IF I WERE TO ASK…
“If I were to ask, most people would say they are glad to see the year of 2020 end. All of us would agree this year has presented challenges and problems we have not experienced before. For our New Hope Opportunities family, there were many uncertainties and restrictions faced as we began navigating the Covid-19 influenced year”.
It began with limitations and restrictions on travel that forced us to cancel our year’s ministry teams. In Honduras, lockdown and quarantine restrictions caused us to close our in-class education. The arrival of our container filled with much needed supplies was put on hold due to the closure of government offices. Our facility was closed for group gatherings including our church. The restrictions eventually limited our teachers from using our building. The already anemic economy in Honduras was dealt a crippling blow with the lock down of residences and the closure of most retail businesses. Then the final blow, pardon the pun, was Hurricanes Eta and Iota. These brought death and destruction and loss to our country. Our neighborhood, our students and their families, and even our staff and teachers experienced loss from the flooding.
If this were the only narrative about 2020, we could say it was a lost year. There is, however, much more to look at than the circumstances I have mentioned. With the closure of our in-class instruction, our Educational Director and the teachers developed new methods of teaching to reach our students over the internet. Using cell phones and other means of communication, we were able to finish our academic year for all of our grades. We were eventually able to follow protocol and resume some church and youth activities because of our hard-working staff. Most of our families were not able to provide sufficient food for their families with the closing of businesses and restrictions on travel. We began to provide bags of food for our 112 families eleven times through this month. We were able to provide relief and help to those who suffered loss in the hurricanes. Our youth provided a Christmas program on Facebook Live. Finally, we were able to provide a special Christmas celebration and dinner for each of our families and gifts for all or our students. We already have parents contacting us regarding registration for our new school year. Because of all that has happened in 2020, we have impacted more people than ever before. Our educational experience has expanded and improved. Because God has blessed us in our end of the year fundraising, we will be making many improvements to our facility to better serve our community.
We could look at 2020 and focus on the bad and troubling circumstances or we can look at the faithfulness of the Lord to help us to continue to minister to those in need. We can look at the faithfulness of our partners who helped us through their prayers and support. We can look at the lives that have been and are being affected by God’s love shown to them by the ministries of New Hope Opportunities. The successes of this year only cause us to look at the great things we can look forward to in 2021.
“We could look at 2020 and focus on the bad and troubling circumstances or we can look at the faithfulness of the Lord to help us to continue to minister to those in need.”.
By Marne Cottriel, President of New Hope Opportunities