I’m here as a Project Manager for the same organization that I volunteered with before, HondurasChildren. I will be coordinating and overseeing the Vacation Activities Program that is similar to a day camp while the kids are on their 3 month break from school (November-January). We will have volunteers in 3 different sites in El Porvenir and we are also considering offering the program at some locations just outside of the town.
Because of the timing of this trip, I will be missing out on some big events at home including my cousin’s wedding that took place this past weekend (CONGRATS to Jay and Hannah Dues!!) and some major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.). As indescribably thrilled as I am to be here, I will definitely miss being around my incredible family and friends, especially on those days.
I was pretty bad (well, terrible) about keeping up this blog before and I’m making it a goal to really do a better job at putting my experiences into words. Maybe I’ll find the time to go back and write some of the stories from the second half of my previous trip, but I’m sure I will have plenty more to tell over the coming months.
I left Honduras on June 16th and was home for about 3 ½ months, but within the first 2 weeks of being home I was already looking into traveling back to Honduras. Oddly enough, the transition back into life in the United States was much tougher than the transition to living in Honduras had been. When the Project Manager position opened up, I felt relieved that there was a chance to make my way back down here and luckily everything worked out as I had hoped. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity and to have such supportive people in my life who continue to help me live out my dreams. Thank you again to everybody who helped me get here, I appreciate you all more than you will ever really know :)
While at home, I spent most of my time working my old job at Miami University facilitating challenge courses and teambuilding exercises while also nannying whenever possible. I moved all of my old furniture and belongings out of a storage unit and had a garage sale to make some money and to “downsize.” After being in Honduras, I had realized that I no longer wanted to be tied down to material possessions. My future is so open-ended that when I do come home, I’m not sure if I will be staying in one place for very long so it is pointless to continue to store a bunch of stuff that I don’t really need.
I was also fortunate enough to be able to visit with lots of family and friends while I was home including a couple of trips to Michigan, Cleveland, California, North Carolina, etc. It amazes me how much my nephews are growing and I am so thankful to be able to keep in touch with them from so far away through Skype!
So far, I’ve been spending the time starting to plan the Vacation Activities Program while also visiting all of our current projects to see how they are going and to get to know the other volunteers. Our organization operates a Kinder for about 23 preschool-aged kids in addition to having volunteers teaching in a school at an orphanage, volunteers teaching English at a local school, and volunteers who teach English classes to children and adults through the Porvenir English Project.
On my first weekend here, I traveled back to Tela and stayed at my old house along with 7 other volunteers from El Porvenir. It was amazing to see my kids (the children I had worked with in the orphanage in Tela), my landlords (Dina & Roy), the dogs at my old house (too many to list, but specifically Daisy), and the beautiful beaches of Tela. I hope to make it back there soon and to take some of the donated soccer cleats that I collected before traveling down here. Thanks again to everybody who contributed to my cleat drive---I was able to bring a big bag of cleats and deflated soccer balls to donate and use with the kids! A special thanks to my old soccer coach (Klum) for spreading the word about the cleat drive!!
We have been getting a LOT of rain as the rainy season is beginning, but I think part if it is due to the hurricane. I am living right on the beach and have not been able to spend much time on it because we have been getting so many huge storms. To the other side of my house are some beautiful mountains and it is really cool to see the clouds form around them, so even the stormy weather is captivating. The worst part about the rain is that it makes the dirt roads hard to walk on because of the huge puddles (some of the roads are paved).
We have 3 volunteer houses in El Porvenir and all of my roommates/the other volunteers are awesome. I am currently living with somebody from Florida, Virginia, Nebraska, and Germany. In the other houses, there are more people from the United States, Germany, and Slovakia. It’s been interesting to meet more people from different countries this time around and we are doing lots of things together outside of volunteering.
I also live right down the beach from 2 Christian missionaries who support various projects in the area, sponsor groups to stay at their home during mission trips, and hold church services on Sundays. I had gone to their house on Easter during my first trip and am excited to get connected with them again. I was able to attend church at their house yesterday and the Pastor prayed over another volunteer and me that our projects would prosper and that our families would be at peace knowing that we are safe. It is great to have the support of other people in the community and to know that there are people praying for our work and safety.
One of the Honduran churches that they are involved with is located about a 30-minute walk from our house and it is in an extremely impoverished area. Every Wednesday evening, the church gives a free dinner to the local children and for the past two weeks, I’ve gone with some of the other volunteers to help out. It’s an area where we don’t typically have volunteers, but we are looking to expand our VAP project to that site in order to reach another group of children.
So far, I have been very happy to be back in Honduras and I am eager to find out what the rest of this journey will hold! Thanks again for all of the support and interest in my trip—--I will try to keep everybody informed and I will post some pictures along the way! :):)
