Meet Our New Kids

Jose Medardo Martinez Casco

Jose is a very quiet little boy, who at first meeting you would take to be very shy.  In actuality he´s not shy at all and happy to chat about just about anything.  He´s just a quiet kid with a quirky personality.  On our shopping day he spent most of the play time playing soccer or going down the slides by himself.  But every once in a while I would look over and he would be smiling from ear to ear and doing a little dance.  It was ADORABLE.  He´s a precious little guy who already seems to know when it´s time to get down to business and when it´s just time to get down :).

Dayana Iveth Flores Espinoza

I´ve known Dayana since she was a little bitty girl.  Her dad is one of the leaders at Mateo Church of Christ and she´s one of those kids you just don´t forget very easily.  Dayana is extremely shy at first.  She has a difficult time warming up to you, but once she does, she´s a little chatter box.  Because of our long standing friendship, Dyana and I didn´t have any trouble on our shopping day. She got in talking at the beginning of the day and got out talking at the end of it, with little time for a breath in between.  Dyana is the only child of a single dad and a bit of princess, used to getting her own way.  But she´s learned how to be a charmer and is an absolute joy to be around.

Claudy Mayerli Nolasco

Claudy seems to be the most mature of the group.  She is a little bit more reserved than the other girls but also playful and kind.  She has a set of lungs on her and could be heard screaming and laughing as they raced around the McDonald´s playplace.  She carried her little teddy bear backpack full of essentials around with her everywhere and had a tissue whenever anyone needed one and pulled out hand santizer at lunch time.  I think she´s going to be the momma of the group.

Escarleth Suyapa Juarez

Escarleth is a precious bundle of love.  She ran up to me the very first time she met me with a huge grin on her face and a big hug around my knees.  She made her way right into my heart.  She is bubbly and sweet and eager to make peace whenever there is any tension with the other kids.  She is a little starlet that loves to ham it up for the camera or anyone willing to watch her antics. 

The whole crew posing in front of their new school.

Meet the Staff

We are the people you will be partnering with when you decide to sponsor a child´s education and begin to shape the future of Honduras.

Bob and Kathy Elliott

Bob and Kathy Elliott are the founders and driving force behind Shine!  They have been coming to Honduras for years and wanted to find a way to make a lasting difference in the lives of the children here.  This program is the culmination of that dream. 

 Will and Rachel Antrikin

Will and Rachel Antrikin are the go-to-guys on the ground.  They are in charge of all the day to day workings of the program and are running the after school program.  They are also the primary contacts with the kids here in Honduras. 

Holly Towers with Mariela

Holly Towers is a board member and advisor.  She has been sponsoring Mariela´s schooling since kindergarten and almost all of that has been at Alitom School.  Holly has allowed us to see the model in action and Mariela is our very successful first Shine! student. 

Michael Mitchell and his wife Annalise

Michael Mitchell is a board member and largely in charge of publicity.  Michael has a heart for this program despite never having visited Honduras and is excited to begin this adventure with us.

Holly and Amber

Amber Foster is a local missionary and is helping us get the program started.  She has lived in Honduras for the past 6 years and knows a lot of the cultural issues involved in getting things done.  She will also be working alongside Will and Rachel in an administrative and auxilary capacity.  (Yes, I just wrote all of that in 3rd person.  I will probably be doing most of the blogging as well).

We are all more than happy to answer any questions you might have.  Just let us know at shinehonduras@gmail.com or post your comments and/or questions right here on the blog.

Welcome to Shine!

Hi Everyone!  Thanks for stopping by the Shine! blogsite.  Shine! is starting up right now and you can get in at the foundation of something that will definitely be changing the lives of many young children in Honduras.  Shine! has been established to provide education to gifted students in Honduras that cannot otherwise afford this education.  Each student in the program will be fully sponsored for their educational lives, as long as they maintain the standards of the program.  The students will have individual sponsors and continued contact with that sponsor.  We feel that the relationships these children will develop with us and their sponsors are as important as their education.  These relationships will provide the building blocks for a life long commitment to Christ and continuing education. 
We have evaluated several schools and chosen one that has a proven success rate.  Alitom School is very excited about partnering with us to change the future of Honduras. I will blog more about the school soon.  Each day after school and during the summer time, Shine! students will have tutoring/homework sessions.  This time will also be spent developing lasting relationships with each other, the staff, and sponsors. 
If you are interested in developing a relationship with a deserving child and partnering with us to give them the chance of a lifetime for only $250 a month please contact us at shinehonduras@gmail.com.  We will also gladly accept one time donations or smaller monthly donations.  Any amount will help better the lives of these wonderful kids.  And the more sponsors we have the more kids we can have in the program. 
I´m going to do my best to keep this blog updated with all the great things that are happening with Shine!.  Keep checking back for exciting updates!