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.