Honduras June 22-26

My second international trip with FBCH was to Renacer, Honduras. There were six of us on the trip, and we spent the week at an orphanage there. To read about our entire experience, visit the blog at http://fbchinternationalchildcare.blogspot.com/. Our purpose of the trip was to help increase their garden in order to provide food for the orphanage. By the end of the week we had hoed land, cut grass with machetes, bought 60 fruit trees (and began planting them), and planted 1,000 onions. It was a lot of hard work in the hot sun, but the afternoons and evenings were spent playing with the children at the orphanage. We were supposed to stay in Renacer until the 28th, however we left early due to political unrest in Honduras. We got news that the airport had been shut down because of a poll that was taking place on Sunday, which was the cause of the unrest. The Honduran president lost all support of the military as well. Thankfully, the airport reopened on Friday, and we were able to fly back to Miami. Although we were supposed to return on Sunday, we are blessed that we left Honduras early. On Sunday, the Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was kidnapped from his home and taken to Costa Rica, and an interim leader Roberto Micheletti was put in charge. (Go to http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124628267418867961.html# to read more about the situation.) Even though we returned home early, the experience of working in the fields was humbling, and it was a joy to spend time with the children at the orphanage as well.

We spent the afternoons playing with the children at the orphanage

The three girls of the trip showing our muscles from hoeing the fields

Working in the fields during the day was extremely difficult, augmented by the fact that it was 90 degrees and sunny, and we did not have running water. Our hard work was definitely a lesson, and it made me appreciate the conveniences of home, such as flushing toilets and showers. Although the physical labor was more intense than I had expected, it was equally rewarding and humbling to spend the day working in the fields. We were able to get to know a farmer named Will, who taught us in Spanish how to properly prepare the land and make the beds to plant onions. Will worked a lot faster and more skillfully than us, but he appreciated our willingness to help the orphanage. Watering the 1,000 onions that we had planted by the end of the trip was very gratifying.

However, working in the fields was also humbling. Children from the orphanage would walk by us on their way to school and shout “Hola” to us. The orphanage’s director tried to instill in the children that they needed to excel in school or they would have to do grueling farm work for the rest of their lives. I felt out of my comfort zone as I watched others attend school, and I worked the fields. It definitely made me very thankful for my opportunity for education.

Furthermore, our hard work during the day made us all the more eager to play with the kids in the late afternoons and evenings once they returned from school. Whether giving piggy-back rides, pushing them on the swings, or shooting baskets with them, my heart went out to the children at the orphanage. As an only child, I am very close to my parents, and I cannot imagine growing up without their love and support. It was a wonderful opportunity to be able to show the children my love, through planting them food for the orphanage and spending quality time with them.