Oh, this face.  This little girl was absolutely gorgeous.  To be quite honest, she reminded me of my niece, Averi – and she was such a sweetheart.

Along with all of the other amazing things we experienced on our trip to Honduras, my favorite part, of course, was hanging out with little kids.  I could do it ALL. DAY. LONG.

They put together the most adorable programs for us of singing and dancing, and at one project we even got to see some rap…in Spanish.  It was AWESOME.  The children were so wonderful and just wanted to be around us, the foreigners from the U.S.  Even with the language barrier, they still try really hard to make you understand what they are saying and it’s always a good laugh for everyone when those of us from the States completely butcher their language.  Kids have so much grace – which is incredible to see and be the recipient of.

I chased this guy around for a good 5 minutes (in a non-creepy way of course) trying to get a photo.  He refused…and then I’m not sure what happened but he relented, sat down, and smiled.  One of our translators came by and was shocked that he let me take a photo because she said he had been avoiding everyone else’s cameras all morning.  Heart-breaker, I tell ya.

I’ve been to orphanages in Venezuela and Honduras in the past and something that really impacted me on this trip was the hope these kids have.  Through the help of their local churches and organizations like Compassion – even though they are living in poverty – they have hopes and dreams for their lives; and the even cooler part is that they actually have a chance to accomplish those things.  They are some of the happiest kids I’ve ever met.

Compassion not only supports them as children, but when they go to college and beyond – they teach them to be leaders in their communities and follow after the things the Lord has placed in their hearts.  We met a couple of college-age boys and the things they shared with us about what they want to do with their lives is incredible.  Compassion and their local church are helping them realize these dreams – what an amazing thing.

Speaking of heart-breakers…

Sweet girl again.

Oh goodness, if this isn’t the cutest thing.

It was such an absolute JOY to spend time with these little ones, even if they were trying to get me to call people “mono” – which, thanks to freshman Spanish, I knew meant “monkey”…at least it wasn’t something worse.

Oh Honduras, how I love thee.