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Mendoza Family

What kind of work do you do?

What kind of work do you do?

When thinking about what it is that we at Connect Global do on a daily basis it’s a little difficult to break down for people.

We are essentially a non profit that was founded around the idea that we could all make a difference in people’s lives by going to them, and simply serving them.

Of course we have written and revised a catchy mission statement over the years to describe what we do, but that does not exactly sum up the impact of our actions in a ‘ground level’ sort of way.

Between the four founders of Connect Global we have all found ourselves doing lots and lots over the years to build an organization that could really make a difference. We have become accountants, fundraisers, travelers, painters, chefs, plumbers, pre school teachers, website designers, preachers, as well as so much more.

We have found ourselves being each of these because that was what was needed in order to help someone at any given moment or to sustain the help that we have implemented over the years.

At times our job can be very ‘Instagram worthy’ work like meeting a mayor or being interviewed for the local news, most of the time, though, it consists of things like attending the funeral of a 6 year old who just passed away after a life-long battle with cancer. Our job is pretty hard to define while holding a broken mother in her torment, as she asks us why her kid was taken at such an early age and not being able to do much more than cry along with her.

So, now you have the very tip of the iceberg in understanding why it becomes harder and harder to answer the question, ‘So, what do you do?’

Our work is a gut wrenching, 24/7, heart breaking, satisfying, challenging, ever-evolving, mission that takes us from the highest of highs and the lowest of lows all in a matter of minutes at times.

The absolute best I have come up with at narrowing down what we do, is to say that on a daily basis we engineer and execute deliberate ways in which to demonstrate the phrase, ‘Love Your neighbor’.

So, what does ‘Love Your Neighbor’ Look Like?

‘Love your neighbor’ is something you may have only heard in Sunday School and can be pretty ambiguous. Does this mean love your physical neighbor — someone who lives on your cul-de-sac, in your state, or your country of origin? Is your neighbor someone with whom you agree politically, or who holds your same beliefs?

We believe everyone is our neighbor.

From fellow co workers, to the local barista. Our kid’s teacher to the maintenance person in our building. Every person in which we come into some form of contact we describe as our neighbor — and we are willing to Love each of them.

We show love in all sorts of ways both here in the United States as well as throughout our travels to Thailand, Mexico, Haiti, & Honduras. Love comes in all sorts of packages and transcends language, political opinion, and socio-economic differences.

We have prepared meals for the hungry, clothed the needy, prayed for the sick, and given shelter to widows and children.

‘Love’ as work sounds kind of hippy-dippy, but that is in essence ‘what we do’. We are proud of the work we have accomplished and we get very excited when others take part in this journey alongside us.

From the generosity of those who give financially to the adventurers who join us on treks outside the US, we are eternally grateful each time you show Love for one of our ‘Neighbors’.

The world is a big place and there are plenty of ‘neighbors’ who need your love.

While it is impossible to think we can help every person in the world, it is not impossible to change the world for one person — or 5, or 10, or even a hundred.


Do for One what you wish you could do for everyone.
—   Andy Stanley, Northpoint Ministries

We decided long ago that ‘Love Your Neighbor’ would not be just a slogan on a T Shirt, or simply a cute quote for Pinterest, but our sincere hope is that loving our neighbors would define us and we would be known for it — and in the end those we have loved would be the one’s showing love, and so on. We don’t do it to become famous or so we can drive a fancy sports car, we do it because it is the right thing to do.

If you want to join us, we invite you to take a trip with us and experience this work for yourself. Whether you are an accountant, entrepreneur, cook, executive, plumber, or just someone who wants to help others, we need your help. Become a Volunteer or travel with us, either way, You will be glad you did &  you will be changed forever.

Until then, drop us a comment below and tell us, ‘What Kind of Work do you do’?

Preparing for the Arrival of the World Race Team

Preparing for the Arrival of the World Race Team

Preparing for the arrival of the World Race Team

This past weekend, Travis, Gina and Noah Moffitt began a one month stay in Honduras to host a team of World Racers and to continue the work that Connect Global has established in the city of La Ceiba. 

Danielle, Saige and My self spent 2015 living in La Ceiba establishing some really great relationships and working hard at creating some really engaging and sustainable projects with several locally run organizations. 

This month our Co Founders will continue in the work aided by a special group of traveling missionaries. The World Race is an 11 month journey that takes participants through 11 different countries, and pairs them up with organizations like ours who are making a great impact in order to support and increase their effectiveness. 

This month our team will participate in many outreaches that we have designed to be very locally impactful as well as augment our long term goals of equipping and empowering local ministries to continue reaching their community through sustainable programs. 

Over the past couple of days, our team, CCI Church La Ceiba, and several other individual volunteers, gave of their time, resources, and energy setting up a comfortable and clean place for these World Racers to Stay while they are with us in La Ceiba.

By utilizing the church rooms as dorms the team, as well as our staff, can spend a greater percentage of all fundraising efforts towards the projects that really matter. This helps us maintain a very high level of support directed towards the community. 

We appreciate your thoughts and prayers for our team. This month will be a wonderful time of community outreach and personal growth. Pray for safety, energy, and increase of relational depth in La Ceiba. 

Thank You

Javier Mendoza,

Connect Global Co Founder

The Missionary Heart

The Missionary Heart

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 “The missionary heart: Care more than some think is wise. Risk more than some think is safe. Dream more than some think is practical. Expect more than some think is possible. I was called not to comfort or success but to obedience….There is no joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving him.”

 

—Karen Watson, martyr, March 15, 2004

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Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! 

Javier, Danielle, & Saige Mendoza in La Ceiba Honduras supporting a local run/walk in support of kids with cancer. 

Javier, Danielle, & Saige Mendoza in La Ceiba Honduras supporting a local run/walk in support of kids with cancer. 

2015 was quite an amazing year for Connect Global and for our family. As many of you know we moved to Honduras in January 2015. We had many good reasons to do so but I'll just list a few. 


It really all started 11 years ago when Javier and I fell in love on a mission trip. We were young but shared the same goals and dreams. We both wanted to spend our life helping others. From that trip on we were inseparable and were married a year later. As time moved forward our desire to do something BIG began to grow. We were no longer satisfied with a mission trip once a year and began to map a course for MORE. We were friends with a ministry( Worldwide Voice in the Wilderness) in Dallas Texas who at the time already had over two decades of ministry experience and insight into the non profit world. We decided to deepen that relationship and with their blessing learned all we could from their prison ministry with the intention of applying their practical knowledge to what would one day become Connect Global, our missions organization. Javier and I along with our ministry partners Travis and Gina Moffitt set out to create a world class missions organization over 4.5 years ago. Our goals were lofty and we have held our standards high.

We have set out to create sustainable solutions to solvable problems around the world. We do this through building fish farms, building new construction when needed, bringing in 100s of pounds of medical supplies, mentoring and training with the local police department, partnering financially with schools, orphanages and food banks as well as ministry/ mission training for local pastors. 

Javier, Danielle & Saige Mendoza with David (mask) and his mother Sandra and their friend.

Javier, Danielle & Saige Mendoza with David (mask) and his mother Sandra and their friend.

Our work has taken us to Mexico, Thailand, Haiti, Colombia, and Honduras. We are honored to serve the beautiful people we have met over the past 11 years and look forward to many years to come. 

We have just expanded internally and will now have a Connect Global base in both Tampa, Florida and Dallas, Tx. Our biggest support as an organization comes primarily from these two states and it is where the majority of our teams come from when traveling with us. We look forward to developing deeper and stronger relationships with individuals, churches, & organizations, in the North Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, & Louisiana areas. 

Javier and Saige Mendoza with long term friend/partner Jorge Amador his wife, Janeth, and their daughter Alison

Javier and Saige Mendoza with long term friend/partner Jorge Amador his wife, Janeth, and their daughter Alison

The past year we spent in Honduras truly gave us deeper roots in that community, which in turn has provided several open doors for continued partnership. Honduras is the murder capital of the world and over half its citizens live on less than $2.00 a day. What this means to you & me is that WE still have a lot of work to do

Connect Global continues to be committed to Honduras on a long term basis. We already have several trips planned for 2016 that you can attend, we are coordinating a business leader conference in 2016 in partnership with Global Advance of Dallas, Tx which will be hosted in Honduras,  and many other ways you can connect to the sustainable work we are doing. 

We could not do it without the love and support from all of you and for that we are thankful. If you are interested in traveling with us in 2016 please visit our TRIPS PAGE

We are excited about the New Year and all the projects Connect Global has in the works. Please Join us!

Javier, Danielle, & Saige Mendoza


MAKE A DONATION

Please Consider making a Financial Gift to help us continue the hard work in Honduras and in other parts of the world.

Your generosity is amazing! Thank You. 


Saige and Yeni

Saige and Yeni

Saige and Yeni.

Today (originally posted November 6, 2015) was a hard day for Yeni and she was not in good spirits most of the day for obvious reasons. She was admitted to the hospital for an infection which is super dangerous based on her weak immune system.

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So the initial prognosis was a 4 day stay in the hospital which would mean missing her big party tomorrow. 😔😔😔. Thankfully though the doctors seem to think she will be able to leave the hospital, if only for a short time, to enjoy the party. We are super excited about the chances of going ahead with the party!! That explains the big smiles in the photo.

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This was actually the first time Yeni smiled all day. She had been looking for Saige but she was at school for the first half of the day. After Saige got out of school we explained the situation to her and she immediately said we need to go take Yeni lunch, be with her, and make sure she can still go to her party. Saige also decided to give Yeni a small, portable DVD player that had been given to her as a gift and two new movies so Yeni has something to occupy her mind while in the hospital.

All in all, today was a long, heart wrenching day watching Yeni suffer and not being able to do much more than just be present.

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Yeni is a brave young girl fighting a nasty disease and yet still took time today to insist that she could stay at the hospital alone if it meant her younger siblings wouldn't have to be left alone for any amount of time during her treatment.

Being in close proximity to the suffering of kids like Yeni and others we've met this year has really broken my heart in so many ways.

I don't understand the place that suffering of this magnitude has in this world. I don't know what makes one kid out of a family of four have cancer while the other three just watch her suffer.

I only know that we are each placed here on earth to help ease the suffering of others in any way we can. We are here to be the reason someone can smile at the end of a day like this. We are here to love others in the way Jesus would. Fully and without prejudice. We are here to mend the broken hearted and bandage their wounds.

Compassion without action is merely observation.
— Javier Mendoza

Mendoza Family Update September

Mendoza Family Update September

Thank You for your interest in our family. 

We had a great summer with our team coming in from Texas, Florida and Atlanta in July. Together we got to partner with several local organizations to provide support to their community work. 

We are preparing for our next team September 12th.

This team will drive to a village called Cusuna, Honduras. It is about six hours from La Ceiba. This village is the location of the very first mission trip Danielle and I went to together, 10 years ago. This village is very special to our family as it not only represents the first time we fell in love with this group of people but little did we know it would also be the catalyst to launch us into missions in the capacity we are today.

Choosing to live full time for a year in another country is a special privilege that we have not taken lightly.

Yes there are challenges and there are some days that are harder than others, but we have had a wonderful time so far. We have made new, life long friends all over the country of Honduras and are grateful to be able to strengthen the relationships we have made over the last 10 years. 

This year has given us greater perspective on how to continue working and serving this country for the future.

Our time has also given us up close opportunities to see past the news headlines that tell us that Honduras is nothing more than the murder capitol of the world. There are hardworking, law abiding, community serving people all over this country. Everyone we have worked with here has been wonderful. We have been able to make some great partnerships with self motivated leaders and directors. 

Please keep us in your prayers and keep Honduras in your prayers.

There is still much we can all do to help lend a hand to our friends here. If you would like to make a financial donation you can know that every dollar is going to people who are great stewards and are making every penny go as far as possible! Additionally, we are always looking for volunteers to come and give of your time, expertise and skill to augment the work that is going on in this community. 

Javier & Danielle Mendoza
Connect Global

The Road Less Traveled

The Road Less Traveled

After living in Honduras these past eight months I have began to see many things from a different perspective.

One thing I have been mulling over almost constantly is gratitude. Being grateful shows depth in someone’s character, while being ungrateful displays an attitude of entitlement. I am learning that being grateful often times is a choice made by the individual and is rarely determined by ones set of circumstances.

I have been humbled by many of the citizens here in Honduras.

Scouting projects, vision casting and follow through takes a significant amount of work not only from our organization but also from the leaders in the community who graciously plan, facilitate and include every needed detail to accomplish the task at hand. These community leaders are the ones who lend us credibility to their friends, their families, their schools and hospitals.

The gratitude that they exude in the day to day has even made me feel uncomfortable at times. In part because our organization solely exists to be a help, a support and a friend to such communities, so what else would we be doing? I really want to carry pictures of ALL of YOU and say “ thank them.” We are simply trying to be a follower of Christ who fulfills the Great Commission. For Javier and I personally, as well as Connect Global as a staff, we have made a decision to actually do what the bible says to do. It sounds crazy but by simply doing what the bible says our purpose in life can be revealed. We are to enhance others with the gifts we have received.

Everyone has the ability to play a role in enhancing someone’s life.

For most of you this will not involve you moving to a developing country, learning a new culture or deciphering a new language, but if you are mindful it will re-route your heart and your thinking.

For many of you this will look like you being the best teacher your students will ever have, being a co-worker that will listen in someone’s time of need, or being a spouse that dedicates their life to friendship and mutual partnership within your marriage. The list can go on and on, the idea is that when you begin to nurture your attitude of gratitude you will no longer be able to settle for surface relationship, petty gossip, constant discontentment or dissatisfaction. By focusing on the enhancement of others, you forfeit the “right” to be selfish and that leads you to places you’ve never imagined being.

In fact you might catch yourself volunteering to feed the homeless, taking in foster children, booking a ticket to a foreign land to go and serve, or playing the piano for the elderly in your local nursing home. The possibilities are endless.

YOU have the power to make a significant difference in the lives of others.

It is easier at times to focus on present circumstances, feel entitled or harbor resentment but that road is wide, and leads you nowhere.

Practice gratitude, give of yourself, and live on purpose so you too can experience The Road Less Traveled.

Mendoza Family Update

Mendoza Family Update

Saludos from La Ceiba Honduras.

Map of Honduras  

Map of Honduras  

We have been here in La Ceiba for just under two months and have hit the ground running. The way of life is different in many ways but we have already gained a greater knowledge of the work set before us. Our days are full and we wouldn't have it any other way.

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We enrolled our daughter in school the first of February. She Is thriving in her new environment. We are so grateful to God that she has gracefully accepted a new country, a new home, a new school and a new set of friends. She and I both are working on learning the new language!

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Javier is busy volunteering throughout the week at a local church whose primary focus is church planting and showing God's love in action throughout the community. Javier and I together will be giving FREE English classes at the church each Saturday starting in March. We are told that this will be a big deal to the community!

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We are doing this in addition to our time spent at Casa Cielo. Casa Cielo is an orphanage about 25 minutes from our home. I am teaching language, spelling and grammar as well as loving on the kids.

Javier is currently rebuilding a website for them and will be taking over a class of his own in March.

On Thursday nights we are a part of a local Honduran small group that is determined to ask the right questions and do the right things within this community. We are very happy to be involved with each of them who have knowledge, insight and ideas for their community. Plus they are a lot of fun too!

We also met with the Director of DiNAF which is best described as a social service to families in need with the great focus being on the children. Local family's ( many from single parent homes )  bring their children there during the day so they can either work or search for a job. DiNAF gives the children a safe place to be, along with meals for families that do not have the means to pay for childcare or education on their own. We have been invited to partner with them through our time and resources. Javier and I along with the rest of the Connect Global team are thinking through how we can best help this local government organization.

Moving to La Ceiba is the best opportunity we have been given to reach into the lives of many families in need.

We thank you for your continued support and prayer. 



Beauty in Honduras

Beauty in Honduras

"To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." 

◄ Isaiah 61:3 ►

Our family has now been in Honduras for 12 days. We have been getting settled in and becoming acquainted with our new town and with some really great new families. 

Each time we have traveled to Honduras over the past 10 years we have been in awe of the natural beauty as well as the beauty in the love and the grace that surely abounds here. 

We have chosen to focus on the beauty and not the ashes. There are families here serving others, there are business leaders improving the community, and there are churches concerned with outreach and not just warehousing believers. 

Yes, there is still crime and hurt and disease but there is also peace, and love and good people willing to do what it takes for light to defeat darkness. 

Our intention here is to highlight the good going on in this community and embrace solutions rather than dwell on the problems. 

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we integrate with this community and pray that we would be successful in our pursuit to exchange beauty for ashes. 


Moving Abroad

Moving Abroad

Many of you have questions of how this move to Honduras has come about.

I will create notes here on FB from time to time while we are away to answer the common questions we get like WHY ? As well as post about what our day to day work looks like there.

Ok, where to start...? Yes we are nervous, in some moments it feels like my heart may just jump out of my chest.

In other moments there is such an overwhelming peace about it that I just want to cry ( but I don't because I have a great poker face. ) The fact that I can experience that type of peace and to that degree beside the fact that we have never laid eyes on our soon to be dwelling, or that we don't have a solution for transportation in a country that has been known as the Murder Capitol of the World is nothing short of faith and a miracle. I can tell you peace does not come from having all the answers, all the resources or everything always going according to plan. In my life it has come from faith and trust, believing and knowing we will be ok. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. Matt 10:29. The greatest JOY in what we are embarking on is that it is NOT ABOUT US... Ahhhh how refreshing. It is about what we feel we were not only called to do but that it is something we were created for. To our delight we are seeing that as a family unit we have this desire, calling and will to GO.

Now for those who feel like " well this is sudden " rest assured it is not.

Javier and I have been on the mission field separately for 15 years now and on the field together for the last decade. Here is a fun fact... Javier and I fell in love on a mission trip... True story ! It is about the ONLY thing we have in common ha, but what a great thing to share the same passion for. Really my greatest concern on this journey is that my daughter will feel a strong sense of community. I pray she has double the play time with friends and a double portion of love and security in her little heart. I pray this lays a strong foundation In the makeup of who she is and who she will become in life.

Thank you all for reading and letting me share a few thoughts. Your prayers, support and friendship are always valued and respected.

Peace be with YOU!

Photos from Our First Trip to Honduras over ten years ago