the house that we (he) built

I spent this past weekend in Santa Rosa, enjoying the cooler weather, being with the future in-laws, and celebrating with some friends. As some of you know, Henry is building a house on the lot next to his parents house. He has put in almost all of the labor himself, and usually can only work on it on the weekends. Traveling to San Pedro every now and then has also taken up some precious building time. Since I didn't want him to lose more time while I was around, I offered to help!

He took me seriously, of course, and said he would give me the full experience of being an ayudante (assistant to the mason). Then I could work my way up to media cuchara (half-spoon--probably my favorite name), then albañil (mason) and maestro constructor (master builder or contractor).

His family, however, did not think I was serious. They were shocked when I got up early, with work clothes and tennis shoes and headed out to the job-site. I think I gave some neighbors a good laugh too.

First we had to mix the mortar and concrete (he just eye balls the proportions of course). I hauled water, gravel, and sand...then took my own turn at mixing! Then we had to haul cinder blocks and start prepping to lay a row at a time. I learned about the plumb line and everything. I also learned about some muscles that I didn't know I had (on Monday morning :)

my 2 blocks!

After my hard work as the ayudante, I got to lay 2 whole blocks! Of course, I probably slowed Henry down more than anything, but he was a patient teacher, and happy for the distraction while he worked.

He told me when he started working for his dad (at age 13) he earned 4 lempiras ($0.20) for every block he laid. I earned 8 whole lempiras. Not even enough for the taxi ride from his house into Santa Rosa!! He said on an average day (with an average helper) he can lay about 120 blocks. But--now that he's moved up in the world, he doesn't get paid by the block any more.

I came away from my morning as an ayudante with a couple of realizations...

1) I could never earn my living doing this.

2) I admire people who do this all day every day to earn their income.

3) Doing all this labor by hand is incredibly tedious...I was there less than an hour and I was ready to rig up a pulley system to haul the cinderblocks from the pile to the house!

4) I have a much better understanding of how hard Henry has worked all his life...and it makes the house built by him even better :)

copaneca de corazon

^ it means: "in my heart, I'm Copaneca" or from Copan.

Yesterday we wrapped up the project with ACDIM in two of my favorite communities. It was a bittersweet day, but filled with so much happiness, so much of the "normal" ridiculousity of my co-workers, and SO. MUCH. FOOD.

In good Honduran fashion, we all shared palabras (words) reflecting on our 2 years with the women, encouraging them to keep moving forward and continue working towards their goal of having a small business. In return, they shared beautiful words of how much they appreciated our friendship, the time we spent with them every month, and the things they learned.

you know how i feel about soup. but this really was delicious.

the soup wasn't enough.
she had to buy her own chickens to take home.

one of my favorite vistas in Honduras

My heart was so full (as was my stomach). We were offered the same hospitality we have always received in these places and shared a fun day with our friends. It is hard to know I won't be going back for awhile.

And I couldn't help but think...no matter where I live in Honduras--I am Copaneca in my heart.

goodbye Santa Rosa

It's my last week living in Santa Rosa so I've been trying to visit all my favorite spots and savor life in the pueblo before I move to the big city. I will be back for frequent visits...but at least for now I wanted to visit all my favorite spots before I left. Its been a crazy two years, but I really feel at home here.

In the midst of all my packing and cleaning and running around town, we made time for some sno cones...

 And dinner at Lenca Maya, my favorite restaurant in SRC.

...I had lunch with Ruth and Oscar at Weekend's Pizza...



...and the most crazy and hilarious goodbye party with the worship team and youth from my church at Pollo Bunny. "If it's not Bunny, its not chicken" (I kid you not, the actual slogan...)

I got a little teary on Sunday when I made the announcement at church that it would be my last Sunday singing with my friends on the worship team. Everyone is very supportive and I know they will welcome me with open arms when I make it back for a visit.


It's never easy to say goodbye to a place that feels like home...but you never know what's around the corner!

of moto rides and hospitality

May has slipped away from me and I find myself less than a week away from leaving my cozy home in Santa Rosa to take on the new challenges of a big city and a big job. Of course, this means a lot of packing, goodbyes, and "lasts" as I wrap up here.

For a variety of reasons, the project I have been part of in Santa Rosa with ACDIM will not continue receiving support from MCC. Since we have no other funding at this time, we must leave the women's groups at the end of July and see if they can really manage on their own.

It has been an emotional roller coaster, and it is not easy to think about how the women will manage without some outside encouragement and support. As I sat on the back of the moto on Wednesday for what may be the last time for a long time, I soaked in the fresh air and the beautiful views that I have come to know and love en route to a remote community nestled among the coffee plantations. I sat in the meeting with my favorite group of women and enjoyed the chance to laugh and talk with them as friends, sharing last bits of advice and encouragement as they forge ahead. Then, as we were ready to leave, we were invited to someone's house for some rice and fresh tortillas over the fire. I was struck again by how generous these women have been to me, even with the little they have to give. I ate 5 delicious tortillas, relishing their taste, and hoping it won't be the last time I can sit in the kitchen and shoot the breeze with these friends.

I am trying to be positive and look ahead to all the good things this transition will bring...but these are the things that bring me to tears...the hospitality and friendships I have found in this place; in my community in Santa Rosa and my work in rural Copan. Warm tortillas and warm smiles are the best stuff in life. Moto rides (even when the chain almost breaks!) and fresh air on scenic mountain trails are priceless perks of my job.

I came across some helpful insight as I was wrapping up my online Perspectives course this week:

Ralph Winter writes: "The fact is that when we walk in the little light we have and keep going on and on taking steps in faith, the ways in which He leads us are almost always, as we look back, something we could have never been told in advance! Untold marvels lie beyond each step of faith. You don't really have to know what is beyond the next step, and you can't find out without taking the next step."

This reminder gives me peace. I could have never known that applying for SALT was going to lead me to Nueva Suyapa and the wonderful community I found there. And if I hadn't taken that step, I would have never been in a place to take the step of faith to move to Santa Rosa. If I hadn't taken that step, I would have never learned all that I have or built the relationships that enrich my life here. I can't know what is coming in this step that takes me to San Pedro, but I know there are great things waiting me there. And it gives me confidence for the unknown steps to come.

highway of gold

Last week i found an interesting article in the newspaper. The headline reads: "The highway of gold is in Western Honduras."

Ha! I almost laughed out loud. If you have ever been to Santa Rosa by way of San Pedro (or from any direction for that matter) you know that the road is terrible. I put it in the top 5 worst highways in Honduras for most potholes and lowest average speed (due to terrible holes and curves).  It is part of the Pan-American highway that connects El Salvador to Honduras and thousands of trucks use it each day to transport goods.

According to this article, a social audit revealed that in the last 6 years, the state has invested around 490.2 million Lempiras in "maintaining" (and I use that word loosely) this destroyed artery of Honduras. That is a staggering 24.5 million dollars from a government that is "broke"-- and for a highway that is STILL horrendous. The audit states that 57.1% was for routine maintenance, 28.5% for emergency maintenance, 12.3% in emergency attention (whatever that is?), 0.6% in signage (usually to say “warning: failures in the road”) and 0.5% in studies and designs.

What I find interesting is that this article quotes someone talking about how all these repairs to the highway are like painting a wall without first patching the holes. They are not addressing the root problems of all the potholes and so it’s a continual “surface treatment” to deeper problems in the underlying road structure.

As far as I'm concerned, that’s an analogy for an overall problem that the article won’t even touch—the underlying corruption that probably diverted a huge amount of these funds to the pockets of politicians and left very little for actual repairs. And this article was just like that money: not addressing the root causes of such a problem and glossing over the issue of corruption that weakens the structure of the whole house.

It is frustrating to see such numbers and see so few results in the actual highway itself. Unfortunately, this is not the only issue that is affected by corruption. It's part of every project, in every government ministry, and in every local municipality too. How sad when even the journalists are too afraid to speak out against it. Articles like this should be voicing the frustration and outrage of such a terrible highway that should be "lined with gold." Instead, it offers little more than another layer of paint to cover the crumbling house.

holy week

This week is always one I look forward to. Now that I live in Honduras, it is fun to enjoy the national "spring break," but aside from that, I always anticipate Easter week because I relish the traditions. There is something reassuring about traditions, and I have come to value them even more now that I am living in a culture with traditions very different from my up-bringing.

One thing that I find frustrating is that the Protestant churches in Honduras don't seem to do much in the way of holy week traditions. In Latin America as a whole, the catholic church dominates local traditions, with sawdust carpets, processions at all hours, mass, etc. From what I observe, the evangelical churches so deeply fear being anything close to catholic, they turn 180 degrees and don't do much to commemorate Easter. It makes me sad because what more should the church be celebrating if not the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ? Even a church skit, for example, will focus all its energy on the suffering and and death of Christ but barely touch upon His return from the dead. How sad when we should celebrate that we are people of the Resurrection!

But I digress...so trying to enjoy as many traditions as possible, I went to check out the sawdust carpets here in Santa Rosa. It is a labor-intensive process, followed by a long processional with stops at each of the stations of the cross. I must admit, it is too long to make it through all the stations, but I did catch the beginning, and enjoyed reflecting on the different symbols of Easter as we walked along the 10 blocks of artistic celebration of Holy week in Santa Rosa. Enjoy!

one of the stations where the processional will stop 

the start of the procession. apparently these people carry the crosses, Jesus figures, etc.
for the entire procession, without relief.

family fun

On January 14th I eagerly awaited the arrival of my parents to the airport in San Pedro. Although they were the very last people from their flight to claim their luggage, it all arrived and they were happy to see me waiting on the other side.

We packed their 10 day visit with lots of different things, mostly so they could see what my life is like in Santa Rosa, and meet all the people that are so very important to me. We toured the town on the only sunny day of their visit (I did warn them, I do NOT live in the tropics!) and we took time to visit the historical Mayan ruins in Copan. We visited my favorite cafes and restaurants in Santa Rosa, went on 2 work visits over the hills to the rural communities where I work, and my dad an I preached at my church! Of course, I made sure there was plenty of time to get to know Henry and we had lunch with his family and coffee back at their house. By the end, I think we were all pretty tired, but it was great to spend so much time with them and share so much of my life in Honduras with them. Here are some picture highlights of their time here:

checking out the ACDIM office

me and dad at the church in the park

shopping in the market for dinner

welcome to the newly refurbished stairs of Santa Rosa!
election year brings some good things, I guess ;)

one of the 30 wonders of Honduras, supposedly

community visit with Ruth, my director

visiting some of the women in Plan Grande and buying bread

trying to capture the essence of the road...doesnt quite do it justice, right Dad?

dinner in Copan

having some fun in Copan

enjoying Copan Ruins in the rain

Henry with the smiling jaguar

a giant Ceiba tree

of course, there had to be a flat tire... but we fixed it. for $1.50.

parents meet the parents!!

the rest of Henry's family ( L to R: sister, bro-in law, niece, younger sister)

preaching and translating in my church

cows on the road. gotta watch out for those, along with millions of potholes.

enjoying the hot springs

So so so so very glad they came and were able spend lots of time with me and Henry. It was a great visit. Now I think I need another vacation to recoup ;)

county fair

It's been a busy week and a half and I just wanted to share some pictures and updates.

The month of August is the annual fair in Santa Rosa and it has a lot of traditions. I was able to go the last weekend and enjoy some time at the fair with Henry and his family. I also took in a parade and a "carrera de cintas" or a "tape race" (ok, doesn't really translate).

It was fun to eat some good fair food, play the shooting game (yes, I rocked it, much to Henry's dismay) and take in the local tradition of an old-fashioned campesino horse race.

chuleta at the fair...complete with mariachi band serenade

i know, so pacifistic, right??

having fun at the shooting game

his "annoyed" face when I was doing better than him ;)

we won so many prizes! and they are all lame!

with Henry's parents at the fair

Henry and Oscar...about to enjoy the horse "race"

setting up the rope for the race...very official

there were so many horses from the campo...

setting up the rings on little velcro "hooks." The contestants take a running start
and try to get their "pencil" through one of the rings to win a prize.

its hard to catch good action shots, but this is much harder than it looks.

lunging for the prize

enjoying some cotton candy

All in all it was a fun weekend, though I was still battling my cold. I enjoy having new and interesting things to do that don't happen every day. The race with horses lasted several long hours...but at least it was some good clean fun in the pueblo.

Coming later...updates and photos from our MCC team retreat this past week.