Two weeks of team hosting is over. There were a lot of tears shed on the second group's good bye. It's funny. You never know how God is working in people.
I will miss sitting on Don Juan's bench and greeting the kids each morning with Becky. That was my favorite part of the day. We'd watch the kids climb up the hill and I'd share with her a little story about the kids while we put on their name tags.
Things that I just take for granted now struck her hard. That is why it is good for me to have groups around. She had never heard a child pray, "Thank you God, for one more day of life." - the traditional prayer opener of almost every kid I know.
We didn't get to talk that much about ourselves, we mostly talked about the kids. But I think we are kindred spirits. And we both have black cats.
I was invited to visit them where they were staying in El Hatillo at nice retreat center. We had dinner, a time of prayer and I shared some stories with them. Then we played cards. The retreat center, they said, served mostly North American style food. I had pizza and it messed up my stomach that night. Apparently my stomach is not used to North American food any more.
This morning they came to church and then I met them later at CCI, an English service. I haven't been there in a while, but I still recognize a lot of the same people who have been attending there since 2009. They are doing a lot of cool things. I have always been told by the people of Iglesia en Transformación that I should feel free to attend the English service at CCI if I want to. Until now I never wanted to. But having two teams in a row and spending time with North Americans has made me realize I do miss that in my life. There are some things that I will never "get" about the Honduran culture and some things they will never really understand about me and my culture. Sometimes it's nice to be with people who speak the same language. (I don't really mean that literally.)
Between the two church services I had lunch with a lady from Iglesia en Transformación and her family. That was really nice. Then Fany and her family came back from their home in the country this evening. It is nice to know so many people care for and about me. No matter what is going on, there are always people here I can turn to. That is a huge blessing and not something I take for granted. In the US it was easier for me to feel alone. Here, people make a point to tell me that I am not alone, I am loved and appreciated. How often do you hear those things? I hear them almost every day.
Today was my last day of speaking English for a while. Spanish isn't such a struggle anymore, but sometimes it is nice to be able to say exactly what you mean and know that your point should be received as you intended it.
Pictures from the last day of serving with the team to follow...
