Padrinos

I'm sure many of you know that the funding for Destino comes completely from donations. This funding comes from various sources including churches, individuals, other organizations. However, the Padrinos of Destino del Reino are one of the most important sources of prayer and financial support for this ministry. Basically, a padrino is a Destino student's sponser. Their $60 monthly donation goes towards 2 school uniforms, a pair of shoes, a hot lunch, vitamins, teachers salaries, school supplies, the gas for the school buses...I could go on forever about all the things the Padrinos donation pays for but it's not really necessary to make my point. Plus, being a Padrino isn't just about giving $. It's also about providing spiritual support for their student and the ministry. Rhonda Jackson, the founder and director of the ministry is a firm believer that each student needs to be prayed for by his or her name.

There are 184 students at Destino and 20 of them don't have a sponsor. If you haven't figured it out already, I think it would be grand if you decided to sponsor one of these students. If you don't have the money to donate $60 a month that's ok. You can be a partial sponsor and give whatever you can. And if you can't do that, you can still help. I've posted a picture of the unsponsered students in my classes and included some information about each. Just pick one and pray for them.

Andrea (First Grade)- Smart and sweet. She is so respectful towards her teachers and her fellow students. I think she might be a bit of a perfectionist. Whenever she wants to ask me a question in English she has to practice with a friend before asking me! Also, she loves to sing!

David (First Grade)-At the beginning of the school year we were told that David might struggle in our classes and would probably need tutoring based on his performance in kindergarten. He has really matured during the past few months and is actually one of our best students. He's also well behaved(just look at his student of the week pic!) I'm pretty sure that if he lived in the U.S. he would be a basketball player, he's so tall!

Ingrid (Kindergarten)- This is Ingrid's first year at Destino. She's six, so they decided to let her skip preschool and start with Kindergarten. Ingrid is very sweet and loving but she is not as mature as the other Kindergarteners. However, she has come a long way since the beginning of the year when she would randomly decide to jump up and run around the classroom or lay in the floor. I know she will catch up to her classmates academically and behaviorally but it will just take some time.

Joel Jafeth (First Grade) One of the top English students in 1st grade. He's very mature and can be quite serious at times. English comes easily to him and he sometimes gets bored in class so I have to make an extra effort to challenge him. His favorite animals are giraffes.

Rosa (First Grade)- Rosa has an amazing personality! I can tell she is so excited to be at school by her smile and positive attitude! She was struggling a bit during the first weeks of school but we had a few tutoring sessions with her and she's doing much better in English. Rosa loves to draw and is very creative.

If you would like to learn more about sponsering a student go to http://destinodelreino.org/ddr/school_sponsor

Thanks to all my friends and family who have already decided to sponsor a student! Again and again I am amazed by how willing the people in my life and the Pendleton County community are to help this ministry any way they can. Although you may not realize it the prayers you have said and the financial support you've sent too this ministry have enabled it to continue doing amazing things for Honduras. Amanda Bruin and I have decided to start a blog to keep the school sponsors updated on happenings at school. You can view it at http://losninosdedestino.blogspot.com/