We’re off to a
good start! MARCH 2013
We had a good
break from school, and are one month into the new school year. Thanks to a few
generous supporters, we were able to raise enough money to start our
neighborhood school. We have 21 students in Kindergarten through 6th
grade who are all eager to learn, and we are excited to teach them. In
Honduras, there is no system in place for children who have any sort of special
educational needs, and if a student struggles and is unable to pass one class,
they are held back for the entire grade. This system, coupled with class sizes
of 50-80 students, makes learning very difficult for some students.
Most of the
students in our school have been held back multiple times and feel very
defeated. All of them come from troubled backgrounds and have been victims of
abuse and neglect. We are hopeful that our school program will help the
students gain self confidence and be able to reach their full potential. We are
using the ACE program (Accelerated Christian Education), which allows each
student to work at their own pace and spend more time on subjects where more
time is needed. We are also teaching everything bilingually, with extensive
classes in learning English as a second language so that each student will be
able to learn English fluently. Our entire curriculum is Christian based, with
character training incorporated into each class.
While the need
for education is somewhat obvious, it is even more important in Honduras. If a
girl is not able to stay in school, there is a lot of pressure to marry, even
if the girl is very young or doesn’t feel ready to take this step. One of our
students was telling us how happy and relieved she was to have the opportunity
to attend school again because her family was pressuring her to find a husband,
and at 13, she did not want to have to marry. Girls are also often victims of
slavery, and staying in school can help them avoid this. Thank you to all of
our supporters who are helping these kids have a better future!
We have had to
scale back some of our other programs, but are still running most of the programs:
*Feeding
program for indigent elderly people – we are doing this one day a
week for now with our school kids. Some
of the children are collecting food donations from neighbors, and the children
are helping with the cooking and delivery of the food. We are also keeping
track of anything that is needed, and the older kids will be helping with
projects around the house as needed.
*Preschool program – All of the children
who were in Natalie’s preschool program are now in Kindergarten with Aly three
days a week.
*Tutoring – this is the first thing that
we started, and kids come every day after school to get help with their
homework and to use the internet for educational reasons. Gordon has taken over
this ministry, and it has been good for the kids to have a positive male role
model.
*English classes – Chantalle is teaching
English in our school, and as soon as we receive the new curriculum for teens
and adults, she will be teaching classes to our colegio students and adults in
our community.
*Bible studies – we have an English
Bible study for local ladies and a Bible study/craft time for children under
12. We also have a study for girls 12 and up, and we would like to add more
studies soon. We are actively looking for a young man to help with the study
for young men.
*Lunch program – We are serving lunch to
all of the students who attend our school as well as 4 others who lack
resources to have proper nutrition.
*Schooling – In addition to our school,
we have 8 students in other schools who have sponsors in the USA who pay for
their schooling. We ensure that each of them is working to their full potential
and are doing their homework and school projects. Each student also receives a
nutritional lunch every school day.
*Children’s Church – We are in charge of
the Sunday children’s programs at our church. We have about 40 children, birth
to 12 years old, who we teach lessons to, do crafts with, and love on.
*Worship team – Also at church, Natalie
and Chantalle help lead worship for Friday and Sunday services. They have
really enjoyed being able to serve in this way.
Prayer needs:
·
Sponsor
(s) for lunch at school! We try to
keep the cost low, but we are feeding 22 people in the school every day, and
this is not in our budget. We would like to be able to have one or two people
sponsor the cost of this ministry. We are able to keep this cost at around $150
per month ($7.50 per day). Please pray about the possibility of helping us in
this way.
·
Sponsor
for an assistant at school. We would
really benefit from having a full time assistant at the school to help with
cleaning, lunch preparation, Kindergarten, and odd jobs. Having a special needs
school requires the full attention of each of us, and it is very difficult
having to try to cover this need as well. The cost for hiring someone would be
$100 per month.
·
Please pray for our school! This is a huge undertaking, and we need a
lot of prayer both for our teachers (Aly, Natalie, Chantalle, Lisa, &
Gordon) and for our students (Flor, Kellyn, Gaby, Eneyda, Fatima, Estefany,
Katerin, Ruby, Cindy, Maria, Jefer, Aslin, Estefani, Jose, Danny, Deyni, Alex,
Angel, Ashlyn, Nahomi, & Jadiel).
·
For
more mission/work teams to come!
There is A LOT of work to be done in this poverty stricken community, and teams
can really change the lives of people here. Even if you don’t speak Spanish or
have construction skills, if you are willing and able, we would love to have
you! Contact us for more information.
·
We need an electrician!!! If you have the ability to help with
re-wiring our house and the school, we could really use your help! The wiring
is in very bad condition, and is not safe nor is it very functional and we
really need someone or a small group to come help us get the electricity in
working order. Please let us know if you could possibly come help in this way!
There are very few trained electricians in this area, and those that are here
are extremely expensive.
Thank you to
everyone who supports us in our ministry! We could not do any of this without
your help!
Love,
The Eytzen family J Email:
jesushelovesme@hotmail.com
If you would like to contact us, our contact
information is:
Lisa
and Gordon Eytzen
c/o Roberto Diaz del Valle
9 KM. Carretera la Guama a Pena Blanca
Hotel Finca Las Glorias, Pena Blanca
Santa Cruz de Yojoa, Cortes
Honduras, Centro America
(it
takes about 2-3 months to receive mail)
c/o Roberto Diaz del Valle
9 KM. Carretera la Guama a Pena Blanca
Hotel Finca Las Glorias, Pena Blanca
Santa Cruz de Yojoa, Cortes
Honduras, Centro America
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