But since I rarely dry my hair and never put on makeup, I didn't allow myself quite enough time. Then when the new shirt was a little less modest than I remembered, I had to make a quick wardrobe change. (Got to church and other women were wearing less modest clothes than my new shirt, but thank God I ended up in a dress because that was better for the broiling hot weather.) In the end I left the house 15 minutes later than I hoped.
As I ran out the door Fany asked if she could get a ride to my old church. I said sure and we all jumped in the car. Then my phone beeped. It was another friend saying she wanted to go to my new church. I called her back and we decided she will go next week. I was a little frenzied by the time we hit the road.
My friend Ana loves my new church and had asked if she could go today, so I had plans to pick her up. I dropped off Fany and got stuck in incoming traffic at my old church, even though Fany was 15 minutes late for the start of their service. Then I swung by and picked up Ana and her kids and drove like a maniac to my new church.
All in all, what would normally take more than half an hour to do, took me 21 minutes, including the time I was stuck in the church parking lot. I did notice Ana was holding on to that handle above the door. (What is that handle there for anyway?) There is not much traffic on Sundays and speeding tickets don't exist here, so I made it to church at 10:01. They started the music as we walked through the doors and one whole row of chairs was empty, waiting just for us. Ha Hah!
The message was pretty awesome. It was about belief and not making excuses - asking God for exactly what you want with faith. It was also about living water, and the fact that the church is effective because the "water" there is not stagnant or old, it is LIVING water that flows like a river. The message was very inspiring. We left well fed once again, both spiritually and physically.
Today's fundraiser was tacos. Honduran tacos are what we would call flautas in the US, with shredded cabbage, shaved cheese and tomato sauce on top.
Samuel didn't want to eat them until he saw everyone else drinking cute little glass bottles of Coke. He asked if he could have a coke. I said only if he ate lunch, so he did.
This afternoon I didn't go to the afternoon church service that I usually go to in English. Fany and I decided it was too sweaty outside to do anything. Yuck! I was talking to Fany about health stuff, like how many people can't give blood because they have had some weird disease which excludes them. (Fany has had Malaria twice!) I told Fany that from now on I am going to choose all my friends according to whether they are able and WILLING to give blood.
She said that her friend was worried because the friend is turning 50 and everyone she knows gets diabetes at 50. I said it's because they drink so much Coke. Fany said her Mom doesn't drink Coke, but she does drink Pepsi - a huge glass for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And she is diabetic.
I don't think I have ever once seen anyone in Honduras drink milk with a meal. I see them drink a tiny, juice box sized carton of flavored milk as a snack every once in a while. But not as part of a daily diet. And drinking water is like a punishment to most people. Most people would not purposely choose to drink water. The amount of soda consumed here is insane. And if it is not soda it is Lipton Iced Tea, which is not much better.
Last weekend my church had a whole program on Saturday afternoon dedicated to teaching nutrition and healthy eating habits. Today we ate deep fried tacos and Coke. But we did talk about the living water. I wonder if that counts for anything.
Please keep me in your prayers this week as I am waiting to hear back from a lady who I would really like to serve with here in Honduras. I believe God brought us together for a reason and I am hoping that this is the time He has planned for us to start working together. I think she will call Monday or Tuesday. My personal prayer is that I can be an answer to her prayers for her ministry.
Speaking of calls, I got a cool phone call today! It was a friend from my home church in the US! She said that she got a package for $6/month added to her phone so she can call me and chat for an hour each month. Yay! I felt very special. This time we mostly talked business. But it will be nice in the future if I have a bad day, or a good day, and want to share it with someone. As she said, it is nicer than chatting on Facebook.
I got two people who are going to donate blood tomorrow. I am giving them a ride to make sure they go. One is scared and one is only doing it because his friend wants him to, so they aren't very self motivated. The least I can do is give them a ride.
No new updates on Clara, but I will get one tomorrow when I drop off the constancia - the sheet of paper that allows her to receive the blood. Last I knew she had only 6,000 platelets and a healthy person has 150,000. Her family remains faithful.
I have a cousin who went to Guatemala to serve in the Peace Corp., fell in love with the country and a man, and a year ago today she got married there. Now they are celebrating their one year anniversary with their new baby, Elijah. Yay!
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| Carolyn and Edyn on 2/22/14 (I was there!) |
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| One year later |
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| My $1.50 sweater! |
