Friday, November 14, 2014

Parish Presentation!

Hi there!!

Okay so this really is the last one. I am giving a presentation at my parish this Monday night about my time in Honduras! I spoke at St. Stephen's parish in Pennsauken, NJ before going to Honduras and the generosity of the parishioners there really made the year possible, in addition to the generosity shown by so many of you who are following this blog. To give back, I wanted to share a little of what I learned and the pastor, Fr. Rocco, who has been amazingly supportive from the beginning, said, of course!

So here is the write-up that was published in the bulletin. If you're in the South Jersey area and free that night I would love to see you there!

Lots of love, and thank you all so much, once again, for all of the support.

Time: 7 p.m.
Date: Monday, Nov. 17
Place: Parish Center of St. Stephen Parish
6300 Browning Rd, 
Pennsauken Township, NJ 08109


What I Learned from a Year in Honduras 

In August I came back to the U.S. after living and working for a year at an orphanage in Honduras. For twelve months I ate more corn tortillas and beans than I care to remember, cohabited with scorpions, attempted to keep four of the world's cutest special-needs second graders from taking the last of my sanity, and learned to like hugs that were dusty, sweaty, and long at waist height. The experience was life-changing, and this parish made it possible. 

About a year and a half ago I spoke at Masses about the volunteer year I was beginning at Amigos de Jesus orphanage. I was inspired and humbled by the outpouring of generosity and support I received. Throughout the year I heard about so many of you who continued to support me in prayer. 

Now that I'm home, I would like to share some of my experiences with you: of the children's heart-wrenching stories and incredible resilience; of daily life in the third-world country I called home for twelve months; and of the work being done by this home, started by a Philadelphia priest, to get at the heart of the problems that forced hundreds of Honduran children to flee their country for the U.S. this summer. 

Join me on Monday, November 17th at 7 p.m. in the parish center for stories and conversation about my year at Amigos. Thank you once again for your incredible support. I'm really looking forward to sharing some of the things I learned with you.