Meet our team who will be biking 315 miles, Coast to Coast of Honduras from January 4-11! Our goal is to raise $20,000 for the 2015 year of Trekking along the way. Please take a moment to get to know our amazing youth and volunteers taking on this incredible challenge!
Meet Johna! He’s been involved with UrbanPromise Honduras since it’s beginnings as a teacher assistant, a StreetLeader, team captain, vacation camp director, and now a Trekker! This year he’s been on our Camping 101 trip, hiked and camped out at the top of Honduras’ highest mountain, visited the Honduran Capitol of Tegucigalpa, come to our Guatemalan Dinner, and traveled to the United States to join Trekkers from Camden and Wilmington for two weeks exploring Colorado and Utah! It’s been a busy year for Johna, who just completed his 11th grade year of schooling. He’s been keeping even busier with his recent training for Costa a Costa, as he prepares for his next big journey of crossing coast to coast of his home country on a bike! Johna has shown exemplary leadership and maturity in the process of preparing for our journey. He will probably be at the front of the pack each day as we ride, yet always ready and willing to stop and help anyone in need along the way. That’s the heart of Johna; a young man who has expressed interest in leading a non-profit like UPH some day! Johna will be riding on a bike donated by John and Beth Bahm- thank you guys!
Marcos is a bit newer to UrbanPromise, but has hit the ground running (or rather- cycling!) since September when he joined us for our second annual Trek for Peace. Soon after, Marcos took part in our service learning trip to San Pedro Sula where he brought rays of hope to kids fighting cancer, humbly served young women at a safe-home, and built relationships with special-needs children at an orphanage. Marcos’ heart is one of the largest I have seen. Not only is his heart big, but so is his commitment to schooling, and to pushing himself to try new things, like training for our Coast to Coast tour! Marcos has shown dedication and grit in preparing to bike across Honduras like no other. Marcos will be riding a bike donated by Marlene Kelly- thanks Marlene!
Having recently moved to Copan from the city of Choloma, Honduras, Jose Miguel and his wife Cynthia became part of our family of staff and volunteers at UPH this summer. Ever since his arrival in July, Jose Miguel has jumped at every chance to volunteer and lead with Trekkers. Not only has he become our main driver for local hikes and overnight excursions, Jose Miguel has also become a steady influence for the youth who Trek with us. Our young men need more examples to follow of faithful and loving fathers and husbands like Jose Miguel. His influence extends beyond just a bike coach; he has become a mentor, discipler, and example of patience, persistence, integrity, and commitment to our youth. Jose Miguel will be riding on a bike donated by David and Cathy Wall- thank you both!
Meet Ramon. Or Moncho. Or Monchito…depending on who you ask 🙂 Ramon joined the UrbanTrekkers team recently, but his expertise as a cyclist goes waaaay back. This will be Ramon’s third time cycling with Costa a Costa, so his experience and knowledge of bikes, training, and all things cycling has brought such ENERGY to our biking program! Ramon has helped our youth (and other leaders!) understand more of the intricacies of bike maintanance, proper form, and keeping a good attitude. His willingness to come and share his passion and enthusiasm for cycling is a testament to his heart of service and dedication to excellence.
Franqui is our longest standing volunteer with UrbanTrekkers Honduras. Franqui literally was the one who got Trekkers off the ground back during our pilot program of 2013. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Franqui is known as a local because of his wife and two sons who are from Copan. With one of the most adventurous spirits you will ever meet, Franqui has shared his familiarity with the surrounding Copan mountains to help lead our youth on six local day hikes as well as 3 overnight expeditions throughout the year. If you were to meet Franqui, the first thing you would notice is how gentle, loving, and fun he is to be around. A father and local school teacher by trade at both a local bilingual and public school, Franqui is a pillar of character and an inspiration to all our youth. His faith in Christ shines through all he does; he lives out what Jesus said: “I came that they would have life…a fullness of life…” Franqui is riding on a bike donated by Akram Abed- thanks Akram!
Kristen, another one of our earliest volunteers, has been hiking and biking with UrbanTrekkers Honduras since our pilot program in 2013. Kristen began her time in Honduras volunteering with Casita Copan, a local orphanage and daycare center for single moms. Now, she not only continues her relationships with the kids at Casita, but she teaches full time secondary English at the local Mayatan Bilingual School, and still somehow finds time to invest in the youth here at UPH! Kristen’s example of compassion, service, and strength has empowered our young women to see all they can accomplish.
Meet Kris! Our UrbanTrekkers Honduras founder and director! Kris started UrbanTrekkers Honduras as a pilot program in September 2013 after spending several months learning the UrbanTrekkers model from Trekkers in Camden, NJ. Kris has had the joy of connecting with youth from Camden, Trenton, Wilmington (DE), and Copan (Honduras) for the last year and a half since transitioning from his role as a secondary teacher at the local Bilingual school in Copan. Kris loves every opportunity to spend time with the amazing youth plugged into UPH and UrbanPromise Camden. His greatest desire is for young people to realize their full potential in Christ; to incorporate their faith into every aspect of their life, to be empowered as leaders who serve others with God-sized love, and to share the good news of newness of life through Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross.
We would love to see the impact of UrbanTrekkers Honduras continue into 2015, but that will only happen if we can make our $20,000 goal! The youth and volunteers represented here are a fraction of the amazing young people and leaders here in Copan. Our dream is to see God continue to work in their lives through life-changing experiences in 2015. For just $60/mile, you can help us bike the 315 miles Coast to Coast, and make our dream a reality! On top of that, for every $60 you donate, you enter yourself into one of several drawings for Honduras goodies collected along our bike route!
UrbanTrekkers Honduras 