Tori P.- on mission in Honduras

I am a native Texan who loves to travel, to meet new people and to be out­doors. I enjoy spending quality time with my family and friends. After attending the University of Texas, I worked for the past five years in Dallas for a real estate pri­vate equity firm. Thanks to the encour­age­ment of my friends and family I am now preparing to move to Tegucigalpa, Honduras for a year vol­un­teering with Heart’s Home. My mis­sion is to open my heart to my com­mu­nity, to be ready to love and full of empathy. My task is to love my neigh­bors, listen to my friends and encourage strangers. I am over­joyed to have an oppor­tu­nity to fully immerse myself in a life of love and ser­vice to my neigh­bors.

The deci­sion to vol­un­teer with Heart’s Home came grad­u­ally. Over the past few years while I enjoyed my career and the time I spent weekly vol­un­teering in Dallas, the desire to vol­un­teer long-term grew. I wanted to commit my time fully and give of myself for a longer period of time. However, the more I researched, the more I became aware of my inad­e­qua­cies. I am not a teacher to teach or doctor to heal. I do not have a degree in to counsel or a degree to train. I was and am totally unqual­i­fied. Then I hap­pened upon Heart’s Home and finally got excited. As a Heart’s Home vol­un­teer I will live a simple life of com­pas­sion - inten­tional and action­able com­pas­sion. I am not only excited about this simple mis­sion, but also about the com­mu­nity life which I will live. Here I will live with, pray with and work with other vol­un­teers. By the grace of God, we will be pre­sent where we are needed the most.

My strength is God … through whom I know all things are pos­sible. My four younger sib­lings are my inspi­ra­tion … they make me laugh so hard I cry. My family is my sup­port … they taught me how to love and how to live. My friends are my teachers … the encourage me to be more than I am.

I look for­ward to sharing this journey with my family, friends and spon­sors.