Blind Man

This morning as Jairo and I drove down the mountain from El Hatillo all of the traffic suddenly stopped.  I was peering out ahead trying to figure out what was going on.  Jairo said, "Uh oh."  Then I saw a long stick fly really high into the air.  I had no idea what was going on and why all of the traffic was stopped until I saw a man on his hands and knees in the street.  He was crawling around, not getting out of the way of all the cars.

Then Jairo said it was a blind man.  That made more sense.  He crawled from side to side.  As we got closer I could see he was groping with his hands, searching from side to side for the stick.  I asked why nobody was helping.  I wanted to get out and give the man his stick.  Jairo said he sees the man frequently.  He said the man is mentally ill, but he appears to be more violent today.  He appeared to be in his 50's.  I felt like we should do something, but a police officer got the stick.  All we could do is pray.  It was sad.

Car Shopping

This morning I woke to a text from Jairo at 6:53 a.m. saying that he would pick me up at 9:15, not 8:30 since his first appointment cancelled.  I did fall back asleep and woke up just in time to shower and get ready.

Today Jairo took me to the church to meet Sammy, the man who is helping me to find a car.  Jairo has been trying for almost a year to find a car for me.  That may sound strange, but I today I started to understand why.  Finding a car in Honduras is hard!

Let me tell you about today.  But first I have to explain that last week on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I kept noticing a certain car.  I pointed it out to Joss on Wednesday, Belinda on Thursday and Hermida on Friday.  I told them I loved that car, especially the color.  That car was everywhere!

Today the first dealership we visited had used and new cars.  Sammy, my helper, had been there earlier in the day.  He had a car in mind.  It was a Ford Escape.  I was hesitant to get the Ford Escape because I know two people who have Escapes and both had a lot of problems.  In Honduras if you take your car into the shop they NEVER fix it the same day.  It takes weeks.  So I am looking for a car that won't need much maintenance.

Then I turned and saw the car of my dreams.  It was the car I have been seeing everywhere lately!  It had half the mileage of every car I've been looking at, but was also more expensive.  While it was more than I really wanted to spend, it was exactly the Blue Book price.  (Cars in Honduras are usually $2500 more than blue book to cover the fees for importing them.)  Since this was our first stop, I took a quick look at the car but figured we had to search for something cheaper.

At the second place Sammy showed me a Nissan Xterra.  I explained Jairo would kill me if I came back with a 6 cylinder car because it burns too much gas.  The one thing that is really important to him is that I get a 4 cylinder car.  The Xterra was nice.  I drove it just for the heck of it.  It was a decent price.  I could buy that car and have enough left over to afford the flight back to the US in June.  But I knew it was not the right car.  I thought we would go to another sales lot, but we headed back to the church.

I kept thinking about that first car.  My prayer all week was that God would make it clear when I found the car He wanted for me.  It seemed like that was the car.  Jairo came down from his office.  He said his friend just called.  The friend has a car I might be interested in and will stop by the church in the afternoon.

I was so surprised when his friend pulled into the church with the car that I love!  I couldn't believe it!  I was excited.  It was older and not as well kept up, but also cheaper.  My first concern was when the drivers' side window would not open.  Then when I drove it there was the sound of air coming in through the driver's door, but everything was shut tight.  As I looked more closely, I noticed the whole back of the car has been reconstructed under the carpet.  It is so poorly done that in places there are holes where you can see through to the ground.  Then we look at the inner walls, which are cracked.  The whole frame of the car is off kilter.  Sammy said it was hit in the front door and also hit hard from the back.  So that was not the car for me.

But I got my hopes up again when Jairo's friend said his wife was selling a car.  I had never heard of it before, but he said it was a good car and what I am looking for.  He said it is 4 cylinders and doesn't use much gas.  After he left I did some research.  In Central America the Mitsubishi Montero is called the Mitsubishi Nativa.  It is 6 cylinders and he was not offering it at a good price, even for Honduras.  I talked with Jairo and we agreed it would be best not to even see the car.  It is too expensive and not the best car for me.

Sammy and I are going to go shop around more, and even go back to the first car.  If it is still there we are going to take a better look at it and see if we can work out something with the dealership.  I can almost afford the car, but I am lacking a little.  They don't accept credit cards and I don't have the paperwork I would need to get a loan, so I have to pay in cash or certified check.  If I am meant to have that car, I will come up with the money and it will still be available.  If I'm not, it won't.  Simple enough.

I was looking forward to car shopping.  Well, it is not fun.  You have to be so careful to be sure you are not getting a pile of junk.  Thank God for Sammy!  We'll take a day off tomorrow and get back at it on Thursday.

Jairo told me he wants me to stay at home and rest tomorrow.  He said he closed the Breakfast Program so Lourdes and I can rest.  I'm planning on doing some cooking tomorrow.  So far I have beans soaking.  I am going to try my hand at my second batch of refried beans.  I also have a recipe for chocolate peanut butter bars that I'd like to try.  I like to cook, so that will be my way to relax.  It will be nice to have a day of rest, but it will also be great to get back to the Breakfast Program again!