Mark & Lori Connell

Getting Ready....

Sun, 2 May 2010 11:02:39 -0600

Getting ready...
Well, as the calendar turns to Spring, it means we are just a few short weeks away from welcoming our summer teams to Tegucigalpa for another year. That means there is plenty to do. We will have close to 1000 people joining us this year. Mark is in full fledged “getting ready for summer groups” mode. TORCH has a full summer schedule of groups and that takes planning and prep work. Finding house sites has been a big job. Visiting communities, meeting families, and making a list of sites for groups to choose from. Mark has been all over the city and beyond weeding through the 100’s of names and requests he has received. It is a taxing job, but having a list with all the leg work done makes for much smoother work when the groups arrive and allows their time here to serve more productive.

Mark also manages reservations with Villa Gracia, hotels, and other logistics for the groups. Organizing a bus schedule, getting drivers lined up, organizing, repairing, and buying tools, working with the wood supplier and many other details. It will be just a few more weeks and the summer groups will begin their invasion on Honduras and we will be ready!

There have been a few small spring break groups coming and going over the last few weeks and working with them is always a highlight. We love the excitement they bring. Many of them come with new faces and they continue to keep this work new in our hearts as we experience it through their eyes.

We had a house dedication in the community of Mirador de Oriente. A house we built in conjunction with the Mayor’s office. We had the pleasure of giving the keys to and welcoming Dina Valladares and her family to their new home.

Mi Esperanza...
At the end of March I traveled back to the states to Tulsa, OK for an event for Mi Esperanza. This was our second year to attend Tulsa Workshop and sponsor a booth for Mi Esperanza. It was great fun seeing returning supporters and meeting new ones. The event was a success as we were able to share The Mi Esperanza Story and sell a load of Mi Esperanza products. Being in “Tulsa” also allowed me a little Lola time with two of my grandchildren..... what a treat!

In March, one of my summer interns, EA Ward, returned to Honduras to help me out in the area of product development. EA is amazingly creative and full of great energy, it was a blast to have her for a week. As some of you probably know, working with a creative mind can keep you on your toes! EA worked with our maquila and together, they developed a new bag for us, The Kavala Bag. We introduced it in Tulsa and with our visiting spring break groups and we received an overwhelming response. People love it!

The development and production of other products; photo boards, passport covers, notecards are in full swing as we prepare for the summer groups to arrive. All this is product development is done for one reason.... to continue to move Mi Esperanza one step closer to being a more self supporting ministry. Always remember that the sale of our products goes to three places... 1) paying the women who make them, 2) materials and supplies, and (most importantly) 3) keeping our school doors open! Purchase with a Purpose!

It is amazing to me as I reflect back about 5 or 6 years to when we introduced our first bag, the Gypsy, how far we have come and I am thankful that God continues to put people in our path that share our vision and keep moving us along to be able to support this work and educate women.

Family update...
Kate, our newest granddaughter, is doing great! She is now 6 weeks old and weighs nearly 9 lbs.! She is a good baby and Jenny has her on a great schedule already. We love our ichat time with Will as we virtually play transformers with him. He has the best imagination and he makes us laugh! Maya is now potty trained and she is our little swimmer. She has advanced in her swimming class and now swims on her own (it’s a little scary to watch), she is a true Florida baby! Oh yeah..... Ryan and JC and Eric and Jenny are great too!.

The need here is greater than ever. Please join us in our efforts to serve . Visit our website..... www.thehondurasproject.org. to ﬁnd out how you can be a part of what God is doing through The Honduras Project and itʼs partners in ministry. Contact us if you have any questions.

Mark Connell: mark@thehondurasproject.org
*Cell: 011-504-9858-5397
**Home: 205-533-8725

Lori Connell: lori@thewomenofmyhope.org
*Cell: 011-504-9858-6208
**Home: 205-533-8725

* Text and we will call you back (We can call for quite cheaper than you can!)
** Evenings. Our vonage phone is an Alabama number! If you have free long distance it won’t cost you a thing!

Send donations to:
The Honduras Project/Mi Esperanza
PO Box 1575
Mandeville, LA 70470

Connections......

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:25:35 -0600

Family connections!
Pops and Lola for the third time!! Kate McGuire Connell was born on March 4, 2010. Weighing in at 7lbs 4oz and 19 3/4” long. She is beautiful and we were blessed to be able to be in Tulsa for her birth. Her big brother, Will, is just amazing with her and we of course enjoyed our short visit with the whole family. Five days with our “Tulsa Family” was wonderful but way too short!

Ryan: We ask your prayers for Ryan and her health. She is doing fine but with her annual check up they are doing some new tests to look at her heart issues from a new perspective. Her case history is being presented at a Cardiology forum and we will be anxious to hear what “they all” think. It can all be unnerving and so we ask for prayers of health, peace and healing.

Ministry connections!
One of the blessings of what we do is we are able to be a resource for others to do work with families in Honduras that they have grown to love and care about. We love to be able to bridge the gap of miles and language to meet the needs of the poorest of the poor.

Meet Dylcia:
We have had a long relationship with Dylcia. We met her when she had been washed out of her house from flooding in her village, Mololoa, and was living in a makeshift shelter in a church building with her premature twin boys and then 2 year old son. With the help of one of the teams that was here that summer, we were able to build Dylcia a house and get her back home. That summer, a North American family, the Behrenbergs (who were part of one of the teams) also met Dylcia and decided that they would like to begin helping her with some of the ongoing needs she encounters. We get the pleasure of managing that help. We are able to be a contact between them and Dylcia and facilitate help when needs arise. We visit Dylcia and her family on a regular basis and use the resources provided by the Behrenbergs to help in any way that may be needed. Dylcia works full-time at a local school, but, because she earns less than $5/day, she occasionally needs help with food, medicines, etc. and, through the Behrenbergs, we are able to bridge the gap. This month we worked with Dylcia and the Behrenbergs to meet some health concerns for her boys and to get her son David into a special school for children with learning disabilities. David is one of the twins who did not develop cognitively at a normal progression. Dylcia is like any mommy who just wants the best for her children. She is very grateful for the love, care and compassion she receives and sees God’s hand in this provision.

Education connections...
School supply help continues as we have requests for help with sending children to school. As we stated last month, it has been a huge need. One story we can share is the story of Sara Denia. She is the mother of 2 and her monthly salary was able to pay 1/2 of the matricula (it’s a tax that must be paid) to get her boys in school. Upon doing that she was given the school supply list that would take another month’s salary to purchase, while still owing the second 1/2 of the matricula. This did not include any food, water and other daily needs. With that we still hold the vision to have a fully stocked bodega so each January we will not have to turn children away who want to attend school. If you would be interested in helping this vision become a reality, contact us to see how you can help!

Mi Esperanza....
It has been a month of maintenance and preparation for the spring and summer with our store and products. Our salon needed an electrical overhaul. That was a big project but God provided free labor!! Praise BE!!! The salon class also needed all new hairdryers and God provided those for us free as well. A group of women in Florida and Louisiana sent donations so we now have 20 new dryers. Our hope is that with the electrical work we will not burn through them so fast!

It was time to freshen up the store and look to product development for the summer months. I LOVE this part of my job. Now, the only reason for our store is for Mi Espernaza to become self sustaining. So with a store cleaning and facelift we are on our way for groups to come and “PURCHASE WITH A PURPOSE”! Stay turned for some GREAT NEW PRODUCTS! Don’t forget, we have an on-line store on our BRAND NEW WEBSITE!! www.thewomenofmyhope.org

Meet Paola:
One of our salon graduates opened a salon in her home. She says it is just the beginning!!! Gina and I went to visit and received some services which was delightful! Paola is so proud of where she is and thankful for the opportunity. She wants to stay involved with Mi Esperanza and help other women to lift themselves up with their opportunity from Mi Esperanza.

The need here is greater than ever. Please join us in our efforts to serve . Visit our website..... www.thehondurasproject.org. to ﬁnd out how you can be a part of what God is doing through The Honduras Project and itʼs partners in ministry. Contact us if you have any questions.

Mark Connell: mark@thehondurasproject.org
*Cell: 011-504-9858-5397
**Home: 205-533-8725

Lori Connell: lori@thewomenofmyhope.org
*Cell: 011-504-9858-6208
**Home: 205-533-8725

* Text and we will call you back (We can call for quite cheaper than you can!)
** Evenings. Our vonage phone is an Alabama number! If you have free long distance it won’t cost you a thing!

Send donations to:
The Honduras Project/Mi Esperanza
PO Box 1575
Mandeville, LA 70470

A Return to “normalcy”.....

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:06:22 -0600

January begins the slow, steady climb to crazy busy! It was great to be home for a visit with family and friends for the holidays. We definitely have the greatest grandkids ever!! It was also great to get back home to Honduras and spend the New Year with our friends here. It has been GREAT to see the life here in Honduras truly getting back to “normal” after the all the political turmoil that was part of daily life for seven months. The country is literally “coming back to life”!

January saw the return of our “water guys,” a group from Mitchell Indiana, that installed two water purification systems for two children’s homes back in October. We are happy to report that the systems are working great at both facilities and they are functioning with clean water. While checking on the water systems was on the agenda, this trip was really about building homes and they accomplished that to the tune of an impressive 5 houses in 5 days. They built in four different communities and each was dedicated in honor of those who donated the finances for that home. It was an honor to work with them as they blessed the lives of five families.

Family visiting is always a blessing and we had a great visit with Lori’s sister, Cheryl, her husband Don, our niece Carly and her husband Kyle. They have grown connected to the work here and are a big part of what we are able to accomplish. During their stay they worked to help build the homes and they were also able to reconnect with the people they have grown to love.

January was inauguration month here in Honduras and we had the honor of participating in many of the functions that made up the Honduran inauguration. One of the highlights was when Lori and I had the privilege to visit the presidential house and meet with President Michelletti. The feeling we both walked away with was “this is a man of great character and conviction.” He was just the man Honduras needed at this place and time. It was an opportunity for us to share with him our thanks for his strength during this time of international pressure.

We attended the inauguration of the Mayor of Tegucigalpa, Ricardo Alvarez and the Presidential Inauguration of Pepe Lobo. Receiving all of these invitations was an honor and we were proud to participate alongside Honduran citizens.

January is also the beginning of the school year here. We have been overwhelmed with the need for school supplies for children on the mountains. The need has always been big but this year it has been even more demanding. The public schools have received no help from the government for 3 years and the burden is on the students to purchase many of the materials for the classrooms. As you can imagine this pushes even more children out of school. We have been providing everything from shoes and uniforms to academic books to paper and pens and so on. For families who live on $2.00 a day you can understand how $100 per child can make school impossible and we all know what the future is for children with no education.

A vision The Honduras Project has is to have a fully stocked bodega so each January we will not have to turn children away who want to attend school. Another part of that vision is to use the Mi Esperanza maquila to make uniforms. We are firm believers that education is a key ingredient in breaking the cycle of poverty. If you would be interested in helping this vision become a reality, contact us to see how you can help!

Grace & peace... MARK

FROM LORI...... Christmas in January!
One of the highlights of the year for me is our Christmas in January. It started many years ago with just a hand full of kids and Mark and I would bring gifts when we would make our annual January trip to Honduras. As people learned that we did this we started hearing “I want a child” and so, many friends and family from the USA have joined in. Now we have the PLEASURE to deliver christmas to 28 children. We already have 3 more names for next year! Now how are we going to get it all here?? hmmmmm, that is a great question!

Since we have been doing this for years, the kids know when I arrive in January with my big duffle bags that it is CHRISTMAS!! There is jumping and laughing and clapping!!! At one house, all the girls came out to greet me and then ran for the house and were all sitting on the end of the bed with their hands folded waiting to hear their name called!! Can I tell you know cute this was!!! There is really no way to adequately share with you the joy and excitement that I am BLESSED to experience. Each child receives a target size bag (well for those givers who obey the rules!) of goodies. Toys, clothes, shoes etc.. I am actually amazed at what one can squeeze into a target bag! I wish you could see the excitement over a new doll or even new undies! I am thankful for all the people that participate in this project and the effort and love they put into their child from Honduras. It is clear to me that much thought and love goes into each bag! This year my sister Cheryl, and niece Carly and husband Kyle where here to help on delivery day and I was so happy for them to see “Christmas morning” in Honduras!! Kyle was the official box opener, getting Barbies out of boxes is not an easy job!

The children are always beyond happy, but I think it is safe to say that my heart is blessed far more. I am always brought to tears as I watch the smiles and joy that oozes from the kids knowing that for this day it is all about them!

Peace, LORI

The need here is greater than ever. Please join us in our efforts to serve . Visit our website..... www.thehondurasproject.org. to ﬁnd out how you can be a part of what God is doing through The Honduras Project and itʼs partners in ministry. Contact us if you have any questions.

Mark Connell: mark@thehondurasproject.org
*Cell: 011-504-9858-5397
**Home: 205-533-8725

Lori Connell: lori@thewomenofmyhope.org
*Cell: 011-504-9858-6208
**Home: 205-533-8725

* Text and we will call you back (We can call for quite cheaper than you can!)
** Evenings. Our vonage phone is an Alabama number! If you have free long distance it won’t cost you a thing!

Send donations to:
The Honduras Project/Mi Esperanza
PO Box 1575
Mandeville, LA 70470

Business as usual......

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 17:59:54 -0600

I am sure that many of you have been keeping a casual (maybe more than casual) eye on the situation here in Honduras and the ongoing political conflict. It has been a very new and challenging experience and it is not over by a long shot. The “resistance” continues their call for the reinstatement of “Mel” Zelaya as president and, maybe more emphatically, the call for a Constituent Assembly and the writing of a new Honduran constitution. The originally scheduled elections are still set for this coming November and most are beginning to feel that those elections will be the way out of the crisis. What is becoming obvious is that there is a fairly significant amount of people that will continue the pursuit of the possibility of that constitutional rewrite. Living in the midst of what is certainly a very historic time in Honduran and Central American history has been a very eye-opening experience.

In spite of all the difficulties created by the uncertainty of political turmoil, we continue to work among the people. The situation for the poor has continued to deteriorate. It seems that since the plane crash in Tegucigalpa’s airport in May 2008, the living conditions in and around Tegucigalpa (especially among the poor) gets worse and worse. The current state of a declining economy, high unemployment, and now, the sanctions brought on by the political situation, have only added to the problems that the majority of Hondurans face. I can honestly say that I have never seen it worse in the 11 years I have been involved in the work.

Throughout the month we continued to disperse the supplies we have in our warehouse. We are expecting a few containers this next month and we are making every effort to make room. We have had a lot of people come for clothing, shoes, school supplies, toys, and soup. Lots of soup! It has been a great few weeks watching it go and seeing the people getting the things their families need.

We have also been able to help two families establish what we hope are long term solutions to their needs by giving them what they need to open their own businesses. One is in El Mercado, the market downtown, and the other was a simple fruit stand next to their house. We hope that these will be the catalysts to propel both of these families to some financial security and independence. We hope to do this more in the future as this type of micro-credit financing has proven to be the leading way to help people escape the chains of poverty. Thanks to all of you who helped make these possible.

Grace & peace... MARK

FROM LORI...... Life has been a little crazy. I had to make an unexpected return to the USA. My mother in-law had knee replacement surgery and I was needed to go to Maine and help her with her transition home. I was gone for 2 weeks but I was happy to give Ruth my time and to have the blessing of seeing my sisters, my dad and extended family.

Things with Mi Esperanza are good, not void of the normal struggles, but we are good, Gracias a Dios! We just had a Mi Esperanza Salon class graduate and during this past month they finished all of their course requirements by spending 4 weeks in internships in salons in and around Tegucigalpa, and then performing their social service day at a local orphanage, Casitas Kennedy. Our service day is what I would like to share with you this month.

The Mi Esperanza Salon class chose this location because they wanted to use their service day on teenage girls. Casitas is the government "holding house" for children removed from homes or picked up off the streets. Some return home, some get placed in private facilities and some stay right there. Casitas has a teen girl house and these are the girls we arranged to spend the day with.

This particular part of the orphanage has more of a prison feel to it. The girls are locked up all day except during meals and exercise time. It is very institutional and cold. Yesterday the women from the salon, Gina, and I loaded up the land cruiser with supplies and headed out for a day we were all very excited about. The girls were so excited for us to arrive and all very eager to have haircuts and manicures. The ladies from the salon class were wonderful and I was so proud of them! They worked together very well to do whatever was needed at the moment to serve as many girls as we could. It was overwhelming to see the faces of the girls when they were finished and knowing they felt beautiful and special. I found myself just watching the ME women talking to the girls and offering encouragement and love to their hard lives. I was so proud of the way the ME women treated the girls with such love and tenderness.

Gina and I spent the day loving on the girls and just listening to their stories and lending an ear and advice when appropriate. As Gina and I observed, we dreamed and brainstormed ways we could grow ME's involvement with these girls and make permanent our social service in this place with the Teen House at Casitas. We are excited about the future of this ministry.

Graduation for all of these ladies took place this past Tuesday. It was great to see them celebrate their accomplishments and feel ready to put their newfound skills to work. Thank you for your continued prayers and support, giving me the opportunity to be here and do the work of Mi Esperanza. I thank you and the women of Mi Esperanza thank you!

Peace, LORI

The need here is greater than ever. Please join us in our efforts to serve . Visit our website..... www.thehondurasproject.org. to ﬁnd out how you can be a part of what God is doing through The Honduras Project and itʼs partners in ministry. Contact us if you have any questions.

Mark Connell: mark@thehondurasproject.org
*Cell: 011-504-9858-5397
**Home: 205-533-8725

Lori Connell: lori@thewomenofmyhope.org
*Cell: 011-504-9858-6208
**Home: 205-533-8725

* Text and we will call you back (We can call for quite cheaper than you can!)
** Evenings. Our vonage phone is an Alabama number! If you have free long distance it won’t cost you a thing!

Send donations to:
The Honduras Project/Mi Esperanza
PO Box 1575
Mandeville, LA 70470

On and on and on it goes....

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 23:28:34 -0600

On and on and on it goes...

Well, we have been home here in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for almost three full weeks and the situation is the same as when we left back in July. Deposed president Manuel “Mel” Zelaya is still exiled from the country, there are daily demonstrations in the streets of Tegucigalpa calling for his return, the defacto government continues to try and convince everyone they did the right thing, and the poor continue to be the ones who suffer the most. The political crisis has done nothing but make the plight of the people here worse. Unemployment is skyrocketing, the already horrible economic crunch is continuing to decline, the public schools haven’t had more than a class or two a week since the end of June, crime continues to rise, and the end is nowhere in sight. The need for what we do, provide relief to those living in extreme poverty, is greater than ever.

Our first week back we unloaded a container with 128 fifty-five gallon barrels full of dried soup that we are now able to distribute to those who need it. Each barrel contains about 45 ziploc baggies individually packed with enough dried soup to make around 10 gallons. At a time when people are really struggling to provide a decent meal for their families, these have been an amazing blessing. We have already delivered many to the communities of Mololoa and Piliguin, and we also gave some to those in the Mi Esperanza computer and sewing classes and to the ladies who work in the Mi Esperanza maquila.

We also delivered over 200 school desks and chairs to four different places. The first was a small group of christians that have been meeting together right at our warehouse. They needed about 25 chairs, so that was easy. They also were aware of a small school out in the country that was in need of about 50 desks so they brought a truck to the warehouse and we loaded it up. We also were made aware of a need for desks at a children’s home, named Didasko and we sent them about 65. The final location was the school we built a few years ago out in Mirador de Oriente. We also sent them 4 blackboards and enough chalk to last for a good long time.

Of course there is always the immediate happening. A young man we have come to love, Cesar, has a young baby boy that has been battling asthma. They have had to bring him to Hospital Escuela two times a day for the past week and a half. Cesar and his girl, Fabiola, are a young couple and we have been assisting them with some of the costs. Cesar, 18, works hard as a construction laborer, but work has been limited to just a few days a week. He makes about 200 lempiras (about $11) a day when he has work, so paying for asthma treatments (as well as everything else they need to live) has been difficult. We are fortunate that we know some others who have been willing to help with this need.

Today we had an opportunity to build a home for an elderly couple. We were made aware of them through our friends, Dr. Mario Zelaya and Tegucigalpa’s mayor, Ricardo Alvarez. There was a small crew that is here visiting our friends, Marc & Terri Tindall to help provide the labor along with Milton & Luis Estrada and some of “my boys”, Cesar, Yonni, and Melvin. The house took us about four and a half hours and has (we think) the first TORCH house with a wheelchair ramp!

Grace & peace... MARK

FROM LORI......

It is good to be back among the staff and women of Mi Esperanza. Since returning we have been troubleshooting the loss of summer sales do to so many mission trips having to cancel or be postponed. Although this has been a huge hurdle to jump, Mi Esperanza is seeing God's provision for the program. We are really honored to announce Mi Esperanza received our 1st grant from The Body Shop Foundation. This is perfect timing and is going to help greatly with meeting our operating expenses. The grant is for teacher salaries. We are incredibly thankful for receiving this grant and especially at this time.

We are also in the process of launching a new updated website which I have been working to accomplish with our webmaster. We are excited about the facelift the site is undergoing and are looking forward to it's unveiling in the weeks to come. With many new improvements to effectively share the story of our women, we are also looking to a bigger and more comprehensive on-line store with the hope that it will continue to be an effective fundraising avenue as we develop the Mi Esperanza brand.

Our classes have been hit hard by the political crisis as it is difficult and often unsafe for our women to travel to our classrooms. However, classes are open and we deal with each day as it comes. With our 2009 spring/summer salon class, our new instructor, Denia, introduced an internship program for all our students. During the last 4 weeks of class, all of our students are working in salons around the city. They will continue to learn in a salon setting for 4 weeks after that and then graduation! We feel strongly that this is a valuable addition to our salon class. I was able to visit one of the sites last week where two of our students are interning. It was great to see our women putting into practice the skills they have been learning. I will continue to visit all the sites in the next month.

We just began a new sewing class in our satellite location of La Rosa. We have 25 women enrolled in 2 different levels of study. This location continues to be a highly attended class. We will be excited to follow the progress of these new students. A goal that continues for this year is to open a 2nd sewing class location. We have the location determined and are now searching for the funding to make it a reality. This new class will provide an opportunity to serve more women and another area of the city. Until next month!

Peace, Lori

The need here is greater than ever. Please join us in our efforts to serve . Visit our website..... www.thehondurasproject.org. to ﬁnd out how you can be a part of what God is doing through The Honduras Project and itʼs partners in ministry. Contact us if you have any questions.

Mark Connell: mark@thehondurasproject.org
*Cell: 011-504-9858-5397
**Home: 205-533-8725

Lori Connell: lori@thewomenofmyhope.org
*Cell: 011-504-9858-6208
**Home: 205-533-8725

* Text and we will call you back (We can call for quite cheaper than you can!)
** Evenings. Our vonage phone is an Alabama number! If you have free long distance it won’t cost you a thing!

Send donations to:
The Honduras Project/Mi Esperanza
PO Box 1575
Mandeville, LA 70470