Thank God for Muncho!

It started raining today sometime in the early afternoon. I was doing some work (or maybe writing my last blog entry) when it started. At one point I was ready to go home, but after Tony's experience with two flat tires in three hours during the last heavy rain I figured I would wait it out.

At one point the rain let up temporarily, but Muncho, my taxi driver, didn't answer his phone. And then it started raining again. After 3 hours I finally tried calling again. When he tried to pull into the church driveway I thought his car was going to get swept away by the flood running down the street. He ended up stopping in the middle of the road, where the road was highest and the water was lowest to let me in.

He immediately said he does not usually work when it is raining. I explained that I know how dangerous it is because of Tony's two flat tires from pot holes that were hidden by the rain last week. Meanwhile we're driving down streets that are absolutely flooded with more rain coming down the mountains and pouring out from between the houses like huge waterfalls. I tried to take a picture, but for some reason it didn't work. The picture above is just looking outside from the office to the church.

Anyway, Muncho and I both got home safely - he lives right up the street. I paid him some extra money and told him that I appreciate that he came to get me. He said to call him when I need a ride tomorrow, and I told him it will be a little earlier because we are serving pancakes tomorrow!

An added sidenote: I think the add for Geico insurance is not as crazy as it may seem. Last night I noticed a small little lizard, I assumed it was a geiko, on the living room wall. Now I see a bigger one crawling along the top of the wall in my bedroom and it does talk!!! It makes little clicking/churping sounds like a squirrel. The funny thing is that yesterday I heard the same sound and I asked Jose what it was. He told me it was a bird. Does he think I'd be scared of a geiko or did he not hear the same sound that I was asking about? Anyway geikos can talk in their own geiko lanuage. I'm listening to it right now.

Breakfast Program

Painting white shoes black.
White is not popular here.

SNOPPY???

I started the day yesterday by calling my mom. Really, I had nothing to say, but it was nice to talk to her. Usually we talk almost every day when I am in the states. I know that she can tell from my voice how I am truly feeling - so now she knows that I am truly happy here. It was a good way to start my day.

I've been riding to the church and back home with my taxi driver, Muncho. He understands that I'm working on my Spanish so he talks to me about the days' events and helps me with my words. The problem I am facing now is that I have learned so many words so quickly that I am getting the words confused with each other. The words for rain, to cry, and to wear are all similar. I think I have said that I cried my clothes instead of wearing them.

On the 19th the first church group is coming. They have agreed to the idea that Tony and I came up with about spending their time focused on one specific family. By the time they are done the family will have a water system, a cement floor and real walls for their house with fresh paint. Today we learned that we will need to first fumigate the house and treat the family with a cream to get rid of a bacteria that lives in their dirt floor and on their bodies. To me it sounds like an enormous process which must be done in a meticulous manner or the home and the people will continue to have the bacteria. Tony is confident that we can do it all precisely as needed. I am glad that HE has confidence because to me it seems a little overwhelming. After we are done with this project the church has invited Tony, two boys from our church, the family that they are working with while they are here, and me to Utila for 5 days to relax, snorkel, and spend time at the beach. Utila is a small island off Roatan. Everyone tells me it will be a great time. I am very excited.

Yesterday after the breakfast program I stopped procrastinating and wrote a letter which I have been worrying about since Tony asked me to do it. There is a store here similar to Costco and Tony was hoping that we could work out some sort of deals with them. I am comfortable with the idea of writing a letter, but less comfortable about asking for something. In the end it turned out great and I was proud of it. Instead of being business-like, I think I portrayed the real feelings of the breakfast program and all of the different ways it benefits the children as well as the community. Now I hope that the letter serves its purpose and the store owner is willing to help us in some way with the breakfast program.

I've started to help more with organizing the breakfast program. It's not much work - just delegating to the kids and then supervising. It's nice because then Tony can spend more quality time with the kids. Today I got a picture of them all playing Uno together.

Yesterday was another futbol game. Walter came over and watched it with Karla, Jose, and me. This time Honduras won so everyone was happy, dancing around, firecrackers outside. It is cool to see everyone wearing their Honduras soccer shirts on the day of the game. Where ever you look, people of all ages are wearing their shirts and talking about the game.

I am hoping that it will not rain tonight. I really need to wash my clothes, but there is no water until tonight. (I still don't understand this water system at all, but Muncho says that tonight at 8 pm there will be water.) I am hoping that I can wash everything tonight, then hang it to dry for tomorrow. I wish that I had one more pair of jeans with me. I don't want to buy another pair here when I have more than enough jeans in my closet at home.

Tonight Jose and I will watch the Magic vs the Lakers. I am looking forward to that.

Saturday I am invited to go with a group of kids to a conference from 8 am - 1 pm. Then there will be a concert (I'm not sure if the concert is for them, or by them.) at 7 pm. It will be a full day. Karla wants to ride roller coasters in between. We'll see...

Today was the first day Carlos did not show up for the breakfast program. Although we don't expect him to be at the church every single day, we are wondering how he is spending his time today.

Girls' Day Out

Today Karla and I went shopping downtown "Al Centro". It was a fun day out. As we sat and ate lunch I thought about how little our language barrier affects us. I am learning a lot from her because until yesterday I thought she really didn't know English, and also because she talks really fast - so fast that everyone here jokes with me about it. Yesterday I asked her in Spanish, "What is the difference between 'esquina' and 'calle'?" and she answered me in english - Esquina is "corner' and calle is "street". I was freaked out - she says she doesn't know English, but she knows the word for corner????? Now she admits she does know some English, but she didn't do as well in her English classes as some other students so she lacks confidence.


Before we left to go shopping I closed my bedroom door because the rest of the house was full of mosquitoes - one of the first new words I learned was zancudos (mosquitoes). Anyway, now my room is locked from the inside. We can't figure out how to open it. We tried jimmying a credit card, but it didn't work. The good news is that we sprayed the rest of the house so we are temporarily almost free of mosquitoes. But we might die of the fumes.



Today I bought some cool new shoes. We went to a store that had Izaac Mizrahi and Steve Madden and a bunch of other name brand shoes for about $15. The ladies here wear high heels all of the time and I brought flip flops, sneakers and Crocs. So I bought sandals that tie around the ankle with a wedged cork heel. Karla bought really cute little flats. Then we got matching shirts to wear for the soccer game tomorrow - El Salvador vs Honduras. I got shampoo here because I didn't want to have the weight in my suitcase. Karla had to help me with conditioner. I almost bought the kind that you leave in your hair by accident.



We looked for a birthday present for Jose - can't say what it is in case he reads this, but we didn't buy it yet anyway. And we went to a panaderia for homemade bread and sweet rolls. It was fun to spend the day together. Reminded me that I don't spend enough time playing with my girlfriends when I'm at home.



Nothing profound to write today. I didn't save the world or feed hungry children and I didn't take any pictures, although al centro is cool - tons of stores that all sell the same things basically. We are both still looking for new bibles. We went to 2 stores, but no luck. I need a bilingual one and Karla needs a special one for herself with a zipper since one of her daughters ripped some pages out of hers. I am thinking I will continue to look and get one for her as a gift if I can find a nice one. I know her taste well enough - what a perfect gift!



Time to eat dinner - tortillas with eggs, queso fresco, avocados, beans and mantequilla (which literally translated means butter, but in this case it is salty sour cream - I love it!). Last night I wanted to take a picture of our dinner, but Karla had one of her college friends here and I was embarrassed. It was like artwork. A plate of lettuce with plum tomatoes hollowed out and filled with tuna salad. There were radishes and all colors of peppers placed carefully around the plate. It was beautiful and tasty. We also had part of the broccoli from the market and they teased me that we were eating part of my head. The broccoli was steamed, then tossed in a mixture of spicy vinegar and mayonaise and lime juice. Our starch was rice cooked with peppers and pieces of tomato. My contribution to the meal was the refresca (drink). Karla showed me how to make homemade lemonde with raw sugar, water and lemon juice that comes in the squeezable lemon like we have in the states, only it tastes fresh. Mmmmmm... my mouth is watering thinking of it! We had horchata for lunch and Karla said she will teach to make horchata too.



Time to go help with dinner. Tomorrow, back to the church for the breakfast program. Oh! I forgot to say that last night we went to a very Americanized mall. We stopped for ice cream at Baskin Robbins and they only had 12 flavors!!!!!! I was so surprised. I tried to explain that Baskin Robbins always has 32 flavors. I think they thought I was crazy. First time I ever went to Baskin Robbins and didn't get Rocky Road in my whole life! And the earth quake 2 nights ago was a 5.7 but Karla and Jose didn't even feel it. They were dressing for bed. I was in my bed reading. It felt like the bed turned into a water bed for a few seconds. But it didn't make the news at all. The epicenter was North of my city.



I also thought I should clarify - I do not live in Los Pinos. Los Pinos is across the street from the church. More and more families from Los Pinos are attending church each Sunday and many kids are coming for the breakfast program on weekdays. Los Pinos is a very poor community. It is cool to see everyone blending together so nicely from different communities.



Where I live is very nice and it is much more safe. I think the people are beginning to recognize the gringa who is walking around. (People here use the word "gringo/gringa" with no intention of being insulting - it just means that it is a person from the states. It's even on the tv and the radio - Honduras lost to the "gringos" Saturday in futbol.)



Aunt Cath - thank you for passing along the address. It is great to hear everyone's comments and insight. Thank you for reading!

Views from La Iglesia

Some Safer Parts of Los Pinos

Monday, Monday...

I met Tony early today. We went up to Los Pinos before the breakfast program to look at homes and assess what needs to be done there. There is a church coming to visit in a few weeks and they asked Tony how he thinks their time here can be most wisely spent.

At first we had grand ideas of them helping to repair three homes. But in the end we decided that it would be best to focus on only one home. That way they can really get to know the family and see how the family lives. We are hoping that they will agree to not only to do physical labor on the home, but also sit down and spend quality time with the family. Overall, we are envisioning them talking and playing games as much as they work. Maybe if they see that the boys get breakfast here at the breakfast program and then 5 tortillas and 1 egg at home every day for their total intake of daily food they will want to sponsor this family after they leave! Only $5/week here can make a huge difference for these people. I am starting to see how sometimes we get so caught up in doing things for people that we don't actually take the time to get to know the people - who they are and what they REALLY need. There is a church down here (not ours) that got painted 5 times in 8 months because different groups kept coming and saying "let us paint your church" rather than asking what is really needed. The people from the church didn't want to insult anyone, so they kept getting fresh paint. But think about what that money and that amount of time from those people could have done for the people here.

Okay - so there's my little rant. I think it can apply locally too, where ever you are.

The kids have a week off from school so the breakfast program should be busy this week!

I took some good photos of one of the better parts of Los Pinos today.

Oh, and for the ladies of K2 - I just realized that I have been here for a week now and have not eatten one single peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Photo shoot at a fancy restaurant after church

Jose y Karla

Bievenidos a church

After our long night last night I slept so hard that I think I woke up in the same position as when I went to sleep. We got ready for church. I was not worried when we left the house late, then stopped to chat with the cab driver who will be delivering me to church this week, because in Honduras almost nothing happens on time. Even though we were late, we were some of the first people there. I think it started about a half hour late - nobody seems to worry about time here.

I was looking around at the familiar faces from last year when Jose said to me in Spanish, "Stand up!" and he stood up. But nobody else was standing. He said it again, so I finally listened to what was going on and they were introducing me and welcoming me to this country and to the church. They even welcomed me in the buletin, which was nice - my 15 minutes of fame. It was great to be back at church and to see the people we spent time with a year ago. One girl, Helga, was leaving for college a year ago. On our first full day in Honduras last year we went to her going away party. Today was her first day back at church after a successful year at college in Texas. She adjusted very well to college and won some art shows with her amazing paintings.

After church Jose, Karla and I went to a fancy Mongolian restaurant for lunch. It was beautiful. We sat outside on a patio which overlooked plush gardens. For some reason there was a huge pile of baby turtles around one specific plant. Some kids were playing with the turtles. I asked why the turtles were there and the little boy said simply "Because they like it!". DUH! Karla and I had fun taking pictures of me wearing a new shirt that my mom just gave me. Then I took pictures of Karla and Jose because they are a beautiful couple and so far none of my photos have shown this.

Now we are all at home. Once again Karla is studying. Jose and I are resting. Karla is a very busy woman! But she and Jose are a lot of fun too. The kids will come home next weekend. I have one more week to sleep late and have my own room. When they return they get up at 6:30 every morning and Karla's sister, Karina will be my roommate.

The Big Game! EUA vs Honduras

The guys all piled into Walter's truck
Jose making popcorn

This day started off slowly. I had a hard time getting out of bed. I didn't feel like putting all of the thought and effort into speaking spanish. So I laid around for a while and started to get a little down. But then I remembered that the big game started at 6:30 pm and it would be a fun night at the church. So I showered and put on my favorite jeans to make sure they still fit. (They did.)

When I went downstairs Walter, one of the people who helped us when I came down with my church group last year, was in the living room preparing to lead the church service tomorrow. Karla was working with her study group, but she had homemade chicken soup on the stove. Everyone took a break and we had a nice lunch.

Then Jose and I went to the church to prepare for the big game. I've been hearing about it since I got here. Honduras was playing the US at Soldier Field in Chicago. Jose set up the auditorium and we popped enough popcorn to feed 40 people. Then it began to rain. We were very worried that the lights would go out - really it was amazing that they didn't. (Well, actually they did, but not until after the game.) The rain filled the bucket of water in this picture at least 5 times that I saw - we empty it and save the water.

People had a hard time getting to the church because the streets were flooded. What would normally take 15 minute took over an hour because under all of the water there are horrible potholes that people here normally take for granted. But hidden by the flood of rain, the potholes made the streets very dangerous - more on that later. In the end we had a nice crowd despite the weather. We charged money to get in and sold popcorn, nachos and soda to benefit the church.

Three girls from Denver were visting for the weekend so there were some others to cheer for the US. I really wanted Honduras to win, because it means so much to the people here, but I pretended that I cared about the US so we had a fun rivalry. When Honduras made the first goal all of the guys lept around like a mosh-pit. The jumped up and banged their chests together. It was fun to see them so excited. But that was their only excitement of the game. The US (or EUA as it said on the screen) did well in the second half and won 2-1.

However, that was far from the end of our night. While we cleaned up, Jose rode with Tony to Los Pinos to take the little boy, Carlos, home. Tony had debated doing this as it is unsafe for him to drive there at night and also unsafe for Carlos to walk from where the car drops him off on the street, up the mountain to his house. Tony had already gotten a flat tire on his way to the game and ripped the side of his truck by falling into a hidden pothole. But they headed out. They didn't get very far when they hit another hidden pothole and got another flat tire. But this time Tony didn't have a spare and he was in Los Pinos. They called Walter, who took the tire to an auto repair shop (at 9:30 pm on Saturday) and they were able to fix it. Tony said the whole experience was surreal. The rain was just dumping the whole time.

Karla and I were stuck at the church because Jose had ridden with Tony for security. And that was when the lights went out. So although we were warm and fairly dry, we were in the dark, wondering when the men would return. We had some good talks and shared some secrets. Karla also told me about her daughter Valerie, who was not supposed to live when she was born. Numerous specialists said that she had heart problems and to make a long story short, after a LOT of prayer, the final Dr could find nothing wrong with her heart at all. The Dr told Karla and Jose that he personally did not believe in God, but there is no other explaination for how Valerie's heart was made perfect. Really cool story and only one of the ways God has worked miracles in Karla's life.

Finally everyone returned to the church safely and we all headed home. I took a photo of all of the guys piled into Walter's truck at the end of the long night. They had the hour drive up to La Tigra - with some in the back covered in a tarp, but there were no complaints. Except that Honduras lost the big game.

Our Verduras (produce)

Mercado

Queso Fresco (cheese)

The Coolest Thing So Far!

I can't wait until morning to download my pictures. Can't do it tonight, I'm running on limited battery power. The rain finally came with thunder and lightening and the power, which goes off randomly in normal weather, has been off and on all night.

Tony did get to talk to Carlos' mom. It went well and he was happy. Now Tony has her permission to enroll Carlos in school which is another long story, but it will happen in about 3 weeks. Carlos' brother, who is 14, said he wants to come to church and go to school as well. We are hoping he will follow through and come with Carlos tomorrow to watch the US vs. Honduras futbol game. Only time will tell.

But here is why tonight was the best night ever. Jairo invited me to sit in on a marriage seminar that he was giving for the people of the church. It was about finances. Marraige and finances in spanish until 10 pm was difficult and I was exhausted, but Jose and Karla asked did I want to go with them after the seminar to the mercado to buy fresh vegetables. I said yes and it was sooooo awesome.

Most of it was closed b/c of the rain and it was 10:15 at night when we got there, but I have never seen so many vegetables in my life. Once again it is little makeshift shacks or posts with roofs all gathered behind the soccer stadium in a huge area. During the day there are butchers and tons of plants and flowers - some of the flower vendors were still open, but most of them were covered with tarps. Jose pointed out that the people sleep there with their goods, but the mercado is only there on Fridays and Saturdays. Usually it is packed shoulder to shoulder with people but it was empty because of the rain. Lucky for us it rained on the ride there, and it POURED on the way home, but we were dry while we were there.

I saw the hugest head of broccoli I have ever seen. Now I know why it's called a "head" of broccoli - it was bigger than my head! I tried a bunch of fruit - the vendors let you taste everything so you just walk around tasting who has the sweetest fruit to buy. I tried this one thing which looked like a cactus from the outside but it was more round like a mango in shape. I think it was called guanavana. Inside it was white and had the strangest texture, kind of like a mixture of watermelon and mango - I know it makes no sense, it was really wierd - with big black seeds that sometimes stayed attached to the stringy texture of the fruit and sometimes popped free in my mouth. Karla broke one open and we ate it in the middle of the market. In the end we were laughing like little kids. Our hands and faces were covered in the juice. It was really fun. When we got home we took pictures of everything we bought - except the guanavana because we ate it. All of it together cost 300 limpiras, which is about $15. At the supermercado it would have cost much more and would not have been as fresh (or as fun!). We are going to go back when there are lots of people and the stands are all open. Jose pointed out that one cool thing about this mercado is that the people who go there come from all walks of life, from the richest to the poorest in Tegucigalpa. I can't wait to go back!

I Need a New Alarm Clock

My new sound today is not a good one. And it's not that new.

When I was little my mom bought me an alarm clock that had the sound of birds instead of a buzzer - she thought that was a nicer way to be woken. So since I was little I've always chosen alarm clocks with tweeting birds. You would not think this could be a problem. However, here in Honduras right outside my bedroom window are the exact birds that were used to make the sound for my alarm. Every morning lately (this morning at 5:04 am) I am woken up by the sound of my alarm clock, which is still in the states. I need to retrain my mind not to wake up to this sound. Especially because these specific birds are in their prime between 5 am and 6 am.

Yesterday Tony and I left church early because Nidia was still sick. We met her at a private clinic where she was given medicine. (ooooooh!!!! Finally I hear thunder! Today may be my first rain storm since I got here. The rainy season is supposed to begin any day. I've been loooking forward to the rain.)

Afterward I went home and read a newspaper in spanish - a habit Tony and I want to continue - then took a nap. In the newspaper I learned that if Honduras beats the US in futbol on Saturday a whole bunch of fast food places are giving away free food. Also I saw that Hilary was in Cuba, I need to be careful eating shrimp because there is no group that moniters the temperature of shrimp until it is sold, and I missed the day that phone minutes are sold 3 minutes for the price of 1. Gotta keep my eye out for that. It changes weekly. Also 8 men posing as police went into a drug house and shot all of the men inside, but did not kill the women. And there are 34 cases of swine flu confirmed here. That's the local news.

Dinner was great once again. It kind of like a tuna casserole only with fresh vegetables. Last night we got into the hot sauce for the first time. And Jose taught me about the different strength of the pepper spices. After dinner I went to bed and read some more, then went to sleep early b/c I had a small headache all day. Today I feel better.

This morning Karla and I took a cab for the first time to the church. It cost 60 limpiras, which is about $3.12. You don't tip the driver. Also it is the same price no matter how many people are in the cab. Otherwise cabs are the same as in the US. Karla is going to introduce me to two drivers who are friends of hers so that when I go alone I can call them and they will be the only cabs I ride in alone.

We had 46 kids from the school walk over this morning. Karla does a really neat interactive program with them - the kids loved it. She had two of the kids from our every day breakfast program who did a puppet show. Everyone sang songs and listened intently to her. Then they got to eat a breakfast of sausage mixed with eggs, a tortilla, a piece of avocado, a piece of apple, and juice. Tony explained to me that at home these children do not get meat, or probably avocado either. They are so tiny, it is hard for me to tell their ages in part because of their size and partly because even the older boys love hugs from adults and are physical with eachother in ways that boys in the US are not. Anyway, everything went very smoothly. About 7 kids were chosen from the daily breakfast program to serve the school kids. They prayed about this opportunity to teach the school kids about God, and talked about how this is not "work", this is an opprtunity to serve. It was very cool to watch. The church here is doing a great job in grooming leaders for the future. The kids are good at leading by example and also moniter eachother's behavior pretty well.

Today at 11 am, Tony was supposed to go visit with Carlos' mother. It is now 12:30 and through no fault of Tony's they are still at the church. I hope she is there when they go to her house. Normally she is on the streets every day because of a drug problem. Tony is praying that his spanish will be effective. I am praying that she is still at the house.

I have the rest of the day on my own. Karla and Jose are have to work this afternoon. Then they have a meeting with Jairo from 7-9 pm. Karla said we will go grocery shopping tonight at 10 pm! She invited me to come and I said I would love to go.

Yesterday Tony and I went to a small market. The small markets are called "mercados", but there are only certain things that are safe to buy there - basically non-perishables and fruit if it looks good and the price is right. For all other items Karla says it's important to go to a "supermercado" which is just like a grocery store only everything is in Spanish. Personally, I like the mercados. They are small wooden shacks in a row with different vendors in each one. Yesterday I bought queso fresco from the mercado for my family. Queso fresco is a little bit like fresh mozzarella, only very flavorful, salty, with tiny holes, and a bit more firm.

Tony just left to go to Carlos' house! I said a strong prayer that Carlos' mother will be there. He will be only 2 hours late, which is not a big deal in Honduras normally. We were supposed to go yesterday, but there is a man who was sitting in the street on Wednesday who yelled at us not to come there. So today Tony is with a local man who works for the church because the area where Carlos lives is not safe. I think he will be fine with Don Juan, but with me there may have been problems. They will drive up the side of a mountain as far as they can go, then walk the rest of the way up and to the other side of the mountain where Carlos' home is one room made of mud. His grandmother lives there with him, but she is having a hard time.

Meeting Tony and choosing to come to church could be Carlos' opportunity for an easier life. Carlos also has other brothers, one who is 8. The mother insists that the 8 year old accompany her on the streets, but at 11 Carlos is old enough to say no. I keep asking Tony, if he has the chance, to pressure the mom into letting the 8 year old come with Carlos. But all things in time. We are also waiting to put Carlos in school. First he needed to be fed, then cleaned up. Now he is building friendships and self esteem that he did not have a "street kid". Soon he will be able to hold his own in a classroom.

Carlos' New Shoes