No Bacteria

Yesterday morning I stopped at the lab to drop off a specimen to be tested.  The night before I hadn't gotten much sleep.  My stomach hurt a lot and I was nervous about how I was going to fit everything I had to do into one day.  I had a long day with several important meetings I needed to attend, plus the test and then getting the results.

First stop was the lab.  As soon as I got back into my car, I burst into tears.  I cried all of the way to the church.  Then I wiped off my face long enough to appear half way normal so I wouldn't scare off customers when I entered Pastor Peter's business, which is downstairs from the church.  Pastor Peter was there waiting for the meeting with my home church.  He took one look at me and told me to sit down.  His poor assistant, my friend Martita, didn't know what to say.

We sat down.  I told him I had been up all night.  In fact I really hadn't slept or eaten since Tuesday.  And I was so scared to take that medicine because people say it makes you feel like you are going to die.  Then I started crying again.  Pastora Ruth arrived at that moment and saw I was falling apart.  She asked what was going on and I explained I was scared and tired and my stomach hurt.  She said, "Let's pray."  We grabbed hands, bowed our heads and she prayed.  Right then the team from my home church walked in.  They thought I was crying from the joy of seeing them, which was better than letting them know the truth.  I was having a breakdown about the idea of having to take that medicine for the bacteria.

My home church from the US had an amazing time of prayer with my Honduran Pastors.  Pastora Ruth explained that although they are here to serve, she would like to serve them.  She read from the bible about Jesus washing the disciples feet.  Then she prayed over each team member.  It appeared that each member of the team was touched by the Holy Spirit in that time.  I was happy they got to experience my new church home and understand why it's such a good fit for me.

Afterward we went to lunch.

In the afternoon I had the predication class.  The mission team went to see the sights and dropped me back off at my church.  Unfortunately the electricity was off, so we couldn't have class.  Pastora Ruth couldn't use the projector or make copies of her presentation for us with no electricity.  We had a nice time of prayer instead.

We prayed again for my tummy, which still hurt but was better with the meds I got Friday.

I remembered when I was in kindergarten.  One morning my mom was dressing me for school and she said, "Uh oh.  You can't go to school today.  You have chicken pox."  I didn't want to miss a day of school so I did what any reasonable five year old would do.  I stamped my feet and said, "I will NOT have chicken pox."

I remember my mom laughed and told me, "I am sorry honey, but you do have chicken pox."  There was more foot stomping and declaring that I would NOT have chicken pox.  But Mom was right.  I did.  I had chicken pox.

This time, in my little girl head, I wanted to stomp my foot and tell God, "I will NOT have the bacteria.  I will NOT."  That is basically the way I prayed.  With no foot stomping.

The prayer time lasted a long time.  We prayed for the team's time in Honduras.  We just prayed and prayed.  It was relaxing.  At one point Pastora Ruth asked Octavio to get out the banners (flags) and we worshiped with flags.  It was my first time to do that.

The lights came on eventually, but by then it was too late.  We spent the rest of class time, and more, sitting around talking and joking like I have never joked before with those people.  There was a lot of teasing and we were all cracking up really hard.  I loved seeing Pastora Ruth almost falling out of her seat from laughing so hard.  It was awesome.

On the way home I stopped at the medical clinic to get my test results.  I expected to get a typical Honduran run-around.  However, God completely cleared my path in that clinic.  When I walked in there was a long line at the cashier.  I took my place at the end of the line.  Right away the cashier noticed me, called me from the end of the line, and said, "You are here for results, right? You need to go through the double doors and talk to the man back there."

I was grateful to be pulled out of that line.  At the back desk there was no wait at all.  The man took my receipt, reached into a box and pulled out an envelope.  He told me to wait in the waiting room for a doctor.  On my way to the waiting room I looked at the results.  Praise God!  It said for bacteria Pylori - NEGATIVE.  Just yesterday the doctor told me I had every single symptom and he was sure I had that bacteria.  Only because the treatment is so rough, he wanted to do the test first.

I called Pastora Ruth and Pastor Peter to tell them the good news - no bacteria and best of all, no medicine for the bacteria!  I thanked them for praying with me and for me over the past two days.  I do not have to take the horrible medicine that makes you feel near death!  Hooray!!

The doctor called me in as soon as I got off the phone with Pastora Ruth.  He had no other patients.  No five hour wait today.

He had me lie down on a table.  First he poked, then tapped at my stomach.  By the time he was done I was worried again.  It hurt all over in random, strange places that made no sense to me. Appendicitis?  An ovarian cyst that was about to explode?

"What is wrong with me?" I asked.  The doctor kind of laughed to dispel my obvious concern.

He said, "You are full of gas.  We can't know what it is caused by.  Probably stress or anxiety.  It could be diet.  But your colon is very irritated.  That is why you have pain and your stomach is distended."

He gave me another medicine to take for two days. and said I should continue the one I started the day before.  He said I will need to watch my diet and lifestyle to find out what exactly is causing this.

I told him I am just glad I don't have to take that awful medicine for the bacteria.  He had to take it once and it was absolutely horrible, he said.  The way he explained it, medicine is so strong it kills everything and makes you feel like it is killing you.  And that was coming from a doctor.

I stopped by the cash register (which now had no line whatsoever!) to pick up my new medicine.  Then I had a moment of worry.  On the internet it had said tests can be skewed if you took PeptoBismol.  I had taken a ton.  What if I really did have the bacteria and it just didn't show up?  I had to get back into that emergency room and ask the doctor, or I would never have peace.  How could I get back in there?  I watched for nurses to walk by, hoping to grab one and ask her to take me back to the doctor.

Just as they handed me the medicine, guess who was headed out of the building?  My doctor!  God showed me favor through that whole medical visit.  The doctor stopped and kindly answered my question.  No, the test would not give a false negative for PeptoBismol, he said.

Relieved and ready to move forward with treatment I headed home.  My stomach is still sore, but at least I do not have the bacteria.  I just need to watch what I eat and relax.

God had my back yesterday.  He heard my cries and He answered.  Praise the Lord I do not have the bacteria.

"The Bacteria"

I haven't written in a while.  A few hours after I finished my last blog entry I got sick.  I dragged myself out of bed a couple of times when I no other choice.  Standing upright hurt.  Each step jolted pain into my stomach.

After drinking almost a whole bottle of PeptoBismol between last night and this morning, I decided this is not normal.  I need to go to the doctor.  Normally I go to Dr. Gustavo, but now I have insurance, so I figured I'd try it out for the first time.

I found the clinic at 11 a.m.  At almost 4 p.m., they called my name.  I have never been in a place that air conditioned in Honduras.  It was so cold kids were crying specifically about the cold.  The woman next to me was wearing her son's winter jacket.  It was like the North Pole and there was no warm cave to hibernate inside.

The only thing I could do to take my mind off the cold was make a list of my symptoms on my cell phone.  I couldn't risk getting in front of that doctor after such a long wait and forget any critical details.

After carefully reading each of my symptoms to the doctor, he said, "You have every symptom of (some long word) bacteria."  Otherwise famously known as "the bacteria".  It is the same one Fany had 2 weeks ago when she took medicine that she thought was going to make her die.  So I asked the next reasonable question.  Would the medicine make me think I was dying? Yes, said the doctor.  The medicine is worse than the symptoms of the bacteria.  It is really horrible and it is a very long treatment.  I didn't ask how long.  I already know Fany is in her third week and not done yet.  That is enough to know for now.

He asked how long I've been in Honduras.  Three years with no history of stomach problems.  (Except when I traveled to Guatemala.)  He asked if I have changed any habits lately or if I am eating new things.  I did start buying cheese at a different market lately.  Otherwise, everything is the same.  Yup.  It is the bacteria.  And on top of all of this good news, the exam is done through fecal matter.

So tomorrow I have to go back with a specimen.  But I haven't eaten food in so long, I'm not sure that is possible.  Sorry if that was too graphic for you.

I went to my prayer group and we prayed for healing so that I will not have to take that awful medicine.  Then I treated myself to miso soup, which seems to be settling really well and was the only thing that doesn't bring over an instant wave of nausea.  Maybe I am healed!

I called my Mom on the way home from enjoying the soup.  She sounded close to tears and asked me to please move back to the US.  But she didn't word it exactly that way.  Even though I've heard it before, it always feels terrible to hear my mother so upset.

A group from my home church in the US arrived today.  If I am not healed, I am thinking about putting off the treatment until after they leave.  I may not be the best company in this state.  But once I start taking that medicine, if I am anything like Fany and the doctor expect, I won't be able to leave the house for at least 2 weeks.  This is bad timing!

Not thinking of that.  Focusing on how well the miso soup is digesting in my belly.  Praying that my test results will be negative for the bacteria tomorrow.  And grateful I don't have dengue, or worse, the chikungunya.

What a perfectly messed up day!

Would you believe that a series of seemingly negative events caused our day to be better than we could have ever imagined?

The plan was for me to pick up Molly, then Jennifer (the girl Molly is mentoring) and Erika this morning to go look at schools for them.  I was supposed to pick up Molly at 9:15 and the other two at 9:30.  But at 9:18, I was awakened from the deepest of sleeps by the water man yelling, "Agua Azul!"

I bolted out of bed because I know he passes by around 9:15 and sure enough, I was late.  This cold still seems to be getting the best of me.  Last night I had an awful headache and this morning I still have a sore throat, cough, and runny nose.  That is the only reason I can imagine I am sleeping so much.

BUT, later we would see that my sleeping late was very clearly part the plan God had for us today.

I called Molly, freaking out and told her I had just woken up.  She told me to pass by and grab the girls first, since they would be waiting in the street.  I was able to reach Erika before she left home, so she knew I was running late.

Molly's plans for the day had been changed too.  Not by me oversleeping, but by the fact that the kids' bus never arrived.  Finally after an hour of waiting outside, Molly called the school and Oh, they forgot to tell her that school is cancelled today and for the rest of the week.

Molly had been sending me messages all morning, which I slept through.  That's another strange thing.  She thought we would have to change plans.  Then she sent me a final message saying she found a babysitter.  But the babysitter could only stay for a couple of hours so we were on a tight schedule.

Each of these events - me oversleeping, the kids not having school, and the babysitter needing to leave early, meant that we had to change our plans.  We intended to visit 4 colleges today.  But there would only be time for two.  Molly had done research about what colleges were reasonably priced and offer the classes that Jennifer wants.  Our best bet was the Catholica.  Since we were now short on time and it was closest to Molly's house we went there first, although it was not our original plan.

At the Catholica they said that if Jennifer passed the entrance exam today, she could start classes tomorrow.  She just needed a copy of her ID and transcripts from high school.  We had enough time to run home, drop Jennifer off to grab her stuff, and go to INFOP again to check on classes for Erika.

This time at INFOP they out-rightly were rude.  One lady was nice, and trying to help us, but the lady who told us she would call us when the next classes started kept butting in and saying, "I told them the schedule already."  "They don't want the schedule that is available."

Finally I just tuned her out and asked the nice lady what we need to do because Erika is not getting any calls and she is already enrolled.  The nice lady told us to go to a place that was a few miles up the road and ask for a man named Hever.  So we went.

It was right next to a Pizza Hut.  Molly ran in and grabbed us pizza for lunch.  Erika and I talked to Hever in the strangest, darkest public building I have ever been inside.  There was a line of people behind us, all of them saying they were signed up for the same computer class as Erika, but none of them were called either.  So it wasn't for my fair gringa skin that Erika was left out.

After talking with Hever I feel better. He said the computer class is now closed.  BUT there is an English class, which is what Erika really wants most, and it will start in June.  They don't know the dates but he gave me two phone numbers to call him if he hasn't called us by the beginning of June.

So, I have faith that Erika will enroll in English classes in June and get some studying in before she goes back to school full time.

We had our pizza at Molly's house, then a time of prayer for Jennifer to pass the test.

Molly left to go look at some cars she would like to buy with my mechanic and I took Jennifer back for the test.  Turned out we had a lot of running around to do still, and things they hadn't told us about before.  Thank God I didn't just drop her off, thinking it was just a matter of taking the test.

... (Three hours later)...  Molly called.  Jennifer took the entrance exam twice at other schools and studied hard to prepare but could never pass.  Apparently God did not want Jennifer to attend those schools because Jennifer just passed the entrance exam at the Catholic University with flying colors!!!!!!

We went to sign her up. find out about transportation (which seems to be the only issue) and get her student ID.  Jennifer kept saying. "This is all happening so fast!"  But she has been ready and applying to colleges for 6 or 8 months.  So, today God made things move fast for her.

The only bad part is that she has to travel through Los Pinos at 5 a.m. to catch a bus at 6 a.m. You'd think the "bad guys" would be asleep at that hour, but it is actually a prime time for assaults because they can watch and see that the same people are coming and going at the same time every day.  Beautiful Jennifer would be a perfect target.  It is not at all safe and Jennifer told us honestly that she is really scared about that.  She and Molly are going to look at bus schedules and class schedules again, in hopes of figuring out another option.  But otherwise Jennifer is now a student, ready to start classes tomorrow!

I also noticed today that the headlines of the newspaper were TOQUE DE QUEDA.  That means "curfew".  As far as I know there hasn't been a toque de queda since 2009 when the president was taken from office and people were protesting violently in the streets.  They only implement toque de quedas when things have reached a level of danger and violence that police can no longer maintain control.

Today I saw more military police than I normally see.  Jennifer commented on that too.  They have been increasing their presence little by little over the past two or three weeks.  There was also a traffic stop where they looked inside every car today.  I'm guessing they were looking for something or someone specific, but I don't know what it was.  It was not a North American woman because they let me pass by quickly.

I hope they don't start having the crazy curfews like they used to, where you would be in the middle of your day and they would suddenly say, "Everyone has to be inside their homes by 4 p.m."  Jobs had to close and people couldn't make a living because they had to be at home instead of at work.  If you were caught outside you would automatically, no questions asked, be put in jail.  It almost happened to the former pastor of my former church.  He was out a few minutes past the curfew with his van full of people and they almost didn't let him go home.

Anyway, I am praying the toque de queda does not effect me.  I am a person who is always home by dark anyway, so as long as they don't go crazy with it, I will be fine.  It's just a pain in the neck to always have to be aware because the city can shut down at any moment, and you could get stuck where you are if you don't pay careful attention.

Today was a perfect lesson about plans.  Even the best laid plans couldn't have given us better results today.  I am glad God "messed things up" by letting me oversleep and canceling the kids' school.  As a result we now have a girl from Los Pinos who will start studying psychology tomorrow, Molly is hoping to buy her car tomorrow, and Erika should begin English classes in a couple of weeks.  We are thankful that God "messed up" our day.  I hope He messes up tomorrow too!

God is my River Guide

Last week, before I left for the retreat, I thought to myself that I was going to be away from my church longer than I have ever been.  Normally I see my pastors at least twice per week, once for the Sunday service and once for prayer group.  Lately we've been together three times per week for the class of evangelism and now for the Saturday class of how to preach.  I knew that would leave an empty space in my life, but I didn't realize how much I depend on that fellowship until Saturday when we finally got back together.

I had been in contact through messages, but had not been part of any actual worship or prayer group.  As soon as we gathered in a circle and Alan, a young church member, started to pray, my heart felt the peace (AND the piece) it was missing.

I had a good week.  I had faced several tough challenges with strength and power, knowing that these things were trying to steal my peace and get me off track.  I acknowledged that but did not give them the power to upset me.  Although I will say that I was frustrated at times.

At the Saturday class I was able to talk about my week, and received positive feedback about the way I had handled the things that tried to get in my way.  Sunday was a day of healing and being reminded of God's immense power.  I went to both my church and also the English speaking church because I had to do some paperwork there.  Normally I like to visit the people there, and I usually learn something interesting.  But the last two times that I visited the English church, it really filled my soul in a way it never has before.  This week the Holy Spirit was present in an amazing way.  I gobbled it up and embraced every second.

Today God gave me the best gift of all.

I was in a quiet time of prayer.  I could feel that God was trying to speak to me, so I quieted my mind and asked what He would like to share.

The first thing that came was a word - GUIDE.  So I prayed to God, asking Him what this word meant.  At first I saw only the word, over and over.  This is how God communicates with me often, so I knew to wait.

Finally I saw an image of God on a wooden raft.  He stood on the raft with a long pole to steer or push like a river rafting guide.  I was sitting on the raft. He was guiding us down the river.  There were rapids, and He guided us through the rough waters.  It was such a peaceful image.  I only had to sit on the raft.  He showed me that He alone is in charge of exactly where we were going.  No human or organization can control our direction.  He will keep me safe in the dangerous times where the waters get rough.  He is my guide and the one who chooses my path, watching over me through it all.

I wish I were an artist.  I would love to paint the image of God as my river guide.  As crazy as it sounds, it is something I need to remember every day.

Anyone have the gift of drawing?  I really want a painting of this!

Mother's Day Celebration in Los Pinos

Our Mother's Day Celebration was a huge success!

When I first sat down and talked to my Molly a few months ago, she told me that she was going to plan a Mother's Day event in Los Pinos.  I told her that sounded awesome and if she needed any help, to let me know.  Since then, we have developed a sort of partnership.  Each of us has different strengths and different resources.  Together, we make a great team.

At least once per week we go into Los Pinos and visit homes of the families that Molly was serving there.  We are slowly branching out as we meet more people that God places in our path.  One, as I wrote about last week, is Osiris.  We can see God's hand in all that we are led to do.

We plan prayerfully and thoughtfully.  We bring "body guards" with us - people who know and are known in the area.  Each visit is planned with care.  The Mother's Day event seemed to be the beginning of the fruits of our labor.

Molly and me with our body guards - Carlos and Ariel

I counted 26 mothers present.  Plus there were some kids whose mothers were not able to come, but the kids came in order to represent the family.  So overall we served about 30 families of Los Pinos.  Not bad for our first event!

Happy Moms with cake and gifts

I had been sick for almost a week, but Friday it hit me really hard.  If it weren't for the party, I wouldn't have gotten out of bed.  I felt horrible.  So I asked for prayer and did the best I could. Others said they couldn't tell, but I have to admit, I felt miserable all day.

The party started pretty much on time, which most of you know is a miracle in Honduras.  We had help from Carlos and Ariel, as well as Ariel's mother and Jennifer, who is a girl Molly has been working closely with for years.  They are now in the process of applying for college and jobs.

Jennifer made a special ribbon

And pinned it on each mom

as they came through the door

Molly, Nohemy and Jennifer

Everyone was such a big help.  We could have never pulled this off without them.  It all went smoothly and turned out to be a great success, due to the effort of our team here, in Honduras, and the people back in the US who helped us raise the money to pay for everything.

Carol's message for the Moms - Molly translated

First we had a time of prayer, then the kids went upstairs to a classroom and made Mother's Day cards while my friend Carol spoke to the Moms.  Her message was of hope, community, and praying in faith.  It was perfect for our moms.

We kept bags of food hidden as an extra surprise

Molly and I handed out bags of food to the mother who walked the farthest to get there, the mother with the newest baby, the mother with the most kids (16!), all of the grandmothers, the two mothers who have attended our women's group most consistently, and all of the mothers were given a chance to come up and speak about motherhood if they wanted to receive a basket.  In all, we gave out 16 baskets to the 26 moms.  That was quite a blessing!  I know many of those homes normally have empty shelves where the food should be.

We invited everyone who is not already attending, to come to our women's group on Wednesdays.  Many seemed interested, which is awesome.  Then we encouraged them to ask one of us or a neighbor for prayer if they need intercession.  Some of the ladies took advantage of that opportunity as well.

Carol prayed for the mother who had 16 kids

The kids came down and did a little presentation, wishing their mothers a Happy Mother's Day.  Then they gave their moms the cards they made while we passed out cake and punch.  As they left we gave each mother a really pretty mug that said "Feliz Dia de la Madre" (Happy Mother's Day).

Kids coming back downstairs

Happy Mother's Day!

Thank you to each of you who donated in order to make this possible.  We could not have done it without you!

Our ultimate goal is to support these ladies as they grow into a group of women who know God more deeply and can lean on each other, as sisters in Christ, to get through the tough situations they face.  I am already looking forward to our second annual Mother's Day Party in Los Pinos.

Isa and me.  She's becoming very cuddly.

Erika, Marjory and me

Feeling discouraged

Waiting for photos to tell you about the Mother's Day Celebration.  It went really well.  I was sicker than I had been all week, which was a real bummer.  But the ladies had a good time and the whole event went smoothly so overall it was a definite success.

Now I am going to vent about something that just happened.

You know I have been trying to get Erika into classes for months now.  Today one of my Honduran friends told me that I am crazy to think that the school is going to call me to tell me about the free classes which I thought we were on a waiting list for.  She said that we have to go there or call every day.

Confused, I said, "But they told us they were going to call.  And every time we go there we get a different answer.  If they lie to our faces, aren't they more likely to lie on the phone?"

She acted like I was an idiot.  She said, "The classes are free.  They are never going to call.  Why should they call you when they have lists and lists of people who want to sign up for the classes"

"They told us Erika is third on a list and when they have twelve people who are interested in the class they will call." I said.

"They only said that because you are a gringa.  They are going to say those things to try to please you or manipulate you," she said.  "When I told my friend that you went into the building with Erika to sign her up for the classes, my friend said that now Erika will never, ever get in because they saw her with you.  It is a matter of pride.  The classes are free.  They believe you could pay for the classes for Erika if she were really interested.  So they are not going to give them to her for free.  They believe you should go to another school and pay for classes for her.  These classes are for Hondurans without other resources."

She went on a little more, but it felt like I had gotten myself into some sort of strange, unexpected argument.  Eventually I asked why she hadn't told me all of this a month ago.  She had talked to her friend about it.  She had talked to her husband about it.  But she never said a word to me and we see each other every day.  She said she forgot.

Apparently, all of this time that I thought I was helping, I was not.  Tuesday we are going to look at other places for classes for Erika.  That was already a plan.  But this time we are bringing another Honduran girl, and this time I will not go inside the building.  I will hide my gringa face in the parking lot.

Day before celebration update

I'm sick.  Trying to get the last minute stuff done for the party and rest at the same time.

The "puncha llantas" is at it again, putting holes in tires of cars who park in front of her house.  This time, however, she did it to a car whose owner is friends of the mayor.  He had already had his tires popped there before, so he saw that it happens only in front of the same house.  He was taking photos and said he is going to talk to the mayor.

Praying for tomorrow and that we are a big blessing to many women at our Mother's Day Party.

Samuel is still puking.

Don Juan called this morning to see how Ana is doing and told me that many people at the church ask for me and miss me.  I think of all the adults at the church, I miss him most.

Lorenzo, Carlos, Junior, Alejandra, Kristofer, Erika, Marjory, Samuel, Isa and Jired

Today was our women's group.  We are thinking that because of the party on Friday, and the fact that 90% of the people I know either have Dengue, Chikungunya, or a nasty cold, the turnout today was not what we expected.  It was basically my closest friends and Molly's closest friend.  However, I am sure they will turn up for the Mother's Day Celebration on Friday.  People come out of the woodwork if they think there will be free stuff.  And we have some good free stuff!

I was fine with the low turnout today.  It was not discouraging to me at all.  Partly because I have this cold that everyone else has and I know I might have chosen to stay home and rest if I were them.  But more than that, I know this is all in God's hands.  He is not going to send us to sit in an empty building when there is so much need in Los Pinos.  For some reason I believe He wanted us to meet with only those specific ladies today.

Ana is not able to cook at the church because her bones are so achy.  Also, Isa is still sick and Samuel, who was the last healthy person in the family, got a fever last night.  He ended up puking in the middle of our bible study.  Poor guy was not full of his usual vim and vigor.  This bug that is going around doesn't respond to fever meds at all.  Everyone has a fever that won't subside for days.  Erika said that her whole body felt itchy.  I don't know what that means.  I considered buying an antihistamine, but didn't because she is breast feeding.  We talked about going to see Dr. Gustavo after we ate, but she said she didn't need to.  Her eyes were super droopy.  I offered to take her home early, but she chose to go to McDonalds (for her first time ever!) instead.  Her baby, Marjory, has now tried Pizza Hut, Wendy's and McDonalds.  I do believe McDonalds is her favorite, as well as her mother's.  Marjory LOVES french fries and her eyes lit up each time she bit into her mom's Big Mac.  I feel horrible for taking them to these disgusting fast food places.  Normally I literally never eat fast food.  But it is inexpensive and safe, so that is where we go.  Burger King is next, unless Erika decides she is addicted to Big Macs.  She told me in Spanish that her Big Mac was "more than good".

As I was dropping off  Erika she said, "There are my brothers."  They were all coming down the hill, so I stopped.  First they all asked for Erika and Marjory.  My windows are so dark, they couldn't see them in the back seat.  I rolled down the window and they all started cooing at Marjory.  They each love her so much!  It was adorable.

Carlos said to me, "I have a clean shirt on!"  I didn't understand what that meant until later when I realized it was his way of saying that he was ready to go out to eat with me again.  Hahaha!  They all looked happy and healthy, and clean too - as Carlos pointed out.  Last week Carlos had Dengue.  Now their parents have it.

Lorenzo said they were headed to get "sticks" which I learned means pieces of cut wood.  I assume they were using it to cook dinner.  The person selling wood was only a few feet away and in the direction that I go to turn around, so I asked if they wanted a ride and they all piled into my car.

As we turned around a man who knew them said. "Oh wow!  Look at them riding in style!"  The boys were thrilled.  Lorenzo directed me to exactly where he wanted me to stop and I waited while they got their wood, then they piled back in car.  I was going to drop them off at the corner, but we were having so much fun riding in the car (sometimes it's the simplest things!) I asked Erika if it was safe for me to drive them farther up.  She said yes.  The road is all paved and well kept.  I drove up to the corner by their house with all of the kids in the back seat.  They loved it.

As we got to where the road comes closest to their house, their dad was out there waiting.  I told him, jokingly, that I picked up three boys on the street, then rolled down the window so he could see them all in the car, each with their piece of wood.  He laughed and grabbed Marjory out of Erika's arms like he couldn't wait to hold her.  He was clearly happy to see Marjory.  She is very well loved in that family.

It is great to see that, although Erika had a baby so young, her family is supportive and not critical.  They all clearly love Marjory a ton.

Erika pointed out their house, which was down a steep hill and up on the other side of the mountain.  It was pieces of metal roofing for walls.  She kept describing it as the "painted" one, so I thought for a minute it was a nicer home above.  Turned out the paint she was talking about was one wall that was half painted orange.  It is a tiny house for 3 rambunctious boys, two teenaged girls, Mom, Dad, and baby Marjory.  I don't even know how they would all fit to lie down in there.  Some day I will take a photo.  It ranks up there with the poorest houses I have ever seen.

The walls were made of this

On the way back down I ran into Alejandra again.  Seems like that girl is always out and about. She is very hyper, so I imagine it would be hard for her to stay at home.  I worry about her.  I gave her a photo I have been carrying with me since last October of her brother Kristofer.  She said he was right down the hill and pointed to where he was sitting at a neighbor's house.  So I drove down to the main road and stopped to talk to him for a while.

I can't remember the last time I saw him.  It's been since at least October.  He looked fine.  He said he doesn't go to the church any more because only 15 or 16 kids go these days.  I assured him that there are about 60, but he was clearly not interested.  He was hanging out with nice, well behaved, older boy, so I took that as a good sign.  I asked where he is eating and he said he eats at home.  At least he is being fed.

Preparation

I must say, Molly and I are good planners.  It helps that we both like to schedule ahead.

Today was our day to run errands and get everything ready for the Mother's Day Celebration on Friday.  I woke up still feeling sick with a sore throat, but I did get a run in.  Then I headed over to pick up Molly.

She went to look at a car today and fell in love with it, but the mechanic told her it was not a good idea to buy that car.  The car itself was good, which made it even harder for her to turn it down, but the mechanic said that parts for a Mazda are impossible to find in Honduras.  So she was disappointed when I arrived.

We headed to the local market and picked up the baskets of food for the Mother's Day Celebration.  The original plan was for 10, but we were able to buy 16 baskets of food with donations we received.  Molly got stuff for the kids to make cards for their mothers.  We picked up plates and forks and all that stuff.  Then we went to the local Dispensa (a cheap grocery store) to see if we could find anything feminine to put inside the mugs we got as a gift for each mother.  The thought is that if we fill the mugs with candy, the kids will eat it all.  So we are searching for something Moms like.

After having no luck at the Dispensa we headed to Pricesmart, which is Costco in Honduras.  Molly added me to her card, which was nice.  I have never had a Costco card before.  We checked out cakes for the Mother's Day Event, with the plan of pre-ordering one.  They had plenty of beautiful big ones and you can do a custom design right there on the spot.  We decided we will drop by Friday morning and pick up what is prettiest and freshest.

Then I made my big Pricesmart purchase of asparagus.  This girl is going to eat tortellini with canned artichokes and fresh asparagus tomorrow!  (Today I have to finish up some tomatoes and avocado that are going to go bad if they are not eaten immediately.  Ahhh...  The joys of fresh veggies in Honduras.)

I called Ana to see how Isa is doing today.  She said the doctors at the clinic agreed with Dr. Gustavo's original diagnosis.  Isa has some stomach thing, an iron deficiency, and sores in her mouth from a high fever.  As I expected they were not able to provide the medicine Isa needed, so I stopped and got the meds, then dropped them off to David who was down by the main road getting a haircut on my way home.  David looked MUY guapo.  He was embarrassed as I OOooooooed and Ahhhhhhed over him in front of a group of men who were hanging out on the corner.

Today Los Pinos was not empty like it was the day Molly prayed.  There was a man sprawled out on his back on the side of the road who was not moving at all.  I hope he was not dead.  The streets were full of people, some of them quite sketchy.  I dropped off the meds for Ana (she can't walk without an expensive pill 3x/day for the chikungunya) and the two prescriptions for Isa, then got out of there.

Tomorrow is our Women's Group.  It will be so interesting to see who comes this week.  The first week we had 12 ladies and a ton of kids.  The second week there were seven new ladies.  So who knows who will show up tomorrow!  I have a great feeling about it.  As I have told Molly, if we only are called to serve 2 women, that is fine with me.  But I think God has big plans for this women's group.  Things Molly and I can't even imagine.  Because that is the God we serve.

Building relationships, not roofs

The retreat was nice.  It wasn't too far from home, which was convenient.  For the first time ever, I was separated into the "older" group.  The younger group was 20's and 30's.  I really didn't like that I have made my way into the "old" group, but in the end I enjoyed being with women who had more life experience.  Some of the women in my group have been missionaries for over 10 years.  That is a lot of experience and wisdom for me to glean from.

A side benefit of being in the older group was that I got my own room because everyone else snored.  Then I slept until almost 9 a.m. with all of the women cooking breakfast, laughing, talking and eating right outside my door.  Normally I could never sleep through all of that noise, but I woke up sick with a sore throat.  I was pretty out of it all morning.

Last night I had nightmares all night because I was sick.  Waking up from nightmares every few hours gave me lots of opportunities to pray about our time in Los Pinos today.  Maybe that's why it was extra good!

Everything was calm again in Los Pinos.  I think they have extra military patrol there.  As we walked out onto the road there was a pickup full of military police going one way and another pickup going the opposite direction.

Things worked out so perfectly there was no doubt God was involved.  There is no possible way we could have done what we did today on our own.  We finally found Osiris's house!  At the last house we visited the woman said that she knows Osiris and told our "body guard" where her house is.

Turns out we've been walking right above Osiris's house every time we go into Los Pinos.  We decided to stop there on our way to the car, just to figure out exactly which one it was.  The houses in that area are really crowded together.  One house could fall on top of Osiris's if it rains too hard.  There are two more houses built pretty close on what appears to be the same property.  They are one room and made of smooth cement.

I walked down to meet Osiris's grandfather, knowing Osiris was still at school and would not be home for hours.  There were quite a few watch dogs to get past on the tiny path to get to her house.  Our body guard took care of those for us, although that seems to be his least favorite part of the job.

At each house we asked for Osiris and the people kept saying "down" until we came to three cement shacks that seemed empty except for a man in a tree.  Then a boy appeared.  He was putting on a school uniform and washing his face as he headed out for afternoon classes.  I asked if he knew Osiris.  He said yes, this is where she lives.  I asked if her grandfather was at home.  The grandfather came from behind the house and right away said he is 80 years old.  He never said his name or gave us any sort of regular greeting.

I told him I was there because Osiris's teacher thought it would be a good idea for me to come by and meet him so that I could ask his permission to spend time with Osiris.  He immediately told me he would like a new roof.  I explained that I was not there to buy him anything, but if we could work out a time, I would like to spend time with Osiris.  He said she gets home around 3 p.m.  That means it takes her 2 hours to walk home from eating at the church after school every day.  I bet it takes a good hour for her to walk to school in the morning.  That is a lot of walking for a hungry little girl.

We decided that I would stop by the next time there is a holiday and meet Osiris at home.  The grandfather didn't stop about the new roof.  He said their beds are getting wet.  I told him I am sorry, but I am visiting with hopes of getting to know Osiris better.  It may be hard for me to work with her.  Clearly for her grandfather, North American = money.  I don't think he ever understood, no matter times I told him, that I was there to build a relationship, not a roof.

Later I was talking to Ana and she told me that all he has to do is put his name on a list with the mayor and he will get a free roof.  Maybe I will help him get his name on that list.  I wonder why he hasn't done that already?

Speaking of Ana, Isabela has not gotten any better.  She has stopped eating and is worse.  Ana hasn't slept since Thursday.  Tomorrow Ana is going to go to the good clinic to get more tests done.  Isabela has all sorts of strange symptoms.  I have no idea what is going on with her.  I am going to call Ana at noon and find out what the clinic said.  Usually they prescribe meds that they are supposed to give away for free, but they never have the prescriptions on hand.  So I will go pick up meds for Ana, who is still sick with the bug bite disease, chikungunya, and get whatever they have prescribed for Isa at the same time.

Besides finding Osiris's house (Which is really a miracle.  It is almost literally like finding a needle in a haystack.) we also found the house of the lady, Mirabel, whose daughters were killed two weeks ago.   Neighbors told us Mirabel was at work so we decided we were done for the day and started walking back to the church where I park my car.  As we were walking along the dirt trail, guess who was headed up the mountain toward us?  Mirabel!  God's timing is so perfect!

We told her we had just come from her house.  She said she had been working.  Molly asked how she is doing.  Mirabel said she is sad.  She was still dressed all in black.  We said we would like to come by on a different day to visit and pray with her if that would be alright.  She said that would be fine.  I am glad that she is not trying to pretend that she feels fine.  It is healthy that she said she is sad, I think.

We reminded her about the women's group on Wednesday and told her we hope she will come.  We reminded her what a great support system it could be for her.  But to be honest, just for this one week, a part of me hopes she doesn't come.  We are going to invite the ladies to a Mother's Day Celebration that we are hosting on Friday.  Mirabel already made it through Mother's Day on Sunday.  It seems like it might be easier for her not to have to think about Mother's Day again this year.

Molly and I ended the day grateful, once again, for the way God continues to put certain people in our path - literally sometimes.  It was great to find Osiris's house and to come upon Mirabel as she walked home today.  Those things seem to confirm that we are on the right path, ourselves.  Right where He wants us to be.

Isa, Ana, Jired, Marjory, Emmanuel, Laura, Anderson and Asmin are sick

Ana called tonight just as I was about to prepare my first meal of the day.  We just spoke yesterday, so it was odd for her to call.  Normally I don't answer and call her right back so she doesn't have to spend her money.  But for the first time ever, I answered.

Ana said that Isabela is very sick and needs to go to the doctor.  She suggested a clinic by my house, but I know two kids who have had serious problems from seeing doctors there (one was just today), so I suggested Dr. Gustavo.  Ana forgot that Dr. Gustavo has evening hours and immediately agreed Dr. Gustavo is a better option.

Traffic was horrible because it was the end of rush hour, but I did the best I could.  Ana, Isa and the boys were all waiting at the bridge when I got there.  Poor Isa was pointing at her eyes and saying they hurt.  Ana was scared because she gave Isa pain reliever at 2 p.m., but she was still burning with fever.

I kind of forgot I was wearing clothes I would never normally wear in public until I got into the doctor's office.  Of course there were people I knew there.  People I haven't seen since I left the other church.  Here I am in old yoga pants that look like baggy pajamas and a bleach stained tee shirt which I love because it's so soft.  I looked like I am a mess.  Oh well.  I am pretty sure the people I saw are not the type to judge.  And if they do, so be it.

That is one thing about Honduras.  The only time you wear exercise clothing is if you are going to exercise.  People dress up to go to the store or to the doctor, or just to leave the house.  But I was in such a hurry because Ana seemed really scared about Isa, I grabbed keys and my purse and ran out the door.

It was great to see the kids again.  Isa managed a few smiles and some kisses for me.  Her fever was 39 degrees Celsius (102.2  Fahrenheit) under the arm.  But I still think that the term "muy grave" is used too loosely in Honduras.  If someone is in "very grave" condition, I expect them to be extremely sick.  Like, they could possible die.  In Honduras lots of people are "muy grave" and they just have a cold or a scratch.

I hope that is the case with Isa.  She is supposed to get bloodwork done tomorrow to see if it is something more serious.  Ana is still very sick with this disease that I can't even say the name of.  (Nobody can, not even Fany.)  It comes from a mosquito bite but is worse than dengue.  It is new this year and many, many people have it.  First you get a really high fever, then all of your bones ache so much that you cannot get out of bed for weeks, and there is a skin allergy that comes and goes.  Ana can hardly walk, especially on stairs.  I feel horrible for her because she lives on such a steep hill, always carrying Isa.  I felt as bad for Ana as I did for Isa.

Dr. Gustavo did a check up but said that Isa needs to go to a lab because he can only really treat her for a cold unless the blood work shows something else.  So tomorrow Ana has to take Isa back to the lab when they are open and get the blood work done.

After stopping at the pharmacy for Isa's meds and some meds for Ana, I dropped them off at the bridge at 8 p.m.  We all were starving and wanted to stop for fast food (especially Samuel because he has never been to Burger King) but by then it was so late we agreed it was safer for them to get home.

I headed to Molly's house to plan out next week.  It is a big one for us!  Molly's kids were already asleep so we got straight to work.  Monday we are doing home visits in Los Pinos.  We are excited to visit the homes of some of the new people we met last week.  We are also going to investigate where Osiris lives.  If we are correct, she lives right in the middle of the houses we are already visiting!  I will pick up Erika after the home visits and spend time with her.  I am really looking forward to this day.

Tuesday is errand and preparation day.  We have to pick up a lot of stuff for the Mother's day party and do some last minute preparation for the women's meeting.  Wednesday is the women's group.  Thursday is our day of rest and prayer.  Friday is the Mother's Day Party we are throwing for about 100 people.  It is going to be great.  Nothing extravagant, but nice.

My friend Carol is going to speak at the Mother's Day party.  She is a great at motivating and empowering women.  We are going to give out baskets of food as awards to the person who walked the farthest, the person who has the most kids, etc.  The prizes are purposely very random because we don't want to appear to play favorites.  We have 16 baskets of food as prizes.  Every Mom will get a coffee mug that is decorated for Mother's Day with something (we don't know what yet) inside.  And we will eat cake from Pricemart (Costco) with jamaica juice.  Molly is the perfect partner for me in so many ways.  One is that she doesn't buy soda for the kids because she agrees with my impression that they already drink far, far too much on their own.

I got home at 10:45 p.m. and made dinner.  Now it is time to rest.

My gym would like me to teach pilates.  I told them I am not in good enough shape right now, but that is something that will be fun to work toward.  I am going to try to get a free membership if I teach a class once/week.  Tomorrow I am going to teach one of the trainers.

Today as I was leaving the doctor's office Dr. Gustavo came out from behind his desk and gave me a hug, as he does to most people.  He also said, "Te quiero mucho."  There is no real good way to translate that in English.  Basically, it is a completely appropriate and acceptable way of telling someone that you really like them a lot in a friendly way.  I really like Dr. Gustavo in the same way.  He works pretty much 24 hours/day at least 6 days/week.  It meant a lot to me that he said that.

If you feel called, please pray for Molly and me as we enter this busy week.  We will be doing a lot of important ministry, I believe.  You can pray for our safety on Monday as we plan to walk into Los Pinos.  (We never know for sure until we actually leave if we are going to go, because it is something we handle very prayerfully due to the level of danger there.)  Pray for the women we will work with on Monday and Wednesday, and for us to connect with the women at the Mother's Day party on Friday.

This weekend I am going to a retreat with other missionaries.  I am excited to go, but disappointed I will miss the very first class Pastor Ruth is offering about how to preach.  I will also miss church on Sunday.  It will be strange not to be at the church all weekend.  But I am sure the retreat will be a restful gift right before my busy week.

I hear water filling the cistern!  Gloria a Dios!!  We haven't gotten any water in weeks.

Week 2 of Women's Group

Today was awesome.  I got to see Erika.  You know, that girl never lets me down.  Last night I called her to say that I would pass by to pick her up around 12:45, but I would call when I was close so she would know exactly when to walk down to the road.  Then today when I tried her phone it said, "The caller you have reached is not available." (in Spanish)  I tried a few more times and got the same message.

My mind instantly went to the bad place.  I thought Erika didn't really want to be part of the women's group, so she just wasn't going to answer her phone.  I really need to STOP THAT!  Erika has never let me down and I need to stop assuming that she is going to.  It is not fair to her, and could even be impeding our relationship.  If my expectations of her are less than what she is capable and willing to do, she may not reach her full potential.

I figured I would pass by and see if she was there, even though we hadn't spoken as planned today.  You guessed it.  There she was, sitting on a step with Marjory.  Erika is great.

Marjory has a cold, like every other kid I know.  Erika said Carlos has Dengue.  Erika already took Marjory to the doctor, UNlike every other kid I know.  Marjory is fine.  It's just a cold.  I am proud of Erika for taking Marjory to the doctor for the little things.  She is a good mother.

When we arrived at the women's group nobody was there.  That gave us time to pray and settle in.  Then, just like last time, the women started coming and they kept coming in groups of two until just before we left.

I talked to the ladies about this being a group for them, not for Molly and me.  They have this week to think and next week we will discuss their goals for the group.

Molly did a really good job of engaging them in a conversation about what it is to be a woman of faith.  Everyone spoke up and participated.  There were some very interesting ladies there.  One of the women was the mother whose daughters were just senselessly and brutally killed for wearing leggings a week ago on Friday.

I told Molly, I believe that is God's sign to us that we are in the right place.  We are exactly where there is a great need. God is sending women to this group who need each other's support and who can benefit from special time with Him.  I think it is amazing that she is even coming out of her house a week after she lost her 16 and 19 year old daughters.  If you feel led, please pray for Maribel.  She seems to be doing well on the outside, but I am sure she could use your prayer.

Tomorrow after Molly puts the kids to bed we are going to plan for next week.  It's going to be a big one for us!  We plan to go to Los Pinos, if things seem safe and God gives us the green light, on Monday.  We would like to meet with several of the new women who came to the women's group today.  Two of them we both individually felt like we want to know better.  Since God gave us both the same feeling about those two ladies, we would like to spend some time with them in their homes next week.  And of course we feel called to meet with Maribel.  If she doesn't want to talk, we can pray for and with her.  I feel honored that God is giving me the opportunity to serve her and feel strongly called to do so.  I hope Molly and I can be a blessing to Maribel in this time that has to be so extremely difficult.  Praise Him for allowing us to meet her.  We pray we will serve her in the ways she needs.

Errand Day

Spent all morning trying to pay my rent, see how my residency card is coming along, pay cable, pay lights and car insurance.  I say trying because paying bills is a pain in the neck in Honduras.  You read yesterday about how Molly has been trying to pay school fees for weeks and keeps getting the runaround.  The same thing happened to me today.

First the lady at the bank said that I needed to have the bank account number in order to deposit my rent.  I have been paying rent for three years and never needed the bank account number.  But suddenly today that changed.  Last month I could no longer make the check out to Fany's name, although she is on the account.  It now has to be in my landlord's name.  I swear they make up random rules just to make things more difficult.

I never did get the cable paid.  The bank said I needed a password.  I have no password so they couldn't find my account.   They said to go to the cable company, so I went to the cable company.  They said I could get the password and then pay the bill right there.  The password people got me set up, but when I went to the cashier to pay the bill, their system was down.  Systems are always down in Honduras.

Fany, Laura and I waited an hour and a half to find out what is going on with my residency card. My card expires on the 15th, but Honduras is out of plastic, so they can't laminate our residency cards.  This happens all of the time. It happened when my friend Carol renewed her card a few months ago and it happened when I got my first residency card.  That time it was months before they could print out the cards.  Ridiculous.

Monday Honduras finally got license plates.  They haven't had license plates since I bought my car 2 years ago as far as I know.  That is why it was important that I bought a car that already had plates.  Sunday night on the radio they announced that police would have roadblocks for all the people who are traveling with expired or with no plates at all because the plates are finally in.  Except, ooops!  They didn't print some of the plates yet.  If your plates start with certain letters then you still have to wait.  This stuff could drive you insane if you let it.

My cable is not paid, my residency card is not printed, but my plates are fine and my rent is a month ahead.  The bank said my insurance cost $50 less than my agent told me I had to pay.  That's all good stuff.

A funny thing happened too.  While Laura, Fany and I were waiting the hour and half for residency stuff, we were sitting with another man.  Laura and I got up and were looking around, trying to entertain ourselves.  The man who was there with us said to Laura, "What is your name?"  She was silent.  Then he said, "I am Jesus."  Laura's eyes got huge!  She ran over to her mom and said, "Mami!  It's Jesus!"  Fany had to explain that Jesus was this man's name, but he is not the same Jesus who lives in our hearts, he is just a regular man.  At that point the man said, "Yeah, you can just call me Achiles.  I wish I were more like that Jesus, but I am not him." It was a conversation that is not likely to happen in the US.

Laura came down with the cold that Molly's kids have while we were out running errands.  I had a sore throat, swollen glands and a drippy nose by this evening.

The afternoon was more productive than the morning.  I picked up Molly and her kids to take them shopping.  Molly let me do a load of wash at her house because, although the city released water last night, it never made it into our tank.  Last night at midnight Fany and I were so excited when we heard the water running under the driveway.  But it has to fill all of the cisterns downhill from us before it can fill ours.  When it was still running at 6 a.m. we thought we would be all set.  But we opened cistern lid to find you could still see the bottom.  The city water stopped running a few minutes later.

Fany and her family went to Coa where her in-laws do have water.  She offered to take my laundry with her which was nice, but she does a lot of the washing by hand there.  I figured Molly's house was a better bet.

We went to the mercado near Molly's house where local people sell their wares.  Some places sell dried goods, some sell plastics, others vegetables, or dairy products.  You can buy almost everything there.  It is like the vendors that sell their stuff in the streets of the colonia near mine, where Fany and I walk to get our tortillas and cheese and veggies.

Molly stocked up because she doesn't have a car.  She was grateful for the ride.  Then we went to Pricesmart.  Pricesmart is Costco, but in Honduras.  It has all of the same stuff, exactly.  Sometimes it feels so nice to be around things from North America!  I mostly wandered around and looked at things I haven't seen in a long time.  Gold Toe socks, wine refrigerators, car seats, mountain bikes, smoked cheese, Special K with dried berries...  Oh, the plenitude.  Ocean Spray Cranberry-Grape Juice is one of my favorite things to buy there.  And laundry detergent for $18 instead of $45.  I have a tiny fridge, so I couldn't buy the hummus I love.  Mostly I just enjoyed seeing the vast abundance of things.  Things we take for granted in the US.  Pricesmart has everything.  Sometimes there is a comfort in knowing that, although you are not going to buy it, you could.  The only thing I couldn't find was adult vitamins.  All they have is Centrum.

Molly got a pizza for dinner, but by then I was fading out.  The cold was getting the best of me.  The power had gone off while we were gone so her washer stopped in the middle of a cycle.  We got it to finish rinsing, I grabbed my wet laundry and headed home.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, which means we have our second meeting with the women's group.  Erika is coming with me.  It will be great to see her.  Also I am excited to see how it will go in the group tomorrow and what plans God has for these ladies in the future.  I feel big things coming!

A clear path

After checking around with our local sources and praying about it, Molly and I decided to venture into Los Pinos yesterday with our two "body guards".  They are boys who were born and raised in that part of Los Pinos, so everyone knows who they are.  When people see us with them, they know why we are there and that we are not going to cause any trouble.

Molly had a list of the 17 mothers to invite to the Mother's Day Party.  We decided if we made a quick stop at each house and sent the boys out to invite some of the ladies who live in places where Molly and I shouldn't go, we could get it all done before Molly's kids get home from school.  (Molly has 2 young kids whose Mom "lent" them to Molly indefinitely over two years ago.)

You'd think inviting 17 people could take days, but everything fell into place perfectly.

As we drove up the main road Molly saw the grandmother of the kids who live with her, so we pulled the car over to invite their grandmother to the mother's day celebration.

It was funny because she complained she had been waiting for the bus for a long time.  Suddenly our body guards started talking.  They said, "Look! That's the guy (they know his name) who got in an accident.  He is not supposed to be driving a bus but there he is!"  Then they decided it wasn't him after all.  Apparently this guy is still driving big yellow school buses all over Los Pinos, but everyone knows he shouldn't be driving and nobody will get on the bus with him.

When they figured out it wasn't him, they told the lady that the bus was coming, but she was so busy talking to Molly she didn't pay attention.  Molly told her a few times, run and catch the bus, but she just kept talking.  Finally when the bus was about to leave she realized it was there.  Then she thought it was the bad driver, but the boys were telling her No!  Go!!  It's not him!  Still she just stood there until she finally saw they were right, it was a different driver.  By then it was too late.  We told her to run, but she missed the bus.  One of the boys said, "I told her 30 thousand times!"  That was only a slight exaggeration.

How crazy that everyone knows not to get on a bus with that man but he still drives around.

As we were parked there another lady came up to the car.  She works at the school across the street.  Molly has been trying to pay one of the kid's school fees for a few weeks now but nobody at the school wants to take the money.  They keep telling us to come back at different times and talk to different people.

This lady asked Molly if she is still trying to pay the school.  Molly said yes.  The lady used to receive all of the payments last year, so Molly knew her.  She explained it was too much work, so this year she doesn't have that job anymore.  However, she said she could take Molly's payment because she knows it is not easy for Molly to come to the school and make the payment.  She also took Molly's number so in the future if the boy has any outstanding fees she can contact Molly directly.  That was a relief because Molly had been concerned about getting those school fees paid.

We left that bus stop excited.  Two things accomplished and we hadn't even parked the car yet!

Molly said she felt like the walk into Los Pinos was pretty sketchy.  I saw 2 boys sitting on a wall.  But other than that, it felt okay to me.  Of course she knows the area and who is normally there better than I do, so she would get a more accurate read of the situation.

At the first house we met with Mari, whose son Daniel had been sick with bloody diarrhea for a week the last time we were there and they had no food or water in the house.  This time they had lots of buckets of water, as it has rained every day since the first rain last Wednesday.  But all of those buckets of water made me worry about dengue and this other thing that everyone is getting, which is much worse.  You get a really high fever, your bones ache horribly and there is a skin allergy that goes with it.  People are unable to even stand up for weeks.  I was scolding myself for forgetting bug spray.

We talked in whispers as Mari showed us the page of the newspaper she had set aside on the table.  It talked about the two girls who were killed right above her house.  Mari said her daughter is "traumatized" because of the deaths.  Mary has left her house once to go to the doctor.  At 5 a.m. a man followed her out of the neighborhood and on the way home someone else followed her.  She said she yelled at them to go away.  She is very weak with a bad heart.  It is not good for her to be scared or to move quickly.  She said she got home safe, but terrified, and doesn't want to leave again.

We are trying to think of people who can help her get to her doctor appointments safely.  Molly and I can't go in and out of Los Pinos without the boys.  Besides that, our main goal is to try to empower the community to work together, instead of the way it is now where (I am generalizing here) everyone is only looking out for themselves.  Admittedly, taking care of yourself is a hard enough job.  But our hope is that through the women's group, someone will feel called to serve Mari in this way and the women will realize they are stronger together.

I read the newspaper article about the 2 girls.  Their Mom watched as they got ready to go out Friday night.  They left the house at 5 p.m.  When they weren't home by 10 p.m. the mom got worried.  She stayed awake all night.  Two bodies were found in the early hours of Saturday morning, one with many shots to the front of the head, one with many shots to the back of the head.  The bodies were identified at the morgue and the mother was contacted Saturday morning.  She lost her 16 and 19 year old daughters because they were wearing leggings.

It's no wonder Mari's daughter is traumatized.  The girls were exactly her age and everything about it was so senseless.

Next we tried to visit a 26 year old mom with five kids who lives above Mari, but nobody was home there. All of the doors had locks on them.  I like her.  She has a great smile and is very friendly.  She also has the chubbiest kids in the world, but she, herself, is tiny.

Molly decided we should not go anywhere else without the boys.  I told her she knows the area better than I do, so I will follow her advice.  We went back to Mari's house and waited.   Soon Ariel came in.  He said Carlos' Mom was at home so Carlos was visiting his family.  Ariel took us to the next house where I got to hold a two week old baby.  Last time we visited the mom was almost a week overdue, and ready to be induced.  The baby has a little cold, but had been to the doctor that day and was going back today for nebeulization.  She was a cutie.

It is also puppy and kitten season in Los Pinos.  Everywhere we went there were baby animals.  Of course you can't touch them because who knows what diseases they are carrying, which is tough for me.  Especially when I saw a 3 week old grey kitten.  Luckily at that point my arms were full with the baby.

Somewhere in our wanderings, we bumped into a mom.  I didn't pay much attention to her conversation with Molly until afterward when Molly said that her heart was really heavy for that lady's two kids.  I had heard her say that her kids were at home while she was leaving to do something.  (I think go to work?)  What I didn't know was that her kids are 2 and 4 years old with developmental delays.  According to our "body  guards" the kids have already burned the house down once.  The boys said it is even more dangerous because if someone knows they are alone, they are likely to break into the house.  But the Mom feels like she has no choice and whatever she was doing is more important than caring for the kids.  So she locks them inside, alone.

Our final visit was to Carlos' Mom.  Although I have known Carlos since 2009, I never met his Mom.  When I first met Carlos he was living with his Grandmother, who was not doing very well.  His mom was prostituting and collecting garbage at the dump.  Her kids (including Carlos) were begging for food and collecting garbage too.

Now Carlos has a good life.  He started school soon after I met him and is doing really well there.  He is healthy and tall and strong.   There is no sign of the little boy I knew in 2009.  But his brothers still choose to live on the street.  They have gotten heavily involved in huffing and don't want to/can't stop.

August 1, 2009 

Two weeks ago
when I saw Carlos for the first time in 6 years

Although I didn't go inside, that place was the filthiest home I have ever been to.  The ground was covered with garbage all around the property.  Clothes were piled outside, food remnants and packaging, bits and pieces of odds and ends were everywhere.  It was like a "Hoarders" episode in Los Pinos.  Everyone has their own style of living, but in general the people I know in Los Pinos do the best they can with what they have and keep things tidy.  This was the opposite of tidy.

We spend some time with Carlos' family.  I have to admit I was anxious the whole time because I kept thinking I was going to get bitten by a bug carrying some horrible disease.  (At that point I had already been bitten twice.)  I know that people can sense when someone is not comfortable, and I wished that I could change that because Carlos is important to me and I do not want him to think I am uncomfortable around his family.

His brothers, mother and a man were busy filling the hugest bag I have ever seen - it was a huge tarp tied together - with plastic bottles.  The whole back yard was FULL of bottles.  There were more bottles there than would fit inside some homes in Los Pinos.  In Honduras, people don't collect glass, they collect plastic.

I have no idea how they got all of those bottles up that mountain, or how they are going to get them back down to sell them.  The tarp/bag was already an unmanageable size, taller than our heads and as wide as the front of my truck.  Good thing plastic is light.

Molly visited with Carlos' brothers and I played with Carlos' puppy, without touching it.  It was super cute and fat.  At least it is starting its life healthy.  It was sad to think that once it stops nursing it will be another hungry street dog in Honduras.

As we left Molly checked off her list of people we needed to see.  Between the boys running house to house, and our visits, we had seen everyone but the lady with the pretty smile and five chubby kids.  But we will see her Wednesday at the women's group.

Not a bad day's work in Los Pinos!

As we walked out Molly prayed that the streets would be empty while we left.  It was bizarre how clearly God heard and answered her prayer.  We walked out to the road, got into the car, and drove all of the way out of Los Pinos.  Normally those streets are full of people.  But yesterday I could have counted on two hands the number of people we saw in that 20 minute trip.

Our body guards headed off to school.  Molly and I sat down and planned for our first real meeting of the women's group on Wednesday.  It is cool because I think we both have the same goals for the women.  So far I am also impressed with our ability to communicate.  If we don't see things the same way I think we both feel free to speak up and express our opinion and why we think it's important.  It seems like we are both flexible and open.

The plans for Wednesday feel good.  Our only problem is that we would like for the ladies to take ownership and lead this group,  But they can't do that very well if they don't have bibles.  Molly thinks only about two of the 17 have access to a bible.  We are going to have to figure out how to get our hands on 15 Spanish Bibles, which are SUPER expensive here.  But God will provide.

All of this seems to be His will.  We see that in the way we were able to meet with each of the women so easily, and get in and out of Los Pinos safely.  Molly and I will continue to move as we feel called (and be still when we feel led to to be still as well).  Our goal is to have the ladies group eventually be self sufficient.  It is not about Molly and me.  It is about the ladies of Los Pinos.

We would love to see them coming together in each other's homes so neighbors and the community can hear their song and prayer and the word of God being spoken in Los Pinos.  Molly and I will encourage these ladies to unite as one body to support and look out for each other, so nobody has to be scared and walking alone, and nobody has to leave their two and four year old children locked alone in a house.  Our goal is for them to learn to be women of God - God's holy body in Los Pinos.