If there is one thing the children at Love & Hope are good at, it is playing. Even more, growing up around so many other children, they are great at playing together. The Love & Hope kids have a great talent for taking any object and imagining it into a plaything or taking any situation and creating a game. It is entertaining to watch them be imaginative and creative, and even more amusing to join in the fun! Here are some of the games and toys they like best:

Bingo: Bingo has been a Love & Hope tradition for many years thanks to our friend, Mandy. Once every couple weeks, we pull out the Bingo supplies: homemade cards and chips, a bag of balls for calling the numbers, and prizes. Usually we play until everyone has had a chance to win once!

Sardines: Sardines is similar to hide-and-go-seek. After turning off all the lights in the house, or heading to the park when it is dark, the kids select one person to hide while everyone else waits in another room. After hiding, all the players separate to look for the “hider.” Once found, they hide with the other person, until everyone has found the hiding spot. Playing this game in the past, we’ve seen more than 10 of our kids, young adults and caregivers, squished and hiding together in closets or showers, trying not to laugh as they wait for the other players to discover their spot.

Card games: The Love & Hope kids love card games. Decks of cards wear fast in this house as the kids play and play all kinds of card games. Some of their favorites are War, Stress, Speed and Poker (innocently, of course). Linda loves a card game called “Dutch Blitz,” and when she brings out the special set of cards, the other kids gather around, anxious to play. Linda is tough to beat though!

Legos and toy animals: Keeping the boys busy is easy; just leave them alone with a box of Legos or toy animals and soldiers. They stay occupied for hours (literally), building, modeling, making simulations, setting everything up. The boys create little battlefields in the dirt, or fly their Lego planes around the house.

La Casita: Love & Hope Children’s Home was recently blessed to be able to construct a small playground on the lawn. Everyone has been referring to the playground as “la casita” or “the little house.” The kids love to sit up on the platform to play, talk or read. They use the swings everyday. We’ve also attached some rock-climbing holds to the back side, and hope to add a hammock underneath. The platform is also high enough to see over wall surrounding our house. If the restaurant across the street erupts in cheering during a big soccer game, our kids run to climb up the platform and see who scored the goal on their big-screen TV’s. During our “family meals” on Tuesday nights, we can always find a group of kids eating their dinner on the platform. La Casita has been a great addition to our house, and the kids (and adults) love it!

The children at Love & Hope also, of course, love electronic games and watching TV. But we are encouraged by the fact that they can and want to play together outside or share in a board game. Our children are fortunate in that there is always someone to play with nearby! What are the games your children play?

A few weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, Love & Hope Children’s Home participated in a soccer tournament with our friends from La Casa de Mi Padre and Mi Casa, two other children’s homes here in El Salvador.

In total, there were over 100 people in attendance: kids, teenagers, young adults, caregivers and volunteers. The event was organized and paid for by a team from Cuyahoga Valley Church visiting Love & Hope Children’s Home for the week, but we were also joined by a team visiting La Casa de Mi Padre, which only added to the fun!

Once everyone had arrived, we gathered around to hear how the tournament would work. Tio Julio, from Love & Hope, said a prayer to start the tournament.

Each home was divided into two teams: younger kids and older kids. And each team played two games, one game against each of the other homes. Vanessa and Moises were the stars. Vanessa was a goal-scoring machine, and Moises, as goalie, stopped ball after ball from going into our goal. Aly, Salvador, Eliseo and Miah also did a tremendous job!

Next, the older kids played their two games. We were so proud of them! The Love & Hope teenagers were relatively young compared to several players from the other homes, but that didn’t stop us. Our kids did awesome and played aggressively; Esau and Michell were unstoppable! They were supported by Jocelyn, Jacobo, Tio Henry and Raquel.

A few weeks ago, Love & Hope Children’s Home was visited for the first time by a group of students from the University of Akron (UA). We had a great time getting to know and interacting with this great group of young people. Matt, a Spanish professor at The University of Akron, led the team, which consisted of students who had all taken a Spanish class designed for those entering a medical profession. Matt, Amrita, Isabella, Travis, Lisa and Miranda really engaged our children in conversation, activities and games. They even taught us about music and good hygiene! We asked the group to write a short summary of their trip to El Salvador, where they not only spent time at Love & Hope, but also in the community and a local hospital.

“As soon as we arrived in El Salvador, the staff and children at Love and Hope immediately made us feel like a part of their family. Helping out at the home and getting to spend time with the kids made our stay worthwhile. The children were very patient with us as we tried to improve our Spanish speaking skills and I ended up learning a lot from them. Love and Hope was very organized and helped our group experience many aspects of El Salvadoran culture and Rachel was great with organizing trips to other communities and the local hospital. I did not know what to expect when coming here, but I’m glad I did, and I hope I get to come back and visit again someday!”

– Amrita

“In the process of learning Spanish, I found myself constantly asking, “Que significa?” which translates to, “What does this mean?” Striving for authenticity, I also found myself wanting to know which word is better to use in certain situations.

“Language is something that can help to transcend cultural barriers. So of course word-choice is important. Upon arriving at Love & Hope, what I first noticed was that they used the word “home” or “hogar” to describe themselves.

“The beauty in Love & Hope is that anyone who comes to visit, regardless of race, skin-color, or ineptitude with Spanish is instantly treated as a member of this large family. The staff, children, and volunteers of Love & Hope each, with their distinctive personalities, bring a different color to the table which adds to the beautiful mural that is this home.

“Additionally, Rachel, the founder and director of the home, is called “Mami” by all of the children. There is no better way to describe her. Not only is she a caring, kind, and passionate mother, but she is also the warmest of hostesses, going the extra mile to ensure a visiting group’s comfort and complete cultural experience.

“Because of this and the group’s interest in the medical field, we were given the opportunity to visit the local hospital and travel to impoverished communities. During our visits to communities, we brought donations and gave simple presentations on hygiene and health. When we went to the hospital, we had the chance to shadow doctors and also go on home visits. As a future doctor, I really appreciated the opportunity to see first-hand the way medicine is practiced in El Salvador and compare their practices to my medical experiences from the United States.

“Love & Hope could have chosen “house”, “refuge”, or any other number of words to describe themselves, but what struck me most was the fact that they chose to use “home”. It implies that in Love & Hope, these children, volunteers, and staff are a part of a family. “Home” implies that they will always have a place to go back to, where they will be accepted and cherished for who they are. And I think they chose the perfect word.”

– Isabella

“The entire staff has dedicated a great deal of time to create both an inviting and nourishing environment for the children in the Love and Hope Children’s Home. As an outsider, I did not expect to find a niche in the home’s well-established system or the children’s lives, but was surprised to find that I had become a member of the twenty person family shortly after my arrival. I found common interests with the kids, helped develop and practice both English and Spanish communication skills, and even gave the occasional piggy-back ride. Although this family was comprised of twenty unique individuals, the quality of care and the standard of living was not at all compromised. As a whole, my group witnessed the harsh living conditions some Salvadoran children face, while offering health care to some rural communities. We saw children who had no real potential for improving their conditions aside from the possibility of a gang affiliation which so often affects the lives of the young people in El Salvador. From what I experienced, this home is a vital step in the intervention and betterment of these children’s lives and I consider myself privileged to have been associated with its children, staff, and mission.”

– Travis

Thank you, UA, for your presence a few weeks ago. We enjoyed learning and sharing with you all, and hope you come to visit soon!

El Salvador is in the tropics, the part of the world located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. That means it is hot. Right now, El Salvador is experiencing the warmest months of the year, as dry season ends and rainy season begins. We’ve been “enjoying” temperatures in the upper 90’s (Fahrenheit) and humidity for weeks now.

One benefit of a tropical climate, however, is a lot of tropical fruit. Everywhere you look in El Salvador there are trees and bushes and vines that give fruit, and the kids at Love & Hope Children’s Home love it. We aren’t just talking about pineapple and watermelon. El Salvador boasts a huge variety of tropical fruit that many people have never even heard of!

Our driver, Alberto, heads to the local market every week to buy produce. He always buys the basics (watermelon, pineapple, imported apples, melon) and brings home whatever fruit is in season.

The Love & Hope kids are always anxious for mango season, and right now, El Salvador is right in the middle of it. It is common in El Salvador to eat mature, sweet, yellow mango, but it is perhaps more common to smother that mango in lime, salt, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and ground pumpkin seed powder. Sound strange? Don’t decide until you’ve tried it!

Guavas are also native to El Salvador. The guavas we eat are green. Almost the entire guava can be eaten because the seeds are so small, there is no need to eat around them. Again, if the kids had their choice they would liven their guava up with lime, salt, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and ground pumpkin seed powder.

Can you tell the difference between a banana and a plantain? Both are very, very abundant in El Salvador, and both are very, very cheap! A banana, as you know, is sweet and eaten raw. A plantain is hardier, and can be described as a cooking banana. Plantains are delicious fried, paired with re-fried beans, which is how Love & Hope usually prepares them. But plantains are also eaten boiled, or cooked with honey, or sliced potato chip thin and fried until crunchy. They are a staple here in El Salvador, very versatile.

Also in our refrigerator this week are “nances.” This tiny fruit looks like yellow berries and the caregivers at Love & Hope Children’s Home often use them to make a drink.

Oranges are also very common and very cheap in El Salvador. The oranges we typically buy are tougher than a Florida orange. Most people sprinkle a little salt on top, and then bite or suck the flesh out from the orange membrane.

Mamoncillos are a tiny green fruit, the size of a grape. To eat mamoncillos, you first have to bite through and dispose of the outer shell. Inside is a large seed covered in a sweet, jelly-like membrane. Mamoncillos are delicious as is, but we also put them in juice-drinks.

Limes are a necessity at Love & Hope Children’s Home. Our kids (and everyone else) love them! We use the juice to flavor other fruit, salsa, fish, guacamole, and sometimes soup. Occasionally for lunch, we enjoy limeade! Another favorite of our kids to squeeze lime juice into a bag of Doritos or other type of corn chip. Yum!

Avocados are also a favorite and right now they are in season. Luckily, at Rachel’s house (and also where our teams stay), there is an avocado tree! Sometimes we send the kids up there to pick the enormous avocados! We use avocados whenever we can: a slice with soup, mashed into guacamole with onions and tomatoes, or smeared onto a sandwich.

We also use a lot of fruit to make fresh fruit drinks. No juicer is needed; we blend up the flesh of a watermelon, pineapple or melon in a blender, add some water and sugar, and are left with a delicious drink. These pineapple’s were blended into a delicious “fresco” for lunch.

Tropical fruits are part of life here in El Salvador. Fruits like grapes, pears and apples are often times very expensive, and only bought on special occasions, like Christmas. What fruits are normal fare for you and your family?

Today’s post was written by Mark Zimmerman, a long-time friend of Love & Hope Children’s Home, and father of our educator, Kirsten. Mark has taken a special interest in El Salvador and its history since first visiting here over eight years ago. We asked Mark to share about Monseñor Oscar Romero’s recent beatification in El Salvador.

On Memorial Day weekend in the United States, a different kind of “memorial weekend” took place in El Salvador.

Although none of the children of Love & Hope are even close to being old enough to remember Oscar Romero, their lives as Salvadorans have been affected by his life.

Oscar Romero (1917-1980) was “beatified” on Saturday, May 23^rd by the Catholic Church. This – in Catholicism – is the final step before “Sainthood” in the Catholic faith.

As an Evangelical, I will not debate the many representations of the Christian faith in this short post. Suffice to say, I feel Romero’s place as a “saint” needs no earthly confirmation. In Romans 1.7, Paul uses the term “saint” to describe all those in the church in 1^st century Rome… and saints we are in Christ – to this day.

What follows is a short attempt to outline an amazing life. I will pass along some links to pursue on your own… and I guarantee you, it will be worth your time.

At his appointment as Archbishop of the Diocese of El Salvador in 1977, Romero’s elevation to the post disappointed many. His previous career undistinguished, much of the Jesuit community felt the choice to be bland and uninspired.

That changed quickly when one of Romero’s few supporters, Father Rutilio Grande, was brutally assassinated. Literally overnight, Oscar Romero’s homilies completely changed in tone, and forcefulness.

He became a champion of the poor, the oppressed, and – as the raids by death squads increased – the “disappeared”.

Oscar Romero became a target. He was despised by the American-backed government. He was despised by the Soviet/Cuban-backed FMLN rebels. And he was despised by the conservative Jesuits who felt he was embracing “liberation theology”. This serious theological charge had no basis in fact, and has been repeated for decades. If you read the Monsignor’s homilies from 1977 until his death, although you find the word “liberation”, you will always find that Romero uses it to “tweak” his opponents:

“The church cannot agree with the forces that put their hope only in violence. The church does not want the liberation it preaches to be confused with liberations that are only political or temporal.
The church does concern itself with earthly liberation – it feels pain for those who suffer, for the illiterate, for those without electricity, without a roof, without a home. But it knows that human misfortune is found not only there. It is inside, deeper, in the heart – in sin.
It wants to tell us to work to be truly free, with a freedom that begins in the heart: the freedom of God’s children – the freedom that makes us into God’s children by taking us from the chains of sin.” April 8, 1979

See what I mean?

As Romero’s short, 3-year ministry continued, the death squads on both sides continued to wreak havoc on El Salvador’s poor and disenfranchised. The Monsignor’s call to Christ became louder:

“I believe that today more than ever in El Salvador we need to know Christ. Today needs Christians, and from Christianity will come humanity’s true liberators. Otherwise, we’ll be given violent, aggressive political movements of the extreme right or the extreme left, but we won’t be given true human beings.
From Christianity, from you, beloved brothers and sisters… will come the true liberators the nation needs.” September 23, 1979

Romero’s weekly radio messages were the most listened to broadcasts in El Salvador – when they could be heard. Both sides in the developing conflict blew up transmitters and towers owned by the Diocese at every opportunity. The Monsignor knew his time was growing short, and the people of El Salvador would need to be Christ’s voice in their society:

“If some day they take the radio station away from us, if they close down our newspaper, if they don’t let us speak, if they kill all the priests and the bishop too, and you are left, a people without priests, each one of you must be God’s microphone, each one of you must be a messenger, a prophet.
The church will always exist as long as there is one baptized person.
And that one baptized person who is left in the world is responsible before the world for holding aloft the banner of the Lord’s truth and of his divine justice.” July 8, 1979

On March 24, 1980, while preparing to serve communion in a hospital chapel in San Salvador, Oscar Romero was assassinated. At his funeral in the National Cathedral, the plaza and square outside the church were packed with tens of thousands of mourners. For reasons still unclear, government troops opened fire on the crowd from the rooftops above. In the ensuing panic, scores not killed by the gunfire, were killed because they were trampled by the crowd.

From this point, a civil war which lasted 12 years, consumed this tiny nation that we love so much.

The effect of this war, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, is felt in the lives of the children Love & Hope cares for today. Let me explain:

Before and during the civil war, as the American, Soviet, and Cuban administrations of Carter/Reagan/Brezhnev/Andropov/Chernenko/Gorbachev and Castro poured weaponry into El Salvador, the people were fleeing. It is thought that as many as 2 million – one-third of the Salvadoran population – left the country by any means possible. Many made it to Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. Tens of thousands more made it to the United States, mainly settling in Los Angeles.

It was in Los Angeles that Salvadoran youth, without money or opportunity, founded the 18^th Street Gang (M-18), and the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). At the civil war’s conclusion, jails filled with these Salvadoran gang members were emptied by the US State Department, and the occupants deported to their homeland.

And so, in 1992 and 1993, the Bush and Clinton administrations returned planeloads of violent Salvadoran gang members to a country decimated by war, with a brand-new government that had little or no support from its own people.

I think we can all look at today’s headlines and see how that turned out.

I know many of you reading this have visited Love & Hope, and have seen some of the beauty of El Salvador. We have also seen the results of the constant pain inflicted upon these noble people.

Pain that was precisely predicted in the homilies of Monsignor Oscar Romero over 35 years ago.

Thanks to some wonderful Salvadoran friends of Love & Hope, I was told about the Monsignor on my first visit, eight years ago. If you wish to dig deeper, I highly recommend The Violence of Love, a book of excerpts of Romero’s homilies.

You can purchase it here (and make sure AME International gets a donation!) http://smile.amazon.com/The-Violence-Love-Oscar-Romero/dp/1570755353/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_2094485562?ie=UTF8&%252AVersion%252A=1&%252Aentries%252A=0

…or, you can download a free .pdf here: http://www.plough.com/en/ebooks/uv/violence-of-love

Since the American media is far more concerned with politician’s emails and celebrity rehabs, my wife and I have found the BBC is an excellent source for news in Central America: http://www.bbc.com/news/world/latin_america

As last weekend’s events unfolded, here is at least one US TV news organization that chose to pay attention – a heartbreaking story: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/05/22/salvadoran-sister-brother-played-opposite-roles-in-story-slain-archbishop-oscar/

I have found that understanding Oscar Romero has helped me tremendously in understanding the beautiful – and troubled – land that my daughter calls home. And I pray that you will, too.

“This hour of trial will pass and the ideal so many Christians died for will survive resplendent.
It is a black night we are living, but Christianity discerns that beyond the night the dawn already glows.
The hope that does not fail is carried in the heart.
Christ goes with us!” September 23, 1979

Love & Hope Children’s Home had a special guest during the months of February and March. Niky, who had visited El Salvador twice before with her high school, volunteered with us for about eight weeks. It was a pleasure getting to know her better and it was easy to see that she and the kids really enjoyed each other. In the short time she was here, Niky became a playmate, cook, friend and confidant for us at Love & Hope. She was gracious enough to share some of her experiences in El Salvador with us. Keep reading:

There are moments in life when my eyes are opened and I can see the corruption and struggle of this hurting world. And I am overwhelmed. Glimpses of thin children sitting beside a busy highway, a wealthy shopping mall over shadowing a needy community, a young boy fleeing for his life from a blood-thirsty gang, children being sent home to abusive, negligent parents. Utter brokenness. Complete despair.

Yet out of the darkness comes a light. Make no mistake, the words “I will never leave you nor forsake you” are just as true today as they were 2,000 years ago. There is still love. There is still hope.

For the past two months, each day spent at Love and Hope has been a blessing to me. Not only was I able to get to know a group of awesome kids and the people who take care of them, but I was also able to learn more about beautiful El Salvador and the work God is doing there.

My days were filled with little projects Rachel and Kirsten had for me to do, anything from cleaning out the ludoteca to typing up an inventory of the kids’ novels for school. One of my favorite projects was the Easter Cards the children were working on for their sponsors.

Every Wednesday and Thursday I made lunch for the Home. Honestly, it overwhelmed me at first. However, everyone was super helpful and after a few weeks I really started to enjoy it. I know I’m going to miss it.

A few favorite memories from my time spent at Love and Hope are; having a water fight with Jacobo and Esau, playing Dutch Blitz with Linda, hunting for mangoes with Vanessa, swinging on the hammock with Aly, going to the theater with Irene, Brenda, and Kirsten, working on Easter cards with Chamba, long talks with Raquel while cleaning up after supper, making a huge cupcake with Esau, listening to songs from Grease with Irene, and playing cards with Eliseo.

I feel like the months of February and March went by way too quickly and I can’t believe it’s already over. I’ll never forget what an impact the Home had on my life. I can’t wait to visit and see everyone again!

Niky was a wonderful help to Love & Hope in so many ways, and had a great attitude about doing whatever needed to be done. Come and visit us soon, Niky; we miss you!

Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, is an important week here in El Salvador. For us at Love and Hope it is a time of reflection as we think about the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. El Salvador, as a country, also marks Easter events with a week of vacation. Every school in the country has the week off, and the government and many businesses are given vacation for the last few days of the week. Love & Hope Children’s Home planned many activities to celebrate Holy Week and keep our kids busy!

On Wednesday afternoon, we left for an overnight trip to the beach. Arriving at the beach house around 2:30pm, the kids immediately started playing in the pool and in the waves until dinner time. After dinner, we enjoyed a bonfire and s’mores on the beach. Later, many of the kids played in the pool until exhaustion set in (which was pretty late at night)!

The previous tiresome day didn’t keep the kids from rising bright and early the next morning. The majority were up and ready for breakfast by 8:00 am (or much earlier). We played and enjoyed the sun until mid-afternoon on Thursday, then finally headed home. It was a wonderful overnight! Thanks so much to the donors who made this mini-vacation possible again this year!

One of Latin America’s richest Easter traditions is the “alfombras” that are made on Good Friday. “Alfombra” means “carpet” in English. Streets are blocked off and closed down where the carpets are created out of colored salt, seeds, flowers and saw dust. They are elaborate and beautiful. Love & Hope has adopted the same tradition, creating our own carpets on Good Friday.

In the morning we prepared the salt we would use. Even the Easter Bunny helped!

Later that afternoon, we went to nearby Santa Tecla, famous in El Salvador for the carpets created by the people there. The kids took note of the designs and images to later make their own. Traditionally, the carpets usually depict Jesus and the Easter story.

When we arrived home, the kids used the colored salt to create mini-carpets on the sidewalk. They turned out great!

After dinner, Rachel read the Easter story from the Bible and played a worship song. The kids listened very intently and sang along. This part of Easter is so important to us

We began Saturday with an Easter egg hunt in the yard. A recent group from Ohio Wesleyan University took the time to fill hundreds of eggs with candy and coins. Even the oldest kids were excited about the hunt, running around the house to find the hidden eggs.

On Sunday morning before church, the Love & Hope kids looked for their Easter baskets in the house. Some of them searched for a good 20-minutes! They were richly rewarded once they found their baskets, stuffed full of candy and other goodies. Many thanks to the Team from Ohio Wesleyan University that brought down all the treats for their baskets!

Later everyone piled in the car for the most joyous church day of the year. After church, we enjoyed one last Holy Week outing to the movie theater.

As always, we are so grateful to our donors for making activities and enrichment like this possible for Love & Hope Children’s Home. Thank you for your support and we pray that your Easter was as blessed as ours!

Did you know that one of the biggest volcanoes in El Salvador is actually a lake? Lake Coatepeque is a volcanic caldera in the department of Santa Ana, El Salvador. A couple of weeks ago, Love & Hope Children’s Home took a day trip to the lake.

The Love & Hope kids love the ocean and the beach. We make it out to the ocean a few times a year, but this was only the second time we’ve visited Coatepeque Lake. The lake is certainly different than the beach: calm, quiet, cool, and deep. On the way, we asked the little boys, “How is a lake different from the ocean?” Their answers were a little off, so it was a good learning experience!

Thanks to money donated specifically for outings such as these, we were able to rent a small cabin right on the lake front for the day. The property had a deck and a floating dock out in the water. We swam out to the dock, jumped off and laid out in the sun. The little boys played in a shallow area close to the shore.

Later, we were able to rent a jet ski! When the owner of the jet ski asked, “Who wants to go first?” Chamba was the first to say, “Me!” We were all a little surprised that Chamba hopped right on that jet ski with the other boys, showed no fear, and even got to “drive” a little bit. The older girls also took a turn, screaming and laughing the whole time.

Afterward, we took a calmer boat ride together. The owner of the boat, drove us around the lake, answering our questions about the lake and surrounding landforms (Cerro Verde and the Santa Ana Volcano) and pointing out the well known families that owned each house. He even gave us a chance to jump off the boat into a deep part of the lake. Again, the kids showed no fear and jumped right in!

We ended the day with a snack and headed home exhausted but happy. Spending a day at Lake Coatepeque was a great experience! Thank you to those who help provide these experiences to our children through your generous donations.

Today’s blog was written by our friend, Carly, one of the student leaders for a recent team we hosted from Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU). OWU has been sending spring-break mission teams to Love & Hope Children’s Home for 10 years now! Carly first visited Love & Hope with her university classmates in 2013 and has been profoundly impacted by both of her trips. Here is what Carly had to say about her most recent trip to El Salvador.

When I think of Love & Hope Children’s Home I think of just that: love and hope. It’s probably a bit simplistic, but those were the overwhelming feelings I was overcome with on my first visit two years ago. And two years later, the love and hope I found was even more profound.

Before I went to Love & Hope in 2013, I had already realized my passion for helping kids. I knew that I would enjoy my time there, but I had no idea just how intensely that experience would change and inspire me. I quickly fell in love with these charming, smart and sweet kids who wanted to play Legos, read books and even sing some Taylor Swift with our team. They invited us into their special family for a week and for that I couldn’t be more grateful. I smiled till my cheeks hurt, I laughed till I cried, I played soccer till I was winded…but mostly I just felt a part of something much, much bigger than myself.

Two years later (a few weeks ago), I had the immense privilege of leading a team down there. I was so excited to return and see the smiling faces I had seen two years ago, and couldn’t wait to be reinvigorated by Love & Hope’s mission. I wasn’t expecting the beautiful mission Love & Hope to set in more than it already had. But it absolutely did. Tears come to my eyes when I think about the family that Love & Hope has created and all the lives they have touched. I hope that a team like mine can reassure Love & Hope of all the people that they have in their corner. I am deeply humbled to have experienced firsthand their mission, even for just a short amount of time.

This trip could not have come at a more perfect time for me, as I am about to graduate college. Love & Hope is one of the biggest manifestations of unconditional love and support that I have ever seen, and I want to radiate that same kind of love as I set out into the ‘real world.’ Because of my time at Love & Hope I understand how to share the love that is on my heart, and use it to make a positive change in the world. As I stand on the precipice of making so many important decisions on how I want to live my life, Love & Hope has helped me, and will continue to help me, make them. After graduation I will be joining Teach for America Corps in Chicago, a decision I have no reservations about after my time at Love & Hope. Nurturing children who need it so that they may reach their full potential is exactly what I am supposed to be doing. Whether or not my journey brings me back to Love & Hope (and I certainly hope that it does!), I can walk away with confidence knowing that I will be fully equipped to embody the spirit of Love & Hope wherever I go. And for that, I am forever changed.

We had a wonderful time getting to know the OWU team. They bonded with the kids within minutes of entering the house, playing, singing, joking around and talking. They worked hard deep cleaning the house, painting the entire exterior wall of our property and the front of our entire house, visiting a local community, making a donation to a local hospital and organizing an “amazing race” for our children. Thank you so much to Carly, Kassidy, René, Cole, Amy, Emma, Chris, Olivia, Courtney and Kelley. Come back soon, OWU!

Love & Hope Children’s Home is about a month into the 2015 school year. So far, so good! We asked the kids what some of their goals were for this year. Some of their goals are pretty lofty, others are very original. We wanted to share a few of them with you:

Jefferson: “I want to learn to draw more and be more responsible with my homework.”

Irene: “I want to earn first place in my class.”

Linda: “I want to earn second place in my class, study more for tests and present projects better.”

Eliseo: “I want to learn more English and learn how to draw because I can only draw some things.”

Vanessa: “I want to pass 5th grade, earn an award in my class, get good grades and only receive big 10’s on my tests. I don’t want to get so nervous when doing a presentation.”

Jeremiah: “I want to achieve 10’s on my tests.”

Michell: “I want to improve my presentations and earn an award in my class.”

Aly: “I want to get a 10 in math.”

Jacobo: “I want to pass 7th grade with good grades and return to my old school.”

Moises: “I want to get “10’s” on all of my tests.”

Love & Hope Children’s Home does its best to provide our kids with a top-notch education. This not only has to do with their schools, but also the support we offer them at home. Our children attend five different schools based on their individual learning needs, environment, class size, teaching style, and the like. At home, we have a structured homework hour and many of the children also receive additional tutoring.

We are so proud of our children for striving to achieve and set goals. They are off to a great start this year: we have recognized some incredible motivation in them! Please join us in praying for the Love & Hope kids this year and consider supporting our Education Fund by clicking here.

Photo credit: Jacobo (he did a great job!)