Friday in Nuevo Jerusalem

Fridays are hard. On the one hand, its good to be done with a very long stressful week. But on the other hand .... its very hard to say good bye to the Red Cross volunteers and all of the people that make this week possible for us. We spent the morning in Nuevo Jerusalem, probably the poorest and smallest community we visit. Two years ago ... our group met a little 10 year old boy in Las Vegas who asked our group for food on the first night we arrived. He found us every subsequent night-- quiet, never saying anything other than comida, very dirty, with huge eyes. We found out on our last day that he and his 5 siblings lived in Nuevo Jerusalem. So through the Red Cross we were able to leave enough money to pay for food for the family for that year. When we returned last year -- and maybe we just wanted to believe this-- he looked better, maybe not cleaner but smiling and talkative and bright eyed. We couldn´t wait to see him this year. But our first night in Las Vegas, Mila the Red Cross director told us that he had left school and was ¨on the streets¨ with his father...........We saw him today-- dirty, quieter, but still said he remembered us. We all asked him to please go back to school-- but doubt he really will make a change based on our recommendation. It´s hard. Like that story of the little boy who threw star fish back into the sea -- guess we all hoped this boy would be our starfish we saved. And it highlights the enormity of the poverty in Honduras -- and so many other places. Do we really make a difference? Guess you just keep trying and pray that you do.... but on our last night here, its hard to think that we do.
We´re now in Tela which is a pretty little town on the North Coast of Honduras. Tomorrow we´ll take a boat ride to Punta Sal which is Honduras´s national treasure--a supposedly beautiful penninsula accessible only by boat with monkeys and parrots. You wonder if the little boy even knows the Caribbean is there or will ever see it........
Before we left Las Vegas -- we gave money to the Red Cross director to provide care for several children that we saw... an 8 year old girl that we worried had been abused, an 11 year old who witnessed a horrific murder with a machete at 8 years old and continues to have nightmares and is failing school and has never received any counseling, an 8 year old who was kicked out of school FOR LIFE because he probably has ADHD, and several children who can´t eat because of their rotten teeth. We also gave money to MAMA project for school supplies and food for the many malnourished children with whom they work absolute magic. We are so grateful for all of your donations and the ability to provide this support down here. If you want to know more about MAMA project -- there is information on their website.
We will head back to San Pedro Sula tomorrow night for a flight home on Sunday. Maureen heads back to Massachusetts on Monday and we have promised ourselves that we will post one last time with pictures before she leaves. We have literally hundreds and we´re so anxious to show some of them off! Amazing mountains, beautiful children, a 91 year old man we all fell in love with.......we want you to see them!
Buenos noches! Hasta Domingo,
Maureen, Laine and Laurie