On Thursday, May 21st, I flew to Miami, Florida for training/orientation to teach at Holy Family Bilingual school. Wow, I was so nervous on the flight down. I knew that the next few days would explain what the next year of my life would look like. I was praying that everything would go well and that I would be eager to head down to Honduras in August.
I checked into my hotel room and saw several back-packs scattered around but no people. I wandered around a bit and found a redheaded smiley girl reading on the balcony of the hotel. When she saw me peeking through the curtains she quickly got up and introduced herself to me with a huge smile. Her name is Emily Hanna and she is from just outside of Chicago. She graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids last year. Small world huh? We hit it off right away with lots of things to talk about. Then we met our other roommate for the weekend, her name is Kyndall Parker. She is from California. The three of us spent an hour just chatting and getting to know each other. At two we met three board members of OLRM. Diana Frade, the director of OLRM, is very fun. She has a great vision for all of her programs and has made a huge organization out of what started as a small home for girls. I spoke often with Beverly Addison the administrative assistant for OLRM on the phone while applying to participate in this adventure. She works in Virginia and is also very fun. She has a lot of experience in the missions field and has been very helpful. And the last, but certainly not least, is Jim Ellis. He is a retired pilot who now works as OLRM own personal air delivery service. It seems to me that he has also become the volunteer advocate for OLRM. He is very kind hearted and concerned that we have an enjoyable, inspiring, and educational experience at OLRM.
I spent most of my weekend, when not in training with the board members with Emily.
We have a lot in common and it was so wonderful to speak with her openly about our faith. I am very eager to get to know her even more over the next year. Although I have spent a semester abroad before, it is very relieving to know that I will have connections there before I even leave the United States. I think having connected with people before leaving is really going to help when the culture shock sets in.
Needless to say, I left Miami feeling very excited about my next year. I know that there will still be some hard things during my adjustment, but to be eager and not afraid is a huge blessing.
Stay tuned for more!
God Bless,
Hannah
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Introduction
Hey!
Thanks for checking out my blog!
I have created this blog to keep my family and friends updated on my work in Honduras.
I will be heading to San Pedro Sula, Honduras to teach three to seven year olds! My main purpose is to introduce them to the English language. The school is bi-lingual and families pay to have thier children attend the school. This school raises money for the Our Little Roses Orphanage for girls in San Pedro Sula. I am looking forward to working with the girls in the home after school. All of these girls suffer from abuse and abandonment and therefore not all of them are able to attend the bi-lingual school. So I will spend as much time as possible with the girls outside of school.
I will be living in a Volunteer house with four or five other volunteers. We will have a common living room and kitchen, but I will have my own bedroom and bathroom. I am eager to get into my space and set it up.
My sister Xan found an add in the Episcopal Newsletter for Our Little Roses ministries, OLRM, and sent it to me in the mail. I set the add aside and kept working on graduate school applications. As I continued to think about what I wanted to be doing after graduation it became clear that I really wanted to spend more time abroad. I started looking into OLRM and fell in love with their ministry right away. Thanks Xan for the great opportunity! :-)
So there is a brief introduction to what this blog is all about. Please stay connected! I am in need of support through prayers and financial assistance. If you have the ability to help me I would great appreciate it. My father has agreed to be my book-keeper while I am gone so all checks may be sent to his house at;
2118 N. Westnedge
Kalamazoo, Mi 49007
I would also love to receive emails while I am gone about how you and yours are doing.
My email is HStravers@rockford.edu
Thanks! Thanks! and more Thanks!
God Bless you,
Hannah
Thanks for checking out my blog!
I have created this blog to keep my family and friends updated on my work in Honduras.
I will be heading to San Pedro Sula, Honduras to teach three to seven year olds! My main purpose is to introduce them to the English language. The school is bi-lingual and families pay to have thier children attend the school. This school raises money for the Our Little Roses Orphanage for girls in San Pedro Sula. I am looking forward to working with the girls in the home after school. All of these girls suffer from abuse and abandonment and therefore not all of them are able to attend the bi-lingual school. So I will spend as much time as possible with the girls outside of school.
I will be living in a Volunteer house with four or five other volunteers. We will have a common living room and kitchen, but I will have my own bedroom and bathroom. I am eager to get into my space and set it up.
My sister Xan found an add in the Episcopal Newsletter for Our Little Roses ministries, OLRM, and sent it to me in the mail. I set the add aside and kept working on graduate school applications. As I continued to think about what I wanted to be doing after graduation it became clear that I really wanted to spend more time abroad. I started looking into OLRM and fell in love with their ministry right away. Thanks Xan for the great opportunity! :-)
So there is a brief introduction to what this blog is all about. Please stay connected! I am in need of support through prayers and financial assistance. If you have the ability to help me I would great appreciate it. My father has agreed to be my book-keeper while I am gone so all checks may be sent to his house at;
2118 N. Westnedge
Kalamazoo, Mi 49007
I would also love to receive emails while I am gone about how you and yours are doing.
My email is HStravers@rockford.edu
Thanks! Thanks! and more Thanks!
God Bless you,
Hannah
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