A group of jovenes (teens) from the city were invited to spend the night in La Tigra and attend a presentation Saturday morning about La Tigra and environmental conservation. I was asked to go along to chaperone the girls and gladly accepted the invitation. La Tigra is one of my favorite places on earth. It is a beautiful rain forest and part of a National Park. We met at the church - me with all of my gringa camping gear and the girls with little bags like what my mother would use to carry library books.
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| Lolita, Estephany, Kebelin, Fabiola |
Although we waited 40 minutes, soon after we left Walter got a phone call that more kids had arrived at the church. We pulled over on the side of the road and they drove to meet us. Then, with six kids in tow, we headed up the mountain. We arrived at the church in La Tigra to find the Honduras-Panama fútbol game projected on the wall like a big screen with huge speakers to give the full effect. About 30 local people were gathered to watch the game.
One of the mothers had made me promise to take care of her daughter as though she were my own, so I felt terrible when she said she felt sick to her stomach. I had no medicine and could only offer to sit outside with her in the fresh air. When it became apparent that Honduras was not going to win, more teens came outside and began to their own game of fútbol. Soon Estephany felt well enough to play. From that point on, she played fútbol unless she was sleeping or eating.
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| Fabiola and Estephany playing fútbol with two local boys |
We were treated like royalty, with tents already set up and mattresses inside. There was also wood stacked in perfect square over square, with pine needles between each layer, for a huge bonfire. Next time I'll know to bring S'mores! Even the stars put on an amazing show for us. The city kids laid down and tried to guess how many stars were in the sky, all of them commenting over and over about how beautiful it is in La Tigra. What an honor, to share that experience with them.
Finally it started getting chilly, so we started the bonfire and warmed up. By that point we were tired and ready for bed. Fabiola forgot her blanket. She was going to share with Estephany and me, but got frustrated when Estaphany told her to keep her ice cold feet to herself. Then she moved into the other tent with Lolita and Kebelin and we could hear them complaining about her cold feet too. After a few minutes of giggling, everyone was sound asleep. The sun rises here before 6 a.m., but we slept until 8. I was very happy about that.
Breakfast was pancakes on the grill outside. The girls swore they could each eat four. I should have known better than to listen to them after watching their skinny teenaged legs running around the night before playing soccer. They are all in that in between stage, where they haven't grown into their long legs yet. Anyway, they barely ate 3 each. I pretended to scold them, but really I knew it was my fault. I shouldn't have made all of that food. So we gave the extras to some local people who were cleaning up the area before the presentation. At least none of it went to waste in the end. For the rest of the day we joked about never wanting to eat another pancake for the rest of our lives.
The girls suggested we go for a hike, and if you know me, you know I was thrilled with that idea. I had told them I was baptized in the river nearby, so they asked if I would show them where I was baptized. What an amazing honor and blessing, to be able to show the young girls where I was baptized! We walked down, or in some cases slid, because none of us had appropriate shoes. It was a beautiful hike. Each time we came to a small clearing they would ask, "Is this it?" and I would say, "No, it is better than this."
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| Lolita, Kebelin, Estephany and Fabiola on the hike |
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| Kebelin on part of the ropes course |
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| Rainforest |
Finally we got to the place where I was baptized. THEY LOVED IT! After taking a look they decided they wanted to go for a swim, so they jumped in. I felt horrible because I had to make them leave too soon. It was time for the speaker to begin as we started to climb back up the mountain. But they had been enjoying themselves so much I couldn't rob them of that moment. They were good sports about having to leave so quickly.
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| Place I was baptized |
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| Fabiola in the waterfall |
We got back just in time to take a seat and the presentation began. Walter called me over to ask why the floor was wet under Kebelin's chair. I don't know what he thought, but I explained she had been swimming, so her hair was wet and dripping. Oops!
They listened intently to the speaker. I was so proud of them when they contributed by talking about how we had just been hiking and picked up the garbage we found. (I expected them to complain when I asked them to collect garbage on the way back, but they made a game to see who could collect the most.) They told the speaker that if we work as a team we can help keep La Tigra clean!
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| Parque Nacional "La Tigra" |
After the presentation they begged to go hiking again, but it was time for lunch. Lunch was two hotdogs topped with piles of onion, chiles, relish and other condiments. I knew my belly could only hold one, but everyone else struggled to finish two. Wasting food here is not acceptable. With full bellies we waited for a ride back to the city. We took some more pictures, Estephany played fútbol, and the rest of us rested in the tents.
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| Lolita, Fabiola, Kebelin with full bellies |
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| Estephany, Kebelin, Lolita, me, Fabiola |
After a brief downpour, in which we discovered the tents all leak, we packed everything up and headed back to the city. It was a really great time.
Karla was at the church, waiting for me. We were three hours late getting home, but nobody seemed to notice. This was the start of part two of my awesome weekend.
We washed Karla's car in the rain, then went to pick up Jose from his college. (He even had a class at 9 a.m. on Sunday!) After picking up Jose they were starving, so we had a big dinner. Karla is known for her cooking, which is funny because her whole family is so thin. I was NOT hungry, but ate anyway, just because the food was good. Then we unplugged a clogged drain with a wet vac - never heard of doing it that way before, but it worked! Afterward, I did two loads of laundry in the washer and dryer. Now my tank tops are no longer stretched out around the bottom, my towel is not scratchy and my blankets don't smell like wet dog. Life is good!
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| Karla's Kitchen |
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| Living Room at Karla and Jose's house - door on left leads to outside patio |
We sat out on the porch and listened to the frogs. We talked about important stuff. I love spending time with Karla and Jose. They treat me like family. And we don't waste time with small talk. Then Karla found a show on tv that has been on since she was a child. She was excited to share it with me and tell me about the ways it has changed over the years. When it was over we watched some more fútbol until I got tired and told everyone good night.
This morning we went to church. Jairo was not there, but it was still a great message. It was about remembering to go to God with everything, not just when you are sad or have problems, but also when you are happy.
I realized as I sat there that I had been dreading this day for a long time. Because I never believed this day would happen the way that it did. In my mind I imagined that on the last Sunday before my flight back to the states I would be horribly sad and heart broken. I thought I would be saying good bye to everyone, maybe for the last time. I pictured this day to be a horrible, painful day. But instead, this is the day that my mind and my heart finally came to terms with the fact that I am going to live in Honduras. It was a process that happened step by step, throughout the day. In church I started crying as I explained to Jose that I had been dreading this day, because I hadn't dared to hope that I would stay here. I didn't want to get my hopes up because I thought it would hurt more when I had to leave. Then I told Karla how this day was so much different from what I had expected. It felt like a celebration. God is allowing me to stay in Honduras!
After church I promised the kids I would be back in a few weeks. I got a special hug from my buddy Christian (Conejo). He has outgrown our days of being side by side, but he still makes sure to grab me in a big hug from behind and make me guess who it is every once in a while. I spun him around and held on to him. I love that boy. He has been struggling lately and I'm not sure why. Don Juan will figure it out. I'm guessing family problems.
After church Leonor (my landlord, and now my friend) and I went to lunch, then hung out at the mall. We looked for a bible for Marlin - one that is especially easy to read. One of the stores ended up ordering it for us. Then we sat down and had coffee to pass time until the gringo church. God was definitely guiding our conversation because she is struggling with something I had direct experience with, so we made a plan to work on that together. I don't think I can really help, but at least I can provide some insight.
Gringo church was nice. She said she really liked it. She knew a lot of people there, because they are all teachers at her daughters' school. At the Gringo church I learned that today is missions Sunday. I didn't even realize that was this week. How appropriate for me to finally feel like a real missionary on missions Sunday!
After church she dropped me off and I walked into my house for the first time since Friday afternoon. It was the best feeling of coming home. I walked in, looked around and had a true sense of being at home, not just at the place where I am staying, but my home. There is a difference.
That was my awesome weekend.
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