Humbling

This is a short entry, no pictures (sorry ahead of time), but definitely worth reading. 

These afternoons I try to grab some internet (on a lucky day) and finish some e-mailing, updating, etc. Today our accountant, with whom I share an office, ran out to do a quick errand. While she was gone I received a visit from a sweet lady who worked just for today at JEC. She was covering for one of the cooks who had to run to the doctor last minute. 

Martha, who I would guess is about mid 30's, rode the first bus out of her town (more than an hour away) to arrive at Jovenes at 5 AM to work in the kitchen. 

The cooks here (we have three on staff at all times) get here early enough to prepare breakfast to serve at 6 AM. Lunch is served for the older boys at 11, then for everyone else at 12:30. After cleaning up for everyone and cooking a huge lunch (our most important meal of the day in Honduras) for 80ish people, they prepare dinner and send it to the houses ready to serve that night. This is normally around 2 in the afternoon.

All of that is just to say how not easy their days are.

This afternoon I had to take on the duty of paying Martha. So after seeing (and living it myself) the job the cooks do daily, my jaw HIT THE FLOOR when our director told me how much to pay her - $10. 

She woke up at the crack of dawn, worked over a hot stove, cleaned on her hands and knees, and served 80+ people two meals... and all she earned was $10!!!!

I have literally made double that in one hour babysitting before. 

The saddest part is that Martha couldn’t even sign the receipt saying we had paid her for her services that day, because she never had never learned to write.

Talk about a humbling experience. 

Especially as I was sitting in the office typing away on my Macbook, using internet, and e-mailing sponsors. 

And Martha never even learned to write. 

Can you even imagine not being able to sign your own name???

And she’s one of many in Honduras who never had anyone to teach them to read/write. 

So what do I take from this seriously humbling experience? 

Five main things.

One. God has been so extremely good to me.

Two. I need to thank Jesus more each day for my parents and the sacrifices they made for my education.

Three. Be grateful. Always.

Four. I am more thankful now than ever the boys at Jovenes en Camino are in school, learning, and have dedicated houseparents who pray for their academic success. 

Five. Humility is the most attractive quality a person can have. 

So to all those with kids who might read this, thank you for believing in your children enough to teach them to read and write.

And although it seems Martha’s parents never taught her those things, someone/something along the way taught her about humility - a trait, in my opinion, more precious than being able to read and write. 

Celebrating America in Honduras (again)

I deemed Poppy "American", but technically she's not

Even though I may not be on American soil, that didn’t seem to stop our summer interns or me. Yesterday I spent the morning “off” (sleeping in... until 7 AM), cleaning my house, washing some clothes, etc. The interns filled up a ton of water balloons, all of which were destroyed in a matter of seconds. They walked over and we ate a very patriotic lunch of blue cheese burgers, baked beans, and lays potato chips. We then split an entire pack of double stuffed oreos (a rare find here) between the 5 of us while watching old episodes of Friends (thanks to my mejor amiga, Lindy). 

Justin, one of our interns, showing his patriotism

After lunch we headed over to JEC to set up for our afternoon fiesta by the pool. We set up the karaoke machine, American flag, and swam for about 2 hours (which during it poured twice) with all the boys. We shared popcicles, played games, and froze a little (it’s winter here - which means about 75 degrees). 

After we had showered and ate dinner, we put on a movie in the pink house (Monsters University), shared big pieces of watermelon, and then ended the night with fireworks. While they were probably the poorest showing I’ve ever had on the 4th where fireworks are concerned, the boys still loved it. We even saved some for just another night when we’re bored! I’m not sure who was sleepier at the end of the day - the boys or the interns! 

Cristian Ochoa doing a back flip

This week has been nice with only one visit on Monday afternoon from a group who just stopped by for a few hours to play. Therefore we’ve been catching up on summer work with the Allison bilingual boys, watching lots of movies, and took a trip to Tegus on Tuesday to restock for food and souvenirs for our tienda shop. 

Our new JEC "tienda"

Our new tienda shop has been a huge success. After selling souvenirs out of plastic bins in the office for the past two years I’ve been here, we’ve officially opened shop in our new store (“tienda” in spanish). In just one week we’ve made an incredible profit - selling everything from can drinks and gatorades to Honduran soccer jerseys and bracelets the boys make from yarn. We have many new products and all the profits go to a new education account where we can help pay for college for future boys, school uniforms and shoes, and school supplies. 

Our first benefiter was the one and only, Jony Mendez, who was in need of a new pair of tennis shoes. It was the obvious choice since Jony works so hard and asks for so little. I’d say it was the best $16 the tienda will spend. 

Jony & his shoe's someone donated in Christmas 2011

On another note, JEC has announced two really exciting things coming up for us! I had already mentioned to everyone about the countdown to our 10th anniversary in February of 2014, but we are officially announcing the date to our annual JEC Fiesta 5k to benefit Jovenes. It will be at Battle Ground Academy this year on October 12th. Because of a sweet family friend, I’ll be able to fly home and join everyone for this awesome fundraiser in the fall and renew by visitor’s VISA. 

Starting yesterday we announced a fundraiser for the year to raise “$100,000 in 100 days”. This started on our country’s independence day and will end on the day of the race. We realize this is a hefty goal, but we know so many people believe in the mission of Jovenes and will help us reach this goal by October 12th. So donate, forward the email, and talk about it. You never know who will help out, and just sharing it on Facebook, email or Twitter can be a huge game changer. So feel free to copy the following, save the image, and send it out! Thank you for your support. It means so much to the Jovenes family. 

To our Jovenes en Camino Family and Friends, 

Jovenes en Camino is thriving with 55 boys ages five to nineteen, plus 25 staff members!  Our 10^th Anniversary is February 26, 2014.  This is your children’s home and we thank you for your support.  We just graduated our first boy from the Alison Bilingual School near campus.  He has been accepted into a very prestigious bilingual school in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.  Our first nineteen year old wants to go to a University in Tegucigalpa and is researching his options.  All the boys are trying their hardest in school.  On campus, our boys are learning trades that will serve them for years to come.  We have seven healthy cows that are self-sufficient and producing enough milk daily for all the boys.  Our staff is one of the best in the country of Honduras.  They are doing an amazing job at being the Christian example our boys need.  We have been blessed by God with an infrastructure valued at $1.1 million.  God is good and working at Jovenes en Camino! We are ready for the next step.  

We increased our yearly operating budget this year by $100,000 to pay our staff the amount they deserved after over 5 years of being underpaid.  The cost of food continues to go up, necessary maintenance to our facilities is ongoing, school costs…the list goes on and on as it takes a lot to raise 55 boys. On July 4^th, we will begin an exciting campaign called $100,000 IN 100 DAYS.  Our goal is to reach our annual operating budget of $350,000 by October 12^th.  That is the day set for our annual Jovenes Fiesta 5K Family Run at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee.  We want to be able to announce on that day that we reached our $100,000 goal and even exceeded it.  You can help us do that. To kick it off, our staff and boys at Jovenes have collected $550 to make the first deposit to this campaign.  They understand the importance of all of us working together to reach this goal.  What can you do?  MAKE A DONATION!  Go to www.jovenesencamino.org and click on Donate Now.  Send this information to others you know – family, friends, churches, businesses, foundations, etc.  

Let’s work together to continue to see Jovenes en Camino thrive!  Every penny is important to the lives of the boys at Jovenes.

Nelson

Nelson at "El cajon"

Nelson just graduated sixth grade this past Saturday, and this is a big deal here in Honduras. Usually this means the boys head on to high school (which starts in 7th grade here), so Nelson was feeling mixed emotions about graduating and leaving his elementary school. The same class has been together for years, so they’re all best friends. Next year many will split up and go to several different private schools in the capital, so they all were really soaking up these last few days. We had a luncheon in honor of them where they each received a personalized award and their certificate of graduation from ABSS. 

6th grade graduating class at the dam

Two Saturdays ago I woke up at 4 AM to go pack up my car and pick up Nelson to get on a bus by 5:30 AM to head out for his class trip. We left Zamorano around 5:45 and headed northwest in Honduras first to El Cajon, one of Honduras’ biggest dams. We received a private tour which included an area by the river where there were natural hot water baths- from hot water that came from the mountains. Next we headed to Olla Grande where they have a huge zoo with many impressive animals. Of course the kids love this, because in Honduras (at least in Tegucigalpa) the zoos are pretty weak-sauce. But the zoo we visited really compared with some of the zoos I’ve visited in the US. They had private pools, restaurants, gift shops, blow up games, roller coasters (for kids), etc. We had lunch and stayed here until around 6ish. 

First time seeing an ostrich

That night we made the long trek to Pulhapanzak. This place is a hidden treasure in Honduras. LOOK.IT.UP. They have private cabañas where we stayed - air conditioner included - and I had 8 people in my cabin... 4 kids and 4 adults. Either way we were exhausted so we slept well. 

our cabins overlooked this gorgeous scenery (Pulhapanzak)

The next morning we woke up and after breakfast had the opportunity to choose activities to do on their campsite. They offer zip lines (OVER THE WATERFALL) and a group tour where you hike down to the actual waterfall and hike underneath to the hidden caves. 

Before zip-lining!

Both of these were relatively affordable, so as soon as Nelson showed me he was brave enough, we bought our tickets and got our harnesses on. Most of his class (each student was accompanied by one parent figure) did the zip line together, which was so, so fun! The final one was directly out of the forrest and over the impressive waterfall. Everyone felt like we were flying! 

waterfall at Pulhapanzak

After everyone finished we met back up for our hike. This was literally the most adventurous/brave/impressive thing I’ve ever done. We hiked (about 20 of us) over extremely slippery rocks (also very large) all while the water splashed in our faces. Once we reached the first cave (to the bottom left of the waterfall) we were told that the hardest part was yet to come. We broke off into two groups and all linked hands. Walking sideways with our backs facing outward, we crouched, inclined our heads, and were told only to breath through our mouths. 

 Nelson's 6th grade teacher zip-lining over the waterfall

This was really scary, and you had to completely trust the person who went to your right who was technically leading you by pulling on your hand. You felt like you were blind and hunched at the waist with the weight of the waterfall on your back. The caves behind the waterfalls weren’t really that impressive, but in the end I think everyone was so proud of themselves for completing the task. I was proud of myself as a 24 year old doing this, so Nelson being half my age really impressed me. 

the whole group before heading out 

We had a great weekend, and I’m so glad I was able to spend some quality time with him. On Monday I headed to Tegus with the interns and our director to officially enroll Nelson. He’s going to attend one of the most prestigious schools in all of Honduras, and  this is such an honor to be accepted. We are currently fundraising for Nelson’s education fund, so if you’d like to see how you can help, please email me! 

DCIS's newest wildcat!

After seeing his school for the first time, I could easily see Nelson was overwhelmed. It’s ironic I lived a story quite similar to his current situation (with some obvious exceptions) - moving to a completely different city, school, house, and not knowing what to expect. I absolutely feel God has placed me here to help encourage Nelson during this time of transition.  

we celebrated with ice cream after officially being enrolled

Because this is a big accomplishment not just for Nelson, but also for JEC, we recognize that with this great opportunity comes great responsibility. Please pray for him as he starts this new age of his life.

End of the School Year (& Everything That Goes With It)!

I am so sorry for my EXTREME lack of blogging, but we’ve had horrible internet issues (leave it to Honduras to tell you your internet is working fine but you can’t even open your email) and it’s been a crazy month of June! 

Casa Verde (photo by my friend, Lindy)

We’ve already had at least 7 groups coming through to visit. These groups do an array of things - whether bringing lunch to the boys, piñatas and candy, pouring cement and doing manual labor, etc. Everything these groups do help us in many ways, and the boys absolutely love having so many visitors (and the attention, too!).

Fredy Cruz & Gary, the cat in casa rosada

This week the executive director stateside for JEC brought a group and have been working on certain projects here and in the area. These include buying and packing food baskets for all our employees (rice, beans, butter, milk, etc), pouring a concrete floor in one of our employee’s houses, and painting our new shop to sell our souvenirs. 

Today the group is having a VBS at the public school where all our elementary school boys attend, and tomorrow they’ll be heading out. My youth group from Harpeth Hills (Brentwood, TN) arrived to Tegucigalpa yesterday and are making their way to JEC on Thursday. I’m obviously elated for personal reasons to be able to spend time with my past youth ministers and relive how my love for Honduras began in the first place. 

back when I visited JEC with my youth group

Last week was literally insane - so many groups, visits, meetings, graduations, etc etc. Antony graduated kindergarten, so I acted as his guardian and walked him down the isle with his cap and gown (Honduran tradition). His class sang and performed a song/dance in english, had a slideshow of baby pics, and then each received a diploma and a small gift. We had taken his class trip a few weekends ago to a private club in Valle de Angeles (abt 2 hrs from Zamorano), went swimming, played and had a meal together. 

Antony on the morning of his kindergarten graduation

I will write another blog about Nelson later, since he graduated 6th grade last week - meaning he's heading to high school here in Honduras! We took a weekend trip with his entire class, and it was absolutely amazing. More details to come.

We've had plenty of reasons to use our projector for soccer games, movies, etc. The first Friday all four interns were here at JEC we built a fire and taught the boys to roast marshmellows. We've had movie nights with the boys in each house, popping popcorn and watching our fair share of bootleg movies. 

campfires, popcorn, marshmallows, etc

I also had the opportunity to go to the stadium for the big Honduras vs. Costa Rica game. This was the only one in Tegucigalpa (which is only about an hour away from Zamorano), so I went with several of my friends who teach in the local bilingual school. We all wore our jerseys, painted our faces, and had a blast. Luckily Honduras WON, and we even had front row seats.

Last night Honduras played the USA in Utah, so we of course had to project that game on the big screen and make popcorn. Our interns wore their american flag tshirts while all the Hondurans talked trash all day. Unfortunately for the boys, USA won scoring the game's only goal. I walked around telling the boys "I'm so sorry", and of course they all couldn't help but smile after all the smack they had talked the last week or two.

Nothing Will Ever Matter

"Do you know that nothing you do in this life will matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made?" -Francis Chain

I saw this quote this morning on my Facebook, and it really resonated with me. I know I am sinner. I think that's step one, right? I've got that pretty well covered. But what am I doing about it? Just because I'm living in Honduras as a "missionary" doesn't mean I get to pass GO & collect salvation. Because that life doesn't exist. So why does it matter?

Well to me it matters because I have been brought to this earth for a reason. So whatever you believe about God or another higher being, can you at least agree you were born to fulfill some purpose? I believe this is what I am here for.

I am here to love God, do His will, and love His people. 

All those things can be done in the comfort of your own hometown. That's the glorious part about it. And you're allowed to mess up (a lot). Actually that may be the best part - I'm held accountable, but I'm forgiven when I make mistakes... because I tend to do that often.

My goal is to somehow change people's lives for the better. No matter how small of a difference, I want to make one. I can't do that in a meaningful way unless I'm doing it for Him. So when these boys test me to my limit, when I'm homesick like crazy, when I'm down and feeling lonely, when I miss the comforts of home - I push myself to remember WHY I'm here in the first place.

Because nothing I do in this life will ever matter unless I'm doing it because I love Jesus, and I love his people. 

Mother's Day Isn't Just For Birth Moms

Not exactly sure why, but Mother's day here is celebrated the same day as Mother's day in the US (even though Father's day is different?). Here it might even be considered a bigger deal, and is really celebrated in a big way.

the men of JEC

The men of Jovenes always come together and plan some big "secret" day for the women, and then those who have wives invite them to come along. We all know each other well by now, so we really are like one, big family when we head out on the blue JEC bus.

Each invite had our picture on it!

This year we received formal invitations the day before our outing inviting us to join them in Valley of the Angels (about 2 hrs away from JEC). So Thursday we loaded up the bus all dressed in our finest and headed towards out destination. We arrived at a private club with a pool, jungle gyms, ponies, a small "zoo" and a restaurant. We sat in a U shape where our "master of ceremonies", Tio Elvir, welcomed everyone and several more of our coworkers spoke about what "mothers" mean to them. We played a game and then everyone was quite hungry.

ladies of JEC

Leave it to the men to choose good food - so when I say we feasted, we really feasted. After full bellies we played another game where THIS GIRL won another full plate of food to take home for dinner :) Each lady received several gifts including a mother's day coffee mug, tubberware and a pedicure set.

local art in Valley of the Angels

After walking around the club, taking group pictures, and letting our food settle, we headed to downtown valley of the angels, a very touristy spot, and spent some time shopping. It was an awesome day to relax and enjoy each others company as coworkers in a non-work environment.

my boys minus Daniel who was being camera shy

My second mother's day celebration was on Monday at the bilingual school, Allison Bixby Stone. Several of the boys had invited me to be their mom and come eat lunch with them. We were invited to sit with the boys, have lunch, play games, and were serenaded by live music. The boys made me cards and bracelets, and we ate pupusas for lunch.

Norman and Cristian making bracelets

Although I am not their birth mother or even their adopted mother, I feel like these boys are my family. I feel protective over them. Punishing them hurts me worse than them (finally learned that lesson was true). I am happy when they are happy. I am elated when they are successful and hurt for them when they are down.

Antony

Antony, the youngest in kindergarten, even made me this sweet flower box and wrote "Happy Mom's Day" on it. I am proudly displaying it on my desk in the office today and considering never taking it off.

my sweet flower box Antony made me

Needless to say I am feeling loved and appreciated and am so proud to be a mother-figure to these boys! And to all those women out there who may not be birth mothers, you have just as much right to celebrate this day as any.


*I would like to take this chance to remind everyone I am currently fundraising to help pay for my new house I wrote about in my last post. If you can help in any way, please visit my DONATE page at the top of my blog or share my blog with others you know. Thank you!

New House!

One thing I've discovered about myself while living in Honduras is I don't like anyone to think I'm "too good" to live they like everyone else here does. One thing I've known about myself for quite some time is I also don't like to feel I've let anyone down... ever. Sometimes I think I let these things get in the way of taking care of me, and in order to take care of me, I need a few comforts from home.

THEREFORE I am proud, elated, yet humbled to announce I am moving into a new home walking distance from JEC.

This little "typico" house belongs to a retired couple in Zamorano who rent this house, around 200 yards off their main home, to locals who need something fully furnished. Not only is the house comfortable, but its SAFE.

The house has its own gate on my end (directly to the right of this picture), but the owners have their own gate as well. These are high gates which usually ward off any unwanted guests. Then if the gates don't cut it, they have 5 german shepherds to do the trick. I received this email earlier today from my landlord:

"Please remember we live in the country, therefore snakes and wild animals are pretty average. Luckily the dogs usually take care of this before we have to see them."

I'm not sure I can say it enough - Thank you, Lord, for german shepherds!!!

kitchen area

The house has a small kitchen, also fully furnished (amazing!!), a living area with a kitchen table (YOU MEAN I CAN ACTUALLY SIT AT A TABLE AND ENJOY A MEAL?), one main bedroom with a closet, a small guest bed with a closet, and a bathroom. I still have my outside washing board and basin - for all those of you who were worrying!

living and dining room area

On a more serious note (I know you can all tell just how excited I am), I am very humbled this was able to work out the way it did. For a while now, I've felt very bogged down by the culture, the people, and often have questioned why I have put up with it all. But the one unwavering call I cannot deny is these boys. They have been faithful in their need for me. They don't let me down. And sometimes even though they're frustrated with me (as an authority figure), I know they love me and appreciate me. And sometimes I cannot even say that much about the adults here.

I have a hot water heater (see shower head) even if it does come out in a trickle!

When people ask me what I miss the most about home, obviously family and friends come first to mind. Shortly after I think about the little luxuries like in my last post, but most often I miss my culture. I miss the ability to talk to someone and fully believe every word they are saying. To know they aren't lying just to lie. To not have to question friendships and motives. No one is perfect, but this is something I am telling you all - we do not appreciate it like we should.

master bedroom

I am more grateful now than ever to have been brought up in a home where no one lied to me. Where my parents taught me honor, trust, and all good things. Sometimes I think this culture is so wrong for so many reasons because they simply know no better. This was the way they were raised. And THAT means these boys at JEC have a strong advantage. They're growing up slightly different than most young men in this country. They're being raised by loving, christian families who teach them about Jesus and His qualities. This is something we should ALL be extremely grateful for if we care about these boys.

where I will wash clothes/water source

So, starting on May 7th, I can walk to work. I can go to bed and not have to worry about something happening to me in my sleep (sorry mom). I can rest assured God is truly watching over me and has been the entire time. I can walk over to the green house and watch a movie on Saturday nights. I can stay late and do homework with the bilingual boys and not have to worry about getting home late in the dark. These are simple things, but they have uplifted my spirit and washed my worries away.

I needed a private place to relax and renew my spirit, but moving out of JEC came at a cost of feeling lonely and unsafe at times. God has answered a prayer and a worry I didn't realize I had until it was taken away.

Now if that's not a God who's looking out for me, what is?

**Lastly, I am fundraising to live in my new home. The price of rent here is over 3 times my last rent. If you can help, I cannot tell you how much it would mean to me. Checks can be made to Harpeth Hills Church of Christ with "Annie Brown - Honduras" on the tag line. Please check out the DONATE page of my blog for more details.