Other than my week in Honduras in July I have spent a great deal of time this summer caring for my profoundly disabled 16 year old stepson Jim. My St. Andrew family knows and loves him but I know that some readers of this blog series don't know him so here is a very brief description. Jim is non verbal, totally gastric tube fed, diapered and will always function at about a 9 month old level. He loves to snuggle, enjoys hearing the voices and laughter of other children, and is happiest when he has his favorite spinning toy. Jim makes his needs known with grunts and squeals and shares his delight with hearty belly laughs. Before heading off to NPH, I wondered what life in Honduras would be like for Jim. This is what I found. 

At the NPH ranch there are children with varying levels of disabilities. There are hogares equipped especially for their needs. I visited both the girls' and the boys' special needs homes and was impressed by how involved the kids are. Their Tias and Tios have high but realistic expectations of what the kids can do. The other kids on the ranch include the kids in activities. I saw no evidence of exclusion or segregation but rather compassion, acceptance and friendship. Given Jim's profound disabilities he would not live on the ranch but would live in the capital city, Tegucigalpa, at Casa de los Ángeles which provides 24-hour care for over fifteen children with severe disabilities. Our group visited and had the chance to meet and play with the kids living there. I was truly moved by the outstanding level of love and care the children received. We learned that in addition to the loving care provided by staff, the children also receive physical, occupational, and speech therapy. When I shared a picture of Jim with the head caregiver she knew right away that I understood what it takes to provide that level of care. I can say with complete sincerity that Jim would be well loved and cared for were he to live in Casa de los Ángeles. Praise be to God! 

By Roger and Judy

Wow, where did that week go?? We're home now - unpacking, catching up with laundry, and reflecting on many memories of the past 8 days. High on our list is the way our group engaged in activities, and sought to get the most out of this perhaps once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - especially our Youth.

Our mornings were dedicated to chores around the Ranch (many of which you'll see described in other posts), and none of those chores were easy -- yet everyone chipped in and helped. There were few complaints, and only a few blisters. While working in the garden Barb shared the observation that "we worked at home pulling weeds for the privilege of coming to Honduras to pull weeds" - and boy, did she pull weeds :) 

During the week, we had blocks of time where we engaged in games and activities with the pequenos in their homes (hogares). Although language could have been a barrier to participation, it seldom was. It was heartwarming to see our Youth play soccer, Frisbee, jump rope, cards, reading, etc. with the pequenos. Laughter is truly a universal language.

Our meals were quite different from home - a lot of rice, beans, and cheese. We brought other food with us as a supplement, but when it came time for dinner with the pequenos, everyone shared in their meal, and seemed to enjoy it. 

It probably comes as a surprise to no one that Madeleine, Megan, and Derek performed a musical number during worship - but in a Catholic Mass, in a foreign country, in Spanish??? It was the first time Donna - one of our group leaders - has had one of her groups prepare and perform like that. Kudos to Lainey for organizing the activity, and to the kids for an applause-generating performance. 

On Sunday, we had an evening meeting with 20 or so of the volunteers who are serving on the Ranch. These young people from Europe and North America commit to a minimum of 13 months of service in a number of roles - often as teachers in the school. Our time together allowed our Youth to ask questions and learn more about this as a possible opportunity in their future. Seeds were planted, and it will be exciting to see where they lead.

Most evenings ended with a time together for reflection and the opportunity to share observations or concerns from the day. Meetings aren't usually synonymous with fun, especially at the end of a long day, but everyone was there on time and eagerly engaged. The questions and observations from our Youth were often perceptive and thought-provoking. 

We're thankful to God and all who made the trip possible for the opportunity to share this experience with such an inspiring group.

By Kelly Rossnagel

So today is June 17th, three days before my birthday. I woke up around 7, but lay in bed for awhile, reluctant to get the day started. Eventually, I got up and let me tell you I had no idea what kind of day lay ahead of me.

I decided to skip the shower, and headed straight for the coffee. I opened the door, surprised to see a birthday sign and two origami cranes hanging in my doorway. Startled, I thought what a sweet gesture, but I have to admit I was a little confused. "It's not my birthday yet, is it?" I walked down the hallway to read the schedule and saw that the date read "July 20th, Happy Birthday Kelly!" Oh my gosh, I forgot my own birthday!! I walked in the kitchen and was greeted with a couple more Happy Birthdays. Still confused, I decided to go along with it. Then finally someone said, "we all decided to skip a couple days and make today your birthday, so Happy Birthday!" How cool! Not only did people remember, but they moved it ahead to make sure they didn't forget to wish me a happy birthday. I went on with the day, looking forward to exploring the new library and helping out at school.

Looking back, there were a series of off encounters that didn't make sense until right now. When grabbing my laundry, a couple others were outside talking. I walked past and heard Patti mumble "Kelly", and everyone stopped talking. I opened the fridge and asked Barb if the soda inside was for everyone, to which she replied, "NO, that's not for now... but we will have it later."

A small group of us went to explore the new library, and then over to the school to help out in one of the English classes. The whole time my mom kept telling all the kids we saw that it was my birthday. After lunch, a group of us walked over to the surgery center to check out the new facility. While we were walking back, I noticed that Scott and Lainey had walked ahead. I was greeted by my mother outside and everyone went inside and shut the gate, which was kind of weird, considering we were going to walk in shortly after. I sat and talked with my mom for awhile, and she asked me if I was ready to go in, which I thought was odd.

To my surprise, everyone had lined up in the entryway waiting for my arrival. As I walked in, confetti was thrown, and everyone was singing Happy Birthday and cheering! I was given a present, a birthday hat and walked into the kitchen to see a table full of chips and soda. I opened the present to find a homemade bracelet made by Amber. I loved it! After the kitchen, I was asked to go outside where Ilzir ran out and cracked two eggs on my head. This apparently is a Honduras tradition, the amount of eggs symbolizing each year. I was speechless, I had never expected that anyone would acknowledge my birthday, let alone take the effort to throw me a surprise party. My own SURPRISE birthday!

So there I had it, my own surprise birthday party, in Honduras, on June 17th, thrown by an amazing group of my newest friends. Something I will never forget.

While a few boys and girls sorted the eggs, and some of the others were busy calling Derek crazy, I noticed that an older, particularly mischievous-looking boy had slipped an egg into his pocket. Deciding that it was nothing, I carried on with what I was doing. I had no idea how wrong that decision was.

We said goodbye to the kids and started to leave the farm. However, as soon as I was walking out the gate, there was a brief, swooshing noise behind me, and then a sickening, "SPLURNCH." I suddenly felt an excruciating, oddly wet and lasting pain, smack dab in the middle of my shoulder blades.

"Aaaaaaauugghh!" I cried, wincing in pain. Everyone in the group turned around. 

Amber then said in a surprised voice, "Elise, that boy hit you with an egg!" It was true, as we saw a small black-haired head dart back inside the barn, grinning. 

We ran inside, me wincing as the broken, slimy egg shells cut into the tender skin on my back. My mom, Lainey, stepped forward and confronted the giggling Latin-American boy. Eventually Egg-Boy confessed. He said it was their messed up version of humor. Then, after we convinced the boy that egging people is only funny for the people throwing the egg, I allowed my mom to take a picture of my wet, slimy, egg-and-shell-covered back.

After returning to the egg-free comfort of the guest house and settling down in a rainbow hammock, Peter and Connor revealed to me that the same boy had tormented them on their visit to the farm on the second day of the mission trip. Apparently he had attempted to egg them too, and he had slapped them when they reacted. The only reason he was working on the farm was because he was getting punished.

I wasn't really surprised. The smell of cow pies is no treat. Don't be fooled by the "pie" part; cow pies are by no means delicious and are actually quite bad for your bloodstream.

To put it in a nutshell, I now know what it feels like to get hit with an egg; it is NOT exactly a trip to the Bahamas. So I guess the moral of the story is, don't harass an unsuspecting ten year-old, because they MIGHT FORGET to give you all the treats and toys her mission trip brought to your ranch in Honduras.

I'm kidding of course, I'm not cruel.

By Derona Burkholder
The bell rings, the kids race to class, and the teachers are there to greet them. This sounds like normal school in the States, but this is a school (escuela) at NPH Honduras. Today, we were lucky enough to attend school with the pequenos. As we walked to school, I thought about what school is like for me as a teacher and wondered how similar or different the school at NPH is. 

I received my first sense of how different the school setting was as we walked through the entrance. Most days my students and I are greeted by staff and friends (amigos). In our case today, we were greeted by a herd of cows. Yes, I did just say cows. This was not the only time we encountered a herd of cows. As we sat on the steps during recess, we were met by the same cows as they came down the hallway, off the ledge, and into the courtyard. Very different, but this is one part of the kids' school life. 

The school offers so much more than I originally thoguht. They have a beautiful, well-kept library where the kids can read current literature. In honor of St. Andrew, Pattie provided books to donate to the school library. Yolany, the NPH librarian, was so honored that she stamped each book that showed "this book is in your hands out the the generosity of St. Andrew of Renton." As we left the library, we strolled down through the hallway to the dentist. The dentist was well equipped with chairs, dental equipment, and x-ray machines. When each child comes to NPH they receive a full dental check-up and cleaning. Then kids keep up their daily cleaning and regular check-ups. This is a little different from my school because we don't have a dentist down the hall.

Today our main job was to help Michelle, a second grade teacher, paint hats with her students. When I first walked in I noticed the similarities between Michelle's and my classroom. There is a number line, alphabet, student work, and a reading center. Much of this was made by the students or teacher, using creative things. For example, the bands for the students' hats were cut from cereal boxes. Unlike me, I can just grab paper from my supply cabinet. Some of the supplies are donated by others or just brought in from the teacher.

As a final thought about my experience with the school I want to share with you a conversation I had with a new volunteer. Talia is a recent graduate with a degree in education. As I sat around the table we discussed her plans about how she was going to set up her first ever classroom and the lesson plans she was going to have to create with no curriculum. This experience is very different than my experience, but one thing is the same: the excitement and anticipation of the teacher's first classroom is there!

By Barb Anderson
On Saturday night, we went to a special activity with the girls from the hogares where girls age (approximately) 10-15 live. The plan was to have dinner with them and then have activity stations they could rotate between. The previous weekend, the boys had their special activity, organized by the previous visiting group.

The evening started out with dinner outside. We gathered with a prayer and then lined up with our plates and forks we brought from our rooms and received our dinner from the big coolers that are delivered from the kitchen for each meal. Dinner was yummy: two pancakes and honey and cinnamon tea. After dinner we went in their big meeting room and watched them perform a few dances that they had prepared. Then we set up the activities: string bracelet making, bingo, books, beads, coloring, painting.

Another activity that went on all through the night was photography. The girls love to have their picture taken. Connor was the photo bomber and tried to get in as many photos as he could.

As our trip has progressed, some of the travelers have been christened with their "ranch name". There is a story (and many laughs) connected to each name. Some are easily understood, and some you will want to ask about! Here are a few of our names:  Tramposa (Maggie), Single (Connor), Knots (Amber), Jagger (Peter), Caliente (Derona), CSI (Kelly), Robusto (Barb), Trente Pantalones (Scott), Futbol (Megan), Fiesta (Pattie), Curly (Elise), The Fixer (Lainey). As our trip winds down, we'll have a few more ranch hands to christen. We'll keep you informed.

Maggie wrote the other day about generosity and the stance of faith that Father Wasson, the founder of NPH, consistently took. As Stefan, the national director of NPH Honduras put it: "We refuse to believe we can be more generous than God."

This faith plays itself out in many stunning ways. For example, the practice of NPH is to never set a cut-off for the number of kids the home will take. Of course they screen for suitability, for the sense of whether they will be able to serve this particular child or family or grandparent in a suitable way, but they never ask if there is enough money or enough housing or enough room. Ross, the assistant director, illustrated this point with another Father Wasson phrase in a different meeting: "There is always room for one more."

NPH has been hit by the same financial struggles that most charity organizations have suffered in the financial downturn of the Great Recession. Other factors having to do with local Honduran politics have also played a role in making finances tighter for the 9 homes of NPH International spread throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean. The night that we met with Stefan, he had been busy with budget meetings that resulted in the decision to let go of three more employees. This task, which he has to do the next day, was on his mind as he met with us.

The details of these arrangements are more complex than I can cover in this post. But, simply, NPH Honduras is a generous employer compared to most in Honduras. And this doesn't even really get at it. Stefan was facing having to let go of a family. The kids are getting much less meat than they have in the past. But the fact remains the 500 or so kids on the 2000 acre compound and spread through various locales based on their age and schooling needs, are among the more privileged in Honduras. They are safe. They are treated well. They get three square meals a day. There is remarkable generosity here.

Which brings me to the picture below and your generosity. The picture below was one that made many of us in the room a few nights ago very happy. Because of the generosity of so many of you and of so many friends beyond the congregation who responded to our appeal, we were able to provide support for all who needed it on the trip and still present this very big check for $1000 to NPH. Even better, we are giving this gift at a time that a generous donor has promised to match gifts, so our gift will be doubled.

It's still true that $2000 is a drop in the bucket. But Donna, our guide and host and fixer of all things, said that while true, most other donations have been small gifts. This is significant and deeply appreciated. So we want to pass on our appreciation to you, because we are learning to love this place and these people. They are becoming our friends, really our brothers and sisters, our hermonos y hermanas, all children of a God who is more generous than we can imagine.

Mass was on Saturday afternoon, in an outdoor chapel. The entire Ranch attended, hundreds of kids and adults, and many grandparents (abuelos), who we hadn't met yet. The abuelos appreciated us greeting them. We all dressed up, so did the kids from the Ranch.

Not being Catholic, we didn't know what to expect in the service. And everything was in espanol, so when it was over, we still didn't exactly know. But that was ok. The service was somewhat like ours with 3 scriptures, a sermon, communion. We split up and sat in ones and twos scattered among the hundreds of kids. I sat by myself in the middle of high school boys who didn't seem to speak any English. So I just copied what they did. Pattie had a girl next to her who pointed out words in the songbook for her.

The priest was down front, along with 4 or 5 kids assisting. At one point, a dog wandered around the stage for 5 minutes. The priest didn't miss a beat, and Fido moved on. I was glad to see the girls got to help the priest. And small kids brought down the elements for communion. And Sister Kolbe (COL be) with a great sense of humor translated the sermon. We sang a lot, all from a songbook in espanol. The boys didn't sing anything till we got to the song that Lainey, Derek, Madeline and Megan had prepared. They brought flutes here on the plane, practiced ahead of time, and sang accompanied by a guitarist. They led everyone in "In the Lord I'll Be Ever Thankful" in both English and espanol. Everybody sang, including the boys with me -- the only time they sang.

During communion, those of us who went down front got a blessing from the priest instead of taking communion from Sister Kolbe, because we aren't Catholic.

The whole service was very joyful, lots of singing, everyone was friendly and welcoming. I'm glad we got the opportunity to go.