Transformation Tuesdays Blog
By Karla Ponce, FLM Director of Holistic Care
Celebrating 30 years of Family Life Missions is celebrating God's faithfulness, hope, and provision in the lives of the children and families served in all three of our programs, and includes our Por Los Niños Christian Bilingual School. Our school began 22 years ago to provide a holistic, quality, inclusive education with values and excellence that continues today.
It was 22 years ago that Honduras began to go through one of the biggest crises in the public education sector with thousands of children not receiving the education they deserved. They did not receive classes for many days due to protests by teachers, among other factors. This has left marks still today. During this crisis, the idea of creating our PLN school was born, initially for 1st-6th grade and for the children living in our residential homes. The vision expanded 15 years ago to reach the children of the Catacamas community. Next, the bilingual system was added and then the pre-preschool level. Each year another grade was added with our current school going through eighth grade.
Family Life Missions firmly believes in an education with values and excellence, an education where children are the authors of their own learning, making decisions based on Christian and moral values. Transforming the way of thinking starts with education and our Por Los Niños school focuses on that.
by José Chinchilla, FLM National Director
Thirty years ago, the mission of Family Life Missions was to preserve the families of Catacamas. One of the ideas was to build a Children´s Home to provide a family for many children. For many years, this is what FLM did without moving forward with other initiatives to preserve families. But God is always acting in favor of the most vulnerable. Five years ago, Family Life missions began a program called "Transforming Lives" with the same idea that they had 30 years ago–to preserve the family!
Today, we have three strategies In “Transforming Lives” strategies: Holistic Care, Building Dreams, and Family Entrepreneurship. We firmly believe that these three areas are critical in preserving families. One program, in particular, has blessed many families. Over the past five years, we have helped build three houses and improved the conditions of one home. This summer we will build another house and improve another. These homes have all been done to reintegrate children, under our care, into their biological families. By improving the living conditions of the families, we are preserving the families of Olancho.
by Lisa Steele, FLM Executive Director
Thirty years ago, LaRue Hilton had the vision to help the vulnerable children of Catacamas, Honduras. She and her husband, Richard, visited Honduras and decided to pursue an adoption. They saw a great need but could not adopt every vulnerable child. Instead, they purchased a house in this small, growing town surrounded by mountains and need and began caring for orphaned, vulnerable, and abandoned children. They soon realized they needed more space, so they found four acres of land on the outskirts of Catacamas and began building residential homes for children. So many (including many of you reading this) answered the call to help build the Por Los Niños village.
Over the years, our village has changed to meet the community's needs. We have fewer children living on our campus. Many have graduated or have been reintegrated into their biological family. We have found that there are fewer "orphans," but the needs of vulnerable children and families are still great. Families need resources and tools to stay together. In the past, parents would leave their children at Por Los Niños because they could not afford to feed them. Or perhaps it was a single-parent household. Or the child was simply abandoned, but few were true orphans.
by Lisa Steele, FLM Executive Director
The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn…
These words are from my favorite Christmas song, “O Holy Night”. I especially love the phrase, “the thrill of hope.”
What would we do without hope?
The word hope is defined as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” In Spanish, hope is “esperanza”, which means “a feeling of expectation, anticipation, of promise.” In both of these definitions we see that hope is much bigger than four letters. It brings an expectation—a desire, of things to come.
We usually talk about hope when we have a need, like better health, a better job, safety for loved ones, faithful children. So where is the “thrill” of hope in all of these things?
The thrill of hope is that feeling—that desire, promise, anticipation—that we will receive what we need. And when we do our burdens are lifted. We feel the thrill. And in this weary world, don’t we all need a thrill of hope?
So many children and families in Honduras are yearning for a new and glorious morn. They may not have their expectations or desires met here on this earth, but we know that we will all receive them when we receive the hope of a life with Jesus forever. Until that time, God calls us to care for one another as we remember that hope.
Eternal hope found only in Jesus Christ is different from the hope we often speak for earthly things. While there is nothing wrong in hoping for a job, a house, or better health, those things often have an element of doubt when spoken. But when we speak of eternal hope we add a deeper layer to the meaning of hope—anticipation and expectation.
