Our annual Beach Christmas trip in December was another fantastic experience for our BC family, and we are so grateful to the sponsors who made it possible!
Due to road construction en route to our usual location in Amapala, this year we spent Beach Christmas in a new location – Tela. Tela is a beautiful beach city located on the northern coast of Honduras. We weren’t sure how we would like the change of venue, but once we arrived and saw the beautiful views, we knew we were in for another fantastic weekend.
After checking into our hotel rooms, everyone got changed and headed to the beach. The water in Tela has significantly more waves than Amapala, so it was fun watching many of the kids that were with us experience that for the first time. People ran and jumped in the waves, others decided to play soccer, the kids started building things in the sand, and some chose just to grab a Coke, sit and enjoy the view. Watching everyone have the opportunity to just relax and just spend some distraction-free time together is one of the biggest blessings of the trip.
After everyone got their fill of the waves and the sand, they moved to spend time in the hotel’s beautiful pool. There weren’t many other people staying at the hotel at the time, so we pretty much had the pool to ourselves. Again, we loved getting to watch the kids enjoy the water – and even more, we loved watching the hardworking parents get to spend some precious, quality time with their children.
The next day after waking up and spending some more time in the pool and ocean, we formed a circle with patio chairs and began to open presents. Thanks to generous individual sponsors, each member of our BC family was able to receive a new pair of shoes, an outfit and an extra gift. The presents are certainly not the most important part of the whole trip, but it is always a joy to share in this tradition together and share the excitement.
After spending some more time playing in the afternoon, it was time to head back to the city. We say it every year, but Beach Christmas really is such a special time for our BC family. The teens and education students work so hard during the year to make sure they stay on top of school to pass their classes. And the education parents work doubly hard to provide for their families and keep their kids on track. Being able to bless them with a weekend to pause, reflect, relax and share moments together is an incredible gift.
We are so thankful to the sponsors who made this trip happen. Thank you for your generous hearts and your love for our BC family! We hope you are having a wonderful start to 2018!
You can view more photos of Beach Christmas 2017 on our Facebook page.
