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Love…  Serve… Live.

Those 3 words sum up our Spring Break 2010 trip.   From our gathering at the airport ticket counter on March 13, 2010 to the landing in DFW on March 20 as snow arrived, our team displayed the heart of flexibility, love and service.     Through moments of challenge, cultural ignorance, laughter, heartbreaking sadness and sickness… we  ‘lived’ in the most basic, yet fulfilling, sense of the word.

This trip started out as a planning trip for our upcoming permanent relocation to La Moskitia.   After casually mentioning on facebook that folks could join us, we had a few adventurous souls come to join in on the fun.

Puerto Lempira is a very special place.   It is part of the region called  La Moskitia, Honduras.  Mention to a Honduran that you are going to La Moskitia and they display the most unpleasant of faces.   La Moskitia is called by our dentist friend, Dr. Tom Brian, the ‘Land of the Forgotten People.’   Even Hondurans consider La Moskitia unworthy of a visit.

Our group, however,  loved Puerto Lempira and loved the two homes we visited, House of Hope and Mama Tara’s Miskito Orphanage.  We stayed at the House of Hope …  the first night 4 of our ladies had the opportunity to spend a sleepless, noisy, heat-saturated night inside the orphanage.   They were troopers and were keenly aware that this is how the kids at House of Hope sleep every night.   The remainder of the trip all of us, except our fearless Brian, slept in the missionary quarters at the House of Hope with another team from New York.

We arrived on Monday to a muggy, hot day.   The reunion with these sweet children for Alex and Laura was confirmation… confirmation of God’s plan to relocate our family to Puerto Lempira;  a plan that appears absolutely crazy to many, but perfectly normal to us.   The faces of our little friends were filled with recognition and acceptance.     We rejoice and praise God that He reminded us almost immediately of His love for all of us.

Our 4 days in Puerto Lempira were filled with carpentry work, electrical work, bathing babies, shampooing heads to rid of lice, building with Legos, soccer with children, and love.

We spent wonderful time at Mama Tara’s sharing the news of sponsors for many of the remaining children.   Our teachers were able to visit with the tutor at Mama Tara’s and share school supplies donated by U.S. children.    There were pen pal letters delivered and written in return.    There were promises of prayers and return visits.  There were smiles.

Each person who went has a different perspective of the week; a piece of a larger story to tell.   We hope that they will share their thoughts to encourage more to join hands with ours to  pray with us, to go with us and to give to support in the work God is already doing in Puerto Lempira.   We look forward to arriving in Honduras in August ready to learn spanish and add our hands to the mix!

To see more pictures, join the Facebook group REACH OUT HONDURAS!

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Our primary work will be discipleship/mentoring at 3 homes for orphans & vulnerable children:

Mama Tara’s Orphanage, House of Hope and Familia Alastero.

As we relocate in August of 2010, we need partners in mission to pray with us, to go with us and to give to support God’s work through our family.

MAMA TARA’S ORPHANAGE:

We are privileged to work with Mama Tara’s Orphanage in Puerto Lempira, Honduras.    This home for children was started by a woman who is known to all around as ‘Mama Tara.’

Mama Tara is a Miskito woman who was the governor of the province during the Nicaraguan Contra time in Honduran history.  She is a strong, beloved woman in the La Moskitia region.  Her heart is huge for orphans – both true orphans whose parents are deceased and social orphans whose parents refuse to provide adequate or appropriate care.

Mama Tara’s Orphanage is assisted by a wonderful Board of Directors in the United States who help fundraise through sponsorship programs and other donations.   Alex  hopes to assist the Board as hands and feet on the ground in Puerto Lempira in whatever capacity is needed.   Some possibilities include maintenance, mentoring and discipleship with the boys, a soccer team and life skills training.   Laura hopes to be at Mama Tara’s a few times per week working on literacy and discipleship with the girls and helping Aidan with his LEGOS of LOVE ministry.

Please consider giving to this very worthy cause.   For more information on Mama Tara’s Orphanage, please visit www.mamatara.org

HOUSE OF HOPE:

Dr. Tom Brian has been visiting the La Moskitia region of Honduras for 20 years.   He set up a mobile dental office and has conducted many medical/dental mission trips into the remote jungles of La Moskitia.   In 2005, he started the House of Hope (Casa Esperanza) as an outreach to disabled children.   House of Hope is a home for these children – a place where their basic needs can be met while they await surgery.  Dr. Brian has brought countless children to the United States for surgery for such things as cleft palate and club foot.   House of Hope also has a school on-site.

We are privileged to work with Dr. Brian and the House of Hope.  While the details of our involvement are not written in stone,  we hope to provide life-skills training, additional tutoring and educational support, sports opportunities, etc.   The House of Hope is run by a wonderful missionary, Katrina Engle.   She is an amazing American woman who loves the Miskito people and children with all of her heart.

For more information on the House of Hope, visit www.send-hope.org.

FAMILIA ALASTERO:

After tragedy hit several members of this family, five ladies (tias) joined together to care for 29 nieces and nephews, some their own, many left orphaned after the death of family members.

The extended ‘family’ lives together in the 3 bedroom home above and the rustic home below…

Our visit with Familia Alastero was humbling.  They all sleep on the floor.   They do not have a source for clean water nor do they have a bathing/bathroom facility.   And yet, the tias were the most gracious, God-loving women we have met.  It was an honor to visit their immaculate home.   The children were overwhelmed by the very small gift of a soccer ball.  We can’t wait to take our children to this home to visit and make friends.

We will work with Reach Out Orphanage Ministries to raise funds and coordinate work projects for this very special family.

For more information on Familia Alastero, visit Reach Out Orphanage Ministries.

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Recently, we’ve come across the work of Nanni Fontana.  His photography is so gripping.   His work tells the story of La Moskitia in a way that words simply cannot.   This is the area that will be our new home!

Here is one gallery of pictures in black and white of La Moskitia

Here is one gallery of pictures in color of Puerto Lempira

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Fruitful cross-cultural ministry is based on a mutual respect between one human being and another.   An attempt, however small, to learn the language of the people you hope to serve, is a statement that you value that person and their unique culture.

Our family uses Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America) with Audio Companion for our primary preparation tool.  We do love it.

The newest version of Rosetta Stone, version 3, is outstanding and covers all language learning areas.  It is a computer-based immersion program.   While our toddlers cannot use the program well, they do ask to ‘do my ‘panish’ and we work on very, very basic vocabulary with them.   Our 6 year old is doing a fantastic job and our 9 year old is rockin’ and rollin’ and putting us old folks to shame!

Additionally, we purchased the book 501 Spanish Verbs at Half Price Books and are attempting to learn 5 new verbs per week and 10 new nouns per week.

Some fun ways to strengthen basic Spanish can include:

• You Tube – videos for kids… (Pocoyo, Sesame Street, etc.)
• Spanish praise music – we love our Gen X cds
• Spanish books for kids – can buy for cheap at 1/2 Price Books or on e-bay
• Find a friend who speaks Spanish and barter with them to speak only in Spanish with your family

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Puerto Lempira is the capital of the Gracias a Dios department in eastern Honduras.   Though it does not have paved roads, it is the largest town in the La Moskitia region of Gracias a Dios.   Puerto Lempira is located on the shores of the Caratasca Lagoon.  The natural beauty of Puerto Lempira is awe-inspiring;  the physical poverty of Puerto Lempira is humbling.

photo credit – www.lesvants.com

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Gracias a Dios is the eastern-most department of Honduras. Though it is the second largest department in the country making up about 15% of the land mass, it is sparsely populated, and contains extensive pine savannas, swamps, and rain forests.

In 2005, the estimated population of 76,278 only accounted for 1% of the total population of Honduras. The sparcity and ethnic make-up of the region result in it being undervalued and overlooked by Honduran society and government. This region is also known as ‘La Moskitia’ due to the indigenous Miskito people that inhabit it, even though the Miskito span an almost equal distance into bordering Nicaragua. Even with several key “municipalities,” La Moskitia is considered poor and remote even by Honduran standards. The standard of living, income, and access to healthcare is far lower than the national averages—all of which are already among the lowest in Central America.

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We dream of an internship program where college-aged students could spend a summer or a full year working with us in Puerto Lempira.  If you are interested in being the test case in 2011, let us know!

More to come!

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“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” James 1:27

Reach Out Honduras is eager for other hands and feet to work alongside us in Puerto Lempira, Honduras.   We invite individuals and short-term mission teams to contact us at laura@reachouthonduras.org to brainstorm the ways you can visit the orphans and widows of Honduras.

Additionally, we are in prayer about an internship program which would allow college-aged students to come spend a summer or a year with Reach Out Honduras and serve.   E-mail laura@reachouthonduras.org for more information.

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