This morning we headed down to the continental breakfast that was included with our stay rate. Since we've been to Staybridge Suites in St. Louis, we have not found a better continental breakfast...until now. This was just exquisite, and delicious! Fresh fruits of all types (I even tried the "eyeball fruit", don't really know the name of it, but it does look like an eyeball), and hot foods spannish both Latino and American cuisine.
After breakfast, we weren't up in our room very long and we got a call from Grazia who is the interpreter/guide for our Compassion International visit with Eduardo (Andres' sponsored child) today. We were supposed to be down in the lobby at 9am, but she arrived around 8:30 and just wanted us to know she was waiting downstairs. We headed down right away since we were so excited to go see Eduardo!
We stopped at the project first and the Compassion project director, Emis, brought us to the office and talked a little bit about the project which services over 200 children. They have a few classes and activities during the week in the afternoons/evenings, but most of their activity takes place on Saturdays from 8am-2pm. They serve both breakfast and lunch to these children that come, who most are coming from extreme poverty...living in houses made out of wood that is barely thinner than cardboard. Emis told us that the parents are happy that their children can at least get 2 good meals a week at the Compassion project because many of these children go hungry.
Eduardo and his mom showed up about 20 minutes later, and then Emis led us through the project on a tour, showing us various classrooms that they use and area also used for government-provided classes for parents of the Compassion children. He told us that they had quite a few parents who learned how to read in just 5 short months on instruction! Grazia let us know that this is definitely one of the bigger projects in Tegucigalpa (she said there were numerous projects located around the city, but not any other facilities this large). They also have a room for vocational workshops, where they are teaching the girls cosmetology and the boys music, computers and a few other careers that will better prepare them for when they graduate from the project. Eduardo told us that he has a job installing glass railings in the new mall that's being built out by the airport.
Next we went to Eduardo's house. We found out that they've moved out of Comayaguela (a very dangerous city that is only separated from Tegucigalpa by a river) and into a safer neighborhood in Tegucigalpa. The house is nice and has a terrace which has a good view of the large statue of Jesus that is up on a mountain & overlooks the city of Tegucigalpa. We met his older sister and younger brother once again, AND we met his baby Tatiana Elisabet. His daughter was born almost 6 weeks ago. We all took turns holding her (of course me the most!)...she is SO precious!!! We also met his fiance, Katina.
After visiting for a little over an hour, Andres asked Eduardo where he'd like to go for lunch. Eduardo didn't hesitate to say that he'd like to go to the same spot we went to 3 years ago when we had met him...the cafe court at the MultiPlaza mall right across from our hotel! When we got there, Andres & Eduardo ordered a large pizza to share from Pizza Hut. Grazia, Emis and Eduardo's mom ordered from Subway, and Bob & I ordered from a Latino fast food place (interesting how the Hondurans ordered from American places and the Americans ordered from Latino places. Eduardo's mom saved 1/2 of her sub sandwich to take home to her kids and Eduardo & Andres boxed up the pizza that they didn't eat for him to take home as well.
While at the mall, the most exciting thing happened to Eduardo...we saw Luciano Emilio (a famous professional soccer player on the Olimpia team that Eduardo loves)! The next thing we know, Emis and Bob are taking a picture with Luciano Emilio in the middle of Andres & Eduardo. Think of seeing a famous Packer player (and being a HUGE Packer fan), running into him in the mall and actually getting a picture with him! I'm sure this is how Eduardo felt.
After the mall experience, we headed bowling. It was the very first time bowling for each of the Hondurans. I really wanted Eduardo's mom to bowl, but no matter how much I asked her, she turned us down & said she'd just prefer to watch. It was really fun. Since we lived closest to the bowling alley, we were dropped off first at the end of this visit. Since Eduardo is graduated from the program, Andres gave him our address, phone number & email and told him that if he needed anything he just had to contact us. Unfortunately no one in Eduardo's family has a phone (had I known this I would've kept the phone I had purchased for this trip for him, versus giving it to Danny...but I had no clue). We'll be keeping him and his family in our prayers!
When we got back to the hotel, we headed to the mall. Bob needed swim trunks for possibly swimming in the pool later (which we never actually ended up doing). I got a few more shirts, courtesy of Bob, and then we saw it...CINNABON! We had a yummy cinnamon roll and Bob mentioned that today very closely resembled our first date: Cinnabon, bowling, latino eating and a movie (we planned to go watch Total Recall later in the evening).
After the mall, we headed to the Steak & Lobster restaurant at the hotel. All 4 of us got very dressed up since it was a more formal restaurant, and we sat at a table alongside the pool. It was just a gorgeous end to a great day! We were sure to get a bunch of pictures too. :-)
Friday, August 17, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Leaving Emmanuel
This morning I wrote a letter to Michell & Yulissa (letting writing is BIG down here) and spent a bit of time packing. It's the day we leave Emmanuel for Tegucigalpa (the capitol of Honduras). I headed to little girls circle, but saw Michell along the way - so gave her the note I had written her. During little girls circle, Verenice brought me to the center of the circle and her, Mauda & Yolany came forward & prayed for me...thanking God for the good role model I was for them and also for safe travels home. I took a ton of pictures with the little girls and one of the older girls - even Yojaira!
After walking the girls to school, I came back to the apartment to do my morning devotions, upload my blog, finish my letter to Doris, write a letter to Yolany and also translate the letter Bob had written to Jasmine (Danny's daughter). All of this took me right up to the time for recreo (recess), so Bob & I headed to the school so I could give Doris the letter I had written her. Bob also wrote her a letter in English, so he gave that to her as well. We spent the entire recess with Doris and then headed back to the apartment to gather up all we had packed to take to the various locations (mentioned in next paragraph).
First we started by stopping at the little girls house. I had to give Yolany's letter to Ana Yanci since I had forgotten to give it to her in the school. Bob took the garbage out of the apartment to the can in front of the little girls house. Then we headed to the volunteer house. We had borrowed a bunch of board games and wanted to return them as well as drop off a pan, 2 big spoons, some medicines that we had that were extra, and our extra food. They were very thankful for what we had dropped off (especially the food!). Our next stop was the souveniour shop. We each got a black Orphanage Emmanuel polo shirt. They look pretty sharp! Then we headed to the toddler house for 2 reasons...the first was to introduce Bob to Brandy, and the second was to give Brandy the 2 pairs of jeans and a few capris that I was leaving behind. Besides me, she's the next tallest at the orphanage and perhaps might be able to make use of them (or at least can find another tall volunteer down the road who can). After the toddler house, we headed one last time to the tienda to have some lunch before heading out. We had a ham sandwich & nachos with jalepenos (well, Andres didn't have the jalapenos, believe it or not). We met Kelsey in front of the Emmanuel office, and then walked into Guaimaca with all of our luggage.
We ended up taking the chicken bus into Tegucigalpa, and then had to take 2 taxis (since 1 wouldn't fit all 4 of us and our luggage). Bob & I went in the first taxi and Andres & Kelsey went in the 2nd, so that there would be a fluent speaker in each car. We arrived to the hotel, and I have to say that it is by far the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at in my entire life (Andres & Kelsey agreed that it was for them too!). It was a really nice hotel!...and for just the right price. We had reservations, but because their hotel was booked solid, they upgraded us to the Ambassador Suite on the 7th floor with a wonderful view of Teguc and the pool. If you'd like to google it because you're going to be heading to Tegucigalpa any time soon, the name of the hotel is Hotel Real Intercontinental. I highly recommend it!
After taking our luggage up to our room (I would've had no clue how much we'd have to tip a bellhop to take it up for us), we headed right across the street (and I do mean just right across the street!) to the Multiplaza Mall, one of the nicer malls in Tegucigalpa. It's HUGE! Bob bought me 3 shirts at the Charly store. I absolutely love latina clothing!...if only I wasn't so tall, I'd be able to get pants as well. We finished the night by eating at TGIFridays and watching a few episodes of Criminal Minds and Castle (in English with Spanish subtitles) before turning out the lights and going to bed.
After walking the girls to school, I came back to the apartment to do my morning devotions, upload my blog, finish my letter to Doris, write a letter to Yolany and also translate the letter Bob had written to Jasmine (Danny's daughter). All of this took me right up to the time for recreo (recess), so Bob & I headed to the school so I could give Doris the letter I had written her. Bob also wrote her a letter in English, so he gave that to her as well. We spent the entire recess with Doris and then headed back to the apartment to gather up all we had packed to take to the various locations (mentioned in next paragraph).
First we started by stopping at the little girls house. I had to give Yolany's letter to Ana Yanci since I had forgotten to give it to her in the school. Bob took the garbage out of the apartment to the can in front of the little girls house. Then we headed to the volunteer house. We had borrowed a bunch of board games and wanted to return them as well as drop off a pan, 2 big spoons, some medicines that we had that were extra, and our extra food. They were very thankful for what we had dropped off (especially the food!). Our next stop was the souveniour shop. We each got a black Orphanage Emmanuel polo shirt. They look pretty sharp! Then we headed to the toddler house for 2 reasons...the first was to introduce Bob to Brandy, and the second was to give Brandy the 2 pairs of jeans and a few capris that I was leaving behind. Besides me, she's the next tallest at the orphanage and perhaps might be able to make use of them (or at least can find another tall volunteer down the road who can). After the toddler house, we headed one last time to the tienda to have some lunch before heading out. We had a ham sandwich & nachos with jalepenos (well, Andres didn't have the jalapenos, believe it or not). We met Kelsey in front of the Emmanuel office, and then walked into Guaimaca with all of our luggage.
We ended up taking the chicken bus into Tegucigalpa, and then had to take 2 taxis (since 1 wouldn't fit all 4 of us and our luggage). Bob & I went in the first taxi and Andres & Kelsey went in the 2nd, so that there would be a fluent speaker in each car. We arrived to the hotel, and I have to say that it is by far the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at in my entire life (Andres & Kelsey agreed that it was for them too!). It was a really nice hotel!...and for just the right price. We had reservations, but because their hotel was booked solid, they upgraded us to the Ambassador Suite on the 7th floor with a wonderful view of Teguc and the pool. If you'd like to google it because you're going to be heading to Tegucigalpa any time soon, the name of the hotel is Hotel Real Intercontinental. I highly recommend it!
After taking our luggage up to our room (I would've had no clue how much we'd have to tip a bellhop to take it up for us), we headed right across the street (and I do mean just right across the street!) to the Multiplaza Mall, one of the nicer malls in Tegucigalpa. It's HUGE! Bob bought me 3 shirts at the Charly store. I absolutely love latina clothing!...if only I wasn't so tall, I'd be able to get pants as well. We finished the night by eating at TGIFridays and watching a few episodes of Criminal Minds and Castle (in English with Spanish subtitles) before turning out the lights and going to bed.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
The Craft House
This morning, Bob & I began devotions again together; and although I went to the little girls house earlier, he met up with me there to participate in the little girls circle. The girls enjoyed having him there. He asked Yency and Elena to sign his hat (which he had already written Orphanage Emmanuel 2012 on). I served breakfast afterward, did the dishes, and walked the girls to school. While I was doing dishes, Bob came back and asked for the keys. I had completely forgotten to grab them since they weren't sitting out on the kitchen table where they normally sit...and since I had been feeling really sick this morning. We were locked out!!!
Bob & Andres had to wait for Bent to come and pick the lock open, but that was well over an hour. I had come and had to leave because I was meeting up with Loren and a lady from the California team to take a few children to the craft house. Good thing that between the 4 doors of the quadraplex, there is a futon and it is a covered/shaded area for them to rest.
At the craft house, the kids strung beads onto pipe cleaners and made bracelets out of them. It only took about 1/2 hour to do, so we brought the children back and grabbed 6 more to work with. Loren is taking over the job of taking kids to the craft house, so she needed to get a few ideas. She worked with this lady from California and also agreed to meet with her again tomorrow afternoon to try another craft.
We finished around 10:30am, so I headed back to the apartment to check on the laundry (needed to get a ton done before heading to the capitol tomorrow). The lint trap in the dryer was just atrocious...like it had never been emptied...ever! I got the laundry going and then headed to the little girls house for lunch and to do dishes. Danny had the day off, and something else happened that they were short-staffed, so Esperanza asked of I could do dishes "solo" and if Loren could clean the dining hall. Doris helped me to finish dishes early and Loren was still cleaning, so I asked a few of the girls who weren't going to afternoon classes if they could help Loren out.
I headed to the tienda to have lunch with Bob & Andres...ham & cheese sandwiches. Then we headed to the office to ask Leigh about the bus. Originally we were thinking of going with Max, who was heading into Tegucigalpa early, but then decided that we wouldn't be able to check into the hotel that early and that it would be better to take the bus. We'll be heading out for town tomorrow about noon.
I folded more laundry and made some guacamole for the little girls for supper. While I was making guacamole, Doris came over and played a card game with Bob & Andres. I could hear them laughing in the living room...it was fun to listen to.
The little girls had already bathed before supper, so when I got there I helped to set up tables and set out the silverware. I served each girl just a small tablespoon of guacamole on top of their rice. They were ALL very appreciative and all said "gracias".
After church, I had to head back to the apartment to get changed for church. This evening's message was about the prodical son and was given by the pastor of the California group. It was really good. At the end, David recognized the team with a plaque. I didn't expect him to have us stand as well & let the kids know that we've come down as a family & were leaving tomorrow, and that he was very grateful for this because he knows our culture and that many families would much rather choose to spend their money on vacations for themselves than doing something like this. (What he doesn't know is that coming here gives me MORE REST than any vacation I've been on...there's nothing as good as rest for the soul!)
After church, I took all of my extra clothes to the little girls house and had the teen girls choose what they wanted. Each year I bring clothes down that I plan to leave behind. I leave them with the older girls, but ask that they are not greedy, but divide them up equally. When I got back to the apartment, Doris stopped over and stayed for about an hour. She ate some scrambled eggs & toast with us and then we just chatted out in the living room for a while. I walked her back to her house about 7:45pm and we chatted for about 15 minutes there before I had to retreat back to the apartment to get some sleep.
Bob & Andres had to wait for Bent to come and pick the lock open, but that was well over an hour. I had come and had to leave because I was meeting up with Loren and a lady from the California team to take a few children to the craft house. Good thing that between the 4 doors of the quadraplex, there is a futon and it is a covered/shaded area for them to rest.
At the craft house, the kids strung beads onto pipe cleaners and made bracelets out of them. It only took about 1/2 hour to do, so we brought the children back and grabbed 6 more to work with. Loren is taking over the job of taking kids to the craft house, so she needed to get a few ideas. She worked with this lady from California and also agreed to meet with her again tomorrow afternoon to try another craft.
We finished around 10:30am, so I headed back to the apartment to check on the laundry (needed to get a ton done before heading to the capitol tomorrow). The lint trap in the dryer was just atrocious...like it had never been emptied...ever! I got the laundry going and then headed to the little girls house for lunch and to do dishes. Danny had the day off, and something else happened that they were short-staffed, so Esperanza asked of I could do dishes "solo" and if Loren could clean the dining hall. Doris helped me to finish dishes early and Loren was still cleaning, so I asked a few of the girls who weren't going to afternoon classes if they could help Loren out.
I headed to the tienda to have lunch with Bob & Andres...ham & cheese sandwiches. Then we headed to the office to ask Leigh about the bus. Originally we were thinking of going with Max, who was heading into Tegucigalpa early, but then decided that we wouldn't be able to check into the hotel that early and that it would be better to take the bus. We'll be heading out for town tomorrow about noon.
I folded more laundry and made some guacamole for the little girls for supper. While I was making guacamole, Doris came over and played a card game with Bob & Andres. I could hear them laughing in the living room...it was fun to listen to.
The little girls had already bathed before supper, so when I got there I helped to set up tables and set out the silverware. I served each girl just a small tablespoon of guacamole on top of their rice. They were ALL very appreciative and all said "gracias".
After church, I had to head back to the apartment to get changed for church. This evening's message was about the prodical son and was given by the pastor of the California group. It was really good. At the end, David recognized the team with a plaque. I didn't expect him to have us stand as well & let the kids know that we've come down as a family & were leaving tomorrow, and that he was very grateful for this because he knows our culture and that many families would much rather choose to spend their money on vacations for themselves than doing something like this. (What he doesn't know is that coming here gives me MORE REST than any vacation I've been on...there's nothing as good as rest for the soul!)
After church, I took all of my extra clothes to the little girls house and had the teen girls choose what they wanted. Each year I bring clothes down that I plan to leave behind. I leave them with the older girls, but ask that they are not greedy, but divide them up equally. When I got back to the apartment, Doris stopped over and stayed for about an hour. She ate some scrambled eggs & toast with us and then we just chatted out in the living room for a while. I walked her back to her house about 7:45pm and we chatted for about 15 minutes there before I had to retreat back to the apartment to get some sleep.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Una Culebra
This morning Bob & I began our day by doing devotions together again. I like this time with him, because it helps us put our focus first on God and then on each other and what needs we have for the day or what tasks we have to accomplish. I uploaded my blog before heading to the little girls house to serve breakfast, do dishes & walk the girls to school.
After getting the girls to school, I walked Loren (the new volunteer that arrived last Saturday that is now assigned to the little girls house since I'll be leaving soon) to the craft house. She'll be taking over that job as well. Basically, each day (whether in the morning or afternoon), we get to take a few of the younger children or the special needs children that are in the yards to the craft house to make a craft. I wanted Loren to see the place and to turn the keys over to her. A volunteer from the California group came into the house while we were looking around and we agreed meet together at the house tomorrow to pull some kids to do a from 9:00-10:30am.
After turning the keys over to Loren, I walked to the yard and sat with Danny, Kathy & Abel and chatted while we watched the kids play. I was there for about an hour before Abel noticed Bob & Andres coming up the road and heading towards home. They had been working on cement...extending the road to the power toddlers house, but said that David ran out of cement so that meant that work was done for the day. Bob was soaked with sweat! At home, Andres & Bob explained that they were now out of Mexican suckers. The medium boys were demanding suckers every time they saw Andres and then proceeded to tell Andres that that's the only reason they "talk to him"...is because he has suckers. They wanted to look for a Bible verse on greed, so after searching...we found James 4:3 which says, "or if you ask, you do not receive because your reasons for asking are wrong. You want these things only to please yourselves." They agreed that was a good verse, but after a while decided it best not to use it & just simply tell the boys that they were out of suckers - since that was the truth.
When Bob & Andres went in search of Wade to see what other work there was to do for the day, I swept the apartment (these ceramic tile floors need to be swept daily and sometimes multiple times per day), made 2 eggs with the leftover tomato soup & guacamole and spread it over 2 slices of bread ends, and did my daily devotion (Proverbs31.org). By then it was time to head to the little girls house to serve lunch and do dishes. Then I headed back to the apartment to write Doris a letter.
Letter writing is pretty popular here. I can't even really count how many I've received from girls from the little girls house, since many from the first two weeks are already packed away...but just from when Bob got her last Friday, I've gotten 6 letters. The little girls draw pictures if they don't yet know how to write and the older girls write letters. Then there's the letters of encouragement and thank-yous from the volunteers when they leave Emmanuel. It's a lot. I feel like I need to respond to all, but time works its way against me since I seem to be busy from morning until I fall into bed at night. I do think writing Doris is important though, because she's been having a lot of troubles fall onto her lap lately.
While at the little girls house for supper, Juliet & Veronica called me to come back to my apartment. We live in a quadraplex, one apartment is empty now...but Juliet & Veronica live in the other two. When I got back to the apartment, they told me that they saw a culebra (venomous snake) go into our apartment by slithering under the door. They already called David to send some boys to kill it, but they couldn't stop talking about it. I hung around for the boys to get there. When the boys arrived the snake was already on its way out. Its head and about and inch or two were sticking out from underneath the door. The girls jumped and got back. The boys kicked it out & stomped on it with their boots a number of times until you couldn't even see a body anymore! They agreed it was poisonous but said at just about 2 feet long, it wouldn't done much more damage than give us a bad bite and make us a little sick. Veronica & Juliet told them this is the 3rd snake they've seen recently around these apartments, all around the same spot, so then the boys said that the "mommy snake" is probably living in the roof! The girls wanted to the boys to check and take care of it, but they laughed and said there was no way they were going to onto the roof. So I guess that means we have to shove a towel under the door from now on to close the gap and hope that there are no gaps big enough in our ceiling for a snake to come through from the roof.
Side note: Bob & Andres got home late tonight...if they'd have been on time, they could've gotten in on the action!
So after the snake was taken care of, I headed back to do baths and comb for lice. This will be my last evening of lice combing since tomorrow there will be a church service. When I got home, Bob was working on the meal for the female volunteers. It started raining/downpouring at about 6:30 and didn't let up until 7:10pm, but as soon as it let up I took it over to their house and got the feedback. After just one bite, they all said it was extremely delicious!!! When I got back home, Bob was already in bed, so I turned in as well. Tomorrow will be my last full-day here at Emmanuel.
After getting the girls to school, I walked Loren (the new volunteer that arrived last Saturday that is now assigned to the little girls house since I'll be leaving soon) to the craft house. She'll be taking over that job as well. Basically, each day (whether in the morning or afternoon), we get to take a few of the younger children or the special needs children that are in the yards to the craft house to make a craft. I wanted Loren to see the place and to turn the keys over to her. A volunteer from the California group came into the house while we were looking around and we agreed meet together at the house tomorrow to pull some kids to do a from 9:00-10:30am.
After turning the keys over to Loren, I walked to the yard and sat with Danny, Kathy & Abel and chatted while we watched the kids play. I was there for about an hour before Abel noticed Bob & Andres coming up the road and heading towards home. They had been working on cement...extending the road to the power toddlers house, but said that David ran out of cement so that meant that work was done for the day. Bob was soaked with sweat! At home, Andres & Bob explained that they were now out of Mexican suckers. The medium boys were demanding suckers every time they saw Andres and then proceeded to tell Andres that that's the only reason they "talk to him"...is because he has suckers. They wanted to look for a Bible verse on greed, so after searching...we found James 4:3 which says, "or if you ask, you do not receive because your reasons for asking are wrong. You want these things only to please yourselves." They agreed that was a good verse, but after a while decided it best not to use it & just simply tell the boys that they were out of suckers - since that was the truth.
When Bob & Andres went in search of Wade to see what other work there was to do for the day, I swept the apartment (these ceramic tile floors need to be swept daily and sometimes multiple times per day), made 2 eggs with the leftover tomato soup & guacamole and spread it over 2 slices of bread ends, and did my daily devotion (Proverbs31.org). By then it was time to head to the little girls house to serve lunch and do dishes. Then I headed back to the apartment to write Doris a letter.
Letter writing is pretty popular here. I can't even really count how many I've received from girls from the little girls house, since many from the first two weeks are already packed away...but just from when Bob got her last Friday, I've gotten 6 letters. The little girls draw pictures if they don't yet know how to write and the older girls write letters. Then there's the letters of encouragement and thank-yous from the volunteers when they leave Emmanuel. It's a lot. I feel like I need to respond to all, but time works its way against me since I seem to be busy from morning until I fall into bed at night. I do think writing Doris is important though, because she's been having a lot of troubles fall onto her lap lately.
While at the little girls house for supper, Juliet & Veronica called me to come back to my apartment. We live in a quadraplex, one apartment is empty now...but Juliet & Veronica live in the other two. When I got back to the apartment, they told me that they saw a culebra (venomous snake) go into our apartment by slithering under the door. They already called David to send some boys to kill it, but they couldn't stop talking about it. I hung around for the boys to get there. When the boys arrived the snake was already on its way out. Its head and about and inch or two were sticking out from underneath the door. The girls jumped and got back. The boys kicked it out & stomped on it with their boots a number of times until you couldn't even see a body anymore! They agreed it was poisonous but said at just about 2 feet long, it wouldn't done much more damage than give us a bad bite and make us a little sick. Veronica & Juliet told them this is the 3rd snake they've seen recently around these apartments, all around the same spot, so then the boys said that the "mommy snake" is probably living in the roof! The girls wanted to the boys to check and take care of it, but they laughed and said there was no way they were going to onto the roof. So I guess that means we have to shove a towel under the door from now on to close the gap and hope that there are no gaps big enough in our ceiling for a snake to come through from the roof.
Side note: Bob & Andres got home late tonight...if they'd have been on time, they could've gotten in on the action!
So after the snake was taken care of, I headed back to do baths and comb for lice. This will be my last evening of lice combing since tomorrow there will be a church service. When I got home, Bob was working on the meal for the female volunteers. It started raining/downpouring at about 6:30 and didn't let up until 7:10pm, but as soon as it let up I took it over to their house and got the feedback. After just one bite, they all said it was extremely delicious!!! When I got back home, Bob was already in bed, so I turned in as well. Tomorrow will be my last full-day here at Emmanuel.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Caribbean Supper for Katja
Bob & I woke up this morning and did devotions together, like we had been doing back in the States. While we were doing devotions, I saw movement behind him (his back was to the sink area in the kitchen). I focused a little bit more & saw a giant cockroach crawling around on a few dishes in the dish-rack. It was probably between an inch & 1/2 to two inches long! Bob wanted to get a picture of it because it was the first non-caged cockroach of this size he had ever seen, but when he pressed the button on the camera, as always happens the flash came before the shutter, so the cockroach took off and Bob just had a picture of the dish-rack. The cockroach was hiding underneath the dish-rack, so Bob offered to kill it...or take it outside, I don't really remember. He went to get some toilet paper to grab it with, but it was a little too fast for Bob! Perhaps we'll see it get the courage to come out tomorrow.
Bob & Andres headed off to the guys circle and I headed to the girls circle, and then to serve breakfast & do dishes. While I was doing dishes, Bob & Andres stopped by for the keys. Yolani made a comment about Bob being a good husband...that Honduras husbands aren't as nice (of course, while dating they are...but after marriage they're not). I just smiled & said we have quite a few men like that in the United States as well. Yolani checked my head for lice before I headed back to the apartment to update my blog.
Between breakfast and lunch, I stopped by to talk with Katja about running into town this afternoon. She was meeting with the 3 female volunteers that arrived over the weekend, letting them know what their responsibilities would be. She introduced me to Loren, who would be working at the little girls house and said she was to meet me there for lunch. After chatting for a few seconds, I ran to grab Danny & Katy a soda from the tienda. I had promised Katy a soda yesterday when we took all of the children to the tienda, but since we were there for so long & getting so distracted, I had completely forgotten. They were very thankful and asked me to stay and chat, but I really wanted to get some pictures of Bob & Andres working with the cement, so said my goodbyes and headed in the direction of the boys area. Unfortunately Andres & Bob were walking my way at the same time. They were done with work for the morning.
There was only about 1/2 hour to rest before lunch began, so we sat back at the house & rested up a little bit. I headed to lunch and met Loren there. I introduced her to Danny, Esperanza, Dunia & Maria and let them know she'd be helping out. I showed her how to lower the tables and that it was necessary to get the spoons & water set out before the kids got back from school, if possible. After lunch, we did as many dishes as we could before Kelsey came by to let us know it was time to get running into town.
I headed back to the apartment to get Andres & Bob (his first time in town). We stopped by Glenda's so that I could introduce her to Bob. She's been asking about him for the past 5 years. We got a picture together and then headed to the little bakery where we bought another loaf of banana bread and some marble bread for Andres, before heading to the two supermarkets. The supermarkets down here are much, much smaller than anything you've seen in the States. Think of the old general stores and then cut that size in 1/2. That's the size of the supermarkets down here. They don't always have what you want (as Bob found out), but they are interesting! We loaded up on some guava juice for Andres and pear & peach juices for us (since there were only 4 guava juices left & I knew Andres would drink them all). Bob got a bunch of ingredients for 2 special dinners he would make this evening and tomorrow...will chat more about that later. We took taxis back to Emmanuel from town. These taxis (if I hadn't mentioned this in a prior post) are like covered-wagon mopeds with 3 wheels & when I see them I think I'm somewhere in Asia.
When I got back to the house, I called the hotel we'd be staying in on Thursday and Friday night to confirm our reservation and also to change our King-Sized Bed to a 2-double bed room (since they were at the same price). More on that later...then I called the Compassion International location in Tegucigalpa to make the final arrangements on meeting Eduardo (Andres' sponsored child) on Friday. Although Andres & I had met him 4 years ago, it'll be Bob's first time meeting Eduardo. I'm so excited for Bob being able to meet him, especially since Eduardo graduated from the program last month, so we'll most likely lose contact with him after this.
While I headed to do supper and baths with the little girls, Bob stayed back making a wonderful carribbean supper for Katja and her family. It consisted of mashed potatoes, lime-flavored chicken, a butter sauce over green beans, and a fruit salsa. It looked REALLY good. I wanted to thank Katja for having me these past 5 years (and of course she said that I was more than welcome for another 5!).
As Bob was waiting to finish up supper, him Andres & I played a game of Clue & Scattergories. While we were playing Scattergories, Doris came over to chat with us and to drop off a note she had written for us. It was really a good time! After Doris left, Bob got back to finishing up the supper and at 7pm, we delivered it to Katja. Her & Max (her husband) were SO excited! I'm hoping to hear tomorrow that they liked it.
When we got back, Bob & I decided it was time to head to bed. Although it was only 7:30pm here (8:30 WI time), when you put in a day of hard work outside in the sun with no air conditioning, you tend to get tired very quickly. Andres wanted to read a bit more in his book, Hunger Games, which came from the volunteer house. I think he started it yesterday or today and he's over 1/2 way through the book! It looks like he'll finish before we head out on Thursday.
Bob & Andres headed off to the guys circle and I headed to the girls circle, and then to serve breakfast & do dishes. While I was doing dishes, Bob & Andres stopped by for the keys. Yolani made a comment about Bob being a good husband...that Honduras husbands aren't as nice (of course, while dating they are...but after marriage they're not). I just smiled & said we have quite a few men like that in the United States as well. Yolani checked my head for lice before I headed back to the apartment to update my blog.
Between breakfast and lunch, I stopped by to talk with Katja about running into town this afternoon. She was meeting with the 3 female volunteers that arrived over the weekend, letting them know what their responsibilities would be. She introduced me to Loren, who would be working at the little girls house and said she was to meet me there for lunch. After chatting for a few seconds, I ran to grab Danny & Katy a soda from the tienda. I had promised Katy a soda yesterday when we took all of the children to the tienda, but since we were there for so long & getting so distracted, I had completely forgotten. They were very thankful and asked me to stay and chat, but I really wanted to get some pictures of Bob & Andres working with the cement, so said my goodbyes and headed in the direction of the boys area. Unfortunately Andres & Bob were walking my way at the same time. They were done with work for the morning.
There was only about 1/2 hour to rest before lunch began, so we sat back at the house & rested up a little bit. I headed to lunch and met Loren there. I introduced her to Danny, Esperanza, Dunia & Maria and let them know she'd be helping out. I showed her how to lower the tables and that it was necessary to get the spoons & water set out before the kids got back from school, if possible. After lunch, we did as many dishes as we could before Kelsey came by to let us know it was time to get running into town.
I headed back to the apartment to get Andres & Bob (his first time in town). We stopped by Glenda's so that I could introduce her to Bob. She's been asking about him for the past 5 years. We got a picture together and then headed to the little bakery where we bought another loaf of banana bread and some marble bread for Andres, before heading to the two supermarkets. The supermarkets down here are much, much smaller than anything you've seen in the States. Think of the old general stores and then cut that size in 1/2. That's the size of the supermarkets down here. They don't always have what you want (as Bob found out), but they are interesting! We loaded up on some guava juice for Andres and pear & peach juices for us (since there were only 4 guava juices left & I knew Andres would drink them all). Bob got a bunch of ingredients for 2 special dinners he would make this evening and tomorrow...will chat more about that later. We took taxis back to Emmanuel from town. These taxis (if I hadn't mentioned this in a prior post) are like covered-wagon mopeds with 3 wheels & when I see them I think I'm somewhere in Asia.
When I got back to the house, I called the hotel we'd be staying in on Thursday and Friday night to confirm our reservation and also to change our King-Sized Bed to a 2-double bed room (since they were at the same price). More on that later...then I called the Compassion International location in Tegucigalpa to make the final arrangements on meeting Eduardo (Andres' sponsored child) on Friday. Although Andres & I had met him 4 years ago, it'll be Bob's first time meeting Eduardo. I'm so excited for Bob being able to meet him, especially since Eduardo graduated from the program last month, so we'll most likely lose contact with him after this.
While I headed to do supper and baths with the little girls, Bob stayed back making a wonderful carribbean supper for Katja and her family. It consisted of mashed potatoes, lime-flavored chicken, a butter sauce over green beans, and a fruit salsa. It looked REALLY good. I wanted to thank Katja for having me these past 5 years (and of course she said that I was more than welcome for another 5!).
As Bob was waiting to finish up supper, him Andres & I played a game of Clue & Scattergories. While we were playing Scattergories, Doris came over to chat with us and to drop off a note she had written for us. It was really a good time! After Doris left, Bob got back to finishing up the supper and at 7pm, we delivered it to Katja. Her & Max (her husband) were SO excited! I'm hoping to hear tomorrow that they liked it.
When we got back, Bob & I decided it was time to head to bed. Although it was only 7:30pm here (8:30 WI time), when you put in a day of hard work outside in the sun with no air conditioning, you tend to get tired very quickly. Andres wanted to read a bit more in his book, Hunger Games, which came from the volunteer house. I think he started it yesterday or today and he's over 1/2 way through the book! It looks like he'll finish before we head out on Thursday.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
La Tienda
This morning started out fantastic! It's a new start to the week for all of us & a new look at life for us as well. Bob said he's having a great time here so far & is even hinting at coming back again! Andres, Bob & I headed to church this morning and a man from the California group (that Bob came in to Emmanuel from Tegucigalpa with) gave the sermon on faith & obedience. It was a really good talk. He gave examples of lack of faith from the Israelites and explained how lack of faith results in complaining and affects relationships with others. Then when he talked about obedience, he mentioned Samuel and because of Samuel's obedience to God while he was still a young boy, God called out to Samuel directly and was persistent (3 times) one night. You can find the rest in 1 Samuel 3.
After church we came back to the apartment so that I could change my shoes and Bob could change into shorts. We had big plans today to take a bunch of kids to the tienda. We told Andres to go & grab Abel & Luis David and then a child or two that he'd like to bring. Bob & I stopped by the clinic to see if Elena would eat some tomato soup if Bob made some for her. She smiled & said, "yes". Then we headed to Danny's house where Doris was watching Jayme & Jasmine...we invited all 3 to eat with us in the tienda!
Then we headed to the yard in front of the church to pick up Yensi & Michel...2 girls I have known well for the past 5 years. We met up with Andres at the tienda. Unfortunately Abel was "locked in his house" along with the other older guys, it's just something they do each Sunday after church and watch movies for a little bit. Luis Davis was MIA, so Andres didn't have him either...but he brought 2 boys that he knew pretty well, Rudy & Rigoberto. On today's menu at the tienda was tamales & chimichangas. We ended up ordering 9 chimichangas and 2 tamales, a 3-liter of orange soda and a 2-liter of Sprite. The kids that finished their food (which is also a rule in our own house back home) got to have a churro. Now...here's where I was confused. In Mexico, a churro is a type of bready cinnamon & sugar stick that's warm, so that's really what I was expecting. Here, it's just a word that they use for potato chips & fritos. I was a little disappointed, but the conversation & visiting was still good and the kids were really happy to spend time with us! Abel showed up later, so I had Bob get him something to eat.
As we were about to leave the tienda, we saw that Wade was getting ready to give a tour to the California group. Andres & I told Bob that he absolutely needed to go on this tour so that he could see all of Emmanuel and learn about its history, and some other interesting stories. When Andres & I had went on this tour 2 weeks ago, it was my first tour of the place ever...and was really well-done (by Wade, of course). Bob headed out, but I noticed he didn't have his hat & the sun was coming out strong. I said goodbye to Andres & for him to make sure that he got the 2 boys back to where they belonged and the girls & I headed back to the apartment.
Back at the apartment, I gave Doris the shirts I had bought for her and I gave Yensi the outfit I had purchased for Blanca (since Blanca is no longer here) as well as 2 dresses of Alina's. I gave the other 3 dresses of Alina to Michel. The girls wanted to try them on and get pictures in some of them, so we did that and then they wanted to call Alina to say Thank-You, but unfortunately no one answered the first time we called. They did call later & got to chat with Alina and just giggled and told her Thank-You for the dresses (in the best English they could...because they don't speak much English), and that they loved Alina and that they can't wait for Alina to come down to Honduras in 2 years! Doris wanted to talk to both Alina and Kaylyn, so she chatted for quite a bit too!
Then we packed everything up and decided that it was time to hunt down Bob on his tour so that we could give him his hat (so he wouldn't get that much of a sunburn). Yensi wore his hat as we made a complete circle around Emmanuel. We never saw him & he was pretty burned when he got back, but said he really enjoyed the tour!
When Bob got back he went to work right away on making the tomato soup for Elena. We took it to the clinic, but they had already let Elena go back to the little girls house. Since the girls were showering for the evening, I took the soup up to her (while Bob headed home) and she sat down to eat some bread with soup.
Doris, Jasmine & Jayme stayed most of the evening...until about 6:30pm. They played, chatted, and joked around while I made guacamole with chips for everyone (yep we need to get to town to get more groceries). Then they headed home. Andres & Bob said they were still pretty awake, so I offered to walk up to the girls volunteer house to get a few games. While up there, ANOTHER TARANTULA tried to enter the house & actually got about 2 feet into the house before Kelsey shoed him out with a broom. I met the 2 new volunteers that arrived today: Krista & Heidi...friends of Caroline (& did I mention Lauren, the volunteer who arrived yesterday?). I came back with The Disney Cars version of Go Fish, Uno, Scattegories, & Clue...but when I got back, Bob was already asleep on the bed. I had only been gone about 10-15 minutes! So I decided that since it was about 7pm (8pm WI time), that it'd probably be best to just head to sleep myself. I said goodnight to Andres & mentioned that he shouldn't be staying up too late, so that he can wake up early in the morning to take Bob to circle.
After church we came back to the apartment so that I could change my shoes and Bob could change into shorts. We had big plans today to take a bunch of kids to the tienda. We told Andres to go & grab Abel & Luis David and then a child or two that he'd like to bring. Bob & I stopped by the clinic to see if Elena would eat some tomato soup if Bob made some for her. She smiled & said, "yes". Then we headed to Danny's house where Doris was watching Jayme & Jasmine...we invited all 3 to eat with us in the tienda!
Then we headed to the yard in front of the church to pick up Yensi & Michel...2 girls I have known well for the past 5 years. We met up with Andres at the tienda. Unfortunately Abel was "locked in his house" along with the other older guys, it's just something they do each Sunday after church and watch movies for a little bit. Luis Davis was MIA, so Andres didn't have him either...but he brought 2 boys that he knew pretty well, Rudy & Rigoberto. On today's menu at the tienda was tamales & chimichangas. We ended up ordering 9 chimichangas and 2 tamales, a 3-liter of orange soda and a 2-liter of Sprite. The kids that finished their food (which is also a rule in our own house back home) got to have a churro. Now...here's where I was confused. In Mexico, a churro is a type of bready cinnamon & sugar stick that's warm, so that's really what I was expecting. Here, it's just a word that they use for potato chips & fritos. I was a little disappointed, but the conversation & visiting was still good and the kids were really happy to spend time with us! Abel showed up later, so I had Bob get him something to eat.
As we were about to leave the tienda, we saw that Wade was getting ready to give a tour to the California group. Andres & I told Bob that he absolutely needed to go on this tour so that he could see all of Emmanuel and learn about its history, and some other interesting stories. When Andres & I had went on this tour 2 weeks ago, it was my first tour of the place ever...and was really well-done (by Wade, of course). Bob headed out, but I noticed he didn't have his hat & the sun was coming out strong. I said goodbye to Andres & for him to make sure that he got the 2 boys back to where they belonged and the girls & I headed back to the apartment.
Back at the apartment, I gave Doris the shirts I had bought for her and I gave Yensi the outfit I had purchased for Blanca (since Blanca is no longer here) as well as 2 dresses of Alina's. I gave the other 3 dresses of Alina to Michel. The girls wanted to try them on and get pictures in some of them, so we did that and then they wanted to call Alina to say Thank-You, but unfortunately no one answered the first time we called. They did call later & got to chat with Alina and just giggled and told her Thank-You for the dresses (in the best English they could...because they don't speak much English), and that they loved Alina and that they can't wait for Alina to come down to Honduras in 2 years! Doris wanted to talk to both Alina and Kaylyn, so she chatted for quite a bit too!
Then we packed everything up and decided that it was time to hunt down Bob on his tour so that we could give him his hat (so he wouldn't get that much of a sunburn). Yensi wore his hat as we made a complete circle around Emmanuel. We never saw him & he was pretty burned when he got back, but said he really enjoyed the tour!
When Bob got back he went to work right away on making the tomato soup for Elena. We took it to the clinic, but they had already let Elena go back to the little girls house. Since the girls were showering for the evening, I took the soup up to her (while Bob headed home) and she sat down to eat some bread with soup.
Doris, Jasmine & Jayme stayed most of the evening...until about 6:30pm. They played, chatted, and joked around while I made guacamole with chips for everyone (yep we need to get to town to get more groceries). Then they headed home. Andres & Bob said they were still pretty awake, so I offered to walk up to the girls volunteer house to get a few games. While up there, ANOTHER TARANTULA tried to enter the house & actually got about 2 feet into the house before Kelsey shoed him out with a broom. I met the 2 new volunteers that arrived today: Krista & Heidi...friends of Caroline (& did I mention Lauren, the volunteer who arrived yesterday?). I came back with The Disney Cars version of Go Fish, Uno, Scattegories, & Clue...but when I got back, Bob was already asleep on the bed. I had only been gone about 10-15 minutes! So I decided that since it was about 7pm (8pm WI time), that it'd probably be best to just head to sleep myself. I said goodnight to Andres & mentioned that he shouldn't be staying up too late, so that he can wake up early in the morning to take Bob to circle.
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