10.10.12
My first views of Trujillo remain a sleepy blur. Not only was I
waking after taking a pill for motion sickness, but we’d also been packed into
a jeep luggage and eight people for a 3 hour drive through the beautiful
mountainous countryside as the sun beat down baking us. I was quickly reminded
of the days of driving my first car in which the only air conditioning was “manual”
a.k.a. rolling down the windows. I have to say though I had it easy up front compared
to my fellow missionaries who were crammed in the back of the Jeep with the
luggage.
We stopped
in Trujillo (in
town) for lunch at one of likely the few restaurants that have an air
conditioned section. Alison treated us to a lunch of tortillas with beans &
avocado or beans & eggs and smoothies using the money her mom sent. After
cooling off for about an hour we piled back into the Jeep and headed out of
town where the Farm awaited us.
On the road
in we passed by a sign for a “Nature
Park
Driving a
bit further along the gravel road one can spot small timber or cinder block
homes in small communities. Then we spot it. The first sign of the Finca is now
a newly built tall security fence with rolls of barbed wire strung across the
top. While it may give off the initial feeling of a compound it is truly for
the safety of everyone here. Our Jeep approaches the main gate where one of our
“watchies” is stationed to let us in.
Just past
the gate eagerly waiting in the shade is the group of children, fellow
missionaries, sisters, and a variety of employees. Although I don’t know any of
them yet I know immediately they are welcoming me into their family. Harrison stops the Jeep and we all pile out and are
instantly surrounded by children. The littlest ones each hold a poster board
with our names and greeting painted. I hear a half dozen energetically high
pitched voices shouting my name, “Keeeeet, Keeeeet, Keeeeet!” Turning around
there’s a sea of boys and girls only measuring about waist high and each wants
to be the first to tackle you with the biggest hug.
After a few
minutes I spot one little girl very shyly looking my way as she holds on tight
to one of the female missionaries. I’m told the little girl wants to meet me
because we have the same name… more or less. She too is Katherine. I’ve since
learned though it’s spelt Catherine and that she goes by Cati (Cah-tee). So far
some of the kids call me Kit (or Keet) others stick to Katerin (the TH sound
doesn’t really exist in Spanish).
It’s now
been more than 2 weeks (time is going unbelievably fast), and I’ve at least got
down all the names of the other missionaries. Right now there are 19 of us
living under one roof. Each bedroom averages 3 people. The bathroom is another
story. Notice that bathroom is singular. Well, sort of. The women have one and
the boys have one between the 4 of them which leaves 15 of us sharing 1 shower,
1 toilet, 1 sink and 1 mirror. (After December 1st the total
missionary count in the house drops to 15 when the 2nd years head
back to the states.) Between a strict cleaning schedule, a method of claiming
your spot in the shower line by shouting “Quien se bano? Who is bathing?”, and
a lot of patience somehow we all manage to keep from smelling too terrible. 
Life in the
missionary house is very ordered,(despite the pictures which seems like everything is strewn about) but with this many people it’s easy to see
why. Each meal and who is cooking it has a schedule. Cleaning of bathrooms and
communal living areas is divided up as well. We’re told that twice a year the house
is emptied and everything is scrubbed down. All that said, we still live on the
beach and it’s a fact of life here that there is sand everywhere. I’ve found 3
things to be key in keeping my bed clean as possible as long as possible.
First: leaving the plastic cover on the mattress to keep sweat from soaking in.
Second: keep a rag next to your bed to brush/wipe off your feet before ever
putting them on the bed. Lastly: Shower at night.
The first 2 weeks have been spent
in one “charla/talk” after another in order to help us learn our way around
life here. We had an orientation to the house which included learning about
everything from how/when we get food to how to properly dispose of used toilet
paper in the fire pit. There is also much emphasis put on correctly using the
“pila” which is best described as a washbasin or sink. There are 2 pilas, one
for washing clothes and one for washing dishes. The left side is deep and used
to store water. Using a bowl you scoop water from there and pour it over your
dirty clothes/dishes. The important thing is to never contaminate the stored
water.
We’ve also learned about each of
the possible job openings, spent time in the school, learned about the basics
of religious life at The Finca and perhaps most importantly had several talks
about social work. The most important of social work talks are still to come.
We will be getting histories on each of the kids and talk about sexual abuse
prevention/past incidents.
While I won’t and can’t talk
specifics just know that almost all of our kids come from abusive backgrounds.
Some have been abandoned, some are in fact orphaned, others parents are still
around but unable to provide proper care for them. Some of the kids here are
siblings, but some are also solo. The incredible thing is on most any day (a
good day) you may never suspect anything from the giant smiles on their faces.
Although their lives here at The Finca are much easier and their futures are
brighter please continually pray for each of them.
Early next week we should find out
what our jobs are. There are two openings for social work, one for special
education/English teacher, and one for math/computer teacher. At the moment I
am partial to special ed. & English. We will also find out what our small
jobs are. Some of them include leading boy/girl scouts, teaching swim lessons,
coaching soccer, heading up the newsletter, photographer, events committee,
personnel committee, leading women’s group, heading up the sponsor a child
program, etc. I am hoping to take over the newsletter and be a photographer
along with the events committee, the personnel committee or the sponsor a child
program. Continue to pray for all of us as we discern our roles here.
The biggest struggle continues to
be Spanish. For the most part I can get my point across when speaking, but
understanding what is being spoken is a whole other story. Please continue to
pray for all of us new missionaries that we learn quickly.
On another topic it’s been only
about 3 weeks and I’ve had or heard about enough critter encounters to last me
the rest of my time here. Starting with the smallest creepy crawlies is lice.
Thankfully I have not yet had lice (knock on wood), but it seems to be only a
matter of time. At least one missionary has it currently. They jokingly say
it’s a right of passage. While at Mass the other weekend I spotted one of the
little black bugs in the hair of one of our little girls. I’m told it’s a
revolving door for the little girls in house one. Even if it is eradicated the
girls will pick it up again at school from other kids in the community.
Moving up in size: ants. They are
everywhere all the time and in endless varieties. During a retreat the other
weekend I noticed dozens of the swarming for the bits of food dropped from our
lunch table. At some point my foot wandered too close and before long my toes
had a bright red itchy burning rash. Between ants and mosquitoes I’ve become a
pro at not scratching things that itch knowing it will only get worse. That
said the mosquitoes here don’t seem to be nearly as bad as back home. However,
the rainy season has only just begun so I could be speaking too soon.
Jumping up in size is my worst
fear, spiders specifically tarantulas. I’ve already had 2 encounters in the
same day, but I’m pretty sure it was the same spider. As I’m told it was a
“small” tarantula. Considering it was only slightly smaller than my palm I’d
rather not encounter a “large” one. The first time it was hanging out on a wall
next to a pile of shoes outside the guys’ bedroom. Likely those shoes were its
home.
Later that night as I walked back
to my bedroom I spotted it. I was only about 2 strides from letting out a very
loud scream. Instead in a surprisingly calm voice I said, “Ehhhh No” and decided
I would walk around to get into my room and hope it stayed away. My roommate
Betsy heard me from the “sala/living room” and asked what was going on. I told
her the tarantula had returned and was outside my door. She quickly said,
“What? Wait, that’s my door!!” Just as quick she swept into action with a
broom. With Kate’s assistance they corralled the critter out into the pouring
rain.
The next critter to weigh in was a
boa constrictor probably about 3 feet long. Thankfully it was dead. One of our
maintenance employees found it and macheted its head off. For some reason he
then felt the need to set it on our porch. Again I nearly stepped on it before
noticing.
Not all my critter encounters have
been creepy though. In the missionary house we have two pet turtles which are
constantly trying to escape their enclosure or even the house. From time to
time they are spotted by our watchies and returned home. We also have 2 dogs on
the farm “Oso/Bear” and “Canela/Cinnamon”. Unfortunately both are likely flee
covered so petting them beyond a pat on the head is risky.
Our first dinner here at The Finca
we got a special treat of “garobo/lizard” meat. Add that to the list of animals
that I wouldn’t ever think one could eat or should eat. As strange as it sounds
it actually tasted just fine. A bit like… chicken. Cliché yes, but somewhat
true. It’s hard to describe.
Now to the critters I have not
personally seen. One night Harrison
(missionary currently heading up maintenance) was swimming when he got stung by
what we believe was a sting ray. It could have also been a jelly fish. I say
that because when Emily, Laura and Kevin were in the water the other day they
spotted one. Laura says the top actually brushed her hand. As anyone who has
seen “Finding Nemo” knows it’s safe to touch the tops of jellies. I’m also told
that you can step on the tentacles or touch the with your palm safely since the
pours on the bottoms of your feet and palms are too small. It’s not a theory
I’ll be testing. A little further out into the bay Laura says she spotted 2
more as well. Also in the water we found many dark brown sand dollars. It has
us wondering whether all sand dollars are brown when alive and only white after
dying. If anyone knows please let me know.
Laura also had her first "patient". Harrison got something stuck in his foot so she had to "operate" with a needle and tweezers. She was really into it!
We've also had plenty of time in these first 2 weeks to spend at the beach and spend time in prayer as we discern what jobs we want to take on. Here Kevin, Laura, and Emily are competing to see who can skip rocks the furthest.
For now though I will leave you
with these first impressions of life here at The Finca. I hope to send blog
updates as often as possible, but don’t be surprised or concerned if more than
a month goes by. Definitely feel free to write me letters as well. I promise to
personally correspond with anyone who writes me a letter. It may take weeks or
even months since our mail system consists of sending letters with visitors
from the states. Care packages can be sent as well, but know that it’s not
always reliable. My address is:
La Finca del Nino
Katherine Cross
Apartado Postal #110
Trujillo, Colon
Honduras, Central America
Thank you for your continued
prayers and support!
Blessings,
Katherine
Kit, to confirm: YES! Sand dollars are brown when living and white when dead and bleached by the salt water and sun. Love reading your posts!
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