Ana's Flat Iron and Front Steps

I just had the best talk with my friend Ana. When I first got put on bedrest I was so bummed out. I talked to her on the phone and she pointed out that I should be grateful for a time of rest. Since that conversation all of the stress and frustration I initially felt is gone. I learned to appreciate this quiet time.

Ana is the most grateful person I know. She has very little, yet she is grateful for everything. Her faith is so deep that she even manages to be grateful for things yet to come!

Today she returned to the breakfast program where I used to serve, and where I met her. She has been the cook there for four years, feeding between 40-70 kids each day. She said the kids were really happy to see her. She wasn't able to serve in November or December because she had cancerous cells removed and had to take two months off per doctor's orders.

During that time, with help from her mother and her kids, she still made the snacks for Impacto Juvenil - the organization where I serve. She needs that income. Impacto Juvenil pays her a lump sum. Out of that money she has to make 75 snacks per week. In the end she only makes 5 Lempiras per snack - that comes out to $16.30 in weekly earnings to feed her family.

After the surgery for cancer the doctor said that she really needs another surgery. Her body was badly torn apart in childbirth but at the time the doctors didn't offer any follow up care. Ana said she knows she has had problems since her first child was born over 17 years ago.

The doctor who treated the cancer is from a better hospital. Soon she will get her reconstructive surgery.

While she was getting pre-surgery exams done this week she saw people around her who seemed really depressed. She gave them encouragement (like she did me when I was on bedrest) and told them, "Cheer up! I never thought I would own two packages of diapers for my daughter. But you know what! I did!!"

I've explained in this blog about how people here tend to buy what they need right now. Ana used to buy diapers for Isabela one by one from a corner store. Isa was severely allergic to cloth diapers. She had horrible red welts. Ana tried her best to keep Isa in disposable diapers. But she had never purchased a whole package of diapers before in her life. She never even dreamed of buying a package of diapers. It was all she could do to buy them one at a time.

One day, years ago, I was standing in the grocery store looking at diapers. I asked myself why in the world I was standing there in front of the diapers. I felt like I was supposed to buy some. At that time the only baby I knew in diapers was Isabela. Her mother had changed her in front of me and I had notices how red and raw she was. It realized God put me there to buy diapers for Isa.

Ana's family often goes hungry, so I asked God if He was sure I should buy diapers. Wouldn't food make more sense? It seemed odd! But God was telling me I was only supposed to worry about the diapers. So that's what I did.

To this day Ana is grateful for those diapers. She is telling strangers in the public hospital about it to encourage them to have faith. She's not talking about the days she didn't have food or clothes for her children. She is thankful for the days that she did!

In the same conversation Ana also shared her gratitude for the fact that her son will graduate this year and should be all set to study to be a pilot after graduation. She LOVES the beauty classes she receives through Impacto Juvenil. There is a special joy in her voice as she talks about what she has already learned and what she is looking forward to learning in 2017. She is already trained in manicures and pedicures. They will learn cuts, styling and makeup in 2017.

Her only concern is that her flat iron broke. Only one side heats up. She doesn't know how she will be a hair stylist in Honduras (where everyone wants "smooth" hair) without a straightening iron. She sent her straightening iron to be fixed, but the guy couldn't fix it. A new one costs two weeks salary.

The thing I am most grateful for is new front steps for Ana's house! Ana's house sits on the side of a mountain. Her front steps have been a hazard since I met her. They are tall and teetery. Twice that I am aware of (probably more), Isabela fell out of the house and landed on the ground because of those steps. Once she got a concussion. Ana has been praying and asking for help to buy cement for new steps for over six years. This year she will finally get her new steps! My coworker who is the leader of Impacto Juvenil in Los Pinos, told Ana that the steps will be the first community project of 2017. That makes me so happy!

Can you imagine sending your curling iron to be fixed? Can you imagine diapers being so far out of reach that you'd never dream of buying a whole package? Can you imagine waiting over six years and watching your kids get hurt, but not being able to build safe steps for the entry to your home? If you can't imagine these things, you're not alone. I can't either.

When I told Ana I thought six years was a long time to wait for those steps, Ana replied, "God's time is not like our time. We think in minutes or hours, days, weeks or even a year. But sometimes God's time is longer. We just have to be patient."  ♥  I love my faithful friend!

I am grateful that God gave me a friend who is so appreciative, who always sees the positive in things and never dwells on the negative. Ana has so much she could rightfully complain about. Her life is tough. Yet, through it all her attitude of gratitude is an inspiration.

Cold Front

I am getting more and more in tune with the weather patterns of Honduras. Yesterday a gusty wind blew in. I thought to myself, that doesn't sound like any old wind. That sounds like a cold front. I bet it will rain soon and stick around for a few days.

I was right. It got super cold. This morning was the coldest temperature I've ever experienced down here in the city. It must be freezing in the mountains! The wind is still gusting. Fany says her family in Guatemala are getting the same weather, only it's even colder.

My boss called to see how I'm doing. She talked to me about the bicycle race that our organization puts on each year. It's called "Coast to Coast" because they race from the North Shore of Honduras all of the way to the South Shore. It was created by my coworkers to bring awareness to problems within the educational system. They stop along the way to visit schools and give talks. Now hundreds of people come from all over the world to ride in the race.

My boss's husband is participating. She said the roads have 4 foot "wells" of water from the storm that is passing through. They expect the winds to remain gusty with heavy rains throughout the week. Not ideal for eight days of cycling.

On Friday night one of my coworkers died. I am hearing conflicting numbers regarding her age, but she was only a little older than me. She had a heart attack and left behind two young kids and her husband.

In Honduras when someone dies they hold a "valorio" (wake) immediately. It's usually open casket in the person's home. In this case she died at 11 p.m. They held the wake all day Saturday. Usually they would be buried the same day, but she was buried Sunday morning.

My coworkers stayed with the family for for almost 48 hours straight. We do the same if a family member of one of the kids in our clubs dies. We have a psychologist and the leader of the club stay with the family from the moment we are informed until after the person is buried.

Saturday the cleaning lady did come to my house. In fact she stayed all day. She brought me coffee from the factory where her husband works as a roaster. I don't have a coffee pot, and I can smell the bag of coffee from the kitchen into my bedroom. It's like torture! Hahaha!! She said next week she is going to bring a little strainer thing that Honduran people use to make individual cups of coffee. You just pour boiling water through it and wa-la! One day I may get fancy and buy a coffee press - once I can get out of bed.

Speaking of getting out of bed, I noticed Saturday evening that the pain in my ankle is no longer that burning, stabbing pain. It still hurts, but not as sharply. Saturday night I slept through the night for the first time in two weeks. Hurray! Yesterday I continued to feel good. I dumped a bag of beans into the crockpot, with chicken stock and some carrots that were already diced in my fridge for salads. Then added an onion and garlic. It was only a few minutes of standing and I got to smell the soup cooking all day. Last night Fany helped me add some turkey sausage. Now I have soup for a week!

(Stopped writing to take a shower)

I just fell down for the second time in the shower. At least this time I was showering. Last time I didn't even mean to go near the shower, I just kind of tipped over and fell in. I figure if I get all of my shower falls out of my system now, I won't have to worry about breaking a hip when I'm old. The bad news is, my ankle has a new tingly feeling it didn't have before. The good news is the cast is dry.

Fany learned yesterday that her husband's cousin is dying. The cousin is the one person in the world her husband, Santos, always counted on. The family has always joked that Santos and his cousin are much more like siblings that his true siblings. She went to a public hospital last week and learned that her body is full of cancer. Fany saw her last Tuesday. Between last Tuesday and Sunday she went downhill fast. This will be the first death that Laura will experience in her family. At five, she is beginning to understand about death.

I had a great first Spanish lesson Friday. But I haven't been able to pay for more classes. They have a PayPal link but my PayPal account is all messed up because I didn't set it up right. I've called and emailed the office for Spanish classes but they still haven't gotten back to me. It's odd. When I took lessons with them five years ago they responded immediately and always answered the phone. I hope to get the lessons set up soon. If not, I may have to pay a little more and go through a different program. The funny thing is, they have the same teachers, so I'll get the same class. It just costs more money.

No need to worry about me getting out of bed today. It's too cold! I'm very content staying cuddled up in bed with a good book, listening to the wind howl outside. Jetty agrees.