Catholic. Photographer. Writer. Producer. Videographer. Editor. Spanish speaker. Passionate about travel, culture and giving you a platform to tell your life story. Firm believer that peppermint dark chocolate and autumn hikes can make any day amazing!
It’s been a crazy week! It’s one of those weeks where more
than once I’ve found myself saying, “Yep, this is Finca life…”
Although if
it weren’t a little crazy I wouldn’t have the time right now to be writing this
thanks to a “rain day” school was canceled. That’s a whole other story which
I’ll get to.
I’ll take
you back to just last Friday. The teachers (both our local Honduran teachers
and the missionary teachers) had just gotten back to The Farm after a retreat
and a local natural hot spring. It is a very tranquil place that used to be a
busy resort, but after Hurricane Mitch hit the area in 1998 the Canadian or
American owners haven’t done much for upkeep. When we got back I had just a few
hours to make the deadline for the Farm’s newsletter. Which by the way all of
you who have donated (except anonymously) will be receiving your newsletter in
the mail or email around Easter. Anyways, I had just come back along the beach
from the resort where I’d been using the internet to email the articles and
photos to our director stateside. I made it back a few minutes late for the
start of Stations of the Cross with the intent of taking photos of the stations
to also email them to Andrea. Amid the craziness I am just now realizing a week
later that I don’t know whether I ever actually did send those final photos.
After stations it was time for an
arts and crafts hour with the youngest boys or at least those that had been
behaving relatively well. With a bit of cardboard from a care package, egg
cartons, scissors and paint the boys made mini volcanoes. This then turned into
a mini lesson on volcanoes. It is really inspiring to me how much those boys
crave knowledge. 10 year old Brayan wants to be a meteorologist, but after our
art session wants to be a volcanologist too.
I got back to our house a few
minutes late for dinner during which on Friday’s we’ve decided to read the
upcoming Sunday’s readings in Spanish and English and share any thoughts on it
or just reflect. I felt bad being late, but that is life here.
After dinner we (the missionaries) went to
sing “Happy Birthday” to Jose Isabel who just turned 14. It is tradition for us to make a card and sing
to each of the kids along with any of their siblings. At the end of each month
we have a big celebration for all the birthdays of the month. That reminds me
it’s already have way through March and I need to start thinking of this
month’s party.
From singing it was on to a
meeting. It was finally my chance to sit down and chat with Julie a wonderful
lady from the states who visited us for a week to do a number of different
retreats. We talked until about 9:30 just sharing stories about how we each got
connected with The Farm and other stories of our travels over the years.
When I got back I ran into Laura
(one of our missionary nurses) as she was just sitting down to eat her now cold
dinner which we saved. I had noticed she wasn’t around during Stations of the
Cross but only because one of the girls had a really bad cough. I didn’t think
much of it, but when I realized she hadn’t been around for dinner either I
asked what happened. It turned out she’d been at the hospital in town with one
of our 8 year old girls. I had just been at her house earlier that afternoon
taking pictures for the newsletter and she was napping. No one seemed to know
what happened other than that she was unconscious for about 10 minutes then
said she had a headache and was dizzy. I’m told she never hit her head so no
one really knew why she was sick.
After spending 5 hours in the
hospital with no answers Laura decided it was best to bring her back to The
Farm for the night. Laura stayed with her at St. Valentine (the spare house
where a missionary family would typically live) for the night so she could
monitor her. Saturday morning Erin Marina got a call on the clinical team phone
which is left on for emergencies. “Hola…. Hola…Hola,” came a small child’s
voice from the other end. Somehow while Laura was still sleeping our little
girl got her hands on the phone and must have just dialed the last number that
had been called. Thankfully she had only called one of the other missionaries.
It was a good sign that whatever happened she was back to being a normal
mischievous and curious 8 year old.
That night it was the missionaries’
turn to hang-out at the houses while the house parents took a couple hours off
to watch a movie or just hang-out elsewhere and take a break. I decided I would
cover House 1 (the littlest girls) since they are my designated “special
friends”. Before heading over I checked in with Laura to see if there was
anything I should keep an eye out for. I was told that our “8 year old prank
caller” had been doing well all day running around and acting normal, but if
she said she was dizzy or had a headache to let Laura know.
As soon as I walked into House 1
all of the girls bowled me over anxiously grabbing for the puzzles, cards and
coloring books I’d brought. A few took to coloring and puzzles while I played
Uno with a few others. After about a half hour later the youngest girl who’d
had the dizzy spells sat down on her mattress next to me saying she was dizzy
and her head hurt. I told her to lie down and rest for a minute and one of the
other girls brought her some water. Unfortunately, her headache got worse and she
started burning up. I sent the oldest girl in the house next door for help and
they sent someone for Laura. It took all her little might to sit up and sip
more water. I’d ask how many fingers I was holding up and although she was no
longer responding verbally she’d show me on her fingers. I felt her pulse in
her wrist which was pounding. All I could do was to keep her comfortable on my
lap and continually make sure she didn’t slip from consciousness. Thankfully,
she never lapsed into an unconscious state.
The rest of the girls seemed
completely unfazed by their friend’s sudden dizzy spell which was not making
the situation any better as they all continued to run around and shout. That is
all the girls but one who sat at her feet occasionally rubbing her friend’s
shins to show her compassion. That same little girl told later that night, “Yo
llore para ella. Estaba sentando
aqui en el porche y gota cayo de mi ojo.” (I cried for her. I was
sitting here on the porch and one drop fell from my eye.) It almost made me cry
to see how much those girls really do love each other. Although they may not be
biological sisters they may be even closer to one another than siblings.
Laura got over to the house shortly
after I sent for help and was able to take over while I ran all over The Farm
to find one of the house dads who could drive them to the hospital. By the time
we got her and Laura loaded into the car our little girl was more with it. She
was still burning up, but was able to keep herself sitting upright and was again
looking around.
The next 2 days were spent at the
hospital in town. Emily (her social worker) and Laura (her nurse) took turns
staying with her while waiting for a doctor to actually show up to work. I have
not personally been to the hospital in town, but I am told that it is just a
large room filled with rows of beds. We got a few requests from Laura of things
to bring with when we came into town for Mass in the morning. It was a reality
check when Laura asked us to bring a roll of toilet paper and hand sanitizer in
case they were stuck there any longer. I knew the hospital was under staffed
and only government funded, but seriously……. They didn’t have toilet paper! We
got a backpack put together including a coloring book and markers for them and
in the morning headed out for our next adventure.
We (the
missionaries) decided to walk into town along the beach since we were short on
drivers to take people to Mass. It was a really beautiful walk and great
exercise first thing in the morning. I had never walked further along the beach
than the resorts so this was a great chance to see the area we call home. We
passed by a few small jellyfish washed up on shore, a beautiful crab that
looked like a 2 year old had taken finger paints of every color to it, and a
handful of fishermen in their small canoes casting their nets for the day.
That walk was not only a good
chance to pray and think, but was also a good reality check of how blessed we
are at The Farm to have vehicles that can make the trip to town in 20-30
minutes verses the hour and 15 minutes walk. We sent a couple people to check
in on our pair camped out at the hospital. Our little girl was doing just fine
and ready to go home, but since it was Sunday the doctor would not be to work
until 7:00 that night. Leaving without answers was not ideal since this was her
second dizzy spell in as many days. Eventually a doctor showed up, but I don’t
really know if that provided any answers. Since that incident she is doing much
better.
Monday we welcomed a missionary
group from FranciscanUniversity. Their group
consisted of 4 separate missions across the rural Trujillo area. With each group was a priest
and their main mission was not service but bringing the sacraments (Baptisms
and Mass) to those who have little access to them.
Their “coastal team” went out to
the neighborhoods (Guadalupe, Betulia and others) along the coast. If you look
at a map of Honduras (with the regions labeled) find Trujillo which is in the
department Colon (equivalent to a large county or small state) then look to the
East (the right) along the coast and that is where this group went. They
literally went to the end of the road. Betulia is on the edge of the department
“Gracias A Dios” which is the Honduran jungle. I’ve heard from other missionaries
that beyond Betulia the only way to get around is by boat.
I’m told the wilderness also makes
it a prime spot for drug trafficking. I’d spoken with a guy working with an
American military group in our area. He said their mission is to build infrastructure,
relationships, security and education all in hopes of driving drug traffickers
into a smaller area where they can then “flush them out”. However, I digress.
The Franciscan group also sent a
handful of missionaries up to the high mountain communities. I give them all a
lot of praise because other than what they had in their packs that group along
with the coastal team were dependent on the hospitality of those around them.
Another group visited communities lower in the mountains; a different one each
day before returning to the resort next door to us.
The last group was here at the
Finca. The four of them helped our maintenance men put a new coat of primer in
all the bedrooms for the kids and house parents. Each morning I’d meet them at
our gate and get them situated for the day by translating what they’d be doing.
After that though the missionaries and our maintenance crew were on their own
to try and communicate.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of
that week went by in the typical blur from 5:40 a.m. to after 9:00 each night
plus the added busyness the volunteers. Monday after getting them orientated I
headed off to school at 9:30 to collect, correct and write the new assignments
into the notebooks of my 16 1st graders and 11 2nd
graders. My English classes are then from 11:25-12:05 and 12:05-12:45 which is
not an ideal time for squirmy little kids. It’s the end of the school day and
usually the hottest time of day. Somehow we make it through, and the 40 minutes
is never actually enough time to do what’s needed.
After school every Monday is the
teachers meeting. This is typically a half hour of wasted time at least for me
so as soon as I can I try to sneak home.
Right from the meeting it’s back
home for lunch and then to survive I snuck in an hour and a half nap. Yeah, I
know most of you reading this would die to take a nap. I don’t claim that my
work is any more exhausting than yours, but I think we can all agree the rare
nap is needed to survive.
At 4:00 it was off to rally the
Franciscan volunteers and head over to House 1 to take the girls to arts and
crafts. We spent the first half hour with the girls who were “on green” (a.k.a.
behaving well) to the playground. Then we went back to the house to get the
last little girl who was on yellow since arts and crafts is a yellow level
activity.
The kids each picked a volunteer to
work with and decorated their new t-shirts. Each of the houses has matching
shirts by color for the monthly Finca Olympic competition. Each of the girls
put “Casa 1” and their name on the back of their lavender shirt plus whatever
other crazy design they wanted. Most of their designs just consisted of
splatter or finger painting with as many colors as they could.
That took us right up to dinner
time. The Franciscan students left for Campamento (the resort next door) and I
took the girls back home. At 7:00 that night we (the entire Finca) had a
Spanglish Mass said by one of the priests with the Franciscan group. After Mass
there was Holy Hour for the missionaries.
I didn’t stay though because as
soon as Mass ended I turned around to see one of our house moms with her 6 year
old daughter sick in her arms. The little girl is one of my 1st
graders and one of the sweetest well-rounded kids I’ve ever met. She had the
same symptoms as my special friend in House 1 had just a few days before. The
common thread seemed to be that both their houses had just been painted with
new primer. Whether that is the common thread we still don’t know. I was
equally worried for her since she also has asthma.
I told her mom that we should head
over to the clinic since Laura and Ashley were over their already with the
other little girl who unfortunately again had a dizzy spell during Mass. Thankfully,
she was doing relatively well compared to the other night. Her house mom took
her back home after they checked her out.
We got to the clinic but neither
Ashley nor Laura was there. I had them sit on a bench outside and I went in
search. I ran into Laura halfway back to the house on her way back to the
clinic. She’d been searching for Gatorade for our little girl in House 1. We
switched off. I got the Gatorade over to House 1 and she got a nebulizer
treatment going for the other little girl. By the time everyone was back home
and our little girls were sleeping I was very relieved to have taken that hour
and a half nap. After a 16+ hour day it would be a short night.
Tuesday… I wake to the
cockle-doodle-doo of a dozen or so roosters. There are just the earliest
glimpses of blue light coming in as I glance at my watch. 5:15 a.m. … I’ve got
two options I think to myself: Try to go back to sleep for 25 minutes or take
that shower that I opted out of yesterday. Somehow, I get myself over to the
shower. I turn the knob and despite dreading the cold water find myself saying
a quick prayer that enough water actually comes out to shower. It doesn’t take
long to wake up after being doused in 40 some degree mountain stream water.
Thinking back now to that Tuesday I
think things passed by relatively normal. Morning Prayer at 6:00. Breakfast at
6:30. Meet the Franciscan volunteers at 7:30. Head to school at 9:30 until
1:00. Each Tuesday and Thursday I run the library hour from 2:30-3:30 for the
school kids who need homework help. I’m not sure what happened between then and
dinner, but somehow it was 6:00 and I had not accomplished all I’d hoped too.
During dinner (every other Tuesday)
we have a community business meeting. The first Tuesday is with all the
missionaries and at least one mom, dad or aunt from each of the houses given
that there is still someone there to watch the kids. The house parents are
usually there till 6:45 and then head off to rosary at 7:00. Our portion of the
meeting usually lasts another hour or so. We then end the night with optional
Holy Hour and before you know it it’s after 9:00 and all you want to do is
sleep. Once again your lesson plans still aren’t done, your department’s budget
hasn’t been looked at but the deadline is still encroaching, your clothes will
be on the line for yet another day (hopefully it doesn’t rain over night), the
birthday party isn’t planned and you still haven’t confirmed what time the
airplane is flying in tomorrow.
That all really makes me think how
well rounded my resume is now. I am a teacher, a catechist, a party planner, a
housekeeper, a department head (granted I am my department), an event planner
and an emergency management specialist to list a few things.
Wednesday was much of the same, but
with more excitement in the afternoon. We found out our new Pope is from Latin America and we got to watch a small airplane land.
The details of Wednesday are in a separate blog (keep scrolling down to the
next entry) entitled, “The Pope and a plane”.
Now to the day which led to my
chance to start writing this blog. (Which by the way I started a week and a
half ago.) Thursday, March 14th 2013 is quite possibly a day for the
record books at The Finca. It started out pretty typical, but a little rainy.
No one thought much of it. The Franciscan volunteers still showed up to do their
last day of painting. I was looking forward to the last day of English classes
for the week.
By the time I headed off for school
at 9:30 it was rainy hard enough that even running from one building to the
next everything got pretty wet. After about a half hour I went into the office
to ask the school’s director (whose been here since the Farm started) who was
driving the teachers and some of the kids back to Trujillo after school. I didn’t find her, but
I did find Alison (missionary/kindergarten teacher). She told me Ysmary the
Finca’s director probably was. I was wondering because I know some of our kids
who walk to school have to cross a couple planchas (they’re like bridges but
the river goes over instead of under), and I wanted to know if they could be
driven across since the river was probably a bit stronger from the rain. I was
told that the school’s director usually monitors the river and if need be ends
school early. However, no one seemed to know where the school’s director was.
I was not quiet satisfied and
wanted to know if it’d be safe for my little first graders to walk home. I
asked our security guard if he knew if the river was rising. He said it was
fine so I trusted him and went on with preparing stuff for class. The rain kept
coming down. Sometimes in torrents other times just a steady shower. I made the
mad dash to the 2nd grade classroom without getting too soaked and
then onto 1st grade. The pounding rain on the tin roof made teaching
even more difficult plus the kids were even more antsy than normal since recess
had been cancelled.
The final bell rang and there was
no keeping me there longer than I had to be. I was soaked from the waist down,
tired of yelling in class and ready to be done with the week. I got back to the
house for lunch in record time and had just changed into warmer drier clothes
when Kevin Kuehl (missionary and school sub-director) came into the house
saying the teachers and all the kids who have to cross the rivers were still at
the school. The rivers had risen too high to be safely crossed by car let alone
on foot. The Finca was now a refugee camp!
First things first. They were all
going to need lunch. Alison headed straight for the stove and started a huge
batch of gallo pinto (rice and beans). I went around to a few houses to let
them know what was going on and that our “refugees” may be eating dinner with
them. I got to House 5 and the house mom there had already made an oatmeal
drink to send over as a snack. One of the House 5 boys and I carried over the
giant pot, bowls and cups.
On the way Kevin Kuehl said we
should probably start thinking of a plan for the night because likely no one
would be able to leave before dark. I got to the school and started a head
count. We had all 9 of our Honduran teachers and about 2 dozen kids. Everyone
seemed pretty content watching a movie.
Once I had a list of all the kids
and twice checked it was time to figure out how we could keep relatives
together for dinner. This was more complicated than I first thought. I quickly
found out that not only are there many sibling pairs in our school but many are
aunts or uncles to other students as well. Some of the teachers have kids in
the school as well. For the few who had no relatives I had to try to at least
keep them in a group with their teacher. Once we had the groups completed it
was time to head back into the still pouring rain and let the houses know how
many more people they’d have to cook for.
I finally stopped back into our
house only to find out the number of “refugees” was more than we thought. In
our living room/kitchen were the 4 Franciscan missionaries that’d been painting
(which by the way they had to stop since too much moisture was seeping in along
the walls) and 2 of their other teams. Among the new missionaries in our house
was one gal who’d picked up some sort intestinal trouble. We got her situated
in the spare bedroom with a couple thin mattresses, a blanket, sweatshirt and
plenty of Gatorade.
Another guy in their group was
seated with his foot propped up and it looked pretty swollen. It turns out that
when their group (the coastal team) was coming back they had to take a boat.
They’d all gotten out of the boat, but just as he was halfway out a large wave
crashed the boat over his foot. Ashley examined it and said it didn’t appear to
be broken. For awhile it seemed that all 10 or so of them would be stuck as
well since they too had to cross a river to get back to the resort. However,
the deacon in charge of their mission was able to help them all cross the river
along the beach.
There were also 11 patients (kids and adults)
still in the clinic waiting to see the bone and muscle specialist who was
visiting from the states for the week. Most of those patients live hours away
by bus and walking. So while all the students and teachers were eating with the
houses the patients all came over to our place for dinner.
As the sun set and the torrents of
rain continued we had to get places set up for everyone to sleep while keeping
in mind that many of these people (especially the patients) are complete
strangers and we were dealing with kids some as young as 2 years old.
Thankfully, we had a couple dozen extra “colchones” (thin mattresses) in
storage since each of the kids received a donation of real mattresses earlier
this year. We got the colchones delivered over to the library for the men and
boys and the middle school for the women and girls. Unfortunately even after
scrounging through our stash of extra sheets and blankets there was not enough.
People were lucky to receive either a fitted sheet, flat sheet or a blanket. It
wasn’t exactly a warm night either especially when you’re already wet.
To my relief most of the kids were
still reveling in the “slumber party” and not worried that they were separated
from their families. It was harder on the teachers though who realized this
storm could last for days. From our storehouse we were able to put together
emergency kits for everyone. They included toilet paper, a bar of soap, candles
and matches. Amazingly throughout all of this the power never went out. This is
almost unheard of since the power regularly and with no warning goes out.
As for the patients we put the four
older women in the guest house, the men in the house usually used by a
missionary family, and a grandpa and his three grandchildren in the office. The
visiting doctor moved from the guest house and spent the night with us.
It should be noted that all this
went down while the number of missionaries at the Finca was just seven. Usually
we are a community of 13 (plus 2 in Ceiba), but Harrison and Haydee were on
vacation back home in the U.S. and Nicaragua respectively, Emily and Sara were
in Belize visiting friends of Emily, Erin Marina was in Ceiba covering for
Sara, Laura was in Ceiba taking our little girl from House 1 to a specialist
and Erin Lucia was trapped in town (on the other side of the rivers) at a hotel
with her parents and grandparents who were visiting.
When everyone was nestled all snug
in their beds (well… not exactly) the 7 missionaries holding down the fort
finally sat down together and figure out how we’d deal with housing, feeding
and keeping track of around 4 dozen people all while keeping our own kids safe
for possibly the next 72 hours until the storm passed. We re-divided up cooking
duties, wrote down rules, made plans for how to keep the school kids separate
from our kids and keep everyone entertained indoors. Sometime around mid-night
my head finally hit the pillow.
My watch then beeped about 5 or 6
hours later telling me it was time to get up and start cooking breakfast for
the 7 of us plus the 11 patients. It wasn’t until I stepped into the courtyard
that I realized the sound of rain on the tin roof had stopped. I looked up and
the sky was clearing! This still was not a guarantee that anyone would be able
to cross the river. Figuring it could take a few hours for the rivers to go
down I started breakfast. Just as the large pot of arroz con leche (rice
pudding) finished we got word that it was safe to cross and everyone was
getting loaded into cars. So as to send the patients off with some breakfast;
and to make sure we weren’t left with enough rice pudding for a week, we quick
took the pot and plastic cups out to their car.
I sat at the table eating breakfast
with the other 6 thinking, “Did the last 24 hours really happen?” We all had
the same look of relief and need for a relaxing day. Despite the fact that we
had all the teachers at The Finca and all the kids could make it in for class
there was no reasonable way to hold classes. The sky was clearer, but off and
on all day came spits of rain, then brief torrents, steady showers and hopeful
breaks of sun. All that mattered though was that we had earned a very much
needed rain day if for no other reason than to sit here and write this blog.
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 FranciscanUniversity
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 FranciscanUniversity 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.
Thank you
to all my friends and family who have helped make my 25th Birthday a
very special one. It’s been a few months since I have taken a few days off from
“work” at the Farm. It’s hard to call what I do work because really it is just
life. That doesn't mean things are easy or necessarily difficult but instead
just life. That said though everyone needs a short escape from reality every
once in a while. What better time to do that than for my birthday.
After
planning, putting together and executing our Valentine’s Day (Dia del Amistad y
Amor) celebration it was time to focus on me. I know that sounds ridiculously
self centered, but I think everyone deserves to have at least their birthday be
all about them. Maybe that is why I enjoy making the parties here as great as
they can be.
Since arriving I've (with lots of
help from everyone at the Farm) been able to throw parties for 3 of our kids who've now turned 15 (2 boys and a girl). The 15th birthday is a
very big deal throughout Latin culture especially for the girls. I feel
incredibly blessed to have been able to work with Miriam to make her
celebration one of grace, beauty and fun just like she is. Thanks to one of our
house Moms (Suyapa) Miriam had an absolutely gorgeous dress that was mostly
sewn by hand until we found out the whole time one of our Sister’s had a sewing
machine. The time and dedication she put into making the dress really shows but
most of all it was done out of love. Miriam really looked like a princess.
Thanks
to Haydee (one of the other missionaries) Miriam along with the littlest girls
and boys (including her sister and brother) were able to pull off a beautifully
choreographed dance. Getting a group of 6-10 year old girls and boys to do
anything is a challenge, but Haydee did it! Take a look to the right at the
videos for a clip of the dance. As great as it is to have celebrated 15 years
of life with Wilmer, Cesar and Miriam I am relieved to know there are no more
to plan this year.
At the end of every month we also
have one big birthday party for all the kids and adults who celebrated that
month. January’s party taught me that it doesn’t have to be fancy just
entertaining. We had a limbo competition that had everyone cheering. This month
I’m thinking it will be a circus theme. Our kids love dressing up as clowns and
their ability to act like clowns is basically innate.
As for the other half of my “job”
here we are now into the first bit of the school year. School started February
4th. I have got my hands full with 16 first graders and as of this
coming Monday I’ll have 10 second graders. Thankfully, I am teaching English
which is probably the only subject I am somewhat capable of teaching. So far I
don’t feel as if I am teaching the first graders anything. The first 2 weeks
have instead been teaching me everything.
I am learning that I need to be in 16
places at once. I am learning that if I let one child use the bathroom 15 more
suddenly need to go. I am learning that sharpening a pencil is not a simple or
quiet task. Because we don’t have a single large pencil sharpener that is for
example attached to the wall or the desk the kids instead use the individual
pencil sharpeners that were donated. This is a blessing and curse. A blessing
because yes we need pencil sharpeners, but a curse as well because the kids
then have to get up out of their seats to throw away all the pencil shavings,
but getting out of their seats means raising their hand and asking for
permission. This is not a quiet task though either. It usually consists of 2 or
3 (at minimum) shouting “Profa, profa, profa” (teacher, teacher, teacher) until
I turn around from helping another student. I am
determined to get around this.
Thanks to my mom I should have a large supply of pencils coming. I will be somehow marking these as “English Class Only” which will need to be returned before leaving. Using old coke bottles I’ve created containers for broken pencils and good pencils. This way each kid can simply swap out pencils when they break. The kids are teaching me patience, planning and organization. Hopefully, before the end of the year they’ll have learned some English from me.
As for what I’m up to this weekend. As some of you are aware this past Friday (15th) was my 25thbirthday. As a new member of the quarter century club I can look forward to cheaper car insurance and cheaper car rentals… Well, I guess that doesn’t really matter at this point in life. With that reality in mind it made me think, “hmmm… well, I guess it’s just another year.” The reality though is that I have had an awesome birthday weekend with some of the most amazing friends God could have blessed me with. This is one birthday that will go in the books.
I left the Farm Friday morning with my bags packed for a relaxing weekend at TranquilityBay (the resort just 10 minutes walk down the beach). By dinner time I had already watched 3 movies and gotten my “homework” done for 1st grade. (Don’t remind me… I know vacation is not for work, but I also realize that if I want to get anything done Monday there is a certain checklist to get done.) With that out of the way it was time for the party to start. Before dinner Laura and Kiddissa came over to stay the weekend.
After dinner the rest of the gang came down singing our “traditional” birthday songs and to complete it they had with a delicious homemade ice cream cake courtesy of Laura. We had a tiki bar and bonfire celebration on the beach before going swimming in the bay under the stars. As it was pointed out to me this is quite possibly the first birthday I’ve celebrated while the thermometer is above freezing.
Saturday morning I was able to check another thing off the bucket list. Well, technically snorkeling was not on my bucket list, but it seems like something that ought to have been. Which by the way, I have also made an actual bucket list now… that will get posted later. As I was saying, we went on a morning snorkeling expedition out in the bay. A boat took us out to the edge of the bay where a expansive coral reef creates the border between the bay and the Caribbean.
I strapped on my flippers, suction the goggle mask to my face and practiced breathing through the snorkel. Now not being able to breathe through my nose and feeling pretty well claustrophobic it was time to slip into the water. Holding onto the ladder for a minute as I calm my breathing I put my face into the water. For the next few seconds a brilliant world of colorful plants, coral and fish surrounded me. I wish I had invested in that underwater camera.
This moment of awe lasted just a few seconds though before water began filling my mask. It was then I realized against my hopes that I would not be able to wear my glasses and use my mask. After a couple more failed attempts I tossed my glasses back in the boat.
Now free from the constant flood of salt water in my mask I was able to venture further out. Just inches below I skimmed over the tops of plants the same height as myself. The view from above to below the water is like upgrading from a static filled black and white TV to the I-Max theatre in high definition. That is even in despite of not wearing my glasses. It a beautiful sensation to actually see first hand the view only seen captured on video.
Laura, Kiddissa a few tourists and I spent about a half hour at the reef before heading to the other side of the bay. Our next stop was in the shallows where just three or feet down in the crystal clear water the boat skimmed over huge brightly colored star fish. About every 10 feet there were 2 or 3 starfish each the size of my foot. From above against the brilliantly white seafloor the reds, yellows, oranges and even green starfish looked like a child’s splatter painting. From under the water not even National Geographic can do it justice.
Just a few yards away we were brought to a “shipwreck”. I put it in quotes because it’s really just a small sunken fishing boat that went under during Hurricane Mitch in 1998. While it doesn’t exactly have the same imagery as perhaps the Titanic it is still pretty sweet to see how nature has taken over the boat turning it into a reef and home to a school of palm-sized blue and yellow stripped metallic fish. It is almost as if you are flying over an underwater city. I can really understand why there is so little of the Earth’s oceans that we know.
So now that I’ve had a mustard seed sized glimpse of the world under water I think the next goal is to see it from above. Here’s to 25 great years! Let’s see where God brings me for number 26!
In the coming Lenten season please keep all of us here at the Farm in your prayers, but especially our kids. We've just started the new school year. Pray for the success of each of our students and their spiritual, physical, mental and emotional growth. Thank you all for your continued support. Below is a link to a beautiful video that truly puts a face to each of the children who need your prayers. Not included is our newest addition Yadira who is just over 2 years old, but please keep her in your prayers as well. Check out the video and share it with all your friends.
Santa's Workshop
Cesar dancing with his sister Jenny at his Quinceanera
Amanda showing of her black belt skills during the missionary talent/no talent show in October ('12)
Diedre enjoying the going away dance in December.
One of my favorite pictures. Jose Manuel teaching Luz to ride bike during a rain storm.
The Notre Dame victory lift after they won the national championship.
Missionary community night: watching Olympic gymnastics.
Cati sporting sweet shades at a dance.
Some of the teens performing a dance.
Sisters Luz and Dorfa during our beach outing in December.
Luz enjoying the sand and the sun.
The House 1 girls anxiously waiting ice cream at Christmas brought my a group of American military men who visited.
Santa shows up with gifts.
Darwin making fish faces at his new gift.
Cati happily searching through her new backpack.
Santa and Sor Cristiam.
Giving a big thanks to donors at Christmas.
Dancin' Gangam Style
Kevin Mader's birthday. Cake designed by Laura Shaw.
View from the near by resort.
The resort's monkey "Chimey"
Their other monkey "Cheetah"
Decorating the house for Christmas.
New Year's Eve Mass
Behind the scenes preparations for the living nativity. This is really how angels get their wings.
The North Star
Joseph and Mary
The 3 wise "men"
Santa's elf a.k.a. Kiddissa
Shepards Emily and Kevin
Sister and Brother Nahomi and Duncan
Kevin and Emily showing off their swing dance skills.
The view at dusk
Mid-day on the beach
An intense game of cards during a relaxing retreat weekend in the mountains near La Ceiba.
Alison and Laura
Alison and Laura preparing to jump in.
Laura taking the dive 
The younger kids pose in the nativity costumes.
Luz in her angel costume
That's better
The kids with all the shoes donated by a visiting church group.
House 2 girls leading music for Miriam's Quinceanera.
Miriam with her little brother Jose Pastor, little sister Seidy and her "cabellero" Jose Isabel.
Miriam receiving a ring from her father.
The traditional Waltz
Riccy with little Yadira
The bright smiles of sisters Kimberly and Brittany
Belkis is all smiles at the clown birthday party in February.
Yadira enjoying all the balls at the birthday party.
Erin Lucia using her painting skills.
Nahomi sporting some new tattoos.
Yadira is anxious to enter the bounce house.
Erin Marina testing out the new lion head installed by Harry.
"Judges" Erin Marina and Haydee consulting during February Finca Olympics.
Annoucning the Olympics winners.
Laura and the house 1 girls taking part in the water balloon toss.
Laura and House 1 at the "futbol" kick
Jose Manuel takes his turn.
Laura helping Yadira with the football throw.
David with Luz and Joel
Harrison with the House 5 boys
School is underway. Morning assembly kicks of the day with the school song, the national anthem and prayer.
1st grader Yensi lives next door to the farm. Her dad is a security guard here.
6th grade
Rony and Brayan hard at work.
My 2nd graders studying hard.
Rony showing of his kite flying skills.
Angel with House 3's pet squirrel "Lolo"
Brittany sporting flounder costume during TEMA (catechism class)
Brayan sporting a white tiger costume for TEMA. This was a dream come true for a little boy who is always pretending to be a tiger.
Disaster training at school... who new a week later we'd become a refugee camp.
All the teachers
A beautiful sunset looking toward The Farm.
Margine (one of our 2 psycologists/missionaries) from Nicaragua celebrating her birthday.
House 1 my "special friends" playing hopscotch.
Stations of the cross around The Farm.
House 3 wrestling with Kevin Mader.
Margine enjoying breakfast before our bi-annual cleaning day.
The radio room before cleaning day.
The kitchen before cleaning day.
Kevin cleaning the courtyard roof.
The radio room after cleaning day.
Celebrating St. Patrick's day with green pancakes, green eggs and sausage.
The many faces of Yadira :)
House 4 and 5 playing basketball with the FOCUS missionaries and Kevin.
Girls from Houses 2 and 6 as we wait for the plane to arrive.
House 4 and 5 boys, me and 2 Franciscan missionaries.
Getting a "tour" of the plane with Pilot Larry
FOCUS missionaries painting the kids' bedrooms. One of the walls in our living room is now this color. It's so pretty!
Heading to a "posa" (swimming hole in a river) with Houses 1 & 2 and FOCUS.
The walk back from the posa. You'd think these kids had never seen cows.
Dorfa keeping tabs on her sister and friend.
During our last talent show I shared the "talent" of making dirt cups.
My class the "newbies" finally got the band together.
Alison showing off her gymnastics skills.
Sara seranades everyone.
Harry and Erin Lucia share a bit of music.
Harry shares his rapping "talent".
