Friday, August 14, 2015

Final Post from El Hogar: Friday, August 14th

Hola! Yo me llamo Ellie (Hey, My name is Ellie). So, you may know me from the Cathedral, but if not, that’s cool too. This is my first time going to Honduras, specifically the El Hogar trip. I am truly #blessed to be on this #missiontrip #YASSSSSSSSSSSSS

“We could be heeeeeee-roooooooooo-ssssssss, we could be… All we’re looking for is love and a little light, love and a little light, love and a little light.” While getting my A+ jump dance game on to this song, I thought about the week (well, at the moment I was too busy dancing, but after the dance party I had some time to ponder on it). “Heroes” could be and mean anything to anyone. The missioners, the kids, the teachers, and Claudia could all represent heroes. Whether it’s bringing awareness to poverty, having someone to play with and cling onto all week, to just standing up for you when something bad happens. Now, I bet you are all thinking, “But Ellie! That’s just the first line of the song! Love? Light? How could that possibly connect that to a mission week in Honduras?” Good thing you asked, cuz J-Eezy bout ta br-br-br-break it down fo ya. For me, the second line was told from the kids’ perspective. Some of them have lost literally everything, and it showed me how little they need to be happy. Our group gave them both light and love, and I think we saw them truly shine. This week has brought upon me everything from joy to excitement to yes, sadness on the last evening program.

This brings me to my second point. THANKS SO MUCH LIKE OMG YASSSSSSSSSS. Over the course this trip, I have grown so much closer to my mission-mates (correct term?), as well as had my eyes opened to what is happening in developing countries around the world. In our breakfast meeting with Claudia, she explained the history of El Hogar, and some of the stories of the kids living here. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that the stories deepened our respect for the children. But seriously thank you all so much for making this trip possible, and please help support the Cathedral trip next year (#ShamelessAdvertising)!!!!

So today was amazing. Lets see… I woke up (you know, how I do), played with the kids, ate breakfast, and then came our home visit. We ducked under barbed wire fences to arrive at a small two-room house, built out of scraps from the suburban houses being constructed up the street. There was a woman, a four-year-old girl (going to El Hogar next year), and a baby girl. It was amazing for me to realize that that was all the family had, and that the mother was choosing to give up full custody of her daughter for her to have a better life. We returned to the orphanage, played some more, and then the final evening program. All of the little boys got up on stage, sang some little songs, and we pretty much had the best dance party ever. Like Thor said, it was the hardest he had ever partied. YASSSSSSSSSS.

*sigh* Today was good, the week was good, and now it has come to an end. I feel so privileged to have been able to spend my time in this amazing place with amazing people. I hope to return next year, taking back all of the memories made.

From Honduras,
Ellie Jose aka J-Eezy


















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