group 2 to group 3

Sunday, January 10, 2010
Our first group has come and gone so quickly. They did an incredible amount of work at Villa Soleada and at Kid’s Camp. They were able to completely finish the water sanitation system at Villa that included doing a lot of digging, placing the tubes, and recovering the trenches with dirt. Their energy and enthusiasm made for a great week of work and fun. We were able to celebrate our week of work by having a despedida, farewell ceremony, with volunteers and families on Thursday evening. We entertained them with some well-planned and choreographed dances from each group in addition to their words of gratitude for the effort put forth over their eight-day trip. It was hard to see them leave, but I am also very excited to go back to Macomb and here how our volunteers want to make a difference in the future.
The new group of students at our hotel consists of 33 students, who for many of them, this is their first time in Honduras, and their first time traveling abroad. It’s so neat for them to see first-hand the product of their many fundraisers. I am so intrigued about their impressions of Honduran culture and the projects of SHH because it has been so long since my first service trip, my sophomore year of high school. I believe that I will be more challenged this week to seek out individuals who may feel out of their comfort zone or unsure about their surroundings. One of the things that I like that we do is ask the volunteers for two of their personal expectations for the week and two expectations for SHH staff. After reading the responses, I am very enthusiastic for their desire to meet the people here, learn about the culture, give their heart and best work during the day, and figure out how their experience here can change the rest of their life. I feel the challenges will come with breaking the barriers between groups of people. It is so easy to work with the people you know, but in order to encourage teamwork everyone will need the opportunity to get to know one another. Also, I want to make sure that I am a listener as well as a discussion facilitator because it is so easy for me to talk about experiences here, but in order for them to make a difference they deserve the opportunity to communicate their thoughts from each day. I am equally excited about this group as the last. I see potential for incredible enthusiasm once more and perspectives on life being turned upside down as they work with the villagers and team up with the students to encourage and reinforce educational material that is often not received due to the lack of resources.
Finally, I pray for health, strength, and opportunities for one-on-one with students. I appreciate this opportunity to share my passion with them and enable them to make it their own. I feel a great responsibility for the success of their trip and I promise to do my best to make it happen.