January 2025 Mission Trip
- manoshonduras
- Mar 1
- 5 min read
New Year, New Experiences
New Year, New Experiences
This 2025, Manos de Dios celebrates its 25th anniversary and our missionaries kicked off this milestone with our annual mission trip! However, this new year brought us some brand-new experiences, defying any and all expectations. But, as God is faithful to teach us, change is good!
With the advent of her new grandchild, Patricia Perea decided to take a step back from leading this year's trip and Manos veteran Geoff Partain stepped up to the task. From the outset, the ministry knew that this trip would be different, yet God was faithful to equip us for a job well done. The following is a recap of everything we accomplished.
Education
Scholarship Awards and Ceremony
Manos de Dios interviewed and awarded Lixy Moncada a Manos To Go Scholarship. After a short interview at the Manos de Dios church, members of the mission team were able to share the good news: ¡Te sacaste la beca! You got the scholarship!
In cooperation with our Honduran team, our Manos de Dios Texas team hosted a ceremony celebrating our scholarship program and all of our students. Together, we celebrated incoming and current students for their academic achievements as well as honoring our recently graduated alumni. We currently have 49 scholarship students in our Manos program including 26 in grades 7th-12th and 23 in college.
Honor Roll Dinner
As is tradition, we had a special honor-roll dinner for our high-achieving, graduating high school students. We broke bread with the families, celebrating their efforts in ensuring their children’s success.
Club Aventura Book Club
During our visit, we scheduled a time to discuss “El Murmullo De Las Abejas” by Sofia Segovia, the latest book for our literature club, Club Aventura. A lengthy and engaging discussion was had that reflected on the book’s story and themes. We look forward to the next page-turning adventure!
Club Intercambio “Encuentro” with UTSA
In cooperation with our local teachers Profesor Jorge and Profesora Dinora, we were able to collaborate with UTSA to bring high-quality academic ESL lessons to members of our Manos de Dios community. For our visit, Profesor Jorge, Geoff Partain, and Dani Jaime organized a special “final” class for the students, where we played games and awarded certificates of completion.
Outreach
Vision Clinics: Manos de Dios
Vision Clinics are a staple part of our outreach efforts for the people of Honduras and this year was no different. We were able to fit 85 members of the Danli community with reading glasses and refer 50 individuals to a local optometrist for a follow-up visit and a fitting of nearsighted prescription glasses.
Copa Manos
For a third consecutive year, Manos was able to organize and host the famous Copa Manos! This occasion also marked the second time we have hosted the “Copita” (little cup) for the “peques”, the little ones. A special committee of Texas and Honduran team members brought this cherished sporting event back for the community.
For this edition, two teams were formed:
A home team composed of players from Danlí and Texas
An away team composed of players from the Iglesia Episcopal El Buen Pastor, located in the small town of Santa Maria.
In a closely contested match reminiscent of World Cup finals, the home team was able to take the trophy thanks to a pass by our young adult scholarship recipient Carmen Massay that was shot into the back of the net by our highest-ranking honor roll graduating senior, Franklin Sosa.
Proyecto Manos Fit
Manos Fit is back and ready for a second serving of fitness and wellness initiatives!
In collaboration with a local nutritionist, Manos delivered a workshop on nutritional education as well as a cooking demonstration focused on affordable and healthy food resources! All present were then treated to a delicious and healthy meal.
Luisito, a local trainer, is back for a double dose of Zumba! Community members were invited to participate in an intense dance session led by one of our local fitness partners in order to kick off a new year of exercise resolutions.
Construction
Our construction initiatives this year focused on repairing and replacing old fan systems, as well as LED lights at the Manos de Dios church in Danlí. We’d like to give a special shout out to Tom Porter, our all-star handyman in these efforts!
Visit to Ojo de Agua: St. Mark’s Kindergarten Food Security Project
A select group of team members was sent to inspect this ongoing project by St. Mark’s. On this team were Dean Lalich, a Vestry member at St. Mark’s and Jasmine De La Riva, a St. Mark’s Travel award recipient. The team was excited to report that the school looks livelier than ever and that they had a pleasant experience visiting the well-maintained facilities.
Spiritual Growth
Vacation Bible School
School is back in session! Once again, our team members committed to the children's ministry teamed up with our amazing ministry partners in Honduras to bring a fun-filled Epiphany themed session of activities for the kids! Together, we served dozens of children at the Manos de Dios church and broke bread by eating Rosca de Reyes (an Epiphany themed sweet bread) together! The kids got to take home goodie bags full of gifts from the Reyes Magos! (The three Wise Men). We can’t wait to see them again next time!
Music
During our attendance at the Sunday service at Manos de Dios, we were treated to vitalizing and heart-warming music that reflected the music team’s dedication to worship! What started as an effort to teach young parishioners a love of music continues to be alive and well as Vida y Adoracion!
What happens next?
God tells us in his word that “...in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” So, with that in mind we are choosing to trust God with the new challenges and experiences that come our way. The exciting news is that this year marks 25 years for Manos as a ministry and we are confident that if God has brought this far, it is not to leave us behind! We hope that you will join us in the next steps of our journey and boldly invite you to walk hand in hand with us on our new adventures.
See you next time!
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