International Volunteer Day

Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but give yourself to humble tasks; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.   

 Romans 12:13-18

   
The children of Amigos de Jesus are blessed by the presence of volunteers who serve as teachers, mentors, surrogate parents, leaders, friends and role models.  We currently have 17 young men and women who serve Amigos de Jesus on a full-time basis as volunteers through several different programs.

Six volunteers make up the Amigos de Jesus volunteer community:  Ali, Emilia, Emma, Joanna, Laura, Pat; Meg is the volunteer coordinator; Jenn and Dan are serving as a couple; Ben, Elena, Jose and Karenna teach at our school through our partner organization BECA; Christopher, Geidy, Graciela and Viviana teach at our school through a volunteer program for Honduran teachers.  All 17 of these amazing human beings give of their time and energy to serve our children and allow us to offer countless opportunities to your boys and girls that we would not be able to offer without people who dedicate themselves to Amigos de Jesus while expecting nothing in return. 

December 5 is International Volunteer Day and the entire Amigos family gave a few hours to celebrate our volunteers who have given countless hours to our family.  We started with a prayer service where our children had the chance to understand how Jesus calls us to serve and how the volunteers fulfill the gospel through their work with our children.  Some of the things are children mentioned about the volunteers:

“They share works of love for us children who need it.”

“They are always helping us with any problems any of us have.”

“It is clear that they have Christ in their hearts and they live this by helping those who need it.”

“We can follow their example and the example of Jesus by praying and sharing what we have received- not just material things, but also the love and peace of God we’ve been given.”

“They live their values and share them with others and teach us to be good people in the future.”

“They are part of our family and treat us like they are our mothers and fathers.”

“They inspire us to look for ways to serve others in our community.”

“Everything they do is done with enthusiasm and a smile, even when it is difficult.”

After the reflection with the children, the volunteers were invited to sit at a special table and were served a dinner prepared in their honor- Pizza!- which was served to them by the children and other members of our family.  The dining room was decorated with their names and photos and reflections on why they were important. They were each given cards that the children and teenagers made for them along with a t-shirt. And as with many days of celebration, the night ended with a bit of dancing and our traditional prayer circle.

  

  

!MUCHAS GRACIAS! to all of the amazing volunteers who serve the children of Amigos de Jesus.