Much continues to happen at Promise Home as we support the ministry of the orphanage and the children in our care. Connie and Bill have relocated to the campus at Promise Home and are living on the campus. Acting as grandparents to the children is fun and rewarding, and Bill is able to manage the fish hatchery better when he is here full-time.
The garden produced lots of okra, a vegetable that the Honduran people were not certain they wanted to eat. We taught them how to batter and fry okra, and they were fairly receptive. We are evaluating growing seasons and soil enrichment for future gardens. We are also preparing the raised beds with nutritional soils to hopefully produce better vegetables.
The garden was a learning experience for us. We were not certain what would grow in our soil and our heat. But most importantly about the garden was using it to teach our children. Connie was able to take a couple of the older children to the garden every day to harvest what was ready. They loved going with her.
This month we were fortunate to have a team from the Heights Church led by Alex Culp. They built the steel structure for the hen house. Our plan is to have about 40 to 50 laying hens. This is all part of our plan to teach our children to be self-sufficient.
The team also painted two rooms in our children’s casita. We really appreciate their help.
Coming to spend three weeks with us this month was Ronnie Bivans from the Dallas area. He worked diligently on several issues at the new casita and then started on the hen house. Ronnie enclosed the hen house and built nesting boxes for them. They will soon be filed with hay. I think that we are going to have some happy hens.
Ronnie designed the hen house and built it so that the eggs can be removed from the outside of the house using the side doors. Again, this project is to not only supply food for Promise Home but to help teach the children responsibility. They will be thrilled with being able to help collect eggs each day (in small groups, of course) and will learn valuable lessons. We can hardly wait to see their reactions to the hens and to see those little hands collecting those eggs.
During his last week, Ronnie was able to build the children’s swing set. He designed and built a set that will be stable and will hold up to 4 excited children. They are already loving the swings and want to be “pushed” constantly.
One of our newest projects involves Connie and her work with the children. With the use of IPads and DVD’s, she is teaching the children dual use of English and Spanish. WE know now, during early age development, is the time for them to learn a new language. Learning English and Spanish at the same time will prove much easier than learning English as a second language. She spends time with the children and the Tia’s each day providing instruction in English. They are all loving learning and loving using the iPads. We know that the earlier learning begins, the more successful our children will be later.
When Ronnie came to Honduras this trip, he brought donations to help dress the children. Several ladies in the Dallas area are busy sewing and making dresses for the girls and shorts for the boys. They love having their picture taken with Connie.
Thank you all so much for your continued support of Promise Home Honduras.
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