When Father Reynaldo left NPH Honduras this past November, he didn’t really leave. The church he built, the memories, customs, rich religious community and his love for the kids remain at the home and live on, present in the daily life at the Ranch. Upon leaving Honduras this past November, he traveled south to visit NPH Bolivia for a little while, a few months, to spend time with the children during this Advent and Christmas season. The kids welcomed him with open arms, and he is there now, awaiting Christmas with them, cherishing his time and reflecting on its meaning. He shares one short page of his reflection with us.

For the first time I am celebrating these Christmas parties in the southern hemisphere, in the summer without pine trees, or acorns and without feeling any bit of cold. I miss these familiar elements a bit, but none are essential to celebrate the birth of the Son of God.

Here at NPH Bolivia the advent wreath has been with us as a sign of preparation to receive and let the light of Christ shine in our lives and in those of others. Despite all the differences between Honduras and Bolivia, decorated Christmas trees, lights and the nativity are all clearly present in both countries.

One night while visiting the kids’ house to pray the Novena of Christmas I found a very well elaborated and decorated nativity scene. In its decoration I noticed that the kids had also added many of their toys, and then when I saw various soldiers in the shooting position with their firearms and a warplane, it made me stop and think. The kids then continued to show me their ‘military barracks’. My first immediate reaction was that a nativity scene should not be decorated with military elements. I suppose that it was more heavenly inspiration than my narrow-minded reasoning and involuntary lesson of faith from the children, that brought me to this conclusion: this nativity is actually perfectly appropriate given all that our world offers in vain and also suffers, with all of its endless, tireless wars. It is the world that God had not wanted but he chose it…for what?

The Gospel of St. John clearly states: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” God cannot help but intervene in the depths of life to ensure that the world is and remains His and not of evil and sin, though they still remain impactful forces.

Nativity Scene at NPH El Salvador

But this is not only on a global level, if we are honest, it is on an individual level where these forces remain having an impact. Even though we may never have a firearm, we could go to combat in our thoughts, words and actions. It is here where the incarnation of God through Jesus gives us the greatest lesson about our human nature as God has always wanted and it is: God became human so that we might all stop trying to become “gods”, taking advantage of the weaker ones, and instead learn to be ourselves in the way that Jesus has shown us.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the Son of God and I hope also the birth of the true self that God has placed in each one of us. In the background is the birth of Christ in our lives; lives that will transform more in the light than in darkness, more in heat than in cold, more in service than manipulation; and in the end they will be more divine lives because God puts his confidence in us before we begin to believe in Him.

A divine and ‘true self’ Christmas 2015

~Father Reynaldo

Father Reynaldo, Sister Phyllis and House Director Bolíviar in NPH Bolivia (photo credit Jamila Noeprick)

La reflexión de Padre Reynaldo en español: 

‘Por primera vez estoy celebrando estas fiestas navideñas en el hemisferio sur y por ende en verano sin árboles de pino, ni bellotas y claro sin sentir algo de frío. Por mi costumbre pasada me hacen algo de falta. Pero menos mal que nada de eso es esencial para la celebración del nacimiento del Hijo de Dios.

Acá en NPH Bolivia nos ha acompañado la corona de adviento como señal de preparación para recibir y hacer brillar la luz de Cristo en nuestras vidas y en la de los demás. A pesar de las diferencias mencionadas, sí se encuentran los árboles navideños decorados, las lucecitas y claro el nacimiento.

Visitando uno de los hogares en una noche para rezar la novena de Navidad me encontré con un nacimiento muy bien elaborado y decorado. Entre su decoración me llamó la atención que los niños de ese hogar habían puesto varios de sus juguetes y aún más me quedé pensativo al ver varios soldados en posición de disparar con armas de fuego y hasta un avión de guerra. Los niños hasta me ensenaron el cuartel militar. Mi primer pensamiento espontáneo fue que así no debía estar decorado un nacimiento con estos elementos militares. Supongo que fue más la inspiración de los Cielos que mi razonamiento cuadrado y la involuntaria lección de los niños para mi fe que me llevó a la conclusión: Este nacimiento está perfecto con todo esto que nuestro mundo ofrece vanamente y bajo lo que sufre, no cansándose en llevar guerras sin término, es el mundo que Dios no ha querido pero que sí escogió, para qué?

El Evangelio de San Juan lo dice claramente: “Pues tanto amó Dios al mundo que envió a su único Hijo para que todo el que cree en Él no se pierda, sino encuentre la vida eterna. Porque Dios no envió a su Hijo al mundo para condenarlo, sino para que el mundo se salve por Él”. Dios no puede más que inmiscuirse hasta lo más hondo para que el mundo sea y quede siendo de Él y no de la maldad y del pecado, aunque sean fuerzas de mucho impacto.

Pero no sólo a nivel mundial, sino que, si somos honestos, también a nivel de cada uno están impactando estas fuerzas. Aunque tal vez nunca tengamos un arma de fuego, sí podemos llegar a combatir en nuestros pensamientos, palabras y obras. Es aquí donde la encarnación de Dios en Jesús nos da la más grande lección sobre nuestra naturaleza humana como Dios la ha querido siempre y es: Dios se hizo humano para que nosotros dejemos de querer ser como “dioses” sirviéndonos de otros y finalmente llegar a ser los humanos a la manera de Jesús.

Navidad es la fiesta del nacimiento del Hijo de Dios y ojalá también del nacimiento del humano que Dios ha depositado en cada uno de nosotros. En el fondo es el nacimiento de Cristo en nuestras vidas; vidas que se convertirán más en luz que oscuridad, más en calor que frialdad, más en servicio que manipulación; al final una vida más divina porque Dios ha confiado en nosotros antes que nosotros en Él.

Una divina y humana Navidad 2015

~Padre Reynaldo

What happens when you invest in the lives of youth who know hardship personally and have experienced suffering and great loss in their young lives? When you meet their basic needs, give them opportunity and surround them with a family who cares?

With over 60 years of experience, NPH shows that as adults many use their education, skills and up-close understanding of the need in their communities to become strong leaders of positive change.

Luz de Maria Lopez Vigil from NPH El Salvador presents her Applied Leadership Project and cumulative learnings after 4 weeks in the iLEAP Global Leadership Program for NPH. Photo was taken on July 2, 2015 at the graduation ceremony by Chip Rountree.

These ‘hermanos mayores’, or ‘older brothers and sisters’, are no longer under the direct care of NPH, but once they become part of the family they stay part of the family. They have become independent, strong and inspiring professionals. Many decide to work for NPH and take on leadership roles in the homes.

The NPHI Family Services team and supporters strive to invest in these leaders and provide unique professional development opportunities for them. From this effort arose the idea to partner with iLEAP, a Seattle-based, international organization designed to provide professional development opportunities and inspire leaders to ignite social change around the world.

John DeBlasio, founder of the Global Peace and Development (GPD) Charitable Trust and major supporter of NPH youth development and leadership programs for many years, shares one of the reasons he chose to invest in the NPH – iLEAP partnership.

“iLEAP has a strong track-record of developing social entrepreneurs from around the world.  Father Wasson was, among many things, an entrepreneur.  He was an innovative leader and inspired the creation of NPH, an organization which continues to thrive in his absence.  I see iLEAP as a resource for helping to develop the next generation of NPH leaders so they can develop into a modern version of the social entrepreneur that Father Wasson was.”

Caitlin Terashima, the Global Programs Coordinator of iLEAP, explains how the partnership developed, “I think after meeting, both organizations saw a common vision and a way of working together that could really align with both of our missions. We worked closely with Donna Egge (Director of NPHI Family Services) who approached us about creating a program specifically for NPH staff and hermanos mayores, who had a strong desire to work for NPH in the future.”

Soon after, ten participants arrived from El Salvador, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Honduras, all NPH staff and/or hermanos mayores and spanning fields such as law, nursing and administration. They were chosen from an extensive list of applicants to leave their posts in June for a month of personal and professional development in the new program they named as ‘iLEAP Global Leadership Program for Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos’.

With the goal of developing leadership and igniting growth within each participant, the group participated in seminars and reflection, visited socially innovative businesses, received one-on-one coaching, and designed an applied leadership project to implement in their home countries.

The 10 iLEAP Global Leadership Program participants (with Donna Egge, Director of Family Services) from Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos receive certificates of completion at the iLEAP Graduation Ceremony on July 2, 2015. (front, left to right: Donna Egge, Ricardo Velasco, Sandra Baca, Luz de Maria Lopez Vigil, Denis Morales, Miriam Garcia, Karina Rodriguez) (back, left to right: Hugo Ocampo, Yonel Posadas, Kenson Kaas, Christian Cruz)

The hermanos mayores and NPH staff arrived at this workshop already incredibly talented and skilled professionals, but their growth over the years and in the iLEAP workshop is inspiring.  John DeBlasio shares, “As I watch some of the Hermanos Mayores develop, it’s clear to me they have the intelligence and capacity to become very successful by any measure.  What I notice and inspires me is that they begin to develop real confidence in addition to their capabilities, which is key to fully actualizing their potential.”

Martha Karina Rodríguez Herrera was one of the participant of the iLEAP program . She is an hermana mayor from Mexico who became part of the NPH family at the age of 11, graduated from university, and is now 24, working as the Assistant Director of Public Relations and Fundraising at an NPH home in Matamoros, Mexico. She reflects on her month with iLEAP:

left to right: Martha Karina Rodríguez Herrera from Mexico, Caitlin Terashima (iLEAP Global Programs Coordinator), Yonel Posadas from Honduras

“At the end of the program I noticed a great difference in me; this experience has helped me identify that I truly am a leader, and the type of leader I am and want to be in the future.

I learned to value myself, to be okay with myself and how to best develop my skills and activities. To be able to inspire others so that they can be leaders not only in the community but in the country. I learned to listen and share in a different way and to be open in a spiritual way and empathetic with all people.

I believe in myself and I know that if I do a little day after day, I can achieve great results.”

On behalf of the Family Services team, supporters and entire NPH family, we believe in you too!

All Photos taken by Chip Rountree

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Many people who have visited Rancho Santa Fe say that it reminds them of a summer camp: homes that resemble small cabins, pine trees in every direction, hiking trails and kids playing all around. While the purpose of NPH Honduras is fundamentally different than that of a summer camp, it is still seems fitting that YMCA campers would feel right at home on the ranch.

This sense of home could also be from the common ground that the YMCA and NPH share; they both strive to improve the lives of youth and create opportunity for their personal and leadership development.

This past March, a group of fifteen high school youth from Pennsylvania and four YMCA staff members traveled down to stay at the ranch for a week. They did team-building activities and campfires, but came for a few unique reasons: to do service work for the home, to learn about NPH, to form relationships with the NPH kids, and to organize fun, entertaining activities and sing-along songs for the home.

Eight youth from NPH Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua were part of the core group for the week. And so it was a week of cultural exchange, with both the YMCA and NPH youth sharing in the opportunity to step outside their comfort zone and put the leadership skills they acquired in their home countries to practice.

Shannon McAdoo is a senior in high school, and one of the YMCA campers that visited NPH Rancho Santa Fe in Honduras. She shares a glimpse of her week with us.

What did you expect to experience at NPH Honduras?  I am not quite sure what I expected going into the trip. I thought there would be a general sadness about the children, given their backgrounds.

Did your experience match your expectations? Why or why not?  I experienced just the opposite. The children had a sparkle in their eyes of hope and love. I was absolutely astounded to see how NPH was able to take children out of the most desperate situations and give them love, support, and stability, and watch them flourish. I was also amazed at the organization of the home. With 400 plus children, one would expect chaos, but the home in Honduras was wonderfully put together and efficient.

How did you prepare for your trip? Prior to going on the trip we broke up into small groups, consisting of four or five people with one trip leader. Within those small groups we were assigned an activity and told to gather supplies for and learn instructions. We also were given the lyrics to memorize a few campfire songs.  My activity was making key-chain animals out of pearl beads and string. We met several times to touch base a few months leading up to our trip so that we could be prepared for our time in Honduras.

What was your greatest takeaway from the experience?  As cliché of an answer as this may be, I have to say that it put my life into perspective. I realize the problems that I would dwell over for days became irrelevant after my experience at NPH as well as made me realize the things I take for granted.

What was your most memorable moment?  The most memorable moment was going into the special needs home on the last day of our time in Honduras. Erin Stuckey took me and another girl from our group to the girl’s special need home. I do a good bit of work with kids and teenagers with autism and other disorders which is why I was interested in meeting some of the kids there. I loved getting to play hand games with the girls and bond over small things, like drawing and coloring, even though there was a large language barrier. I will never forget the time I spent with them.

What do you wish to share about NPH with others, just from the brief time that you were here?  Our group had the unique opportunity to grow close with eight leaders within the NPH community coming from homes in Mexico, Nicaragua and Honduras. Getting to meet them and become so close with them throughout the week, it really made the trip have a stronger impact on me. Seeing these eight amazing humans and knowing that somewhere in their life they experienced traumatic family issues that caused them to be placed in an NPH home, and seeing how well rounded and joyful they are astounded me. It put so much of my faith into the NPH organization because I got to see the little children running around and having fun and it was like seeing a flash-forward of their lives. The eight leaders we met were the products of NPH love and support, and it is absolutely amazing to me that even the most broken children can become such loving, caring and admirable people.

Part of the NPHI Family Services’ mission is to “promote a loving, respectful, secure, non-violent and threat-free home environment that honors and fosters the child’s dignity as the highest principle”.

CPI Participants doing group work during a training

Our entire NPH family works to make this possible in many different ways, toward the end goal that each child feels loved and secure in a safe home environment and can develop his or her full potential.

This past February, twenty-eight staff members representing all nine of our NPH home countries arrived in Honduras to participate in the ‘Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® Instructor’ training from CPI (Crisis Prevention Institute).

Using a hands-on and interactive approach, CPI Instructors Matt Peot and Alyssa Nogaski taught how to prevent and manage difficult crisis situations and respond to disruptive behaviors that could happen in the home. Just a few training topics included understanding the factors and behavior that could lead to a crisis and learning nonviolent techniques to keep the kids and staff safe.

CPI Participant from NPH Mexico and Donna Egge, Director of Family Services

One of the principle themes of the week was how to stop crisis situations before they start. Donna Egge, Director of Family Services, comments, “The more we can reduce the likelihood of escalating behaviors through effective prevention models, the more we can focus on the important relational aspect of our work, which is caring for our children and youth.”

All of the themes discussed during the week align with the core philosophy of the CPI organization: Care, Welfare, Safety, and Security℠.

Matt was a volunteer in NPH Mexico years before he became a Global Professional Instructor with CPI.

CPI Instructors Matt and Alyssa

He describes the importance of the training for NPH, “It provides essential skills for the most difficult moments that caregivers might encounter. It offers a framework for decision-making that is rooted in a philosophy that dovetails flawlessly with Father Wasson’s (founder of NPH), and it helps staff understand how to live that philosophy when pequeños engage in disruptive, challenging, or even dangerous behavior.”

The reality is that NPH serves children who have unfortunately experienced traumatic events in their young lives, and that crisis situations and difficult behavior may have been commonplace before NPH.

CPI participants from NPH Honduras (left) and NPH El Salvador (right)

Mercedes Montes, the Psychology Department Coordinator in the NPH Honduras home, shares why the training is important for the NPH employees, “…we (the NPH staff) will be able to use same language, it will reinforce the importance of teamwork and we will decrease the risk of traumatic experiences for the kids in crisis situations.”

At the end of the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® course on February 27th, participants were certified as instructors, and are now called to share their knowledge and train more staff in the homes. This way the skills and information shared in Honduras in February will stay alive in the homes and help NPH caregivers and staff maintain a safe, secure and loving place for the kids to live.

CPI Group Participants from the NPH Homes

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This past January 17th through the 24th, over 40 NPH student guests from eight different countries participated in the 6th Annual NPHI ‘Paz y Bien’ Youth Development Conference.

Youth from the Dominican Republic, Peru, Haiti, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador spent eight full, memorable days learning about leadership and putting their skills into practice in the NPH El Salvador home.

The theme of the week was ‘Together, we make the change!’ A variety of topics were explored, from teamwork, to the ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens’ by Sean Covey, to listening with the mind and heart. The youth were empowered by exchanging ideas with a guest panel of NPH leaders and discussing how to improve the homes’ academic and formation programs. Every day began with a prayer and ended with a reflection led by the youth.

‘The call to serve’ was an integral part of the workshop, and the participants took action by working in the fields, taking care of the elderly in a local nursing home, and preparing and serving food at a nearby soup kitchen for the community.

The youth also had the opportunity to learn more about Oscar Romero, a past archbishop of San Salvador who lived out his life fighting for social justice and serving the poor. He is a hero to many of our kids. To learn more about Oscar Romero’s mission, the kids took a daylong excursion to tour the Hospital Divina Providencia Chapel and to the ‘UCA’ (‘Central American University’), both of which commemorate his life of service.

Guest visitors enriched the workshop with their insight, and among many included Reinhart Koehler, Miguel Venegas, Dr. Michael Maccoby, Kara King, the students from the NPH Seattle Institute program, Olegario Campos, Brenda Mendez, John Deblasio and Father Reynaldo. The conference was led by the Family Service team members Donna Egge, Markus Streit and Erin Stuckey.

The youth participants share a glimpse of their takeaways from the week:

Mireya (2nd from right)

“There is always someone out there in need of my help, and I need to offer it.”

~Mireya, Dominican Republic home, 19 years old

“I learned that when helping other people, one feels a peace within, and it makes you grow as a person.”

~Mirna, Nicaragua home, 25 years old

“I must first make a change in my life to be able to change something in my NPH home. And I must listen with the heart.”

~Andrea, Guatemala home, 19 years old

Daniel (far right)

“I learned that a person cannot make important decisions with only the mind, or only the heart, but that both need to be used.”

~Daniel, México home, 18 years old

As one can quickly see, our youth are reflective individuals and motivated to lead by serving others. The goal of these conferences is to provide them with a platform for personal and professional development, and for the participants to continue growing and apply what they learned to make an impact within their NPH home and the outside community.

Mary and Joseph walked a long road before they found shelter in Bethlehem. Although young in age, many of our children understand this journey better than anyone. They arrive at our doorstep, looking for warmth and hoping to find light in the darkness. They knock, and we open the door.

NPH Honduras Nativity Scene – photo by Sally Weigel

We cannot change a past, but can help each child turn the page to write a new, entirely different life story full of hope. One that tells the impact of family, unconditional love, a quality education, and a victory against the cycle of poverty. One that lays the foundation for a new chapter, which will tell of a bright future and a world of possibilities.

May the good news of Christmas be ever present in your lives, and may your story be one of faith, hope and love.

God bless. Sending joy and blessings your way this Christmas season,
The NPHI Family Services team

NPH staff travels from all over Latin America for integrated team training and professional development at the Family Services Workshop 2014 in Nicaragua.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Collaboration. Interdisciplinary teamwork. Renewed inspiration. Highest quality childcare possible. These were the primary themes of the NPH International Family Services Workshop that recently took place Nicaragua.

From September 24^th to the 29^th, teams from the NPH homes in eight different countries stayed at ‘Casa Padre Wasson’, the principal NPH home in Nicaragua approximately 30 miles south from the capital city of Managua. Two to thirteen team members represented each country and worked in the areas of child caregiving, psychology and social work.

Casa Padre Wasson is named after the NPH founder Father Wasson, who dedicated his life to making a home and opportunities for orphaned, abandoned kids a reality. Sixty years after founding the first home in Mexico and eight years after Father Wasson passed on to rest, child-care professionals in nine different countries dedicate their lives to continuing what he began. The Family Services workshop united these professionals so that they could reflect on their childcare practices as a team and share new ideas to bring back to their home countries.

Gerson Carrasco, a Social Worker in our Honduras home who attended the workshop comments on the value of teamwork when working with individual children, “Collaboration is of utmost importance. The contributions from each one of us in our different areas of work complement each other, which results in an integral form of attention to the kids in our family.”

One main goal of the workshop was to facilitate team collaboration both within each NPH home and among the various countries present during the week. The teams presented programs from their childcare, psychology and social work departments, and also met in small, ‘job-alike’ groups from the other countries. This created a platform for the teams across NPH homes to share ideas and learn best practices from each other.

The ‘Comité de Apoyo’, or Multidisciplinary Team (‘MDT’), is the strategic problem solving committee in each of our homes. Participants received extra practice in developing an integrated approach to solve difficult cases in their homes. The workshop participants role-played a typical situation the MDT Committee may encounter. Two employees put themselves in the role of two children or adolescents in challenging circumstances, and their team members from multiple departments discussed each case and developed a strategic solution to support the youth.

Other explored themes during the workshop included NPH International childcare policies, the process for welcoming children and assisting them as they adapt to life in the home, and understanding the different phases of child development while implementing positive reinforcement at each stage. Each country team returned home with updated, more defined “Core Programs”, those programs that are essential for the positive development and care for our children and youth. The participants and Family Service team also worked with the theme of trauma, learning new ideas to support and work with our children that have suffered trauma in their lives before arriving at NPH. Spirituality was integrated each day through morning prayer, reflection, and by encouraging the staff to prioritize the spiritual formation of the NPH family as an integral part of their daily work.

Special guests at the workshop include Reinhart Koehler, the NPH International Board Chair, and Miguel Venegas, the Executive Director, along with Marlon Velázquez, the National Director of NPH Nicaragua and NPHI Family Service Consultant, Fr. Reynaldo Galindo, Chaplain of NPH – Honduras. Their keynote talks set the tone for the workshop and helped provide perspective on how the work of each child-care professional fits together and carries out the NPH mission of caring for the children.

Markus Streit, the Assistant Director of Family Services who has been involved with NPH since 2003 and facilitates multiple NPH trainings each year, lists just a few benefits of gathering with staff from each of the NPH homes for an in-person workshop such as the one in Nicaragua:

“The exchange of experiences among people in the same work area from other countries helps them to see that they face similar challenges, and together they can develop creative ideas. The teams are motivated to try something new in their own workplace. In addition, all staff has the opportunity to experience the spirit of the extended family of NPH, and refresh the motivation and inspiration to do their daily work.”

Donna Egge, the Family Services Director echoes the importance of the workshop benefits Markus described, and explains her personal takeaways from this particular week in Nicaragua,

“There is no replacement for inspiration, motivation and sharing when it comes to the hard work we do, day in and day out of caring for our children, and youth. Bringing good people together, validating their work and their individuality, their creativity, honors the work they are doing and appreciates in a big way, their professionalism that they bring each and every day to the mission of NPH. These benefits were certainly seen during the Family Services workshop week.”

On the last night, the Family Services workshop participants celebrated a week well done and spent time in community together. These child care professionals have at least one thing in common: they are dedicated to our mission of continuing Father Wasson’s work and caring for his children.

While reflecting on the week with the group, Donna shared, “I know that Father Wasson is looking down from above, and he is able to know deeply that his children and his legacy are in good hands.”

“No hay tal cosa com un nino mal, sino que puede comportarse mal porque se siente abandonado y solo.”  

“There is no such thing as a bad child, only one that behaves badly because they feel abandoned and alone.”

~Father Wasson, founder of NPH

Love & Security – Responsibility – Sharing –Work – Faith & Service