Bom Bom

I was up early today and was reflecting on the concept of abundance. It is such a relative term and depends entirely on the lens through which you view your life and the life of others. That lens is ground on the mill of values. What are the values that bring your life into focus? The children at SBV, by our standards in the US, have very little. To an uninvolved observer, one might say they have little to nothing. They wear used clothes, take only cold showers, they have very little to call their own, their diet is nutritious but limited, they don't go on vacation and rarely have outings. No one in their right mind would say they live lives of abundance. But, spend one day with them and a different lens brings clarity to their lives and to your own. Look past the mended, mismatched clothes and see children who love one another abundantly. Children who clamor for "bom bom" (chewing gum) but always make sure that everyone around them, including the caretakers, have a piece. Children who know first hand the value of a safe home, absence of violence, 3 meals a day plus meriando (afternoon snack), the privilege of schooling, the warmth of a hug and the comfort of a smile. Children who unconsciously look out for each other - wiping the nose of a tiny child, keeping a too small boy from climbing a tree, walking hand in hand, sharing everything with each other because that is simply what they do - no need to exhort them to share. Children who remind me to give a child two bom boms tomorrow because he didn't get one today. Children who live in the tangible expression of the love and power of the Risen Lord. Abundant lives? You bet. My prayer is that we would all live such abundant lives. More on this later...

We have been driving around with the crutches for the man on the road but had not seen him for several days. We were so disappointed yesterday on our way home from SBV when we didn't see him - our last chance. Jose, our driver, went above and beyond the call of duty trying to find the man. He asked several people who all knew who he was talking about but no one had seen him. We tried one more time, going the opposite way of Flor, to retrace our route, certain that we would see him in the morning. We failed. He wasn't there. Wheeler suggested that we give the crutches to Suzy who drives that route often. Such a disappointment.

Is it possible to be in a heart breaking and heart warming situation simultaneously? This morning we went to Flor because it was the SBV kids' visiting day with their families. They load all the kids, except the teens who have visiting day on Wednesday, on the bus and take them to the school. Visiting day is every other month. Their families meet them there for a morning of reunion. Tables were set up on the soccer field so each family unit could be together. I walked in just as a father caught sight of his toddler son. The father's face lit up as he shouted with joy and scooped the child up in his arms. The children climbed the stairs to see who was there to visit with them. I was able to meet many of the families and learned who the siblings are. Some I knew but others I had never connected as hermano o hermana. (brother or sister.) For example, I had no idea that Dunia, Yessenia, and Fernando were siblings.

So I went from table to table taking family pictures. I will have them printed and send down with the next person headed this way. The families brought small picnics and some brought gifts. Most of them seemed very happy to be together. Two obvious exceptions were Evelyn and Yonibel. Evelyn looked miserable and Yonibel grudgingly shoved a card he made at his mother and then turned away. She thrust a little bag of food in his hand which he immediately gave to someone else. Janet and Bonnie noticed one woman holding her toddler son. It was a heart rending scene. She had brought nothing to eat or play with. He sat sadly on her lap as she stared miserably off into space. Bonnie and Janet rushed down to our van and got their lunches for them. Suddenly, the mother's face changed completely as a look of joy and relief washed over her. Amazing what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can do. Not to mention the loving sacrifice of lunch by Janet and Bonnie. They truly were the church today.

9 of the children had no visitors at all. Some appeared unruffled by this and others were devastated. Dunia, Christopher, Yessenia and Yonibel (whose mother left immediately) were really upset.There is a YWAM (Youth with a Mission) missionary who works with the children some. She always takes the children with no visitors on an outing. We had to coax Dunia and Yonibel to come with us. Yessenia refused. We joined the group today and had a blast! There are some universal truths in the world and one is that every kid loves Burger King, especially one with a big play structure in it! We tumbled out of the van and into BK. The kids went directly to the playroom, which we had to ourselves. Hunter, Meagan and I conveniently couldn't read the rule in Spanish that said only children 12 and under allowed in the play structure. We had so much fun but we all agreed that the twisty slide was too twisty for us. (I nearly threw up!) We played tag and generally charged around laughing, hooting and hollering. We ordered the HN equivalent to a happy meal for 39 lemps each. As soon as we got the meals, the children scrambled out of the play structure and sat down to eat. I offered to get them all an icecream cone (9 lemps each - about 50 cents) but noooo they wanted chocolate sundaes. (Who wouldn't?) 18 chocolate sundaes coming up! I noticed that Dunia hadn't eaten her hamburger. I asked her why. "Es para Fernando. El es enferma." She was saving it for her little brother, Fernando, who was home sick in SBV. Her drink? "Para Yessenia." She was saving her drink for Yessenia. All she ate of her lunch were the fries so she could share with her siblings who didn't come. Gina saved her hamburger for Seidy, also sick at SBV. Imagine that. These children go to Burger King as a major treat maybe once every two months and they save the most substantial part of their meal for someone else. These are the children who have "nothing" -- nothing but abundance in love for one another. Dunia and Yonibel left the restaurant laughing and smiling. Quite a change from the trip over. Thanks be to God.

As we were loading the kids into the van, Jose the driver became quite excited. Hunter and Janet looked up to see what was going on. He found the man we had been looking for! We were really far from the his normal route but, lo and behold, just as we were leaving for good, there he was! Alleluia! Hunter took the crutches over to him and showed him how to use them while Janet snapped pictures. (I, of course, missed the whole thing. I was rounding up children in BK.) Hunter said that he had no idea what to do with the crutches until H demonstrated their use. It was an unexpected gift to find him after we had given up. (Is there a lesson there?)

We dropped the kids off at El Cordero and said our final goodbyes. I absolutely hate that.

We headed up to the mountains to see the huge Jesus statue overlooking Teguci. It is in a beautiful park and we had a very nice, relaxing time. Great views of the city, lovely gardens, and even a shop. (I didn't buy a thing...only cuz I had no money with me.)

Back to Erika's for another great dinner - pepian (a type of squash that is delish) barbeque chicken, rice, and rice krispie treats! YUM. Then the traditional packing party with yards of bubblewrap and counting people and suitcases and weighing and all that stuff.

So, this is it. Tomorrow we get on the plane to come home...and plan the next trip to Honduras.

Thanks so much for following along with us and for joining us in prayer for the children and for Honduras. Now, go in peace to love and serve the Lord. THANKS BE TO GOD!

I have everything I need now

This was our last day at SBV. I always hate leaving on the last day. Bonnie and Janet spent the day at Flor with the ladies of La Cantera and with some of the school children. Bonnie's heart was really moved on Wednesday by all God's children, young and old, at Flor and she also wanted to sponsor a young school girl. She had asked David to help her with that and, as usual, he got right on it. He introduced her to Diana, an 8 yr old beauty. Diana lives with her grandmother who is terminally ill with cancer. Bonnie tutors a 9 yr. old girl in PA and hopes to get them writing to each other. Janet was really touched by going to visit Diana's grandmother and seeing their home. It is lovely to see people really bond with the wonderful people here.

Hunter, Meagan and I returned to SBV. Hunter (Cazador) spent the morning painting the hallway in the school while Meagan and I were scientists. We started the perc tests and also explored the plot of land next to ours. We hope there is water on that land since the owner has offered to sell it to us. I have no way of knowing but did observe it was much greener and lusher than ours. Surely that means something, right? Can you have that much foliage with no water at all? Say your prayers about that one.

After lunch, we did a little more work and then quit early to play with the kids. We had a contest for the kids to do the playground circuit. Carlos won with a time of 12 seconds to go up the ramp, across the bridge, across the monkey bars, over the bridge, through the tube, and down the slide. Gina, Yonibel, and Dunia were close with 13 seconds. Hunter demonstrated the course in 17 seconds and I was disqualified when I fell off the monkey bars. Well, it wasn't that I fell off, I just couldn't get my entire body back up on the platform. I could get my feet up but that part in the middle wouldn't cooperate.

At about 3:15, we went into Cabin 1 for a little program. The "medianas" (middle girls) did a cute dance for us. Then the middle boys did a great drama about not littering. Elias Hernandez, who has epilepsy and is quite disabled, was adorable trying to participate. The story was that people (played by Yonibel, the other Elias, Joel, Alexander) would just throw trash on the ground. Then Julio would come out and sweep it up, angry that he had to clean up for the others. The boys came back through throwing trash on the ground and Julio would pop out and exhort them, gesticulating wildly, to put the trash in the "basura" (trashcan)... A couple of these scenes were thwarted because Elias Hernandez would swoop in and "help" by putting the trash right in the basura before Julio could counsel the offender. It was so precious.

Next the little bitties got up to sing a couple songs and, true to form, Jocelyn was leading the pack, singing lustily with a huge grin on her face. Most of the others stood stock still staring at us. Not so different from the US!

Finally a couple of the girls got up to say thank you to us for coming, for helping at SBV and for loving them and giving them hugs. Gina, naturally, was one of them. Dunia (11 yrs) then spontaneously asked to give her testamony. Suzy told us later that she had never done that before. Dunia had fallen in love with Meagan, maybe that is what motivated her. Anyway, she told us that she and her siblings, Yessenia and Fernando, had lived in a terrible place in the city. They would roam the streets and no one looked after them. One day, their uncle "did something bad to them." Soon after, they met Suzy and came to live at Casa Hogar (SBV.) She is so happy to be there. "I have everything I need now. I have food, clothes, school, and people who love her." Dunia is so very dear. My heart breaks to think of how she had to live before SBV and my heart is filled with joy knowing that she is safe, happy, healthy, and loved now. Thanks be to God for all the wonderful people who care for those dear lambs.

On the way home we stopped by Suzy's house to see Aaron Joshue who wasn't there last Sunday. He really buzzes around on the tiniest wheelchair known to man. Tomasa gave him a buzz so he looks more grown up (at 22 months) than he did with longer hair. I must confess, I miss his full head of hair. Cesia looked beautiful as usual and Evelyn motored around in her little walker, despite being sick.

Tonight we went into Teguci to a really nice restaurant called El Patio. The food was plenteous and delicious. They loaded us up with appetizers - my favorite being the fried plantain. YUM. Then we all had "pinchos" or shish kebabs that were enormous. It was really fun - full of local color. They had this display as we entered of a man behind a plow pulled by two bulls. They were almost life size and made out of some natural material - kinda like the corn husks used for tamales. Meagan almost knocked the tail off of one! See the picture of her with one and notice how anatomically correct it is!

Tomorrow is the bi-monthly visiting day for the children. They are all bused into Flor to see their birth parents - if they show up. We are all going to Flor tomorrow to be a part of it. It is particularly important to us because several children, including Dunia and Elias Hernandez, never have anyone come to see them. Tomorrow, we will be their visitors.

I absolutely hate that tomorrow is our last day here. We were about to get stranded here indefinitely. We woke up to the news that the meteorologists were on strike and all the airports were closed. Officially I was very concerned and working with Suzy and David to come up with Plan B (bus to El Salvador, flight home) but inwardly I was jumping for joy. Sadly, oops I mean happily, the airports reopened this afternoon.

Sleep well... We will after our huge meal!

All 5 senses present and accounted for...

Testing the functionality of the five senses:

• Hearing - the sound of children laughing as Hunter tosses them up to "touch the sky": Check
• Sight - the quiet dignity and strength in the faces of the ladies of La Cantera: Check
• Taste - snarfing down vast amounts of Erika's delicious cooking: Check
• Feeling - a child running full speed into you to give you a big hug: Check
• Smell - working down by the cesspits in the full sun and heat of the afternoon: Check

So, today Hunter, Meagan and I were working on the tests John McKinnon gave us to do on the land around the cesspits. (I feel like there is a different word for them but I can't think of it now...) At 9AM it wasn't so bad. In fact, the area just below them is lush and green with lots of thick vegetation. Something that makes you go, "Hmmmm." Anyway, we had to dig 4 holes, each 3 feet deep, to do percolation tests on the soil. It takes longer than you think to dig holes in the dirt here. In fact, all morning. I must confess that at 11:57 we declared Hole 4 deep enough at 31 inches. It was either 5 more inches of digging or lunch. No contest. While we were doing that, Bonnie and Janet were doing yeoman's work painting the hallway. They got an amazing amount of work done. It was hotter and more humid today and the school doesn't have as much cross ventilation as you'd like. Nevertheless, they made huge progress.

After lunch, Hunter joined the ladies painting while Meagan and I recorded several topographical data about the land below the cesspits. She began pacing off the distance by literally going heel to toe, heel to toe, arms akimbo to keep her balance. I gently (when I say gently I mean laughing) suggested that counting the strides was probably good enough. "Ah yes," she remarked, "it's much faster this way." Then we took a video of the area as we made very scientisty observations about the terrain, vegetation, etc.

The most entertaining activity was figuring out the slope from the cesspits down to the little ravine. John had given us detailed directions, complete with illustrations. Sadly, he did not account for our nuttiness. Happily, though, Wilmer and Pedro came to help. We started tying the string John provided about 6” above the ground. We had to tie it to trees along the way, ensuring the string was level. The first tree was no problem. The next tree, a bit challenging, after that we needed a ladder. The final tree had Pedro climb up the ladder and into the fairly flimsy pine tree, scaling it higher and higher till we got the string level-ish. The string was 17 feet above ground! I have NO IDEA whether we did this right or not. Tomorrow we will do the perc tests because the pre-soak was slow. “Huh?” you might ask. “Beats me,” I reply, “ask John.”

This evening David joined us along with Erika, Andrea, and Maria for Holy Eucharist and then a delish dinner of papusas! We had the first rain storm of the week during dinner and it was raining so hard on the tin roof we had to eat in silence! You couldn’t hear anything! Soon it stopped and we had a lovely evening.

Joey and Alyssa - I made an executive decision that the peluchas you gave me to bring down would go to the newest children to welcome them to LAMB. The last picture is of Manuel, 6, who is Mirza's brother and arrived this week. I will give the others to Suzy to have on hand when she gets the other babies from Social Services. I hope that is OK.

Electricity is on and off so I will wrap up now. I can’t believe tomorrow is already Friday. Oh, arrgghhh, we did not see the man along the road today. Pray that we will tomorrow. Hasta manana!

Grace and courage, thy name is Sonia, Maria Christina, Carmen, Petronilla...

Today was Flor day. We arrived at El Cordero, the day school LAMB operates in Flor del Campo. Flor is an extremely poor barrio on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa. The children's weekly assembly had just started. We watched as the first graders (it looked like) sang and then the third graders (I think) lead the school in learning a Bible verse...by yelling it out, taking turns with the microphone. This is sophisticated learning technique - teaching via multiple senses. The class stood together modeling the desired behavior, it was written in large letters on a colorful poster board, and if that wasn't enough...the volume assaulted the eardrums until the brain simply gives in and absorbs the material! We were introduced and the children all turned to wish us "Bienvenido," however it wasn't quite enthusiastic enough for the teachers so, once again with feeling, "BIENVENIDO!"

I delivered some of the tortuga peluchas (turtle stuffed animals) made by the St. Peter and St Paul VBS to the youngest children. See the very youngest Lamb with his tortuga! I also made the acquaintance of an adorable little girl, new since April, named Erika. Erika has Down's Syndrome and is just precious. I got a huge hug from her - a most sweet hug indeed.

After a quick tour, we went across the street to the LAMB offices to meet with the ladies from La Cantera. (See the picture of Meagan with Elvira. Elvira is a perpetually cheerful deaf mute. She helps around the school and lives in a house built by Discovery Service Projects. Janet was part of that team. Elvira is the mother of my sponsored child Elias. He and his sisters are at SBV.) La Cantera is the extremely impoverished squatters' village on the edge of Flor. The poverty is unimaginable. Unfortunately, we couldn't actually go into La Cantera because it is too dangerous right now - gangs and not enough police. So, the lovely ladies came to us. There were about 25 of them with a few of their children. We all introduced ourselves and then some of the ladies began giving their testimonies. You might expect to hear lamentations from these women who live the most difficult of lives. About half of them have no electricity. They live on a few dollars a day. Several of them live in "nice" houses built by LAMB - a nice house has 4 wooden walls, a tin roof, and a cement floor, holes cut in the walls for windows and a door that locks. The size is that of a very small bedroom. Often 8 - 10 people live there. One certainly would not blame them for a lamentation or two. But no, each one who spoke told us of the blessings in their lives. One explained she had gotten a bed to sleep in. That coupled with the wooden walls of her home, well, she was doing just fine. Demos gracias a Senor! (Thanks be to God.)

Another told us of an experience from this very week. Her refrain throughout the story was, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil 4:13) She was awakened by some noise outside her door. She was frightened but (refrain) got up to see what was happening. She saw that her son's bicycle had been stolen. She was bereft but (refrain.) She had prayed for 5 years, since her son was 6, that he would get a bicycle. He had just won one at Children's Day as a prize and now it was gone. She couldn't believe this had happened so she prayed. Soon, she went out to search for the bike...and found it hidden in some bushes! At first she was afraid to take it, afraid the thieves would attack her but (refrain) she got a friend to go back with her and she retrieved the bike! Demos gracias a Senor!

I spoke on behalf of our current team and all the teams that have come. I explained how we pray for them everyday and admire their courage and strength. I went on to say how inspiring they are to us and how much we love them. It was truly a privilege to be the spokesperson for all of us who care for them so deeply. They send special greetings to Dorita, Margot, Anne and Jan!

Several of the women thanked us for coming despite the "problems" going on in Honduras. There was one man there. He had been shot in the head. He clearly had difficulty talking but was able to introduce himself. I learned later he is an artist. I have included just a few pictures of these women. Hunter filmed their testamonies. I hope to edit it into something I can post on YouTube and the LAMB website. Stay tuned.

We did our requisite run to Giancarlo's -- they have even more beautiful things... they have added some wood pieces. I did my thing, leaving the store laden with bags. Then, a delish lunch at Erika's. Janet and Bonnie were feeling a bit puny so they stayed home for the afternoon. Hunter, Meagan and I headed off to SBV for a short afternoon of painting (H&M) and scraping (me.) A bit playing with the babies, Meagan and Hunter playing with Gina, and then time to go. We searched the roadside carefully for the man with the stick because we now have the crutches for him. We didn't see him this afternoon so we will keep looking.

Tomorrow, Hunter, Meagan and I will do soil testing that John McKinnon has assigned while Bonnie and Janet paint. I hope to see Suzy to hear if there is any more news about the newborn, the twins, Mirza's youngest brother, or the boy attacked by dogs.

Love to all back in the US... We are all happy, mostly healthy, and very safe.

Just when you thought it was safe...

...to enter a building without a scraper... Yep, you guessed it. We spent the day doing a little painting and ALOT of scraping. We scraped the floors (Bonnie is the expert) and we scraped the cinderblock walls preparing them for paint. In terms of dust and difficulty, scraping the cinderblock walls is somewhere between scraping the adobe walls pre-chicken wire and sanding the plastered walls in Cottage 3. We didn't emerge from a room completely gray from head to toe like the adobe scrapers nor were we able to zoom over a wall in a matter of minutes. "It's for the children, it's God's work, it's for the children, it's God's work" was our mantra. The hallway looms large as we began scraping it this afternoon. "It's for the children..."

This morning, after getting organized, Hunter and I met with Suzy in her office (the erstwhile Director's cottage) to discuss a potential microbusiness. John McKinnon had discovered a non-profit, FilterPure, that has created a portable ceramic water filter. They partner with other non-profits to build factories to manufacture and distribute the water filters. The idea is that we would build a factory with their help (expertise, some key materials, marketing help, etc.) and manufacture the water filters for about $20 each and then sell them for $30 each. Primary markets would be other NGOs and mission groups who want to provide clean drinking water. This would be a way to help LAMB become more self-sufficient financially as well as provide a source of clean water to Latin America. Please pray for guidance as Suzy and the LAMB leadership team discuss this possibility.

While we were meeting with Suzy, she told us that last night they got 2 more children, unexpectedly. They are Mirza's brothers, 2 and 6 years old. Their mother simply couldn't care for them any longer. There is a 3rd child in the hospital with pneumonia who will join the others at SBV as soon as he is well enough. Suzy is still waiting for news about the 15 mo old twins found abandoned in a pig sty. She isn't sure whether they will be able to go right into the Children's Home yet. If not, they will join the others at Suzy's house. She is also waiting for more information about the boy (2 years old?) who was mauled by a dog. She isn't sure whether he will be ready for SBV either. She was told that she will be able to pick up the newborn tomorrow (we hope) who will definitely go to Suzy's house. So, have you done the math yet? In just a matter of a couple weeks, the population at SBV and Suzy's house will increase by 7 children, most are under the age of 2. In the case of the twins and the boy mauled by the dog, Suzy read about them in the newspaper and she called Social Services to see how LAMB could help. God has been very good to His littlest lambs by putting Suzy here.

We took a break in the afternoon to visit the farm. The corn is as high as an elephant's eye and stretches as far as you can see! On the way, we met up with some goats. Meagan and Bonnie were particularly taken by the goats, but in slightly different ways. Meagan has established a relationship with one (sorry Billy, you've been replaced) and Bonnie... well, Bonnie, fresh from Heifer U., was seen fleeing from one of the goats. In respect for her dignity I will refrain from mentioning that the goat was tethered as she sprinted away!

Suzy came by tonight with Sallie, Elsa, and Lucy to have dinner and evening devotions. She played the guitar as we sang as best we could. We really miss the voices from the choir and from Camp Mikell! We sounded pretty pitiful singing "Humble thyself." I busted out the new video camera we brought down for LAMB and recorded the evening. We'll see. If it works out, I will post on the LAMB website.



Tomorrow we go to Flor del Campo to see El Cordero and the children's assembly. Then we will meet with several ladies from La Cantera. We can't go into La Cantera because it is too dangerous right now. Even Fr. Julio is meeting with them in Flor. (I forgot to mention that Fr. Julio arrived yesterday to spend the week doing pastoral care with the ladies of La Cantera.) After that we go to Giancarlo's for pewter and then back to SBV and scraping.

Some other tidbits...
Ana Karina's foot is all healed! There was a point we were very worried it was getting seriously infected.
Betsy - I stepped into the 6th grade classroom only to see the three older girls knitting!!!
Wheeler came home with a brand new pair of crutches for the man we see on the road. We hope to stop tomorrow to give them to him. Our plan (please pray about this for us) is to have Hunter teach him how to use the crutches. We figure that once Hunter shows him his leg, the man will understand that we want to help him by giving him the crutches.
I held Fany again this afternoon and today, to my great joy, she laughed!!! Fany has a very sad story and, at not quite 2, is a very melancholy baby. To see her smile and laugh stirs the soul in a particular way.
Jorge has started carpentry school and is very excited. He is living with his family and comes to SBV for school on Saturdays. I am very anxious to see him again. His surgery was stalled due to the political crisis but Evelyn has started working on it again. There is a doctor here who has all his test results and medical records. Pray for that too, please.

As usual, I am the last one up. We all crash early here. Buenos Nochas.