Today Lourdes made it back to the breakfast program. She is clearly in a lot of pain and is having a hard time even walking. I don't like seeing her like this. Her mother and brother were also in the car when Jairo and Lourdes picked me up. We headed off toward the church, but at the main intersection we turned the wrong way. Then we pulled into a gas station, but instead of getting gas we sat there. I had no clue what we were doing, but I don't ask. I usually try to go along for the ride and enjoy things as they come. This was a really cool surprise!
Finally a lady with a strange eye and lots of eye shadow came along. She climbed into the van and greeted everyone cheerfully and loudly. She chatted non-stop except when she remembered to give Jairo directions, which has not consistent.
We went through a few city roads then onto dirt roads and up a very steep hill. Nestor and I were happy the van was strong enough to get up there. Finally the woman told Jairo to pull over after the red pick up truck. She hopped out, told us all to come, and opened up a metal gate. Lourdes said she wanted to wait in the car since her back was hurting. Turned out that was a good choice because we were about to enter a world of tiny stone stairs that have been there for many years. Instead of a house, behind the gate were these rock stairs. At that point I didn't expect those stairs to be the widest, safest part of our journey.
When I got to the foot of the stairs I looked around. My eyes didn't know where to land!
A village of little houses in the process of being painted:
Or my favorite, a big house with a tree:
And then we came upon the rooms of animals:
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| Deer |
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| Elephants |
A room of wood work
A space that overlooked the city which was full of plants.
I found out at this point that we are here because this place is owned by the cousin of two girls who attend the breakfast program. He wants to donate plants to the church, to Lourdes and Jairo, to the church in La Tigra, and to Lourdes' mother!
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| Over the plant beds you can see the entire city and the mountains beyond |
Then we took more pictures, just for fun.
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| Nestor and a serpent |
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| Watch out for that tongue! |
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| Elephants |
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| Jairo and the artist with a horse, elephant, snake giraffe and at deer in the back |
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| We ascended the stairs |
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| Some final works of art on the way out the door |
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| They gave me a whole bag of gifts! Now I have a village with a giant pink flamingo in my kitchen. |
At the breakfast program the kids were all circled up when we arrived. There was an empty seat next to Lorenzo. He and the boy next to him were preparing to concentrate for prayer by putting their heads down on their lap, so he didn't see me as I sat down. I rubbed his back. He said my name in an excited voice, then peeked up to confirm that he was right. He was happy again today. He even asked if he could shower, which is a big deal for Lorenzo. We used to have to physically drag him into the shower, take his clothes off, and bathe him while he screamed at the top of his lungs the whole time. He played on the swing set until the shower was open, then went in on his own accord. As he left he showed Lourdes that his backpack had a big rip all along the seam on the bottom. Lourdes told him she will look and see if we have any back packs. He really does need a new one.
I talked to Lourdes about how much Marlin has been talking about getting a job. I said, "Lourdes! What will we do if Marlin gets a job?"
Lourdes said, "We will cook."
Oh boy. I don't know how to cook Honduran food for 80 kids! But I may be learning soon.
It felt so good to have no headache for 2 days in a row! Eunice asked me why I was so happy today. I said I think it is because I finally don't have a headache. I was full of energy to play with the kids, clean the kitchen and run errands for people. It felt great.
When we got home Lourdes stopped in for a visit. We showed her how Laura is walking, but Laura seemed to be in a very serious mood, which is unusual. After Lourdes left, Fani, Laura, Santos and I stayed out on the front patio. Laura walked between us. She is doing 3-5 steps easily. She even turn around 180 degrees by herself! I love watching her learn to walk. I never got to see my nephews learn to walk, so it is really cool.
Here are some pictures we took last week. Laura is 10 months old today.
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| Laura loves to kick the fútbol! |
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| If you say "Aplauso" she breaks into a grin and claps her hands |
