in a small town

It has been a pretty good week. Lots of ups and downs...of course, nothing new to my faithful readers and friends, but some pretty sweet stuff happened.

First, I was visited by a new MCC Honduras colleague, Elizabeth, who came to see the life in Santa Rosa (and some new parts of Honduras). E is the new regional disaster coordinator for all of Central America & Haiti, and we are excited to have her here in Honduras.

Not only did these 4 days together give me a chance to get to know E a bit better, but it gave me an excuse to take some time to relax, enjoy the scenery of where I am privileged to call home, and process lots of things about my work and life in Honduras.

We made some delicious meals together (quiche-mania as we both discovered that pie pastry isn't so intimidating after all) and we even got a chance to take a dip in the nearby hot springs.

Yesterday E went with us on a short visit to one of the communities where I work, Plan Grande. The point of the meeting was to have the women's group meet with the Caja Rural (like a community co-op that lends money to members) and ask them for some space/land/use of their building for their bread-making business.

My co-worker O took the lead and told the men of the Caja what our organization is all about, what we have been doing with the women for the last 18 months, and why we were asking for their help.

Then, the president of the women's group, Dona Rosaura, stood up to explain to the Caja why we were all there. She began to talk about the process they have gone through with ACDIM and why this small business means so much to them.

Only a few short months ago, Dona Rosaura was so shy, she would barely speak in front of the other women in the group. Little by little she has been taking part in the trainings and sharing her opinions. And in this moment, I saw how far she has come. That she wasn't afraid to stand by herself in front of 35 community members and tell them that she wanted a change. That she hadn't gone through this 2 year process of organization and training for nothing. That she is confident her small group of neighbors and friends will start this business, and they want to see it grow into something beneficial for the community. Hearing her speak her piece almost brought me to tears.

And right there,
In that moment,
Sitting on that bench in a small cinder block community center,
in small-town Honduras (Plan Grande to be exact),
surrounded by the rolling green hills,
I knew what moment I never want to forget.

And in that moment,
I knew why I do what I do.

It helps me live with some of the frustration and discouragement I feel
because I can see that it is making a difference in the lives of these women.
It may not seem like a lot to you, but to me, it is enough.

And some days, that is all that you need.

when friends come to call

On the very last day of July one of my best friends arrived in San Pedro Sula to spend a week and a half with me. I was so very excited to see Harmony and to welcome her back to Honduras for her second visit. She is a dear friend and we have shared so many hilarious/scary/wonderful/difficult moments together in our travels and in life.

Since we had done some tourism the last time, this visit was more focused on her spending time in Santa Rosa, seeing my daily routine here and getting to know my work, church, and lets be honest, the bf.

It was a lot of fun showing her all around Santa Rosa, hopping from restaurant to cafe to market. We drank lots of coffee, cooked some fun meals together, went to the gym, watched the Olympics and did a lot of random things together.

Unfortunately she got sick towards the end of her time her :( I felt rather responsible, but it is hard to avoid when traveling in Central America. Although our beach plans had to be nixed, I tried to do my best to nurse her back to health.

And we never ran out of things to talk or laugh about!  Here is a brief view of our time together.

pizza making fun

Harmony seeing what I do at a community meeting w/ the women
and she got to try  a Western Honduran specialty- Ticucos (tee-CU-co)!

"Armon-ee-ah" (as they say in Spanish) becoming a fast favorite with co-worker Oscar, and my boss Ruth 

Central Park in Santa Rosa

A random parade to announce the fair that is starting in Santa Rosa

grocery store hilarity...finding toilet paper as a "promo" to sell more cereal. Or a free plate :)

of course, snow cones!!!!

learning to make tortillas, from scratch, from Henry's mom.

the most perfect tortillas we could muster after many hard fought attempts...

lunch at a local restaurant with strawberry smoothies and lemonade

 Thanks for coming Harmony! Your visit meant so much to me :)

a wedding and a funeral

It's been a bit of a busy week, but with mostly good stuff going on.

Well, I'll start with the bad news first...
One of my turtles died! I couldn't even believe it. And it took me awhile to confirm his death...but he gave up the ghost on Wednesday evening. He was awkwardly positioned against the side of the aquarium, and the littler one was tucked in beside him...I think she knew he was gone for good.

 So on Thursday Henry helped me bury the little guy in the garden of the private home he is remodeling. I think the girl is lonely now, but still haven't decided if I'm going to get another one or not.

But on to the better news...

Earlier in the week, a friend who was a volunteer in SRC but moved back home to Canada came back to Santa Rosa to celebrate her wedding. This time with her Canadian family who came down south. It was really nice to have her around again!


And I got to join in the festivities and sight-seeing with her family. On Friday we went to La Campa and Gracias so they could enjoy they newly installed zip-line and hot springs.


I did not get involved with the zip-line affair...but after watching them do it, I think it might be fun... :) Any takers??

I got to know Gaetane's family, who are about as crazy as she is, but they welcomed me warmly and we had a lot of fun joking around together. It was really nice to be with a group of fun-loving Canadians (come to think of it, what Canadians aren't fun-loving??) and feel like part of the family.

On Saturday I got to play tour guide and help my lost visitors find their way around Santa Rosa...they shared some lunch with me, and I even took them for snow cones.

at the reception with part of the Canadian crew

In the evening, we celebrated Gaetane and Humberto's wedding with both families (Honduran and Canadian) and it was a lot of fun. Good food, a live band...and even pinatas!! I was also pulled in at the last minute as a translator for some speeches. It was really great to be part of their special day. I didn't want to say good bye to all my new "family" but they are heading to Copan Ruins today. When I told them to enjoy the rest of their Honduran adventures they assured me it "wouldn't be the same without me!" Always nice to feel appreciated :)

dressed up and ready to help celebrate :)

Bride and groom pinata fun

ready for the pinata!

the pinata action got a little crazy!!

me & Gaetane....wishing she'd come back for good :)

being gifted some Canadian necessities to help with his cultural transition :)

patience...

I am not a patient person.

I have come a long way, living 2 years in Honduras, a country filled with people who will wait and wait and wait and wait and wait in lines without a *peep* of complaint.

Looking back, I feel that I have grown a lot...but of course, this process never will be complete.

Of late, Honduras has been trying with all its might to beat these last remnants of impatience out of me.

And its a painful process.

...extra steps in every small task...
...hours wasted waiting for people who say they are coming "right this very minute" (Honduran translation: anywhere in the next hour and a half)...
...always making the extra effort to adapt and then finding out it's never enough...

It gets to be exhausting.

Mixed up with all of this, I have been forced to say goodbye to some really great friends who have supported me in all aspects of life here. From the daily mundane, to the lessons that are shaping me, they have been there for me. And its hard to say goodbye.

But in the midst of everything, there are bright spots too. And God is faithful, even when it all seems a bit overcast.

I am thankful for a great MCC support network in Honduras that will remain even though there are always shifts in personnel. 

I am thankful for great friends who might not be living in the same country, but will always be connected.

I am thankful for new friendships that God has brought into my life just when I needed it.

I am thankful for a rich experience of living in another culture and all of the interesting, crazy, ridiculous, unbelievable and challenging things it has brought my way.

So it is in this spirit that I must carry-on, knowing that God is faithful in what he promises. That there are more good things to come...if I can only

wait.

un poco de todo

It has been a crazy week--and it's not even over yet. Work has been tough for me this week, navigating the continual challenges of cross-cultural communication and clashes. I continue to struggle to figure out my role at ACDIM and taking the ups and downs of working with our small team as they come.

But life keeps moving on. More friends keep moving on. And so just when I think it's all rolling along just fine, there are always more bumps in the road.

Just wanted to share some photos of my week...un poco de todo, or a little bit of everything. Friends, work, sad goodbyes, retail therapy and turtles.

another training for our women to learn how to make plantain chips to sell

fried plantain chips, or tajaditas (tah ha dee tas)

my new couch! ( for more seating when all my visitors decide to come :)

a farewell night to Leanne (center) and Omid who head back to Canada  tomorrow

um, apparently my blind turtle is a little...bored...and the turtle under him is the fake one...haha

Thanks for your continued support, encouragement, love and prayers in all the ups and downs.

snow cones!

I love finding new places and fun things to do (and eat).

A recent adventure--snow cone deliciousness in Santa Rosa!

They are so yummy and worth the 35 Lempiras (less than 2 bucks). 

True to the Honduran need for over-sweetened everything, you can even put sweetened condensed milk on top of your 2 flavors!

...you gotta come try it :)