The El Hogar Marimba Band travels to Ohio to perform at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church

This past June, El Hogar did something never before done in the history of the program. With funds raised by several churches in Ohio, we brought seven El Hogar boys, along with Lazaro Juarez (Director of the Technical Institute), Claudia de Castro (Director of the elementary
school El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza) and Heyser
Valenzuela (math and music teacher at El Hogar) to the US to perform marimba music at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church and at several churches in the Cincinnati and Columbus areas.

The people who heard the lively, upbeat music of these talented boys were enchanted. The boys had an educational experience of a lifetime. They were wonderful ambassadors of El Hogar, and they were so thankful to see and understand better the world of their sponsors and supporters. They saw many people who had come to El Hogar over the years. Here are some of their
comments about their experience in the US:

" When we received news that the marimba band might play in the United States, nobody believed it, and we thought that it was just an illusion of the Director [Claudia] and our music teacher."

" We left Honduras on June 8, and in the airport we were somewhat nervous, as none of us had ever been in a plane before. As we boarded the plane we felt content and emotional, giving thanks to our beloved God for this. The following days were completely marvelous, like none I had ever had before."

" We arrived in Cincinnati very late, and I was thinking that at the airport we would see only Don Paul and those who were giving us rides. But to our surprise there
was a mountain of people [about 100] from the different churches and many who we already knew who had come to El Hogar. It was a moment that was very
beautiful to see these people receive us like that!"

" We slept in a beautiful bedroom, which seemed to me to be a complete house by itself."

" This trip helped me a lot to see the humility of the people who are with us. They come here [to El Hogar] with no interest other than to give of their love in service. They come to work here without needing to. They already have more than we do, and live better than we do, and come to do work for us. I understand how much humility they have and that they serve from the heart without expecting anything in return."

" I want to give thanks to each and everyone who worked together to make this trip possible. And to those people who permitted us to stay with them in their houses, and who shared with us their love and their company. I desire all the best for them, and may God bless them today, tomorrow, and forever."

- Charlie Benitez and Carlos Cru
Members of the El Hogar Marimba Band


Click here to order the El Hogar Marimba CD - Sounds of Love and Hope .

Read more about the making of the EL Hogar Marimba CD here.