I received word from the 2nd hotel about their rates - which are MUCH better. They will charge $17/night and will send their hotel taxi for me at the airport. They assured me that the vehicle will have their hotel logo on it and the driver will also be wearing a polo shirt with the hotel logo on it...all safety precautions since I will be arriving after dark. I've emailed them back to see what the next step is to confirm the reservations.
I heard from Dr. Reynolds today. He is the man who is in charge of sending larger quantities of donations down to Orphanage Emmanuel. He mentioned that the next shipment would be going out on August 15th, so if there is anything that I cannot fit in my suitcases - I should get it to him before I leave.
Speaking of things that I cannot pack in my suitcases. You all have been wonderful!!! My aunt Linda called today to say that the response she's received from St. Elizabeth Hospital and other area businesses has been overwhelming! She currenly has NINE boxes full of items. My mom, who works up at New London Family Medical Center, has had a wonderful response as well from a coworker, which will greatly help in me getting all of these items that don't fit into my suitcases down to Dr. Reynolds. I had never expected monetary help - just items that were "extras" around the house, but with the overwhelming response of donations for the children - that will help so much in sending these items all the more quickly. THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!!! I will be sure to take pictures of the many boxes of donations before I leave & post them to this BLOG for all to see.
So, now on to how I picked this orphanage to serve at...
As I mentioned in the initial letter, I had found this orphanage online back in 2005-2006 when I started to search more seriously. I had been searching in Guatemala, due to their extreme poverty...but also decided to search in Honduras as well. At the time, it was solely because we sponsor a child in Honduras named Eduardo through Compassion International (http://www.compassion.com/), and I thought it might give us a chance to go visit him at some point. At that time, I knew nothing of the poverty level of Honduras. As of today, I found the following link: http://www.aneki.com/poorest_central_america.html which lists Honduras as the POOREST country in Central America as of July 23, 2008.
Anyway, after searching online for "christian orphanage guatemala", I found an orphanage in Guatemala that looked like a place that could really use an extra set of hands. I sent an email towards the end of the school year to both orphanages at the same time letting them know of my desire to form this annual relationship and help as much as I possibly could.
When I sent this email, my inital thought was...What if BOTH orphanages are really in need of help? How will I know WHERE to go??? At that point, I was confused. Should I have emailed both orphanages at the same time? Each country had their own advantages:
- Guatemala - airfare that was significantly less expensive than Honduras, the stories posted by the orphanage director were heart-breaking...babies being left on the streets just after their births because parents could not care for them. This lady had a true heart for taking ALL children in. The orphanage was just starting to get on its feet and had just purchased land to build a larger facility.
- Honduras - a Christian orphanage that had over 400 children, and having the chance to visit Eduardo.
God had answered my prayers and my emails with Katja (the volunteer coordinator in Honduras) and Becky (my U.S. volunteer contact) began. I've been working diligently ever since to make sure that I will have safe travels and keep the costs down to a minimum. So far, with round-trip airline travel, 2 hotels for overnight stays (Atlanta & San Pedro Sula), and a taxi ride from the San Pedro Sula airport to the hotel, I am at just a hair under $500 - which is INCREDIBLE!
God is Good!!!