Newsletter - June, 2017
| June, 2017 Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matt. 25:40 Published by the Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210. (717) 349-7033 |
In February of this year, a group of brothers went down to Honduras to build a house for a needy family. A group of young sisters also went down to help organize the meals and to work on their own special project. That project was to paint the interior of a school in Siguatepeque for special needs children. These precious children are dealing with challenges like Downs syndrome, autism, and similar problems.
The public school system in a town like Siguatepeque does not have the funds to sponsor a school for special needs children. So this school was actually built by the Lions Club. I had always pictured the Lions Club as mainly a U.S. civic club, but they carry on quite a number of significant charitable projects in Honduras (and I’m sure in other countries). The school is an enormous blessing, for if these children went to the public schools, they would be bullied and laughed at by the other students.
The team of sisters tackling this project were Jolyn Stelfox, Kara Wadel, Chantel Brechbill, and Heather Funk. Over the course of a week, they scraped down and painted five school rooms, the teachers’ office, and three bathrooms. In all, it took about 14 gallons of paint. The sisters worked long hours, determined to get the whole school interior painted before they had to return to the States. They were barely able to get the last room painted before the week was over. The director of the school, along with the teachers, were incredibly happy, and they tearfully expressed their gratitude when the sisters finished their work.
However, the sisters did more than just paint. They also wanted to interact with the children as much as possible while they were at the school. On one of the days, they passed out bubble blowers to the children. Despite the language barrier, the children’s excited faces communicated everything the sisters needed to know! As the sisters got to know the students better, the children would peek in at them working and make remarks about the painting. One darling Downs syndrome boy would come running each day when he saw the sisters sit down for lunch and would faithfully ask for a sandwich and chips. By the end of the week, many of the children would run up to the sisters each morning and give them hugs.
In addition to the four sisters who went down to paint, our daughter, Heather Bercot, went down to help the teachers and parents with speech therapy. Heather is a licensed speech pathologist here in the U.S., and she was able to give a lot of help to the teachers and parents, speaking through an interpreter.
Would you care to get involved with these precious children? Because the Lions Club is subsidizing most of the costs, each student must pay only $20 a month tuition. So your donation of $20 will enable a child to attend the school for a month. Since the school is in session for 10 months each year, a $200 donation will enable a special needs child to attend the school for an entire year. David Bercot
The Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210 • (717) 349-7033
Click on the following link if you would care to make a donation to the work in Honduras: Donations
|
|