In reality, it was a day of highs and lows. The lows were pretty bad. I started out by trying to use an eyelash curler while my hands were still moist with lotion. DO NOT EVER TRY THIS AT HOME, or anywhere for that matter. Because of the lotion my hand slipped on the eyelash curler and ripped out half of the eyelashes from my left eye. It looks really funny. Half of my eyelid is bald! Of course it was the outside half, where my eyelashes are longest. I felt so stupid. I am considering getting fake eyelashes when I go back to the states. Can you wear fake eyelashes on a bald eye?
My other low of the day was when I finally broke down and washed one of my towels for the first time. I'll do the math for you. I have been here two months as of today. This is the first time I attempted to wash a bath towel. Maybe that gives you an idea of how difficult I expected it to be. It was more difficult than I expected, even when I did it the cheaters way! I soaked it in my sink in powder detergent. Then I took it outside to rinse it. The soap would not come out. On top of that my neighbors were doing yard work 5 feet away, so I was imagining them watching me and thinking that I was an idiot who can't even wash a towel. I finally admitted to them that I cheat on the rinsing method - it was good to get that off my chest. You are never supposed to get soap inside the basin of the pila, because it is supposed to always be clean. Usually the basin holds fresh water from the rain. Mine is empty because we have running water. I'm the only one who uses it, so I figure if I get soap suds in there (which you are never supposed to do) that is my own choice. You are supposed to scrub the clothes along the washboard part and pour clean water over top, but I turn on the faucet and rinse the clothes into the basin. Yes, I am a lazy gringa. I rinsed the towel as best I could using the pila to scrub out the suds and also using my cheating method. There is still soap in it. Then I hung it to dry. This story is to be continued because the real tragedy happens later in the day...
Church was great. First I was sitting with Aaron and Lourdes. Misael and Meylin came in a little later and crawled over people to give me a hug. I moved over and sat with their mother, Marlin, when they left for the childrens' classes. She had a bible that she is borrowing from Lourdes. The cover is torn off and the pages are all curled, but I could tell in the way she held it and tried to straighten all of the pages that she loves it. I already have a plan to buy her a new bible. It will be a special one for her because she only has a second grade education. Lourdes suggested a bible for adults that is easier to read. I'll get it in time to give it to her before I leave for the states in June.
After church I thanked Meylin for her prayers for my funding. I told her that I am very close to being fully funded and I can now make plans to live here. (She is the little girl who prays really strongly for me every night.) She broke into tears! I didn't expect that, so I looked at her mother for help. Her mother bent down and told Meylin that I was saying thank you, but Meylin knew what I had said. She was crying out of happiness and gratitude :) I hugged her and held her for a long time while she sobbed in my arms. I whispered in her ear that we have a powerful God who listens to her prayers. Then we took this picture. In the picture she is still not quite back to her normal smiley face yet, but at least you can finally see these people I talk about so often.
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| Misael, Me, Meylin, Marlin I LOVE these people! |
As people were hanging out and talking after church I heard Eric Seaman, my landlord's husband, playing "Blackbird" on his guitar. His daughter was standing next to him singing along. I was drawn to them and next thing I knew I was standing on the stage with them. Eric said "Blackbird" is a really fun song to play on the guitar. He played it again and we sang along. He played a few more beatles songs. He sang harmony. It was fun. Then we talked about music. He told me how he learned to play music. We discovered we both have a passion for the violin. He wants me to join the church's band, but I haven't played any instruments in so long the only thing I might be able to do is sing. He and his family are moving to Guatemala in a few weeks. When they go it will be a big loss to the church in many ways.
Jairo invited me to go for lunch with the Seamans. There were 15 of us! We went to a Chinese restaurant. A man with a big gun strapped around his shoulder stands outside the door. He opens your car door and greets you, then opens the restaurant door, and returns to his post outside. I suppose this place does enough business that they have a lot of money at the end of the day. It is very small, but it was busy and had great food. Chinese food is very popular here. If you aren't eating Honduran food, you eat Chinese.
While we were eating dinner the series I saw in the US a few months ago came on the tv in the restaurant. Jairo pointed it out. I told him I had seen it before and that the title of the CNN presentation was "Honduras: The Deadliest Region on Earth". Eric and Jairo were both surprised to hear that. They could see, but not hear the show, so I told them it is on line. They both asked me to send them a link. It was strange to be sitting there, with them, watching that show. Eric asked how my family feels about me living here. I told him it is really, really hard for my mother. He said he couldn't imagine how she must feel.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. I joked with Jairo that it was sunny because I didn't have any clothes on the line. He said it was probably raining in my Colonia and pointed out clouds over the part of the city where I live. We laughed. It seems to only rain in my Colonia a LOT.
When I got home I did some laundry and immediately the clouds rolled in. Oh well. I am over worrying about rain on my clothes. They will dry some day. That was when I washed my towel as well. (The towel may never dry. I need a thinner towel.) My neighbors were doing yard work as I washed the clothes. And the towel. Afterward, I went out for a run before the rain came.
When I returned they were still doing yard work. I wanted to help, but I was intimidated. I don't know how to do yard work Honduran style, with machetes, and I didn't want to look stupid. But I also didn't want to look lazy. Fani cut back all of the trees and plants. She even dug a dead tree out of the ground and asked which plant I thought should go there. Her husband Santos was cutting grass. Then I turned around and he had climbed up the mango tree. He tossed down ripe mangoes to me. Standing below that tree, catching ripe mangoes was so cool! They said last year there was a MONTON (a lot) of mangoes, but this year due to the unusually heavy rains, the mangoes fell off the tree before they were mature. Our avocados are starting to ripen and lemons too. I ate a mango tonight Honduran style - peeled it and sucked it all off the seed. It was so good!
In continuation from the story of my towel, Santos called over as I was bagging up grass and tree branches and told me we have a problem. I looked over to see my clean towel was covered in pieces of grass. He felt terrible and said he would wash it, then Fani offered to wash it. I assured them it was no problem (yeah right!), I would wash it. We finished all of the yard work together. Santos took a look at the leaks in my roof while he was up there getting mangoes. He also checked out the leaks in my sinks. I was a little embarrassed because my house wasn't as clean as I wished for their first visit. I had taken laundry off the line this morning before church and didn't have time to put it away. As we passed through the bedroom I tried to cover the undergarments, which seemed to be everywhere. Oops!
Fani showed me a grill she is very proud of. She said we can cook meat on it sometime. We talked about our families. It was fun to spend time with them. Their baby daughter is starting to recognize me and be a lot more comfortable with me. She reaches for me to hold her, which she never did before. She is just getting her first tooth. Fani and Santos both clearly LOVE being parents. They are close to my age.
I will not be writing any more about the political problems. I learned today that things are worse than we knew and it is not safe to speak about it at all. I hope it all comes to a head after I get back to the US, but Jairo is having meetings with people specifically about how to keep me safe. I know I can also turn to Santos and Fani anytime. Jairo's brother only lives two blocks away. Jairo is going to get me internet connection that won't need electricity before he leaves. I'll be fine.
Time to make dinner and end this perfect day. Back to the kids at the breakfast program tomorrow! It feels so different to know now that I will not be leaving them forever. My whole mindframe has changed over the past couple of days. Even though I am not completely funded, I am stepping forward in faith. Tomorrow I will buy a ticket to come back to Honduras after I get rid of the stuff in the storage unit and spend time with my family. I believe that God wants me here and will provide everything I need. Besides, I have Meylin's powerful prayers backing me up! Life is good in Honduras.
