Omar y Elisa

The wedding last night was very different than a wedding in the U.S. It lasted over 2 hours and they have a civil and religious ceremony. The first is the religious, the second was a Bahi ceremony, which is a religion here in Honduras.

Afterwards we had quite the experience with our meal. It was dark by dinner, so we were hardly able to see what we were being served! When we got to our table we couldn't see a thing, so we were blindly eating food! Good thing we knew what the tamales were! They were muy delicoso!

The bride and groom were lovely, and had many friends and family there to support them. Omar the groom has been a resident at the Hogar since he was 2 years old and lived here until yesterday when he got married! Elisa is the sister of one of the house Moms for the boys. Omar and Elisa have known each other since they were little.

It was truly an honor to share in their special day!

Sarai

mi nombre es sarai. tengo 2hermanas. me gusta bailar. mi actora favorita es miley cyrus. tengo 13 anos. de estar en el hogar tierra santa.

Translation:
My name is Sarai. I have two sisters. I like to dance. My favorite actress is Miley Cyrus. I am 13 years old. I am at the Hogar Tierra Santa.

Sunday Afternoon

This afternoon we stopped at a wood shop to place our order so the craftsmen could have everything done by Thursday when we leave for Copan. The pictures on the sides are examples of the beautiful work they do!

In just a little bit we will leave for the Honduran wedding, I will post pictures of it tomorrow.

Our jobs for Monday include grocery shopping at the brand new extremely large supermarket, tearing down a brick wall, and baking oatmeal raisin cookies with the children.

This has already been a life changing experience for our group. We are just in awe over the culture and how special all of the children are! Maybe tomorrow we will get another blog from one of the students! ☺

If you want to check out another blog go to www.edenprairiehelps.blogspot.com, this is the blog for the Eden Prairie school members that are here!

~Hasta Mañana~
Miss Beeman

Alba Luz

Mi nombre es Alba. Me gusta jugar. Mi actora faborita es halle berry estoy en cuarto grado. Tengo 13 anos. Yo vibo en el Hogar 4 anos. Mi color faborito es el negro. Mi animal faborito es el perro.

Translation:
My name is Alba. I like to play. My favorite acresss is Halle Berry. I am in 4th grade. I am 13 years old. I live in the Hogar for 4 years. My favorite color is black. My favorite animal is a dog.

We made it!

We are safe and sound in Comayagua! The bus ride from the airport took about 4 hours and it was absolutely beautiful! I of course have a lot of pictures that I will add for you to look at.

Tomorrow we will go to the orphanage for a special welcoming ceremony, then we will have a tour and have lunch with the kids. Our cultural portion tomorrow will be visiting the wood shop, then going to the Honduran wedding.

So far I have noticed the geography and land forms are very interesting... We went through a lot of mountains to get to Comayagua and there are points where there are palm trees and pine trees right next to each other.

Santiago, the director of the orphanage told us the kids can hardly wait to see all the wonderful things we brought them! I will make sure to take pictures with their Aquila shirts on.

Hasta luego,
Miss Beeman

On our way...

At this time tomorrow we will be attending a Honduran wedding!

Our flight leaves at 5:30 a.m. we will fly to Miami, FL and then from Miami to San Pedro, Honduras. Our first stop will be to a wood factory where they carve very detailed signs, boxes, and other wooden items.

After we arrive in Comayagua we will go grocery shopping to get the supplies we need for the week. We will also need to get baking supplies for the special cooking lessons we will give the students while we are there. We will teach them to make sugar cookies, chocolate cake, oatmeal raisin cookies, and rice krispies bars!

The first two days Mrs. Shelly and I will we working with six others to tear down a concrete wall (so they can build a new building) during the morning and then in the afternoon we will teach baking to the students.

I will update as soon as I have a chance!
~Miss Beeman

Thank you AQUILA!

Thank you so very much to all of the Aquila families and staff members that participated in our supply drive! The Service Club collected 2 very large boxes of school supplies, educational games, and art supplies to send to the Hogar orphanage! The children of the Hogar can hardly wait for us to arrive with our special donations.

In addition the PTO and staff members at Aquila collected over 80 t-shirts to give to the students in Honduras.

I am very proud of the generosity and compassion in St. Louis Park! THANK YOU!

-Miss Beeman
p.s. Don't forget to follow our adventures by checking the blog over spring break!

Trip Details (passed along)

Check out our itinerary and contact information.

Saturday, March 29th
5:30 a.m. Depart Minneapolis for San Pedro Sula via Atlanta, GA
3:20 p.m. Arrive in San Pedro Sula - board bus for Comayagua
8:00 p.m. Arrive at Hotel Quan in Comayagua

Sunday, March 30th
8:00 a.m. Grocery shopping and visit wood factory
Afternoon - Visit Hogar Tierra Santa
Evening - Attend the wedding of former Hogar student

Monday - Thursday
7:20 a.m. Breakfast at hotel
8:30 a.m. Spend the day at Hogar Tierra Santa
6:00 p.m. Dinner at local restaurant

Friday, April 4th
5:00 a.m. Leave for Copan - travel most of the day
5:00 p.m. Arrvie at Plaza Copan Hotel in Copan

Saturday, April 5th
Morning - Tour Copan Ruins
Afternoon - More sightseeing

Sunday, April 6th
6:30 a.m. Bus to San Pedro Sula
1:30 p.m. Depart San Pedro Sula for Minneapolis via Atlanta, GA
11:30 p.m. Arrive in Minneapolis

Contact Information
Hogar Tierra Santa
011-504-784-2231
E Mail: admindirector@hogartierrasanta.org

Hotel Quan in Comayagua
011-504-772-0070
E mail: hquan@hondutel.hn

Plaza Copan in Copan
011 (504) 651-4039

T-10 and counting

With ten days left until we leave there is so much to do! Aquila will be donating approximately 75 t-shirts to the orphanage!

The Service Club is in the midst of collecting school supplies that we will take with us as well. So far they have collected one very large box of items including notebooks, loose paper, pencils, rulers, and glue. They hope to at least double that amount by next Thursday.

Next week I hope to have a few of the members of our Service Club write an update on the collections.

~Miss Beeman

Updated "needs list"

Some have asked how they can help aside from the school supplies and t-shirts, here is a list of the most recent requests from the orphanage. THANK YOU for your support!

Items for Tierra Santa:
1. 2 blenders
2. Hair trimmer
3. navy blue fabric for uniforms
4. lotions, creams, baby lotion
5. sanitary napkins
6. shampoo/conditioner
7. girls’ and boys’ underwear
8. toothpaste
9. tennis shoes
10. black shoes
11. educational toys
12. measuring tapes
13. hammers
14. cement trowels
15. one or more drills
16. continuity tester for electricity

Collections

We will be collecting t-shirts and supplies up until Thursday, March 27th (the last day of school before spring break). All donations can be brought to the main office and put in the collection box.

If you are ordering a new t-shirt orders must be placed by Friday, March 14th at 3pm in order for the shirts to be made in time for our trip!

If you have any questions, please contact me at beeman.jennifer@slpschools.org or (952) 928-6492.

Thanks,
Miss Beeman

Aquila Service Club

Donation of supplies:
Aquila Service Club is collecting new or gently used school supplies for the children of the Hogar de Ninos Tierra Santa. Below are some suggestions from the Hogar, but anything you would like to give is more than they have!

*Tablets
*Paper
*Pencils/Pens
*Glue Sticks
*Computer Paper (8.5x11)
*Elmer's Glue
*Construction Paper
*Glitter
*Rulers
*Erasers
*Scissors
*Spiral Notebooks

Other ways to help

Other ways to help:

T-shirts
We will be collecting new and gently used Aquila or St. Louis Park t-shirts to bring to the children of the Hogar. If you have a shirt that no longer fits you, or you just don't wear please bring it to my room (AQ 133) or leave it with Mrs. Wendy Knoll in the front office.


If you want to purchase a new t-shirt there is a sign up in the office. The cost of a new t-shirt is $4.00.


Monetary
If you wish to make a donation to the Hogar you can make a contribution to Tierra Santa Support, Inc.(TSSI) which is a registered 501(c)3 tax exempt charitable corporation. (All donations are tax deductible.)