A letter from Cheryl Kyle -

Wishing you, the directors and all the wonderful El Hogar supporters a heart warming dedication.  The work you have all done to make this dream become a reality is a blessing to the boys at ITSM.

As I get ready to depart for Tanzania, East Africa in a couple of days, my thoughts go back to those years Pete and I spent at El Hogar Projects.  The circle of life for us as missionaries started in Africa took us to Honduras and now continues in Africa.  Pete and I came to El Hogar through a supporter of El Hogar and our rector at Christ Church Greenwich, CT, the Rev. Jack Bishop. Thanks to Jocie and John Rhode who encouraged us to take the job as co-directors and supported our efforts during our three year tenure we were able to keep the momentum going. 
Many of the visions I remember are snapshots of life at El Hogar, many you may have witnessed but some were special to us.  The little boys in line, chapel, special events and outings, the dedication of Lazaro and Claudia, Letti's refried beans at the Farm, working with Pedro in the kitchen at the Farm, teaching the boys at the Farm English as a Second Language and art, Pete working late at night at ITSM on the computer with the students, Claudia's basketball tournament dedicated to Pete, the many volunteers especially Amanda Day and Barby and Chuck Goldshmid who worked tirelessly for El Hogar, Claudia and I climbing hills to visit the home of a student, and the daily joy of seeing God's blessing take fruit in the young lives of the boys of El Hogar.

The two visions that stand out in my mind (I think Pete would agree with me) are:
The vision of a weekend retreat with Connie and Val, Jocie and John, Claudia, Lazaro and Guillermo on a lovely island, where we set the tone for the future of El Hogar by writing the Mission Statement.  This wasn't an easy task, it took prayer, discussion and the wisdom to know that providing a loving home and education in a Christian environment for abandoned, orphaned and hopelessly poor children, and enabling them to fulfill their ultimate potential as productive and caring citizens of Honduras was God's plan not ours.

A vision of a grown and very handsome young man playing soccer in the front courtyard with the little boys at El Hogar.  He was quite a good soccer player and seemed at home.  Pete and I watched as he engaged the boys, showed them some plays and shared some laughs.  As we approached him to introduce ourselves he shook our hands and said thank you.  Thank you for giving me a home, thank you for letting me fulfill my potential and thank God for his many blessing.  He became our first graduate who had returned to El Hogar to sponsor a boy.

As I write this tears come to my eyes knowing all of us have made a difference at El Hogar.  We have all come full circle.  Thanks be to God.

Yours in Christ,
Cheryl Kyle

Click here to view a slide show of the Dedication

Click here to view a slide show of our new Technical Institute

Read a letter from Rev. Kunz about the Dedication

Read Liz Kinchen's description of the Dedication

Listen to speeches given during a dinner celebration