The long awaited Easter week
For all of us, there is nothing better than to leave the city of San Pedro Sula when the temperatures reach its 40°C and to drive to rural Santa Rosa de Copán and enjoy the Easter holidays and the fresh climate for a week.
The newly purchased swimming pools had the highest priority. Our children and teenagers cooled off every afternoon and the refreshing water and listened to the current summer hits which gave them the feeling of being somewhere on the beach.
We had plenty of time to relax, enjoy life and nature, have fun and go for daily walks. For the little ones it was the first time they could see live cows up close and hear their muuuuhhhh.
With all the fun there come also some duties, the children and teenagers helped in the kitchen, kept the building and the surroundings tidy and looked after the babies.
Excursions
Our birthday kids received a special treat this month, they went to a Chuck E. Cheese´s restaurant and enjoyed themselves for a few hours at the slot machines. With our older girls, we went to the cinema as a thank you and recognition for their daily support at the home. Over the weekend, when the staff has their days off, they take over already great responsibilities and jump in where nedded (kitchen, laundry, children's department).
The invitation to the theatre play "The Inheritance" was also very special. This play was about the greatest treasure in life which is not money, but true happiness. When a millionaire passed away, he had given the Bible to his favourite son. The son was so disappointed that he then sank so low in life that one day he was forced to change his life. He decided to seek God and faith. To his great surprise, he found in the Bible the key to the vault he had feverishly sought.
Children's home get together
Like every year, our children's home was invited to the annual children's home get together, which took place for 8th time. Each child received a pair of Toms shoes and a school bag filled with supplies. It is a very beautiful event seeing over 1'300 happy and amused faces. However, if you understand the background, the reality will cloud the sight. They are all children who, for various reasons, cannot grow up with their biological parents.
Visit of a sponsor
Our loyal sponsor Jean-Marc Dubois, accompanied by his partner Silvia, visited our project in San Pedro Sula for the second time. We were all very happy to welcome them to the home and especially to have very interesting hours long conversations about the structure and function of our daily work in Central America and how it can be improved.
They visited the children's home in San Pedro Sula and the other projects in Santa Rosa de Copán. A short summary on his behalf: "In San Pedro Sula the organization, structure, care and affection for the children are excellent. Patricia has further expanded and improved her skills and her network in all areas. Regarding Santa Rosa de Copán, I still do not consider the choice of location to be ideal, both from the point of view of the management of the overall project and for the integral further education of the children from San Pedro Sula. The IT and nursing courses with the involvement of the local education officers are positive."
When he visited us 3½ years ago, he asked what our 3 biggest problems were. Looking back, we are very pleased to see that we have solved these problems in the meantime. But it also made it clear to me that on the one hand problems are being solved and on the other hand new ones are emerging. With 40 different children, each faced with its’ own battles, and with more than 10 employees, it will most likely always remain the same in terms of the ongoing challenges. According to Albert Einstein's statement "It is easier to solve problems than to live with them", we look forward to the future with much confidence and always continue solving the problems when they arise.