I work at Jovenes en Camino, an all boys home in El Zamorano, Honduras, Central America. We have 55 incredible boys (and young men) who range from the age of 6 to 18.
There lives have been nothing but easy. Luckily some of them don't remember life before JEC, meaning this is home and most likely will be there home until they decide to leave.
What is my job here?
My job description does little to cover all sides of what I do to help out here. I spend most of my days doing a LARGE variety of things. One of my main jobs is working with six boys who are currently receiving a bilingual education. And let me tell you, they are P I S T O L S.
This means I take them lunch, pick them up from school, help them with homework, attend all after school activities (soccer practice, homework club, etc), am their "parent" for all school gatherings, and basically I am the one they call when they are in trouble (I've spent a few afternoons in the principal's office unfortunately in the past 2 1/2 years).
I also am in charge of organizing all our international visitors. I work specifically planning our summer calendar for visiting groups - all which range from youth groups doing mission work to large groups coming to work on a certain project. This means groups contact me earlier in the year to see what dates would work best for us and their group, we see if they have a budget to work on a project here on site, or we plan an activity for them to do something with the boys. While most groups do one of the things I just mentioned, some just simply come to play and love on the boys for a few hours. We love this too.
In the off season (Jan-Feb, September-early Sept) I am busy with the bilingual boys and employee activities. I am in charge of organizing our employee breakfasts once a month to boost moral, our once-a-month birthday celebrations for all the boys, and any other special occasion such as holidays and outings.
One of the things I do which I absolutely love is try to be a link between the boys and their sponsors. Luckily several of our sponsors are from Nashville (where I am from), therefore meaning I can bring notes, small gifts, and hugs to send their way. We encourage a special relationship between the boys and their sponsors, meaning anytime someone wants to send an email/note, I simply translate it and deliver it to the boys. You wouldn't believe the affect it has on their week.
I am also in charge of updating sponsors on the boys' needs. Sometimes one will have a specific need, and if he has a relationship with his sponsor we may feel inclined to ask if they are willing to help. Sometimes this includes me having to fundraise for events or special occasions as well (Christmas presents, stateside fundraisers, shoes, holiday celebrations, etc etc etc).
I manage our gift shop. I run our social media pages (Facebook, Twitter). I work on building relationships with community members who possibly could help JEC in the future. I am a chauffer. I am a mom. I am a tutor. I am a friend. I am a big sister. I am many, many things to these boys, and it is my greatest honor.
I am incredibly lucky to have them in my life.
Even though there's no way I could sit and type up ALL I do, this is usually one of the questions people tend to ask me.
So why share this today?
Mainly because I know I am so blessed to have many people who follow up with me, pray for my work, and care for me. I am also blessed to know many people who love Jovenes just as much as I do. So when I was asked to help with our annual 5k Fiesta Run/Walk, I was confident many would support this cause.
We are currently in the home stretch for the event. We have space for MANY more people than those who are currently signed up. WE NEED YOUR HELP.
If you support me and what I'm doing, PLEASE consider walking or running this 5k. This financial support we gain from the 5k will go straight to Honduras and to our boys' home.
Share this link - www.jovenesencamino.org/fiesta - with all your friends, family, coworkers, Facebook friends, etc. We would love to have a successful event on October 12th.
The 5k takes place at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, TN at 8 AM. We are also having a kids' run that will take place during the 5k at the registration location. This is a 1 mile race and there will be special prizes for those who are 12 and under and want to participate. This costs the same as adult registration ($30).
For those of you who live from afar and want to participate but can't make the trek, we ask you to still considering supporting us that day by making a "sleep in" donation for $20. This means you "sign up" for the race, but won't actually be participating in it. Please consider helping us in this way as well.
