"Hagame un Please"

I'm getting my car in the morning!  Somehow I knew I wouldn't get it today so I didn't get my hopes up.  The lady from the insurance agency kept calling me over and over.  (Eunice said my Spanish is getting really good because they called on the church phone so she heard me talking to the lady on the phone.)  Apparently the policy wasn't written by the end of the business day, but they promised they will have it first thing in the morning.  We don't want to drive the car off the lot without insurance so we are waiting patiently.  As Jairo and I drove home from the church today we passed the dealership.  Someone was washing the roof of the car, I assume in preparation for me to pick it up tomorrow.  Yay!!

Belinda led the group today but I helped out.  She had me lead prayer.  I stink at praying in Spanish, but it was fine.  It was nice to have all of the kids back, after so many were gone to the museum on Friday.

After all of the kids left I let Jarvin borrow my camera.  He took some really nice picture.  He is into flowers.  But he hasn't figured out the zoom yet.  I'll have to show it to him next time.  He took pictures until the battery went dead.  His older brother and sister were helping clean out the kitchen.  We have a mouse.  Don Juan has set out traps, but something is still getting into things.  We've cleaned at least two other times.  Today we threw out everything that doesn't belong in the kitchen.  Now THAT is my kind of cleaning.  We never had this kind of problem when Marlin was in charge.  She only comes for a couple of hours now and leaves early, so the kitchen is not as clean as it was when she used to spend the whole day at the church tidying up.

Lots of the kids are practicing their English with me.  It's always a nice surprise when someone speaks to me in English.  Today Lolita said to me, "Hagame un please."  which means "Do me a please".  It actually makes sense in Spanish please is "Por favor" or "as a favor".  But it was funny to hear someone say, "Do me a please."  I explained how to say it correctly in English and that 'please' (as in please and thank you) is not a verb, so I can't do a please.  Favor in English and favor in Spanish are spelled the same, but pronounced and used differently.  I'll remember that one, "Hagame un please".

On the way home today I was talking on the phone when we came upon an enormous, beautiful bull wandering aimlessly in the middle of the road.  It was so pretty, all different colors, and big and healthy.  Strange to see walking down the street.  But a lot better than the whole family I saw sitting in the garbage pile on the way to El Anillo.  Father, mother and two young kids, just sitting in the garbage, digging through, looking for food I'm sure.  It was sad.

I read a statistic in the newspaper today that 800,000 young people who are capable and willing to work are jobless.  The article talked about the fact that the people who lived on the streets used to be either old people who had no family to care for them, or the mentally ill, or sometimes drug addicts.  But now this younger generation is in the streets and they are losing hope.  They see no light at the end of the tunnel and are turning to drugs to dull the pain and theft to survive.  There is a new dimension to the homeless population that never existed before.

The front page of the paper today announced what people on the inside have known for months.  There is an official list of top politicians and influential people and people close to them who are being killed off, one by one.  It's not really new news, but it has finally been made public.  I asked Jairo if the journalist who wrote the article will be killed.  He said probably.

Yesterday I went to my landlord's brother's birthday party.  It was fun.  We had salad and rice with chicken.  Then we had a fancy birthday cake.  In the middle of singing Happy Birthday a neighbor called to ask us to call the firemen because they had a fire at their house.  Jairo said that part of La Tigra by the church burned over the weekend too.  There are still fires everywhere and when the rain comes it is only a few drops, then it goes away.  Never enough to help with the fires.

It is official, not only do I live in the deadliest region on earth, according to NASA I also live in the smokiest region on earth.  Poor Jetty has been a little wheezy lately.  I am glad we are up in the mountains because every day when we drive down the mountain we can see less and less of the city.  Some days it is completely full of smoke.

I started taking photos of Marlin's baby belly today.  Honduran women don't take pictures of their bellies growing, so although I had been talking about it for months, she was a little bit uncomfortable about it.  I promised her I would only show Lourdes and my Mom.  I told her we have to take a picture on the 22nd of every month.  She thinks I'm nuts, but she is really my first close friend who has been pregnant so I am excited to experience this with her.  I think she goes along with it to make me happy.

So, you will not see a picture of Marlin's baby belly, but I think you will like this more:

Jarvin found these glasses while we were cleaning.
He asked if he could take them home.
We told him please do.

Joss asked if I am scared to drive here.  I told her I am, but I am also ready to try.  I would be crazy if I weren't a little nervous.  Driving here is like nowhere I have ever been on earth.  Certainly like nowhere in North America.  I do have some peace knowing that if I ever got into a car accident I can stay in my car and call the insurance company/AAA people.  And Jairo.  Tomorrow night at this time, God willing,  my car will be parked in my driveway!