Second Day with Denver Team - visit to Los Pinos

Janell braiding Maria Angelica's hair

Even Violet got her hair done

So many fun hair accessories to choose from

Wendi looking pretty with her daughter Breyden

Kitchen Crew

Men at work

Keeping the rice from sticking is a 2 man job

Belkis getting braids

Nino praying

Angelica praying

Lorenzo found another lap

Kevin always sets a good example for the little ones

Even Camila got her nails painted

Angelica with her new dress, braids
 and painted nails

Delicious lunch

Sound asleep

After the team finished serving the kids and cleaned all of the dishes we served them lunch.  Then we all went to Los Pinos to visit two homes.  First we went to visit Marlin's home.  It was one room with two beds and a kitchen area.  We prayed over the family and gave them a gift basket of food which brought Marlin to tears of gratitude.

We took a bus to safely get as close as possible

Kenia and Vanessa's house

Lourdes and Marlin embrace after we prayed over the home

Marlin and her two children with the gift basket

I finally got to visit Marlin's home!

Then we went to visit Ubence, Christian, Lesli and Cindi's home where they live with their "Grandmother".  They are not related to their Grandmother by blood, but she took in the four children and their mother and gave them a place to live when they were homeless.  She helped their mother conquer addiction and hold a steady job.  We are so grateful for Grandma!

View of Los Pinos

The Team with Ubence's family

Christian, Grandma, Lesli and Ubence

Cindi must be hiding somewhere

Denver Team at the Breakfast Program/Set aside for a mission

First we had some free time for everyone to get to know each other informally.  Soccer, volleyball, jump rope and bikes.

Then the little kids were bathed, lotioned and dressed in new clothes!  The loved it!

Memo LOVED getting lotion on his belly!

Memo must have said something funny, as usual

Stopping to look at photos

Even the baths were fun!

Memo feeling great - clean, with ALL new clothes, inside and out!

The girls got their hair braided after they bathed

Then we gathered and the team introduced themselves

We sang

Then the team served the kids, and even washed the dishes afterward.

The kids felt every special

Can't forget to brush our teeth and take our vitamins!

Isabelle was thrilled to be reunited with Ever.
She didn't even recognize him in his special new glasses.

We closed the day with special time with Jairo
The theme was "Here Am I, Send Me"

Today was a really fun day.  It was HOT.  Like REALLY hot.  It's been close to, or over 100 degrees in the city for almost a week.  A few of the team members are sick, but they all showed up with smiles and a lot of positive energy.

We started with a time of prayer with just the team.  They are a group of high schoolers from a Christian school in Littleton, CO.  I felt embarrassed because I cried when it was my turn to pray for the team.  I asked God to keep their hearts open to all that the Holy Spirit might offer them. They are staying in the same place I stayed five years ago.  I keep thinking about how it felt to be in their shoes.  I never imagined that I  would be called here to serve.  I think about how that trip five years ago changed so many other women on my team.  Some of them are now my closest friends.  This is an important experience for the team.  I want them to get everything they can from every second that they are here.

Next we had some free time to play.  I spent most of that time running around helping out where I saw a need.  I stayed busy the whole time, but Lourdes is supposed to be teaching me how to lead the team.  I think maybe it is hard for her to let go.  I searched for everything I could see that needed to be done, but Lourdes still led.  At the end of the day she was exhausted and her back was hurting.  I asked her please to let me do more tomorrow so that she can rest.

The team bathed the younger kids.  I wasn't sure about that idea at first, but they LOVED it!  Each of them got a whole new set of clothes - even socks and underwear.  Then the girls got fancy braids in their hair.  I know they felt very special.

The kids all sat at tables covered in table clothes and were served pupusas by the team.  I heard a lot of kids say "thank you", which made me proud.  They are learning!  As they finished, the team cleared the dishes and washed them.  I am sure the children of the Breakfast Program are not accustomed to being treated as though they are at a full service restaurant.  They are usually so good about washing their dishes, it was nice to see them being treated to a special day.

After all of the kids left I got to sit and eat with the team.  Most enjoyed the pupusas, but a couple stuck to PBJs.

We ended the day with a presentation from Jairo.  He talked about the fact that each of the team members were called here for a purpose.  None are here by accident.  He talked about the community we serve and showed a video about "Here I am, Send Me".  He kept it short because it was very hot and some of the team were tired.  A bus came to the church and picked them up.  They were talking about going back to play basketball.  I think they are more likely to be taking naps :)

On the way home Jairo stopped at a shop to buy bread.  The shop also sells gelato, so I treated Lourdes, Joss and the translators to an ice cream.  It was delicious.  One of the translators said he had a headache from the heat, but the ice cream took his headache away.  (Jairo skipped the gelato because of his diabetes.)  We got home as clouds rolled in.  Then the thunder started.  I was hoping to relax and watch a few sitcoms, but the power went off right away and hasn't come back on yet.  I have learned to keep my phone and my Kindle charged for such times.  At least I can read for a while.

Yesterday at church Jairo's message was entitled, "Set Aside for a Mission".  First he talked directly to the team about them being in Honduras for a purpose.  He also talked to the whole church about how I was called here.  He told the church how I prayed for three years before I came in God's time.  He shared with them that yes, I coddle Carlos and I care for Lorenzo, but I am here for my own spiritual growth as well.  He told them about the life I left behind to come here - that I had a good job (my Mother might dispute that), a nice car, a great house.  He explained that I am not here just to pass through in my travels.  Jairo told the whole church that I was called by God to come to Honduras.  I felt really special.

I am starting to appreciate things more, like I used to when I first got here.  I think that I went through a few months that were difficult, trying to figure out where I fit in, who to trust, how things work in this strange place.  Now I feel like it is time for me to sit back and enjoy the ride.  I am sure I will face some more struggles, but I have a good support system.  I have learned it is important to address things more quickly and not let them simmer.

On Thursday, I will have been in Honduras for one year.  I look forward to the future with a renewed sense of energy, enthusiasm, and joy in my heart.  My faith in God has increased and I know He will provide exactly the experience that I am supposed to have in the days, months and years to come.  All I have to do is say, "Here I am."

Stuff

It was 102 degrees today at 2 pm in the city.  It was so hot, Lourdes told the kids to go home early and get out of the sun.  All of my friends in Northern NY got a ton of snow today!

Tomorrow Lourdes and Jairo will go pick up the kids at El Sembrador and bring them home for Easter Break.

Got some new medicine for my stomach that seems to be working well.

I'm working on this one.

Found my calling

Wore a pony tail today for the first time in 9 months.  Now that my hair is not falling out I can wear a ponytail again.

Spent most of the day writing emails for Lourdes.  I believe that being Lourdes and Jairo's voice in English may be a big part of the reason I was called to come here.  Although they speak excellent English, Lourdes prefers that I do her writing.  Actually we write together.  We make a great writing team, if I do say so myself.  We raise money for the boys to go to private school, we arranged their trip to the states last summer, and now we are asking for prayer as it seems they may move to the states soon.

I am a little nervous about the Sarmientos leaving.  I have been praying about whether or not I should be here without Lourdes and Jairo.  I have also talked with Jairo about my safety if he is not here.  Jairo said that as long as I keep the same schedule we have now and don't go downtown alone I will be fine.  In fact he said that with he and Lourdes gone, my presence here will be even more important.  They will need an English speaking person to lead any groups who visit and to maintain contact with the English speaking churches in the states.

Jairo says that tomorrow I will finally have my first opportunity to buy a car.  He says it's a good one!  Part of me is really excited to have some independence.  Part of me is worried about the additional costs of owning a car.  I am also nervous about driving in Honduras.  NYC, downtown Chicago and LA are a piece of cake compared to driving here.  It is completely lawless, and on top of that motorcycles wind their ways between the lanes and come out of nowhere.  I will need eyes in the back of my head and God by my side.  They did put in stop lights recently, but people are still learning to use them.  Honduras is a crazy place.

I spent most of the evening at Lourdes and Jairo's house.  We did more writing - this time for Jairo, ate dinner, and Skyped with friends from Salt Lake.  I was eager to get home because I wanted to make a special treat for Jairo as tomorrow is el dia del padre - Father's Day.  We didn't get home until after 9, but I did get the Key Lime Bars made before I crashed.

Stomach is feeling better.  It hurt a few times today, but is much better overall.  Good night!  Tomorrow I may be the proud owner of a new (used) car!

Happy Fathers/St, Patrick's Day

Today was a gorgeous day.  Nice and warm, even up in the mountains.  My stomach started out a little sore, but felt better after we went to the pharmacy and got some meds.

Tuesday is Father's Day in Honduras, so we celebrated Father's Day today at church.  Two teens got up and spoke about their love and appreciation for their fathers.  One was Aaron.  He was funny, but also very loving.  Carlos, my landlord, gave the message today.  He spoke about how to be a good father.  The fathers were asked to go to the front.  The church prayed for the fathers and the teens presented them with a small gift.  It was nice.

After church I was invited to go with my landlords' family to celebrate Hermida's father's 82nd birthday.  In the end we decided it would be best if I didn't go because they were serving bean soup with lots of meat, which would not be good for my tender tummy.  In Honduras it can be seen as disrespectful if you don't eat a healthy portion of food.  I didn't want to be disrespectful to anyone.  I think I could have gone and just explained, but...

After spending the afternoon home alone I realize I should have found something to do.  I got a little homesick.  Couldn't find any corned beef at the store, so I wasn't able to cook corned beef and cabbage for St Patrick's Day.  Usually I like to spend a lot of time alone, but today it got to be a little bit too much.

Then I got a visit from Mincho (nickname for Benjamin), my landlord's cat, as I was sitting on my balcony watching all of the tourists drive home from La Tigra.  Mincho has figured out how to jump onto the roof and climb onto the balcony where he sits and yowls.  Apparently Jetty is Mincho's new love interest, although I'm not sure why because Jetty is fixed.  After I got done soaking up the sun on the balcony, I went inside.  Mincho moved to the windowsill and peered inside to keep tabs on Jetty and me.  Mincho and Jetty often sit on opposite sides of the window screen and sniff at each other.  It is a peaceful exchange, so I have never deterred it.  But from now on I will.  After a few sniffs today Mincho turned around and sprayed into the window!  I grabbed some vinegar and a spray bottle and chased Mincho away.  Now I know why it smells bad near the windows downstairs.  I'll clean them up tomorrow.

I can't go out there tonight because of the fleas and ticks.  I showed Marcela some crazy bug bites I've been finding since Thursday.  She asked if I've been walking outside.  I said yes, to take out the garbage.  She told me that I am being attacked by ticks or fleas when I take the garbage to the place where it is burned.  She said she has the same problem but nobody else in her family is sensitive to it.  She told her father and he said they will fumigate the outdoors this week.

Today I took out the garbage after church.  I dressed in socks, tucked my pants into boots, then as soon as I got back into the house I stripped out of my clothes and showered.  I don't know how else to keep from being eaten by the bugs.  Of course an hour later I discovered that I had forgotten to empty one garbage can.  I'll take that one out tomorrow when I scrub around the windows.  Then I will shower and check myself for ticks again.

Party like it's 2013

Yesterday the second grade class from Pinares, one of the best schools in Honduras, came to the church to visit the Breakfast Program and meet the kids from Los Pinos.  This is an annual event that is fun for both groups.  Many of the parents from Pinares came to visit as well.  They did activities with the kids, sang songs and served hot dogs.  It was cool seeing the kids from Pinares bring each of the kids from the Breakfast Program their plate of food.  Then they sat next together and ate.  I was proud of the kids from the Breakfast Program.  They remembered to say thank you and did really well hosting their new friends.

Kenia, Cessia, Vanessa wait for their Pinares partners before they begin to eat.
Misael can't quite wait.

Misael working on his art project

Christian and Mainor

Pinares Kids working with Mainor and Luis

Many of you have been praying about Bismar's eye.  He got out of bed and came to church for Youth Group on Saturday.  He was given a stern talking to and sent home.  Jairo explained to Bismar that ulimately it is Bismar's eye, but that this is very serious and if Bismar wants have any chance of regaining sight in his eye he must be in bed for a full two weeks.

Monday night Jairo made enormous cheeseburgers and we had a big feast at the Sarmiento home.  A friend from K2 called the Sarmientos that night.  It was nice to talk to him and hear a real voice say that our friends in Salt Lake are praying for us.  Wednesday night Joss, Marcela and I made cookies at my house.  It was fun hosting guests.  We listened to music, sang and ate almost as many cookies as we baked.

Actually I only ate 2 cookies, which was why I was surprised my stomach hurt all night and the following day.  I am not sure what is up, but I stayed home from the Breakfast Program today.  I feel better, but still not right.

Yesterday Lourdes found these glasses. She made sure nobody escaped without a photo :)

Me, Lourdes, Don Juan

Euncie and Walter Z.

Jairo, Luis and Don Juan

More Fires on the Mountain

Yesterday was the first time I thought to myself, "Maybe I am not cut out for this."  Are we supposed to have favorite kids?  I don't know.  I care about them all, but I do have some kids that I connect with best.  Those are my favorites.

Bismar has been special to me since I visited for three months in 2009.  He turned 13 that summer.  I got to celebrate his birthday with him.  We also went to a concert with a group from the church.  Everyone else sat at the back, but Bismar and Mainor were so small that they could not see, so I told them to follow me and we made it all of the way up to the front, up against the stage.  It was a Christian band and there was a time of prayer.  I wrote about it in this same blog that day.  A girl who was standing next to Bismar turned to him and told him that he is important and loved by God.  She prayed over him for about five minutes and the things she said brought him to tears.  It was a very special moment which I felt honored to share.  It was so cool to see an older girl tell a little boy from Los Pinos about God's love for him and that he is special.

Since I knew Bismar, I already knew that he was special.  There is something undeniably special about Bismar.  I know God has big plans for him.  Bismar has been at the private school, El Sembrador, longer than any other student from our church.  He gets straight A's and the highest grades in the school.  He works hard at everything he does.  He wakes at 5 a.m., goes outdoors (so as not to disturb his roommates) and reads his bible until breakfast.

Bismar is now 16.  He came home from school on Wednesday.  The school sent him home because there was something wrong with his eye.  Bismar said that the week before on Wednesday he lost sight in his right eye.  He saw flashing lights, had headaches and was dizzy.  The school nurse put drops in his eye and told him to rest.  Bismar didn't understand what was happening and was scared.  We tried to get him seen by an eye doctor here, but she never came into the office Wednesday so they returned on Thursday where they waited for hours to be told by the opthomologist that nothing was wrong with his eye.

He was even more scared when the eye dr couldn't tell him what was wrong.  So was I.  I thought of an 18 year old boy I worked with in Chicago who had the same symptoms.  He had a brain tumor.  When they told me that nothing was wrong with Bismar's eye, but that he needed to see a neurologist I went into one of the classrooms at the church, locked the door, and cried.  As I cried I sent out a letter asking for prayer from my prayer team.  I talked to Lourdes and Jairo.  They both thought the same as I did.  We believed something was growing in Bismar's brain and pinching an optic nerve.  I was so scared.  The symptoms were the same as the boy from Chicago.  I didn't know how I could face that again.  Yet I knew that God has big plans for Bismar.  I knew that Bismar could not end up blind, unable to use the left side of his body, with aphasia that stole his words and memory.  That would not be the future for Bismar.

Wednesday night and Thursday Jairo and Eunice called every contact they have, trying to get a brain scan for Bismar.  They wanted the scan so they could show it to the neurologist at a 4:30 appointment on Thursday.  But they were not able to arrange for a scan until Saturday morning.  I thought the neurologist would charge us for his time and tell us to come back with the results from the scan, but I kept praying.  So did many, many people.

I was still upset and wondering if maybe I am not cut out to be a missionary in Honduras as we drove home on Wednesday. I was trying to be positive, but it was hard.  However, once I got home I had the strangest sense of complete peace.  I stayed up until 1 a.m. praying, but it was not because I couldn't sleep.  It was because I felt God asking me to talk to Him, to tell Him what I wanted from this situation, to confide in Him.  I woke up at 6 a.m. and prayed more.  Once again, it was not a prayer of desperation.  It was more of a conversation.  I was talking to God with a deep inner peace about the outcome of the day ahead.

We got to the appointment at 4:00, hoping to be first to see the doctor.  I didn't know the doctor came to his office yesterday for the sole purpose of seeing Bismar.  We waited until 6 for the Dr to arrive.  He asked a lot of questions, but the final diagnosis was one I never have heard of before.  Bismar got some sort of infection.  Possibly allergies or a virus.  We may never know.  The antibodies which are fighting the infection are attacking the optic nerves and damaging the nerves, causing all of those symptoms.  The doctor prescribed medication and bed rest.  Now we just have to pray that Bismar will regain full vision in his right eye.  PRAISE GOD!

This morning I got to the church and immediately got to work writing emails to my prayer team.  (The internet at my house hasn't been working lately.)  As I wrote I heard a sound that was like crackling tin foil.  Don Juan came into the office and said, "It is very close."  I didn't know what he was talking about and was focused on sharing the good news with everyone praying for Bismar.  After I signed the letter I decided to add a P.S.  I asked my prayer team to pray for the fires in Honduras.  Then I closed my laptop and went outside to see this:

More fires at the church

Although I had been sitting in the room on the left where only the tops of four windows are shown, I was so deep in thought I didn't realize the cracking tin foil was a fire.  It was not nearly as scary this time.  Luis, who has buckets of water in the photo, had spent hours with Don Juan cutting down and raking all of the dead grass two weeks ago when we had the fire across the street.  Therefore, this one did not burn like it could have.  Also the wind was not strong.  It flared up in little bursts until it left behind nothing but dirt.  Now the ground looks like the ground that burned all around my house.  Of course it is never safe to have a fire near the buildings, but this time it was more controlled.

On the way to the church today we saw the biggest fires we have seen so far.  They filled a valley and were climbing the mountains near where we live.  We are praying for rain as well as healing for Bismar's eye.  I think I am cut out to be a missionary in Honduras.  I just need to give myself some room for grace because sometimes it is not easy.

Yesterday morning as I was praying I pulled out my devotional.  It read:

Let me help you through this day.  The challenges you face are far too great for you to handle alone.  You are keenly aware of your helplessness in the scheme of events you face.  This awareness opens up a choice: to doggedly go it alone or to walk with Me in humble steps of dependence.  Actually, this choice is continually before you, but difficulties highlight the decision-making process.  So, consider it all a joy whenever you are enveloped in various trials.  These are gifts from Me, reminding you to rely on Me alone.

March 7, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young