I was almost an utter stranger to Alan Randolph, a man whose name I had only seen in emails and the list of sponsors of the many kids of Casita Copan, but I had never met or seen him before. For sure, I knew he was a part of Towson Presbyterian Church and that he had come down many times before from the comforts of Maryland to endure blistering sun, high humidity and the absolute wonders of Honduran travel to help our community, but I didn’t “know-know” the man. So, you can imagine my surprise when I learned this would be the first and probably last time meeting him. (Spoiler Alert: don’t worry Alan is fine).
After many years of work and arduous physical labor involving the construction of every kind of structure possible around our community, Alan made the decision to take a well-deserved break and hang up his building gloves. Along with the construction team, Alan built eco-stoves, roofs, latrines, classrooms, and homes around our Copan. He also helped build Casita’s playground, our Mercadito workshop, our kid’s bathrooms and showers and has immeasurably helped shape many of our current and former kid’s futures through his ongoing sponsorship.
Being the skeptical person that I am, I started wondering why I was feeling sad about Alan’s last visit. To this day, I still don’t have a fully-fledged, rational answer. All I have been able to come up with is this: there is an unexplainable bond among people that share a wish for a better future for your country. And in Alan, and his fellow Towson expedition members, we found exactly that. Time in and time out they prove that our similarities are stronger than our differences and it is because of this that we are proud to call them our friends and our partners.
Thank you for your many years of love and support,
– Your Casita Copan family
P.S. We know Alan will be back, so see you soon!
Alright, Step Brothers GIFs aside, this message to Alan and our Towson family comes after their 2023 visit. Once here, they assisted through their medical, dental, construction and art & crafts teams to ensure our kid’s continued health and better learning conditions. To all members of the Mission Trip, thank you! Those interested in becoming a part of Towson’s mission trips to Casita and Copan can contact Lynn Krugman here and click here to see their trips across the years.