Here are some maps of Honduras, which is located in Central America.
Rio Viejo is in the northern part of the country, near the city of La Ceiba.
"As I reflect upon the last four years at Wheaton College, I often think of my experience and the people I met in Honduras through my two year involvement with Honduras Project. The project is a student-led initiative that involves raising support for materials and travel expenses while working in conjunction with a Honduran engineer and his wife to install a gravity-fed water system in a rural Honduran village. The project focuses on a holistic approach in active love through service and seeks to build meaningful relationships by living and working alongside Honduran people._____________________________________
Previously I never saw myself as one to have the boldness or capability for a call to overseas work, but in the past few years I have been able to see that all Christians are called to actively manifest Christ’s love in all parts of the world. Growing up in the United States, I personally believe that it is most necessary to cultivate perspectives from other countries and cultures. My study of the Spanish language and involvement with Honduras Project have instilled a desire to continue to learn from the Honduran perspective, and to do so in the specific field of my future career. Given these concerns, while I have been accepted to Podiatry school for next fall, I have deferred for one year in order to immerse myself in an environment similar to my vision for the future and to learn and grow in that way. In so doing, I am eager to submit to Honduran leadership and guidance while learning about health and medical care in a new cultural setting.
My interest in medicine, and passion for health and wellness, have been fueled through my completion of a Kinesiology major, intense study of the human body. My participation as a college athlete in varsity soccer and basketball has been fundamental in my desire to become a healthcare professional. Further, my experience shadowing doctors has confirmed the value and importance of approaching healthcare in a holistic manner...[Through past/present internships and shadowing experience,] I am able to see the impact physicians have on the lives of their patients through genuine care and compassion...Therefore, I desire to impact the way people care for their bodies, both physically and spiritually, by both educating patients and consciously exemplifying a healthy lifestyle.
I am specifically interested in an internship at Helping Hands due to its vision to serve not only the people’s physical needs but also minister to their great hunger for God. Throughout this year, I have been praying and considering the many places in the world where there is a need for volunteers, but my experiences in Honduras and my love for Honduran people remain paramount in my mind. I was first introduced to Healing Hands from Larry Smoak, who I met and got to know through Honduras Project. Larry participated in the trip, leading a debriefing time of discussion and reflection that has spurred a desire to broaden my worldview and serve in Honduras. It is important to me to work with a Christian organization that works positively and consciously in its community. Therefore, I am excited to be involved with an organization that seeks to complement medical service with abiding spiritual concern...and I feel that HHIM will be an environment that is both vocationally relevant and spiritually challenging."
