We dream of reconciliation between races here in the United States. We talk of it. We raise our voices, share our memes, pray for our neighbors. We believe we will see a glimmer of it one day here on earth.

Interestingly enough, we need look no further than our very own Abundant Life Institute for a beautiful example of racial unity.  Right before our eyes in La Mosquitia, Honduras, on a plot of land where God planted Abundant Life Institute, exists a multi-racial group of co-workers and friends. These individuals, in a unified whole, are loving their neighbors and working toward a brighter tomorrow for the marginalized in their community.

In La Mosquitia, you will find 4 primary racial groups – Miskito, Garifuna, Latino and a few Northamericans. Our staff and student population represents all 4 of these groups, as well as smaller tribal groups. Our Director, Eustaquio Jimenez Casildo, is Garifuna and leads with a heart committed to unification. Eustaquio has experienced discrimination and, yet, he believes unity is worth fighting for within his staff, for his students and in front of the community.

Here at Reach Out Honduras, we are committed to intentional diversity within the leadership of the organization. One of the foundational principles and goals of Reach Out Honduras has always been the support and encouragement of Honduran leaders in the mission. God has been faithful to see this goal fulfilled in our staff. We are also committed to ensuring our US leadership is a reflection of God’s beautiful, colorful world.

Thank you to each of you who continue to give even in tenuous times. Your continual care has allowed us to pay all 48 staff salaries in full during these months, to continue to feed our students through food bag distribution, to make thousands of copies of homework packets for our students and to show the community of Puerto Lempira that Abundant Life Institute truly teaches and lives LOVE.

The video above was recorded by one of our English teachers, Francisco, who will be partnering with Katie Slaughter, our US Social Media Manager, to bring the mission of Reach Out Honduras to life on social media and in our newsletters. Watch the video! Francisco’s words will touch your heart today – a day in need of good, good news.

Our gratitude is unending!
The Reach Out Honduras Team

A favorite story from our 2020 Annual Impact Report 💛 

This is Katy. She is 19 years old, a wife and mom to two energetic boys. Katy studied in the Reach Out Honduras New Life Project as a young mom and will graduate from high school in 2020.⁣
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In early 2016, 16-year-old Katy arrived in Puerto Lempira from Nicaragua. She had a 3-year-old son named Jesus and wanted to continue her studies beyond 6th grade but was without the funds or support to continue her education. At this same time, Reach Out Honduras made a decision to begin an accelerated education program for teen moms (and now, dads). ⁣
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Project New Life was born due to the high number of teen pregnancies in the region and the challenges of young moms in continuing their education. Katy was part of the inaugural class of 7th graders in 2016. She is now in 10th grade in our Adult Education program and will reach her goal of high school graduation.⁣
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Katy shows appreciation for the programs at Abundant Life Institute: “I feel so proud to have studied in the New Life Project and now in the Adult Education on Saturdays. These projects changed my life. If it were not for the New Life Project, I would not have been able to continue my studies. I say thank you to everyone who worked hard to make this project happen. We are so proud of our school.”⁣
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A special thank you to our attorney friend, Michelle, who believed in the dream of the New Life Project and provided the seed funds and prayers to make the project happen.

Click HERE to read more stories like Katy’s.

Welcome to Love’s table.

Where women sit who see into my very soul; their eyes pierce, their questions probe, taking my temperature, always in love.

Where my heart breathes in and deeply exhales. A safe spot to share the raw and real.

Where my hands sort beans, while my memory sorts moments. 10 years of living color shared with these beautiful Jesus followers.

Where my brain churns trying to wrap itself around the complexities of geography, poverty and justice. My friends just wrap me in their acceptance.

Where ninja mamas fight for their children in prayer. Where heads of household steward the tiniest of resources. 

Where my need is excavated, my desperateness revealed. Where I am pointed back to the simplicity of the Gospel.

Ovendillia, Aida, Farah, Sara, Lydia, Sandra, Jacqueline.

They serve a healthy plate of unconditional love. They disciple me in the ways of Jesus. They teach me the ways of humility. They live out complete faith. They give it all away. They leave nothing on the table.

Love’s table.

Today’s Guest Author is the GRAY FAMILY! There is something from each one, including little Peter who first visited Honduras at 6 weeks old. Read more about this beautiful family at the end of this FUN post!

“When thinking about ten things we love about ROH, we focused on 10 places at the school we love to hang out. When the kids were asked about what places they love at IVA, they all gave different responses…here’s our list: 

1. Front gate: Every morning the students are greeted by our “Wachis” and welcomed to school.

2. Comedor (Bethany, Canaan and Joel): Students gather to eat, study, fellowship, worship, and more. Tables are used by the cooks to sort and clean piles of beans. Teachers meet during down times to do devotionals together.  Teams of volunteers take a break in the shade to hydrate or get to know the students.

3. Kitchen (Canaan, Lillianna and Lucy): Mmmmm….lots of good cooking takes place here! The cooks sing praises as they prepare nutritious meals to make sure the students’ bellies are full to begin their studies each day. Our personal favorites? DONUTS, beans and fritas, and baleadas. 

4. Digging in the dirt (Peter): What else would be a 3-year-old boy’s favorite?!?!

5. Pulperia (Lucy): Need a snack? We come here to get a cold coke and a bag of chips! 

6. Soccer field (Canaan): Ready for an intense, pick-up game of fútbol? Be ready to get dirty!

7. New pavilion: Even though we have yet to see it finished, we are already super-excited for this addition to IVA. What a great space to hold events (graduation, basketball games, spelling bees…) and be out of the sun and rain! 

8. The Truck (or the bus!): The day starts early here (but not as early as the cooks!), and brings students from the outskirts of the Puerto Lempira area to school each day.  It takes the IVA name to the city, takes a team to a last minute soccer game, and transports North American volunteers to the school.

9. Kioskos (Canaan): Yet another place to seek shade (that tropical sun can really take it out of you!) and gather with students. Canaan’s favorite place to hang out with his friends. 

10. Math classroom (Kevin): This would have to be Kevin’s personal favorite, right?!?! 

10 Things I Love About ROH:     

1. Dreams.  Before ROH, the students were unsure of their future.  Now they have dreams to become teachers, doctors, nurses, physicists, and mathematicians.
2. Scholarships.  Scholarships funded by sponsors are making it possible for students to attend college and military academies, in pursuit of those dreams.
3. Nourishment.  The two meals a day that are provided for students allow them to study, without the distraction of being hungry.  The food is both nutritious and delicious.  
4. Community.  ROH has built a community that knits together students, teachers, cooks, staff, and parents.  The new pavilion gives the community another place to gather and grow together.
5. Teachers.  The teachers at Abundant Life Institute are committed to growing and learning, so they can help guide the students into the future.  They teach love, as well as math, science, language, and many other subjects. 
6. Growth.     It is a joy to see how God has blessed ROH in 10 years with so much growth in the number of students attending, the expansion of facilities, addition of new teachers, and addition of new grades and programs.     
7. Responsibility.  The funds donated to ROH are wisely and responsibly administered in the running of a very successful school.    You can trust that your donation is to its best and highest use.
8. Students.  If you have spent time with the students, you know that they are very special.  You can see the joy on their faces.  If there is a project to improve the school, they are excited to help.  If the school is open, they want to be there.
9. Waits Family.  This family is the heart and soul of the school.  They have given so much of themselves, and have made a huge difference to so many families.  This impact will be felt for generations to come
10. Future.  The future is exciting to think about.  What will happen in the next ten years?  What new dreams will begin?  How many more scholarships will be given?  What new programs will take flight?  What students may return to Puerto Lempira to serve their community as teachers, doctors, or community leaders?

Coming up THIS WEEK, our students will ‘MEET’ their Sponsors and Friends in the virtual world via our new ROH Connect system.

Do you like to write letters? Would you like to encourage a student from afar? We need you TODAY!

Introducing ROH Friends – an opportunity to connect for those that cannot invest in traditional student sponsorship OR for current sponsors who want to encourage MORE kids. Imagine Pen-Pals.

All that is required is a few letters and a picture submitted through our online system. You will receive responses from a student several times this school year. 

Send a message to Laura Waits at laura (at) reachouthonduras (dot) org and we will get your login information set up.

Our students come from backgrounds that make academic success a BIG and often, daunting, goal. Sometimes, just the knowledge that someone else is praying for them is enough to keep them walking forward for one more day.

(Sponsors, if you haven’t yet had the opportunity to login and leave your letters, NOW is a great time. Some of you will notice that your student has changed – the reasons for this are: your student did not pass 6th grade at their public elementary school and have to repeat, your student had a personal life event that intervened in their plans to study or your student has dropped out of school. Contact us for more information on each student’s situation.)

***Stay tuned for some upcoming conversations around the ups and downs of sponsorship and how to best encourage and pray for your student.***

With love,
The Reach Out Honduras team

Neighbor.

Next door neighbor.

Around the corner neighbor.

Church neighbor.

Grocery store clerk neighbor.

Construction worker neighbor.

Homeless neighbor.

Gainfully employed neighbor.

Beautiful neighbor.

Uncomfortable neighbor.

Incarcerated neighbor.

Non-English speaking neighbor.

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My calling prods me to talk about a few of my neighbors. The work here in Honduras requires an open discussion of neighbor.

In the talking and discussing together on the topic of neighbors, many on US soil declare, “People are starving in the US, people are poor in the US, we must take care of our own before we take care of others. I cannot help you take care of Hondurans.”

I understand this mindset, I really do. This was my mindset many years ago when I only held hands with my closest neighbors. Today, my hands are eager to join hands with whoever wants to work to bring light in hard places; to some of the hardest of places.

Many who are reading this today love Jesus and live to follow His example.    

I wonder, did Jesus only love his next-door neighbor? Did Jesus only help the neighbor who looked like Him? Did Jesus make sure all neighbors in Bethlehem were comfortable before He helped the next town over? Did Jesus tell His followers to go only to Jerusalem and surrounding counties?

Or did He really say be my witnesses all the way to the very ends of the earth?

Loving is not an EITHER/OR proposition. Loving is an AND commitment.  

We are to love here and we are to love there. We are to help here and we are to help there.  We are to be a reflection of His love here and a reflection of His love there.

We must see the wealthy businesswoman and the migrant worker as equally worthy of God’s love and ours.

I ask myself today – where are my blind spots in relation to loving, caring, helping, raising my voice? What can I do or refrain from doing today that would better reflect God’s global love?

I ask you today – are you courageous enough to look for blind spots? To ask questions? To be curious about others? To refrain from posting things that truly may not be loving to your neighbor? 

Let’s grab hands today and really look around. And let’s celebrate together as we begin to see Jesus people looking more like Jesus.

Reach Out Honduras is excited to announce another recipient of the Abundant Life College Scholarship Fund! A big round of applause to Miguel Estrada Cruz.

Miguel graduated from Abundant Life Institute in December 2019 with an emphasis in Accounting and Finance. He is a very strong academic student and a leader within his group. 

He says, “The most important thing I learned at Abundant Life Institute was love and the unity of the teachers for the students. They were committed that we grow and prosper.”

Miguel says, “This scholarship will give me the chance to reach my dreams of being a Psychologist. Without the support of Reach Out Honduras, I would not be able to pay for university costs.”

Let’s show Miguel some love today and CONGRATULATIONS as he steps out in faith!

Thank you, Gary Cochran, for your support and wisdom toward Miguel for these last 3 years.

When you contribute to the Reach Out Honduras General Fund, you help students like Miguel continue their education! THANK YOU!

We met Junior in 2013. His mom arrived at our missionary house, wondering if there might be a spot for him to study in February of 2014. Little did we know that Junior would end up being such an important part of the inaugural year and class at Abundant Life Institute.

Junior was a solid student, a natural leader, a Christ following young man and a champion of the mission of the school. He served as student body President and graduated from high school in December of 2018. He says, “Abundant Life completely changed my life, teaching me how to overcome obstacles and keep going. I am grateful to Abundant Life for the beautiful moments we lived together.”

For the last year, he has been waiting to start his university studies due to government strikes and delays in public higher education. 

Reach Out Honduras is excited to announce – Junior has been awarded one of the 3 Abundant Life College Scholarships for the Class of 2018! We will partner with Junior’s mom to help Junior reach his goals. Junior says, “This scholarship will give me the opportunity to study in university and I can reach and complete my dream of becoming a Civil Engineer.”

Pray for Junior as he steps out in faith!

When you contribute to the Reach Out Honduras General Fund, you help students like Junior continue their education! THANK YOU!

(Special thanks to the Parker family who sponsored Junior from 2013 and onward!)

When Taniza speaks, people listen. Taniza is a kind young woman with an enormous smile that lights up every room. She is a very strong student with a deep love for God. Recently, Taniza spoke words of gratitude at her high school graduation. Words of her experience at Abundant Life Institute. Words of love.

Last week, Taniza found out that she will receive an Abundant Life College Scholarship! She is one of 3 recipients from our 2019 graduating class. Our selection committee feels like Taniza is uniquely prepared for her opportunity to study Physics at university.

Pray with us for Taniza’s new adventure. And comment below to encourage her heart!

When you contribute to Reach Out Honduras at year-end, funds go toward people like Taniza! Not projects and programs, but PEOPLE! 

Join us and DONATE HERE!

(A special thank you to the Hall family for sponsoring Taniza during her final years of high school and also for being an extra encouragement for her when her heart needed a boost.)