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Education majors volunteer in Honduras over break FOR RELEASE April 18, 2008
HUNTINGTON, IN—Four Huntington University seniors partnered with five Huntington North High School/College Park Church students to travel to La Ceiba, Honduras, the week of April 1. The group partnered with Maira and Francisco Raudales who helped to organize the group’s lodging, meals, translators and work projects during their stay. The Raudales are the parents of Huntington University senior Helen Raudales. The group participated in some light renovation work and painting in a church that was built by a previous group serving in La Ceiba from College Park Church. The team assisted with English classes at a private school in the area and shared their faith in a chapel service where they were the featured speakers. They also visited local orphanages and shared the love of Christ through Vacation Bible Schools that they held in four different villages.
During this time, the team made salvation bracelets with the children and taught them short, but important lessons about Christ and the love He has for them. They also played games and built relationships. Jennifer Weber, a senior elementary and special education major from Edgerton, Ohio, recalled some of the time they spent at Niños de la Luz (Children of the Light), the orphanage that they visited. “This was my favorite place. The boys were very respectful and just wanted to spend time with us. Several of us got friendship bracelets from them, and they made a mural for us saying, ‘Jesus, I love U.S.’ with our flag and a Honduran flag next to it. The kids were very relational, and I spent at least an hour conversing with a little boy in mostly Spanish... just learning everything about each other’s lives. I loved it here... such a family unit.”
Weber also recalled another unique aspect of the trip in which the team visited a place called “Wall Street.” Weber recalled that the irony of this particular “Wall Street” compared to the one in the U.S. In Honduras, “Wall Street” is not the place where money flows and multi-million dollar deals are bought, sold and traded. Instead, it is the location of the poorest of the poor. Weber described it as an alley lined with dilapidated housing. “We spent some time here passing out beans and rice to each household. We fed the whole village with $100 of rice of beans...enough food for one week,” Weber said. “This was an incredibly eye opening experience.”
The four Huntington University members who traveled to La Ceiba, Honduras are Katie Jo Brown, Kim Crist, Jennifer Weber, and Bethany Albert. All four are senior education majors and friends of Helen Raudales and were excited to serve in her town during the trip. They were led by Susie Burson, assistant professor of education. College Park Church has a longstanding relationship with the Raudales family and will send another team to La Ceiba this summer to continue building and serving in the community. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S.News & World Report ranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest. Founded in 1897 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Huntington University is located on a contemporary, lakeside campus in northeast Indiana. The University is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). # # #
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