I don't really know where to start. God deserves all the glory. Without Him I could never have done any of this. I will never as long as I live regret the day I arrived at Emmanuel. There were times after I was there that I would have done anything to get away, but every time I couldn't forget God's calling, I couldn't stop trusting that He knew what He was doing and I couldn't bear to leave the kids that way. God taught me so much about faith while I was there. You'll never know your full potential if you don't let God take you into situations you think you can't handle. When you get over that hump of saying, "I can't," you'll be amazed at what God can do through you. Trusting Him even when I was so scared and had no idea what I was doing was an amazing growing experience. There is a world of children out there who have no idea what it means to have a life like most of us enjoy. They are loved starved. And the only way for them to receive that love is when we allow God to love them through us. Through our hands and feet, our physical presence. Being at Emmanuel was the hardest, most frustrating thing I have ever done but going there was the best decision I ever made. Emmanuel has every resource it needs to make that the children don't go hungry and to put a roof over their heads and clothe their bodies; Emmanuel has all that. But the CHILDREN need YOU.  Who will feed the empty longing in their hearts to be known and to be loved?  God needs you to LOVE them. He commands us to be His hands and feet. That's what it means to be a Christian. 
Marylou Kaufmann, volunteer from October 2003 till November 2004

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Staying at the orphanage Emmanuel was an enlightening experience. You build a bond with the children that is priceless. They are filled with a sense of humor that you look forward to every morning!
The time at Emmanuel is something I will remember forever.
Ashley Burton, volunteer from July till August 2003

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I am a Christian and have been for as long as I can remember, but I can honestly say that I never truly "knew" the Lord until I had the opportunity to live at Emmanuel.
Emmanuel is not, by any means, the only way to get to know God, but it is a very unique and precious time of molding for a person. It is not the people of the orphanage that keep people coming and coming back, even though God uses and has blessed them abundantly in their fruits. It is not the children, themselves, that hold that curious "spell" that stays with the volunteers after they depart. It is nothing but the power and glory of the Son of God, through His Spirit who has taken up dwelling in that small valley in the middle of Honduras.
To know anybody, a person must be around them; watch, listen and question. To know God, one must do the very same. Emmanuel (or the One who has claimed it) has a track record of making the "noise" of one's life, vanish, allowing the small, still Voice of the Almighty to become absolutely clear. It's as if blinders have been stolen from your eyes and you see what Jesus saw. Out of all of the orphanages in the world, you begin the understanding process of why God has led you to this particular one. The ministry of the place is of two-fold. Not only has He brought you safely there to serve, He has brought you there to actually become a servant.
My time at Emmanuel gave me a tiny glimpse of the awesome instruction that Paul gives in Philippians. "To live is Christ." If I am not doing that, what on earth am I here for? I am only taking up space and using up air. To be a bond-servant, a slave to the will and desire of the Lord is our purpose, not our choice.
I have never learned the sheer vastness of that command until I had the privilege to live 5 short months at Emmanuel. Hopefully, with the guidance from the Lord and the passion he has sparked inside of me, my life will never settle for the "American Dream."
Jessica Daniels, volunteer from February till June 2003