Traveling Again

February 7, 2009

I am sitting in the San Pedro Sula airport as I write this entry. I shall be here until around 2:00AM which because I am not a night owl, is definitely not my preferred time of travel or wakefulness but it works every once in a while. It seems like the last few days and weeks have flown by and been one unexpected event after the other. I am currently enroute to Sarasota, Florida so that I can be with my family as my grandfather is in his last few days (or weeks) after suffering from a stroke on Wednesday. I am thankful for the time that I had to visit with him over Christmas this past year but I do hope that I will get to say good-bye when I arrive in Sarasota on Saturday morning. Being in Honduras the events that I know have been taking place these last few days often seem unreal, until I talk with my mom and hear the pain in her voice.

Last year seemed to be a year of walking with others through pain and I had hoped that this year might be different but I guess that there is always pain; sometimes it is just more noticeable than others.

The past week has been interesting for me as Evelin has settled into the apartment and I have begun interacting with her one year old daughter, Lisbet, much more. There are so many times that I want to jump in and exert some discipline or offer suggestion after suggestion. And as her crying continues day after day, I marvel that Evelin does not get more frustrated than she does. I am definitely seeing the importance of teaching children, using consistent discipline, from infancy on. By one year old, so much has already been set in place in Lisbet’s habits that it is difficult to change because it requires enduring tantrums and screaming – something that is not fun for Evelin, myself, nor the neighbors. I keep praying for wisdom about when to offer help and when to remain quiet. I also pray that Lisbet will warm up to me so that eventually I can give Evelin a break and she can go to a church service and really worship, without having to be chasing a toddler or dealing with her cries. I find myself analyzing Lisbet’s actions and reactions and wondering what kind of experiences she has had. I wish that I had paid more attention in some of my Psychology classes, especially Child Psychology.

I talked to one of my friends today and it turns out that she is not looking to move into an apartment at this point so I am praying about whether there is someone else who would want to share the apartment. Otherwise I do need to seriously start apartment hunting again.

Last weekend Evelin and I attended a young adult retreat in the camp which was a neat experience. I got to know a few of the young adults and to was a good time of teaching and worship. Since it was a retreat there was more down time, but to my dismay I had not brought any games along. I taught a few of the girls the game of Up Jenkins which we enjoyed playing the one evening. I was glad that Evelin was able to participate and get to know a few people and that her sister was willing to watch Lisbet.

I cannot remember the list of other things I was going to blog. Though rainy season is technically over, we are continuing to experience torrential downpours with frecuencia (that may only be a Spanish word, I actually cannot remember). I cannot complain too much though because the weather is still cool.

Musings on an Escalator

January 28, 2009

Today I was walking up the escalator in the mall and delighted because the person in front of me was walking, not just standing still. I have never liked escalators. It has nothing to do with fear but everything to do with being stuck. When I am on an escalator, I am at the mercy of the people in front of me. If they do not move, all that I can do is stand still and enjoy the ride. Except I rarely enjoy it. For this reason I always look to take the stairs whenever possible. They permit more freedom, exercise, and who knows what else. But as I walked up the escalator today, I had the very common passing thought, "I wonder if there is an analogy here?" And as I thought about stairs versus escalators, I had to reflect on when God is moving or at work. I want to be where God is working and active. I want to be emersed in what He is doing and go wherever He leads me. But I picture it more like stairs than an escalator. Unless God says to "wait and be still" I think my walk with God is active and moving. His path directs me and determines where I go, but action is involved in my part. I have to walk or climb the stairs. I do not just stand still and go for a ride. I have heard it said that even in "waiting" we should not just sit around and do nothing. We can wait actively pursuing Him and the things of Him.

At least those are my initial thoughts after reflecting on escalators and stairs. The escalators would not be so bad if I could keep taking steps and not be limited by the pace of the electrical units. Hmm... maybe I am simply too independent (or impatient) and it carries over to my relationship with God. I do want Him to be in control and so I am sure that from time to time that means "standing still on the escalator and moving at what I consider a very slow pace." Perhaps there should be a balance between the stairs and the escalator.

Anyway those are my ramblings and very unrefined thoughts. I would welcome any feedback or further musings on the topic.

Pretending It's Winter

January 27, 2009

I am getting word that in the north there has been some snow and is chance of more although for dear Lancaster county it may change to sleet and rain. Quite sad. But it is also sad that here in Honduras I was dressed yesterday as if it was winter. Since my return from the States the weather has stayed relatively cool here and after a morning run and a mostly cold shower, I was rather chilly. And so I covered my wet head with my snowflake winter hat. Whenever it is even slightly cold, one has to dress for the occasion and pretend it is cold. Of course the beautiful orchid pictured below was blooming on the same day as the "winter" weather which goes to show just what winter is like down here.

Life will be changing for me here in Honduras, come tomorrow. Evelin and her one year old daughter are moving in with me here in the city. She could no longer stay with her sister's family and the only option she had would have led her to back down the road she is trying to leave. After much prayer, I felt like God was saying to invite her in and try to help her connect with other people so that she can grow in the Lord and begin looking for a job. Until then I will have a very clean apartment since she will be cleaning for me. This is probably my last night of peace and quiet though. I have so much to learn as I help Evelin learn. I know that God will probably be doing just as much work in me as He is in her.

As for everything else that I was going to write about, I cannot remember since it is entirely too late for me. Maybe it was to say that I finally returned to basketball practice tonight to reconnect with some of the team members. I am not planning to play since I do not have the time to commit to it, but next weekend is the National Honduras Tournament for men's and women's basketball. It is too bad I am not still playing because I could have participated in Nationals. Maybe I can still sit the bench (which really is no fun at all) or simply watch a game or two.

Good News

January 21, 2009

It has been a rather long two weeks but yesterday I got some good news. I went to the Immigration office to renew my visa well in advance because I was slightly afraid that they would deny it to me on the basis of me having a new passport number or whatever. Once there I asked the woman working if there was indeed a new law by which foriegners only receive 30 days in the country. She said no and that I should have gotten a 90 day visa. Her suggestion was to not get in the Customs line of the woman who stamped my passport ever again. She perhaps has a record of not giving the visa due a person. At least I do not have to travel to the capital for an extension nor leave the country in 60 days. My lawyer mentioned to me last week that I may still be lacking some signature or paper for my residency but at this point I am wondering if it will even be worth trying to get it. It took a year and a half to reach this moment, and I do not know much longer I will be in the country. We will see what happens I guess.

In the meantime I am still looking for an apartment and with that trying to discern what God is calling me to in regards to having Evelin and her daughter live with me. They are here in the city for a few days with me this week and it is proving to be interesting and a good test. I find myself wanting to step in and provide the one year old with some discipline though. Right now she is the one in control. What is God asking of me though, that is the question. Thankfully I did find out this morning that if I have not found another apartment by the end of the month, I can stay here a little longer.

So that is a little bit of what is up, but only a little bit. Who knows when I will catch up with writing. Oh, and included is a photo that I took with my new camera. I am so excited because I can take very close-up photos.

A Tiger or Two at Large

January 16, 2009

So I got some interesting news this afternoon. A tiger escaped from a small community circus probably about 3 miles away. And the circus has now left town, leaving the tiger... at large. Not only that but a male tiger (the first one mentioned was female) escaped from another circus, also not too far away. And I wonder where these tigers will end up. The mountain that camp is on is more highly vegetated than many of the surrounding areas. It seems like a prime hideout for a tiger or two. I am thinking twice now before my solo walks from one side of camp to the other. But not too long or hard. Tonight camp is full with a weekend group of 70 youth so there should be enough noise and commotion to keep the tigers at bay. I think I will carry my camera everywhere I go though so that I am ready if I ever do see a tiger.

As for other events of the week, I feel as if I am driving a new car. The headlights work and I have a new windshield. It took a while to reach this point though with lots of taxi rides and waiting. Today I had planned to train a group of leaders for leading on the ropes course tomorrow but they had car trouble and other complications and did not arrive until hours and hours after the planned time. So tomorrow morning there is a 6:00AM training. Fun, fun. This whole system definitely needs improved. In order to be ready for tomorrow's early training, I think I am off to sleep.

Feeling Trapped

January 10, 2009

If I have not mentioned it before, my car has been having troubles. (Actually I think I did refer to a few of the problems earlier today). When I first opened the car on Wednesday morning after being gone for not quite 3 weeks, I almost died because of the smell that escaped from inside. Everything was covered with mold! I could not believe how disgusting it was. Since I did not have the time nor the equipment for doing a good cleaning, I took the car to a nearby car wash. Thankfully with the coconut air freshner that I have inside, it smells much better.

But their is a greater problem that has confined me to my house on this Saturday evening when I wanted to take a drive and see how the apartments I am interested in look at night. You can getter a better glimpse of the kind of neighborhood and how well lit things are if you drive by at night. Early evening, just after dusk, I took two friends to their house and noticed that once again one of my headlights was out. Really it is not burned out, the connection just get loose when the car jostles, which is frequently on these roads. As I drove home from their house, the other headlight suddenly went out too (I think I hit a bump). I had to turn my bright lights on to make myself seen and to see the roadway myself. Once at home I wiggled the wires around and got the left light back on.

A few minutes ago I decided to leave and check out the apartments and also be ready in case my one friend called and had a little time to get together. But as soon as I pulled out of the garage, both lights went out. And I could not get the hood open (a frequent problem also this week) to do any jiggling. I think that I am about ready to turn my car in for something new with no problems. The problem free life would not last long enough to make it worth it though. I think that there are a few too many challenges happening all at the same time and so my attitude is not the best at the moment. I think that I had better take a few minutes to do some introspection and ask the Lord for help. As Evelin said to me this morning, I am feeling discouraged. And it is for her sake too that I also feel discouraged because I do no know what these next few weeks hold for her, considering her decision to move back to Progresso. The words of Isaiah 30:15 come to mind as I think of how I need to trust her life and mine (car included) to the Lord. "In repentence and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength." So I will go be quiet and listen.

The Fun of Police Checkpoints

January 10, 2009

This morning I journeyed from camp to the city (and tomorrow and Monday I will make the trek again). It was one of those days where traffic was moving slowly and there were no good passing zones but in general the trip was going pretty well. As I neared the city I came upon a police checkpoint and though on Thursday they let me by without stopping me, this time I was flagged over. I was pretty confident though because I have a new passport with a valid visa stamp and so until February 6, I should be good to go.

I handed the police officer my license and car registration but then he asked me if I have "triangulos." I looked at him blankly and then realized that I did not have my hazards on. That was not what he wanted though. He kept asking if I had any cones in my car, which of course I did not. I had to get out of the car and open the trunk so that he could look to see if I had "triangulos" (which turns out to be the red triangles you set up on the road if you have a problem). They were not there. I had not known it was a law to carry them but the one officer found the law for me in his little book. I would love to read that book sometime. Maybe it is something you receive when you get a Honduran driver's license. But since I do not have the latter, I do not have the book.

The policemen politely told me that I was in violation (all my claims of ignorance -- which were true -- did not help) and that they would have to take my license and I could get it back by paying about $35. Of course my license was going to end up in some little town between camp and the city and they could not give me the direction or the number for the office. And then came the offer. "You could pay the fine right now and only pay half." Ah, the bribes. I am so glad that I know more now than the first time I was fined because I politely said that I would pay it in the office and not on the road. I was hoping that as often happens, they would not even bother writing up the fine, because what they want is the bribe. The chief was even there and he asked me where I work so I explained. In doing so I mentioned the church I am associated with in the city and the pastor's name, and the chief looked down at the papers and then told me I could go. Thank you Lord! Upon reaching the city, I did buy "triangulos" so that next time things should go smoother. I am sure that there is another law that I will not be in accord with though and I will have to go through the system once again. It may be my cracked windshield but that I plan to fix next week since anything hitting it at this point could cause it to shatter. (That is thanks to the cold water at the carwash further cracking the hot glass). I definitely have had enough car issues for the month.

Passports & Allergy Testing

January 1, 2009

Perhaps at some point I will do a more profound entry with thoughts on the past year or this upcoming year. For the moment though, there are stories to be told of the this past week's events.

My time in Pennsylvania has involved lots of visiting with friends, playing early morning basketball and working on necessary details for Honduras. The primary task was to get myself a new passport since I had recently discovered that I could not re-enter Honduras with my existing one. Monday, December 29th, I caught an early morning train to Philly and with the aid of a conductor and fellow passenger, found my way to the US Customs House in downtown. Other than the money it required, the process of renewal was rather painless. I had turned in my paperwork by 9:30AM and they told me to return at 11:30AM for the passport. I spent the next 2 hours wandering around the city. I stumbled upon a PA Driver’s License Center which was perfect because I needed a new photo for my new license.

When I returned to the Customs House, they handed me my new passport. As I checked it over for any mistakes, my heart sank because I saw that they had given me a new passport number. The security guard assured me that it was the common procedure. For me though it will likely pose a big obstacle because all of my paperwork in process for residency in Honduras has my old passport number. I think that even the letter which has permitted me to stay in the country past 90 days will be nullified, meaning that I have to start leaving every 3-4 months again. Ah… the joys of paperwork and red tape.

Tuesday morning I went to my Allergist and got retested to determine whether I still needed to take allergy shots against yellow jacket stings. Much to my delight, the tests showed that I was no longer allergic so no more trying to find people to give me shots in Honduras. The doctor did warn me that the allergy could return after being stung several times, but for now I rejoice in not having to worry about shots or allergic reactions to stings.

For New Year's Eve I headed to my cousin's house in Baltimore with another cousin. We spent the evening visiting and remaining indoors, away from the raging wind. The fireworks were postponed in the city due to the wind. And today I need to finalize plans for a trip to a cabin tomorrow and start the packing process for returning to Honduras. Yesterday I was blessed to see a few snow flurries as I was hiking around Black Rock Retreat with a college friend, but this weekend I hope to experience the real thing along with some ice skating. I have been in the Honduran sunshine for a little too long.

Christmas in Florida (part 2)

To continue the story of December 24, 2008, after dinner my sister Val and her husband began the arduous task of organizing a trip to the movies for 17 indecisive cousins, ranging in age from 5 to 33. It was Christmas Eve so theaters closed early. Once permission was granted for going to the movies and a theater was found, two cars were loaded, and a vote was taken (including a vote with eyes closed) we found ourselves buying tickets for the “Tale of Despereaux. “A group of this size is so rare on Christmas Eve that they gave us a discount. After purchases of drinks, popcorn, and mounds of candy we settled down to watch the movie. I thought the mice were cute but it definitely was not a thrilling movie and some members of the party were disgruntled that we had not chosen “Bolt” in 3D. Nonetheless it was another memory.

Christmas Day involved the usual gift exchange were half the family loses the gift that they really wanted to another family member. Late afternoon we headed to a nearby school gym for multiple games of volleyball. I took my one cousin on in one-on-one basketball and lost sorely. His words were, had we kept playing, I would have worn him out eventually. During volleyball to live up to my hummingbird reputation, I ran in place in between plays. After dinner that night, we were made aware that there was lots of ham left and since it was the young people’s turn to cook dinner the next night, we were encouraged to somehow use it. This threw a wrench in the original plan for baleadas (a Honduran dish). For some reason, Val and I, (the main culprits in volunteering to make the dinner) decided to enlist the help of everyone else in deciding what to cook. And so it was that the young people gathered around the tables in the garage to discuss the menu options. Nathan led us in the Democratic Process, which involves first brainstorming and then eliminating options. The process took a good 40 minutes and included such suggestions as Ham-Berry Shortcake, delivered pizza with ham thrown on top (which Val and I vetoed), and Strawberry Shortcake (as the main course – as if we did not already have 10 pies to eat). Despite these amazing suggestions, we settled on hamburgers on the grill which did nothing to alleviate the abundance of ham. Before making the decision, we asked about the grill and propane and were assured that they were in working order.

Come Friday afternoon, the young people gathered in the kitchen to make hamburgers and various other foods. About 10 minutes before the estimated time for dinner, we started the grill. Within minutes we discovered that it was not really working and the flame reached only one small area of the grill at a time – basically one hamburger. We decided to do some of the burgers on the stovetop. Meanwhile my one aunt ran over to the neighbor’s house, a coworker of hers, to inquire about the availability of a grill. As it turned out, they had a state of the art grill which finished off the burgers in one shot. Dinner was delayed by no more than an hour. Our parents were glad it happened to the younger generation since we are more flexible – in their opinion. The situation reminded me of Honduras where the best laid plans often go awry. The other difficulty of the week was a septic system that could not sustain the number of people in and out of the house. I wanted to implement the Honduran way which is – all toilet paper goes in the trash can – but it was not approved and we simply tried use the bathroom less. All in all it was a good time with the family and our travel home took even less time than the trip down.

Christmas in Florida (part 1)

So it is about time to re-cap a few of the adventures of Florida last week over Christmas. On Monday morning, December 21 at 12:00AM my sisters, their spouses, and I gathered at my parents’ house to begin the journey south in an eleven passenger van (there were seven of us). Because I had a seat to myself, I was able to sleep until almost 7:00AM which was great. My waking hours I spent stuffing and addressing my Christmas letters. We had time to play a game or two as well. Sixteen and a half hours later we arrived in Sarasota, Florida and met up with family. Less of my cousins live in Florida now so there is less space for those of us who are from out of state. This year we had to stay in a hotel, but it worked out pretty well.

My time in Florida basically consists of endless hours with about 36 other family members. During the day fewer of us were together but in the evenings we gathered for dinner at my aunt and uncle’s. This was the year of the young adults (those in their late 20’s and early 30’s) being present which always leads to a little more adventure. Two years ago we had taken all of the younger cousins to a movie which was a highlight in spite of the fact that the movie was a bit cheesy. Spilled popcorn and practically scrapping the roof of my dad’s van in the parking garage were the added bonuses that year.

Tuesday was a calm day with puzzles, strawberry-mango smoothies, board and card games, and a slow game of Kick-the-can. Wednesday proved to be more unforgettable – as childhood trauma was relived. Having grown up in Florida, I for some reason never developed a love for the beach. I hate the S’s about it – sand, salt, and sun. And until last week I forgot about the sea gulls. The beach is enjoyable if you are staying nearby and do not have to drive home with all of your sand but that is not the case in Florida. My “twin” cousin Ben feels similarly about the beach so we did not head out there right away with all of the other cousins. I did convince him to drive us out there though because I thought we could play some volleyball. Just as we were going to leave my sister called to say that they were hungry (that is 12 young people) so we stopped and picked up three pizzas. When we arrived, the beach was packed, as was the parking lot. Even the Amish were at the beach enjoying the warm sunshine the day before Christmas.

The fourteen of us gathered around the pizza and ate it while standing. Meanwhile menacing sea gulls hovered overhead. All of a sudden I was dive bombed by a bold sea gull that swooped in for the steal. I had taken maybe two bites of a slice of pizza and that sea gull yanked the rest from my fingers. It managed to draw blood with its beak as well. As soon as it lifted up, it was attacked by the rest of the sea gulls and in seconds the pizza was gone. There had been no warning or time to react. Why it singled me out, I do not know? I was probably the shortest person there, even though I was also the oldest by almost 15 years. Maybe that was the reason. As a child I lost a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a similar manner to a similar fate. For this reason the sea gulls are also on that S list. Needless to say the next few minutes were spent guarding the remainder of the pizza and keeping the boxes tightly closed. I think that we were an amusement to the sunbathers around us.

By the time we were done eating, everyone was ready to leave so the trip to the beach for Ben and I was for pizza delivery and furthering of my dislike of the beach. It was a beautiful day though. About 75 degrees Farenheit, sunny, cloudless blue sky, and very cold (compared to Honduran waters) gulf water which a few crazy Northerners braved. I enjoyed the weather much more later that afternoon when we had our annual family Christmas soccer game. I will not recount how many goals I missed, but it was fun as usual with many laughs.

Touching Base

December 11, 2008

This entry is basically to say that I am still alive even though I have not written for quite a while. I like to write but this past week I have been too busy. I was helping out at another camp, taking a personal retreat, and then catching up on work in the city. Tomorrow I head to camp for the weekend to set up ropes course elements for a group and probably help to lead part of the time. It will also be the moment of my farewells to the staff since I probably will not see them again before I leave for Christmas. I can hardly believe that a week from now I will be in PA! I am excited and ready for some time with family and friends.

So someday I will probably blog more about the adventures of the last little while but for now I need some sleep. I hope that the rain will have ended by tomorrow morning so that I can at least return to running. Vamos a ver.

The Weave

December 3, 2008

There are days when I feel that is what my life is like – one big pattern of weaving. Mostly I am referring to the driving. Nearly every road, including those in the city, requires weaving. When I do it, I remember soccer dribbling drills when you have to take the ball around the cones. Here one weaves around the potholes and the oncoming cars as you are trying to avoid the potholes. The problem is that the potholes are not just a small dip in the road. Some are more like caverns (slightly exaggerated). To hit one means you may not come back out or at least the tire and axle may not.

I also end up weaving when running in order avoid cow patties, dogs, and puddles when in camp and potholes, cars, and trash when in the city. And so I weave, weave, and weave again. All of this weaving reminds me of the old poem I know about the Lord weaving patterns into our life that we cannot see at the time. In the end there is a beautiful handiwork though we someties miss His perspective because we are so caught up in the day to day moments of individual threads.

The Trouble with Passports

December 2, 2008

Sometimes I wonder how I get myself into such scrapes. How can I know all of the things that I need to know to prevent making bad decisions? I do not really have answers to my questions yet. On Monday morning I headed to the US Embassy in San Pedro Sula to ask about renewing my passport. I thought that maybe I could get the necessary paperwork here to expedite the process while in the States. The Embassy was closed. It does not open until 1:00PM, something that I did not know. I returned in the afternoon and was delighted to find that there was no line and I could go straight to the desk.

As I told the man about my travel plans and my passport which expires in March, he told me that Honduras will not let me back in the country in January unless I have a new passport. They close off entry to those whose passport will expire within the next 3 months. The US does the same to Hondurans only our requirement for them is six months. Well, I discovered that the renewal process through the San Pedro office takes three weeks – time that I do not have since I leave in two and a half weeks. If I were to go to the capital, Tegucigalpa, the passport should be ready within two weeks. The capital is about four hours away and I do not really trust that two weeks actually means two weeks. During the renewal process, the government takes the old passport which means no traveling whatsoever outside of the country. Hence I decided the Tegucigalpa route would not really work.

The other option is to get the renewal done in the US – a process that takes several weeks or more. After some searching on-line I found out that there are passport centers throughout the country where one can get an appointment and passport renewal, but only within two weeks of one’s flight out of the country. Amazingly one of these centers is in Philadelphia. The problem is that you cannot make an appointment until two weeks before the date and I will be in Florida for one week which puts me going to the center, one week before my intended departure. I never knew traveling or passports could be so complicated. All I wanted was to be in the States for Christmas but it looks as if I have created a fiasco. I suppose it will all work out but I think that I will be seeing a lot more of Philly than I had wanted to.

One of a Kind Thanksgiving

November 28, 2008

Thanksgiving is over and I am a bit more tired because of it. For Thanksgiving in the States I never really had to make much as far as the food went. But this week I made up for a few of those years. The Williamsons (with them doing the majority of the work) and I prepared food for a noon dinner with English speakers in Pinalejo and then the camp staff in the evening. I did most of my cooking on Tuesday evening -- homemade oatmeal rolls, pumpkin pie dessert, zucchini bread, and a raspberry jello. By the end of the evening I was done baking for a while, though I do have a little pumpkin left to use in some kind of recipe.

Thursday morning I made one last run to the grocery store for the Williamsons and then headed out to camp. On the way I noted some men in the electric poles along the highway and I briefly thought, "I hope that the power is not off." I arrived at camp to the sound of a generator and realized that yes, there was no power. The power had gone off just after the corn pudding got warmed up in the crockpot. Because of the occasion and the need for the refrigerator, Wes had hooked up the generator to the house. What had started as a dinner for the staff kept growing because family of the staff kept arriving on camp, having heard there was a party. That is cultural and very different from the North American way of doing things. We were worrying about whether there would be enough food and yet knew that culturally we could give everyone a little and everyone go away hungry and it would be okay. But to us, that was not the way to do things.

The other random events of the morning. Cows, bulls in fact, had wandered onto camp once again and this time they did not want to move out of the driveway. I could have taken one out with the car though in fact it might have taken me out. I did not have the heart nor the time to chase them off of camp this time. Mid-morning the gas for the oven ran out and the new gas tank did not fit with the current valve. I had to drive around camp looking for one that would work. Meanwhile the turkey sat in the oven, half cooked.

For the noon meal we were not sure if the nurse from Pinalejo was coming so in the end we started eating. She arrived around 3:00PM, just after all the food was put away except for her plate. In the meantime the electric remained off and Wes had to siphon gas from the lawn mower to keep the generator going. Several times we did the "quick open the fridge and grab everything you'll need for the next hour." We had been told that the power would come back on at 3:00PM. Jokingly we commented that if it came on by 4:00PM the report would be accurate. We have noticed that 3:00 can be anything between 3:00 and 3:59. All that matters is the first number and hence what we think of as late arrival to a meeting is still "on-time."

At 3:56PM according to my watch, the power returned much to our delight. It would mean lights by which eat and a fridge for storing the leftovers. The evening meal went well and we had more than enough food in the end. And of course that is how Thanksgiving usually is. For the Honduran staff the dishes of apple pie, pumpkin dessert, sweet potato casserole, and turkey were new and exciting foods. It was a fun day but a little draining. Thankfully between the two meals there was not much new food preparation that needed to be done. But even so we had to compensate all day for the lack of electricity with lots of problem solving and improvisions.

Usually Thanksgiving for me includes some games and down time -- both of which did not happen yesterday. At the same time it was fun to see the Hondurans excitement at experiencing a day that is so important in the North American culture. And I celebrated Thanksgiving with my family from Honduras -- all of those at camp. So it was a good day but I am glad there is a year between now and the next Thanksgiving. In the meantime I look forward to Christmas in the States with family.
*For a Williamson perspective on the day and photos go to: www.mdvida.wordpress.com

Letting Go

November 19, 2008

I discovered today that it is hard to let go and watch someone walk in a direction that could cause them lots of pain. I have been discipling a young woman, who for the last 3 months has been in the refuge of camp and away from the temptations of drugs where she use to live. Today she returned to her home area for a funeral. I gave her a ride as far as the city and from there she took a bus to the town of Progresso. I watched her go with some fear and reservation knowing that the temptations would be great and not knowing if she was ready. And yet I knew that at some point she would have to take such a step. I have to trust her into God’s loving arms because I will not always be around to watch over her. Although I still have not received the phone call telling me she is back at camp, she seems to have made it into and out of Progresso without problem. (Just got the call and she is safely back) Perhaps it has been a lesson in trust for me as well. She is growing in the Lord and seeking Him and I need to let her grow and learn on her own.

Since Sunday we have had a delightful cold, though rainy spell. I would have been comfortable in my lightweight fleece all day. And yet I get word that PA has had snow of which I am envious. If only there could be snow a month from now!

Tonight is the big Honduras versus Mexico soccer game. I have several friends going but the weather and the fact that I just saw a soccer game (only on the national level though) have helped me decide to stay put. I may not even find a TV to watch the game on. We will see. A part of me needs some time to myself to relax and catch up on things. At camp (where I have been since Sunday) I am always trying to connect with the various staff families which means that I am busy every evening until at least 9:00PM. I ended up staying an extra day because Wes and I tried to make contact with a local high school. The director was not in but we hope to have a meeting with him next week to discuss a new partnership idea.

I secured my visa extension this morning which means I am legal in the country for another month. And as far as driving, I have not had any police tell me that I need extra documents (aka. the Honduran driver’s license). While downtown today, I discovered that there is a new parking law in effect. You cannot park along most of the streets without a parking sticker which is only about 25 cents an hour, except that you can never use is for less than an hour. Thankfully the policeman explained the whole process to me before I got a ticket and perhaps something put on my tire so that I could not drive off. Of course I am not so excited about parking downtown anymore.

Thanksgiving preparations are underway and I am excited about getting to do some extra baking and cooking. The Williamsons and I (and perhaps a missionary nurse) will have a noon day Thanksgiving meal and then in the evening all of the staff will come and share in the rest of the food and festivities. I have yet to figure out how to watch cholesterol and participate in the wonderful foods of Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will see.

Climbing the Peaks

November 13, 2008

Sadly my time with my sister is coming to a close. Tomorrow we return to the city and then she flies out on Saturday morning. Today a dream was partially fulfilled in that I reached the National Park Celanque in Gracias, Honduras. Someday I want to do the 2-3 day hike and reach the cloud forest but today we hiked one of the peaks, 2700m. It was all uphill and considering I have not been doing mountains recently, it was challenging at moments. But I was glad I could climb still without too much difficulty. I loved the beautiful flowers, bromeliads, and vistas that looked over to the cloud forest. We tried several new fruits in route which was fun.

It was a rather typical day in that our 7:00AM departure according to the hotel was actually more like 7:30 because of some difficulty with transportation. Then the guide was unclear as to where we had planned to hike and in the end we had to come back the same way we went in instead of doing the circuit. Our guide saved 3 Israeli guys from wandering for days in the forest and they followed us to the peak with the intention to continue from there and camp out. I hope that they find their way back. Instead of being a 8 hour hike, we clocked more like 6 hours but being sufficiently tired by the end of the day, it was not a big deal to end early.

This evening over dinner we watched a glorious rising of what I think was a full moon over the mountain and Gracias. Such beauty! I am glad to be in the mountains again and ever so thankful for the beautiful weather that we have had. We spent a few days at the beach with the Williamsons and staff members from my Spanish church at the beginning of the week. I had expected to be involved in the meetings the staff were having but in the end the pastor told me it was not necessary and I should just enjoy the time with my sister. And so that is what I did.

Last Sunday was a good day in that it was the birthday celebration for Evelyn and her daughter out at camp. Val was able to meet my camp "family" and we were able to celebrate with them. I think Evelyn was excited and thankful that the party went well and it could be memorable for her and Lisbet (although Lisbet is too young to really remember much). Lots of memories have been created over the past week from the Honduran soccer game to birthdays to the intense hike.

And the Mind Goes Blank Again

November 4, 2008

It must be something that happens when the clock strikes 5:00PM. I can no longer think and remember what it was I was going to about earlier. I am currently waiting for one of my friends to show up for dinner. She was coming at 6:00 but now the time has been changed to 7:30. I had to eat some of the soup now because I knew that I would be doing lots of snacking if I waited till 7:30 for dinner.

Today I visited a drug rehab center and no it was not so that I could get off of drugs. It was a brief visit, only long enough to get some information and numbers to pass on to Evelyn if needed. The center is for men only so she could not go there anyway. And for now she seems to be doing okay.

Plants... I definitely love them and have been trying to put lots all around our patio. It makes the patio a beautiful place to sit in the mornings and evenings. I am also trying to grow some of my own food in the pots. A few of the seeds I planted began to sprout, including two beanstalks. But I was not quick enough to transplant them to a bigger home and they began to die. I just noticed this morning that with its last dying breath the one stalk pushed forth one small bean. I guess that I will eat it and think of what could have been had I been a better gardener. This morning I also noticed caterpillars attacking my daisy and though I picked them all off, it appears that there are lots of eggs present so I fear they will keep hatching.

I felt as if all of my analogies from plants and their life were uprooted when I noticed that the plants taking root in amongst the tiles right by the drain appear to be pepper plants. I tried to grow a pepper plant and it died. The seeds have done nothing either. And yet in the crack where there is hardly any soil and no room to grow without breaking the tile, climbs the pepper plant! So much for loving and tender care. I guess I have been loving to that plant in that I let it grow without disturbing it thought it should not be there. I will have to see if I can get any veggies out of it. Those are all of my random reflections for now. Hopefully I will get a new camera before too long and can begin taking pictures again. My current one is too broken to want to take it out for anything but the most important moments.

Rivers of Mud

November 3, 2008

When I left camp on Sunday morning, I felt a bit as if I was traveling through a river of mud. I had been warned that 4WD was necessary for getting to and from camp during rainy season, but last year I really had no problems. This year is another story. I have used 4WD more times in the last 3 weeks than perhaps in my entire life. I was surprised that my climb up to camp last week was actually a little fun and not just worrisome. Flinging mud up on my windshield is not usually something I do for a past-time but it works every now and again. Thankfully the word from the Williamson's today is that the road has dried up almost everywhere because of two days without rain. The sunshine today was quite lovely. I wanted to write a poem but have not been quite that inspired.

My time out at camp over the weekend was good. I have been doing Bible Studies with one of the young women living on camp and Saturday as we talked and prayed together, I realized just how much more joyful she is. She really does seem to be seeking God. She has had a lot of struggles and still has a long way to go, but she is already talking about wanting to go and share Jesus with her old friends and some family. It is neat too that God is using her life and faith to challenge me. I feel like my ministry with Evelyn is one of the key reasons God has me here in Honduras right now. I am traveling back and forth between camp a lot more at the moment just so I can be available to meet with her. This coming weekend we will be having a birthday celebration for her little girl.

Well, I know that I had a lot more to write when I thought about blogging this morning and afternoon but now that it is almost 9:30PM, my brain is not functioning enough to remember what else I wanted to say. I did realize that I feel pretty far removed from all of the election frenzy and even the stock market woes here in Honduras. Those things do make the headlines from time to time but somehow it is different. And I know that the outcomes of both will very much affect Honduras, but just the same I feel distant from it all at the moment.

An Autumn Morning

October 29, 2008

This morning as I left my house for a 5:45AM run, it actually felt like autumn. There was a delicious chill in the air, thanks to the cold front hovering over Honduras. But alas although I love being able to wear a long-sleeve shirt, I cannot completely rejoice in the cold front because it is also brining rain, something we do not need more of. Today's front page of the paper showed two school buses stuck in the middle of a river with workers trapped inside. Thankfully they were all rescued from the buses but the damage from the rains continues to rise. Missionary friends in the area of Santa Rosa de Copan told of a mountain commnity where the farmers (that were already poor but had enough to survive and feed their families) have now lost everything. There is a family of 12 with no place to live since their house is about to slide down the mountain. On Sunday I learned that my church is going to coordinate some relief efforts in that area and distribute food and clothes. It is time for me to go through my wardrobe and give away a good portion of it, especially since I have many clothes that I do not even wear.

When I think about food, I feel bad too. I have so much food and if I lack some item for a recipe, I can run to the store and get it (actually drive). With my efforts to lower my cholesterol, I have been trying to eat healthier but often times that means more expensive foods since I look for whole grains, etc... . When I think of what I spend on food and how easily that would feed those who right now have nothing, I wonder if I should stop being so concerned about what I eat. So many questions and so many areas to examine in my life and habits.

My trips to and from camp this past weekend went smoothly in spite of muddy roads and I was not stopped at any police checkpoints either. I am currently debating whether I must leave the country so that my PA Driver's license holds value in Honduras once again or if I will be okay as is. The Williamson's had trouble in the past when there were in the in between stages of receiving residency and simply renewing their visa in the country every month. Supposedly my license is not valid because I have been in Honduras for over 90 days. The problem is that I cannot get a license without residency and I have been waiting for over a year on the latter. It is a catch 22 and the system does not seem to provide a way to drive legally, shy of leaving the country every 90 days -- a rather expensive endeavor. I am praying that I can make it until Christmas without a problem when I will leave and buy myself another 90 days. If, within the next week, I realize the driving will be an issue perhaps my sister and I can take a long road trip to Costa Rica or Belize. But that is a lot of traveling for her so I hope I do not have to resort to that.

Sheltered...

October 25, 2008

That is how I feel today. The Honduran newspaper says that the president of Honduras has declared a National Emergency because of the number of areas flooded and roads destroyed due to the 10 days of rain. As of today they are reporting 33 deaths, 14 missing, 55,000 evacuated, and 28,747 people who have lost their homes. And yet I have still seen nothing of the extensive flooding and damage all across the country. I had hoped to go with my roommate Emily and her work, the Samaritan's Purse, today as they distributed food to the displaced persons. But at 7:00AM she called her boss only to discover that there was no room in the vehicles. And so I stayed in the city and baked bread, made phone calls, and ran other errands. I have yet to ever really see the immediate after effects of a natural disaster. When I was in Honduras in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch, I did not arrive until 3 months after the tragedy. The past few days it has been hard to do my camp work and other things knowing that just a little ways outside of the city people are suffering. Perhaps I needed to try and find other contacts who could have helped me find a relief organization to participate with, but I did not really know where to turn. I am thankful for this day though and the opportunity to catch up with dear friends and to prepare for the upcoming week.

And yesterday I had breakfast with a woman from the Spanish church which was great. It ended up being a day of mostly Spanish. It was neat to hear her testimony of how God worked in her family's life and brought her husband to salvation after her many years of praying. She testified loudly to God's work in her life and she is encouraging women in similar situations. Since I have a friend here with a similar marriage, it was good to hear from her some ways that I can reach out and encourage my friend. All in all it has been a good week for me though I still hurt for those around me.

Sunshine at Last!

October 23, 2008

I have finally made it back to the city and the world of communication. Having been isolated out at camp, all I knew of the rains was what I could see in camp and on the roads around there. I just read a report though from Tuesday which shows the severity of the rains. To read more about the 10 days of rain here in Honduras, go to: Read More... I am sure that as I read the Honduras news sites I will learn more too. Thankfully we have had no rain since Tuesday evening and so rivers are going down and roads drying up.

I will write more later but for now I have 100's (not quite) of errands to accomplish around the city, including license and insurance issues so I must hurry off.

You Know You Are In A Tropical Depression When...

October 17, 2008

Yesterday I decided that yes, I am in a tropical depression. And by depression I do not mean emotionally depressed but rather a depression of unending rain. Too many days of constant rain (or heat for that matter) could cause other types of depression too. When yesterday morning dawned with more steady rainfall (it had been raining since 1:00PM on Tuesday) I decided that I still had to find a way to get some exercise. And so I began to run up and down the stairs. Running the stairs, jumping jacks, and cleaning the house may be my new exercise routine. Yesterday around noon I was fooled into thinking that perhaps the depression had lifted and I hung out clothes to dry but alas the rain returned shortly thereafter. This morning the rain stopped around 5:30AM but I am not so sure it will stay away. Thankfully this depression has also brought much cooler temperatures. The other sign of living in a tropical depression...opening the fridge door and seeing a mosquito which you promptly kill.

The beginning of this week I was out at camp and as I was walking from one side of camp to the other, I got delayed watching and listening to the many birds that were fluttering about. Once again my books did not reveal the actual species but there were some beautiful ones. On my way to camp I saw a beautiful double rainbow hovering over Pinalejo and camp. I was able to spend some good time with Evelyn out at camp. We shared breakfast on my last morning there and exchanged the Bible verses that we were memorizing. Monday afternoon after work we played soccer with some of the other staff . I had not played soccer for months so it was good to play once again.

The Light Sometimes Dawns

October 10, 2008

Last evening I stopped by the supermarket after an hour and a half of sitting (with a book and journal thankfully) waiting for someone to meet me to discuss some work. For once I had plastic bags in my car so I grabbed a handful of them with the intention of using them instead of getting new ones at the store. Just as I was about to walk through the doors, the guard stopped me and motioning to my bags, told me that I needed to leave them outside. I explained that I was bringing them with me so that I could put my groceries in them and not get new ones. The man just gave me a look and said (more or less) "But there are already bags in there." Yes, of course I knew that. I tried to patiently explain that I have too many plastic bags at my house and I want to recycle these. The guy still did not get it and wanted me to leave the bags outside. Finally he said that I could take them inside and leave them with the bagger. My thought was, "Great I get to try and explain myself to another person." The boy inside kind of gave me a look too but he did not protest.

I proceeded to do my shopping and returned to checkout. I no longer saw my bags with the boy which either meant he used them for previous customers or they ended up in the trash. I did not have the heart to ask because I was already too frustrated. Recycling or reusing something is so foreign to many people down here.

There has been some exciting progress though with the church that owns the camp. The other week I was at a staff meeting at the church and the pastor brought up the topic of stewardship and our response to the issues in the environment. He asked us what we could specifically do to have care for creation. I eventually spoke up and mentioned refraining from the use of plastic or styrofoam plates out at camp. All of the camp's trash goes down to Pinalejo and gets burned which means lots of chemicals and toxins are geting released into the air. I have been trying for a long while to encourage the use of paper products (which sadly are much more expensive down here) or the plastic, washable plates that the camp has in the kitchen.

The pastor caught on this time and when he was visiting the camp over the weekend he mentioned to various people in the kitchen that PIER (the church) would no longer be using plastic or styrofoam. The excitement of this small success was a bit dampened though because as the group pulled out on the bus Saturday afternoon, three plastic bottles were pitched out the windows. One person saw my horrified look and acted as if it had slipped but I knew the reality. People simply do not think about the effects of their actions. It takes so much time to change what has become a way of life -- throw your trash wherever you want, as long as it is not inconvenient for yourself. I need to remember to be excited and encouraged by the small steps of progress because change takes time.

The Invasions Continue

October 7, 2008

Invasions seem to be the theme of the past three days. Saturday it was the biting ants. Sunday I had to chase cows off of camp...again. I left my run to get my key so that I could unlock the gate and find a helper. My helper ended up being a nine year old boy, Ronnie. We split up and I went to unlock the gate but then I discovered that we has nowhere to be seen. He later told me her forgot about the cows when he found a nance tree (a fruit that grows all over camp). He eventually joined me and we sent the cows out the gate. When I saw them later in the afternoon on camp once again, I ignored them because I did not have the will power to devote more time to chasing them.

I could have chased the cows again yesterday but I was in my car headed out of camp by the time I saw them. The invasion of Monday was another type of ant (those which eat paper) which were in my duffle bag I was packing up for the return to the city. I had to thoroughly shake out the bag because I did not want to carry any of the ants and their eggs to my apartment. Now I am in the city and I hope that the invasions cease.

As for other events of the past few days, on Sunday Evelyn joined me in baking bread and a cake. She had her little girl with her and the latter wanted lots of attention so it was not the best opportunity for chatting but it was still good. Yesterday we talked about working on memorizing Scripture and holding each other accountable which should be good for both of us. I need to know more Scripture in Spanish than I do.

I do not think I ever actually baked bread before (bread with yeast that is) so I was excited when it turned out well. We also watched a movie and then late afternoon the Honduran children came over to make paper which they enjoyed. Over the past few days I have started to run again and thankfully my knee seems to be much better and not causing as much pain.

I was surprised on my drive back to the city yesterday to see several fires burning in the hills and alongside of the road. It is rainy season though the steady and torrential rains still have not really arrived. Last night we got a heavy rain and ten minutes after it started I left some friends' house to return home. I was amazed to see the water gushing up out of the man hole covers like a fountain. The drainage system in the city is definitely in need of some repairs. I would hate to know where all of the black waters go when it rains since they do not stay below ground. As I drove home though I thanked the Lord for having a dry place to live where I do not think I have to fear flooding or anything of the sort.

The Lastest Happenings

October 4, 2008

This evening I write from the shelter of my cabin here at camp. There are moments when I wonder just what the buildings are a shelter from other than the rain (and even then there are leaks occasionally). And yet I am ever so thankful for the shelter. The problem with my perspective on the buildings stems from my discovery this morning. I awoke to find a very steady stream of ants coming up through a crack in the cement floor in one of my rooms. I soon discovered that these black ants are the kind that bite. I began spreading baby powder everywhere to contain the ants to certain areas. Ants apparently do not like powder so you can use even non-toxic powders to control them. I probably spent over half an hour trying to get rid of them though.

While I ate breakfast I watched a group of them trying to find a new route to travel since most of their exits were being closed off with powder. Basically I wanted to send them out the front door. I noticed that when ants know where they are going, they move efficiently and in an organized fashion. But if there is no ant in front that knows the direction to go, the ants tend to wander around rather hopelessly, making very little progress. It appeared that no single ant wanted to venture out on its own. Although I did not spend a lot of time speculating as to the analogies there, I know that they exist.

Last night as I was driving around camp, I saw my first rabbit ever for Honduras. In the US a rabbit is nothing because they are so prolific but here at camp mammals are still scarce and so it was exciting to see one.

Today I helped with a group challenge activity for the deacons from my church in the city. It was interesting to see group’s response to the challenge presented to them. I felt like I did not do justice to the debrief and of course struggled to form some of the questions in Spanish. Nevertheless it was a good time and I think that each member of the group took something away to be learned.

The past few days there were some extra missionary children on camp so I tried to help provide a few extracurricular activities to help Cindy out so that she did not have to home school all six. Yesterday we did some art projects that I have wanted to try out with children. The easiest of the two was papermaking which the younger children did. The older girls worked on making pine needle baskets –something that I also want to try my hand at. The latter project appears to be a little too time consuming and tedious to be an activity for young children or large groups, but the end products are pretty neat. Tomorrow I hope to teach the Honduran children how to make paper and see how that goes. Teaching such activities to the Honduran staff children is always a truer test of how it will go with Honduran school children than is working with the missionary children. (Sadly I cannot post any pictures for a long while since my camera has died. It appears to have both a broken screen and immediately drain batteries though I am not sure what was the cause of either issue.)

The Seasons Are Changing...

October 1, 2008

Yesterday I walked into a department store in the mall and discovered that Christmas has arrived. The aisles were lined with trees, ornaments, and glitter. I cannot remember but I am guessing that Halloween is not so celebrated here which means Christmas is the next big holiday with decorations.

We also had a bit of snow in the house the other day -- or so it appeared. A guy had been working on the stairs and the dust and putty fell to coat the table and plant below and gave the appearance of a dusting of snow. Thankfully the temperatures have been a little cooler as well as the rains are becoming more frequent. The days are shortening too which soon will make running in the mornings more difficult. Not that I have been running much. I am still waiting for my knee to heal.

I spent the weekend out at camp and it was relaxing. I forgot that I enjoy spending an entire Sunday there. I have opportunity for more quiet time with God and get to visit with the staff. This past Sunday I slept in until almost 8:00AM and mid-morning went on a walk with some of the staff children. They had wanted to show me the location of the burial for a bunny. Their plan is to dig up the bones in a couple of months. Later we stopped to watch a line of leaf-cutter ants hard at work transporting leaves to their mound. Looking overhead it was amazing to see how many branches they had defoliated of the mango tree. We chatted a bit about the proverbs regarding ants and what we can learn from them. We then strolled up with hill and joined the young mother on camp and played a round of Uno. It was interesting (but also frustrating) to observe two of the three children and how the minute their turn was over, they were asking "Who's turn is it?" "Is it my turn?" They simply did not stop to think but habitually and impulsively asked, time and time again. I am thinking that the next time I should institute a rule that whoever asks whose turn it is, has to draw a card. There are some life skills that the children still need to learn.

In the afternoon I had Evelyn, a single mom, over for tea and we chatted about faith and life. I want to spend more time at camp these days so that I can reach out to her because she is lonely, having only her sister's family to really relate to most of the time. I am excited about how God seems to be bringing more and more people into my life who I can reach out to and share Christ. Later in the evening the staff had worship and a prayer time together. Tomorrow morning I head out to camp again and will be helping with a few activities for the Deacon's Retreat that is going on. I also plan to practice some nature crafts and activities that I want to have available for camp groups. Because there will be extra missionary children on camp who need some extracurricular activities for their home schooling, it is a good moment to try things out.

Back From Camp

September 24, 2008

The flurry of activity that filled this past weekend is fading into only memories. Over 100 youth filled the camp with energy, noise, and excitement. I will be writing a more thorough descpription of the weekend in my upcoming newsletter but over all it went well. The Lord definitely answered many prayers and we saw His hand at work. Even the weather seemed to cooperate. I was tired by the time the buses pulled away late Sunday afternoon. It was nice to be able to stay on at camp a few extra days to relax and clean up the mess that remained.

Now I am back in the city and beginning to look ahead again to the next projects. In spite of my injured knee, I was able to get around camp pretty well, thanks in part to my roommate who visited on Saturday with another girl to help with the cookout. Emily ended up driving me around some since my car had been taken to the city to deliver a sick girl to her family. My car is in the shop ... again. Mostly it is just routine maintenance -- an oil change but also some screw needs tightened so that the radiator does not fall out. I think that the bumpy roads do not help it's health status so much. Well, I pause here to continue stories later.

Whatever Happened to Peaceful Saturdays?

September 13, 2008

I am not sure what happened to calm, tranquil Saturdays. They are definitely a thing of the past. Last weekend my Saturday plans were interrupted by taking my neighbor to the bank since her car ran out of gas and then going with her to the Supermarket, only to have her car stall continuously and leave us stranded. Next Saturday should be lively since it will be youth camp. And this Saturday, well, where to begin? I have been getting over cold and so I planned to take the day easy, working on communications, cleaning, and perhaps play basketball in the evening. I had just finished making orange juice when my doorbell rang. I was not excited at the thought of having to greet anyone because in Honduras you definitely must shower before going out in public. The grunge look that we have in the States is not appreciated here. To them the US citizens dress pretty sloppily.

At any rate, I looked out my window to see the guard. He proceeded to ask I could possibly help because a woman in an apartment on the other side of mine had just had a baby in the bathroom and they could not get a hold of the ambulance. I was a bit taken back by the situation, but I hurried upstairs, called my roommate to tell her what was up, and then headed to the neighbor’s house. Sure enough I walked into the tiny maid’s quarters and there was a newborn baby lying on the bed, still crusty and red. The mother was standing beside the bed, not looking a bit phased by having just given birth in the bathroom. Other than the pools of blood everywhere and the placenta, I would not have known that she had. She looked like she was barely over 20 in age and her little 3 year old daughter, Anna, was chattering away about it all. I stood there completely unsure of what to do. I suddenly realized that I should have read more books (such as, Where There Is No Doctor) or watched more movies. I felt like there should probably be some hot water around for cleaning and sterilizing but that would have meant finding a stove.

I got in touch with a doctor through my roommate’s contacts but just as she called me, the ambulance arrived. The young mother asked me if I could watch her daughter (which thereby solidified that I was not headed out to camp today) and clean up the room. I must mention that I hate blood and the room was a mess but I had a feeling that if I did not clean it, the woman, Elbia, would have to clean it when she got back from the hospital. And so I took her daughter with me for a snack and drink and then we returned and I started cleaning. Apparently my stomach had not been upset this morning because I would have lost everything had I really had stomach problems.

Just as I was finishing the cleaning the family for whom Elbia worked arrived and were aghast at what had happened. When they left the house this morning, she had been feeling fine. They ended up taking Anna and so I returned to my apartment to do my own house cleaning (which suddenly was not so bad) and to marvel at the day’s turn of events. Perhaps I could have been a nurse after all.
*The latest news on the situation: I returned home this evening to discover that the employers of Elbia had been by to say thank you and to drop off a bottle of wine and a high calorie/high cholesterol pie. The wine I do not like and the pie I am sure that I would like but I am trying to stay away from such desserts. It will save me having to make a dessert though for my next meeting. Emily said that the mother and baby are doing okay but will be in the hospital for several days since the baby was a month premature. I am just thankful that everything seems to have turned out okay (and that I did not have to help deliver the baby).

A New Phase

September 10, 2008

Today I enter into a new phase of living overseas -- that of experiencing loss of loved ones from a distance. I just received word that my great-aunt, Rhoda Mellinger, passed away last evening after a battle with cancer. I think it will be hard to be here so far away when I know that my family is hurting. I am so thankful though that I was able to visit with her back in June before the cancer really took it's toll. The family is thankful that she is no longer suffering and that she is home with Jesus, but still it is hard. I know that the family will be leaning on the Lord and finding strength in Him which is really that only thing that can help during this time.

On another note, I just got back from running the "Olympics" with a group of children in their two room school just outside of Pinalejo. Today is "Children's Day" and so every school has some kind of celebration. The Williamson's and I helped to run a special program at the school of two of the staff children. We knew not to expect the day to go as planned and were right. We showed up at 8:30 and thought we would begin at 9:00AM. But then at about 9:00AM high school studnets from a nearby school showed up with a pinata, food, and dancing. We stood around for the next hour or so and waited unil they finished so that we could do our activities. The teachers of the school had no idea the highschoolers were coming so parents had also brought food.

In the end we were able to do our olympics which included shotput (with a water balloon), discus, (frisbee), and the javelin (a broken arrow). There was a team relay of running but in a way that represented swimming. This activity led to chaos on the first try because apparently the students are not familiar with relays and the concept of waiting to run until the first person comes back to the line. On "go" everyone ran. All in all it turned out pretty well and the Williamson children did a great job in their preparations and in the help they gave during the activities.

Immersed in Vegetables

September 8, 2008

I did not think that I could get tired of vegetables but at this moment I am very tired of seeing them and cutting them. Yesterday was the big day of teaching how to cook over a fire. In preparation I washed vegetables for 45 people and pulled off cabbage leaves one by one to have them in tack for putting around the meat. In the end only 25-30 people were present and so of course I had a ton of vegetables left over, many of which were partially cut. And so today I had to use them or let them spoil. I cut a bunch of veggies in the morning, planning to make a soup to feed the directors for the meeting tonight but midway through the day I learned that someone else was making lasagna and could I make a salad? I still made the soup (a Curry Cabbage Soup) for another day because I could not bear to throw all of the vegetables away. I then made the salad which required cutting different veggies and so the last three days I have lived a veggie tale.

In general I love veggies and they are a main part of my diet but I think everyone reaches a limit. As of the last 2 months I have been trying to eat even healthier foods because I discovered that I have high cholesterol (it's hereditary). So now I am addicted to finding healthy food recipes and trying lots of new things. I have found it to be more time consuming than I like. I also run into problems when I eat meals anywhere but at home. As one person put it with the food the question is, "How would you like your oil?" With chickn, rice, platanos, or beans? Oil is a main part of every food. I think that perhaps my cholesterol might be better than the test had showed since the two weeks prior to that I was at the mercy of other people for what I ate. So far I have managed to substitute lentil burgers for the cookout meals without anyone even noticing that I was eating something different. I never bothered to read labels before to look at fat or cholesterol content but now I have to. I hate having such limitations on me, but I do not want to have to take medicine so diet is my alternative. And there are some delicious baked good with a healthy twist so I have not had to forsake all desserts. Thank goodness!

Musings

September 3, 2008

Although I should be asleep in bed, I want to write about some random events and musings of the day. The day started at 12:30AM when I awoke to find myself being eaten by mosquitos. I was trying to sleep out on the patio because it was cooler than anywhere else in the house, minus turing the A/C on and I had given up my room for a guest. Lightning was also flashing in the sky so I decided to move indoors and spend the rest of the "night" there. I had been wanting to sleep on the patio so I was disappointed to have had to move but I really do not need Dengae fever from the wrong mosquito biting me.

At 5:30AM (and I overslept) I got up to go for a run. It was a beautiful, tranquil morning with the sun just rising in the eastern sky. As I watched the sun rise and splash a trail of pinks and orange across the sky, I was reminded of God's faithfulness and constancy. He does not change and I can always depend on Him. In my mind I thought of how the sun rises and sets each day without question of whether it will happen or not. God's presences is just as constant and sure.

My day, for once, was spent mostly in Spanish conversation. I had a meeting in which the difficulty in cross cultural communication was evident as I and the other North American, tried to communicate the idea that to us was so simple and clear. Later in the day I ventured into a part of the city I had never been with the instruction of "ask someone where the church and field are." I wanted easy to follow directions that did not require rolling down my window and asking directions of a stranger, but apparently the latter was to be the easiest. At one point I asked a boy where the specific church was and he told me to ask the guy standing in front of the pulperia (a little corner store) because he was a Christian. Since my passenger window does not work I had to wave the guy over to my window. He came and when I asked about the church he indicated that it was his church and he asked who I was looking for. He knew my friend and after a moment's thought he said it would be easiest for him to just come along with me and show me the way. Internally I hesitated because I did not like the idea of a stranger getting in to my car but I had the feeling that he was the pastor. He got in and he directed me to the house with ease. The family was surprised to see me since I had not called back for directions are were glad to hear how God had worked out a connection in an unexpected way.

As I sat and visited with my friend and her family, I realized that maybe I am getting used to the heat because I had on the hottest clothes and yet I was the one not sweating. According to one person I spoke with today, the temperatures these past few days have been over 100F, and I believe it. I have been very ready to use the A/C with more frequency and yet still hesitate to do so. I like having a non-existent electric bill as happened the other month thanks to some government award.

I am pretty sure that I had some other thoughts from the day but I am currently too tired to remember them. If they are actually important, I may try to write them another day.

Cross-Cultural Learning

August 31, 2008

The past few days have opened my eyes to see just how much learning I still have when it comes to cross cultural living. The way I would tend to handle conflict and a complicated situation is apparently not the best tactic for here in Honduras. In my experience, going directly to a person and discussing the issue at hand is usually the best approach and I wanted to employ it here in a situation, but my Honduran friends cautioned me against it and we took the round about way to confront. I felt like it was copping out, but perhaps it is not. My "right" way might not be so right way in this cultural context. And so it has been a very challenging week to say the least. It can be hard to figure out how to be yourself in a culture that holds different views than what I am used to. How to be friendly and polite but not lead someone to think anything more. How to lend a hand to someone without shaming them or stepping on toes. The list goes on and on of what I have to learn yet as to how to respond.

Yesterday I went with some friends from the Samaritan's Purse to a girl's home here in the city. We sang with them, played some games, and then did a craft. I discovered later than many of them are in the home because they have been abused and the government intervened. There were several small babies there whose mothers are still teenagers. I held one little 7 month old girl who was incredibly active and alert, but so skinny. The girls all wanted love and attention. They asked when we would be back again. As I was there I realized again that it would be good to be able to regularly connect with some children either at an orphanage or at a girl's home. They need to see Christ in the people that come into their lives and they need to know that they are loved by a Heavenly Father who will not harm them but instead gave up His only Son for them. Such a father many of these girls have never known. And so I pray that God will show me how I can perhaps be more involved and build some relationships with the children who are hurting.

Walking With Others

August 24, 2008

I look back on this past week and the word that would probably best describe it is "painful." Not so much my pain as the pain of others. My roommate and I and two other friends had planned to do an all day hike yesterday but in the end decided that we just had too much going on to spend the entire day away. As it turned out, God knew that we were needed in the city. Mid-day my neighbor and friend, Crystal, called me crying and when I went over to her house, I discovered that her mother-in-law had just passed away. The mother-in-law who was much of the reason that she and her family are even here in Honduras. I hardly had the words to share in comfort but I listened and prayed with her. We took her son on a drive so that he would fall asleep and then she returned home and I began to make a meal for her, one of the least of things that I could do. I had a basketball game late afternoon which I considered just skipping in order to be available for whatever came up, but my roommate said that she could watch Julian when they attended the wake. My heart really was not in the game though.

I came back to the house and finished the meal and shortly thereafter Emily, a friend, and Julian returned to the house. Julian has lots and lots of energy but thankfully while Emily and I were in the kitchen the friend ran around with Julian. We were not sure how bedtime would go since Julian never really stays with anyone except his grandma but my turn came to sit with him. Having finished his milk, he wanted more milk and I said no since it had been his second bottle and I had visions of disaster during the night. Julian decided to get up and walk around and did not want to sleep. Shortly thereafter came the tears and cries for his mom. I held him for a little while but he was not falling asleep. Finally I gave him some water and he laid down to drink it. Meanwhile I sang "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children" over and over until at long last he fell asleep. I did not even have the worst jobs of the evening though -- the diaper changing and the bath.

Because my schedule is so busy these next few days with a quick trip to camp and then several meetings here in the city, I am not sure how much I will be available for my friend. I am praying that good will come out of the situation because so many in the family are hurting deeply.

My next meeting is calling me so any further updates will have to come later in the week.

These Warm Days

August 19, 2008

It would appear that the hot days have returned and so I am thankful to have A/C in my car. I am ready for a few big storms to hopefully bring in some cooler weather. Last week I was able to do a little swimming which was quite nice.
I feel as if my plans have changed frequently this past week due to unexpected meetings, being told that no I still cannot get a Honduran license, and whatever else came up. This morning I was sitting in the staff meeting at the church (it is basically a time of worship and sharing a devotional). For the first 10 minutes or so I was the only female in the room so the one pastor announced that I could teach them this morning. Sometimes I do not like going to the meetings because I hate being called on to share if I have not had time to prepare or to adequately think through the topic on hand. I inwardly groaned and prayed for some more females to appear, which they did, but the pastor still looked to me to share a little devotional thought. That is much easier to do in English than in Spanish but I shared from my reading this morning in Colossians 1:9-14 -- a powerful prayer with lots of challenges because it is not easy to live out, especially the part about "in everything." This morning I started to memorize it in Spanish but I did not practice on the group. They had to bear with enough of my Spanish as it was.

Last Saturday my roommate and I and another friend drove out to camp for the day where we relaxed some and then tried out papermaking. It is a project that I want to be able to do with children at camp but I am trying out new methods, such as using a hand egg beater instead of an electric blender. I discovered that I still have quite a few supplies to track down but we produced something similar to paper.

Sunday evening I attended a youth service at the church which brought to a conclusion the "youth week" or series of meetings especially for them. We had a great time of worship and I was reminded of the Praise and Worship Services that I use to attend in Costa Rica once a month. As I was introducing a new girl to various youth members and leaders, I was reminded that I really do know a lot of people. It was a cool realization except that I am still struggling to know how to maintain all the relationships and really being able to know a few people well. Too many acquaintances can perhaps hinder strong friendships. So I have some work to do in developing a few of my acquaintances into real friendships.

Right now I am off to a meeting for the upcoming youth camp with my church. Quite likely it will be a rather long meeting but hopefully we will make progress and have a good time. Hmm... I forgot to write about cooking. I will have to put that in another entry sometime later this week.

Further Thought

August 13, 2008

I had a revelation this morning about my perspective of the trip last Friday. I began to wonder if anyone else felt as I did about the lack of hiking and exploring the park which to me had been the goal. I realized that to begin with, perhaps that was not even the goal of the group. If we did not have the same expectations in the first place, we probably did not share the same disappointment. Maybe the things that I wanted to change about the day were not as important to others as they were to me. I have to remember to think from the perspective of the Hondurans and consider their expectations.

A few other random thoughts. Today I was out in the woods and much to my delight the mosquitoes were not as bad as last week. I was able to work without my mosquito netting. The butterflies have been abundant and beautiful these past few weeks. I have seen morphos, owl butterflies, and a few other unknown ones. Several of the staff told me that they had spotted the two baby owls that we had a few months back which is exciting to know that they are alive and well – and not in captivity. My other side hobby seems to be becoming a horse woman. Two mornings in a row I single handedly drove 5 horses out of camp. Well, I started them in the right direction with my small piece of cable as my ”whip” (really self-protection for myself in case they charged) and then the men were working by the front gate and helped send them running. Yesterday the dogs gave me a hand too. I also must give credit to the Lord because I knew that I could not get the horses to go where I wanted without some help. The fence needs repaired by the river and until that happens the horses have decided to come for some breakfast each morning.

For some reason I have been really tired the past few days and I awake without the motivation to get up and run. Ironically today I ran even though I had to be ready earlier than usual since I was driving some staff children to school.

Yesterday I wondered just how many ants I consume on a daily basis. They always crawl into my water pitcher and sometimes it is just too much work to fish them out. I guess that considering I ate a termite intentionally a while back, I should not be too concerned with a few ants. I doubt that I will have the energy to visit with the Honduran staff yet tonight. I am currently down in the town waiting for my allergy injections. Till I get back to camp it will probably be dark and I will heat up my food, talk with the Williamson’s and head to bed. On my agenda for dinner are the tortillas that I mixed up a little earlier with the help of Marlen, one of the Honduran women. I did a substitution of olive oil for shortening to make them a little healthier. We will see how they turn out since we were experimenting with the measurements.

Great Expectations

August 9, 2008

… That do not seem to be met. I am discovering that whenever an event or something out of the ordinary comes up, I create high expectations for what the trip, training, or activity will be. And yet rarely are those expectations met. Yesterday was a case in point. It was a frustrating day but there was definitely good in it. You know a day in Honduras must be exciting if one considers turning on the heat in the car.

At 6:50AM yesterday morning, I headed from San Pedro Sula to a nearby small town from which I was going with a friend and her group of students from a technical school to visit a National Park. I arrived on time and discovered that the friend and her mom were making lunch for the group of about 40 persons. Where as in the States we would probably take packed lunches, this was a full course meal. The preparations were a little behind so we left a bit late. All of us loaded into the back of two pick-ups and one other SUV and began the two hour ascent to the park. For over a year I had wanted to visit this park which is mostly cloud forest and boasts sightings of the beautiful quetzal. We arrived at the park around 10:30AM and the next 2 ½ hours were spent in presentations of games (they were part of a tourism class) and a few stations of activities. All of the activities were good and have their time and place but in my opinion this park was not the place for them. Even when we had left the town it looked as if it would rain sometime that day. By 1:00PM when we sat down to eat, the thunder was beginning to rumble and the sky was darkening. At 1:30 we divided in two groups and headed into the woods which was my desire all along. My guide did not speak very loud so being at the back, I could not really hear any of the explanations. About 10 minutes into the hike I pulled out my rain pants and put them on because it looked like it would rain very soon. Maybe 15 minutes later the sky blackened and the clouds let loose a torrential downpour that turned our train into a river.

I was the only one of the group to have raingear so while I stayed relatively dry, everyone huddled under banana leaves and other trees. We stood in the rain for a little while waiting for the other group to meet up with us. When they joined up, we headed back to the pavilion. I soon discovered that my boots need another coating of water protection because I could feel the water sloshing around at my toes. My jacket did not prove capable of withstanding the downpour either but I could not complain since I was better off than everyone else. As we walked back to the vehicles I debated where I preferred to be – in the forest with lightning flashing all around or in the back of a pick-up, going downhill on muddy roads, still with lightning surrounding me.

We arrived back at the pavilion and packed up to begin the descent back to the town. After maybe 30-40 minutes on the trail, we had had to leave. I had seen nothing of the park except the pavilion and parking lot. There in lay the great disappointment. The return trip took two hours as well because of getting stuck in mud, bathroom stops, and battery trouble. Four hours for a half an hour to explore the park. I wished that we had done the hike first and all of the other activities second since they could have been done anywhere in the world. Sitting on the hard, spare tire for 4 hours is a rather high price to pay for such a short walk. I was thankful when I was able to walk down the road for almost half an hour while my truck went back to help the vehicle with a battery problem. By this point in the trip I was very cold from the wet clothes and cool breeze as we drove. The feeling returned to my fingers and toes and I stopped dreaming of turning the heat on when I got to my own car. (You know you are in danger of hypothermia if you are thinking of turning on the heat in a tropical country).

In spite of my frustrations, I enjoyed the trip. What I saw of the park and surrounding mountains was beautiful. I met some neat people and several of the students made me laugh with their antics as we descended the mountain. I am just realizing that maybe I need to change my expectations before I head off for some activity. And I need to figure out how to best give ideas and suggestions in a way that will not offend people but will help them to see that there is more than one way to prepare an outing and sometimes changes need to be made last minute in case of bad weather or other insinuating circumstances.

Currently I have expectations that I will finally finish my changes to the ropes course over the next two days, but I know that things could happen to change that. My plan though is to be at camp until Wednesday working on that and other projects. We will see how it goes.

Battling the Floods

August 3, 2008

Last evening I was at the house of friends when a big storm passed through San Pedro Sula and dumped lots of water. I left their house at 9:15PM and as I headed down the main highway I noticed what looked like a standstill in traffic ahead so I turned right at the light, figuring I could find my way home eventually. I did not expect to have to drive through such high water though. I was ever so thankful for my SUV that allowed me to pass through the waters and not be one of the victims of a flooded engine. I passed 5 or more cars pulled off the side of the road because of their passage through the waters. The drainage system apparently could not handle the volume of water because the water was gushing up out of the man hole covers. I was praying each time I drove through the high waters because I had discovered that I had left my cell phone at the apartment which meant that if I had car trouble, I would have to walk and it was dark and I was on some back roads. I probably have not been so scared in quite a while. Thankfully I managed to make it through the flooded areas and arrive at the apartment with my car in one piece. I think that I hit at least one open man hole though so who knows what external damage I did to the car. My biggest concern was getting home without having to walk so I was still happy.

This afternoon I hiked up to the Coca Cola sign with two girls from Taiwan and one Honduran. We had a triangle of communication in that 3 of us spoke Spanish, 2 Mandarin, and 2 English. There was no language in which we could speak and have everyone understand each other. I had to tell several stories in Spanish and then again in English in order to make sure everyone understood. It was a good hike and I was glad to have an alternative activity as opposed to just sitting in the mall eating something or drinking coffee.