Today was a very cool day. Much different than expected.
This morning I had a meeting I really didn't want to go to. It felt like one more thing on a list of many things I needed to get done. It just didn't seem like a priority. I wished I could call and reschedule the meeting for some time in the future when I didn't have a million things going on. But it was with people I have never met before. I didn't want to make a bad impression. My landlords have wanted me to meet these people for about a year now. Some of the church leadership said it would be a good idea to get to know them too. So I went.
As I pulled up to their gate a man came out. He said, "Well there you are! Right on time!! Mary, Mary quite contrary. Do people ever call you that?" I just smiled and thought, 'Oh no. This is going to be a looong meeting.' Luckily my first impression was way off. I ended up not wanting to leave!
Their home is incredible and it sits on a beautiful piece of property in La Tigra. The owner quickly explained to me that yes, he is incredibly blessed, but he gives all of the praise to God.
We sat down and had a traditional Honduran breakfast of eggs, sausage, delicious fresh pineapple, honeydew melon, guayaba, beans, mantequilla, chismol, and a few other things I can't remember right now. Oh, and wine. We had wine for breakfast.
You see, not only does this family run a school and make a fertilizer product from the algae in their pond - they also make wine. Right now they are trying wine with a coffee flavor. Since coffee and wine are both big products in Honduras, they decided to blend the two. As I asked questions about the wine he asked the lady to bring a bottle of the sweet coffee wine and the more bitter coffee wine. Jokingly he declared it a great "after breakfast wine". Then he confessed that really he specializes in blackberry wine (I later saw the blackberry vines) so of course we had to try that too!
For the first two we just took a sip but he gave me a big glass of the blackberry. I thought to myself, 'What am I going to do? I can't possibly drink all of this and then drive down to the church! (and it's 9 o'clock in the morning!!!)' I took a few sips and declared it delicious, because it was. Then I explained I felt horrible wasting wine, but I couldn't drink the whole glass. He said, "Oh. You seemed like you would like to drink it." I thought to myself Would and SHould are two different things.
Next I got a tour of the house. It was absolutely gorgeous. Spacious. Tasteful. Built from the original one room where he lived 40 years ago. The same chimney still stands.
They are adding on to the house with dorm-like rooms to host mission teams that come to Honduras. Or maybe promote eco-tourism. They are still kind of throwing around ideas and were hopeful that I might have some too. As I passed through the property I thought it would make an excellent retreat center. I believe it is one of the most peaceful places in the world. Not because I claim to have seen the whole world, but because I can't imagine a place more peaceful.
After the tour of the house we toured the school they built. Right now it is Pre-K through second grade. They are building a new building with hopes of having it complete by next January, in time to start a third grade there. The school is not completely bilingual in their opinion. They say in order for it to be a bilingual school, the kids must be always taught in English. All I know is that their first grade class was speaking more advanced English than the high schoolers I tutor at the church from public school. I was very impressed. The kids were all in uniform. The some of the classrooms were small, but the kids seemed well behaved, appeared happy and were definitely learning a lot. It was very inspiring. Lately I need inspiration because teaching preschool at the church has never really been my thing.
Then they asked if I wanted a tour of the property. I said sure. They said okay, hop in the car. Yes, we had to use a car. The property was enormous. You could walk all day on that property and never see the same thing twice. The coolest part was that he knows every inch. There were ponds and cliffs and beautiful old houses that nobody lives in anymore. At one side was a factory for the fertilizer. Another part was where their daughter has a nice home.
And there was a crick. YES! He called it a crick!!! Oh. I was so happy. Sometimes when you live away from all of the things you are accustomed to, the smallest things make you feel at home. When he said, "The crick runs along the bike path" the hugest smile spread across my face. Wow. I haven't heard "crick" in years. And he said it repeatedly as we passed from one side of the creek to the other.
I asked where he was from. I think he said Missouri? Or someplace South. I don't remember. I was too busy thinking about "crick" and wondering if he would say "chimbley" too. (He didn't.) We got out of the car and hiked around a little bit. We drove up on some of his employees lying down in the road instead of harvesting coffee. They scurried to their feet and started to work after they saw the car approaching. He didn't say a word about catching them resting. He talked to them as if they hadn't just been lying down on the job. I really liked that. He seems like a very special man.
His wife was not as nonchalant about what she saw, but she remained reserved. She is a Honduran lady. She speaks Spanish. And puts up with her husband's alleged addiction to basketball. He tried to get us to play against him, but she and I declined.
I did pass other tests though, as we toured the property. He set up some places to resemble biblical stories and I had to guess what the story was. They were abstract. One was an altar made of rock. He never told me the story for the alter. Another was big rocks at the bottom of a hill, with a bench at the top. That represented Jesus praying while the disciples (the big rocks) slept. He said I was the first one to ever get that one. I would have thought he was trying to be kind, but he also told me that I eat a lot so I think he is just honest. There was an open tomb made of stones. We all know that story.
He said he was traveling around Central America and was looking for a place to grow strawberries. That is how he moved to Honduras. That was the year before I was born and he has lived in La Tigra ever since. He wrote a book about Central America, published in the US by Viking Press in 1970, which he showed me. He has noticed that castor trees grow everywhere on the property and wants to figure out a use (besides the notorious castor oil) for the beans that grow so abundantly. Maybe a cure for cancer? I like the way this man operates. He dabbles in wine making, enjoys horticulture, is educating kids in the school he and his wife created, and is running a factory for a pesticide/fertilizer. Soon they will be hosting people who stay at their home for missions/retreats/bicycling in La Tigra. Very cool.
I hope to return to the school to spend some time and learn some things. I would love to go hiking on the property and have a picnic. Preferably all by myself. That would be awesome.
In the end I was really happy that I kept my appointment to meet them. I am still not sure why everyone wanted us to meet. But they are very pleasant people who live in a beautiful place, do great things, and share my love for God, La Tigra, kids and nature. And wine.
