Steps of Obedience

Hi guys. Please pardon my absence. I haven't blogged lately because I wasn't sure what to say.

Since February 11th God has been asking me to spend some time in Northern New York. I'm not sure why it was such a struggle for me to come to terms with that fact, but it was.

He's shown me this plan clearly, in many different ways, each time more forceful than the last. He had to be forceful and direct because until yesterday I didn't want to accept it.

I kept seeking different counsel.

First I talked to the leader of the community where I serve. If I leave she'll have a lot more work, so I thought she would try to convince me to stay. But she told me very clearly (on two occasions) that I should go.

My Pastor told me that I should go and if NY didn't work out, there is a place in the mountains of Germany that would be a good option.

Fany said she and Laura will miss me while I'm gone, but she gets it.

Even my Mom is supportive.

Yesterday I met with the leader of Honduran Fellowship of Missionaries. It was in that meeting where God finally gave me peace about the idea. So now I am able to share it with you.

I don't know why I am so stubborn. I knew it was His plan. I guess I just hoped He would change His mind. LOL!

I don't have all of the details worked out but God made two things very clear:

1) I'm to go to Northern New York, where I grew up
2) I will spend three months there

The purpose of my time there is to rest in Him, get treatment for my ankle, and be in a safe place for a while.

I have tons of logical justifications for why I shouldn't go. But if I don't walk in steps of obedience, I am not following God's will. That is not the life I want for myself.

So, on Monday I will talk to my head boss and try to explain all of this to her.

I am praying about timing. So far God hasn't shown me the WHEN part. I'd love to go for July, August and September. That way I could attend two special weddings, be in the US for the 4th of July, and see the leaves change in the Adirondacks. But I have a feeling that's not His plan. I believe He wants me to go sooner.

I will continue to pray about it and let you know how the whole thing evolves. To be clear, I am not feeling called to stop serving in Honduras.

Three days ago was the five year anniversary of my arrival in Honduras. Here are some photos of my anniversary party. We also finally celebrated Isabela's birthday.

The power went out.
We were supposed to have homemade pizza and smoothies.
Thankfully I had nuts & veggie trays.

Carlos made a surprise appearance!
He's working hard in his new school and doing well.

Erika and Alexandra

Isabela and her cake

My coworker (the head of the community we serve) and me.
Other coworkers came, but I forgot to get photos!

Me with Alexandra

Laura, Marjory, and Isa

And me in Jamaica! I really hoped that the trip to Jamaica would get rid of the nagging feeling (aka God's voice) that I was supposed to go to the US. Jamaica was awesome, awesome, awesome! But afterward God showed me even more powerfully that I am supposed to take three months in New York.

The swing outside of our hotel room.
We had one of the four best rooms in the whole place, right on the ocean.
It was only three days, but we made the most of every moment!

Protests

I got home early today. Didn't even make it to work. My coworker called this morning to say that she needed to change our plans and she would meet me at 1:30 at the office where we would ride together to one of the communities to teach the Strong Family Program.

Since I had the morning free I made breakfast for Fany, went to the gym for physical therapy, and called a friend to see if she wanted to meet for lunch. She works for the same organization, but in a different program so I rarely see her.

We went to lunch in a little plaza frequented by college students as it is directly across the boulevard from the University National Autonoma de Honduras (UNAH). The salads were delicious! It's tough to find a good salad here so as two North Americans, accustomed to eating our veggies, we talked about how we often get cravings for a good salad. We could make salads at home, but washing veggies is a pain in the neck when you don't have potable tap water - especially lettuce with it's nooks and crannies.

As we left the restaurant my friend said, "Why is traffic driving like that?" We were on a boulevard with four lanes going in each direction. I was focused on the far right lane because a car had almost hit me twice. However, in the left lane all of the cars were driving toward us on our side of the boulevard!

Traffic in Honduras is crazy. You see lots of things that would never happen in the US. Cars drive in the wrong direction on four lane highways if it means they will get to their destination faster. But this was a whole line of cars all driving toward us. It was outside the norm of craziness.

I hoped to take a quick right and get off the boulevard, but as we got closer to the intersection I saw it was blocked with tons and tons of police. My friend was still focused on the traffic driving backward so I told her to look. There were more than 50 and I couldn't see them all. They appeared to be huddled in a circle on the side of the road and into the side street where I wanted to turn. We decided we could still go straight and take the long way around.

Then we realized the road was blocked ahead. All of the cars were turning around in the middle of the street and driving back against traffic in that far left lane. It was the only way out.

So, I turned around in the road and headed back in the wrong direction. It was actually a short cut for us to get back to the office, so it turned out fine. But we were curious as to what was going on.

She went back to work and I waited for the car that was to take me to the parenting class. My car was scheduled for 1:30, but others had been waiting since 1:00 due to the chaotic traffic two blocks from our office.

I called my coworker. She had come from a different direction and already half way up the mountain with her driver. He offered to come back and get me, but I didn't want them to have to make two trips with the roads so crazy. She said I should just head home.

When I got home I was telling Fany about what I saw. We turned on local news. The situation had escalated quite a bit. I didn't see any police. The military had come with a huge tank-like truck. Students from the university had been protesting the death of Berta Cáceres. She is a Honduran environmental activist who was killed on March 3rd, 2016 for standing up to large businesses who want to exploit natural resources. The students protested today rather than tomorrow because not as many people attend school on Fridays.

The military men were lined up outside of the school with shields and gas masks. They are not allowed to enter that university because it is autonomous. Only the university's privately contracted police are allowed to enter. Students burned tires in the road which is a common practice here because a tire will burn for a long time and is impossible to move. The students locked themselves inside the gates of the university. From inside they threw rocks at the military police. The military police threw tear gas at them and sprayed water from the tanker truck. The whole scene was quite a mess. Both directions of traffic were closed. My friend and I got out just in time.

The US Embassy was closed today because of the protests. They sent out an email warning everyone yesterday afternoon. This weekend it will be wise to stay home and avoid flying rocks, teargas, and overturned cars.

Update and photos

There have been more robberies than usual lately. A friend from my previous church had a man break into her property. She found him in her back yard. She was able to get into the house and lock the door behind her. She called the police, but friends and family arrived long before the police showed up. Eventually he was arrested, which is shocking! Turned out, he was behind other robberies up in the mountains. It's funny, although I live in the midst of dangerous communities, I feel safer here than I did in the mountains.

Another woman was taken hostage (for lack of better word) by people who entered her taxi. This is a common occurrence. She was robbed and driven outside of the city where she was dumped without a phone or money to get home. She did make it home safely. The same thing happened to my friend Cynthia two weeks ago. On Monday my coworkers were assaulted on a "rapidito" (small bus). They are safe but their work phones and other possessions were stolen. Fany and I read a statistic that the bus for El Hatillo (where I lived in the mountains) has an average of 18 assaults every day. The bus is taken over by thieves who enter with guns and rob everything valuable. This, my friends, is why I cannot take public transportation. Every day there are articles in the newspaper about people who are killed if they don't do exactly as the robbers say.

Laura is back at school and doing well. We made cupcakes together on Saturday. She loves to cook.

Monday I went back to work. Three of my coworkers were in the hospital and one of our leaders is very sick too. Doña Angelica, the lady who always accompanied me to literacy class and who has been an amazing friend and mentor, suffered from thrombosis in her leg after surgery for varicose veins. I was really scared for her. She went into the hospital Thursday and was released yesterday. Another coworker had appendicitis, and a third they still haven't diagnosed but she has stomach problems.

My vote for cool project of the week went to a coworker who heard the kids complaining about how "dirty and nasty" their soccer field is. She got a can of paint and asked community members to help. Together, they cleaned up their soccer field. I love the way she empowered the kids. She gave them an opportunity to see they can make a difference in their community and gave them ownership over their soccer field by having them clean it themselves. I admire her and the work she does.

Painting the goal posts

A community working together
In the end, some received a loaf of bread for their work

Last week I got my first physical in five years. They did EVERYTHING. First I got a chest xray, then an electrocardiogram, then blood work, a gynecological exam, and a bone density test. The chest xrays show my lungs and heart are clear. The electrocardiogram showed my heart doesn't use as much force as the average heart, but the doctor said sometimes he sees that in people with a slimmer build. The gynecologist said I am very healthy. I was the only woman she saw all week who didn't have any cysts. The bone density test showed that my spine and legs are perfect, but my hip bones are starting to loose density, so I'm on Vitamin D supplements. The blood work showed my cholesterol is a little bit elevated. I've been obsessed with bacon lately, which is odd for me. The doctor told me to cut out the bacon and come back in three months. Everyone assured me that I am extremely healthy, which felt good. I was worried after not having a check up in five years, so that was a weight off my shoulders.

The coworker I serve most closely with is on vacation until tomorrow. Therefore, I had yesterday and today off. Tomorrow we get back to work with the Familia Fuerte Program. Yesterday I had to work on my resume.

When I first started serving at Impacto Juvenil we didn't have a human resources department. There were less than 100 of us in the whole organization. Now we are 150 people strong! For that reason, we've had to create things like human resources.

I hadn't updated my resume in 10 years! Not sure how I how away with that. Honduran resumes include a photo and your age. They are much longer than resumes in the US. I didn't include a photo or my age and kept it to two pages.

My friend Kim, the one who is quitting smoking in the US, is still doing well. She had a tough time on Sunday, which is normally her least favorite day of the week. Her soon to be husband leaves for work and doesn't come back until Friday night. She said she sat in the convenient store parking lot for 15 minutes with her cash card in her hand, wanting to buy cigarettes, but she left without buying them! I suggested she not leave home on Sunday afternoons from now on and she agreed that would be a great idea.

Two weeks from today I'll be headed for a quick weekend in Jamaica! I'm looking forward to relaxing in an environment where I won't have to constantly be on high alert for my personal safety. If we do nothing more than lounge by the pool and sit on the beach I will be totally content.