day 15 of 19: bus adventure

The boys and I went on an adventure today. (Sidenote: Kim went to La Ceiba, the nearest city, with a friend, Joelle, to stay overnight and explore the city.) We all boarded the "chicken bus" at 10:30 this morning. I'm not sure why they call it that but it might be because they pack in so many people. Or it might be because people hall chicks on the bus to their houses and full-size chickens on the bus to sell them. We got on the bus at the hospital and were planning to get off at a town called Lis Lis to go to the local school to talk with teachers who know no English (oh, did I mention I know very little Spanish, pretty much none). Two other guys from the hospital helped me try to figure out where the Lis Lis stop was but we were just giving it our best guess. We got off and stopped at the pulperia (snack shop/store in someone's house) to get the boys a snack before the school. I was told by Dr. Don that we could throw a rock to the school. Well, we couldn't see it but kept walking. The further we walked the more concerned I got. I just thought, the worst that could happen is that we will not find the school and just catch the next bus in an hour back to the hospital. We kept walking and starting hearing kids singing and reciting and we followed the sound. We found the school and tried to communicate to the teachers there. This was a three building school for about 30-50 kids; much larger than the typical one room/building schools. We were on a mission to show a Christian powerpoint presentation to teach English so that the teachers and kids can use the 6 presentations any time they want. The school has almost nothing. Most schools are lucky if they have textbooks. This school was just given 17 computers, paid for by the government. This is more than a small miracle. It is a huge leap to go from textbook shortage to computer surplus. I was told they would need training on turning them on and how to use them but I found a computer technician that supposedly works among a few of the schools. We were unsuccessful at getting the presentation to work, which is good to know and we are working to fix it. All of this was attempted communication between my lack of Spanish and their lack of English. It was quite comical in hindsight. I thought the teacher may have offered us a ride home but wasn't sure. We waited around and were able to get a ride in a truck and avoid the bus home. I wasn't sure if we would have to walk part of the way because the teacher did not live as far as we needed to go. God was truly with us and we were dropped off at the gate of the hospital. I was happy to be back home safely.

day 14 of 19: bugs

There are bugs everywhere here. Bugs in the sink. Bugs on the floor. Bugs on your feet. Bugs in your food. Bugs crawling out of your broccoli (large cockroach really freaked me out). Bugs in your bed. Bugs on your ceiling.

In addition to the bugs, there are geckos everywhere. They are useful bug eaters but they poop everywhere. In the shower. On the table. In the suitcase.

There are bugs in the shower frequently, along with the gecko poop. Tonight Bryan was showering with the boys and when they got out, Jaden said, "Mom, there was a really big bug in the shower. I responded, "Cool!" Then Bryan pointed out to me that only would this happen in Honduras. Bugs are not cool in the shower. So true. Our boys are finally getting used to bugs but neither of them has killed anything here yet, other than stepping on a few ants.

day 13 of 19: useful

Today I got to use my gift for organization on the bookshelves in staff housing. It is a small library for the missionaries and visitors to borrow and lend books. It has not been organized in a long time and books are stacked on top of books on every shelf. I am not done yet but will finish this week.

Kim worked hard on a presentation to teach local people some English along with some Christian principles and parts of the Bible. She is adding audio files to the powerpoint files. There are many more hours of work to do but she has a good start.

It is nice to feel useful.

day 12 of 19: hot and humid

It was hot and sunny and beautiful in Roatan today. We made a little time for the beach and snorkeling before we left. We made it back safely to the mainland on the ferry with no one throwing up either way. Bryan, Kim and Clay all get motion sickness so the free Dramamine was very much appreciated.

We made a simple spaghetti dinner and shared with everyone who was around in staff housing. It has been so fun that staff housing is quite full. We have gotten to know lots of new people. There are 7 single people in staff housing that are here (on average) for a year.

It is so humid that we are still sweating even though the temperature has dropped (probably in the upper 70s). It turns into a bit of a cold sweat at night. This weather is not my favorite but it is a nice change from snow for a couple of weeks.

day 11 of 19: canopy and monkeys

Today was another day of clouds and big waves. Not great conditions for snorkeling, sailing or diving (all which were planned). We are going back to the mainland tomorrow without sailing or diving. I have yet to be on a sailboat but I will make it one day. Bryan still hopes to go diving someday.

We did, however, make it to Gumbalimba. It is a neat park with a canopy (zip lines), monkeys and exotic birds. Bryan and I got to do the zip lines together while others took care of our boys. It was a blast! There were 20 platforms and 13 zip lines that were high up in the air. We had a great view and even saw an iguana munching on a tree. After the zip lines, we got to have monkeys and large, colorful birds sit on our shoulders and heads (not at the same time). It was so neat to be so close to monkeys and watch their behavior. They truly are curious monkeys.

Monday we are taking the ferry back to La Ceiba and then heading to the hospital for another week of work there. It has been so nice to get in some fun while in Honduras.

day 10 of 19: unexpected Roatan

We were in Roatan 1 ½ years ago for vacation in West Bay (more luxurious part of the island) and now we are staying in West End (more restaurants and diving). Today Bryan and I took turns snorkeling while one of us played with the boys. I skinned my leg on the coral. Ya, I know you are not supposed to touch the coral because it dies, but it just jumped out at me…and there were waves making it harder to swim away.

The boys had a blast playing in the sand and water. It is amazing how entertained they are with just those two things. It was fun watching them have so much fun. I’m pretty sure they entertained many people around us too.

day 9 of 19: diarrhea times four

Diarrhea is no fun especially when your whole family has it. Especially when two little boys have it. Especially when a smaller boy can’t make it to the bathroom. Lots of laundry was done today.

On the sunnier side of things...we are heading out to the vacation island of Roatan. Our host missionary, Renee, invited us to go with her to meet 2 of her friends flying in there. We are staying 3 nights and are planning to get in lots of beach time.

day 8 of 19: from Honduras to Haiti

On Thursdays at Loma de Luz, there is a gathering of all of the missionaries for some singing, sometimes preaching or story-sharing and lots of prayer. Tonight we had the privilege of hearing Dr. Don Rumbaugh's stories from being in Haiti for the last 17 days. He just arrived back in Honduras last night. He is one of the physicians at the hospital/clinic here and left for awhile to help people in greater need. It was great to hear about his experience there. It continues to shock and overwhelm me when I hear and see the devastation in Haiti. I am once again asking myself, "What is my response?" "What should I do to help?" I am still thinking and praying and meditating on that. We have given money and have prayed. What else? I know there is more to be done.

I know it is Jesus's heart to help the poor, feed the hungry and cloth the naked. I want to share in that love and do the same.

day 7 of 19: glasses

Ever wonder what happened to your old eye glasses that you donated to the Lions’ Club? They might be in Honduras. I went through and cataloged 41 pair of glasses today. The clinic is in the transition phases of putting all of their glasses into a computerized searching system. So when a patient needs glasses, you can just enter the prescription (after it is determined) into the computer system and it displays the possible options. The sad thing is that it may take your glasses 20-40 years to arrive and get used in another country. Next time I come, I may bring my old glasses with me to donate so they will actually have a few modern pair of glasses from the last 20 years.

day 6 of 19: ate with the bugs

We had mac-n-cheese and hot dogs for dinner. Nothing adventurous tonight unless you intentionally chose to eat food sprinkled with bugs. The bugs were swarming us at dinner. Some may think that if a bug flies in your food or drink, then stop eating or drinking it but here, that is a normal occurrence. We just pick out the bug and keep going. There is a boundary for me beyond that. When there are too many bugs too keep up with, it is time to stop eating. That is what happened tonight.

day 5 of 19: heat has hit

This is the weather that I remember about Honduras. It is in the low 80's and so hot and humid you just want to lay around. Kim tried to get the boys to go outside this morning and they refused. That might have been because she was doing a really good job of entertaining them. Jaden has been loving being in nature constantly. Even when we are "indoors," the windows are open and usually the door(s) are open and fans are blowing. It doesn't ever really feel like you are indoors but you are protected from the rain.

It is so humid here that you just never dry out. Everything feels sticky and sweaty all the time. We are taking lots of showers but I am about to give up because you only feel clean for about 5 minutes. Might just cut back to one shower a day.

We have done some more adventuring.
Went to La Quinta Beach near the hospital (yesterday).
Went to Christie's Beach and explored the enchanted forest there. The trees looked like the Ents from Lord of the Rings. Like they could just get up and walk away any moment. They have wide trunk-like feet and are massively tall.
Hiked from staff housing (our home) to the water towers up the hill. Quite a climb for 2 short-legged people but we made it. We even let both boys climb the water tower. That scared me a little but we all survived and no one was injured.

I got to help in the clinic/hospital today. I helped Nancy and a few others put away all of the medical supplies we brought down. I really enjoyed it and had fun trying to communicate in Spanish. I really need to take some classes. Bryan admitted his first patient to the hospital and saw some other sick people in the clinic. We had dinner with the Fields. There was great food and great conversation.

day 3 of 19: feeling the sun

It was rainy and cold on Thursday when we arrived (70 deg F). Today was quite the contrast with sunny, hot and humid. We hung-out with a bunch of other gringos (white people) at the Lis Lis River and its sandy banks. We had a great potluck and one of the guys grilled. There were lots of little kids around for the boys to play with.

The downside is that we all (5 of us) got a little sunburned. We didn't burn once when we were here in 2008 and this was our first day outside and we burnt. We will definitely be more careful from now on.

There were a bunch of missionary families at the river. One truck got stuck crossing the river (normal practice here without bridges) and they almost lost the vehicle to water damage but they took apart things and cleaned and dried it and it is now running. Quite a miracle.

day 2 of 19: in our new home

I can't believe how at home I am feeling here and we have only been here for 5 or so hours. This is such a change in feelings from a year a half ago. Then I felt alone and unsure and dirty and disgusted. Things are cleaner and better kept in our new house in the Staff Housing building. We have a new bathroom which is beautiful compared to what we had before. There is no mold on the shower curtain and in every bathroom crevice. The shared kitchen is clean and quite gecko-free. There is not food and random stuff sitting all over. It is picked up and clean. You wouldn't think cleanliness would be such a big deal but it truly can make a person feel comfortable.

We were also invited over for dinner with 4 other families. We visited with some old friends and made some new friends. It was a great time with great food. We felt like family and very welcomed here. Last time here we were left alone the first couple days. Now we already have plans for tomorrow to head to a river and waterfall area with a bunch of other people here.

I am looking forward to new friends and sharing lots of stories.

On a side note, the 5 hour drive with 2 stops went quite well. We loaded up on groceries for the next two weeks and got some lunch and ice cream. It is hot here and very humid but not quite as unbearable as it is in July and August. I am much preferring the weather here this time of year.

we arrived!

We made it to Honduras without any problems. We left our house bright and early this morning at 4am and arrived in San Pedro Sula at 3pm. Our 10 checked bags of medical supplies, 5 stowed carry-ons and 3 backpacks all made it safely with us. That is quite a miracle in itself. We did almost walk off with someone else's bag but that was quickly corrected. It is about 70 degrees and rainy. We are hoping for sun tomorrow.

It is great to finally be here! Thanks to God for our safe arrival and helping us out all along the way. Thanks for all the prayers.

We have a nice hotel to stay in tonight and then will make the 5 hour drive to Balfate tomorrow.

Best memory of the day: seeing Jaden and Clay run through the Miami airport pretending to be planes with their wing-arms spread out. Luckily they didn't take any people out.