Well - we only have about 2 weeks left on this assignment and we are on track to accomplish all that we anticipated doing. We have plenty of down time and have been jogging/walking around the nice, spongy Olympica track or doing Holy Yoga on the open-air upper deck most mornings. We have even gone to two movies while here, enjoying much more comfortable seats than back in Regina. It's really no hardship to live here. Tegucigalpa is widely known as one of the most dangerous cities in the world, but we have not seen or felt this vibe. We walk the dog in the gated colonia across the street from the house we are staying in or stroll down the busy street to the stadium in the early mornings. We zoom around safely locked in the vehicle during the day with traffic all around us, and we don't wander out after 6:00 pm - it's pitch black anyway, so what would you do? We've been "downtown," parking at malls and restaurants, but haven't seen any shady characters. If you had to take public transportation and taxis, you might have something to worry about, but we have no reason to do that.

Cheryl warming up for the 5000m race

This past Sunday, both of us spoke at Pastor Victor's church, which is situated in the poor community on the hillside where most of the children in our sponsorship program and ISFP live. We have introduced you to Victor as the director of ChildCAREPlus and School of Hope's full time employee. An interesting fact is that pastors are NOT paid by their congregations here. An offering is taken every Sunday to cover the expenses of the church (maintaining a building, leasing space, buying sound equipment, chairs, tables, and perhaps Sunday school resources) and I imagine it is a challenge to meet these costs when families barely make enough money for their own household expenses. So pastors labour for free in the hours of the week they have left over after paid employment. You can imagine how much time they have to spend with their families. Anyway, it was our pleasure to be guest speakers at this lovely church. We arrived an hour late because there was a national event of some sort in Teguc that morning and our end of the city was plugged with hundreds of busses bringing people in and spilling them out to do . . . we're not sure what! Kathy had to take an alternate route to pick us up and then it was a slow grind to move through the chaos on the anillo (ring road just like Regina!) We arrived to a joyfully singing and clapping congregation of about sixty. We struggled with what to say that might be relevant to people who live in a context so far removed from ours, but we trust God used a thought or two to speak to someone who was listening. Of course, we had to speak in English, translated by Victor. Rick shared what God has been teaching him about giving up control of his plans to God and Cheryl painted a picture of the kinds of poverty people in Canada suffer from (poverty of self, community, stewardship, spirituality). We were warmly welcomed and thanked, and it was nice to meet the moms of some of the staff we have been working with.

Rick is doing his best to look preacher-like

We need to give you a few more details about the ChildCAREPlus (CCP) program which really anchors the ministry here. It is a child sponsorship program that operates similar to those run by organizations like World Vision, Compassion, or Watoto Child Care. Schools of Hope (SOH) partners with Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) and its humanitarian agency, Emergency Relief and Development Overseas (ERDO) to deliver CCP, which essentially provides children living in desperate circumstances with school fees and funds to support basic physical needs. At this point, 180 children are matched with Canadian sponsors at a cost of $37.00 per month. The team here has a goal to sponsor 200 kids by December 31. Children are usually sponsored from grade 1 through high school.  We have been so impressed with the hands-on approach this program uses that we are planning to switch our support from a different program to take on a child through CCP. There are about 20 kids waiting for sponsors at the moment, so if you are interested in something like this, go to http://www.erdo.ca/childcare-plus-overview. There you can choose a country and then find a child to support.  

Ariel Lopez assisting the kids in writing Christmas letters to their sponsors

As previously mentioned, Schools of Hope employs Victor Estrada to manage the program with the help of an assistant. Victor is responsible to identify children who most need sponsorship, visit with the families personally at least once a year, have students write letters to their sponsors once or twice a year, take annual pictures, and deliver birthday and Christmas gifts from sponsors to the children.

Victor Estrada - CCP's Superman

Kathy, Dale and Carolyn are very busy before the beginning of the school year (Jan-Feb) buying school supplies for every child and additional resources for classrooms. A highlight of the year for sponsored kids is Hope Camp. Victor works with Dale, who brings in a children's specialist and team from Canada, to offer a fun-filled week of faith- and skill-building activities. They even rent a camp facility or resort and transport the kids out of the community, which for many would be the only chance they get to stay away from home.

Counting down . . . Cheryl has completed 22 detailed lesson plans and continues to work through the chapters of the Side by Side textbook she is using to anchor the curriculum. Rick has almost completed a policy manual for the NGO and familiarized himself with Honduran labour laws. With regard to the well project, although water was struck once, the well casing caved in and water flow has not been re-established. Thankfully, the drilling company is assuming costs for "mudding" to firm up the casing and the extra time and drilling that is needed. It really has been a difficult process, but everyone is believing that it will be successful in the end. Please continue to pray that God will bless this community with running water for the school and as many houses as possible.

Cheryl's English curriculum - ready for a willing teacher to take over the class

Thanks for reading, and adios for now!