by Karla Ponce
FLM Director of Holistic Care

En Español

Earlier this month, the verse in James 1:17 came to my mind: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." It reminds me that all the services that FLM provides through its three programs come from God. And one of these gifts is that God has allowed us to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Por Los Niños School. And these 20 years have been a great gift! We also celebrate God's faithfulness by experiencing the impact of the lives of many children and families in the community of Catacamas.

As this new year progresses, we continue to grow with God, and we are convinced that God's vision is in the heart of the Por Los Niños school, of reaching generations that honor God and are competently transformed to serve the community, and to generate a transformation in their family and community. This fills me with great joy to know this!

In this new year, we feel challenged to serve our school children of whom many come from single mothers and children under the care of grandmothers (this is a reality within the context of Catacamas). This represents 24% of the population we serve. Several mothers have expressed their joy that their children are receiving a quality bilingual Christian education, where the educational staff are aware not only of the academic part, but of their integral development.

by José Chinchilla
Honduras National Director

En Español

We start a year with challenges and opportunities. This year, 2021, will be full of challenges and consequences from the past year, but we must also be attentive to what God wants to tell us in the midst of these challenges. Challenges can create opportunities for us if we have a correct attitude as we turn them into opportunities. We must always be aware to not have the attitude of the ten explorers Moses commanded to explore the promised land. Their attitudes focused more on claiming the challenges they will have to face and how impossible they looked at it than on the opportunities God was presenting to them to conquer that land and the fruits they could have. Sadly, they died, victims of a plague. They were not blessed to see the opportunities God had for them. The same is for us today. Please do not perish, symbolically speaking, to have our sight only on the obstacles that this year 2021 can bring us.

by Lisa Steele
FLM Executive Director

En Español

Experts tell us that there are 10 things every child needs to survive and thrive: interaction, loving touches, stable relationships, a safe and healthy environment, self-esteem, quality childcare, communication, play, music, and reading.

As Christians, we know that we must have Christ at the center of all of the above. For many years we have provided these needs for the children under our care at our Por Los Niños residential homes in Catacamas. We have provided loving, Christian caregivers in a nurturing, safe, and caring environment for many vulnerable, abandoned, or orphaned children. Studies have shown that residential home care is far superior to the older standard of “orphanages”. But we also know that placing a child in a home with a loving family is superior to residential home living, if done properly. When possible, we are trying to reintegrate families after months, or even years, of training, home visits with family members, and looking at needed resources.  For those children who are able to be reunited with family, or who are old enough to leave our village, we provide monthly follow-up care with our social worker and psychologist to stay true to our mission to “partner with God and set the lonely in families”.  (Psalm 68:6)

By Lisa Steele
FLM Executive Director

En Español

The world over it has been a year of wearing masks, social distancing, no travel, unemployment for many and sadly for some, loss of health and/or life. Honduras was not an exception. Already the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Honduras has suffered greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic. And then came the hurricanes. Another unprecedented event—two back-to-back massive hurricanes hit Honduras and other Central American countries causing loss of homes, lives, and jobs.

But God.

Through it all, God has been ever-present and faithful. Even with a pandemic that closed many doors this year, so many were opened as well! We placed our fifth foster child with a loving, Christian family this week. DINAF (Honduras Children’s Services) certified Family Life Missions as a qualified organization for the provision of services for vulnerable children in an Institutional Residential setting giving us the maximum score required according to the national standard. To get this certification, we underwent a series of external evaluations and compliance checks with a scale of standards of 160 criteria grouped into six components: 1) Legal Status 2) Human Resources 3) Financial Structure 4) Institutional organization 5) Infrastructure and equipment and 6) Quality services of Child Care and Protection. We are thankful for our dedicated staff in Honduras and USA, our Board of Directors, our donors, Red Viva Honduras, network of volunteers, local churches, the community and support from other nonprofit organization friends and co-workers. Together we are joining forces to provide quality care to vulnerable children in Honduras.