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).
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, September 08, 2008
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!
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!
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
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 sinc
e 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.
… 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 sinc
e 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.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Plague of Mosquitoes
July 31, 2008
And so the months tick by. I cannot believe that tomorrow is August already. It has been a busy week or so but sadly it seems like most of the busyness was in vain. I was preparing for a group next weekend by training some people to help, putting together the schedule, and altering lesson plans only to get a call yesterday to hear that they are postponing until later in August. Because they will now be coming mid-week, I have no idea where I will find all of the people to help. It is frustrating seeing a bunch of my work simply be in vain and yet I know that at least some of what I did with the lessons will prove useful for future groups.
Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I was out at camp working on some ropes course repairs. I looked more like I was a bee keeper because the mosquitoes were so abundant in the jungle that I pulled out my mosquito netting for my face and wore long sleeves even though the heat made it a little unbearable. Anything is better than being the feast for the mosquitoes which I still was but not so much my face. Monday night I awoke around midnight to the sound of mosquito buzzing at my face. I knew that I could not sleep again with it there so I sat up and read until it came around and I killed it. It must have known my plans though because it waited a good 20 minutes to re-appear. Just as I settled down to sleep again, I heard another mosquito. This time I fished out the mosquito netting and covered up. This time of year seems to be the worst for the mosquitoes since I remember being here three years ago over this time and every time I tried to take a picture, the mosquitoes would feast on my fingers.
My to do list continues to be long but hopefully I will make some progress on it over the next few days, including getting a newsletter written
And so the months tick by. I cannot believe that tomorrow is August already. It has been a busy week or so but sadly it seems like most of the busyness was in vain. I was preparing for a group next weekend by training some people to help, putting together the schedule, and altering lesson plans only to get a call yesterday to hear that they are postponing until later in August. Because they will now be coming mid-week, I have no idea where I will find all of the people to help. It is frustrating seeing a bunch of my work simply be in vain and yet I know that at least some of what I did with the lessons will prove useful for future groups.
Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I was out at camp working on some ropes course repairs. I looked more like I was a bee keeper because the mosquitoes were so abundant in the jungle that I pulled out my mosquito netting for my face and wore long sleeves even though the heat made it a little unbearable. Anything is better than being the feast for the mosquitoes which I still was but not so much my face. Monday night I awoke around midnight to the sound of mosquito buzzing at my face. I knew that I could not sleep again with it there so I sat up and read until it came around and I killed it. It must have known my plans though because it waited a good 20 minutes to re-appear. Just as I settled down to sleep again, I heard another mosquito. This time I fished out the mosquito netting and covered up. This time of year seems to be the worst for the mosquitoes since I remember being here three years ago over this time and every time I tried to take a picture, the mosquitoes would feast on my fingers.
My to do list continues to be long but hopefully I will make some progress on it over the next few days, including getting a newsletter written
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Without a Trace
July 21, 2008
I am back in Honduras readjusting to the hot weather and well aware of how faithful and powerful God is. I, and many others, were praying that Wes, Cindy, and I would make it out of the Colombia without being stopped for not having received our yellow fever vaccination soon enough. The woman at the counter asked for my yellow card with the vaccination information and I gave it to her, all the while praying that she would not notice the date. Because of where we visited in the country we really were not in any danger of getting yellow fever, with or without the vaccination but of course the government did not know that. Though the woman studied my card for long time, scrutinized it in fact, she made no comment about it and simply handed it to me along with my ticket. I would love to ask God if she did not see the actual date stamped on the card or if she decided it was not a big deal or what. Who knows what the reason was other than that God was clearing the way for me to get back to Honduras and continue ministry there. Wes and Cindy were in a different line but they too passed through without a trace of difficulty.
Security in the Colombian airport was pretty high and they did thorough searches of every bag but it was not too bad. As we were leaving there were some awesome views of the country. Since my trip was not about vacation or sight-seeing I really saw very little of the country. But what I saw impressed me and made me realize that my pre-conceived idea of Colombia as a country was not accurate. It is not all about hostages and drugs. In fact the area I was in seemed more secure than Honduras. We left on the Independence Day of Columbia and they were having a march for peace asking for the release of hostages. From what I understood this march was happening with Colombians around the world.
The LAM retreat that we were a part of was a very good, refreshing time. I will probably write more about it in my next newsletter, but basically God had a lot to teach me and do in my heart as we looked at the them of "Success -- According to God." I enjoyed too the opportunity to meet missionaries from another part of the world who were involved in very different projects, but all with their heart on Jesus.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
To Colombia
July 19, 2008
I must write at least a short entry today. On Thursday afternoon I arrived in the country of Colombia with surprisingly, no adventures in the travels. All of the excitement had come the day before when I learned I was supposed to have a yellow fever vaccination in order to travel to Colombia. Actually the vaccination is needed for returning to Honduras. Apparently there is no yellow fever in Central America though it is very common in South America. The mosquitoes that carry Dengue in Central America are the same type that could carry yellow fever. So if an infected person returned to Central America with yellow fever and was bitten by the right kind of mosquito, an outbreak of yellow fever could occur. Through no small miracle, Wes, Cindy, and I were able to get our vaccinations about 3 hours after I discovered that we needed them (and they were still at camp, an hour and a half away) but we were technically 7 days late. A doctor took us to the clinic where we could get the card and vaccination and we arrived there only 20 minutes before it closed. The woman did not want to give us the shots but the doctor was persistent. The vaccination is free but in order to give us the shots, she would have to open five doses which would mean two would be wasted -- something she could not do. Wes and Cindy solved that problem by having their two oldest children vaccinated even though they did not need the shot at this moment. As long as they travel to South America in the next 10 years, it will be worth it. The woman made sure that we knew she was putting the correct date on the card and was not going to say we had received the shot 10 days beforehand. That was fine with us because we wanted to be honest and follow the regulations. If we are to make it in and out of Colombia without issue, it will be because God clears the path, not because we bribe our way or cut corners.
No one even looked at our yellow cards (though they asked if we had them) as we left Honduras but we have heard of people having trouble when they go to leave Colombia for Central America. We are praying that they do not look at our date or at least believe us when we say that we were not in an area of Colombia where yellow fever is present. I have too many commitments and meetings to spend the rest of the week in Colombia waiting for 10 days to pass from the day of our vaccination. We will see what unfolds. There could yet be adventure. In the meantime I am enjoying the missionary retreat and what little I have seen of Colombia. It is much more beautiful than I expected with an interesting architecture (somewhat colonial Spanish), roads that seem well maintained and cows that are well fed. I, of course, am only seeing one small part of the country so I know that poverty and destruction does exist.
This morning I went for a short run in one of the nearby towns. I loved being able to see more of the countryside and to exercise again. I noticed that most of the buildings here seem to be brick and in this area of the country at least, the cars are not shut in garages behind bars. There is the appearance at least of a safer environment. I had not run for almost three weeks so I found the change in altitude to 6500ft a little challenging since I am usually at less than 1000ft. On my run I stumbled upon a little park with a pond and rather bold ducks. For a moment I thought that they might try and attack me since they headed right towards me. I love finding glimpses of God’s creation amidst buildings and roads.
I must write at least a short entry today. On Thursday afternoon I arrived in the country of Colombia with surprisingly, no adventures in the travels. All of the excitement had come the day before when I learned I was supposed to have a yellow fever vaccination in order to travel to Colombia. Actually the vaccination is needed for returning to Honduras. Apparently there is no yellow fever in Central America though it is very common in South America. The mosquitoes that carry Dengue in Central America are the same type that could carry yellow fever. So if an infected person returned to Central America with yellow fever and was bitten by the right kind of mosquito, an outbreak of yellow fever could occur. Through no small miracle, Wes, Cindy, and I were able to get our vaccinations about 3 hours after I discovered that we needed them (and they were still at camp, an hour and a half away) but we were technically 7 days late. A doctor took us to the clinic where we could get the card and vaccination and we arrived there only 20 minutes before it closed. The woman did not want to give us the shots but the doctor was persistent. The vaccination is free but in order to give us the shots, she would have to open five doses which would mean two would be wasted -- something she could not do. Wes and Cindy solved that problem by having their two oldest children vaccinated even though they did not need the shot at this moment. As long as they travel to South America in the next 10 years, it will be worth it. The woman made sure that we knew she was putting the correct date on the card and was not going to say we had received the shot 10 days beforehand. That was fine with us because we wanted to be honest and follow the regulations. If we are to make it in and out of Colombia without issue, it will be because God clears the path, not because we bribe our way or cut corners.
No one even looked at our yellow cards (though they asked if we had them) as we left Honduras but we have heard of people having trouble when they go to leave Colombia for Central America. We are praying that they do not look at our date or at least believe us when we say that we were not in an area of Colombia where yellow fever is present. I have too many commitments and meetings to spend the rest of the week in Colombia waiting for 10 days to pass from the day of our vaccination. We will see what unfolds. There could yet be adventure. In the meantime I am enjoying the missionary retreat and what little I have seen of Colombia. It is much more beautiful than I expected with an interesting architecture (somewhat colonial Spanish), roads that seem well maintained and cows that are well fed. I, of course, am only seeing one small part of the country so I know that poverty and destruction does exist.
This morning I went for a short run in one of the nearby towns. I loved being able to see more of the countryside and to exercise again. I noticed that most of the buildings here seem to be brick and in this area of the country at least, the cars are not shut in garages behind bars. There is the appearance at least of a safer environment. I had not run for almost three weeks so I found the change in altitude to 6500ft a little challenging since I am usually at less than 1000ft. On my run I stumbled upon a little park with a pond and rather bold ducks. For a moment I thought that they might try and attack me since they headed right towards me. I love finding glimpses of God’s creation amidst buildings and roads.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
The Simplicity of Little Children
July 8, 2008
I made an unexpected return trip to the city today because I was all packed to leave for the neighboring camp when I received a call saying that no one was getting to camp until midnight tonight which meant no place for me to stay. I knew that I at least had to go to town for internet so I did that and discovered that the connection was so slow, I would never be able to do the things I needed to, primary of which was order some ropes course supplies. I also discovered when getting air put in my tires that they need rotated and my car aligned -- a job for the city. I hope to be able to get that done "quickly" in the morning and still get to the camp in good time.
So I returned to the city and was only in my apartment a few minutes when my friend came over with her two year old son. She needed to do some research on the computer so I took Julian outside to try and play with his dump truck. He really did not seem too interested in it and after a while I found a plastic water bottle laying on the pavement. This water bottle quickly became a soccer ball and we had some good moments kicking it around until he decided to use it as a weapon for hitting people instead. I was impressed though that such a simple item could capture the attention of a 2 year old for a good 15 minutes. Impressed and thankful since I really do not have any toys in the apartment.
This evening I joined up with the Williamsons for dinner and then sent Wes and Cindy on their way for a date while I hung out with the children. Some of us played a game and others read. All in all it has been pretty tranquil evening. I hope that tomorrow is tranquil and that the re-alignment takes care of all of the car problems since it feels to me like something else is not right. I am planning to make the hour and a half drive to the camp without visiting my mechanic (the alignment gets done somewhere else) because I do not have time to leave the car there for inspection. I am praying that it will hold up through next week till I am in the city again for a full day.
I made an unexpected return trip to the city today because I was all packed to leave for the neighboring camp when I received a call saying that no one was getting to camp until midnight tonight which meant no place for me to stay. I knew that I at least had to go to town for internet so I did that and discovered that the connection was so slow, I would never be able to do the things I needed to, primary of which was order some ropes course supplies. I also discovered when getting air put in my tires that they need rotated and my car aligned -- a job for the city. I hope to be able to get that done "quickly" in the morning and still get to the camp in good time.
So I returned to the city and was only in my apartment a few minutes when my friend came over with her two year old son. She needed to do some research on the computer so I took Julian outside to try and play with his dump truck. He really did not seem too interested in it and after a while I found a plastic water bottle laying on the pavement. This water bottle quickly became a soccer ball and we had some good moments kicking it around until he decided to use it as a weapon for hitting people instead. I was impressed though that such a simple item could capture the attention of a 2 year old for a good 15 minutes. Impressed and thankful since I really do not have any toys in the apartment.
This evening I joined up with the Williamsons for dinner and then sent Wes and Cindy on their way for a date while I hung out with the children. Some of us played a game and others read. All in all it has been pretty tranquil evening. I hope that tomorrow is tranquil and that the re-alignment takes care of all of the car problems since it feels to me like something else is not right. I am planning to make the hour and a half drive to the camp without visiting my mechanic (the alignment gets done somewhere else) because I do not have time to leave the car there for inspection. I am praying that it will hold up through next week till I am in the city again for a full day.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
The Winds of Sudden Change
July 6, 2008
I am squeezing all of my blog entries in at one time -- while I still have internet connection. Today dawned sunny and hot. Immediately after church I headed to my second basketball game of the weekend (the first game was last night and though my team won, I did not play very well or prove to be much of a help). I was determined to play to the best of the ability that the Lord has given to me and to be a little more confident in that ability. I also considered imagining that I was playing at Black Rock with staff where the game comes much easier, but when on the court, I forgot that part. Two of the key players had not appeared by the time the game started so I knew that I was needed. They showed up in time to play in the second half, but I had a chance to play and to play much better than in any of my previous games.
After basketball I returned to my apartment to prepare food for the dinner with my friends and to relax a bit. I already knew that I was down to 2 friends coming over instead of 3 or 4 and the time of their arrival kept getting pushed back, but such is life. Around 5:00PM I received a call from the person who was to coordinate the 7:00PM meeting and discovered that since not everyon could be present, we were postponing it until a week from now. Well, my friend Lourdes came shortly after 5:00PM and we worked on a puzzle and chatted while waiting for my other friend. After a lengthy amount of time we decided to go ahead and eat since I could not get in touch with my other friend. Needless to say there was plenty of food. Somewhat in honor of the fourth of July and summer, I had made strawberry shortcake. It is the season (more or less) of strawberries here in Honduras but they are not nearly as sweet as the ones I am accustomed to.
Just before the time when I needed to take Lourdes to catch a taxi, the rains began in full force with a strong wind as well. The rain this evening seemed to come out of nowhere since it had been so warm and sunny. I had to run out and move the plants to shelter so that they would not be flooded in their pots and had to close all of the windows because the wind drove the rain inside. Though the lights flickered a few times, there were no power outages on my side of the city. While waiting for the rain to calm down, I taught Lourdes Speed Scrabble (or Take One) with Spanish Scrabble letters. I had been wanting to play a game of some sorts for a few days and realized that Scrabble in Spanish would be good practice for me. Indeed it is. And so the weekend ends and tomorrow I head to camp. Tomorrow evening we will have our staff Bible Study reunion though the Williamsons are away on vacation. They had started to watch the Jesus Film in Spanish which I think that we will start again. There is a good possibility that the builder and his family will join us for the video and they are not Christians. I am praying that the Lord will work in and through me as I give a little of the leadership to the evening. I definitely need His words and help.
I am squeezing all of my blog entries in at one time -- while I still have internet connection. Today dawned sunny and hot. Immediately after church I headed to my second basketball game of the weekend (the first game was last night and though my team won, I did not play very well or prove to be much of a help). I was determined to play to the best of the ability that the Lord has given to me and to be a little more confident in that ability. I also considered imagining that I was playing at Black Rock with staff where the game comes much easier, but when on the court, I forgot that part. Two of the key players had not appeared by the time the game started so I knew that I was needed. They showed up in time to play in the second half, but I had a chance to play and to play much better than in any of my previous games.
After basketball I returned to my apartment to prepare food for the dinner with my friends and to relax a bit. I already knew that I was down to 2 friends coming over instead of 3 or 4 and the time of their arrival kept getting pushed back, but such is life. Around 5:00PM I received a call from the person who was to coordinate the 7:00PM meeting and discovered that since not everyon could be present, we were postponing it until a week from now. Well, my friend Lourdes came shortly after 5:00PM and we worked on a puzzle and chatted while waiting for my other friend. After a lengthy amount of time we decided to go ahead and eat since I could not get in touch with my other friend. Needless to say there was plenty of food. Somewhat in honor of the fourth of July and summer, I had made strawberry shortcake. It is the season (more or less) of strawberries here in Honduras but they are not nearly as sweet as the ones I am accustomed to.
Just before the time when I needed to take Lourdes to catch a taxi, the rains began in full force with a strong wind as well. The rain this evening seemed to come out of nowhere since it had been so warm and sunny. I had to run out and move the plants to shelter so that they would not be flooded in their pots and had to close all of the windows because the wind drove the rain inside. Though the lights flickered a few times, there were no power outages on my side of the city. While waiting for the rain to calm down, I taught Lourdes Speed Scrabble (or Take One) with Spanish Scrabble letters. I had been wanting to play a game of some sorts for a few days and realized that Scrabble in Spanish would be good practice for me. Indeed it is. And so the weekend ends and tomorrow I head to camp. Tomorrow evening we will have our staff Bible Study reunion though the Williamsons are away on vacation. They had started to watch the Jesus Film in Spanish which I think that we will start again. There is a good possibility that the builder and his family will join us for the video and they are not Christians. I am praying that the Lord will work in and through me as I give a little of the leadership to the evening. I definitely need His words and help.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Who knew planting could be so hard?
June 28, 2008I hardly know where to begin in reflecting on this past week at camp with a work team, but I will try to make some progress. Last Sunday a group of youth and leaders from Upland, Indiana arrived at camp to help us with various projects. They were incredibly hard workers and put in long hours. Projects included: digging an 8x8 hole for a septic tank (which I think ended up being bigger in size), digging trenches for footers, making cement, laying blocks, moving lots of dirt, building a retention wall of rocks, planting bushes, and working on the construction of a new ropes course element. I worked mostly with the ropes course element and the planting. Because I had to run back and forth between the two projects I felt like I never really put in much physical labor though I was still tired by the end of the day. Only twice did I find the time to play soccer at the end of the day even though I would have enjoyed playing more.
Along with the group from Indiana there were 13 youth from the church that I attend in the city. The majority were bilingual but a few were not. It was really neat to see the unity develop between the two groups over the course of the week. One turning point seemed to be when for an hour over supper no one was allowed to speak English. Suddenly the Hondurans had the opportunity to be comfortable in their own language and teach those from North America.
*Photo: Lunch with children from a mountain school on Ministry Day.
An interesting experience for me was planting Boganvilia along the fence, just outside of camp. We like the flower to be a border plant, hiding some of the barbwire fence and adding a few thorns to deter entering outside of via the gate. I never knew that there could be so many hindrances to planting though. Three holes into digging on the first day, one of the youth called out saying that he had hit a water pipe with his pick ax and sure enough there was a nice sized hole in the PVC pipe. At first we thought it was the water for the town just down the hill but later one of the Honduran staff said that it goes to the neighboring farm and not the town. Whatever the case, we knew we had to fix it but of course none of us knew how. There was a builder on camp though and within 10 minutes or so he arrived on the scene and with the water still pouring from the hole, he managed to change out a portion of the PVC pipe for a new one. I was impressed.
Yes, they are climbing the mtn in that truck!
Discovering that the water pipe was only 6-8 inches below the surface of the ground caused us to change our planting plan since we would have been in danger of striking the pipe with ever swing of the ax. Shortly after the water pipe experience we encountered lots of biting ants which made working with one’s hands in the soil a bit challenging. Some of the youth became experts at breaking up large rocks with the pick ax. Later in the week a couple of girls came upon some scorpions as they were digging. I think the list goes on of challenges with the planting process but I have forgotten what all I was going to write.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Rushing
June 21, 2008
This week I have been doing lots of "rushing around." More than I like in fact. Within the hour I am headed out to camp for the coming week to help out with the work team that will be there and 2 weekend camps that are going on. I am trying to get e-mails and blog entries caught up before I leave, but it is not happening. Lately I have been spending more time with people than communicating with those far away. I had a coffee with my roommate this afternoon since we really not see much of each other until August. She leaves for the month of July just as I return from camp. So lots of goodbyes and lots of last minute errands. That has constituted much of my week.
Perhaps in the down time at camp before the team arrives I can do some writing to catch up on the events, analogies, and thoughts of this past week but for now, that has to wait. I think it will be a good coming week and I am looking forward to our ministry day with a school from up on the mountain by camp this next Friday. I visited some country schools this past week and am anxious to experience working with them.
This week I have been doing lots of "rushing around." More than I like in fact. Within the hour I am headed out to camp for the coming week to help out with the work team that will be there and 2 weekend camps that are going on. I am trying to get e-mails and blog entries caught up before I leave, but it is not happening. Lately I have been spending more time with people than communicating with those far away. I had a coffee with my roommate this afternoon since we really not see much of each other until August. She leaves for the month of July just as I return from camp. So lots of goodbyes and lots of last minute errands. That has constituted much of my week.
Perhaps in the down time at camp before the team arrives I can do some writing to catch up on the events, analogies, and thoughts of this past week but for now, that has to wait. I think it will be a good coming week and I am looking forward to our ministry day with a school from up on the mountain by camp this next Friday. I visited some country schools this past week and am anxious to experience working with them.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
What if...?
June 21, 2008
*Note this entry was started last Sunday and is a bit old, but at least I am finally writing it.
I had a very "what if...?" experience yesterday. I have only been back in Honduras for 2 days but the adventures begin. The first adventure is actually a huge praise -- my A/C in the car works again. There is now a strange noise, but there is cold air and for now I am just grateful for that.
Yesterday I had a busy day planned with picking up a friend at the mall, cleaning, laundry, and a basketball game. My roommate Emily had a friend visiting from the States who had arrived late the night before. I had been up late Friday night watching a movie and for once I was able to sleep in until a little after 7:00AM. By the time I got up and was heading out of my room, Emily knocked on my door because she wondered if I was okay and still alive. After a morning run, I came back and did laundry. I was hanging out my laundry when Emily came out to say goodbye before heading off to the beach. Just to give a little description of the house -- we have a little patio off of the kitchen (where I was along with the washer) and then another patio off of the dining room. There is a screen door at the kitchen which Emily was locking and unlocking as she talked to me (though I was unaware of it). She and her friend left and I continued hanging up some laundry but for some reason decided to take some over to the other patio.
I grabbed the door and pulled on it, only to discover that it was locked. In that next brief moment of panic many things passed through my mind. 1.) My cell phone is locked in the house upstairs. 2.) Emily is leaving for the ENTIRE day. 3.) I am supposed to pick up a friend at the mall in about an hour and I have no way to contact him which means he will be stranded (more or less) in the city. 4.) I have no food nor water on the porch though my Bible and journal are here (but no pen). (Could I put chlorine in the tap water and then drink it?) 5.) I wonder if I could climb over the razor wire -- which would actually only lead to some other person's property and another wall to climb over. 6.) There goes playing in my basketball game this evening, and 7.) I wonder if the step ladder would be tall enough to get me on the small roof so I could jump down in the parking area and go in search of my landlords and a key.
Of course all of these thoughts crossed through my mind in just a few seconds and I found myself pounding on the screen door yelling (or so I thought) "Emily!" She had only left a minute ago. Apparently my yells were more like a whimper but Emily heard them through the kitchen window and came back into the house. She was surprised at what she had done and of course claimed it was "unintentional." (And I know that it was). It was an interesting few seconds though as I considered what my day could have been like. In the end I had a good day and made a dent in my list of things to do as well as spent time with friends. I should confess that today, now a week after my being locked on the patio, I locked Emily there this morning too and again, unintentionally. Just as I did, she for some reason decided to re-enter the house before I left on errands and discovered the damage. I really was not seeking revenge though it may have appeared that way. I think we may have to start storing potable water out there and other emergency supplies. I definitely will try for the roof escape route if I get trapped out there and I think it would be a bit of an adventure as long as I did not have to be somewhere within the hour.
*Note this entry was started last Sunday and is a bit old, but at least I am finally writing it.
I had a very "what if...?" experience yesterday. I have only been back in Honduras for 2 days but the adventures begin. The first adventure is actually a huge praise -- my A/C in the car works again. There is now a strange noise, but there is cold air and for now I am just grateful for that.
Yesterday I had a busy day planned with picking up a friend at the mall, cleaning, laundry, and a basketball game. My roommate Emily had a friend visiting from the States who had arrived late the night before. I had been up late Friday night watching a movie and for once I was able to sleep in until a little after 7:00AM. By the time I got up and was heading out of my room, Emily knocked on my door because she wondered if I was okay and still alive. After a morning run, I came back and did laundry. I was hanging out my laundry when Emily came out to say goodbye before heading off to the beach. Just to give a little description of the house -- we have a little patio off of the kitchen (where I was along with the washer) and then another patio off of the dining room. There is a screen door at the kitchen which Emily was locking and unlocking as she talked to me (though I was unaware of it). She and her friend left and I continued hanging up some laundry but for some reason decided to take some over to the other patio.
I grabbed the door and pulled on it, only to discover that it was locked. In that next brief moment of panic many things passed through my mind. 1.) My cell phone is locked in the house upstairs. 2.) Emily is leaving for the ENTIRE day. 3.) I am supposed to pick up a friend at the mall in about an hour and I have no way to contact him which means he will be stranded (more or less) in the city. 4.) I have no food nor water on the porch though my Bible and journal are here (but no pen). (Could I put chlorine in the tap water and then drink it?) 5.) I wonder if I could climb over the razor wire -- which would actually only lead to some other person's property and another wall to climb over. 6.) There goes playing in my basketball game this evening, and 7.) I wonder if the step ladder would be tall enough to get me on the small roof so I could jump down in the parking area and go in search of my landlords and a key.
Of course all of these thoughts crossed through my mind in just a few seconds and I found myself pounding on the screen door yelling (or so I thought) "Emily!" She had only left a minute ago. Apparently my yells were more like a whimper but Emily heard them through the kitchen window and came back into the house. She was surprised at what she had done and of course claimed it was "unintentional." (And I know that it was). It was an interesting few seconds though as I considered what my day could have been like. In the end I had a good day and made a dent in my list of things to do as well as spent time with friends. I should confess that today, now a week after my being locked on the patio, I locked Emily there this morning too and again, unintentionally. Just as I did, she for some reason decided to re-enter the house before I left on errands and discovered the damage. I really was not seeking revenge though it may have appeared that way. I think we may have to start storing potable water out there and other emergency supplies. I definitely will try for the roof escape route if I get trapped out there and I think it would be a bit of an adventure as long as I did not have to be somewhere within the hour.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
In the Air Again
June 12, 2008
I am back in El Salvador with only a short flight yet before I reach my final destination -- Honduras. It will be good to be back. It seems like I have been gone for a long while though it was only a little over a week. I enjoyed the last few days in Florida with my family. It was a laid back time because other than a few little minute shopping, I had no plans other than to visit with my grandparents and other relatives. We chatted, enjoyed meals together, and played a few games but not nearly as much as usual.
This afternoon on my first flight, I was welcomed back into the world of Spanish because I was sitting beside two youth from the Dominican Republic. We chatted off and on, shifting between English and Spanish. They were impressed with my Spanish which to me is rather sad because I know how much it is lacking but apparently most of the people they know only say "Hola" and "Como esta?" It was fun begin the entrance back into Spanish though it will probably take a little time to readjust.
I am back in El Salvador with only a short flight yet before I reach my final destination -- Honduras. It will be good to be back. It seems like I have been gone for a long while though it was only a little over a week. I enjoyed the last few days in Florida with my family. It was a laid back time because other than a few little minute shopping, I had no plans other than to visit with my grandparents and other relatives. We chatted, enjoyed meals together, and played a few games but not nearly as much as usual.
This afternoon on my first flight, I was welcomed back into the world of Spanish because I was sitting beside two youth from the Dominican Republic. We chatted off and on, shifting between English and Spanish. They were impressed with my Spanish which to me is rather sad because I know how much it is lacking but apparently most of the people they know only say "Hola" and "Como esta?" It was fun begin the entrance back into Spanish though it will probably take a little time to readjust.
The Wanderings in the States
June 10, 2008
I begin this blog entry from the air as I start the journey southward. I have a few days before I leave for Honduras yet because I will be spending some time with my grandparents and other relatives in Florida. It has been a quick, but good time in PA. I only spent one day at Black Rock which is actually a record since normally I visit there several times, even during a short trip. I would have liked to hang out there more, whether in the woods or with people but I had other priorities during this trip – being with family. From Thursday evening through Saturday evening, I was in northern PA at my parents’ cabin. What a beautiful spot! We went out for a canoe trek on the Pine Creek which ended up being more of a water war than anything else. I was impressed at my sister Val’s agility at hopping in and then tipping other canoes. We made a pretty good team.
I got in a very short hike on the Black Forest Trail with my dad. On the last day we canoed again and this time I took out the one canoe by myself. There were several times when the wind was so strong that it sent me spinning in circles and once I had to jump out and swim with the canoe because I could make no progress in paddling. I watched in awe as a bald eagle swooped behind my canoe with a fish in its talons and a small bird chasing after it. I watched them disappear into the woods and the eagle come to rest on a fallen tree. The little bird kept up its pestering and I was reminded that you have to watch out for the little things. My parents, sister, and I had a lovely moment of miscommunication when we were asking for an explanation of how the ground hog entered the basement (of my dad) and he could not grasp our question because having been in the basement so much, it was obvious to him where the groundhog entered from. But the rest of us were unfamiliar with the basement. We actually were not on the same page with our questions either and did not completely understand one another, even amongst the girls. In the end we all got our point across but it took a while. I realized that miscommunications are not just a cross-cultural issue.
On Sunday I shared in my church, spent more time with family and finally played a game of Ultimate Frisbee again. Monday I visited a few people, began to pack, and enjoyed visiting with other friends and family at a Spring Picnic. Sadly it felt nothing like spring during my whole time in the north. I must have brought the hot weather with me. I wish that I could leave it behind in PA but I know that it will greet me in Honduras too.
After a few days with family in Florida, I will return to Honduras. It sounds like my car’s A/C might be fixed and I will not need the part I ordered here in the States with the intentions of carrying it back. That is good news.
I begin this blog entry from the air as I start the journey southward. I have a few days before I leave for Honduras yet because I will be spending some time with my grandparents and other relatives in Florida. It has been a quick, but good time in PA. I only spent one day at Black Rock which is actually a record since normally I visit there several times, even during a short trip. I would have liked to hang out there more, whether in the woods or with people but I had other priorities during this trip – being with family. From Thursday evening through Saturday evening, I was in northern PA at my parents’ cabin. What a beautiful spot! We went out for a canoe trek on the Pine Creek which ended up being more of a water war than anything else. I was impressed at my sister Val’s agility at hopping in and then tipping other canoes. We made a pretty good team.
I got in a very short hike on the Black Forest Trail with my dad. On the last day we canoed again and this time I took out the one canoe by myself. There were several times when the wind was so strong that it sent me spinning in circles and once I had to jump out and swim with the canoe because I could make no progress in paddling. I watched in awe as a bald eagle swooped behind my canoe with a fish in its talons and a small bird chasing after it. I watched them disappear into the woods and the eagle come to rest on a fallen tree. The little bird kept up its pestering and I was reminded that you have to watch out for the little things. My parents, sister, and I had a lovely moment of miscommunication when we were asking for an explanation of how the ground hog entered the basement (of my dad) and he could not grasp our question because having been in the basement so much, it was obvious to him where the groundhog entered from. But the rest of us were unfamiliar with the basement. We actually were not on the same page with our questions either and did not completely understand one another, even amongst the girls. In the end we all got our point across but it took a while. I realized that miscommunications are not just a cross-cultural issue.
On Sunday I shared in my church, spent more time with family and finally played a game of Ultimate Frisbee again. Monday I visited a few people, began to pack, and enjoyed visiting with other friends and family at a Spring Picnic. Sadly it felt nothing like spring during my whole time in the north. I must have brought the hot weather with me. I wish that I could leave it behind in PA but I know that it will greet me in Honduras too.
After a few days with family in Florida, I will return to Honduras. It sounds like my car’s A/C might be fixed and I will not need the part I ordered here in the States with the intentions of carrying it back. That is good news.
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