A few bumps in the road

What a day! The power went out at my house so I ate cereal and figured I'd have time to buy lunch/dinner between physical therapy and prayer group. But the power was out at the physical therapists so I had to use all but 13 Lempiras ($.50) to pay for my PT in cash.

On the way from PT to prayer group I planned to drop off the paperwork for my MRI.

Today the physical therapist asked how long it would take. I told her I would drop off the papers after my appointment and from there someone would pick up the papers, take them to another office, (hopefully) approve payment, and decide where to send me for the procedure. I figure it will take about 2 weeks. The therapist started having a fit, "Mary! You need to tell them it is URGENT!" "Well," I thought to myself, "I have been asking for an MRI for 6 weeks and it was never urgent when I was the one who thought it needed to be done."

"I have already been like this for nine weeks," I told her. "Two more is not going to make much difference, is it?"

"But something is really wrong! You are not getting better!"

"I know."

No sense in saying that I have been trying to tell her boss that all along.

My phone got enough of a charge in the car on the way to the PT office that I could call the place where I had to drop off the papers. It was 3:08 pm. They told me their office was closed for the rest of the day. I felt really frustrated! Finally this thing with my arm is urgent, and now the offices are closed at 3 p.m. on a Thursday? They didn't bother to tell me that the whole building was on lock down and crawling with police because a lawyer was just stabbed and killed there. When I read that in the news, I have to admit I felt a little better. Not better that the man was killed, of course, but better because I could understand why they needed to close the office early.

I will drop off the papers tomorrow. Today I had to ask the pastor to lend me some money to eat. I thought I would spend 2 hours thinking about food, rather than praying. But prayer group was cut short. We prayed for Pastora Ruth's mother and then the Pastora headed home to be with her mom.

Everything I planned to do did not turn out right today.

Alexander taught me how to do the rest of the photography stuff. Turns out, I wasn't crazy. I couldn't do the rest of the things because I didn't have the right programs on my computer yet. But I have those now, so my photos should look extra sharp.

Here are two I am working on now:

Pastora Ruth praying for Saul on his birthday

Nidia opened the church service this week

Catch up

It's been a busy few days!

Saturday I picked up a car full of ladies and we went to a hormone seminar. It was on the side of the mountain near El Hatillo with the most gorgeous view of the city! There was a general presentation. Then we each had a private time to discuss what we are experiencing. We learned a lot and feel hopeful this information could change our lives. It was also a wonderful time of fellowship in a beautiful location.

View from our seats

The ladies

Translating for some of my peers

Beautiful Tegucigalpa

My friends and I

Honduran friends and missionary friends

A storm blew in at the end of the day

Sunday was a looong day. We end our week of fasting with a time of prayer that starts an hour before the church service so we all arrived an hour early. During church the kids celebrated The Day of the Child. The Day of the Child is a huge deal here. Besides Mother's Day, it is the most celebrated holiday in Honduras. I took lots of photos.

Piñatas!

After the service it was my turn to sell food for the weekly fundraiser. We served fried platanos topped with beans, cheese and mantequilla. We sold out so quickly I didn't even get to try one!

When everything was clean from the fundraiser Alexander taught me more about the photo editing program for the church FB page. Then we had another meeting after church to plan for a barbecue fundraiser in October and orchestral concert fundraiser in November. Some of the college kids needed a ride home. By the time I got home it was after 3 p.m. I was starving.

Monday I woke up at a strange sound outside my window. Most people had the day off but Fany was hard at work. The noise I heard was raking with our three pronged rake. She has been hurting lately from her fibromyalgia, so I got out of bed and helped with lawn work, as best I could with my messed up wrist. In the end I had a sore wrist and she had a sore back, but the yard looked beautiful! She chopped branches and trimmed trees until she had blisters from her machete.

Tuesday was Honduran Independence Day. Everything was closed. There were parades all day long. Many people watch the parades live, but a lot choose to avoid the chaos and watch on tv. The main topic of conversation on Honduran Independence Day is about the competitions between the girls who march in the parades dressed in short skirts.

Little girls can become very sexualized in Honduras. At 2 or 3 years old, many are posing with their chest pushed up and rear end pushed out. People from other countries who visit talk about posing like a Honduran girl. It is crazy how young the kids learn to do this. Many times it is their own mother taking the photo, encouraging them to pose that way.

I don't want to post a photo of the kids, but here is a photo of Fisher and her family posing like Honduran women:

Funny for adults. Not so cute if they were little girls

I spent Honduran Independence Day with my church at a one day retreat. Lots of people came, I'd guess about 60. It was a good time of fellowship and re-commitment to our goals. At the retreat I got some good photos, but I don't know how to publish them with the new program Alexander is teaching me to use. Photos to come...