Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
This has been an exciting year for Professionals to the World, a bit of a roller coaster. We took two trips this year. The first one included Jim and Barb Hermanson, Leonard and Mary Rosenberg and Charly and me. The second, in September, involved only Charly and me.
The reception of our book on Values and Principles has changed our direction slightly and opened doors to us that we hadn’t even considered a year ago. That is why there have been fewer professionals giving seminars with us this past year. This is not something we want to abandon, since the wonderful seminars that many of you have presented in Honduras have made a lasting impact on many students, and have given us the credibility we need if we are to have an impact.
On the other hand, the teaching of Values and Principles has brought us recognition from several ministers of government who plan to teach these things in their organizations in the coming year. This includes the education arm of the Honduras armed forces and the police. We also have an agreement with the Honduras Air Force Academy for the training of their professors to use this book in their teaching.
We had planned to have the new Center of Integral Formation completed this year but this was delayed awaiting an agreement with the governing board of the university system. This agreement was confirmed at the end of November with 24 votes in agreement and 12 opposed. We, of course, would like to have seen this agreement unanimous but in retrospect, that may have been wishful thinking since this is only the second building of its kind on the campus of a national university in all of Latin America, as far as we know. Since we had to wait for this agreement, we made the decision to temporarily borrow the money dedicated for this construction to promote and print copies of the book on Values and Principles. We are now waiting until the beginning of the new semester in February for the sale of these books so we will have the funds to continue.
Thanks to all of you who have participated with us this year, and especially for those of you who helped us end the year in the black. We have done so and are in good shape to start 2011. Thanks also to all of you who contributed monthly in support of our students and national professionals on three university campuses. They are doing so much with so little, and are taking advantage of all of the opportunities opening daily for their work. Thanks also for the contributions of several of you who helped us financially at just the right time.
This year holds the promise of even more important things to take place. We plan to go to Ecuador and Colombia, at their request, to promote the teaching of Values and Principles. We are also preparing a country-wide university conference on Values and Principles, an idea that came from the director of ESNACIFOR, the national forestry institute in Siguatepeque, Honduras.
We are looking for professionals to go with us in September! One such professional is Barbara Hermanson, who has given seminars on expository writing many times in the USA and in Honduras. We want to see her teach the professors at all of the national university campuses so this instruction will become part of the education of every student. Her teaching has been extremely successful in bringing up the academic level of the students in many schools here in the USA and is especially needed in Honduras. Professionals in other areas are also needed. If any of you are interested, please let me know so we can make plans for September, 2011.
I hope you are as excited as I am about what is taking place in Honduras. The changes that have taken place in the lives of many students, the awareness of the need for the teaching of right values among the leaders in the country, and their desire to make something happen is truly remarkable. This doesn’t happen every day.
Thank you again for your involvement, your financial support and your prayers for all that has taken place. Jose wants to call this coming year “The Year of Gratefulness,” and I think it is appropriate. I am certainly grateful to have grown up in a country with so much opportunity, and to have the privilege of being part of something significant. And I am thankful for all of you.
It wouldn’t happen without you.
John