A Message from Honduras To Publications / Articles - A Message from Honduras

Posted 4/15/19

A Message from Honduras

My name is Aly Eytzen. I was homeschooled for over 10 years. I enjoyed and participated in many activities that I found out about through Nebraska Homeschool-HEN and other homeschool contacts. Some activities I participated in were: Toastmasters, Knights Speech & Debate, Homeschool Teen Serve, Girl Scouts, volunteering with Special Olympics, art classes, drama, choir, and more! I am thankful to my parents for choosing to homeschool me and for the opportunities that being homeschooled afforded me.

When I was 16, I came to Honduras on a short mission trip to visit a cousin and see what kind of ministry opportunities there were in Honduras. When I came down, I visited an orphanage and was surprised to see the malnourished children look so bloated (because of parasites) and the sad state they were in, even in the orphanage. The children were very much neglected and there were a lot of children packed into a small space.

I was surprised to see children as young as 8 and 9 who were essentially homeless. We met a boy named Dennis and his sister Rubenia or “Ruby” for short. These children were beautiful and very friendly. Ruby had been badly burned and had been fortunate to survive. As a result of the fire, Ruby was missing half of a leg and half of a hand, yet she was a very joyful girl.

Seeing all that needed to be done here made me want to move to Honduras. I talked to my parents who prayed with me about this opportunity, and after my sister and I graduated high school in 2010, we sold our home and belongings and moved to Honduras.  Initially,  we focused on tutoring, Wednesday night kid programs, and that sort of thing; our ministry evolved and is now a home for hard to place children, some of who remind me of Dennis and Rubenia. Three children from the orphanage we visited are now part of our family and we have been able to be involved in the lives of several others.

Being homeschooled gave me the opportunity to try a wide variety of things and those experiences helped prepare me for becoming a missionary. Life as a missionary is always an adventure and requires the ability to improvise and use a lot of creativity. I don’t think that a traditional education would have given me the diversity that is required daily here.

Honduras is a beautiful place with colorful lush greenery, caves, waterfalls, and more. It is also a very poor country with a lot of need. Whether you hope to be a missionary some day or would just like to get out and see the world, I would encourage you to consider coming down for a visit.

Groups that come down can help with medical brigades (offering free medical care to people), construction or building projects, working with children, visiting artisanal pottery workshops, seeing the beauty that Honduras has to offer and more. If this sounds like something you might be interested in or you want to learn more about our ministry you can email me at [email protected] and check out our website www.newhopeforhonduras.org