Living the Lessons Learned in El Paraíso

I am Kevin Finch, the author of Paradise in Front of Me, a book describing the two years my wife and I spent as Peace Corps Volunteers in El Paraíso, Honduras. I currently live in Roanoke, Virginia with my wife, Cristina, and our two young daughters.
Prior to joining the Peace Corps, I worked as special education teacher in Marietta, Georgia. I returned from the Peace Corps and worked four more years as a teacher in Roanoke. Discouraged by my inability to have the impact I desired and yearning to follow my passion for teaching struggling readers, I followed the lessons learned in Honduras and put my skills to work in a new way. I now operate a private tutoring business where I work primarily with children with language-based learning differences. It's a job that brings me great joy on a daily basis.
Paradise in Front of Me and the discussions I hope will follow on the blog are designed to help us look for the good in our lives. It is never my intent to diminish the fact that life is never easy, often unfair, and, for many, a daily struggle of survival against both physical and emotional obstacles. To survive and thrive in this world, it is essential that we search for and focus on the positive in every person, place, and situation. This is not easy, and the premise sounds like a cheesy cliché for those whose challenges are small.
As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras, I learned the value in seeking out the beauty in daily life. It was a lesson taught to me by individuals facing tremendous hardships and extreme poverty. I hope to use this blog as a means to learn from each other as we explore when the theme of the book is truly applicable in our own lives. I believe paradise is a mindset and something I can choose to see based on my approach to daily life. The blog is one way to put this new life passion to work.
Thank you for visiting the website. I hope you enjoy it and take the time to share your own life journey.
Best Wishes,
Kevin Finch
Prior to joining the Peace Corps, I worked as special education teacher in Marietta, Georgia. I returned from the Peace Corps and worked four more years as a teacher in Roanoke. Discouraged by my inability to have the impact I desired and yearning to follow my passion for teaching struggling readers, I followed the lessons learned in Honduras and put my skills to work in a new way. I now operate a private tutoring business where I work primarily with children with language-based learning differences. It's a job that brings me great joy on a daily basis.
Paradise in Front of Me and the discussions I hope will follow on the blog are designed to help us look for the good in our lives. It is never my intent to diminish the fact that life is never easy, often unfair, and, for many, a daily struggle of survival against both physical and emotional obstacles. To survive and thrive in this world, it is essential that we search for and focus on the positive in every person, place, and situation. This is not easy, and the premise sounds like a cheesy cliché for those whose challenges are small.
As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras, I learned the value in seeking out the beauty in daily life. It was a lesson taught to me by individuals facing tremendous hardships and extreme poverty. I hope to use this blog as a means to learn from each other as we explore when the theme of the book is truly applicable in our own lives. I believe paradise is a mindset and something I can choose to see based on my approach to daily life. The blog is one way to put this new life passion to work.
Thank you for visiting the website. I hope you enjoy it and take the time to share your own life journey.
Best Wishes,
Kevin Finch