a priest's musings on the journey

A small group from Trinity Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg, VA- the parish which sponsors the Canterbury Club at the University of Mary Washington where I am a Chaplain, spent a week at an Episcopal school and home for children in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. El Hogar is a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras to the poorest of the poor. Some of the children are orphans, but most come from single parent homes and are rescued off the streets because the parent is unable to care for them. Some children return home on the weekends; others do not because it is not safe for them to return home. The children of El Hogar are given an education, and are grounded in a faith and morality that will empower them to be productive citizens of Honduras. The mission of El Hogar is "to provide a loving home and education in a Christian environment for abandoned, orphaned and hopelessly poor children, enabling them to fulfill their ultimate potential as productive human beings in Honduras."

The ministry includes three campuses: the elementary campus- where 96 boys and 12 girls live in community, the Instituto Technico de Santa Maria and the Episcopal Agricultural School and Farm. El Hogar has recently opened its doors to girls, and a new dorm is being built for them in hopes of bringing more girls into the orphanage. More information about the orphanage and school and about all of the schools can be found here.

I'll be posting more photos and musings on my experience there, as well as introducing you to some of the children and youth who touched my heart in days to come.

Can't wait to read about all of that. :)