Christmas in Honduras

A little love
Below, a child at an orphanage shares a moment with Shannon Perdue, one of the members of the mission team.


In the picture below, children at an AIDS orphanage we visited during the trip put their hands up on a big mural of a tree. The hands with the crosses are children who have passed away. Below, Keli Schoeffle takes some time to talk to the staff at one of the orphanages on how to care for a special needs child in their home. Keli is studying a masters in early intervention and does some work with children similar to this child.

You know my name

The workers at Nueva Esperanza have so many children to care for, that they don't remember their names sometimes. If you ask one of the caregivers about a child, they might have to go up to him/or her and ask them to find out what their name is.

One particular child, whom I met at the beginning of the day, told me her name was Fabiola. When I went back to say goodbye before we left, she couldn't believe I remembered her name.

She said, "You just knew that because you read the piece of tape you guys put on my shirt with my name on it." I told her, "Yes, you have a name tag. But I remembered your name." She seemed in disbelief.

God, thank you that you know her name. That you have counted the hairs on her head and that you never forget her. Even when everybody else does.

Hungry Babies. Below, one of the girls at Nueva Esperanza feeds three babies in the baby room from a single plate.

In the video below, one of the girls at Nueva Esperanza shares her wish: " Hi my name is Jessica and I live in an orphange called Nueva Esperanza. I need help so I can go be with my family. When I get out of here I want to continue going to school and behave well."

Christmas in Honduras

My very own Shoes

His shirt was torn and his feet were bare. Don't ask me his name. I can't remember it. But I'll always remember the way he smiled after I helped slip on his new pair of shoes. His face lit up like I've never seen. And I wouldn't be surprised if he's never owned a pair in his life. He seemed kind of funny trying to walk in them.

Here's a photo of him after he found his pair of shoes.



Below, Rod Noah gets a kiss from one of the children at a Honduran community center.

Children at the community center participate in VBS crafts before trying on pairs of Shoes for Orphan Souls. These children live by the river and a lot of them have serious cases of athlete's foot. It might be the result of excessive moinsture and wet feet.

Christmas in Honduras

Thank you God, for shoes
Below, a group of foster care children in Honduras pray before receiving Shoes for Orphan Souls.

Whatever it takes
John, one of the volunteer missionaries from our team, sits on the floor to help one of the teen girls at Casita Adolescentes del Ihnfa with her manicure job.


Below, Emily, daughter of Stephen Curtis Chapman, dances with one of the girls at the home.

Christmas at the girl's home. Rebecca Krebs helps to decorate Christmas stockings!




Angel Voices. Below, the teen girls at the home welcome us with heartfelt worship songs. They are singing "Help me be like You." Describing their worship would be impossible. See it for yourself. I wish you could see it in person.





Will you be my baby?

I was walking around with my camera looking for children to photograph when I found Jose Alejandro. I extended my arms out to him and he just looked at me. "Ven," I said. "Ven." He didn't react, so I reached out my arms and asked his foster mother if I could hold him. So I picked him up.

Foster parents can care for large numbers of children and, hard as they may try, they can't give them all very much attention.

As soon as Jose Alejandro was in my arms, he held me in a full embrace and didn't move at all. At least not until I pulled him away to take the picture above.

I carried him around and asked the foster mother questions about adoption. How long is the process? Can an American take him? It was pathetic. It isn't the first time I have wanted to take a child home. But I always have to stop myself because I am not ready yet! At 25, I will be getting married next month and starting graduate school soon. I would be a terrible mom at this point. And I'm pretty sure my fiance isn't prepared for fatherhood. We just aren't ready!

But maybe you are. Buckner has not yet developed a program for international adoption in Honduras. But we have adoption available in other countries, such as Russia and Ethiopia. We can also arrange adoptions for American children.

Please, if you can, make your house a home for someone like Jose Alejandro. For more information on adopting through Buckner, please visit http://www.beafamily.org/.

Christmas in Honduras

Call me grandma

Bev Zandstra doesn't talk very much and says she has a hearing problem. Yet she's got a Corrie Ten Boom-sort-of-glow about her. And the children see it. In the picture shown below, she had just asked a group of children to "call me grandma."

Never underestimate the power of small acts of kindness.

Below: Noelle Schabel takes a photo with a deaf/mute child after successfully communicating with her in sign language. "You are my best friend," the little girl told her and symboled the sign for love.

Below, a child named Wilmer waits for a pair of Shoes for Orphan Souls. About half of the children at Nueva Esperanza did not have any shoes at all. The back of his t-shirt reads "Youth is Our #1 Investment."

Christmas in Honduras

Babies, babies everywhere ...

The Nueva Esperanza baby room smells like dried urine.

You might want to cover your ears too, because the babies are screaming. But you can't blame the caregivers. They are only two workers to care for 34 infants and toddlers.

The babies eat their meals from small bowls laid on the floor. And a lot of them have mucus caked around their nose and face. Not to mention urine on the sheets in which they lay. You might start to wish you were somewhere else if you ever go.

But then, once you walk inside. After you get mobbed by one-and-two-year olds and wipe tears off of their tiny faces. After you've rocked one of them in your arms and they have reached their little hands out to you, I dare you to walk away as the same person you were before. I dare you to try.

Below: Jim Gray plays with a special needs child at Nueva Esperanza.

Below: Susan Gray, a singer/songwriter who dedicates her time and talent to serve with Buckner holds a special needs child at Nueva Esperanza. The child has a growth impediment and has reached her full size at age 11. She spends her life lying in a crib.

Below: Three babies show off their new pairs of Shoes for Orphan Souls.

Below: Randy Daniels, vice president of global initiatives at Buckner, shares a moment with one of the babies at Nueva Esperanza.


Below: Keli Schoeffle, a Buckner missionary, comforts a crying baby at the home.

Christmas in Honduras

The Littlest Orphan

Everyone in the team fell in love with Jair.

He was the smallest orphan at San Ramon’s home for boys. He danced and laughed and played. And when he hugged you, he squeezed his whole little self tightly into your arms.

It feels sort of unfair to dedicate an entire blog to one solitary child. But, then again, I think Jair is a good representation of all of the children with whom we spent time. And, in my mind, he is a good reminder that even though we might not be able to change the lives of every orphan in the world. We can serve one. We can impact one. Like Jair.

I think this is one of those things where it’s better to show than tell. Check out some video and pictures of this sweet little angel interaction with our mission team.

Below is a video of Jair speaking in tonguues. No, not really. But I promise you that it wasn't Spanish he was talking!

Below: Jair is playing with his new toy, a stuffed lamb delivered by Buckner. It contains the message of salvation in a paper in English, so one of our team members translated it and he repeated every word in Spanish.

Jair is not available for adoption because his mother is still alive, but unable to care for him. But he and thousands of other children in Honduras and around the world need your love and the hope that you can bring them through Jesus Christ.

To find out when you can go on a mission trip, check out our missions calendar at http://www.itsyourmission.com/tripcalendar.shtml or write to missions@buckner.org.

Christmas in Peru - Day 3

Here's a little clip from our day. One of our Buckner staff members works with various homes to help them prepare a Christmas program to perform during the Christmas trip. Santa Rita is a home for teenage moms and their babies. These girls would likely be living on the streets, completely unable to care for their babies if they weren't living at Santa Rita. It must have been a challenge for Guigilana to figure out how to get moms and babies involved in the "show" but she did a great job, and the girls were so excited about doing this for us. This clip shows the "shepherds" bringing in their sheep on their way through Bethlehem to find the Baby Jesus. Sometimes, show business just isn't worth wearing an awkward, albeit adorable, sheep costume.

(Be sure to listen for the "wailing" lamb at the very end!)

Since we spent the morning with moms and babies,

it was only appropriate that we spend the afternoon with a bunch of boys. Mundo Libre is a program for street kids in Lima, and there is a definite attitude one can sense from the boys upon arrival. However, they warmed up to us fairly quickly and were really having a great time by the end of the day. One of Buckner's long-time supporters on this trip offered to buy the boys pizza before we left, and they loved it.

The coordinator at Mundo Libre asked the boys if they would like to say anything to our group before we left, and hands shot up around the room. Many of them said, "Thank you," and "Please remember Mundo Libre," but one comment stood out among the rest. One boys stood up and simply said, "I haven't had pizza in four years." On one hand it was hilarious because that was all he said; on the other, my heart broke to truly understand the poverty that this child lives in. I really am so spoiled by a million little things that I constantly take for granted. Pray for the 30 boys who are glad to have a place to sleep tonight at Mundo Libre; ask God to watch over them. They are precious children.

More tomorrow,

Susan W

Christmas in Peru - Day 2

From Sunday, December 7…

I’ve been debating over writing this blog all day… it’s such a great story of God’s gentle, encompassing care for us, but I was scared that I might alarm some friends and relatives of this team. However, my office has seen to it that everyone got an email about the situation, so I think I’ll share a little about our drama for the week. More importantly though is that fact that I have once again been reminded that God is so good to us. Every. Single. Day.

On Saturday afternoon, we split our team of 20 into two groups, a group of 12 and the other with 8. The team of 8 people was going to a home in Collique, one of the surrounding districts around Lima; it’s an hour or so drive away from the hotel. I actually got to visit Collique a year ago, and the one thing I remembered about the area was the very, very steep unpaved roads. I’m sure I jokingly thought to myself, “I hope these breaks keep working…” as we drove through the area.

On Saturday, I wasn’t there to witness what would happen if the breaks failed, but eight members of our mission team were. The bus was parked on an incline, with the emergency break on; only one trip participant was sitting on the bus along with a couple of the girls from our Transitional Home in Lima. My co-leader, Sandra was standing outside by the front of the bus when she told the others that they should all step out of the path of the bus, because it looked like the driver was struggling with the brake. Moments later, the driver released the emergency break, and it began to roll. One of the interpreters pulled Maggie, a veteran Buckner trip-taker, out of the way in the nick of time. In fact, she said later that it actually touched her as it rolled by. People were out in the streets and sidewalks, so Sandra and Eric (the interpreter) ran down the streets, yelling for everyone to get out of the way. The driver was sharp enough to notice the large sand pile over to one side of the street, and headed directly for it. The bus slid to a stop on top of the sand.

The “drama” of this even wasn’t what struck me after hearing their story; instead, it was the details that all had to fall into place to prevent anyone from getting hurt. Sandra has worked at Buckner in domestic programs for a number of years, but this is her first international trip. Since I knew that we would split up our team on Saturday afternoon, I thought it would be best to send her to the home that would have fewer kids. I really meant well by this; the other group and I went to a community center with over 100 children. I didn’t want her to feel too overwhelmed by so many kids on her first day as a trip leader. I also debated over which interpreter to send with Sandra. One of our Peruvian staff members is a fabulous story-teller and has so much experience with groups that at first I thought that I would send her with Sandra to Collique, but once again the number of kids won out and I decided that I need Guigliana to go with my team. So, Eric went to Collique…


“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Matthew 6:27

If I had been running down the street yelling for people to get out of the way, I would’ve been yelling in English and no one on those streets would have understood a word I said. If Eric hadn’t been there to pull Maggie out of the way, would anyone else have been in the right place to do so? But, most of all, if that pile of sand hadn’t been dumped in the road the day before this all took place…

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34

He is able to put the right people in the right place at the right time. He can also deliver big piles of sand…

Oh, and did I mention that they had a great time with the kids all afternoon? They did. Sandra even told me that she loved going to Collique, and if a run-away bus doesn’t scar her, nothing else will either. And, just in case you’re wondering, they’re still repairing that bus; we’re not riding in it now and our Peruvian co-workers took care of getting the team back to the hotel that night. All is well and we feel privileged to be working with these sweet kids. Thanks for your prayers!

-Susan W

Christmas in Peru, Day 1

I'm not sure, but I think this is the first year that Buckner has had three Christmas trips all in one year. Christmas in Kenya began a few years ago, this is the 3rd consecutive year for Christmas in Peru, and this week marks our first-ever Christmas trip to Honduras. It's a sweet moment when I pause in the busy-ness of the day and think about the coworkers and friends I have who are currently in Kenya and Honduras for the same reasons that I am in Peru right now. I love you, sweet friends, and I love the God in you who uses you to be His hands and feet this week.

OK, that was a little off topic; this was supposed to be about Peru. So here are some random thoughts that crossed my mind today...

1. I can't believe I remembered to bring contact solution, but forgot my contacts!!! Who does that?

2. Driving along the coastal streets in Lima is so beautiful that the typical Latin American traffic doesn't even faze me.

3. Being left behind at the restaurant where our group had lunch is actually pretty hilarious... since I'm the trip leader and all.

4. Peru has a bazillion ways to cook potatoes, and I think they were served at every meal today.

5. There's something comforting about sitting in a hotel room in Lima with my window open, listening to the sounds of the city at night (don't worry mom, I'm no where near the ground floor).

6. “They’re a whole line of smiles.”

I had a great afternoon with my teammates. We decorated Christmas stockings and filled them with candy, we sang the "sapo" song over and again, and we gave out lots of shoes and hugs. As the team helped to hand out the little bundles of shoes, toys and t-shirts, I had one of those tiny but precious moments where the world seems to pause for just a second. I sat over to the side with someone else’s camera in my hand, waiting patiently for a couple of those perfect mission trip moments to appear in front of my lens. Instead I saw a moment that a camera just can’t capture.

At least fifty kids had already heard their name called and walked up to retrieve their gifts with many more to come, so I wondered if it was at all monotonous for the team members as they rotated through the “giving line.” Then, for just a moment, I looked up from the faces of eager children to the faces of my teammates. Theirs’ were a whole line of smiles. Chills ran up my arms as I saw their expressions, as if there was no where else they would rather spend that moment than to be sharing it with that group of kids. They were genuine smiles, not the kind you use when somebody takes your picture, but the kind that you use when you've stopped thinking about you.

Suddenly, no one was thinking about themselves, no one was worried about how to do the craft or whether or not everyone got the same amount of candy. No one was worried about anything other than being in that room full of kids. It was as if you could feel the Holy Spirit hovering over that scene, helping us to let go of our expectations of this trip and to let Him work on our hearts- and theirs. I blinked back my tears and kept taking pictures. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds.

-Susan W