I had time to sleep in today, but instead chose to get up and take a long shower. I was all ready to leave and had decided to sweep the floor when Jairo called to say I should leave the house now to meet him on the corner. I walked up to the corner store, where I wait for Jairo and Lourdes to drive by and pick me up. But today there was this guy who was whistling and grunting at me. I gave him the nastiest look I could muster. He did it again, but I ignored him that time. The scariest part was that as I was watching for Jairo to come, I had my back to him. I was afraid he was going to come up behind me, so I was praying for Jairo to hurry.
When Jairo pulled up he said that immediately after he called me, he got caught in a traffic jam where police had cars stopped because people were shooting at each other across the highway. This has happened before since I've been here. Jairo was about to figure out another route, which is difficult the way the roads work here, when suddenly the police began to yell, "VAYA! VAYA!" (Go! Go!) so he hurried through and rescued me from the whistling groaner.
We went to the church and two teenagers were already at work making refried beans and scrambled eggs with queso fresco and fresh hand made tortillas. I tried to help, but apparently I was screwing up the eggs, so they took over again. (They had 12 eggs and almost a cup of veg oil in the pan, then they wanted to cook the eggs 45 mins in advance. But I have to hand it to them. The breakfast was delicious and everyone enjoyed it.)
We prayed for Lourdes, who again was home in bed. We also prayed for Josue, Eunice's son, who plays the trumpet in the church band. He had his appendix out last night and this morning had to be transferred to a different hospital because of complications. Everyone was worried he could even die. Lourdes asked me to reach out to my friends in the states for prayer, but I already had. So far all I know is that he was vomiting blood and having respiratory problems. I prayed for him and his family all day. I could not get them off my mind.
Something cool happened when I least expected it. Since I arrived I've been hearing people say, "Vaya, pues." It is used to say goodbye on the phone, or to send someone on their way or even to agree with someone. Translated literally, it means "go, then", but it would really be more the equivalent of "okay" or "all right". I wondered if or when I would ever use "vaya pues" naturally in my own vocabulary, since that would be a sign of the language flowing off my tongue, rather than consciously thinking of every word. Well, today was the day! Not too bad - only two weeks in. A little girl at the breakfast program asked permission to do something and I responded, "Vaya, pues." I felt a little surprised and proud, but I had nobody to share my accomplishment with, because they would think I am crazy for being happy over something as mundane as "vaya, pues".
When I got home I decided to get the sweeping done, which led to mopping, which led to deciding to try my hand at washing clothes in my pila. I actually really enjoyed it. It was very therapeutic. I was able to pray and talk to God about why He has me here, in this place where I can't exercise, where I am still learning the language, where, by North American standards, I really don't know anyone. Although I do. At one point I was standing over the pila crying because I was thinking about how much unconditional love I have here. I'm sure if anyone saw me they thought I was crying over having to wash clothes in the pila.
Originally I had planned to wash 2 shirts and see how it went, but it felt so good I ended up doing all of my clothes and then coming back inside to get my sheets. Everything but the jeans were dry before it started to rain, so I was happy. Then I cooked some fried platanos, which have to be one of the worst things for a healthy diet. In the states a nutritionist told me not to eat bananas because the amount of sugar in bananas outweighs the good that potassium can do. So imagine deep frying bananas and eating them with the equivalent of sour cream. Only mantequilla tastes nothing like sour cream. I compare the dish to a Honduran version of bananas foster. And I eat 2 of them every night. Still somehow, I've managed to lose almost 10 pounds already. It is surely not from lack of eating. I think it's from having fresher food with no preservatives. I can't think of another reason I could lose weight every time I come here because I eat like a pig and I don't exercise.
So now I'm lying on my clean sheets. The Catholic Church sang from 7:30 - 9:30, so I had some nice background music as I was writing. I wish so desperately that I could go watch them sing, so I could have a picture in my mind of where these glorious voices are coming from. But I'm not allowed. Since we don't know anyone in the church, I can't go. It is a risk that someone would notice I am alone and follow me home. So I can't go to the church across the street from my house. I completely understand and respect Jairo for protecting me, but I don't know if I can live a life where I'm so enclosed. I go from my house, to the church, to visit Lourdes and Jairo, then home again, where I have to lock myself in behind tall metal gates topped with rolls of barbed wire. I do feel safe, but I also feel a little trapped. And I worry that I might feel more trapped as time goes by. It's not only me. Even up in the mountains where Lourdes and Jairo live the kids are not allowed to walk alone. They can't even ride their bikes. Things here have gotten so dangerous it has begun to effect everyone, not just certain areas. No other word for it. It's just sad.
