Maine Contingency Arrives

Through the River and Over the Mountain
 to Dominga's House We Go

Nolvia Watches from the Doorway

Abuela in Her Glory
 Doing What She Does Best

Monkey or Tree?
Which is Which???

Three somewhat weary travelers arrived on Friday to begin a week of exploration and adventure. One for the first time. the other two had not been in the village for 2 and 4 years. Children they knew previously have grown and changed incredibly with the program in place. Some were unrecognizable. All were accepting and grateful for their presence. Barbara French, affectionately known by most as Gram, Abuela in the village, assumed her place in the guarderia, with either a baby in her lap or a spoon in her hand. Amanda resumed her pace throughout the village as if she had never left. JP, affectionately named Amorcito, stretched the limits of his back, by becoming a horse for the neighborhood children who followed us home. A trip to explore the neighboring village of Las Flores, with an astounding 12 fit into every crevice of the aging Montero Sport, led to another discovery of life's true conditions for one of our families.
A quick stop at the current home of Yester and Sindy gave us the opportunity to snag them for a visit and bring them to the house. My heart was heavy after talking with Sindy to find that life has taken yet another cruel twist for these two children. Sadly, they are being played as an income source rather than as children to be loved. Another chapter to be researched and processed. As we end the day with yet another cold shower and full body weariness, we do it with smiles on our faces with a deeper understanding of the reasons for our presence. 119 of them!!!!

Morning in the Guarderia

Nahun

Ruvi

Gladys

Today was a perfect day for testing the true strength of my Spanish. Maria Elena and Anthony headed for San Pedro Sula to meet the rest of the Maine contingency at the airport. I spent the day at the guarderia with the littles where the true test is always. My goal is to be able to communicate alone without the aid of someone bilingual or even another adult. The morning was spent teaching the littles how to use puzzles after a lesson in coloring and color names. There were several wooden and foam puzzles in the storage room, still in their plastic wrappings. Not for long. The teacher in me just naturally comes out. Sheer joy could be seen on the face of little Ruvi as he recognized that he could match the pictures and use the little knobs to turn the pieces and make them fit. When they had tired of this I pulled out a selection of spanish and bilingual picture books. The smiles grew immediately. Many of these children have never had access to books. They were also thrilled when I sat amidst them and could share the text. The best part was using my acquired repertoire of animal voices to add to the text. Before you knew it there was a room full of ducklings, piglets, and calves joining in. Little Gladys, who is extremely cautious, sat typically alone but with a book and a smile. As lunch approached....a perfect ending to a perfect morning. I sat with the youngest of Trijidia's children, Ana Nicole falling asleep nestled into my arms as I rocked her to sleep. Doesn't get any better than this! Hope you enjoyed your day as much as I did.

Preparing Mind and Soul for Departure

Each time I am here and strengthen relationships with adoring children, their grateful guardians, and network connections, I also strengthen my ties to this physical place. I am always breathless when we round a corner and the mountains and their beauty encircle us. It eases the constant rattling of metal and weary bones. I begin to distance my tender heart as the passage of time seems to quicken. I feel the sting of tears behind these thoughts and question them. Often they are not completely tears of personal sadness. Many times they are all too keen and sharp,feeling the quandry that I indeed get to step away from all that is daily life here; a lack of clean water, children normally put to work at age 5 to earn 50 centavos a day for back breaking work, many hardened and dirty feet without shoes, rounded bellies full of parasites. I catch my breath and remember that all is a gift. Because my spirit and body travel between these 2 polar extremes, I am allowed to share their voices, their dreams. And because more and more listen, often chosing to travel these same roads, the door to the future is open. This generation will be educated. It is almost unbelievable that because of all of you, 119 children eat food twice a day prepared with clean water. Their request for a drink of water is heard and the danger of parasites swimming in it ceases. They walk  out the door of the guarderia in uniforms and shoes so that they may one day walk out the door of abject poverty and change the world as they know it. Cultural gifts are packed in preparation for upcoming events to raise not only dollars but awareness. There will be much to share and I look forward to the opportunities ahead. A small group of Americans land tomorrow.Some have been here before, others will feel the rawness of this place for the first time. All will take different things from this experience. What will you take?........

A Day at the Lake.....in Honduras

Beauty Abounds!

Lake Yojoa

Directing Traffic

Monday is supposed to be a day off for pastors in Honduras. That is always difficult for Anthony and Maria Elena. There are very infrequent moments of silence or rest for them. Since the people here know that Anthony has been to the US they expect that he returned with pockets full of money, so the phone has rung continually with requests for loans, stories of illness, and need. No time left for a family reunion.....enter a plan. Since I have not been to several nearby locations, I initiated a plan. We all-even Samuel and Alison (M.E. and Anthony's children), prepared for a day in the car and at the lake. Part of the hidden plan was also for me to explore a couple of locales for the group coming in February to end their trip with a day of exploration and a day of rest. We stopped at the lake, Lago de Yojoa, to enjoy the view, check a restaurant, and.....of course the children and I needed a ride to explore the lake. Beauty abounds. A short ride in the car....all is relative.... and we arrived at Hotel Finca Las Glorias for lunch and a tour. In part this place is an active farm growing beautiful flowers and coffee. They also are privileged to have horses, boats, billiards, a swimming pool, beautiful gardens, and cabins for lodging. There are cabins for  4-8 people, all at ridiculously low prices for Americans. The land, tranquility, and incredible views of the lake make this a very real possibility for a group option. In the meantime, I can hear the laughter of this family who works so hard for the people of Concepcion. Tired bodies return home after much laughter and singing in the car. Mission accomplished!!!!