God is in the Details

Some people might call the aligning of the small details in our lives coincidences, but, like my dad, I like to think of them as God-incidences. I never used to think I had much of a testimony to share, but as I was hand washing my clothes the other day, I had time to reflect on the miraculous ways God has orchestrated the details of my life thus far.  I stood in awe, soaking in his loving presence and provision every step of the way.  He really has given me a testimony, and I’d like to share a part of it with you.  Let’s start back in 1998…

1. After graduating from college, I confess that I did not have a close relationship with the Lord.  So, when I was asked to counsel at Lake Louise church camp, I said no.  Somehow, I still ended up at the first camp planning meeting, and, at camp, I rededicated my life to Christ!
2. For eight years, I was involved in my church’s camping and youth ministries.
3. When, due to circumstances outside of my control, that season came to a close, I felt a bit lost.  I was out on a walk praying when I heard God’s voice telling me he wanted me to go on a long term mission trip.  I said, “OK!”
4. I did my research and signed up for a trip through my church.  They required a weekend of training which took place at Wesley Woods camp.  One of the other attendees was flying in from Texas and needed a ride from the airport.  Living just 15 minutes from the airport, I offered.
5. That’s when I met my friend Carolyn.  By the time we arrived at the training 45 minutes later, everyone thought we had been friends for years!  
6. While I went to Mexico for four months, Carolyn went off to Nigeria for a year.  After we both had returned, we still kept in touch and visited each other a couple times.  
7. A couple years later, Carolyn went  to El Salvador to teach for two years.  I again felt God tugging on my heart, urging me into missions, and I spent hours researching options, completely overwhelmed.  My friend, Marium reminded me that it doesn’t need to be that hard.  "If God wants you to do something, he’s going to make it easy."  So, I stopped trying, and just like that, I heard about Orphan Outreach through my friend, Kristy.  They had a trip to Guatemala that sounded just perfect!

   

   Eating pupusas with Carolyn and Jalile in El Salvador

8. In 2012, I went to Guatemala for a week, and I then flew to El Salvador for a couple days to visit Carolyn.  While there, I met her friend, Jalile, and we all laughed together over plates full of pupusas!  
9. A few weeks after getting back from my trip, I was debriefing with Kristy and shared with her that I felt God was preparing me for longer term missions.  I also shared that I felt that I needed formal training before going, and I was interested in studying how to teach English.
10. When I got home that night, I found a card in my mailbox telling me about Cornerstone University’s on-line graduate program in teaching English to speakers of other languages!  I took that as a sign, and I started the registration process right away!
11. While in graduate school, I went to Guatemala for another week-long trip, and when I came home, I knew for sure that my next trip would be long term!
12. It was then that I read in Orphan Outreach’s prayer e-mail update about the need for an English teacher at Jubilee Centers International in Honduras.  
13. I was put in touch with the director, Emily Romero, who “just happens to be” from Grand Rapids!  We were able to get together while she was in Michigan over the holidays.

    

    With Emily Romero in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

14. In August of 2014, I went to visit Jubilee Centers International, and by September, I was sure that that was where God was sending me.
15. As I was preparing to move to Honduras, I remembered that Carolyn’s friend Jalile—the one I’d met in El Salvador—is from Honduras, so I sent her a message wondering if she’d even remember who I am!  
16. She sent me a very warm reply, and offered to be available if I needed anything. 
17. When my friends Amy, Matt, Marium, and Jason all came to visit me in Honduras, Jalile went above and beyond to ensure we saw some of the most beautiful parts of her country, and just recently, she and I spent several days touring other areas of Honduras. (Did I mention that Jalile runs her own travel agency?! http://www.hondurasturismo.com/)

    

    With Matt, Amy, Jason, and Marium in Punta Sal, Honduras

18. Not only did Jalile and I take in the historical and natural beauty of Honduras, but we talked, encouraged each other, empathized with each other, and perhaps planted seeds in the other’s heart.
19. This is just the beginning of my story, of the tapestry that God is weaving together just for me; I can’t wait to see which colors and designs he works in next!

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory…”  Ephesians 3:20-21

Getting to School...and Home Again

I meant to write this post earlier in my stay here when the newness of the transportation systems was still shocking and appalling to me, but since it will still be new for most of you reading my blog, I think it’s still relevant!

Growing up as I did in Small Town, USA, there were only three possible ways for kids to get to and from school.  Kids either walked, took the bus, or were dropped off and picked up by their parents in a vehicle.  The same methods are used here in Tegucigalpa.  So, what’s the big deal? 

Well, the kids who walk most definitely do NOT walk alone.  Because it’s so dangerous here, the parents walk their children to/from school.  This can be a lot of walking for their parents who may walk more than a mile each way under the blazing hot sun and along dusty roads! To make it worse, the students (or their parents) have to tote very heavy backpacks full of their textbooks because there is no safe place to leave them at the school. 

Lest you think the kids might ride to school in those big, yellow school buses, think again!  The students at Jubilee School use just one school bus which is probably supposed to be a 15 passenger van, but I’m pretty sure we fit in at least 25 kids!  And, the ride isn't free; this service is akin to a city bus, and the families have to pay for the service. The big, yellow school buses we see here are converted to city buses, some still bearing the name of their alma mater back in the USA.  

Lastly, those kids getting dropped off and picked up by their parents in a vehicle?  Well, they are definitely not seat-belted into the back seat of a car with a child safety seat!  They might be crammed into the back of a car sitting on the lap of an adult, or they may ride in the back of a pick-up truck.  What I find most appalling, however, are the kids who arrive to school on the back of a motorbike, usually without a helmet on.  And, I don’t mean just one kid on the back of a bike holding tightly to his dad. There may be up to three kids with an adult on a bike with the kids barely holding onto anything as

they bump along dirt roads and over speed bumps which are way too plentiful around here.  Oh, and did I mention that they also have to tote their over-loaded backpacks and lunch bags with them on the motorbike?  And, that is not the worst that I've seen.  I have seen entire families precariously seated on a motorbike. Dad at the controls, navigates between the sketchily divided lanes of horn-honking traffic or along the non-existing shoulder while Mom holds the baby, and two other kids hold on as best as they can.  YIKES!  There is a helmet law here, but, of course, that doesn’t mean it is followed, especially by children.  Motorbikes are very plentiful here because they are cheaper than cars or trucks (I have yet to spot a mini-van, by the way), and they can slip in and out of the crazy traffic easily—but not safely!  Thankfully I have yet to see one, but I hear that accidents are plentiful.

One last means of transportation here in Tegus: moto-taxis!

This is somewhat unrelated, but motorbikes are also pivotal for the many, many people involved in violent, gang-related activities because they allow their rider to get away quickly.  Nice thought, right?  Well, it’s a reality.  If you want to know more on that topic, I suggest clicking on the link below and reading the very true-to-life article!  It tells it like it is!

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-the-worlds-deadliest-country-honduras/2/

Spirit of Fear vs. a Culture of Grace

There is nothing like moving to a different country and getting immersed in its culture to make you more aware of your own culture.  If you had to describe the culture of the United States to someone, how would you do it?  Is it even fair to give a broad description in a country as large and as diverse as the United States?  Probably not.  So, instead, I am just going to make a few observations of cultural aspects of living in Tegucigapla, Honduras that strike me as different from my life in West Michigan.  

I think the biggest cultural difference I notice is the presence of the spirit of fear and a general distrust of others that hangs over everyone. Given the crime rates and corruptness of the government, this fear is justified!  Rules I learned very quickly are: 

Out to coffee with my trusted taxi driver and two of his sons.

1. Don’t have your cell phone out when you’re out in public; cell phones are a popular item for thieves.  
2. Don’t EVER go out alone.  
3. Don’t ever take public transportation (not even a taxi) unless you’re with someone else.  
4. Avoid being out after dark if at all possible.  

Since those initial lessons, I have learned through observation that the spirit of fear and lack of trust also direct how people interact with each other.  For example, I know people here who have been waiting for over a year for a hired man to do work at their home, and other people who are working with a paid professional who is not doing a proper job.  In West Michigan, we would have absolutely no tolerance for this.  The hired man would have been dropped 11 months ago, and the professional confronted and probably fired.  We have no tolerance for people not performing their jobs in a timely manner and competently.  Here, however, there is the fear that if they confront someone, there could be vengeance.  I have heard stories of people being shot just because they let their housekeeper go when it was the housekeeper who was stealing money!  Clearly, this makes people think twice before chewing out an employee!  However, as I considered all of this, I thought that perhaps it is not just a spirit of fear, but also a culture of grace.  Life happens more slowly here, and, let’s face it, life is hard.  Extending grace and forgiveness may not get your job done when and how you want, but just maybe it keeps the peace, keeps people in desperate need employed, and strengthens the bonds of community.  My consideration of a culture of grace may be overly optimistic, but I think it’s only fair to give people the benefit of the doubt. 

Day trip with our school secretary and her family.

Despite the spirit of fear and perhaps because of the possibility of a culture of grace, the people I have encountered still exude warmth, friendliness, and hospitality, especially when they are in what’s perceived to be a safe, community environment.  I have been welcomed to the humblest of homes, offered a seat, and given a plate of food.  The homes were filled with laughter and joy, and I left with hugs and invitations to come again soon.  Children here are taught to always acknowledge and greet everyone with a hug and kind word when they enter the room, and this is modeled for them by every adult in their lives.  I have been warmly welcomed and made to feel like part of the community both at the school and the church, and I am thankful for that!  I think people in West Michigan also do a nice job with hospitality, but they may be just a little less willing to invite a foreigner to go on a day trip with their family, invite that foreigner to their family’s home for the weekend, or offer to take her shopping.  The people I have encountered work hard to take care of themselves and their families, but are also always thinking of others and will sacrifice their own needs and desires to serve others. There is this sense of community that seems to stem from mutual hardships and challenges, a common spirit that says, “We are all in this together.  Let’s make the best of it!” 

Lots of hugging goes on at church!

It makes me sad that this underlying beauty—the beauty of warmth, friendliness, and hospitality—is shadowed by the spirit of fear that hangs over everyone.  This fear directs their very lives and dictates how they carry out daily activities.  For the believer in Christ, however, there is hope: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).  Sure we have to make wise choices and not purposely put ourselves in the path of danger, but we can live under the culture of grace, extending the same love and mercy to others that God has bestowed upon us, trusting in Him to protect us as always.  His Word commands us to “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).  Amen!

Food!

A typical meal: eggs, beans, fried plantains,
avocado, cheese, and mantequilla.

I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t do at least one blog post about food!  As you can already tell by my FaceBook posts, I am absolutely fascinated by watching the mangos and pomegranates grow out in front of my house, and it seems like almost every week, a new fruit shows up that I have to ask about and try!  Lately, my house dad and I have been on a streak of researching the medicinal properties of several tropical fruits and plants like durian (more on this stinker, later!), carao, zapote, marañón, and flor de izote.  He gets a kick out of the power of the internet to put the answers to all of his questions right at my fingertips!  I benefit in that I get to practice reading in Spanish out loud!  I´ll get back to these new-to-me characters in a bit; first I’m going to tell you about my typical diet.

Breakfast:  No matter what kind of cereal you’re eating, it’s called corn flakes.  If you want to buy any cereal that is low in sugar, you have to actually buy the real Corn Flakes.  I was so excited once thinking I’d found GrapeNuts, but they were the sugary variety.  So, I have taken to making my own muesli, and plan to soon also make my own granola.  Thankfully, old fashioned oatmeal is easy to come by! On the weekends, my house mom sometimes makes me her version of oatmeal or arroz con leche, both of which are good, but full of sugar and milk.  If I get my way, I make myself some pancakes or French toast topped with a drizzle of honey since there’s no maple syrup in Honduras—yet!  I am expecting a special delivery of some in a couple weeks….!!!

Here I am with my house mom and Eli learning how
to make homemade flour tortillas.  Yum!

La Merienda:  Seriously, this is something we need to institute into our culture!  In Mexico, la merienda is a light meal eaten late at night, but here it is a light meal eaten between breakfast and lunch.  I only eat it during the work week.  All of the kids at school get a break from 9:30-10:00 to have their snack and play outside.  I think a lot of people here don’t eat breakfast, or if they do, it’s something very small as they dash out the door to catch their public transportation to work.  To me, it totally makes sense that if breakfast is at 6:30, there’s no way you’re going to make it until your next meal at noon without a snack, and yet, this is what was what was expected at my previous job.  OK, so, the super cute thing is that my house mom packs me a peanut butter sandwich and some kind of cut up fruit every day for my merienda!  On a really good day, I get mango, papaya, or guayaba!

This is zapote which I am about to try soon as
ours ripens!  There are many different varieties.

Lunch:  This is the biggest meal of the day, so during the work week, I eat it at school.  Initially I was buying lunches from a woman who sells them out of her home, but after getting stomach flu after eating one, I put an end to that. I’ve been doing some of my own cooking, and bringing that in my lunches.  So far, no one has been rude enough to complain about me heating up curry, or garlic stir fry with broccoli!  Each classroom has a microwave in it so that the kids can heat up their lunches.  I’m pretty sure these kids wouldn’t have a clue what a school cafeteria is!

This is marañón, the fruit from the cashew nut.

Dinner:  I’m still trying to figure this one out.  Pretty much, you can eat it whenever you want to, whenever you get hungry from early afternoon to evening.  I most often just have corn or flour tortillas with refried beans.  If available, I might add scrambled eggs and/or avocado.  The Hondurans love their semi-dry, white cheese, their melting cheese (quesillo), and their version of sour cream (mantequilla),  but I can’t convince my tastebuds to like any of these.  In my home here, we also sometimes have a chicken vegetable or beef vegetable soup, but rarely do I see them preparing any other types of meat.  Bonus!  Sometimes we have a lettuce salad, too.  And, some nights, I’m not very hungry, so I’ll just drink a cup of pinol (a corn flour, chocolate, cinnamon, clove, milk drink—better than it sounds—I mean, it does have chocolate in it for goodness sake!) and dunk some bread in it.  

This is carao which grows in these big pods
which hang down from a pink flowering tree.
The pulp is said to be sweet with a chocolate-
cherry flavor.  It´s good for treating anemia.

Coffee:  Coffee is a big deal here, but if you ask for it black or without sugar, they are going to think you are weird!  Please don’t be shy!  Pour in the milk or powdered creamer and scoop in heaps of sugar!  Stir it up and gulp it down!

Platos típicos:  I don’t want you to think that how I eat is typical of all Hondurans.  Some of their most famous dishes are baleadas (a fresh flour tortilla filled with beans, cheese, and egg usually), catrachas, (a crisp, fried corn tortilla topped with refried beans and cheese), and pupusas, (corn flour dough filled with cheese, cheese and beans, or beans and meat, etc, and fried).  What’s really fun is that they have food that they call tamales, burritos, and enchiladas, but these are not at all like what Mexicans call tamales, burritos, and enchiladas.  I’m still learning more about these since I’ve yet to eat any of them except the enchiladas which turned out to be like tostadas.  One other typical food item I have had is the pastelitos.  These are a little turnover made with a seasoned corn flour dough, filled with seasoned rice (and chicken) mixture, and fried.  

This is the infamous durian.  It´s native to SE Asia, but has made its way here.  The flesh is supposed to be sweet and flavorful, but even before it´s cut, the fruit gives off such a strong, offensive odor (said to smell like rotten onions, turpentine, or raw sewage!) that it has been banned from some hotels and public transportation!  I think my life will still be complete without trying this one, but I will if I am given the opportunity!  

Day-to-Day Life

I have had friends who have moved to other countries or states, and I always found myself wondering what their day-to-day life looked like.  Perhaps some of you are wondering the same thing about me?  Now that I’ve been here for two months and have settled into the routines, it doesn’t seem like a very exciting thing to write about, but I will do my best to paint some pictures for you!

Like so many of you, my work week is from Monday to Friday.  Every day but Wednesdays, I am up at 5:30, and out the door by 7:00 to catch my personal taxi driven by Juan Carlos (the only driver I’m allowed to use because he goes to our church).  For safety, my house mom always walks me to the door and watches me walk up the steep hill from our house until I get into the taxi.  On Wednesdays, I am ready to leave the house by 6:15 and ride in to school with Emily and David so that we can have a time of worship with the teachers.  The ride to school is an adventure in and of itself!  With horns honking and arms waving, we make our way the wrong way down a two way street avoiding any oncoming traffic so that we can inch our way out into a jam packed street and make a left turn. On the way we pass what I call the Starbucks of Tegucigalpa; basically, it’s a card table set up with three-gallon thermoses of coffee and bags of sweet breads set upon it.  Next to it is a line of plastic lawn chairs filled with people sitting, sipping their coffee and chomping on their bread.  From there, the drive is easier as we wind around, up, and down side streets, slowed only by the mile high túmulos.  On a good day, we make it in ten minutes!

A few students from one of my English classes

Once at school, I hang out with the teachers by the huge, green entry gate, talk with them a little bit, and greet the kids with hugs as they come in.  I enjoy this social time of getting to know some of the teachers a little better, and I love hugging the kids—especially the ones who try to pass on by without getting hugged.  I think they are the ones who need to be hugged the most!  When the bell rings, I make my way down the steep driveway and down the stairs to the basement office.  After a little more social time, I buckle down to work.  My mornings are typically spent doing accounting and writing for the ministry.  I also use that time to prepare lesson plans for teaching English.  I have an English class every afternoon except on Wednesdays.  Twice a week I teach the teachers, and twice a week I teach a group of adults from the community.  I love both classes, and I’m having fun applying so much of what I learned in graduate school!  Once I’m done teaching, Juan Carlos takes me home.  I am relieved to now have a key to let myself in the gate instead of having to knock and wait and pray for someone to let me in!  

Time of worship and special music with our Wed. night group

I am usually tired when I get home because of the heat, so I greet whoever is home, and go to my second floor room to rest and check e-mails.  It’s then time to exercise which I usually do on the front porch, in my room, or in the living room, depending on who’s around!  After a day of sitting, I am actually really looking forward to getting to move!  On Wednesday evenings we have our church group, so on Wednesdays after school I usually play with Emily and David’s little boys for a bit, and then we go to the home of one of the church members for our time of worship and a Bible lesson.  I help set up and take down the sound equipment, but am otherwise free to just take everything in!  I am starting to learn the words to the songs better, but I’m still thankful that we project the words up on the wall!  On Monday and Thursday evenings my house parents go to church, so I use those nights quite often to do some cooking for myself or to talk with my friends and family back home!  I usually visit with my house parents in the evenings, too.  Lately we are on a kick of learning the medicinal properties of common food items—well, and some not-so-common food items, too.  I had never before heard of carao or durian, but they are quite fascinating!

Saturdays are just as treasured here as they are back home!   The sun comes up by 6:30, so it’s hard to sleep in very late, but at least I don’t wake up to an alarm!  By the time I’m done exercising, showering, and Skyping with my niece and nephews, it’s nearly time for lunch, but I have breakfast anyway!  My house mom usually has something ready for me, but a couple times I’ve been able to make my traditional Saturday morning pancakes!  Most Saturdays, my house dad has driven me to Tatumbla to the country home of Emily and David.  It’s nice to get out of the city and up to the cooler, fresher, cleaner air of the mountains!  I have fun playing outside with little Anthony and Eli, and we usually go for a walk.  

Sunday School in the new school building.

Sunday we are up early and off to church!  Church is held in a cement block building with a tin roof, and wooden shutters in place of windows.  A couple church members arrive early to set up the plastic lawn chairs, and hang some hand made decorations on the walls.  I help set up the sound equipment when we arrive and greet as many people as I can.  We usually have about 40 adults and 30 kids, but things settle down after worship when the kids go up the road to a little school room for Sunday school.  Emily leads our time of worship, and David is the pastor; they make a great team!  It seems like every other Sunday there is some special event going on, so we quite often have a meal together after church.  These church ladies manage to put on quite the spread with just a folding table to work off from!  The rest of Sunday is free to run errands, play with the boys, or sometimes I return to my city home to relax.

I hope that gives you an idea of my daily life here, and I hope I didn’t bore you with too many details!  In case you’re curious about the food, I can promise you that that will be the topic of a future blog post!

Hungry

Man squatting beside a dumpster.

Lately, I’ve been feeling hungry.  Because you know me, you’re probably thinking that I’m hungry for all of my favorite foods from back home. While those wouldn’t be all bad, I have to tell you: it’s not my stomach that’s hungry.  It’s my eyes.  

This week my eyes have been hungering for beauty.  So much of the scenery and landscapes that surround my everyday life here in Honduras are not what the world would consider beautiful.  All around me are broken down cars and broken down people, garbage strewn streets, and dust covered dwellings.  Banana peels mysteriously appear on the roof outside my window, graffiti cries out its warnings, and charred tree stumps speak of desperation.

Emily listening to Doña Tomasa at church

So, today I started to ask God to show me beauty.  Don’t get me wrong; I definitely see the beauty in the faces of the people all around me, in the colorful produce at the markets, and in the flowers, sun, and mountains.  But, somehow, it doesn’t satisfy my hunger.  I want my eyes to be saturated, for these thumbnails of beauty to be transformed into panoramic views!  And, I want to see with the eyes of my heart, too, to see the beauty that is within.  Please pray with me that my eyes and heart may be filled to overflowing with beauty, and that God would transform for me the meaning of beauty to include so much more that what I am currently sensing.  

Sunset over the mountains near Tegucigalpa

First grade teacher, Melissa, patiently loving a challenging student.

God faithfully reminding us of his promises!

Sensing Honduras

My  six year old niece was assigned the task of writing a five senses poem, and it got me thinking about how I've been experiencing Honduras through my senses.  Here's my attempt at poetry:

Honduras smells like plantains frying, tortillas toasting, and fires smoking.
It sounds like dogs barking, children playing, and horns honking.
Honduras looks like flowers blooming, traffic jamming, and people working.
It feels like warm sunshine, cool breezes, and heartfelt hugs.