Operation Honduras arrives after snow storm

Volunteers from Operation Honduras began arriving on different days after re-scheduling their flights due to the snow storm that hit the east coast. They are an amazing group of professionals from Pennsylvania that has been coming to Honduras for many years to build schools, churches and orphanages. They are a mix of business people, engineers, teachers, construction workers and even a former Navy Seal. They are hilarious, fun and very hard working. Their goal this week is to lay as many blocks for the children’s home that we broke ground on just last month.

Operation Honduras heard about us through Christof, who is the founder of El Refugio, a highly respected children’s home near San Pedro Sula. He came to assess our site in January and told us about Operation Honduras’ interest in partnering with a qualified organization in February to build a structure that could be put to good use. They had decided to return to Honduras this year last minute after the political situation stabilized with a new President coming in. It’s great to know they picked us after the visit, although we had very little time to get prepared, freaking out our Board a bit, but our staff worked hard to pull it off as always.

Christof came to Honduras many years ago as a young volunteer. [Like so many Europeans that I know, Christof is a very tall man, I think he is almost seven feet tall. I’d like to challenge him to a game of 1 on 1 basketball one day.] With very little experience or money, he decided to open El Refugio to help children who had been most marginalized in the area. It’s amazing how much his project has grown and accomplished through a rigorous process of trial and error. The first generation of kids is getting ready to enter college soon.

Christof, among many others, will be helping us through the start-up stage of our children’s home. He always reminds me that it’s important to take the first step, even when you don’t know all of the details of what could happen in the future. 99% of people don’t take that step for whatever reason. He says if you plan well and work hard, good things will happen, just like it did to him.