The Journey of the Heart Reaches Honduras

It was mid-December when I received an e-mail from a woman named Liz Rosky, an expat from Canada who retired to Honduras seven years ago. She shared with me her story of how she discovered the Journey of the Heart Journal. For years she had been asking "Why am I here?" As she worked through the journal prompts and questions Liz gained greater clarity. Liz called me about five weeks ago to discuss the progress of her dream. It was clear then that the train had left the station. I interviewed Liz two nights ago to capture her story, what she discovered, and where she is taking the Journey of the Heart Journal.

I invite you to sit a little closer and listen in on our conversation. Be sure you have 30 minutes as you will not want to miss any of this interview.

CLICK HERE to listen to the interview with Liz Rosky.

Working with the Journey of the Heart Journal has been a transformative experience for Liz and she has set out to share the gift of journal keeping with the teens in Honduras. Pictured here is the first Journey of the Heart Journal class.

The Journey of the Heart Journal was adapted to remove a lot of the color to make reproducing it more economical. I can't tell you how awesome it is to look at these photos and see my journal pages. Wow!

Look at the focus! How cool is this?

Pictured here is Liz and the students. Oh how I wish I was there to give her a big hug and to share my love for journaling in person with these students.

Look at that smile! I'll let you know further down what we can do to keep these smiles coming.

This is only the beginning for Liz and her "Colour a Childs World" dream.

I am really passionate about Liz's dream. You see I had the opportunity to travel to Honduras about 10 years ago. I went to visit my brother who ran river trips.

While I was in Honduras, we went on a 4-day, 3-night rafting trip. Pictured above is one of the darling little children playing along the river. Can you see the goat? 

At the time my brother was the only commercial outfitter running down the river and to thank the locals for sharing the river, he collected donations from his guests and delivered dental and school supplies. I was with my brother when he delivered the supplies to two Peche Indian Villages.

These mountain villages are so remote that the only way to get to them is by paddleboat (raft, canoe, etc.), burro, or helicopter. Pictured above is a boy in the village boat. I mention in the interview how this is the only boat for the entire village. It is carved out of a tree. Think about that. Think about how many cars a single family household in the US has.

In these short five weeks, Liz's train is moving fast! You see many of these children in these remote villages do not have shoes. There is a wonderful company called Toms Shoes. For every pair of shoes purchased, a pair is donated to a child in need. Liz was approached to help deliver over 1,000 shoes to children in the remote villages. In order to match the correct size shoes with the children the feet were traced. Pictured above is what Liz received. Is your heart tugging? I know mine is. Listen in on the interview to hear more of this story. Liz had called me and told me about all of this and she said, "Kathryn, I set out to bring art and journaling to the students, to colour their world. What do shoes have to do with it?"

I said, "Liz, you and I both know that if a child doesn't have their basic needs met, they are not prepared to be a student. Think about Abraham Maslow's pyramid of hierarchical needs. These children will not be ready to work in a journal if they are hungry and not clothed."

I urged her, "Go Liz. Go and put shoes on those children. It has everything to do with coloring their world."

In our interview we touch on several topics including:

• How she is going to take the Journey of the Heart Journal to a girl's detention center.
• How the online art community supports each other.
• How challenging it is to make things happen in Honduras.

I asked Liz how we can help her to "Colour a Child's World."

Here are some things you can do:

1. Visit Liz's website to learn more: http://colourachildsworld.weebly.com

2. Send art supplies. Raid your stash! We all have a ton of stuff that we've collected. Let's share it. Here are some important tips for mailing packages to Liz.

• Don't send air mail (The postmaster may insist that the package is marked "air mail." If it is marked air mail, Liz will get charged a fee to receive the package. It is one of those corrupt Honduras issues.)
• Keep the weight down, break it up into multiple packages rather than one big one.
• Padded envelopes work better than boxes.
• Double check the address. Yes it has to have all that stuff on individual lines as noted below:

Elizabeth Rosky
Barrio Centro
Edificio Optica Lux
Arriva Urgente Express
Tela 
Atlandita 
Honduras
Central America

3. Make a cash donation. Liz mentions in her interview that she will need to hire the Honduran military or police to have an escort when traveling to the mountain villages. This is one example of cash that she will need for her efforts. Visit the donation page on her website: http://colourachildsworld.weebly.com/donations.html

4. Organize a local drive with schools, parishes, or organizations in your area. Be sure to contact Liz to find out what is needed at the time you are ready to rally. E-mail Liz at: lizabett.rosky@gmail.com

5. Post a badge on your blog. Write about Liz on your blog and Facebook wall. Tell everyone! To grab a badge visit Liz's blog and you'll see the code on the sidebar: http://colourachildsworld.weebly.com/lizzies-news.html 

6. Keep in touch! You can follow Liz's journey on her Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/liz.rosky

7. Support Toms Shoes. For every shoe you purchase, shoes are donated to a child in need. Visit their website to learn more: http://www.toms.com/

8. Subscribe to the True North Arts newsletter. You'll get free access to the Journey of the Heart Journal and I plan to post updates on Liz's adventure.

 

To get your copy of the Journey of the Heart Journal, subscribe to the True North Arts Newsletter:

Subscribe to the True North Arts/Collage Diva newsletter to download the journal pages for free! That's right, subscribers will get access to a weekly journal page with new artwork, prompts, affirmations, and/or inspirational quotes. You can unsubscribe at any time.

I can't tell you how humbled and touched I am to see where the Journey of the Heart Journal is going. I have often been told by others that I give away too much. When I look at these children and read the tender e-mails from those who follow my blogs, I know that I will not stop giving from the heart. Thank you all for sharing this journey. I hope you'll be in touch and let me know about your experiences with the Journey of the Heart Journal.

{soul hugs}

Kathryn, Collage Diva 

Comments

[Kristine Dubuque Ortega]

Kathryn - SO happy that you have made this connection - I love the friendship you have made with Liz and the connection with kids, in such a far away land. You are "The Connector" - in many ways!
Love this blog!
~Kristine

[chuck jarz]

Yesterday had a fun art filled day with 6 friends. That is what makes me realize how special my friends are...

[michelle ward]

Kathryn and Liz, wonderful story. You never know who you'll touch when you freely and generously put it out there. Bravo!