La Navidad con tamales y torejas

left to right (Copan Ruinas (the second time I went when Katie and Laura visited!), pods of a sweet plant, beautiful view from the rooftops of Copan, the brillance of flowers here, and a quaint cafe where coffee is so fresh and so stong.




























Happy holidays. Hope you all had a relaxing Christmas. Sounds like weather is freezing but here it is a breezy day. There has been a bit of rain here in San Pedro Sula but I´ve definitely enjoyed the heat. I´m still sweating but I enjoyed my chill Christmas here.
My two great friends Laura Swick and Katie Copeland came to visit me the week before Christmas. It was so refreshing to be with them again. I felt like I could express myself and they really understood me! Finally. And we went to Copan Ruinas again and it was fun to see how much I had grown and how much more spanish I now know. All of that with the knowledge that I know so little in the sceme of grasping this language and it keeps me humbled every day. We had a really fun time trying new foods and just sharing a relaxing time together. Why don´t we, as Americans, just relax more together? It was blissful. They were a blessing on my host family, who was excited for them to be there even though it was short. Their presence also made me miss so many wonderful people in my life but it was the perfect Christmas gift just to see them.
For many in this world, Christmas is not a time to relax but to work. On the 24th, I went with my host mom Teresa to work at her tajaditas (plantain chips) business. We started early in the morning to pack the chips into small and big bags. We fried two huge barrels of plantains. The business went well that day but it got hot sitting inside this building when the electricity and water was off for most of the day. Teresa was so good to me, always offering fruit juice and water to me. She offered the best that she had.
Christmas day was quite tranquil. I watched Titanic with Diana, Carlos, and Daniel (my host siblings). I also lost in a 45 min game of monopoly. That was a record loss for me, as the capitalistic game did not even last an hour. However, it seemed so indicative of how capitalism can really encourage greed, as Daniel complained about paying 25 dollar amounts of rent after I shelled out thousands of dollars on his hotels. Haha.
They served nacatamales. This is a specific type of tamale that has a corn based masa, chicken, a red masa, olives, and red beans. It is tasty, especially with hot sauce, but it can sit heavy on your stomache. I could only eat one. Also, torejas are a special dessert here. They are basically fried eggs surrounded by bread and coated in dark sugar cane. Fairly nutritous. With torejas I could also only eat one but I enjoyed it.
The day after Christmas we were back to pack tajaditas. Teresa really appreciated my help and kept giving me juice and water to keep me hydrated. My mom also travels in the buses, selling her products in the local towns. This is hard work and can be quite uncomfortable, as the buses rock and drive really crazy. However, I am always amazed at her generosity as she gives bags of tajaditas to my friends that visit and anyone else deemed a visitor. It is an exhausting life to pack tajaditas all day and then return home to cook dinner for about an hour and fall asleep to her soap operas on tv. Women here have some serious stamina.
I´ve really been amazed also how she seems to live day to day. Talk about asking for daily bread... She goes to the local pulperia (local store run out of ppl´s houses) to buy just the exact amount of sugar, eggs, and manteca she will use to cook that day. And each day in her work, she fries and packs just two barrels of plantains. It seems to give her no security at all and no time to ever be sick. Daniel and Carlos are working to find jobs around the town. When American groups come in , Carlos works to sell various things to them. Daniel went to work to pick watermelon and beans for a while. It´s all seasonal work and only allows them to work for weeks at a time. Diana has no cares in the world except to support her team Olympia (one of the club soccer teams from Tegucigalpa) and to win as much Uno as she can.
I finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and it really made me want to plant vegetables. I don´t get much of those here. When Teresa heard that I liked veggies she decided to make a veggie stew but ended up putting an entire stick of butter in. That kinda defeated the purpose of why I like vegetables. As is true to the Honduran manner of cooking, I´ll bet she added some sugar. Overall, I feel very grateful for the food that she makes and it makes me all the more aware that I am another mouth she needs to feed and that she does it with grace.
I missed so many of you this Christmas. Hope you are eating lots of pepernuts and chocolate covered things. That book also made me realize how eating should be a spiritual or sacred experience. So many people don´t have the options that we have. We need to choose well and eat slowly. Kingsolver also talked about supporting locally because it really is more effective than buying foods that are shipped over miles and miles. It makes me convicted about bananas. It really sucks that bananas are so abundant here and so many Hondurans do not get a fair price selling them. It makes me not want to buy them in the US because of this injustice. Really so much of what we do is based on what we are used to and the habits that we establish. If we can break our habits to create a more just society, than what is this small sacrifice really?
This book also really made me want to just take in nature. Just marvel in what´s around me. Sometimes the trash here can be distracting but Honduras really is a gorgeous country. The natural beauty is overwhelming, the brillance of the flower and funky shapes. The birds also have amazing songs that they never stop cooing. There is so much life here and it is abundant, despite human attempts to trash it, relocate it, or destroy it.
I´m heading up to Utila for New Years. This is a bay island on the north coast of Honduras. I´m excited to see the beaches but everything will be more expensive because it is a well-known backpacker spot. Really it won´t be super expensive in US terms but after living with my monthly allowence here and understanding typical Honduran spending its a bit humbling. I´m working to spend money well and give generously while living simply. Its quite the balance actually.
Anyways, we´re traveling to La Ceiba today and then off to the island. Should be a good adventure. There are a lot of those here. I just love how easy Hondurans are to talk to. They seem to always want to know where I am from, are my blue eyes real, and what I think of various Honduran dishes. May you all be well, take in the winter world around you (wherever you may be) and breathe in a bit deeper. Remain in love.

Diverti en Tela, la playa!

Hey! I just got back from a number of adventures! We had our team meeting in Tela, which is the beach. I didn´t take too many pictures because it was raining a lot. I did get a nice morning barefoot run on the beach. That was marvelous and I enjoyed pan de coco (coconut bread) and a fresh plate of crabs. It was refreshing to see the team again and hear what´s been up in their lives. I think most of all this was such a great break from the orphange. I really analyzed why I am here to work with the kids and what sacrifices God is asking of me here. I have been sick more times than I can count and I think my health is definitely one of those things. Overall, I realized what other amazing people are with me to serve here in many capacities.
I just finished baking banana bread again with my family and friend Gaby last night. It was tasty but reminds me how much butter and oil are used here. I said how much butter to add and they said to add a bit more to be ¨safe.¨ haha. My host mom is always disappointed that I don´t eat enough!!! They are a wonderful family and I am enjoying their joyous attitudes!
As of February of this past year I have been sponsoring a child from Compassion International. It was a real pleasure to visit him in Linaca Tatumbla. We saw the Compassion project, which teaches the children bible classes and gives them nutritional supplements to their diet. We also went up to his house, which was higher up in the mountains. Rony is a wonderful boy, and pretty shy. He is 7 years old and when he recieved the soccer ball I broght he had no words. It was an amazing experience to share. His father was especially grateful.
In Montana de Luz, things are wrapping up and it is almost time for the kids to go visit the family that they have. Many of them live close by in the departments of Olancho, Choluteca, and a few in Tegucigalpa. However, the ones that live on the north coast are going to take a trip with our director to see their families. They are excited and this is a much anticipated trip. The directors will end up in Roatan in the north and stay there for about a week before returning to pick up all the kids they drop off along the way. It is good to keep the kids connected to the grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other family that they have.
I am learning a lot of patience teaching these youth. Many of them complain and they aren´t pushed often so when I ask them to do something challenging it seems to be more than they can bear. I am working on being joyful in these situations. Yet, slowly I can see progress and various kids have finally learned their alfabet. It was shocking to me at first how many of them were around 10 or 12 and can´t really read. We have leappads, which are little computers that help them read, and its been really fun to watch them get excited to read with them. Teaching p.e. is still fun. We just finished playing a version of capture the flag. They all get really excited and of course find someone that is always cheating! haha.
The weather is changing again up here. It was pretty hot for a bit and now the wind is flaring up again. The kids are getting sick again, which only means....its comin for me again. O well. I´m ready for it by now. And lights are being put on a couple houses. My host sister Diana and I are going to make some decorations for the house this Sunday. The brick house often makes it challenging to stick anything to the wall. Hopefully tape will do. I´m excited to see what Christmas will be like here. A couple Hondurans I have asked have told me about the following traditions-


- posadas, where people go around to others houses each Sunday (I think) and sing Christmas songs and eat together, theres just such great community in that!
-tomales (dulces y con arroz, papas, y pollo) sweet tomales and ones with rice, potatoes, chicken and other things inside
-some kind of egg-nogg? I´m not so sure about that one
-also Diana was telling me that everyone wears their new clothes on Christmas day! I have some work to do for that one


I am excited to give my sister a soccer ball for Christmas. The one we are playing with now has a hole and is deflated.
Theres a new book about the US and the history of banana farming here. Yikes. It might be an interesting read. I´m about to embark on that one soon.

Hope you all are well and I miss you. Enjoy all the Christmas music for me, even if it is played a thousand times on the radio!

Pensamientos

Como les va a ustedes? Les extrano muchismo pero estoy contenta aqui. Hows it going for you all? I am keeping on here in the midst of a busy vacation time for our youth. They got off school about 2 weeks ago and have Christmas vacation until mid-January. I have been tudoring more kids now, which is an extra challenge. Many of the kids don't believe in themselves and often end up in tears because they feel incompetent. I've been working mainly on encouraging them and walking them through various exercises. This is what life is all about, coming alongside these kids and supporting them.
Lets see, things have been going really well with my host family. My host mom Teresa is such a servant and is so willing to make me meals, even if I happen to leave at 6 am at times. She always asks me what I am thinking of different flavors and laughs that I don't eat tons of butter on my food. We have really connected and have baked banana bread and french toast together. I described bierocks and how my Goering family makes pizza in the states. They are really excited for me to try these receipies. This past Saturday I attended my host sister Diana's 6th grade graduation. It was really long but afterwards each family had a separate table and celebrated it with a dance. This is such a dance culture!! My host brother Carlos just graduated high school and is ready to study at the University for an electrical engineering career. The most affordable and close university for him is in Tegucigalpa, which is still an hour bus ride each day. This can be for really long days because the transportation is not always consistent or at convient times.
I've had plenty of game playing time. I think I've lost and won at so many card games I can't even remember what they were. I also was happy that I successfully explained the games "rob the balls" or "capture the flag" and ultimate frisbee to the kids. Its been really fun teaching p.e. and actually its all really about conflict management.
In my spare time, I've had a lot of time to run, bike, and read. I've been running along the highway, which isn't always ideal. Somedays the constant "encouragement" from fellow male travelers can be frusterating but I am learning to be creative with my responses and seek for how to love them in these situations. Also, I just took a 5 hour bike ride with a Honduran that lives in Nueva Esperanza. We biked to Yuscaran and it was pretty uphill. This ride was definitely a challenge for me, but he was in great shape. He was quite patient with me and waited until I huffed my way up. The view was out-of-control gorgeous. I just can't get enough of the mountains here. We walked around the town a bit, learned some history of a creol family that was buried there, and had some guayaba ice cream. The fruits just can't get any better!
As far as reading goes, I finished the Twilight series. They were fun books about vampires! So many people laughed at me for that....I wonder why. Now, I just finished Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne. It was such an inspiring read. I think I walked away from it wanting to be more creative in my response to politics, government, and how I really love people who are poor in material, social, emotional, and relational areas of life. Here is some great quotes from his book that have really made me think:


"People sometimes ask if we are scared of the inner city. We say that we are more scared of the suburbs. Our Jesus warns that we can fear those things which can hurt out bodies or those things which can destory our souls, but we shold be far more fearful of the latter. Those are the subtle demons of suburbia. As Shane's mother says, "perhaps there is no more dangerous place for a Christian to be than in safety and comfrot, detached from the suffering of others."

"Love is a harsh and dreadful thing to ask of us, but it is the only answer." -Doris Day

"You cannot follow Jesus socially (in relation to your enemy) if you are not following Jesus economically."

"This great planet isn't just a boring lump of secular earth but a divine miracle, a creation! Any Christian politics that doesn't presume this is missing out on God's gift."

"We should be more concerned about identifying the radical spirit of love that must permeate every disciple's journey than about making a list of koser Christian jobs."

"Our hope is that the postmodern, post-Christian world is once again ready for a people who are peculiar, people who spend their energy creating a culture of contrast rather than a culture of relevancy."



You guys rock. I appreciate your support through many ups and downs that I have already had here. Thanks for the emails. Nothin like personal written notes either! May you all live to the fullest in this day.
"Let us pray that God would give us the strenght to storm the gates of hell and tear down the walls we have created between us and those whose suffering would disrupt our comfort. May we become familiar with the suffering of the poor outside our gates, know their names and taste their tears." (p.293, Claiborne).

Melisa in the hammocks at Montana de Luz. May each person blessed by her life never forget the time they spent with her.

Tristeza

Yesterday, we had the memorial service for 10 year-old Melisa. It was such a sad thing, burrying a young girl only a decade old. She had AIDS but more so had severe depression and tuberculosis. She had been vommiting up her medicine for too long and her body became starved. On Saturday, we had visited her just 30 minutes after she died. It was sad seeing the minuscule resources they had. Her grandmother was the only relative who was there at her time of death. She had a messy history and the social workers did not even want her in the room with Melisa. It was quite the sad situation watching the grandma walk away from the hospital alone that day.
Death is so common for these kids. The kids drew her all kinds of pictures and wrote letters. I couldn't help thinking how we all tried to give her the world, spoiling her with candy and cute clothes, and in the end we even laid her to rest in a beautify gown. Death always seems to make people feel like they should have done more in life. I have heard so many comments from people about how they should have spent more quality time with her. It kinda puts it all in perspective.
For me, I think I was shocked and didn't really understand the sadness of this until I saw her in her coffin. The size of the coffin itself seemed to describe the life that was robbed from her. Many of the kids were just silent and so many more of them didn't understand. I have been praying since for her grandma and other surviving relatives as they put her body to rest today. Please also pray for her family as they seek to understand this death.

Also I am struggling with my coworkers here. They are just a frusterating group to be around and do not share many of my values. This fact makes me end up feeling exhausted because of negative jokes and uncomfortable comments. It is hard here because I don't really have any one else in my "social circle" except my host family, whom are amazing. I've really enjoyed the quality time I've spent with them. They seem to be a very close family with a light-hearted attitude. Please pray for my relationships with people here because that seems to be a struggle for me right now. I'm searching for some spiritual and emotional support here and coming up empty much of the time. I guess this is what it means to truly rely on God....

fotos

right to left: (me, Anuar and Marlon at the kids' Catholic baptism, my host family's house, my friend Gaby with MdL girls, Rachel, me, and Gaby in Gracias hiking, Michael and I in Gracias)

Hi everyone! I just wanted to post some pictures. Here are a couple from my visit to Gracias with Rachel and Gaby. I have finally moved into my host family's house. Teresa is the single mom with two boys, Carlos and Daniel, and Diana who is a 6th grader. They are fun to play cards with and its is an amazing change to be in a house. I'm holding up, though there have been many challenges here. I'm working to spend a bit of each day just asking God what he has for me. Some days it is certainly challenging. I pray that you all are well and are finding God in all the challenges you also are facing in health, in work, and in finding your purpose.

One of the other people I met in training in Akron was named Passionate from Africa. He wrote me an email posing me a question I pose to you. How is God pulling you through?

Bendiciones

Buenos Dias! Today is a bright and hot morning, as the past few weeks have been here in Montana de Luz. Life has been busy here recently as we have a group from Ohio visiting and doing some service work. My directors Amanda and Andrew just visited yesterday to check up on my life here and my host family. Finally, my host mom said that she will be ready for me to move in this week, and I'm trying to believe her yet not get my hopes up too high. Anyways, I have been enjoying her family, playing card games and soccer with her children. We also baked banana bread together on Sunday, which was an interesting experience because we didn't know the conversion from fahrenheit to celsius. We ended up overbaking the bread but my family loved it. We made jokes about it being a dark cafe on the outside and light on the inside, which my host mom informed me (in a joking manner) was like the contrast in our two skin colors. It was a great bonding experience and produced much laughter.

I also wanted to share a crazy traveling experience that I had. Two weekends ago I was traveling with my Honduran friend and Rachel, the other SALTER in my area. We were going by bus to visit Michael in Gracias, which is about an 8 hour bus ride. When we got on the bus, we realized that we didn't have enough money combined for the three of us to get the whole way. We could make it about half way but then we needed to withdraw money. Here the atm machines aren't as reliable and easy to come by. I was pretty worried that we wouldn't find one and my card had not been working in Tegucigalpa, therefore I doubted it would work in a small town we would stop at along the way. After three hours we got into La Esperanza, which is about half way to Gracias. We finally found an atm machine and the bank had just closed because it was 1 am on a Saturday. Rachel tried her card and wasn't able to get money. Then I tried my card and the machine ate it. We were only missing 20 limperas (about a dollar) to pay for our bus ride but didn't have it. Frusterated, I took a walk up to this church that overlooked the city. I wasn't sure how we were going to get to Gracias because we were short on money and not sure how we could stay the night because our cards had failed. What were we going to do?

Rachel called me, as I was on my walk, to say that my Honduran friend had sold some of her phone minutes. Ingenious! Now, we now had enough money to get a bus ticket but were hungry and hadn't eaten all day. We went into the local markets and I decided to sell my shirt. My Honduran friend walked up to a vender and asked how much she wanted for it. She was a friendly elderly woman and decided to buy this shirt for her daughter. As she was making this purchase I think she could tell that we were in need. She asked us if we had eaten and we were shy, but said that we had not. She gifted us with three heaping plates (very generous by Honduran plate sizes) of fried chicken, rice, beans, and tortillas. It was marvelous. She also gave us orange juice to drink. A sign up in her makeshift restaurant said "the owner of this restaurante is blessed and all those who eat from her are also." This was so true for what we had experienced.

We ended up needing to go quickly to catch our bus that we now had money for. I was so awed by this experience of receiving food when I was in real need. We prayed sincerely on the bus as we ate and were able to share with an elderly woman who looked hungry on the bus also. This had been a crazy day.
Finally, we were on the road to Gracias, just 4 more hours and one more bus ride after this one! We were maybe 30 minutes into our route when the bus sputtered to a stop. The engine was billowing and smoke was everywhere. The driver of 20-something years had not taken care of the engine and it was having major problems. I was feeling very frusterated at this point because there was only one more connection bus to Gracias, and that left in an hour. We were now stopped on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, with the minutes ticking away. Some of our fellow travelers talked about walking, even though many of them were women in high heels! (People dress up all the time!). This walk would take 2 hours. However, it was pretty cold out because the colder season had hit and I was wearing three long sleeve shirts. I started thinking that leaving the group may not be the best idea. So I just started praying.

It turns out there was a mechanic on the bus. He started working with the bus driver and within 30 minutes helped get the bus moving again. I was still doubting that we would make it to our connecting bus on time and night was falling. Finally, though the bus driver drove crazy, we made it into the outskirts of town when someone yelled for people who were going to Gracias to get off the bus. We thought this was strange but grabbed out stuff and got off. The driver shoved us into the back of the truck which took off through the mud. The mud was thick and spattered in all directions because the rainy season had seriously affected the roads. I thought we were going to ride like this all the way to Gracias (about 1 and 1/2 hours more) and braced myself to hold on in this truck. After a 10 minute drive, I saw what we were after. We caught up to the bus going to Gracias just as it started becoming really dark. We hopped on the bus and though the tires were slidding everywhere in the mud, and said a prayer for the amazing connections and people that had reached out to us. Finally, we made it into Gracias at about 6:30pm with 6 lempiras left to spare. It was quite the adventure.

I learned how amazing generosity is in a time of need as well as the fact that we worked together as a great team that day. When our second bus broke down, the three of us were laughing just waiting for even more to happen. My prayers that day were very genuine and I really experienced provision in my time of need. This experience has taught me to be more generous and really trust that God has an idea where my next bus ride is coming from.

Anyways, that's all for now. Just keepin on in the heat today. We are starting to plant a garden, planting pepers, onion, carrots, and other vegetables. I'm excited to teach the kids about this. Hope you all are doing well, getting into the winter season. For all you who are experiencing cold, just remember I'm still sweating for you!

Aprendiendo como cocinar Baleadas!!

Que tal? Como estan todos? To begin with, this week I was really excited because I learned how to cook Baleadas, a prized dish here in Honduras. It is a dish of flour tortillas, which creamed beans and dry cheese inside. Also, many people put eggs and butter inside. It is a wonderful mix of cream, chunky, and tough textures in your mouth along with rich fresh ingredients. Baleadas are my favorite dish here! My Honduran friend's mom allowed me to help her go through the process of making the tortillas, frying them, and preparing the rest of the food. It was magnificent. Although I need to practice stretching my tortillas out a bit more, it was fantastic to learn and not too hard to replicate. I also baked chocolate cookies with the oldest girls at the orphanage. They had a blast and were ecstatic!
My room with my host family is almost built. I'm so ready to move in!! It been two months since I've been here and I'd really like to start getting to know my host family! I've been a bit frustrated but have gone to visit with her a number of times. It seems in this culture you just drop in on people. I dropped in a couple of days ago and I brought her some green salsa to show her that I am serious about wanting to bless her family even if I'm not living there. It has been difficult for her to built this room because the rain has been tremendous. It has taken a lot of patience and trust throughout this whole process. I'm learning that many things in life take great patience. The whole sense of Honduran time here has helped me live more in the moment in many positive ways. I usually know that if someone comes over its going mean that we are going to talk until there's not much else to say and we are going to make sure everyone is ready and relaxed before we go do something. Its been different traveling every place I go as a group and changed my sense of independence a bit. I am getting to know many of the Honduran locals and have received special encouragement for my morning runs! Haha.
Its still raining today and it has caused a lot of damage in Honduras. Many bridges are washed out and even the highway to Tegucigalpa caved in. Its pretty scary traveling on some of the buses at times. I was just reading that the Honduran government declared this time a national emergency because 11 people have died, and over 130,000 have been affected by the flooding. Many people are being evacuated in small farming communities, which is devastating because their lives are being uprooted. Also, one of my friends here who attends a local university talked about some of her fellow classmates having nothing because their house was completely flooded. And the rains just don't stop. I heard that we are heading into the dry season but so many people are saying it is uncharacteristically rainy this year. There was also an avalanch in the deparment of Copan which ended up blocking the Coyol River and destroying many houses. Check out http://www.hondurasnews.com/.
Also, there is a presidential election coming up in Novemeber sometime. When I've been in Teguc, there have been various political groups rallying. I don't hear much since I hardly get a paper and no one around Nueva Esperanza seems to care. Here in Nueva Esperanza, the houses have been without running water for 3 months. They finally just had a meeting to get enough money to pay for someone to drill for water. It has taken a lot of community organizing and many people are still unhappy and unable to afford it. However, now that the rainy season is ending people are nervous because they won't be able to use rain water anymore. Hopefully, they will get this issue fixed because the orphanage had been supplying many people with water and we can't afford to do that any more. Water is such a scarce but vital resource. It has been frusterating to be without showers many times and just suddenly have the water be off. Dishes just pile in the sinks and I try to avoid using the bathroom at home. But the tiendas or pulperias (small local stores) carry lots of bottled water to do the important stuff, like keep hydrated and brush your teeth. I keep telling myself its like camp or going hiking for an extended period of time!
I have been enjoying tutoring and teaching physical education in the afternoons. The kids are great and I'm learning to know them more. Many of them have anger management issues and we are implementing a star-system, where they receive rewards if they have behaved. Getting along with co-workers has its challenges, but I am learning to work with strong personalities better.
Please pray for the flooding situation here. It's crazy how much water can do and its so frusterating to see houses and whole roads taken out. At the same time, also pray for the water situation in Nueva Esperanza and that people can work together to solve this situation that will become pretty important soon.

I found a bit of inspiration from Oriah Mountain Dreamer and I wanted to share it with you all. Her work is called The Dance.

"I have sent you my invitation, the note inscribed on the palm of my hand by the fire of living. Don't jump up and shout, "Yes, this is what I want! Let's do it!"

Just stand up quietly and dance with me.

Show me how you follow your deepest desires, spiralling down into the ache within the ache.

And I will show you how I reach inward and open outward to feel the kiss of the Mystery, sweet lips on my own, everyday.

Don't tell me you want to hold the whole world in your heart.

Show me how you turn away from making another wrong without abandoning yourself when you are hurt and afraid of being unloved.

Tell me a story of who you are, And see who I am in the stories I am living.

And together we will remember that each of us always has a choice.

Don't tell me how wonderful things will be . . . some day.

Show me you can risk being completely at peace, truly OK with the way things are right now in this moment, and again in the next and the next and the next. . . I have heard enough warrior stories of heroic daring.

Tell me how you crumble when you hit the wall, the place you cannot go beyond by the strength of your own will.

What carries you to the other side of that wall, to the fragile beauty of your own humanness? And after we have shown each other how we have set and kept the clear, healthy boundaries that help us live side by side with each other, let us risk remembering that we never stop silently loving those we once loved out loud.

Take me to the places on the earth that teach you how to dance, the places where you can risk letting the world break your heart.

And I will take you to the places where the earth beneath my feet and the stars overhead make my heart whole again and again.

Show me how you take care of business without letting business determine who you are.

When the children are fed but still the voices within and around us shout that soul's desires have too high a price, let us remind each other that it is never about the money.

Show me how you offer to your people and the world the stories and the songs you want our children's children to remember, and I will show you how I struggle not to change the world, but to love it.

Sit beside me in long moments of shared solitude, knowing both our absolute aloneness and our undeniable belonging.

Dance with me in the silence and in the sound of small daily words, holding neither against me at the end of the day.

And when the sound of all the declarations of our sincerest intentions has died away on the wind, dance with me in the infinite pause before the next great inhale of the breath that is breathing us all into being, not filling the emptiness from the outside or from within.

Don't say, "Yes!" Just take my hand and dance with me.

Motoceli adventuras y trabajo social

Picture this: A quaint town with mountains in the distance. Kids playing in the streets mid-day with a few people walking around the deserted plaza. The Catholic church stands as an icon, with its Spanish architecture and grand decorations. There were vendors sitting, tired after a long day of selling tortillas and bananas. The streets are unpaved and difficult to manuever. Rain forms the earth and makes it near impossible to drive as bare rocks and shards of earth lay exposed. And here I was to put my social work skills to use...
Today, we traveled to Motoceli to inquire about a new girl who might come to Montana de Luz. I was excited to be ask to do this social work visit and actually put these skills to use. However, I am still nearly deaf in one ear and struggling to breathe so I was thinking I wasn't the best for this job. Yet, my director is swamped so I agreed to go.
We arrived knowing we might meet someone at the Catholic church. Its pretty much a big icon so I thought I would just find someone standing there. After 15 minutes of waiting, I called the number on my contact sheet and could only leave a message. I decided I need to wait another 10 minutes. I'm trying to work on having more patience. It seems to be in such abundance here. When I see other people being so patient, I forget that I really am able to wait, to rest, and to daydream.
Anyways, we started asking around and found the father of this girl we were inquiring about. He said that he wanted to take us to his house to meet her. He also asked if we wanted to go on foot or car. I, being an active American that I am, said that I'd love to go on foot and see the sights as we went. This father has estimated about a 10 minute walk. Just as we were starting out, the father thought that maybe it would be better by car. So we hoped into the car and started to drive on the treacherous roads. All of these roads were not paved and, since it is rainy season, the mud was fantastic and spraying in every direction. We also became manuevered so that one wheel was off the ground and I thought we were all going to push. By, as I have seen other Hondurans do, we just hopped on the back to put extra weight and the driver sprung the car foward. Every road seems to be an adventure here. Nevertheless, after 15 more minutes of driving crazy roads we arrived at the casa. Truly it was great to use my skills combined with Spanish. Even though I am sick, I was able to bring hope to this situation. It was empowering that I was able to use my abilities even though I'm definitely not at my prime right now.

Enfermedades

Now i lay(with everywhere around)...
by e. e. Cummings

Now i lay(with everywhere around)
me(the great dim deep sound of rain;
and of always and of nowhere)and
what a gently welcoming darkestness--
now i lay me down(in a most steep more than music)
feeling that sunlight is(life and day are)only loaned:
whereas night is given(night and death
and the rain are given;and given is how beautifully snow)
now i lay me down to dream of(nothing i or any somebody
or you can begin to begin to imagine)something which nobody may keep.
now i lay me down to dream of Spring

(From left to right: Coworker Doris with Hector and Junior, a gigantic tree from a nearby town named Yuscaran, taken from Montana de Luz looking down towards Nueva Esperanza, a beautiful unique flower here, an example of the brillant colores of flowers you can never get enough of!)

Saludos from Montana de Luz! It´s been a busy and frusterating week. This past weekend the other two Salters and I hung out in Teguc. It was fun to get away and see the bigger city for a while. We had this awesome coffee shake (which I am not addicted to...I hope) called a granita. It was marvelous. We also strolled around the city and had so many tipical foods. The air was fresh. It was great to have freedom of movement finally and be with people that I understand and relate with so easily.

However, this past weekend I had been struggling with a cold. This combined with the changing altitudes from Nueva Esperanza to Teguc caused both my ear drums to burst. This past week has been interesting struggling to hear but also feeling like I can´t breathe. However, at times it is nice not to hear when the kids are screaming my name constantly for second helpings at dinner!

Anyways, this is the second time for a two week period that I have been sick and this time with an infection. I was really struggling not to complain about this (thanks mom and dad for listening!) when I started praying and just thinking how lucky I truly am to be healthy and what a gift it is. I have been in such good health for most of my life. It is such a contrast to see kids as young as five struggling with AIDS, knowing they will be constantly battling low immune systems and needing pills every 12 hours for the rest of their lives. Here I am teaching physical education in the afternoons. Often, I have a couple kids who sit out because they can´t breathe or are just feeling too sick. One kid has been struggling for the last two weeks and been going into Teguc to see the doctor. So many of the kids go in to Teguc once a week to get shots and have their blood taken. And they don´t have moms and dads to complain to....

Another frusterating thing about this week is that the mom of four of our kids died. The mom had AIDS and survived a domestic violence situation. The violence had left her incapacitated to the point that she finally stopped breathing. Two of these kids are below the age of five and it was truly sad to see that they didn´t understand. Its so difficult to watch this situation as the oldest of these siblings is a 14 year-old girl who just wants to be normal and celebrate her quincenera (a big birthday party for 15 year-olds) in a couple of weeks. Montana de Luz will try to provide her with lots of dancing and cake, yet underneath it all she knows she is now the caretaker of her family. So its been a heavy week...

In the midst of this, GOD IS GOOD. All the time. Even in chronic sickness and suffering, even in disbelief and frusterations. Even when we don´t understand the suffering of kids and the death of those who are poor. Even when we personally experience sickness that helps us to better understand those who suffer around us...

Something I have taped to my door says, ¨for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.¨Phil 4:11 to 13. This is quite challenging. I find that the kids teach me to search for contentment and the joy in everyday. They teach me what it is to keep playing even when I don't feel like it. Please pray for these kids for the strength to keep loving and keep playing despite pain both physical and emotional. Please pray especially for this family of four kids, who just lost their mom. And pray for the health of your parents, cuz I bet theres a lot to be thankful for.

Lord, bless my enemies.

Here is a challenging prayer:

¨Lord Bless my Enemies¨
A prayer of St. Nikolai of Orchid

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Enemies have driven me into thy embrace more than friends have.
Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.
Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and have an extraneous inhabitant of the world.
Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, have ensconced myself beneath thy tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies slay my soul.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.
They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself.
They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.
They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.
Whenever I have made myself might, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.
Wheenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.
Whenever I have rused to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.
Whenever I have thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.
Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and traquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out.
Truly, my enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of thy garment.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me:
so that my fleeing to Thee may have no return;
so that all my hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs;
so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul;
so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins: arrogance and anger;
so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;
ah, so that I may for once be freed from self deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of ilusory life.
Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself or herself. One hates his or her enemies only when they fail to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends.
It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies. Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and enemies.
A slave curses enemeis, for he does not understand. But a son or daughter blesses them, for he or she understands. For a son or daughter knows that the enemies cannot touch his or her life. Therefore he or she freely steps among them and prays to God for them.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
AMEN.

Necesidades o deseos? Esa es la pregunta.

¨What gives light must endure burning.¨Viktor Frankl.

Left to right: (Assistant director Rob holding Abi, Junior, Starlin y Alan playing while spotting a rainbow, Director Elen holding Starlin and Melisa).

In looking around the various places I have visited here in Honduras and the quality of life, I have noticed some differences between needs and wants.

For example, what do I need to survive (in order of most important)?

*love, to know and be made known to others (parental units or some guardian that guides you and socializes you, teaching you to value yourself and others)

*food (clean water especially), clothing, and shelter (security)

*hope, for tomorrows meal and for future job security and betterment

*a community, for knowledge of self and support

*medical care when dire situations arise

*a time of rest and recouperation for both the soul and body

*a relationship with the earth, reaping what is sown and appreciating all that was created

*fresh fruits of every kind, especially mango, maricuya and watermelon (ok, if you don´t think you need this to survive maybe you haven´t tried the fruits in Honduras! Just sayin.)

What have I realized are wants?

*toliet paper!!

*clean feet or sandals, and dry shoes

*chocolate

*constant running water and electricity

*a space of my own, a silence

*freedom of movement, the ability to walk or run when I want

*a shower without visitors, like ants and frogs and cockroaches

*unlimited text messaging and phone calls

*consistent phone service from TIGO, the phone service I use here

*the ability to define myself without using the color of my skin and its history here

*buses that follow a set time schedule

*hair that isn´t stringy no matter how much I shower

*freedom of staring (ok so it isn´t normally a freedom, but when many people, especially men, stare back at you intently you remember that your eyes don´t feel so free)

*pavedroads (driveable roads) and tiled floors

*vegetables, in every meal

*the ability to choose my job and the hours I work

*AND, the ability to dance all the time to the amazing Latin beats I constantly hear (although, there are definitely lots of opportunities!)

What can you idenitfy in your life as needs or wants? How does that play into how you fully live in each day? (more specifically, when did you last bite into a fresh mango? That´s defintiely both)

I haven´t really missed a.c. It feels pretty great to sweat most times. I´m learning to be more patient and know that though the mid-day can be swealtering hot, the evening will bring rain that downpours. Each time will be relaxing in its own right and I need to sit back and enjoy the day. I´m learning to take in the colors of the earth, noticing new colors of green and the vibrancy of each flower and leaf. Also, I love the depth of the mountains which are unparalled in beauty. There is a lot to say for the simplicity of having a home-made meals every day and learning to take life as it comes. Music has seemed to take on a whole new meaning and I am greatly enjoying learning to dance here. I am able to read books to my heart´s content and just sit to contemplate. Each day, I am filled with food (mmm Baleadas, my favorite dish, sorta a Honduran quesidilla that we have each Thursday breakfast), love from the kids, and the ability to be. My spanish is improving although I have had many impatient kids and funny misunderstandings in speaking. Asi es la vida (such is life)!!! May you continue also to enjoy fall (or winter as the temperature already may feel like) to its fullest and remember the creation around you as a gift to be contemplated and appreciated daily.

Psalters

Hey- Theres this awesome group that is so raw and real about spreading the love of God. Check them out: www.psalters.com

Pensando en mi familia y amigos

(left to right: Five year-old Fany running on the sidewalk, the place where I´m going to plant a vegetable garden (there´s a might bit of work to do!), my coworker and education director Lidia holding little Alan, Mera and I at a birthday party, the kids playing with balloons in a nearby swimming pool with a gringo group).


















































¨Its not who you are that holds you back, its who you think you´re not.¨-unknown.

Cosas que me sorprenden

Things that have surprized me:

-the ants that crawl on everything in seconds, and bite every spot on your feet that you never wanted anything to touch

-how quickly the rain will come in the afternoons and how the sun can shine at the same time

-how much access I have to the internet (nearly everyday)

-that I´m not sick of rice and beans and tortillas, just add a bit of hot sauce, though really salty here it helps me breathe a lot clearer (haha) and enjoy the spices in my food

-how easily memories of different friends and family come back to me

-how quickly the sun sets here, at about 6:00pm, its so dark cuz there are not many street lights

-that I started taking classical guitar lessons with my co-worker yesterday

-that I have a huge hunger for knowledge right now and am reading about 5 different books at the same time, including Harry Potter and the piedra filosofal (the first Harry Potter book in Spanish)

-that I haven´t lost the wonder in the trees, flowers, and different fruits that grow in this area, the colors are just magnicicent

-that I don´t miss chocolate (that much) but I did have some chocolate cake yesterday and it was pretty much a big deal

-the amount of resources we have at Montana de Luz rocks and yet the kids are really creative without these things and willing to give of their hearts and their lives each day

Mi primera semana en M.D.L.

(left to right from the top:
1. Michael, Simon (son of Darren and Julie, MCC Honduras Reps) and Rachel in La Campa where Michael works,
2. a woman making Lencan pottery in La Campa,
3. me standing by a papaya tree with gigantic papayas,
4. Montana de Luz view from the front gate
5. Junior a three year old at Montana de Luz,
6. Junior and me playing with the camera,
7. the 32 kids at the home breaking a pinata for a birthday,
8. 6 hammocks set up for the kids in the shade,
9. the laundry area,
10. my new best friend Gaby who attends a local university and volunteers at Montana de Luz).



































Today is a special day here in Nueva Esperanza because the kids are having a parade. They are celebrating Independence day, which is on Monday. Independence for Honduras was granted from Spain in 1821. To begin with, Honduras was originally inhabited by indigenous groups. The most powerful of these were the Mayans but the Lencas were also prevalent. (The picture of the woman making a pot is doing one of the most well known forms of Lencan art. This type of pottery continues to be popular especially in rural areas, such as La Campa near Gracias, Lempira.) From 1502 until 1821, the Spanish retained control of this country, naming it Honduras meaning ¨from the depths.¨The cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagua were established because they were good mining centers.

However, in 1537, Chieftan Lempira (the money is called Lempiras, about 18 Lempiras per 1 American dollar) organized various indigenous groups to fight the Spaniards but were unsuccessful, resulting in a further establishment of Spanish rule. Finally, in a successful revolt against Spain began because of a resentment of Spanish taxes against the indigenous groups. In 1812, uprisings broke out in Tegucigalpa against Comayagua. In 1821 with four other Central American nations, Honduras declared its independence from Spain. It was part of the Central American Federation, which collapsed in 1838 when Honduras became officially independent.

Independence day here is celebrated by parades. Many of the youth here at M.D.L. (Montana de Luz) were dressed up in beautiful butterfly outfits or fancy marching uniforms. The kids often play the drums, trumpets, and the girls dance a specific dance. Its facinating to watch.

Things have been going pretty well for this first week. I have mostly been shadowing the education teacher here. She is originally from El Salvador and did Peace Corps in Guatemala and is now getting her masters in the U.S. in international development. She has lot of experience teaching abroad and I think I will learn a ton from her. Mostly, my job will be helping her teach the pre-kindergartners in the mornings and teaching physical education on my own in the afternoons. I am ready to get deeper relationships with the kids, especially the teenaged girls. They often get less attention and are at a crucial developmental stage. I hope also to start some type of dance therapy with them too.

Also, Rachel and I got a chance to accompany a gringo group that is volunteering at M.D.L. to a club soccer game in Tegucigalpa. It was Olimpia vs. Montagua. The club teams are different than the national soccer team. The Honduras national team just beat Canada and Jamaica but lost to Mexico. Now, those three national teams are coming to play in Honduras. Basically, everthing in the town stops when these games are on and you can hear the tvs from every house tuned into the same station. The club games are less of a big deal but many people came out to watch them. Olimpia had a huge cheering section, despite their loss that day 0-2 to Montagua.

I have gotten a chance to learn how to cook masa tortillas and bean soup. The fruits here continue to be rico
and my favorite is one called maricuya. It has these little seeds and is slimy but has an amazing tart but sweet taste. You just want more of it all the time! I bought three of those and three carrots because I just crave vegetables and fruits here.

My friend Gaby (in the picture above) has been so warm and welcoming. She is 21 and attends the University of Danli, which is nearby. She is studying civil engineering but volunteering here during the days. She is working to get my in-style, taking me this Sunday to cut mi fleckillo (my bangs) and get me to buy some popular kind of Honduran clear sandals that look like the ¨jellies¨I had when I was younger. I am excited to get to know her more. Her heart is so generous and she continues to give me bracelets and trade me clothing.

I have loved the kids so far. Most of them have challenging life situations. One girl this week had to go visit her mother because she went into a coma and it was a life-threatening situation. Another boy has intenstinal issues on top of having HIV. Sometimes he just lays in the shade saying ¨duele mi estamago.¨ (my stomache hurts). We just pick them up and hold them and continue playing, seeking the most joy possible in a day.

I definitely feel thankful to have a healthy body, an amazing loving family, and so many great friends and opportunities in my life. I have learned to be more satistifed with showers every 3 or 4 days, and not always knowing if the electricity will shut off. I have learned to find peace in the night sky and the gates that protect me, even though I feel a bit captive at times. I am learning what it is to be a woman here and what freedom of moment really means in a culture where not everything is always guarenteed, such as the safety of a path. Never the less, I had an amazing last week filled with plenting of challenges, but also accompanied by a God who was much bigger than it all.

Here is a prayer I wrote for the justice and love of the kids of M.D.L. :

In the midst of the mourning sun
my our voice resonate louder than distress,
as we speak to the desperation in this world,
may our hearts magnifcy love and justice,
and may it become our center, our solid rock.

seeking patience and goodness, let us weigh
the cost of misrepresenting love of a Father
desperate to hold each child in their condition:
AIDS-infected, heart-broken, or with skinned knees.



I realize a lot of this seems really serious but I have been laughing a lot here. The kids bring a lot of joy and silly jokes. There is especially one that loves to tickle a lot. Also, I just feel satisfied by owning less things and being able to enjoy the earth more. I have been able to call my parents a bit but I am definitely missing a lot of you all. Hope things are going well for you as you get started in more school or fall activities. And remember if you ever think things are getting too cold in your part of the world, just know I am sweating enough to make up for most of you!

Nueva Esperanza para la primera vez

I´m here in Nueva Esperanza. We arrived this evening (Sunday) around dinner time. We stayed with some friends from Goshen College from Goshen, Indiana (Ben and Joy Metcalf) this morning and afternoon to see where they were teaching in the capital, Tegucigalpa. It is neat to see some familiar faces in this area. They are teaching at a private Christian school located just up in the mountains of Teguc. It was interesting to see such an Americanized school in this area. Many kids of the Honduran elite and ambassadors attend this school. It was so different to see it after touring the MAMA project in the slums of San Pedro Sula. It seems to be more evidence of westernized culture, for both good and bad. The resources this school had were awesome and I´m sure they give these kids an amazing Christian education. Part of your heart just wishes they could reach so many more kids, especially the ones on the streets and working around the clock in local tiendas or kitchens. Que sera?
Afterwards, we drove about 45 minutes to Nueva Esperanza and walked around the Mountana de Luz grounds to meet a lot of the kids. The kids seem to be amazing, wanting to hug and be held. One kid in particular was named Hector and clung to Amanda, my SALT director here in Honduras. His face was covered in scabs and evidence from his infection of HIV-AIDS. His love was so much worn on his sleeve that it was impossible not to want to just play with him there in the dirt. There are for sure the tough ones that don´t want to look at strangers and are scared to give their hearts away to some new volunteer. It´s going to be great though getting to know these kids more and being able to be a more steady presence in their lives. I am also ready to work with younger kids and experience the different rewards and challenges that come along with that. I love how kids love! I love how they play and can become consumed with their task at hand, forgetting about the sorrows of life and the poverty surrounding them. It will be a great year of reorienting my sense of time and accomplishments. I know there will be plenty of things that I ¨want¨to achieve and I´m sure God has his own plans as well. I am working on reorienting my heart to his voice and understanding what his heart is for his people.
Here in Honduras it is easy so far for me to just become frusterated with systems. To begin with, the government is a corrupt system that does not provide adequate health care or social programs for starving people. There is so much hypocracy. Yet, in the midst of this ugliness I am working to remember that these are God´s children too. God is passionate about the government workers just as he is for me. Yes, they have made some mistakes just as I have. How can we reorient our minds to allow for this type of grace? How can we find hope in this struggle to redistribute resources based on a principle that isn´t capitalism, unitarianism, or economics that seem so logical?
I was reading about the Grameen bank started by Muhammed Yunus in Bangladesh. He set up a bank that the poor could own and take out their own microloans. This truly improved the conditions of many of the poorest of the poor in this country. Also, his banks spread to other countries. It seems that we spend all this time trying to solve poverty when really we need to give the tools and opportunities to those who we are really trying to affect. Every person has something to give and we often act like the poor do not. Yet, they have skills and various internal resources that must be tapped into. Check Yunus out. He started as an economics professor and has made an enormous change for his country. He´s an incredible guy.
I have been impressed so far with MCC Honduras and all the different organizations we are able to support. We just got done having our team meeting in La Campa, where Michael is for the year. We visited various agricultural projects put on by CASM, the Comite Accion Social Menonita. The group in this area were helping farmers stop cutting down trees by helping them plant cocoa trees and finding new alternative stoves to cook with. Also, they helped the workers there build more efficent pins for chickens and rabits. It was empowering to see the farmers show us their work and the pride with which they spoke about it. Within one community, one woman even spoke up and told about the women´s community gardens and other animal projects they had specifically been doing. While I know that not every project is this well organized, the community and sense of accomplishment with this group was phenomenal. I truly enjoyed visiting these areas and am anxious to see what projects Michael will see accomplished and what type of environmental educating he will do.
Let´s see, I´ve been running a little bit. Often it is hard to know if I am in a safe enough area. I really crave exercise but sometimes things just don´t happen like you desire. I´ve learned that Hondurans are crazy patient people. They are just always waiting for something. If they say a show or event will begin at 7 pm, usually that means around 8 or 830. I´ve just gotten used to wating for buses more and appreciating the environment around me. Also, I´ve gotten used to being dirty. At first it was a bit uncomfortable. Now, I feel like once I´m dirty I forget to notice it and I´ve even gone about 3 or 4 days without showering and not even noticed. Its actually kinda refreshing not to have to worry about showering or smelling good. Also, it makes me realize how concious we are about being clean in the U.S. We change clothes frequently and put on good smelling perfumes and cologne. It just feels natural to be here. I´m sure I will get tired of things smelling after a while and there really is nothing like the day after laundry day, especially when your laundry has dried in the sun.
Also, I am enjoying having less technology. I have an MCC-issued cell phone to call people in-country. It is nice not to have to worry about checking messages (cuz you all know how I would wait until I had 9 or 10 messages in the U.S.) and just take life as it comes. Man, let me tell you the frozen fruit pops or paletas are literally and figuratively ¨the bomb.¨ The flavors are so sweet and leche here just is different. I don´t know how to describe it but milk and cheese are just different. There are various types of cheese and I think I like this dry crumbly cheese the best. But watch out, because it will definitely sneak attack your stomache the next morning! Haha.
Well, for now that´s all. Tomorrow I get to sleep in and just get oriented to Montana de Luz and this new town, Nueva Esperanza. Andrew and Amanda and Rachel are leaving to take Rachel to her assignment with micro-loans in Teguc. I´m very much looking foward to being on my own and finally being emmersed in Spanish. Its been comforting speaking Spanglish with my fellow gringos but its time to jump into Honduras and the world of kids. I love working with kids because they are not humble about correcting you or laughing at your mistakes. This truly helps you learn because often adults are too polite to laugh at the ridiculous things you say. Learning Spanish has helped me understand the difficulty of being a foreigner and being frusterated at not expressing your thoughts always. Sometimes your head just begins to spin and nothing makes sense at all. That´s when you hit the sack and start the day anew. It also sheds new light on the experiences of immigrants and the truly tough life that this is. Well, more on that subject later because this will get far too long if we breach that subject.
May you each be blessed in your own piece of the world. May God shine his face upon you, as you reach out to those in your community and with a heart that has been set for the task before you. May you realize the true joy in giving of your material possessions and of your time, knowing the richness that life can offer you.

My choices

I choose love...no occasion justifies hatred: no injustice warrants bitterness.
I choose love...this year I will lo9ve God and what God loves.
I choose joy...I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to by cynical...the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.
I choose peace...I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
I choose patience...I will overlook the inconvenience of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I´ll invite her to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
I choose kindness...I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone, kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And king to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I choose goodness...I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I convict. I choose goodness.
I choose faithfulness...this year I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My family will not question my love and they will never fear that I will not come home.
I choose gentleness...nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it only be in praise. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
I choose self-control...I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these we commit our year. If we succeed, we will give thanks. If we fail, we will seek grace. And then, when the year is done, we will place our heads on our pillows and rest.

-MCC sending prayer from the retreat in Akron, PA



This year, may you choose to see the good in yourself, even when you are struggling.

Information about MCC Honduras

Left to right: (me with a vibrant flower, another colorful flower, a trail to visit some Mayan Ruines, my little brother Antony with a traditional Campeseno hat, my host mom chopping coconuts with a machete)






















































So heres a bit more information about how MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) works in Honduras:

They most often partner with organizations or ministries that are already established and provide financial and volunteer support. For example, MCC Honduras partners with

>Servicio Cistiano Menonita (Mennonite Christian Service)- in the departamento of El Paraiso, administering various social and justice related programs
>Comision de Accion Social Menonita (Commission of Mennonite Social Action)- in San Pedro Sula, working for social change
>Proyecto Mama (Mama Project)- in San Pedro Sula, this is an amazing program that helps tutor kids with learning disabilities and provides extra after school help, they also assist women in health education, nutrition, family food production and small business development, emergency food assistance and home repair, we visited this project today and it was amazing to see all that was going on there!!!!
>Aldea Global (Global Village)- in Teguicigalpa, this helps with community development reducing HIV/AIDS, conserving forests, and works to fight domestic violence
>Ministerios Cristianso de Mayordomia (Christian Stewardship Ministries)- various programs
>CODESCO (Bretheren in Christ partner)- in the departmento Choluteca, helping conserve and find better ways to use water
>Montana de Luz (Mountain of Light)- in Nueva Esperanza, providing tutoring and developmental assistance to youth with HIV/AIDS, this is where I will be!
>ASJ-Associacion para una Sociedad mad Justa (Association for a more Just Society)- in Tegucigalpa, fighting for workers and human rights/ check out www.revistazo.com for more information

Other MCC Honduras Workers:

Darren Yoder and Julie Aeschliman, Simon and Lucia: Country Representatives living in San Pedro Sula
Andrew Clouse and Amanda Lind- MCC Salt coordinators/connecting peoples living in San Pedro Sula
Caleb Yoder- doing a 3 year MCC term, living in San Pedro Sula
Josh and Maria Eley-McClain- administrators of the Mama Project and Farm, living in El Cipres
Virgil and Kathy Troyer- MCC disaster team coordinators for Central America, living in Tegucigalpa
Marcos Flores- MCC office assistant, living in San Pedro Sula
Rachel Reed- Salter, working on micro-loans, living in Tegucigalpa
Michael Wiebe-Johnson- Salter, enrivonmental educator, living in La Campa in Gracias
Liz Goering- Salter, working at Montana de Luz with children who have HIV/AIDS, living in Nueva Esperanza

Some cities I will be referencing:

Copan Ruinas- a city in the south central region of the country where I had language school for 2 weeks, it has the ruins from the ancient Mayan civilization and is a fairly quaint touristy town
Nueva Esperanza- means New Hope in English, this is where the Montana de Luz is located and where I will be more days during the week working with kids
Tegucigalpa- the captial of Honduras, and about 45 min. away from Nueva Esperanza, its the largest city from where I will be living and the other Salter Rachel will be working with micro-loans there also
La Campa- means The Country in English, located in the departamento of Lempira, where the other Salter Michael will be working with environmental education
San Pedro Sula- a large city in the Northwest where the MCC Honduras offices are located as well as five of the other MCC workers live there




There is a lot of stuff going on here and its really neat how MCC works to partner with other organizations. There are around 105 Mennonite Churches in Honduras, 11 of which are in San Pedro Sula. This past Sunday we attended the ¨Mother Church¨which was the first Mennonite Church in Honduras. The music was awesome and the people were very passionate. We prayed for one taxi driver who is forced to pay a ¨war tax¨by various groups in San Pedro who are holding taxi drivers at gun point if they do not pay. This is a grave situation and every night after 7 or 8 pm this man´s life could be on the line. Please pray for him and other taxi drivers who face the danger and harassment of paying this sum to these groups. Also, pray for those that are harassing. They are impoverished and struggling to make it in a society that is not set up for many people to have jobs and survive. This is the root of the issue and needs to be addressed before the oppression can be stopped.



Another interesting thing I ran across in Copan Ruinas was a social service program for poor or street children in Copan called Arte Accion Copan Ruinas (Art Action Copan Ruinas). This program was started in May 1999, and seeks to use art, photography, videos, drama, and other media to reach children who are impoverished. Through art, the workers of this organization work to help children learn self confidence, and promote healthy social interactions with one´s environment, children´s rights, and the environment. This is a type of art therapy that children would otherwise not have access to. The youth have all kinds of art available for people to buy to support them. They also are in need of resources or volunteers. If you´re interested check them out: www.arteaccionhonduras.org or www.mayacopan.info