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Over Thanksgiving, Mrs. Mari Wagner, an aide in the Bellwood-Antis Middle School, flew to The Republic of Honduras, which is one of the poorest nations in Latin America.  

Mrs. Wagner traveled there to visit her  parents, whom she had not seen in 4 years. She nearly lost her mom last summer to COVID and the distance between them made communication undesirably difficult.

It also made their reunion so much sweeter.

“Although I love my family and friends here (in the US), a big part of my heart is in my country,” Mrs. Wagner said.  “Honduras is a beautiful Country with beautiful people, materially poor but so incredibly rich in so many other worlds.”

Mrs. Wagner and her husband John landed in Comayagua, and travelled 3 hours to Mrs. Wagner’s hometown of La Venta del Sur, where they stayed for 10 days.

“La Venta del Sur is in the South of Honduras surrounded by breathtaking mountains. The Landscape is gorgeous,” she said. “Everything seemed brighter in color.” 

The entirety of Mrs. Wagner’s family lives in Honduras, and her childhood was spent there until she became a

former exchange student in the United States. 

“I have fond memories of running on the hills and climbing mango trees,” Mrs. Wagner said. “Also, kicking a hard plastic soccer ball on the dirt roads with friends.”

During the trip, her family experienced their first Thanksgiving, a holiday not celebrated in Honduran culture.

”The food was amazing, but I missed eating the traditional turkey dinner,” she said. 

While in Honduras, Mrs. Wagner had a blast spending time with her family and church members mountain hiking. They also visited a handful of touristic villages and enjoyed a strong Honduras Spuesso.

Mrs. Wagner’s aid her heart is in Honduras with her family, and she is fortunate that her local Bellwood church often visits the country for missionary work. She has been there with her church several times since since 2012. She said she is humbled to be the link for support that’s sent.

“(My husband and I both love it there very much, and it was very hard to say goodbye to the people,” she said. “They are very warm, happy and cheerful! It is easy to love them!”