June 3, 2008
On Sunday night I made it to the theater to see Prince Caspian at long last. I wanted to see it in the theater and not just at home months later. I realized that I had forgotten much of the story and really should reread the books. There was definitely some food for thought within the movie. I found myself annoyed with Peter and his haughty attitude as well as how he kept taking things into his own hands. He seemed to think past victories were evidence to his ability to fight. He forgot all about Aslan’s involvement. His words, “I think we have waited for Aslan long enough,” were very telling of his intentions to do what he thought best and in his time.
But after seeing the movie, I began to realize that I do the same thing with God sometimes. I think that because I was successful in one area in the past, I can continue with what I did before rather than seeking His counsel and confirmation. And those times when I feel like I am not getting an answer quickly from the Lord, I am tempted to just venture out into the plan that I think best and hope God is also in favor of it. Peter asks Lucy how it is that she saw Aslan and he did not. Her response is that maybe he did not really want to see Aslan. If he saw Aslan, he would be changed and he could not longer follow his own will. And Peter seemed to want to prove that he could be king and free Narnia. He was more concerned about his glory than that of Aslan or maybe even the good of the people. I want a heart like Lucy’s that seeks God’s presence wherever I am and waits expectantly. I want my heart to be soft towards the needs of others and always looking for ways to love. I have so far to go though in letting God more and more transform me into the likeness of His Son.
Thunderstorms seem to be the theme of today’s air travel. Although I have not experienced airport delays because of them, there has been turbulence. On the segment from Miami to Atlanta I could see the huge thunder cloud to my left which we were trying to skirt around. Even going around it though resulted in some shaky moments (nothing serious by any means). I had to ponder storms in life as I saw that cloud. There are those times when our path seems to take us directly through the thunderstorm and we experience the brunt of the winds and rain. Other times though God takes us along the gentler trail where the fiercest trials do not have to be endured. The latter tends to be the “round-about” way though and it takes longer to reach what I may perceive to be my final destination.
On this last leg of my journey we ran into a problem about ½ hour after leaving Atlanta. The weather radar stopped working and since there were thunderstorms ahead, we had to turn around. I was not happy to say the least. I could see myself stuck in Atlanta for the night and although I have family there the stay would be so short it would hardly warrant them driving to the airport to pick me up. I was so anxious to just get to PA that I wanted to say, “Just go ahead and fly there anyway.” Of course I know very little about flying and radars but I did have to think that flying without a radar could mean heading into the worst part of the storm. It is dangerous to fly without direction and knowledge of what is ahead. And for me it is dangerous to move ahead with my own plans if I have not gotten direction from God. I need Him as radar to direct my steps. I am not capable of setting out on my own. Right now the turbulence is such that I should stop typing and put my computer away. It is a good thing we went back and got a new radar even though it means arriving to PA two hours later than scheduled. At least it is the same day and we are safe.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
An Assortment of Happenings
June 3, 2008
It has been ages since I last wrote and so much has happened so I really do not know where to begin. I am writing from the air as I take a last minute trip to the States. It was time to see family again. I will have the chance to see quite a few people, including my grandparents in Florida. I am hoping too that either I will carry back with me the part to fix my car’s air conditioning problem or I will get word that the mechanic in Honduras got it and successfully installed it. The latter would be cheaper but I have already waited 2 months for the part to come in and my confidence has been waning.
I think that when I last wrote I was busy preparing for an Outdoor Education program on May 26 which did happen and went well. I found myself very tired after that day because I had spent the weekend training staff and being the hostess for them. It was fun but I was ready for some quiet moments. I cannot thank the Lord enough though for providing the needed staff and that we all got along so well. Before Sunday most of us had been strangers. I learned a lot about what it means to run an Outdoor Education program here in Honduras and the details that I need to improve for next time. It was neat to see the youth excited about experiencing science and God’s creation first hand, rather than just reading about them in a textbook.
Last Saturday (the 24th) the rains began with a vengeance. I was at camp and I discovered water gushing into my cabin through a small hole in the roof. Yesterday we had a big storm in the city and we ended up with a lake in the courtyard area outside our kitchen since the floor drain was not permitting the water to escape.
On Saturday, June 1st, I went to a farewell party for various members of the International Church who are soon leaving Honduras. I was surrounded by gringos and expatriates but I sought out a young Honduran girl who was sitting alone and spent most of the time talking to her. In the evening I had another basketball game which we ended up winning but should not have due to our attitudes and actions. Various team members were swearing and one got kicked out of the game for slapping an opposing team member who supposedly had discreetly hit her. I was ashamed to be on the team because being a “winner” had become a little too important and integrity and character were compromised. I have actually not been present at enough games to play in the championship so that may have been my last game for a while. I want to play for fun and that game was not fun.
It has been ages since I last wrote and so much has happened so I really do not know where to begin. I am writing from the air as I take a last minute trip to the States. It was time to see family again. I will have the chance to see quite a few people, including my grandparents in Florida. I am hoping too that either I will carry back with me the part to fix my car’s air conditioning problem or I will get word that the mechanic in Honduras got it and successfully installed it. The latter would be cheaper but I have already waited 2 months for the part to come in and my confidence has been waning.
I think that when I last wrote I was busy preparing for an Outdoor Education program on May 26 which did happen and went well. I found myself very tired after that day because I had spent the weekend training staff and being the hostess for them. It was fun but I was ready for some quiet moments. I cannot thank the Lord enough though for providing the needed staff and that we all got along so well. Before Sunday most of us had been strangers. I learned a lot about what it means to run an Outdoor Education program here in Honduras and the details that I need to improve for next time. It was neat to see the youth excited about experiencing science and God’s creation first hand, rather than just reading about them in a textbook.
Last Saturday (the 24th) the rains began with a vengeance. I was at camp and I discovered water gushing into my cabin through a small hole in the roof. Yesterday we had a big storm in the city and we ended up with a lake in the courtyard area outside our kitchen since the floor drain was not permitting the water to escape.
On Saturday, June 1st, I went to a farewell party for various members of the International Church who are soon leaving Honduras. I was surrounded by gringos and expatriates but I sought out a young Honduran girl who was sitting alone and spent most of the time talking to her. In the evening I had another basketball game which we ended up winning but should not have due to our attitudes and actions. Various team members were swearing and one got kicked out of the game for slapping an opposing team member who supposedly had discreetly hit her. I was ashamed to be on the team because being a “winner” had become a little too important and integrity and character were compromised. I have actually not been present at enough games to play in the championship so that may have been my last game for a while. I want to play for fun and that game was not fun.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Views from the Highway and More
May 22, 2008
This past week has had its adventures and some good conversations with random people. On Monday I was in the Immigration office to get another 30 day extension for my visa and the girl beside me struck up a conversation. She was from Taiwan so we had to speak in Spanish since neither of us knew the other’s native language. The wait in the line was extra long this time so it was neat to have someone to talk to and to realize how small the world is since her friend had just met Wes who I work with on Saturday. It seems like she does not know too many people in San Pedro so I think I will try to invite her to a get together some time with friends. Today I talked with the girl helping me to laminate various items in the Internet Cafe and it was good too.
On Wednesday I left camp and headed to the town of Copan Ruins to meet up with a group from Houghton College and my professor from years ago. I almost thought I would not get to leave camp because the smell of smoke was heavy and we were afraid that there was a fire near by. Later that night after I had left, Cindy saw the glow of flames on the hill where the fires came from last year. But that night it rained and so today the camp seemed safe – at least until the farmers re-ignite the fires since it did not burn as much as they wanted.
My journey to Copan was very interesting. Here are a few of the random sights I saw.
· A pick-up truck piled high until the goods towered probably a full 15 feet above the cab. (I was thankful it was stationary because it looked like it could tip over in a heartbeat.)
· Two dogs that charged on to the highway to attack my car (a SUV no less)
· Speed bumps the color of the road so there was little warning that they were present until I hit them.
· A washout in the highway that had left a gaping hole in the opposing lane and was marked only with a faded yellow “Alto” (Stop) on the road.
I know there were more unique sights but those are the only ones I can remember. Last night I met up with the Houghton group and had dinner with them. In the middle of the night though I woke up very sick. Whatever I have been battling for weeks with regard to stomach problems, peaked and so today I have done very little but rest and prepare for the weekend and Monday. Two Houghton students return to camp with me tomorrow to help out with the Outdoor Education Day that we have on Monday. I am praying that all goes well and that it is a good learning time for students and teachers alike. (I know that it will be very much a learning experience for me too.)
This past week has had its adventures and some good conversations with random people. On Monday I was in the Immigration office to get another 30 day extension for my visa and the girl beside me struck up a conversation. She was from Taiwan so we had to speak in Spanish since neither of us knew the other’s native language. The wait in the line was extra long this time so it was neat to have someone to talk to and to realize how small the world is since her friend had just met Wes who I work with on Saturday. It seems like she does not know too many people in San Pedro so I think I will try to invite her to a get together some time with friends. Today I talked with the girl helping me to laminate various items in the Internet Cafe and it was good too.
On Wednesday I left camp and headed to the town of Copan Ruins to meet up with a group from Houghton College and my professor from years ago. I almost thought I would not get to leave camp because the smell of smoke was heavy and we were afraid that there was a fire near by. Later that night after I had left, Cindy saw the glow of flames on the hill where the fires came from last year. But that night it rained and so today the camp seemed safe – at least until the farmers re-ignite the fires since it did not burn as much as they wanted.
My journey to Copan was very interesting. Here are a few of the random sights I saw.
· A pick-up truck piled high until the goods towered probably a full 15 feet above the cab. (I was thankful it was stationary because it looked like it could tip over in a heartbeat.)
· Two dogs that charged on to the highway to attack my car (a SUV no less)
· Speed bumps the color of the road so there was little warning that they were present until I hit them.
· A washout in the highway that had left a gaping hole in the opposing lane and was marked only with a faded yellow “Alto” (Stop) on the road.
I know there were more unique sights but those are the only ones I can remember. Last night I met up with the Houghton group and had dinner with them. In the middle of the night though I woke up very sick. Whatever I have been battling for weeks with regard to stomach problems, peaked and so today I have done very little but rest and prepare for the weekend and Monday. Two Houghton students return to camp with me tomorrow to help out with the Outdoor Education Day that we have on Monday. I am praying that all goes well and that it is a good learning time for students and teachers alike. (I know that it will be very much a learning experience for me too.)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Relaxing in Sigua
May 18, 2008
After doing some work on Saturday my roommate Emily and I headed out of San Pedro to the town of Siguatepeque to visit a few of my friends, many of whom are leaving next month when their school year ends. We had a leisurely drive (well, I can say leisurely because I was not the one driving and dealing with the crazy passing) to Sigua and stopped at the lake on the way to catch a glimpse of the sun setting. In the evening we went to a birthday party with the teachers and hung out talking. Today we had many ideas for what we could do but no one could really decide what would work best given the time constraints. In the end we stopped up at the camp Cerro de Luz so I could pick up a tool for the ropes course and began a little volley
ball game. I had been wanting to play volleyball for weeks so it was a treat for me to at least be able to do one spike. We were invited to lunch so we stuck around and then I taught everyone one of my favorite games, Ticket To Ride. Although I have only visited with this group of friends three times, I appreciate their openness, hospitality, spontaneity, and fun-loving nature. I think it was a good way to relax before entering into a busy couple of days.
After doing some work on Saturday my roommate Emily and I headed out of San Pedro to the town of Siguatepeque to visit a few of my friends, many of whom are leaving next month when their school year ends. We had a leisurely drive (well, I can say leisurely because I was not the one driving and dealing with the crazy passing) to Sigua and stopped at the lake on the way to catch a glimpse of the sun setting. In the evening we went to a birthday party with the teachers and hung out talking. Today we had many ideas for what we could do but no one could really decide what would work best given the time constraints. In the end we stopped up at the camp Cerro de Luz so I could pick up a tool for the ropes course and began a little volley
ball game. I had been wanting to play volleyball for weeks so it was a treat for me to at least be able to do one spike. We were invited to lunch so we stuck around and then I taught everyone one of my favorite games, Ticket To Ride. Although I have only visited with this group of friends three times, I appreciate their openness, hospitality, spontaneity, and fun-loving nature. I think it was a good way to relax before entering into a busy couple of days.The Adorable Treasure
May 17, 2008
Travel and wildlife would probably be the two words to capture this past week. I made three trips to camp within a week’s time so I had a lot of time on the road. At the moment I am on the road again as my roommate and I are headed to Siguatepeque to see some of my friends and pick up a tool I need for the ropes course. During my time at camp I had some good times of chatting with the staff and awesome wildlife spotting. On Thursday afternoon I had just returned from town when the maintenance staff flagged me down to show me two young owls that were sitting on one of the branches of the large pine tree that had just been cut down. The owls seemed scared and unsure of what to do considering they had sat on the same branch for 2 hours enduring the noise of a chain saw and presence of machetes. I had never seen such adorable little owls so close up. The mother did not seem to be around and most likely their home had been destroyed with the chopping of the tree.
We decided to transfer the owls (they appear to be Least Pygmy Owls which means they never get more than about 7 inches) to a makeshift cage on the Williamson’s house, not with the intention of forever keeping them but to give them protection from potential predators. We left the top of the cage open so that they could leave. During the night the one disappeared and the other was found on the ground outside the cage. We are hoping that the mother came and somehow took the weaker one with the intention that the stronger one then follow (that is what tigers do). I did see the mother later that day so perhaps she came for the second baby that next night. I just wanted to hold them and keep them forever though because of how adorable they were. A very fun glimpse of another part of God’s creation.
Travel and wildlife would probably be the two words to capture this past week. I made three trips to camp within a week’s time so I had a lot of time on the road. At the moment I am on the road again as my roommate and I are headed to Siguatepeque to see some of my friends and pick up a tool I need for the ropes course. During my time at camp I had some good times of chatting with the staff and awesome wildlife spotting. On Thursday afternoon I had just returned from town when the maintenance staff flagged me down to show me two young owls that were sitting on one of the branches of the large pine tree that had just been cut down. The owls seemed scared and unsure of what to do considering they had sat on the same branch for 2 hours enduring the noise of a chain saw and presence of machetes. I had never seen such adorable little owls so close up. The mother did not seem to be around and most likely their home had been destroyed with the chopping of the tree.
We decided to transfer the owls (they appear to be Least Pygmy Owls which means they never get more than about 7 inches) to a makeshift cage on the Williamson’s house, not with the intention of forever keeping them but to give them protection from potential predators. We left the top of the cage open so that they could leave. During the night the one disappeared and the other was found on the ground outside the cage. We are hoping that the mother came and somehow took the weaker one with the intention that the stronger one then follow (that is what tigers do). I did see the mother later that day so perhaps she came for the second baby that next night. I just wanted to hold them and keep them forever though because of how adorable they were. A very fun glimpse of another part of God’s creation.
On Tuesday I dropped my car off at the shop to get the electric system fixed so that my headlight would work again. With my car in the shop I worked from the church office, the plus of which was air condition all day. When I went back to the shop late afternoon for my car, it was not back yet and so I talked with the wife of the mechanic and then his daughter. During the brief conversation with the daughter, I discovered that she teaches Environmental Education at a University and is often looking both for field trips and for people to share in her classes. Although I do not think she is a Christian and at the moment a possibility for staffing, it was a good connection. I was glad to realize that my car troubles were not completely in vain in that I another door has opened because of it.
Currently I am in the waiting phase as I try to figure out if a high school can really come for Outdoor Education on May 26. I hate that everything is so last minute but there is not much choice if I want to give them a chance to come this school year yet. I am hoping that they come because it would be great to have the chance to run our own program, according the schedule that we put together. Some Houghton College students will probably be helping me out for Monday’s program which will be fun too. So I just have to wait and see what happens this week while all the while finishing up preparations for the group.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Baking Cakes and Disliking Cars
May 11, 2008
I am beginning to feel as if I could keep track of the weeks by the events of my car. Friday I got a nice crack in the windshield from a flying rock and yesterday I discovered that a headlight is out. The good news though is that my dashboard lights to work and there was not a burnt out fuse. I somehow dimmed the lights with a knob on the dash and never realized it.
Last week I was busy trying to get the details together for a school group to come to camp the end of this month. I am hoping it all works out but they still need to get permission from an Educational Board or something like that. I am going ahead with planning for them to come though I may discover last minute that it does not work. Vamos a ver. (We will see)
Friday I headed out to camp where I stayed for not even 24 hours before returning to the city with Ellie, the oldest Williamson. She is here with me for the rest of the weekend as a belated birthday present for her. While she went to youth group, I started to make the cakes for our meal together as a staff for this evening. (By the way, Mother's Day is a much bigger celebration here in Honduras and is really not complete without a cake, gifts, and a very distinct celebration). I had the cakes mixed up and turned on the oven but after a minute or so I looked in the oven and saw that it had gone out. We have a gas stove and on Friday Cindy had been asking me how long our chimbo (tank) of gas had lasted. I had expressed my surprise that it had lasted 4 months and said I hoped it did not run out at an inconvenient time. Well, it had run out. I only had about 40 minutes till I was supposed to pick Ellie up again and the cake had to bake for 30.
I have one friend who is house-sitting nearby so I called him up and took the cakes over there. I still did not have time so I had to leave the one for him to take out later. I still have not made the frosting though and I am not sure when or how I will do that. If I would buy a pre-made frosting, I would not have a problem, but I really do not like that kind and it is too easy (I am quite certain something could still go wrong though). What I want to make is a carmel frosting so I may attempt to carry everything to camp and make it there. Because it is Sunday, I do not think I can replace the chimbo. That will have to be a task for tomorrow. I guess that there are advantages to electric stoves but I do still like the gas ones.
I am beginning to feel as if I could keep track of the weeks by the events of my car. Friday I got a nice crack in the windshield from a flying rock and yesterday I discovered that a headlight is out. The good news though is that my dashboard lights to work and there was not a burnt out fuse. I somehow dimmed the lights with a knob on the dash and never realized it.
Last week I was busy trying to get the details together for a school group to come to camp the end of this month. I am hoping it all works out but they still need to get permission from an Educational Board or something like that. I am going ahead with planning for them to come though I may discover last minute that it does not work. Vamos a ver. (We will see)
Friday I headed out to camp where I stayed for not even 24 hours before returning to the city with Ellie, the oldest Williamson. She is here with me for the rest of the weekend as a belated birthday present for her. While she went to youth group, I started to make the cakes for our meal together as a staff for this evening. (By the way, Mother's Day is a much bigger celebration here in Honduras and is really not complete without a cake, gifts, and a very distinct celebration). I had the cakes mixed up and turned on the oven but after a minute or so I looked in the oven and saw that it had gone out. We have a gas stove and on Friday Cindy had been asking me how long our chimbo (tank) of gas had lasted. I had expressed my surprise that it had lasted 4 months and said I hoped it did not run out at an inconvenient time. Well, it had run out. I only had about 40 minutes till I was supposed to pick Ellie up again and the cake had to bake for 30.
I have one friend who is house-sitting nearby so I called him up and took the cakes over there. I still did not have time so I had to leave the one for him to take out later. I still have not made the frosting though and I am not sure when or how I will do that. If I would buy a pre-made frosting, I would not have a problem, but I really do not like that kind and it is too easy (I am quite certain something could still go wrong though). What I want to make is a carmel frosting so I may attempt to carry everything to camp and make it there. Because it is Sunday, I do not think I can replace the chimbo. That will have to be a task for tomorrow. I guess that there are advantages to electric stoves but I do still like the gas ones.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
The Unthinkable
May 8, 2008
I did the unthinkable this week (besides staying up late so many nights in a row). I have always claimed that I do not like seafood and it is true. But Monday night I went to a Japanese Sushi restaurant with some friends and their visiting friends, and I of course ordered chicken. When we were finished eating though, there were still a few of the sushi rolls left and so I decided to try one (but without raw fish). The cream cheese covered up most of the fishy flavor but not completely and it did not really disguise the seaweed. The worst part though was that just before I took a bite of that which I thought was fish, I discovered it was eel. But I took a bite anyway, only for the sake of being able to say I had eaten eel. It was only after the fact that someone told me that eels carry lots of parasites and the one guy said I would probably get sick. Well, I did, although I do not think I can exactly blame it on the seafood since my stomach has not been right for a while. I plan to stick with chicken.
I did the unthinkable this week (besides staying up late so many nights in a row). I have always claimed that I do not like seafood and it is true. But Monday night I went to a Japanese Sushi restaurant with some friends and their visiting friends, and I of course ordered chicken. When we were finished eating though, there were still a few of the sushi rolls left and so I decided to try one (but without raw fish). The cream cheese covered up most of the fishy flavor but not completely and it did not really disguise the seaweed. The worst part though was that just before I took a bite of that which I thought was fish, I discovered it was eel. But I took a bite anyway, only for the sake of being able to say I had eaten eel. It was only after the fact that someone told me that eels carry lots of parasites and the one guy said I would probably get sick. Well, I did, although I do not think I can exactly blame it on the seafood since my stomach has not been right for a while. I plan to stick with chicken.
In Search of the Camera
May 7, 2008
The real adventure of the vacation was the day we hiked to see the La Ruidosa Waterfall. At the last minute I found a guide to take us since we were not sure about the quality of the trail or how isolated it was. It turned out to be very well maintained and a guide was not really necessary but he provided some interesting facts. I learned that termites (of which we have an abundance at camp) are good for insect repellant if you rub them all over yourself. I may try it because nothing else keeps the mosquitos away. This guide, Efrain, was the second person in two days to tell me that termites are rather tasty and so I decided to try one. The first person had said that they tasted like carrots but it was more like wood to me. 
All was going well on the hike (we were hoping for about 2 hours of hiking since we had to head back to the city the same day) until we reached one of the last bridges before the waterfall. I saw a lovely flower along the path and decided to take a picture. Shana had my camera and in the process of passing it off, the camera somehow fell and though we were still on the trail, the camera fell into a small hole at our side. And as we reached down for it, it continued to tumble and plummeted into the darkness. I watched the whole thing as if in slow movement and in horror wondered how we could retrieve it. To me, it sounded as if it had fallen all of the way to the creek bed.
The guide and I scrambled down under the bridge to look for it while Shana checked out the hole. Efrain proceeded to crawl under a huge boulder that created a cave like area and went to the far corner to search for the camera. As he did so the bats flew out and about, clearly disturbed at having someone in their home. I decided that I should be willing to risk getting dirty or attacked by bats for the sake of my own camera so I att.jpg)
empted to cross over to the “cave”. The problem was that I was moving too quickly and did not notice the water until I stepped in it. Wet shoes, uugh! Efrain found nothing in the far corner but came out filthy, completely covered in dirt. He went off to search for another hole while I tried to check out his previous spot. I avoided getting dirty though. There were many small crevices, and I did not fancy the idea of sticking my hand into a dark hole in a country where veno
mous snakes are prolific.
I returned to the upper hole and looked in it again trying to judge where the hole would lead to. The probability of the camera having fallen in the hole in the first place was so small and now the chance of finding it was even smaller. My flashlight, of course, was back in the car and not with me. (Why do I never learn to carry it no matter what?) My cell phone was there too so I could not even use it for light. We were all praying by this point (or at least we girls). I knew that the camera was replaceable but not the photos stored on it. The question was, how much time and effort was it worth to search for it?
All was going well on the hike (we were hoping for about 2 hours of hiking since we had to head back to the city the same day) until we reached one of the last bridges before the waterfall. I saw a lovely flower along the path and decided to take a picture. Shana had my camera and in the process of passing it off, the camera somehow fell and though we were still on the trail, the camera fell into a small hole at our side. And as we reached down for it, it continued to tumble and plummeted into the darkness. I watched the whole thing as if in slow movement and in horror wondered how we could retrieve it. To me, it sounded as if it had fallen all of the way to the creek bed.
The guide and I scrambled down under the bridge to look for it while Shana checked out the hole. Efrain proceeded to crawl under a huge boulder that created a cave like area and went to the far corner to search for the camera. As he did so the bats flew out and about, clearly disturbed at having someone in their home. I decided that I should be willing to risk getting dirty or attacked by bats for the sake of my own camera so I att
.jpg)
empted to cross over to the “cave”. The problem was that I was moving too quickly and did not notice the water until I stepped in it. Wet shoes, uugh! Efrain found nothing in the far corner but came out filthy, completely covered in dirt. He went off to search for another hole while I tried to check out his previous spot. I avoided getting dirty though. There were many small crevices, and I did not fancy the idea of sticking my hand into a dark hole in a country where veno
mous snakes are prolific.I returned to the upper hole and looked in it again trying to judge where the hole would lead to. The probability of the camera having fallen in the hole in the first place was so small and now the chance of finding it was even smaller. My flashlight, of course, was back in the car and not with me. (Why do I never learn to carry it no matter what?) My cell phone was there too so I could not even use it for light. We were all praying by this point (or at least we girls). I knew that the camera was replaceable but not the photos stored on it. The question was, how much time and effort was it worth to search for it?
We tried calling into the hole to hear where the sound went and also threw pebbles down into it but nothing seemed to help. At long last Efrain said that he saw the camera way down in a hole. But when he tried to access the hole from one of the crevices, he found that he could not crawl into the area. That meant it was my job to crawl in. Since it was my camera I could hardly complain. And so I entered the little cave, crawling deeper and deeper into the darkness. Small shafts of sunlight reached me from the gaps between the rocks – enough that I could see the spiders scurrying in front of my face. I had to ask myself, is this worth it? I knew that a spider, scorpion, or snake could bite me and inflict much damage. But still I pressed on (praying all of the way). Efrain had entered back into the hole from which he first saw the camera and so he tried to guide me as I felt around. I could see nothing. He eventually got his cell phone which gave a little more light. I held dearly to it, not wanting another missing electronic. His instructions were pointing me to a hole in which I could see nothing, but finally I put my hand in it and reached around, positive that I would find something nasty there. I certainly did not have much hope when it came to the camera. But low and behold as I fingered the rocks and dirt, my fingers suddenly touched cold metal, and I pulled up the camera. What relief and joy! I quickly passed him his cell phone so as not to be responsible for it and began to worm my way out of the crevice since by now I had been completely swallowed up by the darkness. While I was exiting I heard Efrain exclaim that he had dropped his cell phone. My thoughts immediately turned to prayers and thankfully he found the phone within seconds. There was one moment when I feared I might not be able to get out but I changed positions/angles and crawled out.
I was now
filthy too though still not to the degree of Efrain. It seemed as if the search had taken close to 40 minutes. So much for our intended two hours of hiking. We continued on and soon came to the falls which were beautiful and worth the journey. The camera, by the way, at first did not work because the shutter would not open but after prying it open twice, it was fine and is still working. Even as I re-wrote this story a second time I realized the life applications when I think of my time in the cave. I was reaching for something I could not see and having to trust the guide that he had actually seen the camera though I had my doubts. Sometimes I feel the same way with God’s directions because I cannot see the end or the outcome of what He is saying. But He can and He knows exactly where and why I am putting my hand in a certain place. He knows whose lives I will touch and whose lives will touch me. Even in the dark I am not alone and He guides me.
I was now
filthy too though still not to the degree of Efrain. It seemed as if the search had taken close to 40 minutes. So much for our intended two hours of hiking. We continued on and soon came to the falls which were beautiful and worth the journey. The camera, by the way, at first did not work because the shutter would not open but after prying it open twice, it was fine and is still working. Even as I re-wrote this story a second time I realized the life applications when I think of my time in the cave. I was reaching for something I could not see and having to trust the guide that he had actually seen the camera though I had my doubts. Sometimes I feel the same way with God’s directions because I cannot see the end or the outcome of what He is saying. But He can and He knows exactly where and why I am putting my hand in a certain place. He knows whose lives I will touch and whose lives will touch me. Even in the dark I am not alone and He guides me. Wednesday, May 07, 2008
To Roatan and Back Again
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April 23, 2008Sunday was the day to travel to the island of Roatan and our plan was to take the public bus since it was cheaper and my A/C still was not working the best. Emily dropped us off at the big bus terminal and we began the search for our bus-line. But after twenty minutes we still had not found it. Several other companies tried to get us to take their “direct” buses (otherwise known as the “Chicken” bus since chickens could very well be your companions). The bus I had hoped to take was a coach but without A/C. When I asked the one company if their buses were school buses, the worker said “no, they are nice buses” but a man standing nearby said, “School buses.” We completely looked like tourists by this point with our backpacks wandering around the station. I even tried calling the bus company but they could not even tell me where the
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y were located within the station so I decided they were not too concerned about their sales. At last I said forget it and Emily came back and got us and we drove. It was a three hour drive which can make for a long day since you have to be so focused on the driving and forever passing the trucks going 30mph. But we arrived in La Ceiba and were stopped at a checkpoint where the policeman so kindly told us (after seeing 3 American girls in the car) that we were going to be robbed. Thankfully he was wrong.A really neat turn of events was that we were able to meet up with a pastor in La Ceiba whom my pastor had mentioned to me that morning at church. I called him to ask for directions to the ferry and we ended up meeting he and his family at Wendy’s. He offered to drive us to the dock and then stored my car at his house, thereby saving us the parking fee. Upon our return to the city he graciously drove us around so that my friend could see all the places her parents had lived and worked years ago. He was ready to give us his entire day even though I am sure he had many other things to do. I do love that part about this culture.
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I always have prided myself on not having trouble with motion sickness and boats, but the ferry ride almost changed that. You know it is going to be bad when they pass out bags to every passenger before you even leave the port. Thankfully we reached the island before I could be too sick. In Roatan we pretty much relaxed, wandered around the one town, ate (awesome Coconut Smoothies), marveled at the sunset, and played a game of Settler’s. It was a good way to spend a birthday – if snow is not an option.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
The Beginnings of the Travels
May 4, 2008
Over a week later I finally get to writing about my travels. But it is not all bad that it took so long because it means that I made spending time with people a priority over writing. Whether it was doing a puzzle with friends, playing Dutch Blitz, or enjoying another birthday dinner, I was hanging out with others. And tonight Emily and I are planning to have company for pizza and games. Perhaps I will finally get to teach some of my favorite games – Ticket to Ride and Settler’s of Catan.
But now for the adventures – in stages of course so that they are not overwhelming. In spite of the protests that took place around San Pedro, my sister Shana and friend Janine and I were able to go directly from the airport to my apartment. From there we headed out to camp for a few days. At camp we did a little painting on the Williamson’s house and visited with the staff. We looked for wildlife but did not see too much. On Saturday the two Honduran maintenance staff took us to a hot springs way up in the mountains, almost on the border of Guatemala. The drive itself was enough beauty to make the trip worthwhile. It was about an hour and a half on dirt roads, crossing creeks (and one river), and battling with some mud. We saw a tree full of toucans and some beautiful crimson-collared tanagers. The hot springs were not as exciting as I had hoped, but it was okay.
When we got back to camp, Shana and I were greeted with a “tropical” Birthday party complete with grass skirts and tamales. I was blessed by the excitement of the staff in giving me such a party and it was fun to share it with my sister again. Several of the guys convinced me to stay around long enough to play a short game of soccer so we did that and then the girls and I headed off to the city. We were planning to go out to eat with my roommate Emily. I was very non-committal in where or when but at last we decided on an Italian restaurant that had pizza (which has always been a birthday tradition).
We had just settled down to order when Cindy Williamson walked in with a few containers that I had left at her house. Moments later a whole crowd wandered in and yelled, “Surprise.” This time I was very surprised. I had expected the staff at camp to do something but I certainly did not expect the Williamsons to appear in the city 2 hours after I just saw them at camp. We had a good mal and then went back to the apartment for a mango-strawberry pie (delicious!). A fun day of birthday celebrations even though the real day had not yet arrived.
Over a week later I finally get to writing about my travels. But it is not all bad that it took so long because it means that I made spending time with people a priority over writing. Whether it was doing a puzzle with friends, playing Dutch Blitz, or enjoying another birthday dinner, I was hanging out with others. And tonight Emily and I are planning to have company for pizza and games. Perhaps I will finally get to teach some of my favorite games – Ticket to Ride and Settler’s of Catan.
But now for the adventures – in stages of course so that they are not overwhelming. In spite of the protests that took place around San Pedro, my sister Shana and friend Janine and I were able to go directly from the airport to my apartment. From there we headed out to camp for a few days. At camp we did a little painting on the Williamson’s house and visited with the staff. We looked for wildlife but did not see too much. On Saturday the two Honduran maintenance staff took us to a hot springs way up in the mountains, almost on the border of Guatemala. The drive itself was enough beauty to make the trip worthwhile. It was about an hour and a half on dirt roads, crossing creeks (and one river), and battling with some mud. We saw a tree full of toucans and some beautiful crimson-collared tanagers. The hot springs were not as exciting as I had hoped, but it was okay.
When we got back to camp, Shana and I were greeted with a “tropical” Birthday party complete with grass skirts and tamales. I was blessed by the excitement of the staff in giving me such a party and it was fun to share it with my sister again. Several of the guys convinced me to stay around long enough to play a short game of soccer so we did that and then the girls and I headed off to the city. We were planning to go out to eat with my roommate Emily. I was very non-committal in where or when but at last we decided on an Italian restaurant that had pizza (which has always been a birthday tradition).
We had just settled down to order when Cindy Williamson walked in with a few containers that I had left at her house. Moments later a whole crowd wandered in and yelled, “Surprise.” This time I was very surprised. I had expected the staff at camp to do something but I certainly did not expect the Williamsons to appear in the city 2 hours after I just saw them at camp. We had a good mal and then went back to the apartment for a mango-strawberry pie (delicious!). A fun day of birthday celebrations even though the real day had not yet arrived.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Time Flies By... And it Crawls
April 30, 2008
It is hard to believe that it was a year ago to this date that I arrived in Honduras. In some ways the time has gone quickly, in some ways not so much. I write this from camp where I am finding myself for an extended stay due to a new car problem. The mechanic said he should be able to get the part in the city this morning and by afternoon I can be heading there myself but I am not so convinced the find will be so easy. And tomorrow is a holiday so I may be here for quite a bit longer. The discouraging part was that I was to have a meeting with a Science teacher today in order to set up a one day program for the end of May. That will have to be rescheduled for Monday. As far as food and clothes go I did not exactly come prepared for so many days on camp, but I am surviving and getting some food from the Williamson’s. At least this time I remembered to bring the Toaster Oven to camp so that I would have a method for cooking in my own home.
Last night I set out to heat up leftovers but just before I put the food in the toaster over the electric began flickering and finally went off. I had hoped to eat alone and have some time for reading but I got my food together and trudged over to the Williamson’s. Just as I arrived the electric came on but I stayed because it was not worth turning around only to experience a power outage again. This morning I attempted to make pancakes in the toaster oven in the form of a small loaf of bread. It actually turned out okay. I also heated up water for hot chocolate which very enjoyable. For some reason my cold shower was extra cold this morning and my fingers were white and without circulation. You would have thought it was winter and I had been tubing.
Since Wes is back with their car I can at least get into town to send some e-mails which is good. If I do end up staying another night, I hope to get over to the Honduran families’ houses and visit with them as well as catch up on my blog. Lofty goals knowing how things go.
It is hard to believe that it was a year ago to this date that I arrived in Honduras. In some ways the time has gone quickly, in some ways not so much. I write this from camp where I am finding myself for an extended stay due to a new car problem. The mechanic said he should be able to get the part in the city this morning and by afternoon I can be heading there myself but I am not so convinced the find will be so easy. And tomorrow is a holiday so I may be here for quite a bit longer. The discouraging part was that I was to have a meeting with a Science teacher today in order to set up a one day program for the end of May. That will have to be rescheduled for Monday. As far as food and clothes go I did not exactly come prepared for so many days on camp, but I am surviving and getting some food from the Williamson’s. At least this time I remembered to bring the Toaster Oven to camp so that I would have a method for cooking in my own home.
Last night I set out to heat up leftovers but just before I put the food in the toaster over the electric began flickering and finally went off. I had hoped to eat alone and have some time for reading but I got my food together and trudged over to the Williamson’s. Just as I arrived the electric came on but I stayed because it was not worth turning around only to experience a power outage again. This morning I attempted to make pancakes in the toaster oven in the form of a small loaf of bread. It actually turned out okay. I also heated up water for hot chocolate which very enjoyable. For some reason my cold shower was extra cold this morning and my fingers were white and without circulation. You would have thought it was winter and I had been tubing.
Since Wes is back with their car I can at least get into town to send some e-mails which is good. If I do end up staying another night, I hope to get over to the Honduran families’ houses and visit with them as well as catch up on my blog. Lofty goals knowing how things go.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Back to Work
April 28, 2008
So I am back to work and vacation is over. I actually started back on Friday. My vacation was a good time and I have several stories to blog but I did not get them written this weekend as I had anticipated. I have many pictures to post as well.
Currently I am out at camp but when I return to the city tomorrow or Wednesday I have at least one meeting with a school to look at them bringing a group of students to camp the end of May. It is exciting but lots to do before then. So I hope to post more here within the next few days of the adventures and lessons I experienced.
So I am back to work and vacation is over. I actually started back on Friday. My vacation was a good time and I have several stories to blog but I did not get them written this weekend as I had anticipated. I have many pictures to post as well.
Currently I am out at camp but when I return to the city tomorrow or Wednesday I have at least one meeting with a school to look at them bringing a group of students to camp the end of May. It is exciting but lots to do before then. So I hope to post more here within the next few days of the adventures and lessons I experienced.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Waiting It Out
April 17, 2008
In my life I have had to wait out many a storm --from on a hillside under a tarp far from my backpack with metal rods to inside a house with real protection. In either case the key was waiting. Today I am waiting again, but not on a thunderstorm. Today is the day of the nationwide protests here in Honduras, intended to paralyze the nation. I thought they would not happen because the new driving law had been revoked but as it turns out the protests have to do with wanting changes throughout the country in laws, food and gas prices, and social reform. Because my sister and friend arrive today from the US, I am camping out near the airport in case the roads are closed off. Thankfully I did not have to use a tent but have been able to stay with a girl from my basketball team in the town of La Lima. She lives in a secure neighborhood which is good because everyone else says to stay away from this town. I arrived after dark, in the rain so I could not see much.
From what I read on the internet this morning it seems like the airport should be operating as normal today. A lot of schools cancelled classes for today in expectation of the closed roads. According to the news this is supposed to be a non-violent protest. (By the way any spelling errors or missprints I am crediting to the fact that while I type I am listening to a 3 year old chatter away in an English, splattered with a Spanish word here and there, that I cannot understand.) My hope is that the girls can arrive without problem and then we can either hang out in the airport or La Lima for a couple of hours until the protesters desert the roads. If it is too late by that point, we will stay in the city at my apartment and head out to camp in the morning. Basically we will wait and see what happens. Like I am doing with most of this vacation. Still no reservations anywhere.
Last night I had a panic moment as I was following my friend to her house. We were in downtown San Pedro and all of a sudden I heard honking beside me and looked over to see two policemen on a motorcycle motioning me to pull over. I did not fancy the idea of pulling over in that part of town nor could I think of what I had done wrong. Nonetheless I pulled over and discovered that they simply wanted to see who was in the car since I have very tinted windows and it was rather late at night. Thankfully they let me go without a problem.
In my life I have had to wait out many a storm --from on a hillside under a tarp far from my backpack with metal rods to inside a house with real protection. In either case the key was waiting. Today I am waiting again, but not on a thunderstorm. Today is the day of the nationwide protests here in Honduras, intended to paralyze the nation. I thought they would not happen because the new driving law had been revoked but as it turns out the protests have to do with wanting changes throughout the country in laws, food and gas prices, and social reform. Because my sister and friend arrive today from the US, I am camping out near the airport in case the roads are closed off. Thankfully I did not have to use a tent but have been able to stay with a girl from my basketball team in the town of La Lima. She lives in a secure neighborhood which is good because everyone else says to stay away from this town. I arrived after dark, in the rain so I could not see much.
From what I read on the internet this morning it seems like the airport should be operating as normal today. A lot of schools cancelled classes for today in expectation of the closed roads. According to the news this is supposed to be a non-violent protest. (By the way any spelling errors or missprints I am crediting to the fact that while I type I am listening to a 3 year old chatter away in an English, splattered with a Spanish word here and there, that I cannot understand.) My hope is that the girls can arrive without problem and then we can either hang out in the airport or La Lima for a couple of hours until the protesters desert the roads. If it is too late by that point, we will stay in the city at my apartment and head out to camp in the morning. Basically we will wait and see what happens. Like I am doing with most of this vacation. Still no reservations anywhere.
Last night I had a panic moment as I was following my friend to her house. We were in downtown San Pedro and all of a sudden I heard honking beside me and looked over to see two policemen on a motorcycle motioning me to pull over. I did not fancy the idea of pulling over in that part of town nor could I think of what I had done wrong. Nonetheless I pulled over and discovered that they simply wanted to see who was in the car since I have very tinted windows and it was rather late at night. Thankfully they let me go without a problem.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Little Joys
April 15, 2008
The joy of a heavy rainfall! During the rainy season another day of rain can bea bit dreary, but at this time of year the rain is lovely both because it is a break from the intense sunshine and because it causes the temperatures to drop significantly. And so I am enjoying this new rainfall. Of course there is always the problem of wanting to just curl up with a book and stay in bed, but that is not an option for today. Today is the day of getting my extension that will allow me to stay for another month in the country. I am praying that the laws are the same as they were 3 weeks ago and that I can get the extension without a problem.
I had a good weekend with a variety of activities. On Saturday morning I at long last walked to the grocery store (about 1/2 mile away) and bought my groceries. I have wanted to do that ever since moving to the apartment but the timing had never worked out. I later decided that doing the walk to and from the store perhaps was not the best way to prepare for the basketball game that afternoon, but I do not think it affected my energy level. The game was fun, even though we lost rather signifcantly. After the game though my heart was a little heavy because I sensed there were a lot of tensions based on the amount of playing time various people had or did not have. I did not play as much as I wanted but that is the way games go and since I was not making my shots, what could I expect? Still I feel like there is a lack of unity and comradeship in the team.
After our game I was watching another game and began to talk with one of the players and her mom. From our conversation I discovered that she is a writer and teacher and has an interest in ecology. When she heard that I am writing lesson plans in Spanish which need edited, she volunteered to do so. I was excited to have someone volunteer to do so because it could be a chore otherwise. In talking I learned that she is Catholic, but does not consider herself very religious. I am not sure that she really knows Jesus and so I am praying that in reading the lessons, which each have a spiritual application, and through our conversation, questions will arise that will cause her to seek to know Him.
Sunday I experienced Communion for the first time at the Spanish church. Later that afternoon I headed out to camp where I fellowshipped with the staff and stayed until Monday afternoon. It had been a while since I wandered around in the woods at camp. I was delighted to find a plethera of birds once again -- 2 Keel-billed toucans, 4 woodpeckers (a species I had never before seen nor can I yet identify), orioles, a parrot (the first I have seen in the wild at camp), Montezuma Orpendolas, a Turquoise-Browed Motmot, and many others. Such beauty when I take the time to slow down and look.
The joy of a heavy rainfall! During the rainy season another day of rain can bea bit dreary, but at this time of year the rain is lovely both because it is a break from the intense sunshine and because it causes the temperatures to drop significantly. And so I am enjoying this new rainfall. Of course there is always the problem of wanting to just curl up with a book and stay in bed, but that is not an option for today. Today is the day of getting my extension that will allow me to stay for another month in the country. I am praying that the laws are the same as they were 3 weeks ago and that I can get the extension without a problem.
I had a good weekend with a variety of activities. On Saturday morning I at long last walked to the grocery store (about 1/2 mile away) and bought my groceries. I have wanted to do that ever since moving to the apartment but the timing had never worked out. I later decided that doing the walk to and from the store perhaps was not the best way to prepare for the basketball game that afternoon, but I do not think it affected my energy level. The game was fun, even though we lost rather signifcantly. After the game though my heart was a little heavy because I sensed there were a lot of tensions based on the amount of playing time various people had or did not have. I did not play as much as I wanted but that is the way games go and since I was not making my shots, what could I expect? Still I feel like there is a lack of unity and comradeship in the team.
After our game I was watching another game and began to talk with one of the players and her mom. From our conversation I discovered that she is a writer and teacher and has an interest in ecology. When she heard that I am writing lesson plans in Spanish which need edited, she volunteered to do so. I was excited to have someone volunteer to do so because it could be a chore otherwise. In talking I learned that she is Catholic, but does not consider herself very religious. I am not sure that she really knows Jesus and so I am praying that in reading the lessons, which each have a spiritual application, and through our conversation, questions will arise that will cause her to seek to know Him.
Sunday I experienced Communion for the first time at the Spanish church. Later that afternoon I headed out to camp where I fellowshipped with the staff and stayed until Monday afternoon. It had been a while since I wandered around in the woods at camp. I was delighted to find a plethera of birds once again -- 2 Keel-billed toucans, 4 woodpeckers (a species I had never before seen nor can I yet identify), orioles, a parrot (the first I have seen in the wild at camp), Montezuma Orpendolas, a Turquoise-Browed Motmot, and many others. Such beauty when I take the time to slow down and look.
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Good News and The Bad News of a Week
April 11, 2008
It has been a week of good news and bad news. The good news is that the Supreme Court judged the law "Hoy no Circulo" (Today I do not circle, or drive) unconstitutional, hence it has been revoked. Sadly the government spent a lot of money on manufacturing the stickers and then staffing the many different booths that distributed them. I did not notice any difference in the number of cars on the road Tuesday or Wednesday when the law was still in effect. My life is made much easier by being able to drive on Mondays again though I do want to be conscientious and not drive when it is not necessary. A big frustation has been that all of the streets in my neighborhood suddenly became One-Way streets overnight, but not all of the intersections are marked so you really do not always know which way you can go. Because of this police have been standing out at the intersections to direct people. In general though people just drive which ever way they want to and I find it tempting to do the same. There seems to be little rhyme or reason as to which streets go which way and so to get my apartment I sometimes have to go 4 blocks out of the way. It does not seem to be designed to help the country save on gas.
The bad news -- my car is proving to be very difficult to repair because the parts are so hard to come by, both here in Honduras and in the US (something I should have investigated better before buying the vehicle -- I obviously had not done too much car shopping before). The air compressor is not working for my A/C so I took it in to get it fixed. The mechanic told me that they have not been able to find the part and he has been looking for over a week. Since I already cannot operate the windows in such a way as to get a cross breeze, driving in the city gets to be very hot. On the highway the A/C seems to partially work. I am ready to get rid of this car and find something with less issues but that is much easier said than done. Whether we can find a part in time for my sister to bring it from the States, I am not sure but I need to figure out some solution to these car problems and so I am praying for some wisdom. In talking with other missionaries though I am realizing that any car repair here in Honduras tends to take a while to resolve. While in the US the mechanic will be the one to find the necessary part, here the car owners often have to go out and shop around for the part. The mechanics do not want to be held responsible if a part does not fit. From what I understand my mechanic is doing the searching but maybe I should be out visiting shops. At any rate, any car I would own would pose similar problems when there was a repair needed. And due to heat, humidity, and quality of roads, repairs are more frequent here. Perhaps I can learn more about cars and at least diagnosing them from my experiences this car.
As for other events of the week, I had some good time at camp before returning to the city where I have been continuing translation of materials to Spanish and writing new lesson plans. In the evenings I had several basketball practices and now tomorrow we have our first game. I went to a Thai Restaurant with a Honduran friend who spent some time in Thailand just after I visited there. Since I love Thai food the restaurant was a fun find. The food had a rather Caribbean flare to it, but I still enjoyed it. This morning before work I had a good chat with Emily (my roommate) and was reminded of what it means to be captivated by the Lord and seeking His face, not just answers from Him. It was a very timely conversation and I am thankful for what the Lord taught me through it.
It has been a week of good news and bad news. The good news is that the Supreme Court judged the law "Hoy no Circulo" (Today I do not circle, or drive) unconstitutional, hence it has been revoked. Sadly the government spent a lot of money on manufacturing the stickers and then staffing the many different booths that distributed them. I did not notice any difference in the number of cars on the road Tuesday or Wednesday when the law was still in effect. My life is made much easier by being able to drive on Mondays again though I do want to be conscientious and not drive when it is not necessary. A big frustation has been that all of the streets in my neighborhood suddenly became One-Way streets overnight, but not all of the intersections are marked so you really do not always know which way you can go. Because of this police have been standing out at the intersections to direct people. In general though people just drive which ever way they want to and I find it tempting to do the same. There seems to be little rhyme or reason as to which streets go which way and so to get my apartment I sometimes have to go 4 blocks out of the way. It does not seem to be designed to help the country save on gas.
The bad news -- my car is proving to be very difficult to repair because the parts are so hard to come by, both here in Honduras and in the US (something I should have investigated better before buying the vehicle -- I obviously had not done too much car shopping before). The air compressor is not working for my A/C so I took it in to get it fixed. The mechanic told me that they have not been able to find the part and he has been looking for over a week. Since I already cannot operate the windows in such a way as to get a cross breeze, driving in the city gets to be very hot. On the highway the A/C seems to partially work. I am ready to get rid of this car and find something with less issues but that is much easier said than done. Whether we can find a part in time for my sister to bring it from the States, I am not sure but I need to figure out some solution to these car problems and so I am praying for some wisdom. In talking with other missionaries though I am realizing that any car repair here in Honduras tends to take a while to resolve. While in the US the mechanic will be the one to find the necessary part, here the car owners often have to go out and shop around for the part. The mechanics do not want to be held responsible if a part does not fit. From what I understand my mechanic is doing the searching but maybe I should be out visiting shops. At any rate, any car I would own would pose similar problems when there was a repair needed. And due to heat, humidity, and quality of roads, repairs are more frequent here. Perhaps I can learn more about cars and at least diagnosing them from my experiences this car.
As for other events of the week, I had some good time at camp before returning to the city where I have been continuing translation of materials to Spanish and writing new lesson plans. In the evenings I had several basketball practices and now tomorrow we have our first game. I went to a Thai Restaurant with a Honduran friend who spent some time in Thailand just after I visited there. Since I love Thai food the restaurant was a fun find. The food had a rather Caribbean flare to it, but I still enjoyed it. This morning before work I had a good chat with Emily (my roommate) and was reminded of what it means to be captivated by the Lord and seeking His face, not just answers from Him. It was a very timely conversation and I am thankful for what the Lord taught me through it.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
All in a Day's Journey
April 6, 2008
Yesterday I made an early morning trip to camp and then returned to the city in the afternoon since I wanted to be go to the birthday celebration of one of the women on my basketball team. Through the course of my travels, I noticed a few interesting sights. First, as I was leaving camp I came upon 3 cows and a calf sprawled across the road in a semi-shady spot. Thankfully the shade extended across only half of the road so there was room to pass the cows. They seemed perfectly content and indifferent to passerbys so had they taken over the entire road, they would have had no intention of moving.
The second sight was as I was entering the town of Pinalejo. I noticed two children out in front of their house. One was a girl of maybe 2 years old and in her hand was a machete which she was using to chop the weeds. Hmm... not the best toy or tool for a child of that age but she seemed to be doing a pretty good job of trimming the weeds. The boy with her who I would presume was her brother, also had a machete in hand as well as a large knife. He may have been 6 or 7 years of age. I guess that the children of the village learn how to use such tools at a young age but I would have a little hesitation in allowing children to play with them.
As I drove along the highway, a third sight caught my attention. There was one section of the road where the landscape changed from partially green (it is obvious that the dry season is upon us because everything is turning brown) to a charred black. A large section of land had burned the week before and what remained was black soil, brown grasses, and trees that were half brown and half green, depending on the severity of the fire they had experienced. Barren was the word that came to mind. To have to drive through too much land with that appearance would definitely make me a little depressed. Thankfully the area was not extensive and I moved on to see greens again.
My journeys these days are a little hotter than normal because my air conditioner is not working right in the car. I plan to get it fixed next week since it is an essential at this time of year. If my windows worked so that I could get a cross breeze, perhaps I could survive without the A/C. Yesterday or the day before the temperature reached 110 F. I have been slowly melting. I look forward to leaving the city this afternoon and staying at camp for a few days where the trees and lack of concrete help to create a cooler environment.
I was very pleasantly surprised when Emily and I got our first electric bill and it was only $11. We had braced ourself for a bill of up to $100 because we had no idea what to expect except for what other people told us. Our bill was low enough that the government took another $5 off, bringing it to $11. We have not used our A/C very much and even last night when it was still pretty hot, I hesitated to turn it on. I think I will resort to using it soon though in order to get a good night's sleep. There are days when a fan is just not enough and though I will continue to work hard to conserve energy, I do need to sleep. Hopefully a storm will come soon and the temperatures will drop for a few days. Till then I will melt during my travels and in the no A/C moments.
Yesterday I made an early morning trip to camp and then returned to the city in the afternoon since I wanted to be go to the birthday celebration of one of the women on my basketball team. Through the course of my travels, I noticed a few interesting sights. First, as I was leaving camp I came upon 3 cows and a calf sprawled across the road in a semi-shady spot. Thankfully the shade extended across only half of the road so there was room to pass the cows. They seemed perfectly content and indifferent to passerbys so had they taken over the entire road, they would have had no intention of moving.
The second sight was as I was entering the town of Pinalejo. I noticed two children out in front of their house. One was a girl of maybe 2 years old and in her hand was a machete which she was using to chop the weeds. Hmm... not the best toy or tool for a child of that age but she seemed to be doing a pretty good job of trimming the weeds. The boy with her who I would presume was her brother, also had a machete in hand as well as a large knife. He may have been 6 or 7 years of age. I guess that the children of the village learn how to use such tools at a young age but I would have a little hesitation in allowing children to play with them.
As I drove along the highway, a third sight caught my attention. There was one section of the road where the landscape changed from partially green (it is obvious that the dry season is upon us because everything is turning brown) to a charred black. A large section of land had burned the week before and what remained was black soil, brown grasses, and trees that were half brown and half green, depending on the severity of the fire they had experienced. Barren was the word that came to mind. To have to drive through too much land with that appearance would definitely make me a little depressed. Thankfully the area was not extensive and I moved on to see greens again.
My journeys these days are a little hotter than normal because my air conditioner is not working right in the car. I plan to get it fixed next week since it is an essential at this time of year. If my windows worked so that I could get a cross breeze, perhaps I could survive without the A/C. Yesterday or the day before the temperature reached 110 F. I have been slowly melting. I look forward to leaving the city this afternoon and staying at camp for a few days where the trees and lack of concrete help to create a cooler environment.
I was very pleasantly surprised when Emily and I got our first electric bill and it was only $11. We had braced ourself for a bill of up to $100 because we had no idea what to expect except for what other people told us. Our bill was low enough that the government took another $5 off, bringing it to $11. We have not used our A/C very much and even last night when it was still pretty hot, I hesitated to turn it on. I think I will resort to using it soon though in order to get a good night's sleep. There are days when a fan is just not enough and though I will continue to work hard to conserve energy, I do need to sleep. Hopefully a storm will come soon and the temperatures will drop for a few days. Till then I will melt during my travels and in the no A/C moments.
Monday, March 31, 2008
An Effort to Save Gas
March 31, 2008
Yesterday as I was returning to the city from camp, I noticed that the fires have begun again. Trees and tall grasses were being consumed by flames and the flames even lapped at the edge of highway. It is too bad that the heat generated from the fires cannot be channeled into combustible for the cars.
I learned yesterday that the government has come up with an ingenious plan (or NOT so ingenious) for saving gasoline. Beginning next Monday each car will have a day of the week when it cannot be on the road. I think that based on my license plate number, I will not be able to drive on Mondays. From what I understand I will not be able to drive anywhere in the city. What happens if I need to travel between the city and camp, I do not know. Even if I wanted to bypass San Pedro to make it to another city I would be in trouble because in reality all of the roads go through San Pedro. If public transportation here in San Pedro was decent and safe, perhaps this effort could work, but it is neither of the above. The buses are dangerous both because there is no inspection of brakes etc.... and because it is a great place to get robbed. For those people who use their car for work, traveling from one appointment to another, there will be very little option. If everyone uses taxis, no gas will be saved because it is still individual transport. I am not so happy about the implications of this new law. People are saying that it will last about a week and then the government will realize it is impossible. I would tend to agree. But nonetheless I guess that I have to go today and try to find my sticker which will designate which day of the week I cannot drive. One more obstacle to make connections and meetings more difficult.
Yesterday as I was returning to the city from camp, I noticed that the fires have begun again. Trees and tall grasses were being consumed by flames and the flames even lapped at the edge of highway. It is too bad that the heat generated from the fires cannot be channeled into combustible for the cars.
I learned yesterday that the government has come up with an ingenious plan (or NOT so ingenious) for saving gasoline. Beginning next Monday each car will have a day of the week when it cannot be on the road. I think that based on my license plate number, I will not be able to drive on Mondays. From what I understand I will not be able to drive anywhere in the city. What happens if I need to travel between the city and camp, I do not know. Even if I wanted to bypass San Pedro to make it to another city I would be in trouble because in reality all of the roads go through San Pedro. If public transportation here in San Pedro was decent and safe, perhaps this effort could work, but it is neither of the above. The buses are dangerous both because there is no inspection of brakes etc.... and because it is a great place to get robbed. For those people who use their car for work, traveling from one appointment to another, there will be very little option. If everyone uses taxis, no gas will be saved because it is still individual transport. I am not so happy about the implications of this new law. People are saying that it will last about a week and then the government will realize it is impossible. I would tend to agree. But nonetheless I guess that I have to go today and try to find my sticker which will designate which day of the week I cannot drive. One more obstacle to make connections and meetings more difficult.
Monday, March 24, 2008
One amongst a crowd of 1500
March 24, 2008
Some days I get confused as to what season it is here in Honduras. In a matter of 5 minutes I can see three different scenes that remind me of the various seasons up north. I have yet to really see anything comparable to the winters of the north. Today as the drove I to the city I first thought of autumn because many trees are currently without leaves and the gray rain clouds made a contrast that reminded me of Novembers in PA. But then just down the road I saw trees bursting with fresh yellow or pink blooms -- spring is in the air. And finally came the downpour of rain -- a summer storm. In reality it is most like summer here but it is nice that I can catch glimpses of change almost any time of the year.
But that is not the point of this blog entry. I want to reflect on last week's retreat at the camp. I was back and forth to camp three times this past week because of helping various people move and then for the retreat. The retreat began on Wednesday though some people arrived Tuesday night. I set up my little tent in front of the one staff family's house which meant I had good access to a bathroom. Important when so many people are competing for the bathrooms. I went in to the week expecting to be overwhelmed by so many people in one area and by the amount of trash that would accumulate. Tents and cars were sprawled everywhere around the camp and quickly the trash also cluttered the ground. Yet I found myself reminded a bit of family and church camping trips in the States where we spread out over a campground. The difference here is that there are no "spaces" so the tents end up being very close to each other. Many people cooked their own meals and had elaborate set-ups with tents and even fridges. Wednesday was incredibly hot but then overnight it poured and the temperatures dropped. I stayed nice and dry though many were not so fortunate.
The schedule of the retreat was that there were worship sessions and teaching each morning and evening but then the afternoons were free. I was thankful about the latter becuase for some reason I found myself unable to keep my eyes open during the sessions and so I had to take a long nap to get refreshed. The sessions were good and by Thursday evening I was able to focus and stay awake. What I probably enjoyed the most though was the opportunity to just hang out with
various people who I knew a little bit from before. One evening I sat up late and talked with several couples. It was a good opportunity to deepen relationships. There were several moments during the week when I was very aware of the fact that I was the only white North American in a crowd of 1500 or more. I have not been such a minority for so many days in a row and so that was rather eye opening. Even though I love the people and had many friends among the crowd, I had a few moments of loneliness in that there was no one there who could understand from my culture.
various people who I knew a little bit from before. One evening I sat up late and talked with several couples. It was a good opportunity to deepen relationships. There were several moments during the week when I was very aware of the fact that I was the only white North American in a crowd of 1500 or more. I have not been such a minority for so many days in a row and so that was rather eye opening. Even though I love the people and had many friends among the crowd, I had a few moments of loneliness in that there was no one there who could understand from my culture. On Friday afternoon I started to pick up some of the trash that littered the ground while I walked back to main camp. As I was doing so a young girl said to me, "You can just throw it all in the ravine." I tried to mask my horror at her comment because the very reason I was picking it all up was to keep it from ending up down there. I carefully explained to her why I do not throw it in the ravine and how it is not good for God's creation, etc... . She listened and after a while she changed her story a bit and said that well, it was the other group of people (the Garifuna community which is a culture of itself within Honduras) that were actually throwing the trash there. In reality most everyone seemed to be tossing the trash wherever they wanted. This morning I and two of the staff members gathered trash for hours and when I left we were far from done.
As I look back on the retreat as a whole it was a very good experience. I helped out in the kitchen a few times and discovered how to efficiently feed so many people in a short time. (I could probably work in McDonald's now since I know the process of putting together a cheeseburger.) The Lord touched my heart to through some of the worship and teaching, calling me to go deeper with Him and to always remember who and why I am serving. And then there were the friendships which were strengthened. I left the retreat wanting to camp out in my tent more often though preferably in the mountains with only a few people and a deep tranquility. I think now I will not dread the thought of Semana Santa and 1500 people because things go in a rather orderly fashion. Before the next year comes around though I want to think of how I might help to change the amount of littering that goes on. A very huge task to consider.
Easter Day 2008
Easter Day. The hymn “Christ the Lord is risen today hallelujah…” was running through my head this morning as I climbed a mountain just on the edge of the city, San Pedro Sula. My roommate and I decided to leave the house at 5:00AM and climb the mountain in an attempt to see the sunrise. Amazingly we were successful and enjoyed a nice quiet time with the Lord there on the mountain. It made the day feel a little more like Easter because often I would go to the sunrise service with my church in Lancaster. There actually was a sunrise service at my church here in the city but I could not bear the thought of being in a church building, downtown, while the sun was rising outside. I went instead to the regular church service and then drove out to camp to meet up with the camp staff and the Easter service that they had. I am still rather amazed at how little emphasis there is on Easter and resurrection Sunday here in Latin America. With the Catholic churches all of the emphasis is put on Good Friday and Christ’s atoning death. The Evangelical churches seem to somewhat ignore the whole week to make up for all of the traditions attached to the Catholic’s celebration of Holy Week. Perhaps had I gone to the sunrise service I would feel differently but the sermon this morning during the regular worship service was on Matthew 9 and the calling of Matthew. It was a good sermon but in my opinion had nothing to do with Easter.
And yet why limit the celebration of Christ’s resurrection to one day in the year? I was reading 1 Corinthians 15 this morning about the hope that we have because Christ rose again. Had He stayed in the grave we would have been more pitied than anyone else in the world for choosing to follow Him. His resurrection is what gives us hope because it means that Christ is still alive today. He is seated with the Father but He is also living inside of each of us who have surrendered our lives to Him.
And yet why limit the celebration of Christ’s resurrection to one day in the year? I was reading 1 Corinthians 15 this morning about the hope that we have because Christ rose again. Had He stayed in the grave we would have been more pitied than anyone else in the world for choosing to follow Him. His resurrection is what gives us hope because it means that Christ is still alive today. He is seated with the Father but He is also living inside of each of us who have surrendered our lives to Him.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sweltering...
March 16, 2008
So the days of sweltering heat have arrived. Yesterday Emily turned on the AC in her room mid-day and the temperature read 38Celcius which is about 100F -- and that was inside the apartment! I do not remember this kind of heat last year or in Costa Rica. Needless to say I am dreaming of snow showers. The ashes have begun falling from the sky here in the city. I have not really noticed fires on the surrounding mountainsides but they must be occuring. Since the ashes are somehow ending up inside the house, I have to wonder about the structure of even this building. There are gaps in the roof somewhere.
Last evening I was able to get together with one of my Honduran friends after months of not connecting again. We went to a restaurant with AC which was very nice to experience agian. It was good to reconnect and we have plans to bake cookies sometime after Semana Santa. I think I should start giving baking lessons because so many people want to learn how to bake cookies and such.
Tomorrow I head to camp for the beginning of Semana Santa. I may come back to the city once during the week. There is a good chance the Williamsons will not be in camp for the week because their house is not finished yet and they will have no other place to live with 1500 people on camp. I am planning to pull out my tent which I carried to Costa Rica and now here so I ought to make use of. I am not sure that I can handle being "alone" with 1500 people, watching trash accumulate and being surrounded only by Spanish. I think I will need some oppportunities to express myself in English so as a way of escape from the large crowd, I may sleep in the city one night. I want to have a good attitude but my personality in no way seeks surrounding myself with 1500 people within the constraints of 40 acres -- either in the US or a foreign country. The Lord may do a lot of teaching and shaping in my life these next few days.
Whatever other random facts I was going to write about, I cannot remember them and so I guess that I will close and catch up again after this week.
So the days of sweltering heat have arrived. Yesterday Emily turned on the AC in her room mid-day and the temperature read 38Celcius which is about 100F -- and that was inside the apartment! I do not remember this kind of heat last year or in Costa Rica. Needless to say I am dreaming of snow showers. The ashes have begun falling from the sky here in the city. I have not really noticed fires on the surrounding mountainsides but they must be occuring. Since the ashes are somehow ending up inside the house, I have to wonder about the structure of even this building. There are gaps in the roof somewhere.
Last evening I was able to get together with one of my Honduran friends after months of not connecting again. We went to a restaurant with AC which was very nice to experience agian. It was good to reconnect and we have plans to bake cookies sometime after Semana Santa. I think I should start giving baking lessons because so many people want to learn how to bake cookies and such.
Tomorrow I head to camp for the beginning of Semana Santa. I may come back to the city once during the week. There is a good chance the Williamsons will not be in camp for the week because their house is not finished yet and they will have no other place to live with 1500 people on camp. I am planning to pull out my tent which I carried to Costa Rica and now here so I ought to make use of. I am not sure that I can handle being "alone" with 1500 people, watching trash accumulate and being surrounded only by Spanish. I think I will need some oppportunities to express myself in English so as a way of escape from the large crowd, I may sleep in the city one night. I want to have a good attitude but my personality in no way seeks surrounding myself with 1500 people within the constraints of 40 acres -- either in the US or a foreign country. The Lord may do a lot of teaching and shaping in my life these next few days.
Whatever other random facts I was going to write about, I cannot remember them and so I guess that I will close and catch up again after this week.
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