Story Published:
Oct 29, 2011 at 6:02 PM MDT
Story Updated:
Oct 31, 2011 at 6:46 AM MDT
BILLINGS - For months, the Jorden family had been preparing for what could be considered to be a trip of a lifetime, as they decided to give up a Christmas vacation, and deliver thousands of dollars worth of school supplies to the Central American country of Honduras.
"We were so excited! Felt like it was never gonna come," said Kari Jorden. The wife and mother of four was motivated to organize the trip after reading about the struggle of one poor Brazilian schoolgirl to go to school. The trip did eventually arrive, and the Jordens flew to Honduras, with many suitcases, which, the Jordens say, were all checked free, courtesy of their airline company.
Kari once worked as a church missionary in Honduras, and for her, it was a homecoming of sorts. The experience this time around, however, was completely different.
"It has changed a ton in 20 years," said Kari, "Back then, when I was there, only one person I knew ever had a car. One person I ever knew had a telephone. And now, a lot more people have cars, and a lot more people have cell phones down there."
The veneer of prosperity notwithstanding, Honduras is considered by many international organizations as a developing country, and 50% of the country's population lives below the poverty line.
"It seems like some of the wealthy have gotten wealthier, and the poor have gotten more poor," said Kari.
It is for that very reason that the Jorden's trip managed to touch so many lives. The family delivered supplies to close to 700 schoolchildren in the capital city of Tegucipalpa, and in the city of San Pedro Sula, located north of the capital.
"One little kid didn't know what a glue stick was, and so went up and asked the teacher ‘what's this’. We had to tell them 'be careful, it's not Chapstick, if you put it on your lips, you'll be sealed like that," recounted Kari.
"I was just so glad to be there, and to be able to help out, because I knew that it had made a difference in their lives, and they were able to have school supplies, and to be able to learn more in school," said Kelsee Jorden, one of Kari's daughters.
Perhaps more importantly for the Blue Creek family, their lives were changed as much as they changed the lives of the kids in Honduras.
"Made me grateful; grateful for the things I have, like a good house, and protection in our country, and just the things that they don't have. It made me realize how blessed it is to have those things," said Kelsee.
To learn more about the Jorden's trip, click on Connections.
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