home sweet home

As many of you already know [from seeing me live, in living color :) or seeing my pictures on Facebook] I just made a flying trip to the States and back in less than 2 weeks.

 The main impetus for going to the States was to be part of the wedding celebration of a very dear friend, Paula and her (now) husband, Pete. Paula and I found each other at Messiah because of our major and mutual interests in travel, economic development and microfinance. What has held us together through college and beyond has been our shared sense of humor, love for adventures and a kindred-ness in all aspects of life. I love this girl and was thrilled to be able to share in the festivities of her wedding weekend.



The bonus of participating in the wedding was that it was in Pennsylvania, where I also know a lot of wonderful people...so I got to see many of them too! And my amazing family made the trip from other states to come and see me...triple bonus! It was also a beautifully chilly autumn week...quadruple bonus!

All in all, it was a jam-packed week of eating, talking, talking some more, eating, answering lots of awkward questions about Henry, eating more, dressing up, eating, driving around in a car, drinking and eating everything "pumpkin spice," and getting very little sleep. It was exactly what I wanted--I love spending time with people and that was all I had to do, for a whole 10 days! Although I did not have enough time with anybody, it was a great treat to catch up with each one.




As always, it is hard to jump back and forth quickly from one culture to the other. The first 3 days were a fog--I couldn't really believe I was in PA...then the last day, I didn't compute that vacation was over and I was going to be in Honduras so soon. It is a crazy feeling...and I still can't quite get over it. Part of me loved being "at home" in PA and being surrounded by so many people I love. But just as quickly, I was back in a taxi, speaking Spanish and I felt "at home" in a country I have come to know and love over the past 2 years.


My heart is continually split into little pieces, always longing to be where I am not. I guess it's partly of my own choosing but I also feel that it is where God has called me to be for now. So, I can't really decide what place to call "home" but instead carry pieces of home in my heart where ever I am. Thank you to each person who took time to see me, who paid for my coffee, who lent me a car, or just gave me a welcome back hug. I miss you. But I definitely missed Honduras too.

in print

This just in: my face can be found in the "On Assignment" corner of MCC's quarterly magazine A Common Place.

I am still waiting to get my copy in print (the mail is a bit slow in these parts...) and Oscar is eagerly awaiting to see my face in the magazine. I will have to translate the article for him, so of course I will make it sounds much more fantastic...and perhaps leave out the "challenges" part. Someone joked that I could have just listed him as my challenge ;)

Here is the online version if you want to check it out.

I'm excited that MCC Honduras got represented in the magazine, and that the work of ACDIM can be highlighted in this small way.

Women’s development worker

I love seeing women take initiative and leadership . . . — Charissa Zehr

Assignment: I work in Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras, with the Christian Association for the Integral Develop­ment of Women, a small organization that provides capacity-building workshops and small business development for women’s groups in four rural communities.

See the full thing here:  http://acommonplace.mcc.org/acp/2012/10_12/on_assignment.html

election season

Since the US in the the throes of political campaigning, I thought it may be time to mention election season in Honduras.

Right now Honduras is also in campaign season leading up to internal elections in November. This means each party will vote for who they want to run on the ballot in the national elections next year (2013) for the newly elected officials to take office in 2014.

Here is my disclaimer: I am still new to all of this, and learning what I can from the newspaper, my (left-leaning) co-worker, television, and our neighboring office that has become campaign headquarters and invites me over for coffee. [I will not tell you which party joked about changing my residency card so I could vote in the election!] I also enjoy the catchy commercials on TV and my personal favorite: vans that drive around town with speakers playing a reggaeton re-mix of a very popular song, but with lyrics that say "vote for Yani." Very original! But I digress...

Politics are sticky everywhere it seems, but there is a lot of passionate discourse in Honduras. There are several contributing factors:

1) Ever since the coup in 2009 where a wealthy oligarchy was blamed for ousting the "people's president," the country has been deeply, deeply divided. Red vs. blue doesn't just come into play on CNN's magical touch screen...it affects the color of t-shirt people wear to the office and the businesses they will patronize because of political leanings.

2) Corruption: Honduras is infamous on the world stage for a lack of transparency, political and judicial corruption, and a corrupt police force, to name a few things.  Politicians are very, very, very mistrusted--at all levels. Corruption factors into even the smallest details of life here, but people just accept it because when politicians rob millions and millions from people who have next to nothing, where do you begin to fight back?

3) Insecurity: Mostly known for some pretty terrible human rights violations, having the highest murder rate per capita and an equally astounding rate of murders that are never investigated does not help Honduras' reputation.

4) Drug trafficking: Really, this encompasses the other 3, because all of these things are intertwined and cannot be separated from the massive amounts of drugs and money that are laundered through Honduras en route to North America. The devastating effects are seen in rural and urban areas. No community seems to be untouched by this reality.

These things (and many more) are constantly on the minds of Hondurans because they live with the reality day in and day out. It is not just a pick-pocket in the seedy part of the "big city"...it is not just a couple of politicians taking bribes to smooth over a new law...it is not a few teenagers selling pot in the park. It is really big stuff. It impacts every movement of every day...and people are sick of it.

Hondurans know change does not happen overnight because they've been living in this manner for a long time. They know that corruption has no easy fix because they've been seeing foreign investment dollars line the pockets of the (already) rich for decades. They know that gangs and drug trafficking will not disappear with a bit more military pressure because it has been taking over slowly and steadily for years.

But as with any sort of political season, there is some shadow of hope. People desperately hope their new party will propose solutions to even a few of these issues; that their leader will be the one to turn this country around. That their next vote will be for someone honest, who won't rob the tax coffers and will do something to tackle the economic situation of this country.

Isn't that what we all secretly get excited about with a fresh political voice? A new charismatic speaker? We hope that it will be the change we believe the country needs.

It breaks my heart to see all of these seemingly insurmountable issues and think "but how can it ever get any better?" But I see Hondurans who are fiercely loyal to their families and communities and they want to see change, if not for themselves, for the next generation. Anyone who lives here can't help but hope that this next election could spark something different, and start to turn the country around.