Off to church we went. Connie, the priest, wasn´t there but her husband Luis, a deacon, presided. The SBV crowd wasn´t there because alot of the kids have been sick. There has been a spike in H1N1 virus in Latin America so everyone is very careful. Suzy was planning to lead worship at the Chapel for them. It was Meagan´s first experience at a Honduran church and she joined right in with the rest of us, stumbling and mumbling as we all tried to paricipate in Spanish. If only they would S L O W down we might be able to say a whole line in unison. I would get random words right on the button with the rest of the congregation and then lose it on the next one. Words like miseracordia and todopodorosa tend to tangle the tongue. The best part is passing the peace when we all get up and greet everyone. It was lovely being there with our Honduran parish family.
After church we rushed back to Erika´s to change and head off to Valle of the Angels. The ride up through the mountains is so beautiful this time of year. Everything is so lush and green. Turns out Valle is hoppin´on Sundays. Hondurans flock there to eat, listen to music in the plaze, and go to church. They had a service going on while we were there. Before we went shopping we stopped at a restaurant right outside Valle. We were the only North Americans there. The food was great. The frijoles were particularly good. I hope we can go there again with the teams next year.
Shopping was great as usual. We hit my favorite store first. Believe me, all the shopkeepers were delighted to see us. You can imagine the impact the political crisis has had. My pal in the store and I had a long conversation about the situation. He went to an English speaking International school through middle school and then went to college in Houston. He, as is everyone I have met so far, is in favor of the provisional government. He did say that when Zelaya was ousted everyone was thrilled and expecting the US to support the ouster. They were so disappointed when we didn´t. ¨How come Honduras is the only Latin American coup they didn´t support?¨¨ they all wanted to know. Irony.
After dinner, Wheeler, Meagan and I started playing Oh Hell. Meagan was winning every hand. Finally, Janet came up to join us and noticed that Meagan was not following suit! She didn´t realize you had to. She was wondering why we kept playing losing cards! We got a good laugh over that and immediately ended the game!
Tomorrow is SBV. I can´t wait to get there.
Sleep well, everyone!
Cristo Redentor
