Ready and Waiting

Our trip plans are all coming together! I booked our plane tickets today and made our reservations for language school.

We leave on Saturday, August 25. We will spend a month in language school studying Spanish intensively. The first week we will be in Utila, the smallest of the Bay Islands. The second week we will study in Copan, which is known for its Mayan Ruins. The last two weeks we will spend in La Ceiba, a coastal city near the Bay Islands.

We will arrive at the ophanage on Tuesday, September 26 and begin our 9 month stay. I will be teaching English to the boys, and I think Alden may help with that also. Our main job is to just love the boys. Many of them have been abused in such terrible ways, and left to fend for themselves on the streets. They are attention starved, so our most important task is to just spend time with them. We will be like assistant dorm parents, and will help with typical parent duties- helping with homework, laundry, getting them ready for school, etc.

On Saturday, December 29, we will come home for about a 2 week visit. I am sure that we will be ready for the break and to see our families. After we return, our plan is to stay until June or July. After that, Alden wants to continue his education and get his doctorate. Where is still to be decided.

We are very excited about this opportunity. I have missed the boys since I first met them last summer, and I can't wait to get back with them. Despite the frustrations that I expect will come from living in another country with 80 Spanish speaking boys, I am confident that they will be blessings to our lives. Speaking of frustrations, telephone calls to the US are expensive, so we will have to rely more on the internet. However, we are unsure how frequently we will be able to use the net. We are hoping that we can get internet access for the orphange so we can keep in touch with all of you better! We have a new email address: aldenandcandace@gmail.com. We will send out updates, so let us know if you want to be on our mailing list.

We appreciate all of your prayers and encouragement! Dios le bendiga!

It's official

I posted this on Facebook on November 16, 2006. This gives a little background for our trip.

It is finally official! Alden and I met with the president of the orphange today and we are moving to Honduras in July/August. We will be going back to the same orphange we worked with this summer, Jovenes en Camino. Currently, it houses about 70 boys ages 3-14. There will probably be 90 boys there by the time we arrive.

This whole experience has taught me so much about relying on God, and trusting in Him to guide our lives. I had been interested in Spanish, and Hispanic culture since I don't know when. We became interested in working with an orphange in Latin America right after we got married. I contacted about 10 places, and only one responded back: Jovenes En Camino. And the president of the orphange is American, and lives in Nashville! We met with him, and signed up to go down for a week long trip this past July. God was really making this easier than I expected! The moment we landed, I felt at home. Even though I was a foreigner, I didn't feel that way at all. We went to the orphange, and of course, the boys won my heart.

In Honduras, like many places, have a huge problem with men and the family. When we worshipped with the mountaintop communtity, there were about 60 women, and about 5 men. So there is a problem within the church, of not only men not being leaders, but not even being active with the church. An even bigger problem is that men are often absent from their families. I saw hundreds of women with children in this poor community, and hardly any men. The boys learn this role of a man, and most likely will follow in their father's footsteps. Another problem in Honduras is education and poverty. It is a terrible cycle. Children have very little education, and thus can't get a well paying job. Then they stay poor, and their children are uneducated, and they grow up and be poor too.

I truly believe in the work at JEC. I believe that this orphange could change the face of Honduras. Their primary goal is to teach the boys to be good & responsible men: good fathers, good husbands, good Christians. Secondly, they not only send them to school, but train them for a trade. It is amazing the transformation that these boys go through. They have been abused in all ways and left to fend for themselves on the streets. I could see the physical scars on them from their pasts. And I know that after I am with them longer, I will see their emotionals scars as well. But while I was with them, I saw boys who longed for love and attention, absolutely hungry for it. Boys that were respectful, and didn't complain. Boys that independently would lead a prayer before they ate. Boys with a hopeful future, despite their grim past.

I think about my boys all the time. I miss them so much. I keep a picture of my little amigo, Christian, on my mirror. I can't wait to return and be with them.

It is still a little unclear what our role will be. Most likely we will be houseparents, either full or part time. I know that God will direct us and use us. He has made the path clear so far, and I am confident that he will continue to guide us. I am so thankful for Alden's support, encouragment, and commitment to this work. I am thankful for all the encouragement and the prayers offered on our behalf and for JEC. Please continue to pray for us, and the work at Jovenes.