The mission of El Hogar Ministries, Inc. is to assist in the improvement of social and educational conditions in Honduras, principally by supporting El Hogar Projects. El Hogar Ministries, Inc. raises funds and maintains an office for coordination and communication with North American sponsors, contributors and outreach groups which form a sacred community of service and are the backbone of financial support for the 200 children at the three schools and homes of El Hogar Projects.

The Episcopal Relief and Development office of the Episcopal Church USA provides emergency assistance in times of disaster, rebuilds devastated communities, and offers aid to developing countries around the world. ERD has just granted El Hogar significant support to launch a new community development initiative through El Hogar’s Agricultural School and Farm. This multi-year grant from ERD is a partnership that not only recognizes the quality of El Hogar’s Agricultural School, but demonstrates the way both El Hogar and ERD are directly supporting the UN Millennium Development Goal to eliminate extreme poverty by 2015.

St. Andrew's has included El Hogar in its budgeted support for 2009, and we are planning to organize a work team in 2010.  It is an opportunity to be part of a small, focused group of people who share an interest in learning and in serving others. It is an opportunity to see a part of the world that is vastly different from our own. It is an opportunity to get a sense of how the vast majority of humankind lives. It is an opportunity to have your mind, your eyes and your heart opened. It is an opportunity to give back a small bit of the blessings we have been given. It is an opportunity to live with, and to get to know, young children whose lives are being transformed and to experience an inkling of their sorrows and their joys. It is an opportunity to grow spiritually and to see the hand of God at work in the world. A work team comes to do work, yes. But more importantly, a work team comes to be present to these boys and teachers, to learn from them, and to build a relationship with them and with the work El Hogar is doing. For this reason, work teams spend significant time participating in activities that are not all work.

For more information about El Hogar and its ministries, please go to www.elhogar.org.