Page 3 - Our Little Roses FMS 2020 Annual Report

DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE

2020 began with so much joy for Our Little Roses! Our Board of Directors held
a very productive meeting in Honduras in February which was preceded by the
celebration of one of our graduates getting married!

Dr. Jensy Maldonado, who grew up with her sister Mayra at Our Little Roses
and went on to become a doctor of cosmetic dentistry, was the lovely bride.
Jensy walked down the aisle with our founder, Dr. Diana Frade on one side,
and one of her beloved sponsors on the other. In her bouquet she carried a
picture of her mother and father, both long passed. In the chapel were
members of mission teams from the U.S. who had watched Jensy grow up. It
truly was a beautiful example of Diana’s lifelong mission coming to fruition.

We returned home to the US excited to get to work to continue moving our
ministry forward, when it happened - Covid-19. Honduras shut down quickly
and went under Martial Law. While life was difficult here at home, imagine
what it was like in Honduras where pivoting to such things as “virtual” learning
includes challenges that we in the U.S. can scarcely fathom.

Facing these challenges was not the end of the story for Honduras; on top of
a pandemic, the Sula Valley was devastated by two, back-to-back, hurricanes
that hit within 12 days of each other.

I remember being overwhelmed and thinking that this time we might have met
our match. The non-profit bloggers and experts warned that donor fatigue
was imminent, the need was just too wide-spread. God had different plans for
Our Little Roses. Through God’s grace and the love and commitment of so
many of our supporters we were able to navigate every obstacle thrown in our
path. As you’ll read in these pages, we not only managed to send additional
support to our staff and alum who lost everything in the storm, but we were
able to implement some exciting new initiatives!

Someone once told me, if you focus on the hurt, you will continue to suffer, if
you focus on the lesson, you will continue to grow. I am proud to share that
at Our Little Roses we are laser focused on the lesson. I invite you to join
us in our work as we look forward to what 2021 might have in store.

W E N D Y B O U R G A U L T

Our Little Roses Foreign Mission Society
Executive Director

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