The Pope and the plane

Written Wedensday, March 13th 2013

As I write this we've just found out we have a new Pope! I had just come in to the house to quick eat lunch and asked the group of volunteers if they’d heard about the change. I was referring to the change in our schedule which meant we’d have to be leaving for an activity at the local airport in 10 minutes. They thought I was talking about the change in shepardless status of the church.

From the bits of information I've heard through the grapevine I am very excited. My first thought was, “Yes! He’s from Argentina! The world so badly needs the incredible faith of Latin America.” I could be wrong but I believe this makes him a first in many ways. He is the first from Latin America probably even the first from the Western Hemisphere or even outside of Europe. He’ll be called Pope Francis (or Francisco since this is Latin America), and I believe he is the first pope to go by that name as well. I’m told that he’s taken the name from Saint Francis of Assisi not Xavier. He seems to be very humble even having asked for a blessing from the people at St. Peter’s when typically the Pope gives his blessing to them. He wants the Catholic Church to be a poor church for the poor. I am intrigued by what he will bring to the Church coming from the Jesuit order. I am not certain, but I believe he is the first pope from the Jesuit order too. I look forward to learning more about the Jesuit order and in general am anxious to see how he will bring about God’s will here on earth.

            As I was saying when I first found out we were heading out for an activity at the “airport”. I use quotations because it really isn't an airport, but instead an airstrip with a single hanger that doubles as a roadway. The pilot, Larry (the only one in the area), is also the owner of the nearby resort. This opportunity to see Larry land his small 6 seater plane and then see the inside was to be a first for many of our kids. The kids who have been “on green” for the past month earned going on this trip.

Being on green basically means they've been behaving well. Our social work team just instituted the new “stoplight” system (or so the House 5 boys call it). The kids based on their behavior can be on red, yellow or green level. They have a daily score sheet and can earn 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 in different categories including chores, behavior at home and school and during spiritual life activities. The points are then averaged weekly for the older kids and twice weekly for the younger kids.

            Anyways, I digress back to our airport adventure. As soon as I got out of school at 12:45 I booked it back home and quickly ate my starch filled lunch of spaghetti, rice and rice pudding. The goal was to leave at 1:00 on the dot. The 4 volunteers/missionaries visiting here from Franciscan University quickly finished their lunch while I ran to House 6 (next door to us) to round up the girls who would be going with on our outing. We waited out by the cars for our drivers to show up.

I should have known better than to expect to leave when I said we needed to leave. The girls reminded me while I impatiently waited that it is a cultural norm to always be late. While it is also typical for me to be late for things there is one thing I know from traveling and it is that you can’t be late for a plane…. It’s going to land whether you are there to see it or not.

Thankfully, our head of maintenance/one of the house dads showed up to drive and then handed me the other key to run and give it to the other maintenance man/house dad who has permission to drive.  With the girls and 4 Franciscan volunteers piled into the back of the truck and the boys in one of the cars we were headed out the front gate by 1:15. It would normally take 40-45 minutes to get to the airport, but we made up time once on the road as our driver (who also happens to be the one teaching new missionaries to drive) decided to drive at a stomach churning pace considering the condition of roads here.

We got out to the airport with about 20 minutes to spare. It was just enough time for the kids and teens to excitedly search through the hanger and check out the view over the bay. The Franciscan University missionaries also brought with them a large kite which brought a huge smile to Rony’s face. He is one of our House 4 boys who can make a kite out of just about anything and teach you the science behind it all. Meanwhile, one of the teachers from our school and her kids drove up too in hope of seeing the landing as well.

Off to our right we heard the faint sound of propellers cutting through the air and just seconds later everyone spotted the small prop-plane. Amid the wide-eyes and little shouts of excitement were a few whispered prayers that the cow grazing dangerously close to the runway would stay and not run into the planes path. Oh the realities of life in rural Honduras! Thankfully for all parties involved the cow was completely unfazed and just kept munching away.

            We each watched and waited as the plane taxied back down the runway and parked itself in the hanger. As it passed by we all waved back to the familiar face we were anxiously awaiting. Erin Lucia, one of our fellow missionaries, was now back home and she’d brought with her parents and grandparents. They’d all spent a few days vacationing in Rowaton (an island just off the coast) and were now going to be at The Farm for a few days.

    Once the five of them de-planed each of the kids had their chance to sit inside and ask questions as Larry showed them a few things and explained the basics in broken Spanglish. He took the opportunity to ask our teenage girls whether any of them wanted to be pilots and said that more and more women are becoming pilots nowadays. They were all far too shy to answer. While it wasn't exactly a flying lesson I do hope that maybe a seed was planted that may stir something bigger in each of our kids’ minds.