New in November

All Saints Day

On the 1st of November, the Church celebrates what is known as All Saints Day. As a way to celebrate the day, all of the children and missionaries dressed up as their favorite saint and marched around the Finca singing songs and eating snacks. It was such a joy to see all the kids, aged 2 years to 17 years old, dressed up in different robes and habits and were styled with sashes, veils, crowns, hoods, wings, and everything in between. As we made our way around the Finca, we stopped at each house where each kid of the house would announce the saint they represented and would pass out a snack to the crowd.

All the kids dressed up waiting to receive their snack from the house

The missionaries dressed as (L to R): St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Bonaventure, and St. Teresa of Avila

Trip to Tegucigalpa

In mid-November, I planned and facilitated a trip with one of the young girls to take her to a medical brigade located in the capital city Tegucigalpa. Though it was an 8 hour trip, a couple overnight stays and long days waiting for surgeons, it was a trip that was well worth it for the healthcare she needed. The majority of the country of Honduras is so rural there are very limited resources in order to find medical care, especially for any specialized type of care. Honduran specialized care is far and few between, and yet, not as advanced and trustworthy as the care in the United States. Most in Honduran families do not have the means or resources to seek out specialized care so medical brigades, or medical missions, are crucial since they provide free, advanced care to those they come to serve. 

On our way to Tegucigalpa through the mountains of central Honduras!

Getting ready for surgery!

While on our trip, we were also able to have some fun along the way which included a trip to a lookout over Tegucigalpa called El Picacho.

View from El Picacho park overlooking Tegucigalpa

Graduation

This month we also had the privilege of watching one of our teenage girls’ graduation from what they call “colegio,” or 9th grade. Following colegio, the teenagers have the choice to continue their studies at what is the equivalent of high school and then college, if they meet the requirements. With the high rates of poverty and uneducation (amongst a wide variety of other factors) it is common to see kids dropping out of elementary or middle school to help out around the house or work a job so it is a big deal to celebrate the graduation and continuation of these teenagers, especially those who have undergone adverse childhood experiences. This day the graduates were celebrated with a ceremony, dance and lunch with family and staff.

Celebratory graduation dance with her house parent or "tia"