February 28 to March 15, 2009

We have just returned from another great trip to Honduras.  This time, just Jim and Barb Hermanson, and Charly and I went.  We didn’t try to get a team together since we were trying some new things and Charly and I were busy writing a book titled, ‘Values and Principles that Change the World.’

We were in Tegucigalpa for a week talking at the National University of Honduras.  Jim and Barb taught expository writing to first year students in Spanish classes.  Charly and I introduced our book and to freshman students in the school of engineering.

The second week we were in San Pedro Sula where again Jim and Barb taught expository writing to 7 classes a day, Charly taught her motivational series on ‘Secrets of Success’ for 5 classes daily for 3 days and Jim gave his talk on ‘The Philosophy of Education’ to one class for three days in the school of education.  Charly and I also visited the National University in Comayagua on Thursday, to introduce the book to professors there.  We also did the same thing at two private universities in San Pedro Sula.

The response to our book was excellent.  Our last group was in the Technological University of Honduras in San Pedro Sula where we enjoyed excellent facilities and a very receptive audience of 280 students and professors.  We also met with the directors of two other universities to promote a class using our book.

It’s uncertain whether the professors will continue to teach from our book for the rest of the semester but I think we impressed upon them the necessity of doing so.  We also met with the vice rector and met the rector of the national university system for the country. (This would be like the chancellor of a state university system in our country)  We were unsure how well this would go since we had heard that she was left leaning and not likely to appreciate the USA or our values.  Much to our surprise, she was thrilled with what we are doing and thanked us very sincerely for our willingness to help them.  We met with her, along with the director of the university in Comayagua to write up an agreement to build a new Center of Integral Formation on the campus in Comayagua similar to the one we built in San Pedro Sula.  This is an unheard of opportunity in Latin America.  She also suggested that we do the same thing on all of the 8 university campuses in the country.  We are now in the process of finalizing this agreement and will include the teaching of a class of values and principles to all beginning students using our book.   This will be quite a task but the opportunity to change the country seems to be more realistic now that it has ever been before.

As we think ahead, we will continue to bring professionals to teach in the universities, and in addition will promote the teaching of values and principles to all the new students at all of the national universities.  We are also pursuing teaching in many private universities.  I don’t know how we will accomplish all of this, but the opportunities are too great to pass up and the potential for change significant.

Thanks to all of you who are sharing the responsibility with us.  If you want to do something significant in your life, come with us or help us financially.  By ourselves we can do a little.  Together we can truly change the world.

We still need your help in teaching, and also financially.  If you are able to help financially, please send a check to:
Professionals to the World
19597 E. Floyd Ave.
Aurora, CO 80013-3736
(Professionals to the World is a tax exempt 501.c.3 educational organization)

Thank you for caring for students in Central America!

God bless you.  John