The Beginning

There is no possible way to tell you all of the things that I have learned and experienced, just from this one day in Houston, but in a few minutes time I will do my best to give you a small overview of the incredible people I have met and the exciting things I have learned.

First off, I must say, I'm not sure if I have ever been in the presence of such an amazing group of people. Each person is so good, so involved and has such vision to truly make this world a better place. There is a wide range of ages, backgrounds and even occupations on this trip. I am the youngest on the trip, however there are several others not too much older than me. There are many who have children my age and some who even have grandchildren. There are librarians, principals, high school English teachers, reading teachers, science teachers, a church drama leader and some classroom teachers like myself.

I must go ahead and say that the group is going to be a fun one! We started our day off by writing down questions that were posted on the wall, and our leaders, Sara, Sara, Sara and Jen would take them off one at a time throughout the day to answer them. One question brought up was a concern about AIDS in the country and extra precautions we might should take. Well besides just talking about being careful around blood, the conversation took another turn and from then on many jokes led back to that. It is going to be a great group to go with!

Throughout the day today I fell even more in love with Heifer and I cannot wait to do more with them and see the hope that they bring to so many. Heifer truly makes a difference in the lives of people and communities around the world. They do not just go in and drop a cow off. It is so much more about training and the building of the community that goes before and after the animal.

During our week in Honduras we will be visiting different project sites. These are communities where Heifer has been present and the communities are established. We will not really be doing mission work, more we will see the hope that has been brought to these people and the changes in their lives.

I am so excited about this opportunity, for so many reasons. I am getting wonderful ideas for a wide range of teachers from across the country. I will be visiting a new country and a new culture! I will be seeing what a difference Heifer makes in the world. I am learning more about my own country as I visit with my fellow travelers. I am getting to share about how great Alabama really is (they were fascinated by my Piggly Wiggly ties and the lack of southern accent). Mostly, I'm excited to see hope.