Yay! Today the kids were back!
Yesterday I went to the church early to prepare for class. After being there a while, the ladies who cook arrived, and all of the kids came in and sat calmly in the circle (which was odd). Then Don Juan came to tell us that there was no Breakfast Program today because the church was closed. Surprise! Everyone had to go home. I was disappointed. But it did make it twice as sweet to see them today.
This morning the swim coach said that if even one kid wants to continue swimming past this week, he will be available to teach. The people who are covering the costs have agreed to continue paying, so this week I am finding out who can continue swimming once school starts.
Some kids have afternoon classes. The older kids have evening classes. So I am thinking there will be a few who will be eager to swim. I already had one boy say he was going to ask his teacher's permission to miss school for the first week so he can swim. UGH!! Priorities here are so skewed! I told the boy very clearly that school is always more important, and he can not miss school for swimming.
I will be excited if we get another week or so of swimming. I got a little sunburn today. It was absolutely gorgeous. Not too hot and not too cold. I am hoping it stays like this through Thursday so the kids have a perfect ending to their official classes.
Tomorrow I have a meeting with a personal trainer from the gym. He is an older man - I would guess in his mid 60's. His son is a trainer at the gym too. His grandson is studying nutrition and physical education in the US. Since we chat almost every day, I decided to ask him if there was anything I can do about the fact that my thighs are getting too big. I understand muscle is good, but I need my pants to fit.
He said it is an easy problem to solve. I need to exercise with less weight and for a longer time. Ummm... My leg exercise is running. I can't lessen the amount of weight I carry when I run - it's my body weight! He said he will teach me how to lengthen my muscles tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what he has in mind.
I am going to offer free pilates classes to church members. I am thinking I'll teach two classes per week. One could be at the church for people from the city and one can be up in the mountains for the people up here. We just have to find a space. Eunice is going to send out an email to church members telling them to contact me if they are interested. Sounds like fun.
This is a busy week. Tomorrow will start with swimming, the Breakfast Program, then we have a team building meeting at the church, kickboxing class and my time with the trainer. After all of that I have to go home and bake a cake because Thursday after swimming and the Breakfast Program is Isabela's first birthday! Ana invited me to come to her house and celebrate. I told her I would bake the birthday cake.
I have some cute photos of Isabela - one that Ana especially loves, so I made copies and got a frame. I finally found cheap frames! (And better yet, I found Q-Tip brand Q-Tips!!! I have been searching for them for almost 2 years here.) While I was shopping for Isabela's gift I decided to make photos for each of the swimmers to celebrate their completing the program and to keep as memorabilia. Most of the kids don't have any photos of themselves, so photos are a big deal. I also made copies of the photos Cindy and her Mom took on Cindy's birthday. Then I made copies of photos I had of Cindy's siblings and got frames for each of them.
Friday I have a meeting in the morning to discuss my next steps with the sports program. At night we are celebrating Lolita's quinciñera. All great stuff, but whew! It's going to be a long week. I am glad the weather is invigorating instead of that dreary cold rain.
Today tilapia was on sale. I grabbed some while I was getting stuff for the birthday cake (although Dr. Oz says tilapia is a useless fish, nutrition-wise). As I was eating dinner I realized I was getting full. There was only a little more risotto left in my bowl. Normally I would either eat it and feel stuffed, or throw it away. I wouldn't bother putting it away for another time. I have been thinking differently about food lately. Overindulging feels uncomfortable when so many people I know do not have food.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
Snaffoo
I made a social snaffoo yesterday. Samuel, Ana's son, was asking me when he could come to my house. I feel like I don't have anything fun for kids to do here. Plus it is a long drive, so I haven't invited them to my house. Although my home is perfect for me, it is small to host Ana, her 3 sons and her baby daughter. I said that to Ana in front of Marlin. Ana has a very nice house. So does Marlin. But Marlin's house is one small room. There is a curtain that divides the sleeping area from the living area. Marlin, her 3 kids, and her husband share the space. I always feel comfortable there. I feel comfortable when I go there with a team of a dozen people and we literally squeeze inside. Marlin never seems to care how many people sqeeze into her house. She says she loves to have guests. And here I am complaining that my house is too small to host my friends. I need to get over that. I hope I didn't make Marlin feel bad. Hospitality is a big deal in Honduras.
Tomorrow is the general assembly for the church where we discuss the next year. This year I am part of the plans for the year to come. That feels pretty nice. I am doing stuff for La Tigra and for the church in the city. Yay! My landlord, who is part of the leadership team, asked me to talk at the assembly. I am going to make some notes tonight so I have an idea of what to say tomorrow.
My Aunt is doing well. She is moving to a place for physical therapy for the first part of the recovery. This will be good for her. It will be at least a week, or more, depending how hard she works.
This morning I saw that all of the roads down the mountain were under construction. There was only one way to skip the roadwork, all of which had one lane closed and was holding up traffic like crazy. I was happy that I know a few different options so I can skip the roadwork. I made it home easily. But there was no other traffic on the hill, which is very strange for rush hour on Friday. I think they were all stuck down in the city.
Tomorrow is the general assembly for the church where we discuss the next year. This year I am part of the plans for the year to come. That feels pretty nice. I am doing stuff for La Tigra and for the church in the city. Yay! My landlord, who is part of the leadership team, asked me to talk at the assembly. I am going to make some notes tonight so I have an idea of what to say tomorrow.
My Aunt is doing well. She is moving to a place for physical therapy for the first part of the recovery. This will be good for her. It will be at least a week, or more, depending how hard she works.
This morning I saw that all of the roads down the mountain were under construction. There was only one way to skip the roadwork, all of which had one lane closed and was holding up traffic like crazy. I was happy that I know a few different options so I can skip the roadwork. I made it home easily. But there was no other traffic on the hill, which is very strange for rush hour on Friday. I think they were all stuck down in the city.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
The Butterfly
Thinking over today makes me smile. It was a 6 a.m. day. Only 3 more of those left. I've figured out how to time it so that I leave at the same time as my neighbor. That is so awesome because then I only have to get out of the car once to open the gate. He passes through (and doesn't have to get out of his car to open it since it is already open) then he closes it behind him. It is something so small, but I really don't like stopping to get out and open the gate, driving through, parking the car, getting out and closing the gate and getting back into the car every single time I come or go. Lazy. I know. My pastor from the US suggested an electronic gate, but that won't work if you consider how often the electricity goes out.
Swimming was extra great today. The other coach took the little kids and I worked with the big kids. All but one (who was sitting on the ladder, not trying) learned how to do the kick/body motion of the butterfly! Now we just have to integrate the arms and they will be flyers! The butterfly is really hard to do. I am so proud of them! It's super cool to watch them start out flopping all over and the next thing you know, one by one they start gliding through the water like dolphins. They feel so proud when they catch on. It is really exciting - a privilege to see.
Next week is the last week of swimming. I want to integrate the arms for the butterfly and perfect their breast stroke. I'd also like to teach them flip turns, if there is time. I will be in the pool a lot next week because they need to actually see some of these things in order to get the right rhythm and understand how to do it. It has been a steady 57 degrees when I pull into the church every morning. If there is no sun it doesn't warm up much from there. I'll be praying for sun next week!
As I got on the bus to leave the club today I was reminded of the girls' powerful socks. Wow, that bus stunk. I recognized the smell from when I did the girls fútbol team's laundry. I told them it stunk in a slang way. The kids all cracked up at my slang word. It's not a bad word, it's just funny. I think it's funny when I hear little kids say it, so I understand why the kids on the bus laughed. The word is "who-ko". I'm not sure how to spell it. It's not in the dictionary and you can't google it. I'm guessing it is "juco". It means gross and disgusting - in a bad odor or slimy way. I'm thinking I can put it to good use and get some more laughs.
My Aunt Cathy learned today that she will be going to a rehab facility, probably tomorrow. Mom is there to take care of her, but this is even better. Mom said my Aunt was back to herself today when her pastor, who is also her boss, came to visit. The people from her job at the church are being very supportive.
Since the kids weren't let into the church today until the food was almost ready, I got to hang out in the kitchen. Someone commented that it was odd to have me there. I reminded them that I used to work in the kitchen a lot when I didn't teach the pre-school class. I was in a really silly mood, but I didn't notice until someone asked if I had too much coffee. (I hadn't had any coffee.) We laughed and joked. Every single kid said thank you when they received their food with no reminder. That was really nice to hear. I needed that.
I am still really saddened by the lack of gratitude and by the lying I heard last week. I keep trying to figure out why the kids were so "off track". All I can imagine is that maybe there was such an abundance of things for them, they got overwhelmed and went crazy. Instead of being grateful, they got greedy. They are not accustomed to receiving so much. That is the only conclusion I can reach. I could definitely be wrong. But for some reason my mind needs to figure out why they behaved the way they did.
I've also thought about why their poor behavior hurts me. Do I feel embarrassed by their behavior? Is it a strike against my own pride? I don't think so. I think that I want everyone else to see all of the good things in them that I am able to see. I think that I am so used to being proud of them, and seeing little spurts of poor behavior which is easier to accept, that I am shocked and very surprised by the problems they had last week. I do think that the group who was here will still love them, despite their less than stellar behavior. But I wish the group could have seen the kids that I know and love. They were not themselves last week.
It was fun hanging out with Ana and Marlin again. I had lunch with Ana. Then we sat and chatted for a while. She was really excited because the diapers I got for her daughter had pictures on them. She even showed me. Apparently she has never gotten diapers with pictures before. Sometimes it's the simple things... Marlin and I had some good quality time too as we were cleaning up. It was really nice. Then our time came to a close when a rat ran across the kitchen floor and we had to call Don Juan to come kill it. Then David ran for the broom. It was trapped in the corner when I left but I was told they killed it with the end of the broom handle. Yuck!
We spent all day yesterday cleaning the kitchen. Don Juan pulled EVERYTHING out of the kitchen. Literally only the kitchen sink was left inside. They cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom. It's sad to think there could still be mice. This was a brave one. He came out and ran between four of us as we were standing there talking in broad daylight. Don Juan found great glee in picking up the dead mouse by its tail and holding out in front of him, wiggling it all of the way to the garbage behind the kitchen. Gross!
Swimming was extra great today. The other coach took the little kids and I worked with the big kids. All but one (who was sitting on the ladder, not trying) learned how to do the kick/body motion of the butterfly! Now we just have to integrate the arms and they will be flyers! The butterfly is really hard to do. I am so proud of them! It's super cool to watch them start out flopping all over and the next thing you know, one by one they start gliding through the water like dolphins. They feel so proud when they catch on. It is really exciting - a privilege to see.
Next week is the last week of swimming. I want to integrate the arms for the butterfly and perfect their breast stroke. I'd also like to teach them flip turns, if there is time. I will be in the pool a lot next week because they need to actually see some of these things in order to get the right rhythm and understand how to do it. It has been a steady 57 degrees when I pull into the church every morning. If there is no sun it doesn't warm up much from there. I'll be praying for sun next week!
As I got on the bus to leave the club today I was reminded of the girls' powerful socks. Wow, that bus stunk. I recognized the smell from when I did the girls fútbol team's laundry. I told them it stunk in a slang way. The kids all cracked up at my slang word. It's not a bad word, it's just funny. I think it's funny when I hear little kids say it, so I understand why the kids on the bus laughed. The word is "who-ko". I'm not sure how to spell it. It's not in the dictionary and you can't google it. I'm guessing it is "juco". It means gross and disgusting - in a bad odor or slimy way. I'm thinking I can put it to good use and get some more laughs.
My Aunt Cathy learned today that she will be going to a rehab facility, probably tomorrow. Mom is there to take care of her, but this is even better. Mom said my Aunt was back to herself today when her pastor, who is also her boss, came to visit. The people from her job at the church are being very supportive.
Since the kids weren't let into the church today until the food was almost ready, I got to hang out in the kitchen. Someone commented that it was odd to have me there. I reminded them that I used to work in the kitchen a lot when I didn't teach the pre-school class. I was in a really silly mood, but I didn't notice until someone asked if I had too much coffee. (I hadn't had any coffee.) We laughed and joked. Every single kid said thank you when they received their food with no reminder. That was really nice to hear. I needed that.
I am still really saddened by the lack of gratitude and by the lying I heard last week. I keep trying to figure out why the kids were so "off track". All I can imagine is that maybe there was such an abundance of things for them, they got overwhelmed and went crazy. Instead of being grateful, they got greedy. They are not accustomed to receiving so much. That is the only conclusion I can reach. I could definitely be wrong. But for some reason my mind needs to figure out why they behaved the way they did.
I've also thought about why their poor behavior hurts me. Do I feel embarrassed by their behavior? Is it a strike against my own pride? I don't think so. I think that I want everyone else to see all of the good things in them that I am able to see. I think that I am so used to being proud of them, and seeing little spurts of poor behavior which is easier to accept, that I am shocked and very surprised by the problems they had last week. I do think that the group who was here will still love them, despite their less than stellar behavior. But I wish the group could have seen the kids that I know and love. They were not themselves last week.
It was fun hanging out with Ana and Marlin again. I had lunch with Ana. Then we sat and chatted for a while. She was really excited because the diapers I got for her daughter had pictures on them. She even showed me. Apparently she has never gotten diapers with pictures before. Sometimes it's the simple things... Marlin and I had some good quality time too as we were cleaning up. It was really nice. Then our time came to a close when a rat ran across the kitchen floor and we had to call Don Juan to come kill it. Then David ran for the broom. It was trapped in the corner when I left but I was told they killed it with the end of the broom handle. Yuck!
We spent all day yesterday cleaning the kitchen. Don Juan pulled EVERYTHING out of the kitchen. Literally only the kitchen sink was left inside. They cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom. It's sad to think there could still be mice. This was a brave one. He came out and ran between four of us as we were standing there talking in broad daylight. Don Juan found great glee in picking up the dead mouse by its tail and holding out in front of him, wiggling it all of the way to the garbage behind the kitchen. Gross!
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Fire!
Today was our first day back at the Breakfast Program, but it is not back to normal yet. I learned last night at 10 pm that the boys were not allowed to go to fútbol this morning because they are being punished for a phone that disappeared from the fútbol field last week. This morning when I arrived for swimming the kids told me that the Breakfast Program will only serve food and therefore the gates would not open until 10:30 a.m. all week. Good thing the kids know what's going on.
We did have swimming class. One of the coaches quit, which is disappointing. Now there is only one coach for all of the kids. Plus me. The littler kids did really well today with their new coach. Most were on their best behavior, except the boy who wants goggles. After 10 minutes in the pool he got out and cried that his eyes hurt because he knows this coach gives out goggles. Meanwhile four of the kids his age all learned to do the back stroke. When we had five minutes left I told them that they could go swim in the small pool, which they love. As soon as he saw that, he suddenly felt better and wanted to swim again. The coach realized the boy was being manipulative and did not give him goggles. I'm betting the boy will be "sick" tomorrow.
We only have 4 days left of swimming! I am going to miss it a lot. It's nice to be outside every morning. I absolutely love working with the kids and watching them learn. Today one of the younger kids, who used to have a lot of behavioral problems, was the first one to get the kick for the butterfly right. They are going to continue with the kick tomorrow and work on arms next week in their final 3 lessons. I am thinking of baking a cake to reward the kids for completing the swimming program. We only have about half of the 23 who started. December and January are COLD. But more than half stuck it out. I'm proud of them.
Good news! The 15 year old boy who was kidnapped on Saturday was returned yesterday. I learned today that he is actually related to a few people I know. He was in front of his house talking to his friend when men with guns came and abducted him. This is the first time that I have heard of someone who was released. The kidnappers called and told the family the terms they needed to follow in order to get him back. That part is all a secret. It's better for people not to know. But I do know that people donated money to help the family get him back.
Today was the first day I was responsible for taking a girl home from the church. After hearing the details of the kidnapping (from his front yard!) I was more concerned than usual about making sure she got home safely. She had permission to be dropped off at her Grandmother's house. Her grandmother lived way down a narrow alley. There was no place for me to park and walk with her, and there was no angle that I could watch her walk up the alley. I was not comfortable dropping her off like that. She said she walks down the alley by herself all of the time. But that is not on my watch.
I called the Grandmother and waited until the girl was inside her house. Then I called her father (who is very, very protective) and told him that his daughter was inside the grandmother's house. Safely inside. Wanted to make sure he knew my portion of responsibility was fulfilled for today. I am going to give her a ride for the rest of the swimming program. She is the girl whose phone was stolen last week, so she can't call a taxi like she always did. I don't mind giving her a ride so that she is able to finish the swimming program.
The gym was a crazy today. Parking was insane. People were fighting over spaces and driving like maniacs. I went to a kickboxing class. It felt great to change it up a little. Afterward I ran I little. At first I thought the guy in front of me was flicking cigarette ashes on the floor, which was very odd. Then I saw that he, too, was confused about what was going on. Sparks were falling from a light bulb in the ceiling. Then I could see flames coming from above the ceiling tile.
I walked quickly down the main desk since nobody else was doing anything. I told them quietly but assertively there was a fire upstairs. They looked at me and didn't move. Meanwhile I was wondering how they were going to evacuate the gym because the fire was right above the stairs everyone would use to exit. Finally a member followed me up the stairs and yelled to the manager to turn off the lights, since that was where the sparks were falling from. The manager moved in slow motion (Why rush? There is only a gym full of people's lives at risk.) to turn off the lights, then came up the stairs.
By that point the other member and I decided that someone was welding up there. They had lifted up the ceiling tile and sparks were falling down through the light fixture. The manager seemed annoyed that he was bothered. The other guy agreed with me it really did look like a fire in the ceiling. Who would guess they would be welding up there during business hours? Crazy.
People in Honduras really like titles. I was thinking about that today. If you are the wife of a pastor, you are called "Pastora" and teachers are often referred to as "maestro" rather than their name, dentists are always called "doctor". I also know some people who insist on being referred to as "licenciado" which I am told is the same as a bachelor's degree. I think that is a little ridiculous and for that reason I have a hard time using the term. But I need to follow the cultural expectations.
We did have swimming class. One of the coaches quit, which is disappointing. Now there is only one coach for all of the kids. Plus me. The littler kids did really well today with their new coach. Most were on their best behavior, except the boy who wants goggles. After 10 minutes in the pool he got out and cried that his eyes hurt because he knows this coach gives out goggles. Meanwhile four of the kids his age all learned to do the back stroke. When we had five minutes left I told them that they could go swim in the small pool, which they love. As soon as he saw that, he suddenly felt better and wanted to swim again. The coach realized the boy was being manipulative and did not give him goggles. I'm betting the boy will be "sick" tomorrow.
We only have 4 days left of swimming! I am going to miss it a lot. It's nice to be outside every morning. I absolutely love working with the kids and watching them learn. Today one of the younger kids, who used to have a lot of behavioral problems, was the first one to get the kick for the butterfly right. They are going to continue with the kick tomorrow and work on arms next week in their final 3 lessons. I am thinking of baking a cake to reward the kids for completing the swimming program. We only have about half of the 23 who started. December and January are COLD. But more than half stuck it out. I'm proud of them.
Good news! The 15 year old boy who was kidnapped on Saturday was returned yesterday. I learned today that he is actually related to a few people I know. He was in front of his house talking to his friend when men with guns came and abducted him. This is the first time that I have heard of someone who was released. The kidnappers called and told the family the terms they needed to follow in order to get him back. That part is all a secret. It's better for people not to know. But I do know that people donated money to help the family get him back.
Today was the first day I was responsible for taking a girl home from the church. After hearing the details of the kidnapping (from his front yard!) I was more concerned than usual about making sure she got home safely. She had permission to be dropped off at her Grandmother's house. Her grandmother lived way down a narrow alley. There was no place for me to park and walk with her, and there was no angle that I could watch her walk up the alley. I was not comfortable dropping her off like that. She said she walks down the alley by herself all of the time. But that is not on my watch.
I called the Grandmother and waited until the girl was inside her house. Then I called her father (who is very, very protective) and told him that his daughter was inside the grandmother's house. Safely inside. Wanted to make sure he knew my portion of responsibility was fulfilled for today. I am going to give her a ride for the rest of the swimming program. She is the girl whose phone was stolen last week, so she can't call a taxi like she always did. I don't mind giving her a ride so that she is able to finish the swimming program.
The gym was a crazy today. Parking was insane. People were fighting over spaces and driving like maniacs. I went to a kickboxing class. It felt great to change it up a little. Afterward I ran I little. At first I thought the guy in front of me was flicking cigarette ashes on the floor, which was very odd. Then I saw that he, too, was confused about what was going on. Sparks were falling from a light bulb in the ceiling. Then I could see flames coming from above the ceiling tile.
I walked quickly down the main desk since nobody else was doing anything. I told them quietly but assertively there was a fire upstairs. They looked at me and didn't move. Meanwhile I was wondering how they were going to evacuate the gym because the fire was right above the stairs everyone would use to exit. Finally a member followed me up the stairs and yelled to the manager to turn off the lights, since that was where the sparks were falling from. The manager moved in slow motion (Why rush? There is only a gym full of people's lives at risk.) to turn off the lights, then came up the stairs.
By that point the other member and I decided that someone was welding up there. They had lifted up the ceiling tile and sparks were falling down through the light fixture. The manager seemed annoyed that he was bothered. The other guy agreed with me it really did look like a fire in the ceiling. Who would guess they would be welding up there during business hours? Crazy.
People in Honduras really like titles. I was thinking about that today. If you are the wife of a pastor, you are called "Pastora" and teachers are often referred to as "maestro" rather than their name, dentists are always called "doctor". I also know some people who insist on being referred to as "licenciado" which I am told is the same as a bachelor's degree. I think that is a little ridiculous and for that reason I have a hard time using the term. But I need to follow the cultural expectations.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Multiplying
Working out at the gym when I am thinking about my Aunt in surgery is much more productive than working out when I am grateful. I was SLOW today. But grateful! Mom went to visit my Aunt this morning. I haven't heard anything from my Mom yet, but the doctors said Aunt Cathy was sitting up in a chair this morning when another Aunt called to see how Aunt Cathy was doing.
Watched a motorcycle rear-end a taxi on the way home from the gym. He must have been going fast. But also the taxi did stop, as they commonly do, abruptly in the middle of the road. There was a big dent in the back fender from the guy on the motorcycle. The driver was fine. Might feel a little whiplash tomorrow.
Must have been "crazier than usual driver day" - which is hard to do in Honduras, because every day here is crazy driver day. I was in the right lane with my turn signal on just about to turn right and a van in the lane left of me, beeped then turned right at the corner, completely cutting me off and almost causing me to hit him! I laid on my horn. Then, a little too late, I remembered the story Marcela told me while we were walking last week.
Her friend was at a stop light. The light turned green. There was one car in front of her friend's car. He didn't move. She sat where she was, waiting for him. Finally he got out of his car with a gun and came to her window. He told her she was lucky she didn't beep at him because if she had he would have used the gun on her. I need to remember not to beep anymore. But sometimes it's natural instinct! An instinct I need to lose.
Still missing the Ohio team. I have a cool story. I think I told you that the toothbrushes they brought, and some crafts they had, and money they discovered, and other things were multiplying while they were here. Well, at the end of church on Sunday one of the team members said to me, "This isn't much, but we wanted to support you here in Honduras." For me, nothing is too little but I think many people don't understand that. Anyway, I thanked the person and stuck the money in my pocket. Later as I was buying cheese for Christian I felt around in my pockets and pulled out the money they had given me. What I saw was a $20 bill in US currency, which I could not use to pay the cheese lady (she doesn't accept US currency), but for which I was grateful.
That afternoon I went to the airport with Jose and Karla to pick up Karla's co-worker. As we were all digging through our pockets for money to pay the parking attendant I had a pleasant surprise. What I thought was a 20 dollar bill was actually a 50 dollar bill! It was almost like receiving 2 gifts in one! I got to be happy and grateful all over again. I still wonder if the person gave me a 20 or a 50. I'll have to ask when we have contact again.
Watched a motorcycle rear-end a taxi on the way home from the gym. He must have been going fast. But also the taxi did stop, as they commonly do, abruptly in the middle of the road. There was a big dent in the back fender from the guy on the motorcycle. The driver was fine. Might feel a little whiplash tomorrow.
Must have been "crazier than usual driver day" - which is hard to do in Honduras, because every day here is crazy driver day. I was in the right lane with my turn signal on just about to turn right and a van in the lane left of me, beeped then turned right at the corner, completely cutting me off and almost causing me to hit him! I laid on my horn. Then, a little too late, I remembered the story Marcela told me while we were walking last week.
Her friend was at a stop light. The light turned green. There was one car in front of her friend's car. He didn't move. She sat where she was, waiting for him. Finally he got out of his car with a gun and came to her window. He told her she was lucky she didn't beep at him because if she had he would have used the gun on her. I need to remember not to beep anymore. But sometimes it's natural instinct! An instinct I need to lose.
Still missing the Ohio team. I have a cool story. I think I told you that the toothbrushes they brought, and some crafts they had, and money they discovered, and other things were multiplying while they were here. Well, at the end of church on Sunday one of the team members said to me, "This isn't much, but we wanted to support you here in Honduras." For me, nothing is too little but I think many people don't understand that. Anyway, I thanked the person and stuck the money in my pocket. Later as I was buying cheese for Christian I felt around in my pockets and pulled out the money they had given me. What I saw was a $20 bill in US currency, which I could not use to pay the cheese lady (she doesn't accept US currency), but for which I was grateful.
That afternoon I went to the airport with Jose and Karla to pick up Karla's co-worker. As we were all digging through our pockets for money to pay the parking attendant I had a pleasant surprise. What I thought was a 20 dollar bill was actually a 50 dollar bill! It was almost like receiving 2 gifts in one! I got to be happy and grateful all over again. I still wonder if the person gave me a 20 or a 50. I'll have to ask when we have contact again.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Dancing the PRAISE GOD! dance
My Aunt Cathy's surgery was a success!!! They completed 4 of the 6 bypasses. Doctors said they didn't do the other 2 because she didn't need them! They expect her to recover well. Praise be to God. Funny. Last night when I talked to my Aunt Cath, she said maybe they would open her up and find that she didn't really need the surgery. I told her that we could pray for that. And look - she didn't need 2 of the 6 bypasses!
Today I finally got my butt back into the gym. Eight days away makes a difference. My body was no longer craving exercise. It was dreading it. But I dragged myself there. Back up to just over 10 minutes per mile. Bummer. But I'll work on that.
My friends finally shared their photos from when we went to Tela to the beach. Maybe this was one instance I was happy that I don't have a camera. Let me just say the photos were a good inspiration and motivating factor to get me back into the gym. When we went to Tela I had only been working out a few weeks and it showed. My cousin's wedding is in a month and two days in Guatemala. I will look better in those pictures!
Today my landlord told me she is selling land she owns up here in the mountains. I told her, No! Wait until I find my husband and then he and I can buy your land. We both got a good laugh out of that. Then she asked if I had any prospects and I told her no. None at all. But God has someone waiting for me.
Well, I really wanted to share the good news about my Aunt Cathy. So there you have it. A very. very difficult surgery, but with God's hand guiding the whole procedure everything turned out well. Now I have to go do my PRAISE GOD dance!
Today I finally got my butt back into the gym. Eight days away makes a difference. My body was no longer craving exercise. It was dreading it. But I dragged myself there. Back up to just over 10 minutes per mile. Bummer. But I'll work on that.
My friends finally shared their photos from when we went to Tela to the beach. Maybe this was one instance I was happy that I don't have a camera. Let me just say the photos were a good inspiration and motivating factor to get me back into the gym. When we went to Tela I had only been working out a few weeks and it showed. My cousin's wedding is in a month and two days in Guatemala. I will look better in those pictures!
Today my landlord told me she is selling land she owns up here in the mountains. I told her, No! Wait until I find my husband and then he and I can buy your land. We both got a good laugh out of that. Then she asked if I had any prospects and I told her no. None at all. But God has someone waiting for me.
Well, I really wanted to share the good news about my Aunt Cathy. So there you have it. A very. very difficult surgery, but with God's hand guiding the whole procedure everything turned out well. Now I have to go do my PRAISE GOD dance!
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Goodbye Ohio Team!
This morning I said goodbye to the Ohio team. They sang at church and a lot of the people of the church sang along with them. I think I experienced what it would be like to chant like monks do. We sang the "Alleluia" song that is pretty well known in most communities. It was like breathing. But with beautiful sound. It was very powerful and relaxing at the same time. I loved it.
Doug, the team leader, preached about being open to change and living the life that God wants for us. The congregation really liked his message. We had a long time of prayer for the people of the church. We prayed for my Aunt Cathy who will have 6 bypasses tomorrow. We also prayed for the cousin of a family who are friends of mine. The cousin is 15 years old and was kidnapped yesterday. That is all the family knows. They are waiting to hear from the kidnappers.
After church I bought some cheese for Christian's house. I asked where his mother was, since she is normally at the service. He said she didn't come today. He said her shoe broke and she had nothing to wear on her feet. He said it in such a matter of fact way. It broke my heart. I can't imagine having my shoe break and having nothing else to wear on my feet. I was telling my Mom the story this afternoon and she said she stopped by Macy's today and bought a new pair of slippers without thinking twice about it. But Christian's Mom missed church today because she had nothing to wear on her feet.
Where in the world do we start? Now, with the cheese, they have a tiny bit of food. But I know each of the kids needs clothes. They need more food. Their mother needs shoes. In a few weeks the kids will need school supplies. I was planning to buy some of the school supplies. But I am confused as to what is the biggest priority. It just seems endless. I can't do enough. My heart hurts when I think about Christian and his family. And yet, they are happy people. They are amazing.
Today my friends asked me to take them to the airport to pick up a co-worker. While we waited in the crowd we noticed a friend from church there. He was meeting his wife. She flew to the United States two months ago to give birth to their first baby in a US hospital. Yesterday they finished all of the paperwork and got a passport for their daughter. Today Raquel and the baby were able to fly home. Edward got to meet his daughter for the first time! It was awesome!!
He didn't tell anyone that his wife and new baby were coming home today. He was surprised to see us there. We gave him space to meet his new daughter. I was dying to take pictures. Lucky for him I have no camera. He said there will be plenty of time for photos. This evening he posted on FB the first thing his daughter did was reach out and hold on to his finger.
My friends took me to see the property they are buying. Everything will be official next week. This has been a long time coming. I am so excited for them! It is a beautiful piece of land in the mountains past the church. The view is gorgeous. They plan to start building a house in about 2 years. Jose said he plans to have a neighborhood prayer group. He said his home will always be open to people - that was a promise he made to God if he ever got his own home. I loved the feeling of the property. I felt a sense of peace there.
I am still thinking about the fact that Doña Olivia is a member of the church now, after I ducked out of a rainstorm into her house five years ago and she asked me about the church I belong to because she needed a church. My Mom pointed out that you never know when you plant a seed.
I am going to miss the Ohio group this week. They fly back to the US tomorrow.
Please pray for safe travels for them, the surgery of my Aunt Cathy, and the 15 year old boy who was kidnapped yesterday. Please also pray for provisions for Christian's family, as well as my friend Ana's family. Pray that I am open to receive guidance as to how/if/when I can help.
Doug, the team leader, preached about being open to change and living the life that God wants for us. The congregation really liked his message. We had a long time of prayer for the people of the church. We prayed for my Aunt Cathy who will have 6 bypasses tomorrow. We also prayed for the cousin of a family who are friends of mine. The cousin is 15 years old and was kidnapped yesterday. That is all the family knows. They are waiting to hear from the kidnappers.
After church I bought some cheese for Christian's house. I asked where his mother was, since she is normally at the service. He said she didn't come today. He said her shoe broke and she had nothing to wear on her feet. He said it in such a matter of fact way. It broke my heart. I can't imagine having my shoe break and having nothing else to wear on my feet. I was telling my Mom the story this afternoon and she said she stopped by Macy's today and bought a new pair of slippers without thinking twice about it. But Christian's Mom missed church today because she had nothing to wear on her feet.
Where in the world do we start? Now, with the cheese, they have a tiny bit of food. But I know each of the kids needs clothes. They need more food. Their mother needs shoes. In a few weeks the kids will need school supplies. I was planning to buy some of the school supplies. But I am confused as to what is the biggest priority. It just seems endless. I can't do enough. My heart hurts when I think about Christian and his family. And yet, they are happy people. They are amazing.
Today my friends asked me to take them to the airport to pick up a co-worker. While we waited in the crowd we noticed a friend from church there. He was meeting his wife. She flew to the United States two months ago to give birth to their first baby in a US hospital. Yesterday they finished all of the paperwork and got a passport for their daughter. Today Raquel and the baby were able to fly home. Edward got to meet his daughter for the first time! It was awesome!!
He didn't tell anyone that his wife and new baby were coming home today. He was surprised to see us there. We gave him space to meet his new daughter. I was dying to take pictures. Lucky for him I have no camera. He said there will be plenty of time for photos. This evening he posted on FB the first thing his daughter did was reach out and hold on to his finger.
My friends took me to see the property they are buying. Everything will be official next week. This has been a long time coming. I am so excited for them! It is a beautiful piece of land in the mountains past the church. The view is gorgeous. They plan to start building a house in about 2 years. Jose said he plans to have a neighborhood prayer group. He said his home will always be open to people - that was a promise he made to God if he ever got his own home. I loved the feeling of the property. I felt a sense of peace there.
I am still thinking about the fact that Doña Olivia is a member of the church now, after I ducked out of a rainstorm into her house five years ago and she asked me about the church I belong to because she needed a church. My Mom pointed out that you never know when you plant a seed.
I am going to miss the Ohio group this week. They fly back to the US tomorrow.
Please pray for safe travels for them, the surgery of my Aunt Cathy, and the 15 year old boy who was kidnapped yesterday. Please also pray for provisions for Christian's family, as well as my friend Ana's family. Pray that I am open to receive guidance as to how/if/when I can help.
Friday, January 17, 2014
The Coolest Things!
Wow! What a great week! First I want to share with you the coolest thing that has happened to me in a long time. Then I'll tell you about how the week went with the group from Ohio.
The last thing we did today was to take a food basket to Esdras' house. Esdra lives with his grandmother. His mother is very mentally ill and lives in the street. I wasn't sure where Esdras house was and thought I was going to freak out when we turned to go into his house and I realized I had been there before.
The whole situation flashed back to me. In 2009 I was walking through Los Pinos and it started to rain, so we ducked into this very same house to get out of the rain. The lady inside was very kind and welcoming. As we left she pulled me back and talked to me. She told me in that she needed a church to go to. I invited her to come to Iglesia En Transformación and waited the following Sundays, looking for her. I thought she never came.
As I entered her home I was bursting with joy and amazement. If we were bringing a basket of food to her, she obviously had not only attended the church, but had also become an active member! I told the people who were walking with me that I had been there before in 2009 and invited her to join the church, but never knew that she did. Then as I turned the corner and saw who she was, I realized I have spent time with her since I moved here. She was in my women's group that met on Tuesday nights. She has been around as Esdras prepared to go to El Sembrador. I have known Doña Olivia as a member of the church, but I never realized she was the same person who told me she was looking for a new church when I ducked out of the rain and spent time in her home in 2009.
We hugged and talked about the last time I was in her house. She said she remembered. She said that she had told her grandson that she knew me, but he told her she was wrong. We laughed about the fact that we have actually know each other since 2009. God never fails to amaze me! What a cool way to end the team's visit.
Now to share with you about the group from Ohio. The kids had the best time with them, and I did too! They really cool crafts to do every day. They did hair cuts and baths and shampooed with lice shampoo. They were a small team of 8, which to me seemed like a great size. We got to know them individually. It seemed like they came with no agenda other than to love the kids in any way they can. Every morning the kids would ask if they were coming back. The kids really loved them.
Two of them were going to take turns working in the kitchen each day, but the 2 men who worked the very first day loved it so much, they stayed there all week! It was a good example for the boys of the Breakfast Program and they said they had a really good time. They loved Marlin and Ana. They liked learning about the food. They even learned how to make tortillas today, which they were very proud of.
Each day the team brought a suitcase full of clothes to donate to the church. They unloaded, only to return the next day with it full again. We received lots of new clothes to pass out. We also were amazed at the way things seemed to multiply. The first day we told them we were going to buy toothbrushes for the kids. They said they had 3 boxes of toothbrushes, which was over 100, so not to buy any. The next day they brought us 6 boxes of toothbrushes. They said they had no idea how, but 3 more boxes had appeared.
Meylin has needed a new bathing suit. Hers is painfully tight. I shopped for a bathing suit for Meylin, but another member of the church said he already planned to buy her one. Amongst the used clothes they brought, this team happened to have a brand new bathing suit that fit Meylin PERFECTLY. And it is really cute! Awesome!!!!
They said even their money is multiplying. They found money they can't account for in their wallets.
In the meantime, things continue to disappear in the church. The team was sad for the kids, and prayed for them. We saw a lot of thievery and lying this week. I kept trying to say this was not typical, but when it happened day after day, I started to look silly. I have never seen this problem, especially at this level, before.
The team brought a lot of gifts. The kids would receive one, then hide it and go back for more. They lied and said they had never received one, when you could see the bulge of it in their pocket. It was sad. I have really never seen this happen before. Maybe one or two would try to trick us, but never this many kids lying so many times. It hurt my heart because I worried that maybe the team might not be able to love the kids as much if the kids kept lying and stealing, or trying to steal.
Now that I think of it, we don't normally have tons of fun things around for them to be greedy and lie about. I felt a little embarrassed, like a mother would. The kids didn't say "Please" and "Thank You" like I would have expected them to. Even when I reminded them day after day, they still didn't. It was disappointing in that aspect.
But they did say sweet things and treated the team well in other ways - other than lying and not saying "please" or "thank you". I do not mean to say that the kids were not great. Overall, they were. I just had never seen this side of them before so it hit me hard.
Last night the team invited me to have dinner with them! I was so excited and honored. The place where they are staying is completely amazing. It is probably the nicest home I have ever visited in my entire life, in a simple and comfortable way. The owners moved to the US and rent out the house. The groundskeeper invited me to bring friends to walk on the property, or bring my car and he will wash it, any time I want.
The team was happy to have me visit their house because they were able to communicate with the housekeeper about her great food and with the groundskeeper about some things they needed. They learned the housekeeper and the groundskeeper are married to each other and have a baby they will meet Saturday. I was able to get them really settled into the house. They all told me how much they appreciated my help at The Breakfast Program as well as at their home. Three mornings I went to the pool first, so I got there 1 & 1/2 hours later. They said, "We are so happy you are here! We needed you!" It was nice to be needed.
I learned that Walter is now in charge of the whole Plentiful Life Program. He will do a great job. He knows all about what we currently offer and has ideas for new things we can implement. I respect Walter's leadership abilities. He is fair and he offers wise counsel. He is good at seeing things from different points of view. He doesn't just take things at face value, he looks deeper.
Samuel and I are meeting about plans for the next semester of the sports program. Swimming will be over in 2 weeks. I'm sad about that. I absolutely love the swimming program and believe it has been a huge blessing to the kids. It has been a blessing to me! I will not miss waking up early, but I will miss every other part of the swimming program. So far I am hearing about starting a cycling team. The coach will be a man who has raced in the Tour de France and Coast to Coast race, here in Honduras. They are planning to buy 10 bikes and teach 10 kids to ride, then train them to race. Sounds amazing!
The week is over. I had a cold all week with a sore throat. Yesterday and today I lost my voice! Yes, the translator lost her voice. I thanked God over and over that I felt strong, even though I sounded horrible.
Yesterday, as the team was asking for pictures with me, I thought back to my first visit to Honduras and how much I loved getting to know our translators. They were a special part of my team's visit. I also tried to think about what Jairo would have shared with the team if he were here. I shared with the team some local news. For example, today's front page headlines were about dangerous gangs in Los Pinos who are trafficking women as prostitutes. Yesterday and today we delivered food baskets to families in Los Pinos.
Here are a few photos. I will have more in a few weeks. The team is going to send me the photos they took on a disc or memory card, since I don't have a camera.
The last thing we did today was to take a food basket to Esdras' house. Esdra lives with his grandmother. His mother is very mentally ill and lives in the street. I wasn't sure where Esdras house was and thought I was going to freak out when we turned to go into his house and I realized I had been there before.
The whole situation flashed back to me. In 2009 I was walking through Los Pinos and it started to rain, so we ducked into this very same house to get out of the rain. The lady inside was very kind and welcoming. As we left she pulled me back and talked to me. She told me in that she needed a church to go to. I invited her to come to Iglesia En Transformación and waited the following Sundays, looking for her. I thought she never came.
As I entered her home I was bursting with joy and amazement. If we were bringing a basket of food to her, she obviously had not only attended the church, but had also become an active member! I told the people who were walking with me that I had been there before in 2009 and invited her to join the church, but never knew that she did. Then as I turned the corner and saw who she was, I realized I have spent time with her since I moved here. She was in my women's group that met on Tuesday nights. She has been around as Esdras prepared to go to El Sembrador. I have known Doña Olivia as a member of the church, but I never realized she was the same person who told me she was looking for a new church when I ducked out of the rain and spent time in her home in 2009.
We hugged and talked about the last time I was in her house. She said she remembered. She said that she had told her grandson that she knew me, but he told her she was wrong. We laughed about the fact that we have actually know each other since 2009. God never fails to amaze me! What a cool way to end the team's visit.
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| Doña Olivia with Esdras and Bryon, plus 2 neighbor girls |
Two of them were going to take turns working in the kitchen each day, but the 2 men who worked the very first day loved it so much, they stayed there all week! It was a good example for the boys of the Breakfast Program and they said they had a really good time. They loved Marlin and Ana. They liked learning about the food. They even learned how to make tortillas today, which they were very proud of.
Each day the team brought a suitcase full of clothes to donate to the church. They unloaded, only to return the next day with it full again. We received lots of new clothes to pass out. We also were amazed at the way things seemed to multiply. The first day we told them we were going to buy toothbrushes for the kids. They said they had 3 boxes of toothbrushes, which was over 100, so not to buy any. The next day they brought us 6 boxes of toothbrushes. They said they had no idea how, but 3 more boxes had appeared.
Meylin has needed a new bathing suit. Hers is painfully tight. I shopped for a bathing suit for Meylin, but another member of the church said he already planned to buy her one. Amongst the used clothes they brought, this team happened to have a brand new bathing suit that fit Meylin PERFECTLY. And it is really cute! Awesome!!!!
They said even their money is multiplying. They found money they can't account for in their wallets.
In the meantime, things continue to disappear in the church. The team was sad for the kids, and prayed for them. We saw a lot of thievery and lying this week. I kept trying to say this was not typical, but when it happened day after day, I started to look silly. I have never seen this problem, especially at this level, before.
The team brought a lot of gifts. The kids would receive one, then hide it and go back for more. They lied and said they had never received one, when you could see the bulge of it in their pocket. It was sad. I have really never seen this happen before. Maybe one or two would try to trick us, but never this many kids lying so many times. It hurt my heart because I worried that maybe the team might not be able to love the kids as much if the kids kept lying and stealing, or trying to steal.
Now that I think of it, we don't normally have tons of fun things around for them to be greedy and lie about. I felt a little embarrassed, like a mother would. The kids didn't say "Please" and "Thank You" like I would have expected them to. Even when I reminded them day after day, they still didn't. It was disappointing in that aspect.
But they did say sweet things and treated the team well in other ways - other than lying and not saying "please" or "thank you". I do not mean to say that the kids were not great. Overall, they were. I just had never seen this side of them before so it hit me hard.
Last night the team invited me to have dinner with them! I was so excited and honored. The place where they are staying is completely amazing. It is probably the nicest home I have ever visited in my entire life, in a simple and comfortable way. The owners moved to the US and rent out the house. The groundskeeper invited me to bring friends to walk on the property, or bring my car and he will wash it, any time I want.
The team was happy to have me visit their house because they were able to communicate with the housekeeper about her great food and with the groundskeeper about some things they needed. They learned the housekeeper and the groundskeeper are married to each other and have a baby they will meet Saturday. I was able to get them really settled into the house. They all told me how much they appreciated my help at The Breakfast Program as well as at their home. Three mornings I went to the pool first, so I got there 1 & 1/2 hours later. They said, "We are so happy you are here! We needed you!" It was nice to be needed.
I learned that Walter is now in charge of the whole Plentiful Life Program. He will do a great job. He knows all about what we currently offer and has ideas for new things we can implement. I respect Walter's leadership abilities. He is fair and he offers wise counsel. He is good at seeing things from different points of view. He doesn't just take things at face value, he looks deeper.
Samuel and I are meeting about plans for the next semester of the sports program. Swimming will be over in 2 weeks. I'm sad about that. I absolutely love the swimming program and believe it has been a huge blessing to the kids. It has been a blessing to me! I will not miss waking up early, but I will miss every other part of the swimming program. So far I am hearing about starting a cycling team. The coach will be a man who has raced in the Tour de France and Coast to Coast race, here in Honduras. They are planning to buy 10 bikes and teach 10 kids to ride, then train them to race. Sounds amazing!
The week is over. I had a cold all week with a sore throat. Yesterday and today I lost my voice! Yes, the translator lost her voice. I thanked God over and over that I felt strong, even though I sounded horrible.
Yesterday, as the team was asking for pictures with me, I thought back to my first visit to Honduras and how much I loved getting to know our translators. They were a special part of my team's visit. I also tried to think about what Jairo would have shared with the team if he were here. I shared with the team some local news. For example, today's front page headlines were about dangerous gangs in Los Pinos who are trafficking women as prostitutes. Yesterday and today we delivered food baskets to families in Los Pinos.
Here are a few photos. I will have more in a few weeks. The team is going to send me the photos they took on a disc or memory card, since I don't have a camera.
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| Wednesday we went to a used clothing store and bought a new jacket for Christian. He had no jacket. The next day it was 57 degrees and WINDY |
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| Haircuts |
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| Smiles! |
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| Milagro, dressed for the cold |
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| We visited Ana's house with a food basket. This is Jired, David and Samuel with Ana and Isabella |
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| The team brought US a special gift! |
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| It is a plaque to thank us for serving God and the kids |
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| We are grateful for the team from Ohio |
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Promises
Something was shining so brightly into my window at 3:38 a.m. I thought it was a spotlight or a streetlight. But we don't have streetlights here. When I woke up enough to turn around and look out the window behind me I realized it was a beautiful, almost full moon. My whole room was as bright as if the overhead light was on. From there I couldn't get back to sleep until a little after 5:45. Just in time to be sleeping soundly when the alarm went off at 6:15.
I thought the swim coaches weren't going to show up again today. They didn't come last Tuesday. One of them didn't come all week. So I sat the kids down and explained that since it appeared there was no other adult, if they agreed to sit calmly and wait their turn, they could swim in groups of 6. I felt comfortable monitoring 6 at a time.
They were fine with that - anything to swim! I trusted them to be well behaved so we all changed into our bathing suits (myself included in case I had to dive in after one of them). Right as we began warm up exercises one of the coaches arrived. Yay! The kids were happy.
He is a retired champion racer, so he has them doing some cool things. Today they started learning how to do a flip turn! On November 5th, when they first started, I never imagined that they would be learning flip turns. Or that some of them would have really beautiful freestyle strokes, with the breathing and everything. They work so hard. I'm proud of them.
The girls also told me today that they were happy they no longer wear underpants under their bathing suits and shorts over top. One girl told me that last week she felt strange because she had never shown her upper thigh before. But she said that today she felt "tranquila" (relaxed) in her bathing suit with no shorts.
I also thought I might get some backlash from the parents, but the only comment I've heard so far is one of support. A girl told her mother that I said she could get an infection from wearing underpants under her bathing suit and lycra shorts on top. The girl told me that her mother said, "Mary Lynn is right! And I don't have the money to take you to the doctor, so stop wearing so many layers." Seems like they have all made the adjustment smoothly.
The team from Ohio was waiting for us when we got to the church. They were shampooing all of the girls with lice shampoo and combing out their hair with lice combs. Some of the girls got braided too. And some of the kids got baths.
We had a bunch of new kids today. Faces I had never seen before. That's what happens when they hear a team is in town. There will be more tomorrow. Unfortunately with the influx of new faces, there are kid who haven't yet learned to respect the rules of the church. Today the girl whose mother told her to follow my instructions in order to avoid a visit to the doctor had her cell phone stolen. She has to bring a cell phone because she is not normally a part of the Breakfast Program. She lives a distance away. She started swimming classes, so she is at the church anyway and we encouraged her to hang out with us afterward at the Breakfast Program. Her family are church members.
She has to call a taxi when she is ready to go home so she brings a phone for that purpose. But today, somehow, her phone got stolen. I feel horrible for her and really sad about the situation. She is very, very sweet and caring. I imagine she is disappointed and hurt that someone stole her phone while she was at the church.
I had been subconsciously proactive with my own things. I never know who is going to be in and out of my office or the classroom. So this week I kept my backpack behind Eunice's desk where nobody is allowed to go. I don't usually do that, but this week I did.
Someone also stole a whole pack of markers the team brought for us. It is sad, but it is an unfortunate fact of life.
I have been praying about finding a sweater or jacket for one of the boys. Yesterday I mentioned to the team that there are so many needs, I am not sure where to start, or where to draw the line since my resources are limited. They needs are constant and never ending. They asked about specific needs and I pointed out Christian, who is swimming but has nothing warm to put on early in the morning when it's still cold, or after he gets out of the pool. Today as we were leaving the pool Christian with no jacket told me to look at his shoe. The whole heel had come apart and he was walking around in a shoe with the heel like a flip flop. One of the ladies on the visiting team said, "Oh no! That is horrible!" when she saw it. I said some kids have shoes in worse shape than that. She said, "But he has to climb back up the mountain!" I told her yes, he does.
The ladies told me the team had a meeting last night and decided that they would like to give me money to use for those things - the needs that I see which aren't so apparent to them. I told her we would gladly accept it, but the money should be given to Eunice, or I could take them shopping before they leave. We are going shopping tomorrow.
As I was leaving the church I was chatting with my friend Ana. I asked how long the diapers I gave her on Saturday would last and if she was using them freely. She said yes, she was using them as needed (not trying to save by using only one diaper per day). She still has more than half of the pack left. She has enough for the next week. She said she will tell me when she needs more. I am glad because for some reason I feel like God is telling me really clearly that I need to buy diapers for her baby. I don't even feel called as strongly about food as I do diapers, which I think is really strange. So I will make my number one priority diapers and see what else I can do from there.
Ana said she had her first request for me since we made the agreement that she will ask when she needs help. I asked what the first request is. She said she will need school supplies for one of her sons. I instantly felt comfortable saying yes to that. Lord knows I don't have any extra money, but I can cut back on something. God always provides. Ana said she will make a list of the supplies and she can go with me if I need help purchasing them. I am thinking maybe I'll take her son and let him pick out the stuff on the list for himself. He might enjoy that. He is the middle boy whom we make a conscious effort to pay attention to because otherwise he is quiet and falls through the cracks.
So, tomorrow is my Aunt Cathy's surgery. Six bypasses. That is a lot. Today Eunice sent out a prayer request to the church. I sent out a second request to my prayer team. It is a very, very difficult procedure. My family and I are struggling to leave things in God's hands.
A couple of months ago when we had just learned that my Aunt had had 3 heart attacks I was at a women's group. We had a guest speaker come. Everyone who knew him told us he was really amazing. They said he is a gifted healer.
During a time of prayer at the end he came up to me, put his hands on my shoulders and prayed for a few seconds. Then he suddenly leaned forward and said directly into my ear that my family is okay. He said that I am worrying about health problems from far away, but God is with my family and he has everything under control. Everything is going to be fine. He said there is no need to worry because God is taking care of my family who is not well, no matter where they are. I felt the most intense sense of relief and peace. The kind of peace that only comes from God. So, I have to believe that God spoke to me through this man. And I also believe it was specifically concerning my Aunt Cathy.
Therefore, I am concerned on an intellectual level. Mostly because I have never heard of SIX bypasses in my life. I thought a quadruple bypass was as high as it went. At the same time, deep down inside I am not worried. I feel a little foolish because I think a normal person should be worried. This surgery is not a walk in the park. But I do have faith in God. And faith that He would not have spoken to me if He didn't plan to keep his word.
Therefore, I look forward to writing to you tomorrow with news that my Aunt Cathy is in recovery and doing well. God keeps his word.
I thought the swim coaches weren't going to show up again today. They didn't come last Tuesday. One of them didn't come all week. So I sat the kids down and explained that since it appeared there was no other adult, if they agreed to sit calmly and wait their turn, they could swim in groups of 6. I felt comfortable monitoring 6 at a time.
They were fine with that - anything to swim! I trusted them to be well behaved so we all changed into our bathing suits (myself included in case I had to dive in after one of them). Right as we began warm up exercises one of the coaches arrived. Yay! The kids were happy.
He is a retired champion racer, so he has them doing some cool things. Today they started learning how to do a flip turn! On November 5th, when they first started, I never imagined that they would be learning flip turns. Or that some of them would have really beautiful freestyle strokes, with the breathing and everything. They work so hard. I'm proud of them.
The girls also told me today that they were happy they no longer wear underpants under their bathing suits and shorts over top. One girl told me that last week she felt strange because she had never shown her upper thigh before. But she said that today she felt "tranquila" (relaxed) in her bathing suit with no shorts.
I also thought I might get some backlash from the parents, but the only comment I've heard so far is one of support. A girl told her mother that I said she could get an infection from wearing underpants under her bathing suit and lycra shorts on top. The girl told me that her mother said, "Mary Lynn is right! And I don't have the money to take you to the doctor, so stop wearing so many layers." Seems like they have all made the adjustment smoothly.
The team from Ohio was waiting for us when we got to the church. They were shampooing all of the girls with lice shampoo and combing out their hair with lice combs. Some of the girls got braided too. And some of the kids got baths.
We had a bunch of new kids today. Faces I had never seen before. That's what happens when they hear a team is in town. There will be more tomorrow. Unfortunately with the influx of new faces, there are kid who haven't yet learned to respect the rules of the church. Today the girl whose mother told her to follow my instructions in order to avoid a visit to the doctor had her cell phone stolen. She has to bring a cell phone because she is not normally a part of the Breakfast Program. She lives a distance away. She started swimming classes, so she is at the church anyway and we encouraged her to hang out with us afterward at the Breakfast Program. Her family are church members.
She has to call a taxi when she is ready to go home so she brings a phone for that purpose. But today, somehow, her phone got stolen. I feel horrible for her and really sad about the situation. She is very, very sweet and caring. I imagine she is disappointed and hurt that someone stole her phone while she was at the church.
I had been subconsciously proactive with my own things. I never know who is going to be in and out of my office or the classroom. So this week I kept my backpack behind Eunice's desk where nobody is allowed to go. I don't usually do that, but this week I did.
Someone also stole a whole pack of markers the team brought for us. It is sad, but it is an unfortunate fact of life.
I have been praying about finding a sweater or jacket for one of the boys. Yesterday I mentioned to the team that there are so many needs, I am not sure where to start, or where to draw the line since my resources are limited. They needs are constant and never ending. They asked about specific needs and I pointed out Christian, who is swimming but has nothing warm to put on early in the morning when it's still cold, or after he gets out of the pool. Today as we were leaving the pool Christian with no jacket told me to look at his shoe. The whole heel had come apart and he was walking around in a shoe with the heel like a flip flop. One of the ladies on the visiting team said, "Oh no! That is horrible!" when she saw it. I said some kids have shoes in worse shape than that. She said, "But he has to climb back up the mountain!" I told her yes, he does.
The ladies told me the team had a meeting last night and decided that they would like to give me money to use for those things - the needs that I see which aren't so apparent to them. I told her we would gladly accept it, but the money should be given to Eunice, or I could take them shopping before they leave. We are going shopping tomorrow.
As I was leaving the church I was chatting with my friend Ana. I asked how long the diapers I gave her on Saturday would last and if she was using them freely. She said yes, she was using them as needed (not trying to save by using only one diaper per day). She still has more than half of the pack left. She has enough for the next week. She said she will tell me when she needs more. I am glad because for some reason I feel like God is telling me really clearly that I need to buy diapers for her baby. I don't even feel called as strongly about food as I do diapers, which I think is really strange. So I will make my number one priority diapers and see what else I can do from there.
Ana said she had her first request for me since we made the agreement that she will ask when she needs help. I asked what the first request is. She said she will need school supplies for one of her sons. I instantly felt comfortable saying yes to that. Lord knows I don't have any extra money, but I can cut back on something. God always provides. Ana said she will make a list of the supplies and she can go with me if I need help purchasing them. I am thinking maybe I'll take her son and let him pick out the stuff on the list for himself. He might enjoy that. He is the middle boy whom we make a conscious effort to pay attention to because otherwise he is quiet and falls through the cracks.
So, tomorrow is my Aunt Cathy's surgery. Six bypasses. That is a lot. Today Eunice sent out a prayer request to the church. I sent out a second request to my prayer team. It is a very, very difficult procedure. My family and I are struggling to leave things in God's hands.
A couple of months ago when we had just learned that my Aunt had had 3 heart attacks I was at a women's group. We had a guest speaker come. Everyone who knew him told us he was really amazing. They said he is a gifted healer.
During a time of prayer at the end he came up to me, put his hands on my shoulders and prayed for a few seconds. Then he suddenly leaned forward and said directly into my ear that my family is okay. He said that I am worrying about health problems from far away, but God is with my family and he has everything under control. Everything is going to be fine. He said there is no need to worry because God is taking care of my family who is not well, no matter where they are. I felt the most intense sense of relief and peace. The kind of peace that only comes from God. So, I have to believe that God spoke to me through this man. And I also believe it was specifically concerning my Aunt Cathy.
Therefore, I am concerned on an intellectual level. Mostly because I have never heard of SIX bypasses in my life. I thought a quadruple bypass was as high as it went. At the same time, deep down inside I am not worried. I feel a little foolish because I think a normal person should be worried. This surgery is not a walk in the park. But I do have faith in God. And faith that He would not have spoken to me if He didn't plan to keep his word.
Therefore, I look forward to writing to you tomorrow with news that my Aunt Cathy is in recovery and doing well. God keeps his word.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Ohio Team Arrives
This week there is a team visiting from Ohio. Sometimes it feels really nice to be around North Americans. This is one of those times. They are a small team of eight. The pastor and one couple have been here before so they remember a lot of the kids by name. The group seems to be easy going and happy to be here. I think they enjoyed their first day. I sure did!
Got a new car battery and my air filter replaced. I also have to get a chip in my windshield filled before the hot weather comes back and cracks the whole thing, my mechanic recommended. He is keeping an eye out for a reputable brand of tires to go on sale. I am grateful to have a good mechanic.
Tomorrow we will go to the pool and then back to the Breakfast Program to join in with the group from North America. I look forward to getting to know them better and to helping them get to know the kids.
I skipped the gym today. My legs and thighs are getting so muscular that my pants are too tight. I have to figure out a way to work out that doesn't build muscle. In the meantime, Marcela and I went for a nice walk. It was a sunny afternoon and the roads were less muddy than they have been in over a month. It is still raining every day, but not for such long durations. I am hoping this is then end of the rainy season. Until June comes around again.
Got a new car battery and my air filter replaced. I also have to get a chip in my windshield filled before the hot weather comes back and cracks the whole thing, my mechanic recommended. He is keeping an eye out for a reputable brand of tires to go on sale. I am grateful to have a good mechanic.
Tomorrow we will go to the pool and then back to the Breakfast Program to join in with the group from North America. I look forward to getting to know them better and to helping them get to know the kids.
I skipped the gym today. My legs and thighs are getting so muscular that my pants are too tight. I have to figure out a way to work out that doesn't build muscle. In the meantime, Marcela and I went for a nice walk. It was a sunny afternoon and the roads were less muddy than they have been in over a month. It is still raining every day, but not for such long durations. I am hoping this is then end of the rainy season. Until June comes around again.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Good night
On Thursday I got to the church after swimming and Ana hardly took the time to say hello before she asked if I had any Ibuprofen because she had a sore throat. Well, guess what. Last night at 10 p.m. my throat felt a little funny. By 10:15 it was killing me, as were my ears and the glands in my neck. By 10:30 my nose was running. For me, ibupofen is not helping. I am going to get my butt out of bed and try an anti-inflammatory that everyone here takes. Grateful there is no fever!
Jetty has been doing great with her asthma, but of course last night it came back. She had that cough that sounds like she is going to vomit. I know I should have gotten up and given her a nebeulizer treatment, but I am a bad mom. I told myself if she coughed again I would give her one, but she only coughed that once. I'll give her one tonight before bed. Night is always worst for her.
She must have known my throat hurt somehow because she spent the night curled up against the side of my neck, which she never does.
My cousin Carolyn is getting married. She was in the Peace Corp and stationed in Guatemala, where she met her future husband. The wedding is next month. I was planning to take a bus which has to cross over El Salvador and into Guatemala. Because it has to stop at each border and pay "aduanas" they can never guarantee how long it will take. It would be 12 hours minimum and probably more.
Then last week I heard on the radio that there have been problems at all three borders. Apparently they are putting in x-ray machines and raising the price of the "aduanas". The lines JUST TO WAIT AT THE BORDER are 12-36 hours. Ugh. I was telling my Mom I wished I could drive, but it is not safe. I have friends who did the same drive as a family, but I am told they paid a body guard to go with them for security. So driving is not an option. I just hoped things would get fixed before the wedding.
Then last night in our hour long talk, my Mom suggested that I look into flights. She is a smart lady! Flights to Costa Rica are almost $700 so I didn't consider it. But flights to Guatemala are $239! I was thinking if I may be spending 12-36 hours at the borders I should upgrade my bus ticket. However, a flight is far, far cheaper than the upgraded ticket and much safer. It's only a little bit more expensive to fly than take the cheap bus. So, I am going to fly and only spend 1 & 1/2 hours in transit (God willing) and not worry about the crazy border crossings. It is even possible that a friend might be able to help me out with frequent flier miles. He mentioned it once a long time ago, so I am going to ask. The idea of flying takes a big weight off my shoulders.
I also talked to some friends from the church. They used to be my landlords here in Honduras. They moved to Guatemala more than a year ago and always ask us to come visit. So, I am going to spend a few days with them on the way home. That will be fun!
I am really excited to see family, friends, and to visit Guatemala. And now I can do it all with no worries. Yay!
Well, I am feeling tired. I've been eating manderine oranges like crazy. Cindy's Mom brought me a whole bag full when she and Cindy came to get pictures taken on Cindy's birthday Friday. I was wondering how I would ever eat them all, but between last night and this morning they are already half way gone. I bet I'll finish them today. They are delicious, fresh from the tree on Friday! Can't wait to tell them how much I appreciated their gift!
At 10 a.m. I will say "good night" to you. Hoping if I rest today I will be better by tomorrow because we have a group visiting from Ohio and tomorrow is their first day at the Breakfast Program.
37 days til Guatemala!
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Lasagna in Los Pinos
Today is my Mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! She said she had a nice meal with my brother and his family. Then she and I talked on the phone for over an hour. Mostly about nothing important. We're good at that. :)
I made lasagna this morning, then took it down to my friend Ana's house. Along the way I stopped and picked up stuff for a salad and diapers for Isabella, Ana's one year old daughter. Later Ana told me she was praying for diapers for her daughter.
The first thing Samuel said to me was that his kitten died. He seemed okay about it. We spent part of the morning and most of the afternoon just chatting. Ana knows how to do special decorations with fingernail polish so I now have flowers on my toes. We are planning a "salon day", which really means a day to put all of our nail polishes together and do each other's nails.
I talked to Ana about the idea of her asking me for help when there is something she and her family need. She disclosed to me some more details about her situation. Afterward I felt even more compelled to help. I told her that I have been praying about it since Tuesday and I feel God is speaking clearly to me.
I know Ana is a person who would never take advantage of me. I told her there could be times I have to say no because I have limited resources. She said she understands that. I told her I want to help in any way I can. I don't want to have to think of Ana and her family going without food or other basic necessities.
Ana is not a proud woman - in the negative sense of the word "proud". She is a woman who has a lot of faith, which means she does not ask for human help. She usually turns only to God. She has told me many times, after the fact, that she really needed something (shoes, food, diapers, the dirt floor of her house covered in cement, bus fare to visit her family for Christmas), she prayed and God provided. She never said a word to anyone. I told Ana I do not want to devalue her faith and dependence on God. If there is something that I can do to help, I would like to. I have a plan for a few things that I can start doing for this family. I feel good about the plan and believe it is a healthy decision for me, for Ana's family, and it is from God.
I explained to Ana about the idea that I want to serve them in a way that is best for them. I told her maybe it was crazy for me to bring lasagna to her house. Maybe I should give her that money or use that same money to buy basic supplies. Ana's response was that she believes God chooses to bless people in many ways. She said our afternoons together, our conversations, our friendship, my relationship with her kids, is as much a blessing as the food I bring. That's how I feel too, but others might see it as a little ridiculous to spend money on lasagna when it would buy a lot of basic staples.
So, I hope Ana knows that she can turn to me as a friend. I know I would turn to her if I need her help.
I have recently become more conscious of the fact that some relationships fill up your heart and make you feel closer to God. Other relationships drain you and leave you feeling empty, or hurt, or unsure of yourself. Being with Ana and her family fills me up. Her friendship is a blessing to me. She is the kind of person I want in my life. I hope I can be the same to her.
After lasagna and a nice run at the gym I went to Mas x Menos to buy saldo for my phone so I could call my Mom and wish her a happy birthday. I noticed earlier this week that their shelves were strangely bare. Today everything was restocked with a ton of new items they have never carried before. I told the cashier I felt like I was in the US! They had Oikos, Fage, and Chobani yogurt. I walked back and forth in front of the yogurt, taking it all in. It was like heaven. There was pancetta, 3 kinds of Manchego cheese, a bunch of new Tropicana juices, vegetable cheese spreads, a variety of Baked Lays chips... I felt like I was at Whole Foods! (Actually I strongly dislike Whole Foods, but do appreciate their selection.) The prices resemble Whole Foods too. I can't afford to buy any of this stuff. It's just so nice to know it is there.
Please continue to pray for my Aunt Cathy as her bypass surgery will be Wednesday. She could use prayer for the kind peace that only God can bring when you are facing a situation like this. Six bypasses is tough to comprehend. The kids at the Breakfast Program are praying for her, as are others from the church. And of course my prayer team. Please cover my Aunt Cathy in prayer.
I made lasagna this morning, then took it down to my friend Ana's house. Along the way I stopped and picked up stuff for a salad and diapers for Isabella, Ana's one year old daughter. Later Ana told me she was praying for diapers for her daughter.
The first thing Samuel said to me was that his kitten died. He seemed okay about it. We spent part of the morning and most of the afternoon just chatting. Ana knows how to do special decorations with fingernail polish so I now have flowers on my toes. We are planning a "salon day", which really means a day to put all of our nail polishes together and do each other's nails.
I talked to Ana about the idea of her asking me for help when there is something she and her family need. She disclosed to me some more details about her situation. Afterward I felt even more compelled to help. I told her that I have been praying about it since Tuesday and I feel God is speaking clearly to me.
I know Ana is a person who would never take advantage of me. I told her there could be times I have to say no because I have limited resources. She said she understands that. I told her I want to help in any way I can. I don't want to have to think of Ana and her family going without food or other basic necessities.
Ana is not a proud woman - in the negative sense of the word "proud". She is a woman who has a lot of faith, which means she does not ask for human help. She usually turns only to God. She has told me many times, after the fact, that she really needed something (shoes, food, diapers, the dirt floor of her house covered in cement, bus fare to visit her family for Christmas), she prayed and God provided. She never said a word to anyone. I told Ana I do not want to devalue her faith and dependence on God. If there is something that I can do to help, I would like to. I have a plan for a few things that I can start doing for this family. I feel good about the plan and believe it is a healthy decision for me, for Ana's family, and it is from God.
I explained to Ana about the idea that I want to serve them in a way that is best for them. I told her maybe it was crazy for me to bring lasagna to her house. Maybe I should give her that money or use that same money to buy basic supplies. Ana's response was that she believes God chooses to bless people in many ways. She said our afternoons together, our conversations, our friendship, my relationship with her kids, is as much a blessing as the food I bring. That's how I feel too, but others might see it as a little ridiculous to spend money on lasagna when it would buy a lot of basic staples.
So, I hope Ana knows that she can turn to me as a friend. I know I would turn to her if I need her help.
I have recently become more conscious of the fact that some relationships fill up your heart and make you feel closer to God. Other relationships drain you and leave you feeling empty, or hurt, or unsure of yourself. Being with Ana and her family fills me up. Her friendship is a blessing to me. She is the kind of person I want in my life. I hope I can be the same to her.
After lasagna and a nice run at the gym I went to Mas x Menos to buy saldo for my phone so I could call my Mom and wish her a happy birthday. I noticed earlier this week that their shelves were strangely bare. Today everything was restocked with a ton of new items they have never carried before. I told the cashier I felt like I was in the US! They had Oikos, Fage, and Chobani yogurt. I walked back and forth in front of the yogurt, taking it all in. It was like heaven. There was pancetta, 3 kinds of Manchego cheese, a bunch of new Tropicana juices, vegetable cheese spreads, a variety of Baked Lays chips... I felt like I was at Whole Foods! (Actually I strongly dislike Whole Foods, but do appreciate their selection.) The prices resemble Whole Foods too. I can't afford to buy any of this stuff. It's just so nice to know it is there.
Please continue to pray for my Aunt Cathy as her bypass surgery will be Wednesday. She could use prayer for the kind peace that only God can bring when you are facing a situation like this. Six bypasses is tough to comprehend. The kids at the Breakfast Program are praying for her, as are others from the church. And of course my prayer team. Please cover my Aunt Cathy in prayer.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Cindy's Birthday
First the sad news. Samuel's kitten died. This morning when I got to the church I was talking to Eunice. Samuel came into her office and interrupted our conversation. I am working with him about not interrupting, so I made him wait until I was done. Then he looked up at me with horribly sad eyes and told me his cat is not eating. I told him I brought cat food for them. He said no, the cat is sick. He can't eat. And he can't talk!
It was so adorable! And so sad. I talked to Samuel's mother, Ana. She told me that this morning when they woke up Samuel told her excitedly the cat had grown overnight. At four weeks old they do grow fast. But when she looked at the cat she realized the cat had not actually grown. It was sprawled out, very sick. She cocked her head to the side and stuck out her tongue to demonstrate how the cat looked. She told me she was pretty sure the cat would be dead when they got home from the Breakfast Program. Samuel asked his Mom to take the cat to the doctor, but she had to explain that she didn't have enough money for diapers for his sister, so they couldn't afford a Dr appointment for the cat.
She asked me what I thought they could do for the cat. I told her I thought the cat needed its mother's milk. It was too young to be away from its mother. I told her my opinion is that even if they had unlimited resources, they could spend a lot of money at the vet and the cat would probably die. There are a million things that could be wrong with a tiny kitten - something the cat was born with, a parasite, heart worm, feline leukemia. Who knows?
Ana told me that in Los Pinos people SELL kittens. She said they steal healthy cats. I was shocked to hear that. There is such an immense overpopulation of dogs it is painful to drive through the neighborhood. The dogs there are in horrible shape. It hurts my heart to see them. Put apparently cats are a hot commodity for their rat chasing value.
Marcela (my landlord's daughter) and I are going to look for kittens up here in the mountains where they are more abundant and free. Ana said she would like another if we can find one. I told her we are only going to bring a cat that is weened. I was thinking about the fact that the kids wanted to call the cat "Papi". Cute until you think about the fact that their Daddy left them over a year ago.
Tomorrow I am going to Ana's house. I am going to bring lasagna, salad and garlic bread. A good old North American dinner. I have to remember to bring something for us to drink too. They drink rain water which is collected in a big cistern.
It is all arranged for me to park by the pulperia above her house again. I am even more convinced that my car and I are safe there since many of the kids from the Breakfast Program rushed up to me the day after I last visited and said they saw me drive past their house. They said that they pointed me out to their family as the person from the church who is teaching them to swim. They were so excited to think that I drove past their home! I'll have to look out more carefully and wave to them tomorrow.
I have been thinking a lot about how I can help here. Basically it has come down to a quality over quantity issue. For example: Do I buy a lot of food that will feed Ana's family for a few days and hand it over to them? Or do I bring over a nice meal and sit down to share with them? For now, although it is not practical - I know! - I am going for quality over quantity. It is something I should talk to Ana about. I would like to give to them in a way that is best for them. Not what is best for me.
As I get to know the kids at the church on a deeper level I see more and more needs. There is no way I can meet them all. This week I gave away my bathing suit and my warmest sweater. I am completely fine with both of those things. But there is still Christian, who goes to swimming lessons in 57 degree weather every morning and doesn't have a warm jacket to put on afterward. I don't have anything that would fit him. If I went to the used clothing store, I could find something cheap. But then where would I stop? When I asked Christian if he had something warm at home the boy next to him spoke up and said that he didn't have anything warmer than his tee shirt either.
Cindy turned five today. Her Mom couldn't afford a cake so she came up with another way to celebrate. She spent the morning curling Cindy's hair and dressing her up for a special birthday picture. Cindy's Mom brought Cindy to the church and asked me to take photos of Cindy. She said she never had a photo of Cindy before. Wish I had a camera! I told her I would get photos printed. We borrowed a cell phone and celebrated Cindy's fifth birthday by taking photos. Cindy's Mom did the best she could do.
Kebelin is playing soccer on the church soccer team in sparkly shoes that are like "Toms" slippers. I just noticed that yesterday. She doesn't complain. Kristopher has had a painful molar for over a month. Jose returned to the Breakfast Program after our three week break absolutely filthy. He had abrasions on his face and a huge swollen lip with a hole where his teeth went through. We asked how it happened and he (at 5 years old) told us that he was not going to talk about it. His sister was filthy too. Layers and layers of dirt.
I don't feel hopeless. Or helpless. I just wonder where to start and how far to go. I am very, very blessed. But my personal resources are limited. Today I went to the mechanic to get a new air filter. I learned I need new head lights, new tires and a new car battery. The mechanic is completely trustworthy.
There are so many needs, at so many different levels. I'll listen for God to speak about how I should move forward.
It was so adorable! And so sad. I talked to Samuel's mother, Ana. She told me that this morning when they woke up Samuel told her excitedly the cat had grown overnight. At four weeks old they do grow fast. But when she looked at the cat she realized the cat had not actually grown. It was sprawled out, very sick. She cocked her head to the side and stuck out her tongue to demonstrate how the cat looked. She told me she was pretty sure the cat would be dead when they got home from the Breakfast Program. Samuel asked his Mom to take the cat to the doctor, but she had to explain that she didn't have enough money for diapers for his sister, so they couldn't afford a Dr appointment for the cat.
She asked me what I thought they could do for the cat. I told her I thought the cat needed its mother's milk. It was too young to be away from its mother. I told her my opinion is that even if they had unlimited resources, they could spend a lot of money at the vet and the cat would probably die. There are a million things that could be wrong with a tiny kitten - something the cat was born with, a parasite, heart worm, feline leukemia. Who knows?
Ana told me that in Los Pinos people SELL kittens. She said they steal healthy cats. I was shocked to hear that. There is such an immense overpopulation of dogs it is painful to drive through the neighborhood. The dogs there are in horrible shape. It hurts my heart to see them. Put apparently cats are a hot commodity for their rat chasing value.
Marcela (my landlord's daughter) and I are going to look for kittens up here in the mountains where they are more abundant and free. Ana said she would like another if we can find one. I told her we are only going to bring a cat that is weened. I was thinking about the fact that the kids wanted to call the cat "Papi". Cute until you think about the fact that their Daddy left them over a year ago.
Tomorrow I am going to Ana's house. I am going to bring lasagna, salad and garlic bread. A good old North American dinner. I have to remember to bring something for us to drink too. They drink rain water which is collected in a big cistern.
It is all arranged for me to park by the pulperia above her house again. I am even more convinced that my car and I are safe there since many of the kids from the Breakfast Program rushed up to me the day after I last visited and said they saw me drive past their house. They said that they pointed me out to their family as the person from the church who is teaching them to swim. They were so excited to think that I drove past their home! I'll have to look out more carefully and wave to them tomorrow.
I have been thinking a lot about how I can help here. Basically it has come down to a quality over quantity issue. For example: Do I buy a lot of food that will feed Ana's family for a few days and hand it over to them? Or do I bring over a nice meal and sit down to share with them? For now, although it is not practical - I know! - I am going for quality over quantity. It is something I should talk to Ana about. I would like to give to them in a way that is best for them. Not what is best for me.
As I get to know the kids at the church on a deeper level I see more and more needs. There is no way I can meet them all. This week I gave away my bathing suit and my warmest sweater. I am completely fine with both of those things. But there is still Christian, who goes to swimming lessons in 57 degree weather every morning and doesn't have a warm jacket to put on afterward. I don't have anything that would fit him. If I went to the used clothing store, I could find something cheap. But then where would I stop? When I asked Christian if he had something warm at home the boy next to him spoke up and said that he didn't have anything warmer than his tee shirt either.
Cindy turned five today. Her Mom couldn't afford a cake so she came up with another way to celebrate. She spent the morning curling Cindy's hair and dressing her up for a special birthday picture. Cindy's Mom brought Cindy to the church and asked me to take photos of Cindy. She said she never had a photo of Cindy before. Wish I had a camera! I told her I would get photos printed. We borrowed a cell phone and celebrated Cindy's fifth birthday by taking photos. Cindy's Mom did the best she could do.
Kebelin is playing soccer on the church soccer team in sparkly shoes that are like "Toms" slippers. I just noticed that yesterday. She doesn't complain. Kristopher has had a painful molar for over a month. Jose returned to the Breakfast Program after our three week break absolutely filthy. He had abrasions on his face and a huge swollen lip with a hole where his teeth went through. We asked how it happened and he (at 5 years old) told us that he was not going to talk about it. His sister was filthy too. Layers and layers of dirt.
I don't feel hopeless. Or helpless. I just wonder where to start and how far to go. I am very, very blessed. But my personal resources are limited. Today I went to the mechanic to get a new air filter. I learned I need new head lights, new tires and a new car battery. The mechanic is completely trustworthy.
There are so many needs, at so many different levels. I'll listen for God to speak about how I should move forward.
 |
| Cindy and her curls |
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
"Good stuff" :-)
Finally! I thought I was going to explode I was so full with all of the things I have wanted to share with you. But it has been raining non-stop which means no internet. It's the kind of rain that leaves lakes in the road and rivers running through the ditches. I haven't seen this kind of rain since I bought my own car here. It made me think of all of the time I used to spend with Jairo when he provided my transportation for the first year I lived here. I remember riding with him and thinking that I never wanted to drive in this weather. Man hole covers disappear and leave enormous chasms in the road, completely obscured by the lakes of water settled there. Scary!
Well, before I burst and before the internet dies again let me get started.
As you know, since about August I have been struggling with something. This is not an appropriate place to share details, but I can share that I feel quite sure I can declare today that: With wise counsel, support from friends, and biblical reinforcement, I have not only conquered the problem, I have also grown closer to God by experiencing it. As much as it sucked, I have learned a good lesson.
I am moving forward with more self assurance, more ownership over my role as a missionary in Honduras, and a sense of security I haven't felt since I moved here. I chatted with Jairo for a few minutes on Facebook and he led me in the right direction. He told me all answers are in the bible. Then on Sunday I met with Walter and he was able to point out exact scripture which fit the situation perfectly and told me how to move forward. My landlords and Eunice have also been extremely supportive. And of course I always have my Mom. She has learned, or God has moved her, to be supportive in new ways. I am very blessed to have so many wise and caring people in my life.
Sooooo... No more sleepless nights. At least not about this situation. No more beating myself up about what I could have done differently, and no more worrying about what I will do in the future. Bottom line is that Luke 6:27-36 is all I need to know. Well, I did know it. But I needed to be reminded.
Okay, so now that that is behind us I have some other cool things to share.
Today was the first day that we returned to the pool. It did not go as planned. The soccer coach said he didn't want to coach only 3 girls and he left! The swimming coaches never showed up at all. Yet, not one of the kids complained. They waited for 2 hours in the cold rain, then got on the bus and went back to the church with not a bit of negativity.
It was so great to see them, although there were few today. I am afraid this is the way January will be. It is cold and rainy. I don't blame the kids if they don't want to swim in this weather. We had 9 hard core swimmers today and 3 soccer players. In some cases their parents do not allow them to come in this weather, even if they want to.
There is a family that recently joined our group for swimming lessons. Three little boys have come for the past two weeks with their father and sometimes their mother. Today they sat with us as we waited for the coaches to come. The father asked what organization we are with. The kids and I explained where Iglesia en Transformación is located. He said he knew the place.
I told him about the Plentiful Life Program. He shared with me that his church is more about theology. He wishes that they would get out and do more for the community. He thanked me for coming to his country and for doing what he believes the people of his country are not doing for themselves. He said that he and his wife have been watching me. They discussed me and my relationship with the kids at the pool. He said he told his wife, "She is here for the children," and that he can see I am following God's will. WOW! What a tremendous compliment.
We discussed knowing about God vs. living as a Christian. I told the man that my church in Honduras is very focused on learning, and we are equally focused on doing in my opinion. He said that sounds great. He doesn't often see that balance in Honduras. I live in a bubble, so I really can't say much about what goes on outside of my church here. But I can easily rattle off numerous study groups as well as ways that we serve the community ( learning and doing).
He said he believes Hondurans became focused on theology because they have people from other countries coming in and doing for them. They, themselves, have grown complacent about the doing. He said he and his wife are leaders in their church and they are struggling to do more. It was a very interesting conversation. I felt proud of the the leaders of Iglesia en Transformación and the path they have chosen for the church. I was also very happy that my actions reflected God's love for the children as this couple watched me from a distance.
Last Sunday after church my friend Ana and her son, Samuel, who is in my preschool class, invited me to their house to meet their new baby kitten. They were not sure about a name yet. Ana's four kids and Ana each have a different name for the cat. They asked if I could determine the sex of the cat. It's still tiny, only about 4 weeks old I think. Looks like a boy so far to me.
Ana's son David, is the middle son and doesn't get a lot of 1:1 time despite Ana's effort. He came with me to shop for lunch fixings. He was very protective of me and offered perfect advice. We bought chicken, tortillas, salad fixings, rice, and also beets because they looked good to me. I got a box of dark chocolate covered cherries, which were on sale after Christmas, for Ana. She asked me what the brand name on the box meant. I realized they are "Queen Anne" brand. Perfect for my friend Ana.
We had a beautiful afternoon together. She found a special place for me to park my car, way up on the mountain behind her house, in front of a pulperia (tiny neighborhood store) owned by her friend. Her friend lived in the US for 7 years. He was very kind. Thanks to him, we were able to relax and enjoy our time with no worries for my car. We went through family photos and had a really nice visit.
At one point Ana asked me to put the salad in the fridge. I did. Inside the fridge was completely empty aside from a little package of ketchup. When I left Ana asked if I could drop her off at the bank. I told her sure. She stopped before she got out of the car and thanked me for following the idea to come to her house and serve her family. She said she knows I can't understand how difficult things are. She's right. I can't. I have never had an empty refrigerator with four kids to feed. But I am glad I was able to buy her a chicken today. We have plans for another lunch on Friday.
I am going to pray about the idea of asking my friend Ana to make a promise to me. I am thinking of asking her to promise that if her family does not have food, she will tell me. I do not want my friend and the children I love to go hungry. Unfortunately, I know the fact is that other friends and other children whom I love are also going hungry. This is the second time I have taken food to Ana's house without knowing that she had none. It would be nice to think God had me swoop in on the two occasions that the family was struggling, but I'm pretty sure it happens far more often than I can imagine. Thank God for the Breakfast Program. If Ana is struggling like this, I know there are others in FAR worse situations. After 3 weeks with no Breakfast Program, I think we will be feeding some hungry kids tomorrow. And now that I have written this down, I think I will ask my friend Ana to make that promise to me. I don't have a lot. But I have never gone hungry.
I learned where Saul lives today too. It was awesome to see him so proud to show me his home. It was a tiny pink house on the side of the mountain in Los Pinos. It was in a place that felt really peaceful to me. The area even seemed landscaped, though I can't imagine that is true. The trees were beautiful there. Saul and I have known each other since 2009. He was a tiny boy then. Now he is pretty much an adult. He started singing at church about a year ago and has grown to be a self assured, seemingly happy young man. We sang together in the Christmas choir, which was fun. He also helps me a lot at the Swimming Program. He's my right hand man. :)
People here continue to greet each other with "Feliz año". (Happy New Year) Greetings are such an important part of Honduran culture.
Tomorrow is the first day of the new school year! The kids in public school don't go back to school until February. This is their extended break, like summer vacation in the US. Tomorrow I am excited to get the preschool rolling. I have a lot of ideas I added to the last year's format. It won't look a lot different from the outside, but I am adding some English this year. I am also going to work more on the alphabet, letter recognition and the kids recognizing (and writing if age appropriate) their names. I think that is one area I could have done better in last year.
In the past I never included much English because I didn't want to be the North American who came in and pushed my own values on the people here. However, as more and more people of all ages ask me for help learning English I now see that it is beneficial for the preschoolers to learn basic English when it fits into the curriculum. I've asked around and everyone seems in agreement.
I feel a new sense of ownership about the preschool class. What I mean by this is that I feel a sense of personal investment and confidence in my abilities which I never felt before. In the past when people introduced me as a teacher I would stop them and clarify that I am not really a teacher. My degree is NOT in education. Teaching is not a gift I was particularly blessed with. However, recently I find myself telling people that I am a preschool teacher. I think that is a good thing. It is not prideful. It is owning what I am doing. Stepping into the shoes and accepting my role. I can't wait to see how my role will grow in 2014!
I am so excited to see all of the kids tomorrow! I still don't have a camera and my phone only works when it feels like it. The touch screen has quite a few dead spots. I will try to get some photos and upload them while I have internet at the church.
I hope you can sense the happiness, peace and self confidence God has recently placed in me. It feels great and I want to share it with you. Thank you for sticking by me. Thank you for all of the different ways you support me, even by reading this blog. (Did you know I am pretty sure there is a class of 28 people somewhere in Malaysia that read this blog? Interesting, huh? I repeatedly get 28 hits, all in the same day, from Malaysia!)
Feliz año!
Darn. The power just went out. Hope I can post this soon.
Note to self:
Keep bedroom door closed when using space heater because when the power goes out it gets cold quickly.
Keep something on hand for dinner that doesn't need to be heated.
And charge the Kindle while you do have power so that when you don't have power you can read.
Welcome to January in Honduras. Chin up. It will be over in 3 & 1/2 weeks.
Well, before I burst and before the internet dies again let me get started.
As you know, since about August I have been struggling with something. This is not an appropriate place to share details, but I can share that I feel quite sure I can declare today that: With wise counsel, support from friends, and biblical reinforcement, I have not only conquered the problem, I have also grown closer to God by experiencing it. As much as it sucked, I have learned a good lesson.
I am moving forward with more self assurance, more ownership over my role as a missionary in Honduras, and a sense of security I haven't felt since I moved here. I chatted with Jairo for a few minutes on Facebook and he led me in the right direction. He told me all answers are in the bible. Then on Sunday I met with Walter and he was able to point out exact scripture which fit the situation perfectly and told me how to move forward. My landlords and Eunice have also been extremely supportive. And of course I always have my Mom. She has learned, or God has moved her, to be supportive in new ways. I am very blessed to have so many wise and caring people in my life.
Sooooo... No more sleepless nights. At least not about this situation. No more beating myself up about what I could have done differently, and no more worrying about what I will do in the future. Bottom line is that Luke 6:27-36 is all I need to know. Well, I did know it. But I needed to be reminded.
Okay, so now that that is behind us I have some other cool things to share.
Today was the first day that we returned to the pool. It did not go as planned. The soccer coach said he didn't want to coach only 3 girls and he left! The swimming coaches never showed up at all. Yet, not one of the kids complained. They waited for 2 hours in the cold rain, then got on the bus and went back to the church with not a bit of negativity.
It was so great to see them, although there were few today. I am afraid this is the way January will be. It is cold and rainy. I don't blame the kids if they don't want to swim in this weather. We had 9 hard core swimmers today and 3 soccer players. In some cases their parents do not allow them to come in this weather, even if they want to.
There is a family that recently joined our group for swimming lessons. Three little boys have come for the past two weeks with their father and sometimes their mother. Today they sat with us as we waited for the coaches to come. The father asked what organization we are with. The kids and I explained where Iglesia en Transformación is located. He said he knew the place.
I told him about the Plentiful Life Program. He shared with me that his church is more about theology. He wishes that they would get out and do more for the community. He thanked me for coming to his country and for doing what he believes the people of his country are not doing for themselves. He said that he and his wife have been watching me. They discussed me and my relationship with the kids at the pool. He said he told his wife, "She is here for the children," and that he can see I am following God's will. WOW! What a tremendous compliment.
We discussed knowing about God vs. living as a Christian. I told the man that my church in Honduras is very focused on learning, and we are equally focused on doing in my opinion. He said that sounds great. He doesn't often see that balance in Honduras. I live in a bubble, so I really can't say much about what goes on outside of my church here. But I can easily rattle off numerous study groups as well as ways that we serve the community ( learning and doing).
He said he believes Hondurans became focused on theology because they have people from other countries coming in and doing for them. They, themselves, have grown complacent about the doing. He said he and his wife are leaders in their church and they are struggling to do more. It was a very interesting conversation. I felt proud of the the leaders of Iglesia en Transformación and the path they have chosen for the church. I was also very happy that my actions reflected God's love for the children as this couple watched me from a distance.
Last Sunday after church my friend Ana and her son, Samuel, who is in my preschool class, invited me to their house to meet their new baby kitten. They were not sure about a name yet. Ana's four kids and Ana each have a different name for the cat. They asked if I could determine the sex of the cat. It's still tiny, only about 4 weeks old I think. Looks like a boy so far to me.
Ana's son David, is the middle son and doesn't get a lot of 1:1 time despite Ana's effort. He came with me to shop for lunch fixings. He was very protective of me and offered perfect advice. We bought chicken, tortillas, salad fixings, rice, and also beets because they looked good to me. I got a box of dark chocolate covered cherries, which were on sale after Christmas, for Ana. She asked me what the brand name on the box meant. I realized they are "Queen Anne" brand. Perfect for my friend Ana.
We had a beautiful afternoon together. She found a special place for me to park my car, way up on the mountain behind her house, in front of a pulperia (tiny neighborhood store) owned by her friend. Her friend lived in the US for 7 years. He was very kind. Thanks to him, we were able to relax and enjoy our time with no worries for my car. We went through family photos and had a really nice visit.
At one point Ana asked me to put the salad in the fridge. I did. Inside the fridge was completely empty aside from a little package of ketchup. When I left Ana asked if I could drop her off at the bank. I told her sure. She stopped before she got out of the car and thanked me for following the idea to come to her house and serve her family. She said she knows I can't understand how difficult things are. She's right. I can't. I have never had an empty refrigerator with four kids to feed. But I am glad I was able to buy her a chicken today. We have plans for another lunch on Friday.
I am going to pray about the idea of asking my friend Ana to make a promise to me. I am thinking of asking her to promise that if her family does not have food, she will tell me. I do not want my friend and the children I love to go hungry. Unfortunately, I know the fact is that other friends and other children whom I love are also going hungry. This is the second time I have taken food to Ana's house without knowing that she had none. It would be nice to think God had me swoop in on the two occasions that the family was struggling, but I'm pretty sure it happens far more often than I can imagine. Thank God for the Breakfast Program. If Ana is struggling like this, I know there are others in FAR worse situations. After 3 weeks with no Breakfast Program, I think we will be feeding some hungry kids tomorrow. And now that I have written this down, I think I will ask my friend Ana to make that promise to me. I don't have a lot. But I have never gone hungry.
I learned where Saul lives today too. It was awesome to see him so proud to show me his home. It was a tiny pink house on the side of the mountain in Los Pinos. It was in a place that felt really peaceful to me. The area even seemed landscaped, though I can't imagine that is true. The trees were beautiful there. Saul and I have known each other since 2009. He was a tiny boy then. Now he is pretty much an adult. He started singing at church about a year ago and has grown to be a self assured, seemingly happy young man. We sang together in the Christmas choir, which was fun. He also helps me a lot at the Swimming Program. He's my right hand man. :)
People here continue to greet each other with "Feliz año". (Happy New Year) Greetings are such an important part of Honduran culture.
Tomorrow is the first day of the new school year! The kids in public school don't go back to school until February. This is their extended break, like summer vacation in the US. Tomorrow I am excited to get the preschool rolling. I have a lot of ideas I added to the last year's format. It won't look a lot different from the outside, but I am adding some English this year. I am also going to work more on the alphabet, letter recognition and the kids recognizing (and writing if age appropriate) their names. I think that is one area I could have done better in last year.
In the past I never included much English because I didn't want to be the North American who came in and pushed my own values on the people here. However, as more and more people of all ages ask me for help learning English I now see that it is beneficial for the preschoolers to learn basic English when it fits into the curriculum. I've asked around and everyone seems in agreement.
I feel a new sense of ownership about the preschool class. What I mean by this is that I feel a sense of personal investment and confidence in my abilities which I never felt before. In the past when people introduced me as a teacher I would stop them and clarify that I am not really a teacher. My degree is NOT in education. Teaching is not a gift I was particularly blessed with. However, recently I find myself telling people that I am a preschool teacher. I think that is a good thing. It is not prideful. It is owning what I am doing. Stepping into the shoes and accepting my role. I can't wait to see how my role will grow in 2014!
I am so excited to see all of the kids tomorrow! I still don't have a camera and my phone only works when it feels like it. The touch screen has quite a few dead spots. I will try to get some photos and upload them while I have internet at the church.
I hope you can sense the happiness, peace and self confidence God has recently placed in me. It feels great and I want to share it with you. Thank you for sticking by me. Thank you for all of the different ways you support me, even by reading this blog. (Did you know I am pretty sure there is a class of 28 people somewhere in Malaysia that read this blog? Interesting, huh? I repeatedly get 28 hits, all in the same day, from Malaysia!)
Feliz año!
Darn. The power just went out. Hope I can post this soon.
Note to self:
Keep bedroom door closed when using space heater because when the power goes out it gets cold quickly.
Keep something on hand for dinner that doesn't need to be heated.
And charge the Kindle while you do have power so that when you don't have power you can read.
Welcome to January in Honduras. Chin up. It will be over in 3 & 1/2 weeks.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
1/1/14
HAPpy New Year! Feliz año nuevo!
My evening was super fun as I expected. It started out mellow. Everyone was dressed up and looking great. We sat around chatting. The men played pool. We grazed on my cookies.
Then suddenly Marcela's Aunt looked startled and said it was midnight. I said NO and checked the clock on the phone in my hand, which read 12:00. I was in shock! It felt like 10 p.m. We grabbed each other and gave each other a big hug. Then she said a bunch of nice things about how happy she is to spend the holidays with me and that she hopes every year I spend in Honduras will be better and better. Everyone hugged and said Happy New Year.
Then we got in line for food. We had a delicious meal and the dancing began. They asked if I know how to dance. I told them all no, but I like to try. So we danced the rest of the night away.
My favorite part of the night was dancing with Hermida's father. He is in his 80's and the very definition of spry. Tonight as he was eating dinner a pool stick fell over behind him. He lept out of his seat to pick it up. This man does not move like any other person of his age. He is a beautiful dancer.
I felt a little silly dancing with him, because I had no clue what I was doing. But everyone kept telling me I was a great dancer, and I was having a good time, so I kept dancing. Marcela's uncle got video of me dancing one song with her grandfather. We watched the video together and he remarked, "Wow, technology these days."
This was one of my favorite New Years Eves ever. My other favorite was when my friend and I were invited to an Ethiopian restaurant we frequented. We didn't know that they were closing for good that night and that we were the only ones outside of the restaurant staff and their families who were invited. They did traditional Ethiopian dances all night and were great sports about teaching us. We danced Ethiopian style to Snoop Doggy Dog. It was an honor to be included as guests there.
That was how I felt tonight too. Now I am getting to know the family well. I can easily move from room to room and make conversation with whomever is there. I loved the dancing part. While merengue is difficult, I must say that Ethiopian is much harder. A few more merengue lessons and I might feel as good as they say I am.
It was a wonderful New Year's celebration.
My evening was super fun as I expected. It started out mellow. Everyone was dressed up and looking great. We sat around chatting. The men played pool. We grazed on my cookies.
Then suddenly Marcela's Aunt looked startled and said it was midnight. I said NO and checked the clock on the phone in my hand, which read 12:00. I was in shock! It felt like 10 p.m. We grabbed each other and gave each other a big hug. Then she said a bunch of nice things about how happy she is to spend the holidays with me and that she hopes every year I spend in Honduras will be better and better. Everyone hugged and said Happy New Year.
Then we got in line for food. We had a delicious meal and the dancing began. They asked if I know how to dance. I told them all no, but I like to try. So we danced the rest of the night away.
My favorite part of the night was dancing with Hermida's father. He is in his 80's and the very definition of spry. Tonight as he was eating dinner a pool stick fell over behind him. He lept out of his seat to pick it up. This man does not move like any other person of his age. He is a beautiful dancer.
I felt a little silly dancing with him, because I had no clue what I was doing. But everyone kept telling me I was a great dancer, and I was having a good time, so I kept dancing. Marcela's uncle got video of me dancing one song with her grandfather. We watched the video together and he remarked, "Wow, technology these days."
This was one of my favorite New Years Eves ever. My other favorite was when my friend and I were invited to an Ethiopian restaurant we frequented. We didn't know that they were closing for good that night and that we were the only ones outside of the restaurant staff and their families who were invited. They did traditional Ethiopian dances all night and were great sports about teaching us. We danced Ethiopian style to Snoop Doggy Dog. It was an honor to be included as guests there.
That was how I felt tonight too. Now I am getting to know the family well. I can easily move from room to room and make conversation with whomever is there. I loved the dancing part. While merengue is difficult, I must say that Ethiopian is much harder. A few more merengue lessons and I might feel as good as they say I am.
It was a wonderful New Year's celebration.
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