Amy: Hello Julie and Eric, I'm so excited to be doing my first interview for the eCorn and even more excited about what prompted it - you & your hearts for God. So, tell us a bit about your family.

Eric: There are six of us in our family: Julie and myself; David, our oldest who is 16 and a sophomore at Vista High School; Megan, who is 14 and is currently home schooled; Daniel, who is 9 and a 4th grader at Sandra J. Gallardo; and Emily, who is 6 and is also home schooled. We also have Licorice, our 8 year old cat, and Lilly, our yellow lab.

And could you share how you ended up at Oak Hills, when and why you chose this for your church home?

Julie: Actually, when we moved to Folsom 12 years ago, Oak Hills was the first church we attended. We were looking for a community church that emphasized small groups, and we immediately got plugged into one. Our plan was to commit to the church for 6 months to see if it was a good fit, and sometime after that we decided that, for various reasons, it really wasn't what we were looking for, and we went elsewhere. However, we continued meeting with our small group of friends from Oak Hills, to whom we had grown very close. After awhile, we returned, with the realization that this small group of friends really served as our church, and we were at home. That was a long time ago, and a lot has changed since then! Now we are the only family from that group who is still at Oak Hills and we still call it home.

I've heard Eric is a bit of a sports nut. So, in your opinion who is more likely to win a championship game in your lifetime, the Chicago Cubs or Green Bay Packers?

Eric: Well, the Green Bay Packers have won in my lifetime, and I expect the Cubs to win one of these years, but probably not this one (sorry, Kent).

Okay, now to the fun stuff. So, I hear you guys are taking David and Megan to Honduras this summer. Can you share with us a little about why you are going and who you will be serving while you are there?

Eric: The concerns of orphans has been on both Julie's heart and my heart for years, even before we were married. We've been looking for opportunities to get more involved these days. This particular opportunity came about with several members of that small group Julie mentioned who have been long-time friends of ours. They were impressed with the work of Providence World Ministries (http://providenceworldministries.org ) and specifically the work being done at orphanages and with sponsoring children. We're sponsoring a child together with these friends and traveling to Honduras in June to volunteer at the orphanage and to visit the child.

Why Honduras?

Julie: Really just because the opportunity that God presented us was there. We would be just as excited if we had this kind of opportunity right here in Sacramento. Although, I will say that Central America has some significance for us, especially Eric, who lived and worked as a teacher in Costa Rica, where he became fluent in Spanish (this will be handy for the team!). And we both have an affinity for the Latin American people. I used to think that I'd be a missionary in El Salvador - OR, work in an orphanage in Honduras!

Wow! This sounds like such a wonderful opportunity. Tell me more about the partnership you have with a specific child from the orphanage.

Julie: We're so excited about this! As Eric said, we are partnering with a few other families from our former small group to care for, or "adopt", one specific child at La Providencia Orphanage. We will be providing financial support, but we'll also be praying, writing letters and visiting occasionally. The idea is to develop a relationship, and it is a "for life" commitment. In a way, it'll be like we're extended family. Although we'll of course be spending time with all the children from the orphanage when we're there, we also get to meet "our" child, for the first time when we go this summer!

Do you know much about the orphanage you are working with?
Eric: We're learning about the place and I'm sure we'll know a lot more about it after spending a week working there. We know they try to foster a generational family based community and have housing for orphans and widows on the property so they can care for and learn from each other. There are about 20 of us going with several going for the second time. Although, there are already two homes there, with 10 children each, the orphanage is still in the construction phase. We're hoping to raise some donation money by having a garage sale later this month.

What would you say to families who have thought about getting involved in something like this?

Eric: I'd say that if they felt like it was something the Lord was telling them to do, go for it! Life is short!

Can you describe any new emotions you are dealing with in preparation for the trip or are you anticipating any upon your arrival?

Julie: We're all just pretty excited. We expect and hope that our hearts will break some and that our eyes will be opened to a world beyond our little one in Folsom, CA. This is something Eric and I really want for our kids.

How are you preparing your children for their new experience in Honduras?

Julie: We really don't know how to prepare them, since we haven't done too much of this kind of thing in our lives. Our 16 year old son, David, has been on a few mission trips, so maybe he can prepare us! We are getting together as a team several times before we leave, and are preparing some in that way. We're also having them brush up on their Spanish! Mostly, though, we'll be praying together that God will expand our vision, and that we'll be open to receive whatever He has for us as we love Him by loving His children.

Before we close this interview would you tell us more about the garage sale you are doing? When and where is it going to take place?

Julie: It's going to be on April 24 at Folsom Middle School.

Is there anything, we, as your church family might be able to do to support you in this?

Eric: We would love it if you would pray for us, our two older children who are coming with us, and the rest of the traveling team. We hope to develop our friendships, to learn what the Lord is at work doing in Siguatepeque Honduras, and to be available to Him, however we can. If you have items around the house you want to donate to our garage sale that would be great too.

Okay, so if we have stuff and we want to donate it to the sale what do we do?

Julie: We're storing things in our garage, so you can contact me if you have anything, and we can arrange a time to bring it over. That would really be great! I can be reached by phone at 983-2937, or send me an e-mail at julie.howell@comcast.net.

Well, thank you so much for taking the time for this guys! I enjoyed getting to ask you these questions and a privilege to kind of be introducing you to our church family that hasn't gotten to know you yet.

This Sunday - Baptism Class
April 10 - Men's Breakfast
April 12 - Body & Soul begins
April 14 - Elders' Prayer Team
April 24 - Spring Mosaic
April 29 - "Bridges" Study
April 30 - May 2 - Women's Retreat
June 14-18 - Arts Camp