Nueva Esperanza

A view from Barbara's office

This past Monday, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit a ministry called Nueva Esperanza, meaning "New Hope", since I didn't have school. This is a ministry run by the Barahona family who came to my church last summer to share about their lives and needs in Honduras. I'd been wanting to visit Nueva Esperanza ever since I accepted the position here, and I was very excited to see their service first hand.

Another view showing Tegucigalpa in the background

Four of my friends here who work at IST and know the Barahonas from our church here went with me to check out the ministry. We met Barbara part way and followed her to a little neighborhood that sat on a hill in the center of Tegucigalpa. We parked in front of a building that appeared at first to blend in with the others. Upon entering, however, this building went back farther than I thought, and I realized that it was three stories high. As we walked past the gate, we started to hear kids and soon we saw about ten of the playing in the area they use for recess. All of them said "Hola!" to as as we passed with a smile lighting up each one of their faces. We then walked up two flights of stairs to Barbara Barahona's office.

The street where Nueva Esperanza is located

Another view of the neighborhood

The music classroom

Behind Nueva Esperanza

Once we got into the office, we listened to Barbara about the ministry and everything that they do. It was amazing to hear about all of the projects and outreaches they have within one organization that Barbara and Carlos, her husband, started about 18 years ago (I think). They run preschool and kindergarten classes (there isn't kindergarten in Honduran public schools) every weekday morning until about noon. Honduran public schools are only half a day, so at noon they also have classes and programs for students in 1-6 grade. These are special classes that they don't receive at school such as music, art, and sewing. For students in 7-12 grade, they don't have specific classes, but they are allowed to choose to come to Nueva Esperanza a few days a week in order to have a table to do homework on, tutors to help with school work, and have a safe place to be.

In addition to all of this, there are youth classes they provide to the older students to teach them more about God and help them grow in their faith. There is also a Bible study for mothers of the children who attend Nueva Esperanza so they can learn as well. Mothers are also taught skills in special classes they provide such as making hats or jewelry so they can sell their products and have another source of income. There are a number of Honduran employees at Nueva Esperanza as well, so not only is the ministry reaching those children and families who are a part of it, but the teachers are also experiencing and sharing the love of the Father in this place.

Barbara gave all five of us a tour of Nueva Esperanza showing us the different classrooms, the cafeteria, the auditorium, and even the garage. It was just amazing to think that God helped them build such a place in 7 years. Every time we went into a place where there were kids in a class, they would stop what they were doing and come give each of us a hug. These children are so so precious, and I'm so glad that God is blessing them through such a wonderful ministry.

This is the teacher's lounge. When the building was first built, it had seven rooms for seven families, and each family would live in one room. This is one of those original rooms.

A few preschoolers playing at recess

Needless to say, I was absolutely blown away by amount of opportunities that God is working through at Nueva Esperanza. I know that God has given a strong passion to Barbara and Carlos to transform families who have less in Honduras, and He is defiintely working through that. They pour so much into their ministry as they have set up sponsorship programs for kids, send out newsletters throughout the year, and really aim to meet the needs of the families they serve. They depend on God to provide them with what they need, and He has been so faithful as they continue to build this ministry. If you would like to know more about their ministry, feel free to visit their website http://www.hopeinhonduras.org/.

To those from Kingsville First Baptist, if you sponsor a child at Nueva Esperanza and would like to tell me the name of your child, I can see about visiting that child personally at the ministry. Thank you for continually supporting and praying for this ministry as God is choosing to use it to transform many families in Tegucigalpa.

A few of the preschool kids we met :)