Ceviche and more ceviche

I finally found a holiday that I enjoy more in the US.  Well, of course I love the 4th of July, but that doesn't count because it's not celebrated here.

When I lived in Salt Lake my favorite church service at K2 each year was Good Friday.  Sounds like they had another great one this year.  I was a little homesick for K2 this weekend.  Iglesia in Transformación does not gather for Good Friday at all.  Easter is not a big event either.

Last year I was a little disappointed with the Easter service here.  It was not the big celebration I was used to.  People didn't dress up.  It just didn't feel like Easter the way I know it.  This year I went into it with an open mind.  I wore pink jeans instead of a dress, thinking at least I had Easter colors.  In the end I decided that we all know the story of what happened on Easter.  It could be boring to hear it over and over.  But it's so awesome, it really should be a day of celebration.  Once again, I didn't feel that at church.  The songs we sang didn't speak of it.  It was a good service, but not special and not particularly Easter-ish.

I did have a very enjoyable day, although not related to Easter.  My landlords invited me to celebrate Hermida's sister's birthday.  We went for a nice walk, then ate ceviche (for the second time this week!!!) and had a delicious seafood soup.  I have gotten to know all of Hermida's family pretty well.  They are very kind and welcoming to me.  I enjoy spending time with them and feel at home with them now.  We sang happy birthday, played pool and enjoyed the afternoon and evening together.

Hermida's mother and father are in their 80's but they are so active you would never guess it.  Hermida's father always wears a tie and a knit beanie.  Her mother is beautiful.  I had my first lengthy talk with Hermida's father yesterday.  He told me that he has seen pumas near my house.  He said it was many years ago when he saw the puma, but he believes there are even more now because they are being protected.

Hermida's neice went to Bay Island on the North Shore for spring break.  She had funny stories, typical of kids her age on spring break.  Her friend let her stay at a really fancy place on a private beach for free for the week.  Unfortunately, the rains were so heavy that the free place flooded and she had to pay $300/night for a hotel so she spent all of her money on the hotel and had none left for food or transportation.  In the end she slept on the beach with her friends because they didn't have money to get back and forth to the hotel and she barely ate.  It was a funny story.  She was fine and her parents would have stepped in if necessary.  She saw it as an adventure, a life experience, and a reason to eat lots of seafood soup at the party.

Today I learned that I will not have to pay for water because my landlord's water bill has not increased since I moved in.  Yay!  I was worried about the additional bill.  I hope it continues to stay the same.

Tomorrow I am supposed to go look for cars with a man from the church.  We may not buy anything, but I am eager to see what is out there.  If we come across something good...

My landlords got a cute new puppy.  He is part lab and part husky.  He has the markings of a husky, but the build and the fur of a lab.  This is only his second day with us so he is still a little whiny, but his cuteness makes up for it.  He doesn't have a name yet.  They might name him Benny, from "Benny and the Jetts".

Good Friday in Honduras

I have been asking and asking to see if anyone was going to see the "Alfombras" (carpets) for Good Friday. Last year I had just arrived in Honduras, so I didn't know about the alfombras.  This year I was determined to go.

Yesterday Hermida and I were gabbing in the driveway.  She asked what I was doing today.  I told her I wanted to see the alfombras, but nobody was going.  She said that she has always wanted to go, but had never had anyone to go with her!  So this morning we got up early.  Carlos, her husband, told me that the alfombras in Tegucigalpa were on CNN this morning.  The alfombras in El Hatillo are much smaller, but for my first experience it was perfect.  I was able to get up close and hear everything.   

We parked near the church and walked down where the procession would start.  We passed these alfombras along the way.  Some people were still making their alfombras.  Apparently families from the Catholic church get together and make the alfombras.  I forgot to ask exactly what they are made of, but it looked like colored sand.  They made the backdrop and then used cardboard with shapes cut out.  They dropped the colored sand into the cut out spot and made layer over layer.  As the day got hotter they sprayed they with water to keep them from blowing away.

We saw these on the way down to the starting point:

St Francis

The first station.  A dove.

Everyone sang as they walked to the next station

I loved that the priest wore a baseball cap.
It matched his robes and protected him from the sun.

Some people carried crosses

At each station someone read the story of Jesus' crucification
Then they applied Jesus' struggles to our struggles in today's life
and had a time of reflection.

I was really impressed by how they applied each station to real-life problems of today.  I wished I had a pen to write it all down.  They talked about how to avoid the corruption that is rampant in Honduras.  They talked about having hope - getting back up when you are down.  They addressed domestic violence, respecting women, protecting the environment - every day issues that Hondurans face.

Star of David

The Virgin of Suyapa - a famous statue found in the 1700's near my house

I was a little obsessed with the priest's baseball cap.

We also passed a little burro/pony

Someone pointed out how amazing the sky looked

The last supper - this was the biggest one

Branches above left shadows in the picture.

The last station was in front of the church

The last station - "Year of the Faith 2012-2013"

The inside of the Catholic church was gorgeous.
The photo doesn't do it justice.

After the procession Hermida invited me to join her family for a Good Friday tradition.  The ladies made two kinds of soup.  One was with dried fish which was soaked, then cleaned, then breaded in a tempura style and put into the soup with big pieces of breaded cheese.  It was delicious!  Then we had a coconut seafood soup.  It was a little like a Thai dish.  There was a type of crab inside, with the shell still on.  For desert we had a dish of sweet fruit.  One was kind of like a fig/plum with a big seed inside.  You put the whole thing in your mouth and suck on it until all of the fruit comes off the seed.  There were also bananas and mangoes in a sweet syrup.  Yummy!  We sat in Hermida's parents' yard, which is a beautiful garden paradise, and ate course after course.  Then we relaxed, talked, had coffee and talked more until the sun set and it got chilly.

Thank You Denver Team!

This has been a big week for me.  While the rest of the country was taking their week of rest, heading for the beach or traveling to see relatives, we hosted a group of teens from Colorado who served at the Breakfast Program.  They were completely awesome.  I met them at church last Sunday.  They were full of positive energy that was contagious.  They filled the church with even more of God's love and kept up the positive energy all week.

They got to experience the joy of having a lost suitcase.  Luckily, it didn't hold any of their personal belongings, but it did have craft projects they planned to do with the kids.  I don't think the kids even noticed. They kept the kids busy by playing, hugging, braiding hair, painting nails and even bathing the younger ones.  It was a great visit.  I never imagined how much those little ones would love being bathed.  What a fitting time for God's hands to bath the children.

Sometimes I had to remind myself that these guys were in high school.  They were very mature and seemed older.  I wished they could stay longer.  I'm sure the kids did too.

Homni fresh out of the shower, with lotion and new clothes!

Beth with Lorenzo

Leigh with Belkis, Cessia, Jose Manuel and Lorenzo

Scarlet having her face washed

Even Marlin got her hair braided!

In the midst of a lesson about Easter, Isaac accepted Christ!

Jarvin needed some extra hugs today

Memo singing

and dancing

Violet

Samuel

Samuel before he took a bite of cabbage and spit it all over the table

The team and the kids

The kids' first Easter Egg hunt!

Jose found two eggs!