging journey of parenthood.

Exams! So Interamerican School has wrapped up the first Partial of school! This was quite a challenging period for me and my students. I am so happy with how my kids have adjusted to my method of teaching and teamwork. They are a great group of kids, even if some days I have trouble remembering that. Some of my kids surprised me so much these past few weeks. They studied hard for their exams and tried to make everyday better than the last in the classroom. I also just recently grew to 18 students! Since 18 is my favorite number this means that this year is meant to be amazing! If I keep going I will end up talking about my school until your ears fall off so I'll move on to recent events this past week.

Semana Santa! Semana Santa or Holy Week is underway here in Honduras. During the Holy Week all schools have vacation which means a nice relaxing week off for Mr. Corey... well not so much. David and I are hosting a group this week and they arrived on Saturday. Yesterday they spent the day at Breaking Chains and cleaned and scrubbed our church room! I loved their work ethic and seeing them fall in love with the people that live at the ministry. They also paid for a water filtration system to be installed at the building which will allow us to better serve the street population by being able to provide clean water to anyone who needs it! Then today was Build Day! As anyone who has built a house with me will tell you, I am next to useless on a build site. I do some work but I like to spend the majority of my time playing with the kids and talking to them about their school. Today we built a house in Rio Abajo a community near the Dump. The family has 11 members in it and were in need of another structure where they could spread out and live more comfortably instead of in their current very small mud house. One of the people living in the house is 7 year old Melvin. I like to say that I speak U-12 Spanish, which means I have passable Spanish when talking to kids but atrocious spanish when talking to adults. Well, Melvin and I talked about his school, his family, his pets, and then we talked about how excited he and his family were about the house we were building for them. We have many more awesome things planned with this group and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for our week!

First Weeks of School

I have not blogged in FOREVER. So hopefully this is the start of a string of blogs updating everybody on what has happened this past month! So first I'll lead off with an update about our Breaking Chains kids and their new adventure at my school! All of the kids are loving their new environment and loving the chance to spend time with other kids their age and just be normal kids!
Each child has their own obstacles to overcame and I have enjoyed seeing many of them begin to overcome these obstacles.

First off we can talk about Escarleth! Escarleth is the most precious little girl in the world and always seems to have a huge smile on her face! She loves her new school and seems to have no trouble making new friends because I always see her running around with the other girls in her class! She struggles to catch up to the level she should be at especially in math, but everyday I see improvement in her studies. I expect that she will just keep improving because of how much she loves her teachers and as her teachers, Michael, and I learn more about how to help her on her educational journey!

Next up we have Jonatan. O Jonatan he is certainly a handful but he has the perfect teacher for the job of handling him. Jonatan loves his teacher Ms. Patty and she is doing a great job working with his extreme hyperactivity. Jonatan is a born people pleaser and his teacher is glad to utilize that as he has become a great classroom helper! He has his days just like every kindergardener has but overall his attitude at home and at school have become much better of the past month. The most amazing thing with Jonatan is how intelligent he is for having never been in an educational enviroment before. Out of all the kids I would have to say his English is the best because he loves to repeat anything and everything that we say in English around him. He also is really fantastic at doing homework, and has even begun doing it by himself which is quite amazing! I know Jonatan has great things ahead of him and I am loving watching him grow and learn in his new environment.

Now our other first grader, Arol. When school began I was most worried about how Arol would handle his new school. Arol had a lot of trouble at his last school and had begun to shut down altogether. But now that he is at Interamerican School he is thriving! He absolutely loves his new school. His behavior at school has been nothing short of perfect and everyday after school he does very good with his homework. I am so happy for Arol, and I love seeing him act the part of the perfect student while at school, it is amazing to watch

Finally we have our sweet little Dayana. Dayana is having a lot of trouble adjusting to a structured environment. Her whole life has been nothing but chaos, and because that is all she knows that is what she brings to school with her. I believe that with time and patience she will succeed but now more than anything we need prayers for her to begin to adjust, and prayers that the other teachers and I can find the best way to help Dayana adjust and begin to learn in her new environment.

Thanks to everyone who is supporting our kids as they begin their new journey, please keep all our kids, especially little Dayana, in your prayers as they learn to adjust to their new environment.

Quick Update

Sorry I've been slacking off with the blogging but it has been a little hectic around here! Getting all of the kids ready and caught up for school, which starts in 10 days, and having so many new faces to get to know in the building has been pretty crazy! Today Amber went home for the next two weeks, and David will still be in the states for the next 10 days... this means Michael and I are in charge at Breaking Chains. I know scary right!? Lucky for us today went as smooth as humanly possible. The teenagers are missing Mami Amber and Papi David but they definitely want to make them proud. They immediately got to work after we went to the airport today and were as helpful as I have ever seen them all throughout the evening! Pray that they stay busy these next two weeks and be praying for Michael and I to help everyone at the building the best we can as we step into new roles.

My first ten days here I was blessed to have one of my goods friends in Honduras with me, Caity Davis! It was great having someone from home come here and see all the things I have fallen in love with over the past 5 months! Even though we were busy doing different things most of the time I enjoyed the time we got to spend at the homeless shelter as she meet the sweet faces I work with everyday! I literally can't wait for the whole group to head down this way in May, if only I had a time machine!

School starts for me on Monday and I am pretty excited to see what this school year has in store for me! I want to thank everyone who donated school supplies and stickers and everyone who has begun to help me financially as I begin to find my spot here in Honduras, I couldn't do any of this without your help! Prayers and Donations are welcome and encouraged especially over the coming weeks! Thanks for reading!

Gustavo

We have a new child at Breaking Chains, Gustavo. Gustavo has been in and out of our building since my arrival in August, but only recently have we seen him stay with us long term. Gustavo is 10 years old and has spent the last three years of his life either on the street or in a children's home. He was raised by his Grandfather until his death and is still emotional about the loss. His mother has visited him at our building however the abusive nature of his family cause him to make the decision to live on the street rather than at his mother's house.

Our team is doing the best we can to give Gustavo what he needs but we know we don't posses the facility to meet his every need. We take his situation on a day by day basis and are working on plans to help Gustavo have a future other than existing on the streets of Tegucigalpa. I want so much for this little guy because he has touched my heart. I want to see him go to school, have a positive relationship with his family, and I want him to have an environment where he can feel loved and wanted.

The other night Gustavo disappeared for almost 10 hours. Needless to say I was worried, we went out once it got dark to look for him, and of course while we were driving around town he showed back up at the building. Michael and I talked with him together and then separately. When I spoke with him he couldn't stop mentioning how he felt alone and just wanted to go out to play. As much as he tries to act like an adult or teenager deep down he just wants to be a kid and have a normal childhood.

Yesterday we were able to spend time with Gustavo away from the homeless shelter and it was pretty awesome. He was polite, well behaved, and was able to relax and have fun all day. We took him out to dinner at the mall and before he sat down to eat he went running to the bathroom to wash his hands first. I loved watching him be a kid yesterday because so often he feels the need to act so tough and independent.

As awesome as yesterday was today brought us back to reality. Gustavo was sitting in the office with Caity, some of the teenagers, and I. I'm not sure how it all started but he ended up fighting with one of the teenage girls. When I got him to sit down on his bed he was sobbing. He shut down and wouldn't talk so all I could do was hold him and tell him that I love him, but that fighting will not help his situation. When he finally calmed down he said what he usually says to me which is the fact the he feels like he is alone, and that just breaks my heart. I pray for guidance when dealing with Gustavo, because I know I don't have all the tools to help him, but I'll do whatever I can. I pray that he comes to know how much our team loves him and I pray we can give him a future outside of the streets he has come to call home.

Letting His Light Shine

Jonatan is a born people-pleaser. I can see Jonatan doing just about anything he puts his mind to. With the help of a good education, the sky will be the limit for this little guy.



This six-year-old is always the first of our kids to try to help with any project we are doing at the building and is quick to be upset if you tell him you don’t need his help.



All he wants to do is help others, and he does a great job with helping his little sister Rosie. He is the first one on the scene when Rosie is crying. He’s always there to tell her everything will be okay and give here a great big brother hug. I hope we can continue to help Jonatan and his great heart grow into a young man that can be an example for other children.

We can’t wait to see this little goof grow into his own person. He lives in the shadow of his older brother Arol among his family now. Unfortunately, their mother Belkis has favorites, and Jonatan isn’t one of them. Neither Arol nor Jonatan are to blame for this, and both deserve to break free of their chains and find who they are meant to become.



Jonatan’s so excited to start school that he has already begun asking me to teach him English words and phrases. He has mastered a few such as “Go,” “Stop” and Michael’s favorite “Wassup.” He loves asking me what Spanish words mean in English, even if sometimes it isn’t entirely necessary that he knows that word. One night he was…well, gassy. He then wanted to know what that word was in English.



So, if you ever get the chance to meet Jonatan, he will have no difficulty letting you know when anyone is farting at the building.

I see so much promise in Jonatan that I get excited just thinking about the possibilities a good education will give him. There are so many giving souls at our building, but not many of them are six years old. I know that Jonatan has a role to play here in the future of Honduras, and his first step to achieving all he is meant to do is a great education.



Please consider helping Jonatan break the chains of poverty with any donation you can give to this boy’s education. He needs you and this so much! If you would like to share in Jonatan’s future, see the link on the “Home” line above to see what help this boy needs.

To help or if you have questions, email me at corey@bchonduras.org or my co-director of education at michael@bchonduras.com.