The past two days have been incredible. Incredibly good. Yesterday I thought Jairo was going to pick me up at 8, but he never came. I have learned not to call. They are always on their way eventually so I find something productive to do with my morning waiting times. Usually I do some extra bible study while I wait. Yesterday I started cleaning.
Since I got back from Christmas in the US, my clock radio has been making crazy noises when I plug my iPod into it. I have tried and tried to fix it, but nothing worked. Yesterday I sat down and prayed about it. I said to myself, this is the silliest thing I have ever prayed about - that God would make my iPod work - but I miss listening to music and I don't have money for another speaker system. So I told God, I know this is really silly. I am sorry to come to you with such a minuscule thing, but I cannot get this thing to work so I would appreciate it if you could. I plugged in the iPod and waited for the noise. It always takes a few seconds before it starts making the noise so I have been fooled before, thinking it was fixed when it wasn't. I waited, but no noise came. Then I turned on the iPod and MUSIC PLAYED!
I was so happy I ran around my house saying, "Thank you God! Thank you!" Then I had a very clear realization. God said to me, "If I care about silly little things like this, imagine how much I care about the big things. Stop worrying so much! I am taking care of everything."
I have been really concerned/worried/upset because I thought I was going to receive my washer and dryer when my church in the US sends a big delivery in March. They told me they could do it. But recently I was told there is not much space. I have been praying and asking others to pray that there will be room for my washer and dryer. It is hard to live in the mountains without those things. My washer is broken and I have never had a dryer since I moved to Honduras. In El Hatillo (since it is rain forest environment) there is seldom sun and it is cold. The climate is not conducive to having dry clothes. When I moved to El Hatillo in December I thought I would just have to hold out until March and I'd have dry clothes to wear. Then I got the bad news about lack of space. I started getting kind of freaked out. But now God has told me very clearly to calm myself down and trust in Him. If he cares about my iPod, he certainly cares more about my bigger worries.
Having my iPod come to life was a wonderful way to start my day. I was cheerful when I got to the Breakfast Program. However, due to a series of events which you wouldn't care to hear about, I was very late. When I walked into the preschool room the class was over and they were already lined up to wash their hands for lunch. I told them their line looked great and I loved how they were all being quiet. They were so excited to see me! It was as if I had been gone for weeks, not just an hour late. They all called my name, wanting my attention, anxious to tell me about their day and smothered me in hugs. I was at least four kids deep in hugs for a while. As they ate dinner, they told me how good they were that morning. Hearing all of the older kids tell me about his positive behavior one of the younger boys said, "And tomorrow I washed my dishes all by myself and I didn't even cry!" His sister pointed out that he meant to say yesterday, not tomorrow. He agreed he wouldn't cry today when it was time to wash his dishes too. Kids are so funny! This was the first time I really understood how much they care about me. I'm not just the Gringa who teaches their class. They really care about me.
With my heart full of love from the kids and full of gratitude to the lady from Canada who ran the class on her own, I went outside to help Lourdes prepare the 9 boys to leave for El Sembrador. I met a couple who are from the states, but were visiting the Breakfast Program for the day. They asked how I got here. I ended up telling them the whole, entire story. I don't think I've ever done that before. Usually I summarize. But they really enjoyed it. They would say, "Wow. That is amazing." And I would say, "Wait - It gets better!"
They loved the Breakfast Program and their excitement reminded me even more about how blessed I am to be here. Sometimes I get carried away with worrying about things like money, or my washer and dryer, and I forget how I waited to be here for so many years. I forget that there are others who would love to be in my shoes. I forget that I have an amazing life and I need to appreciate every second of it! But this couple helped me to remember.
They asked for the information as to how they can make financial donations and said they will pray about it. I was honored. We only met for about 2 hours.
Jairo dropped them off near my house and turned around, headed the other way. I wondered why he didn't drop me off, but I try not to ask too many questions. He always has a plan. Lourdes ended up asking him for me and he said he was taking us all out to dinner. I'm not sure why. It was no occasion that I am aware of. We picked up Lourdes' sister and her boys, Joss and Aaron each brought a cousin, and the 10 of us went out for pizza. It was good, but not as good as the place where we went for my birthday. Afterward I was so sleepy. They dropped me off at home with a full belly and I went to sleep quickly, after a few minutes of coughing. My cough is not as deep as it was and I am coughing less. But I still have a nasty cough.
Today I got to wake up music from my iPod on the clock radio! That was nice. I've never been a buzzer person. It was warm early in the morning. Down in the city it got pretty hot. It was at least 80 degrees when we all packed into the car after the Breakfast Program to go shopping. We had to get things for the boys who are leaving in 2 days for El Sembrador. Can you believe machetes are on their Back to School list? I had fun in the machete aisle with Jairo. I've never been in a store that had a machete aisle. Here machetes are used instead of lawn mowers. They actually do a much nicer job. Every day there are people on the sides of the road and in the medians cutting grass with machetes. My landlords pay someone to trim their whole property, even up the side of the mountain, with a machete. It is very common to pay someone else to clean your house or to do yard work here. People who are not wealthy have a nanny because there is always someone who needs a job or a meal. Most of my adult friends have someone who cleans their house 1-3 times per week. They assumed I would do the same. It is written in the rental agreement that I will pay for my own housekeeper.
Oh, but I got off topic. So Jairo and I picked out machetes. I told him it was my first time carrying a machete. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I think everyone is looking at you. And they are saying, 'Oh no! Look at the Gringa with the machete. Watch out! She looks dangerous!' " It was funny. I liked carrying the machete.
Tonight we are staying late at the church. I didn't know it until about 4 pm. Jairo made a big dinner and then went upstairs for a meeting with all of the committees. I guess they are each discussing their plan for the next three months. I hope I will get a car soon so I don't always have to keep up with the Lourdes and Jairo's schedule. They are hard to keep up with!
Tomorrow Lourdes is spending the day shopping. Among other things, the boys still each need 3 pairs of shoes and a pair of work boots. That's 36 items of footwear in total. I wonder where the money will come from. They need brown shoes for a new school uniform, black shoes for church, tennis shoes, and work boots. She also has to buy socks, tee shirts and underpants for them. Two of the boys have almost nothing of their own to bring. The rest don't have much.
Sometimes I sit here with a full tummy and I think about all of the people I know who are my friends in Honduras who won't eat tonight. I'm not thinking of only people from Los Pinos. I really know a lot of people who are scraping by. Some of them are extremely hard workers too. But jobs are few and far between, and when they do find work it doesn't pay much. I am getting better about not letting food spoil before I eat it and only buying what I will eat. It's hard without a car because my natural instinct is to stock up when someone takes me to a store. But I have been going without things that I used to think I needed to have in my house out of habit. I don't have as many choices when it comes time for dinner. But I have food. That is what matters.
I spent some time talking with the lady from Canada who is helping me. Usually we just talk about class related things. She has been here about 2 weeks. It is somehow reassuring to me that she is going through some of the same struggles that I did. She is smart and strong. She will be fine. I'm not sure I was very helpful to her. I remember being really frustrated when I talked to people about things that bothered me and they replied, "That's how it is here." However, I found myself saying to her, "That's how it is here."
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