Mission work in Honduras: A peek at the real world and "Hasta Enero!"

Friday Oct 15

Today was my last full day. Sigh. Of all the days I have spent with the kids, this was one of them... So, the ENTIRE staff went off on a 2 day retreat leaving Diana Collins in charge of SBV with a group of volunteers from a church in the Teguc area...and me. Remember when you were in elementary school and you had a new substitute? Well, this was like the entire school, including the principal, being substitutes! At least they knew the "principal" Diana. Most of the others they had never met. Fasten your seatbelts...

The day got off on the wrong foot from the very beginning. We were taking the volunteers with us in the van. They were stuck in traffic so we were an hour late getting to SBV. There was a group from a different church there to lead morning activities that involved breaking the kids into groups and moving them from supervised station to supervised station. Unfortunately, the supervisors weren't there yet so they quickly adjusted and did everything with the entire group of 65 children! We moved from the devotional in Cottage 1 to the porch of the Chapel for some activities. That is where things started to quickly unravel. It was cold and the wind was blowing really hard. The volunteers put on a couple of "dramas" that the children enjoyed. It was mostly OK but some of the little boys were beginning to squirm, get restless, wander off. Someone was constantly going off to find a wandering lamb. OH, did I mention that some of the volunteer caretakers didn't show up?

After the dramas, the volunteer team tried to organize them into groups for games. I suggested to Diana that we move the group to the new courtyard because it was so cold where we were and the courtyard is much more contained. That was a bit better but the kids had had it with organized activities by strangers. The little boys in cottage 2 were veering out of control, led by Fernando. He wasn't alone... Ronnie, Kennet, and Jose Luis were being busters too. Bless Emanuel's heart. He was as good as gold. We finally corralled them for lunch. (Note: Make a prayer of thanksgiving for little boys' appetites...) They all ate a good lunch with minimal prompting. I had gotten these huge marshmallows as my dessert. I cut them in half except for one. I gave the whole one to Emanuel for being so good and then a half to each of the others if Diana judged them worthy. (She did!) After lunch was nap time for the littlest ones and some of the older ones who had been naughty. About that time Fernando started a full blown melt down. None of us really knew what to do or how to handle it. Understandably, he has serious anger issues. I want to talk to some experts when I get home about how to deal with that sort of situation. Ultimately, he took off towards the school. I knew I couldn't run after him but Reina showed up (thank you, God) and reassured me that he would be fine, he just needed to cool down. Sure enough, after awhile he returned in fairly good humor. He wouldn't speak to me but he was back to his cute self.

Paty, who hid in her room studying all morning, showed up and was a hero getting all three of the little boys to fall fast asleep. Finally, Diana and I had some quiet time to strategize about how she and the other volunteers would survive the next 24 hours and talk just a bit about the child sponsorship program. We made some headway which we will be able to continue via email. (One she has been released from the inevitable stay at the Funny Farm after this weekend.)

With equal parts guilt and relief, I kissed each of the children good-bye and bid them "Hasta Enero!" On the way back to Casa LAMB we stopped briefly at Suzy's to say hey to Franklin, Irma and toddler Evelyn. Then Jose David's van got a flat tire on the highway! As he and the male volunteer changed the tire, barely off the road, I stood by them in my red, pink and yellow Target pajama pants waving the cars to swing wide and avoid Jose David and volunteer. I am certain I am the topic of many dinner table conversations, "You won't believe the crazy gringa I saw on the side of the road!"

Safely home I have had time to reflect on the day. I think God scheduled this day this way on purpose. It was cold and very windy - a taste of weather to come, and the kids were normal kids - meaning they can go from adorable to naughty in the blink of an eye. I realized life here will not be all rainbows and roses. This is real life. It will be hard, frustrating, even maddening. And yet, all those naughty boys gave me big hugs and kisses when I said good-bye. Fernando even smiled when I kissed the top of his head. I see my time sort of like a marriage - for better, for worse... I will be faithful and give my love to God's littlest lambs.

Hasta Enero! (Until January!)

Peace, God bless you all, keep these beautiful people, young and old, in your prayers.