La Primera Lluvia

"The First Rain" = La Primera Lluvia

I am sure some of you like to hear the rain on the rooftops as you fall asleep, but I can assure you that if you had a tin roof like we do, you would not like it one bit!  Two nights ago it rained for the first time since we have been here. I don’t think it is the start of the “rainy season” quite yet but now we know what to expect….to not sleep a wink at night.  Seriously, the rain is SO LOUD on our tin roof.  To hear each other talk we almost have to yell.  We had to move Micah in our bed since he didn’t like the ROARING of the rain and thunder.  So not only was the loud rain keeping us awake but Micah rolling in our bed and crying didn’t help with either.  I am not sure what I am going to do when the rain starts to come nightly….  We may have to invest in a new roof, made of different material. :) haha.

Even though the rain took away my night’s sleep, it did come at a blessed time as the forest fires were picking up again.  Our water supply was actually cut off for a day due to the heat of the fire melting the tubes that carry our water from the river to our property.  But the workers replaced the tube and the rain put the fires out, so we have running water again.

On a completely different note, 10 eggs hatched this past week and now we have 9 little chicks…one died last night. L This morning we put them in an outside pen for the first time and they love the outdoors.  Currently there is one large chicken coup that holds about 35 full grown chickens from whom we get our eggs from.  The goal is for us to have enough chickens to lay eggs and also enough new chicks each year so that we can eat some of the chickens too….I know, it sounds morbid when you say it out loud. But right now we don’t eat any meat since it is expensive and we have no way to store it here since we don’t have a refrigerator.  So if we could eat our own chickens then we could just eat them the day we kill them….  There are plans to build another large chicken coup, in a week or two, to house the new chicks and a few other chickens who are currently sitting on eggs.  *I have been surprised at how much thought and time I have had to put into the chickens here.  I didn’t think I would become a “chicken farmer” while being in Honduras and to be honest it isn’t my favorite thing to do but someone has to do it while the students are away. Once they return in a week, I assume they will kind of take over…but maybe not. I am prepared to do what I need to do.  Micah sure enjoys seeing the chickens everyday.

Other than taking care of chickens, a few other things have happened this past week. J Joseph went to the city and bought a motorcyle!  He left one morning at 6am and after spending a few hours at a bank trying to get some money transferred from our bank, he finally got what he needed and arrived back home at 2pm.  He went with two of the Honduran workers and once they made it back to Zambrano,  they told him the best way to learn is to ride home from there ;)  So he did and praise the Lord, he made it home in one piece.  He is getting the hang of it and actually rode back into Zambrano yesterday to get a few groceries for us. He really enjoys riding his “new toy”.

You might be curious about the garden that I have been planning.  What we have done so far is decided on the plot, which is actually just between our home and the kitchen; it is an area that gets the most sun and it is conveniently located by the kitchen and a water source.  But the one problem was that it use to be the spot where the construction workers kept their tools and did some of their cement mixing. So the top inch or two of soil is not very good at all. SO we have been spending time digging up the first, hard layer and removing it.  It has been intense labor but I know it will make a difference. We hope to bring in better soil in the next week or so and hopefully get ahold of some seeds to plant before the big rains come so that the seeds can germinate and take root so the rains don’t wash them away.  *Since we have been here I have been watering and tending to two small gardens that another volunteer had planted. It looks like some squash and beans are growing well.

There are still many more stories to tell, but I think this is long enough for today!

My First Experience with the Honduran Military

Just a few days ago when the fires were still semi-threatening, the Honduran military decided to pay us a visit. It couldn't have come at worse timing for me, as the students were gone, the other volunteers were gone, and the Honduran men who work here had just left for the day. That meant that only Hailey, Micah, and I were here. They pulled up in two huge trucks, carrying approximately 70-80 men in full uniform. Needless to say I was a bit nervous. I walked straight up to who I thought was in charge (I thought that because he was the one with the gun), and immediately said (in spanish), "I only speak a little bit of spanish, but if this visit is for something important, I can be back with a Honduran in about 5 minutes." He told me that my little bit of spanish should be sufficient and they were only here to check the fire out. They stayed for about 20 minutes. Some guys were looking around, some guys were telling jokes, and many of them were just staring at me. I was completely surrounded by the military and felt quite intimidated. Finally, they told me that they were going to come back the next day.

Overall, it was a pleasant first experience with the Honduran military, but I hope there won't be need for another visit. I wish I could have gotten a picture, but that may have been quite awkward.

Fire Pictures.

"If you can't say anything RIGHT, don't say anything at all" ???

(I wrote this post a few days ago and just got around to posting it.)

Being in a foreign country is intimidating. Not being able to speak the language is not an easy thing and takes a lot of time getting use to.  I came to Honduras knowing a little more than the basics but that doesn’t get me too far. I can start a conversation but then the conversation usually ends after the person I am talking to responds to me because I can barely understand what they answered back with J haha.  So naturally, it is easy to feel that attempting to talk with anyone really is a lost cause.  I found myself thinking the other day of a common phrase but changing it up a little bit, “ If you can’t say anything RIGHT, don’t any anything at all.”

I know what you are thinking,  that is not true!   And I know that, but to be honest I have found myself thinking that.  But recently, I was gratefully challenged to do otherwise by observing a new volunteer.

Nate arrived a few days ago and it became very clear that he knew pretty much no Spanish J  But the amazing thing is that that didn’t stop him from trying to communicate with the students. He probably says “uh..” 100 times during a 2 minute conversation J But because he shows interest and tries to do what he can to talk and to learn from the others, they give him their complete attention and I find Nate talking with these girls for hours on end!  

Seeing Nate’s humility and boldness and desire to communicate really challenges me. It challenges me to just start talking and just because everything won’t come out “right”, that is OK!  They will get the idea of what I am trying to say as I use hand motions and speak in broken Spanish.  That is the best way to learn; by sticking yourself out there.

So I hope in the next few days I learn from Nate’s example and just do what I can to communicate with the.  I bet I will learn much more that way than I would just reading out of a dictionary and trying to get everything written out before I speak it J

Getting over the intimidation factor is not easy, but it is possible and I am going to hold onto that!

******  Since I wrote this post a few days ago, before the students left for their vacation, I did what I said I would do and stepped out of my comfort zone and praise the Lord I survived :)  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I was met with grace and joined with laughter.  God is good.  I look forward to more moments and conversations like the ones I have experienced by being obedient and bold for Christ.

Forest Fires

Over the last few days we have had quite a few forest fires around us. I waited to post this information because from talking with the guys around here, they were nothing to worry about and I didn't want everyone to be nervous. Last night, however, they started making their way down the mountain directly across the river from us. My guess is that at their closest point they were about 1/2 mile away. The good news is that they are so common here that they only burn the brush on the ground. The trees don't have branches below 10 feet because they have all been burned off in previous forest fires. All the students were getting nervous, and all the guys were laughing at them for being nervous. In the end, it was no threat. It didn't even make it down the mountain to the river, and even if it would have, it would have stopped there. Today there are a few lingering fires, but nothing serious.

We'll try to post some pictures of the fires soon, but a point-and-shoot camera doesn't do them justice. It was pretty amazing to see!

"I Have Gray Hair"

Last night was the student's last night here for a couple weeks. They get a long vacation for Easter because it is one of the biggest holidays of the year. With so many Catholics, Semana Santo (Holy Week), is a HUGE deal here.

So we were sitting around last night chatting with the girls and making sure they were ready to leave today. I was going over a checklist of items that the needed to know prior to leaving. After our formal conversation was over, two of them stayed around to chat with Hailey and I for a few minutes.

Hailey started to yawn quite a bit, and turned to one of the girls and said...

"Estoy Canoso..."

Which means, I am Gray-Haired. She meant to say "Estoy Cansado," which means I am tired.

Just another funny story about we say many things incorrectly every day!

Pictures

Our Front Porch View

Delicious Bananas

The cooks daughter, Karen, is the best with Micah. She takes care of him almost every day for about

an hour so I can get some other work done!  Such a Blessing!

Our New "Best Friend" :)

There are MANY flies here!  Muchas Moscas!

Hailey helping a student with her English.

The Whole Gang

Micah testing out a motorbike ;)

Joseph teaching his class!

Micah with his "new" car from his friend, Jarod.

Micah having a fun time coloring.

Hailey helping with dinner.

Micah looking at a mother chicken and her two babies.

Two of the students working in the coffee farm.

A Day in The Life of Hailey and Micah

Since I haven’t written a blog post yet I figured many of you might be thinking, “What are Hailey and Micah doing? What are their thoughts and what are they experiencing?”  I am going to answer those questions the best I can J and let you know what a “Day in the life of Hailey and Micah” looks like.

But First, I want to just praise the Lord for what he has done in our minds and hearts this first week in Honduras.  Before coming here I thought it would take a few weeks to find a routine and even longer to feel at home.  But that is not the case!  Just yesterday I told one of the other volunteers that I feel like I have been here way longer than just a week…in a good way!  I find myself already in a good routine and full of peace and joy.  Yes, Micah is still adjusting but now that I think about it he is doing great considering we have only been here for a week and a half.  Joseph and I are full of thanksgiving and gratitude for the Lord and how he has given us the peace that He has in this new place.

I will try to keep this as short and sweet as I can, but history shows that I usually don’t do that! Haha.

Micah usually wakes up around 4 or 5am and we then bring him in bed with us and he sleeps for another 30min or hour…until 5:30am.  The last few days I have been getting up and running with some of the girls, which has been yet another great surprise.  Culturally, not many people “workout” but I have learned that some of these girls really enjoy working out and being healthy.  After that Joseph and I get ready and get Micah ready and head over to the kitchen for some delicious Honduran coffee.  Breakfast is at 6:30 and usually consists of beans, eggs, and tortillas.

After breakfast, Micah and I take a walk around the grounds/community of Art For Humanity so that he can get familiar to the place and become more comfortable and learn what things are and what not to touch J  My cousin, Summer, suggested this and it has been a great part of our morning routine.

Just recently I have been helping out feeding the chickens and Micah really enjoys that.  He looks at the chickens and says “Hi!”  It is very cute.

Micah goes down for his first nap around 8:30am and during his nap Joseph and I like to work with the girls and just spend time talking with them and helping them with English and improving our Spanish as well.  Yesterday, for example, I helped the girls collect large rocks that the builders use to make foundations for buildings. It was hard labor for a good 2 hours.  And today, I helped the girls tend to the coffee farm by raking brush and weeds away from each of the coffee plants. Again, hard work!  But I enjoy intense labor and just spending time with the girls. They worked today to earn some money and when they learned that I was not working for money they were so astonish! J  I also try to wash some clothes before Micah wakes up around 10am.  I really enjoy washing my clothes by hand, yes it is time consuming but I choose to embrace the quiet time and use that time to think and pray and practice my Spanish with myself J

When Micah wakes up I try to continue to get things done like hang out our clean laundry or do some yard or garden work and encourage him to play beside me.  What does he play with?  Well, usually if you give him a few sticks he has fun playing drums on a log or if you give him a cup he will keep pretty busy putting rocks in it and pouring it back out and doing that over and over again.  His new friend, Jarod, actually gave him a little car and sometimes he will play with that.  I will also encourage Micah to “help mommy” and he will pick up sticks and rocks and put them in the wheelbarrow or help me water the flowers I recently planted.  Just yesterday Micah started to color…really color and not just put the crayons in his mouth.  He really enjoys just taking the crayons out of the jar and putting them back in, but he will color some as well.  He is also learning his numbers, he already knows “one, two, three, and ten” J  I wrote the numbers 1-20 on a big piece of drawing paper and taped it to his wall in his room so we can practice.  I know you are probably thinking “1-20?”  Hey, you never know what a kid can learn! J

Lunch is at noon and usually consists of beans, rice, tortillas and sometimes a vegetable like coleslaw or potatoes.  Micah has really enjoyed all the food here, which has surprised Joseph and me.  Before coming here, those very foods were the ones that Micah wouldn’t even attempt to eat.  Another huge thing to praise the Lord about!  We do wish there were more fruits and veggies here, but we knew they would be limited before we came.  He usually eats 2-3 bananas a day and when there are veggies we try to hide the tortillas from him until he has had some veggies J  Or else he will just want the beans and tortillas.  He pounded the tomatoes yesterday, which was a good surprise.

Micah goes down for his second and last nap around 1:30pm and during that nap is when I take a shower and get some reading and journaling done.  Joseph has been teaching class during that time, so it is another great time for me to spend some quality time with the Lord.

The girls are done with their classes for the day at 3:30pm and that is when they usually take showers and do their laundry and get ready for the evening which consists of dinner at 5:30pm and what we call “Conversation Time” at 6:30pm, which is when we all get together and play a game and sing songs and encourage the girls to speak in English.  There is much laughter and it is a great time of fellowship.  I give Micah a bath around 6:30 and join the group after that and then we put Micah to bed at 7:30pm.  Joseph and I usually stay up for 30 mintues just talking with each other about our day and maybe get some reading done.   The students/girls usually stay up until 9-10pm.

So there ya go! That is a “Day in the Life of Hailey and Micah” J  I hope you enjoyed getting a picture of our daily routine here in Honduras.  We are really enjoying the tranquility and beauty of this new place and are looking forward to sharing it with those of you who are going to visit us.

I hope to write more posts, but Joseph seems to get to writing them before I do. But now that you have an idea of what I do during the day, I look forward to sharing more of what I THINK during the day J 

Blessings to you all!

**More pictures coming SOON!

Put In Charge

I was reading a book my uncle recommended to me last night about teaching overseas, and began the chapter on culture shock. According to the authors, there are four stages of culture shock that EVERY teacher abroad goes through. One of those stages is “The Honeymoon Period”. As expected, this is similar to the honeymoon period of a marriage. This is when everything is perfect and easy because everything is new. I have come to the conclusion that there was no honeymoon period in our transition to Honduras.

I was quickly thrust into much responsibility in Honduras, and the last few days have been very busy. We arrived on a Tuesday and I started teaching two days later. The following Monday, Glen (The Founder and President of Art For Humanity) left for the U.S. for approximately one month. Three days later, Hija (The Director of Leadership University) left for the U.S. for approximately one month. That meant that 10 days after I arrived I became “El Jefe”, or “The Boss.” Even though there is another teacher who has been here longer than I have, he is a short-term volunteer and leaves next week. So that leaves me in charge.

In addition to my responsibility of teaching a few hours a day, I now need to coordinate work for the students every day, monitor the amount of food that we have, make sure the students have the necessities (soap, razors, school supplies, etc), deal with any questions the students may have, and be the disciplinarian when necessary (Thankfully I haven’t been required to do that much yet). Who knew that so much would be required of me in such a short time? I suppose that God did, but it sure has been a surprise to me. It has also presented many challenges.

One challenge that I am trying hard to work on is trying to understand what my relationship with the students should look like. On one hand, I am not much older than most of them and interact with as if they were my close friends. We joke with each other, laugh together, relax together, and smile all the time. On the other hand, I am their teacher, and currently am the director of the university. That means I need to be responsible for their education and work. That means making sure they show up to class on time, work as much as is expected of them, and many other things. Nobody wants to tell their best friend to hurry up and get to class or they aren’t working hard enough. I wouldn’t go as far to say that the students are trying to take advantage of our friendship and my relaxed personality, but I can tell they are trying to tell what their limits are. Is showing up to class 5 minutes late acceptable? Is a bathroom trip, snack break, and casual conversation acceptable on their way to work? These are all things that they are trying to figure out…I am too!

So I suppose the purpose of this post is to share with you that even though I have had much responsibility in my life, it has never felt like it does now. Being “responsible” for the education and well-being of 12 Honduran young women (on top of my own family) has proven to be difficult work.

I hope you don’t read this post and think I am complaining, because I am not. Hailey and I are having a lot of fun, and even though we are busy, we thrive in this kind of environment. I am enjoying most of the things that I am doing and can already tell we are making a big impact in the lives of those we are involved with. Thank you to all who are praying and supporting us in other ways. We love you and miss you all so much!

No Comer Carne...

I learned a new Spanish phrase this week, and the story of how I learned it is pretty funny. The phrase is “No comer carne delante de los pobres.” Or in English, “don’t eat meat in front of the poor.” Here is the story.

I walked out of the classroom after preparing for my next class and gave Hailey a kiss. It wasn’t some long, romantic kiss, but more than a peck on the cheek. Little did I know, one of the students (Keyby) was laying on the hammock about 20 feet from me. Here is how the interaction went. Just as a reminder, I am still learning Spanish. So if you are a Spanish speaker, I am sure I made some mistakes!

Keyby: No comer carne delante de los pobres (Don’t eat meat in front of the poor)
Me: Ningunas personas comen carne aqui (Nobody eats meat here)
Keyby: (Just laughs and looks at me weird)
Me: (Recognizing I probably said something wrong) Repita por favor (Repeat it, please)
Keyby: No comer carne delante de los pobres
Me: (Thinking, thinking, now I am confused) No comprendo todo le dijo, pero me gusta carne (I don’t understand everything you said, but I like meat)
Keyby: Es una frasa (It’s a phrase!)
Me: Ohhhh, it’s a phrase? Expliqueme por favor (Explain it to me please)
Keyby: No…comer…carne…delante…de…los…pobres (very slowly). Yo no tengo un novio para besar y ustedes se besan EN FRENTE de mi. Estoy el pobre (I don’t have a boyfriend to kiss and you kissed each other in front of me. I am the poor.
Me: Yo comprendo (I understand)

I finally got it, don’t eat meat in front of the poor is like saying, “don’t take advantage of your situation in front of someone who doesn’t have the same luxuries or opportunities.” Of course Keyby had to tell all the other students, which became a huge joke in my next class. But it also created an opportunity for me to teach them some English phrases since we are learning English anyway. So the next class, I gave a few cookies to Sendi, who was the first student in class. Then I taught the class the phrase “Early bird gets the worm.”

Oh, the joys of learning a new language!

Pictures

Here are some pictures of:

Our room

Micah's room

Joseph and Micah working

Hailey watering a garden in the morning

Nearby river that we like to go to and relax and cool off MIcah

The happy family :)

Micah talking with his new friend

"Jarod", Micah's new friend

Our living room...we now how a small, plastic table with chairs.

Pictures

The images that I was trying to post to our blog took too long to upload, so you will have to wait until another time to see them.

Multiple Posts

I want to let everyone know that our blog posts may be done in bunches. Because electricity and internet are very limited here, we will often write several blog posts on a Word document over a period of time and then paste them into our blog all at once. This helps in conserving electricity. Such is the case today, where there are a couple other posts that follow this one.

Showers and Culture

I haven’t really formulated this idea in my mind yet, but it seems to me that there is a lot that can be said about a culture based on their showers. Not only what their showers may look like (a nice full-bath shower with different options for how the water comes out of the nozzle, a bucket bath where you heat up water and use a bucket to bathe, a shower that is cold in the morning because the water is stored in a large container outside but the water heats up during the day so afternoon showers are nice – the list goes on), but also what time of day people take showers, and how often they take showers. Here are a few generalizations that I have made. Yes, I recognize they are generalizations and do not apply to every situation, but in my mind they seem to make some sense.

1. Cultures that shower in the morning are often financially well off. Showering in the morning often means you have a job that you don’t expect to get sweaty during the day, which often means you earn more money.
2. Cultures that shower in the afternoon tend to have more blue-collar jobs. This is the way it is in Honduras. We shower every afternoon or evening because we know that we will get sweaty during the day. Also, afternoon showers may mean (as I mentioned above) that the water needs to heat up in the daytime sun.
3. Bucket baths are often symbolic of poor communities. I know this seems like an obvious statement.
4. In Honduras, many people also bathe in the river, yet another sign of a poor community. How many Americans go down to the nearby river for a bath in the afternoon?
5. Do cold showers feel nice? If they do, it is most likely a culture that works hard during the day and comes home hot and sweaty. Another frequent occurrence in Honduras and other poor cultures.

So while I recognize that all these generalizations do not apply to every situation, I think knowing how a culture showers can tell you a lot about that culture. This is something that I had never thought about until we moved to Honduras.

Update

We’ve been in Honduras for several days now and we feel like we are starting to settle in a little bit. We got a small table for our “living room”, a dresser for our bedroom, a piece of furniture with shelves that we use for shoes, medicine, bathroom stuff, and other miscellaneous items, a mirror for our bathroom, a hammock for the front of our house, and a few other items. Our house is beginning to feel a little bit more like a home – or as much of a home as an all-cement building with hardly anything in it could feel.

Here are a few miscellaneous things to mention:
• Hailey planted her first flowers outside our house – we’ll see if they will grow. We are hoping to start a vegetable garden in the next few weeks, but there is a lot of preparation that still needs to be done before we are ready.
• We did our laundry for the first time – it probably took 40 minutes and then we hung the clothes on a clothesline that we made behind our house. We decided that it would probably be better to clean a few items of clothing each day instead of waiting till our bin is full.
• We have been walking to a river almost every afternoon with Micah. He sure enjoys getting his feet wet and playing in his fancy swimsuit. It is also a nice place to get away as a family.
• We finally got our bedding yesterday – the first few nights we shared one pillow and used someone else’s blankets.
• I (Joseph) began teaching yesterday. The students are a lot of fun, but there has not been a ton of consistency or structure in the teaching, which makes things difficult. I am hoping to order some curriculum to start using in a couple months. Hopefully that will help.
• In Honduras, it seems that nothing goes as planned and everyone is OK with it. We are starting to become OK with it as well.
• Micah is having a harder time adapting to certain things than we are. He is doing great with his naps and nighttime sleeping (even with all the noise) and he really enjoys the food. He is having a more difficult time adapting to the environment during the day and always wants to be with us. He is not really letting anyone else hold him, which means that Hailey or I have to be constantly watching him. Hopefully as time goes on, he will adapt more.

Hailey has been taking some pictures using our point-and-shoot camera, so I am posting a few of them below. There is a picture of: Hailey watering a garden that a volunteer planted just before we got here, Micah’s new friend, Jared; our “retreat” by the river, the inside of our home, and a few others. Enjoy! ☺