Greetings from Honduras! It is sunny and hot here in Las Mangas. Before I start preparing for the transition home (in a little over a week WHATđ«), here’s an update on whatâs been going on since Anna and Maddie left! We miss them a lot, but have loved keeping up with some Saturday night FaceTime dates.đ
With the start of the school year, my schedule changed just a bit! Mondays are now my study days with a meeting in the afternoon to discuss all things schedule and how weâre doing.
Tuesdayâs are still town days, but now when we get back from town I go on home visits with Larry and Anna! Some of my favorite memories here have been on home visits. I love meeting people in the community and listening to the conversations Larry has with them. When I can catch on to what theyâre talking about I contribute with the little Spanish I know. Iâm getting better at understanding what people are saying, but the speaking part is still a weak spot.đ This past Tuesday, Larry, Anna, Eliya and I visited friends of Larry and Allisonâs right down the road that theyâve known for years and I listened to them share stories from past trips that Americans have made here. One cultural difference here that has made for some funny stories is the difference between a compliment in the States and a compliment here in Honduras. Here itâs a compliment to tell a woman sheâs looking fat: âgordaâ. Obviously, you can see the problem here. So this couple shared a story of a Honduran man who âcomplimentedâ one of the American women who was here at the time. Not the best interaction that man had with an American! Last Sunday after church, a 70 year old man who Amy knows, “complimented” her as well (let me just say Amy is a very thin, tall, beautiful woman) so that definitely made for some good laughs.
On Wednesdays I get to clean with Deysi, who comes every week to help clean campus. These Hondurans are so kind about people who are still learning Spanish… especially Deysi! She didnât hesitate to ask me questions even though I didnât know a lot of Spanish and was patient with me as I answered. I’ve really appreciated doing even the simplest day to day tasks in community.
Wednesday nights are for teachings on the weekâs concept. The concept weâve been discussing has been on masculinity and femininity. Weâve been meditating on and studying Genesis 1, 2 and 3 to learn the nature of both. Larry has been studying this section of scripture for quite a few years now so he has a lot of insight to share. Holy cow, Genesis 1, 2, and 3 is packed full. From the creation story to the fall, there is so much that can be found about the problems we face or lies we believe about ourselves today. I am realizing how closely masculinity and femininity reflect the perfect relationship between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And how masculinity and femininity are represented in both the male and female, but the nature of both have been broken since the fall and it’s been a battle ever since to carry them out the way God intended. God is teaching me about myself through this process and reminding me that my identity is solely found in Him. He is teaching me the most essential thing in life to do: to receive from Him and respond to Him. How easy it is for me to desire to be my own independent being, make my own decisions, and initiate before hearing from God and praying that this is what God wants for me. How much harder it is to sit, receive, and respond to God first and foremost. To stay connected to the True Source, the Endless Source, and remain in Him. He is the vine, I am the branch.
Thursdays I now go with Amy to the school in El Naranjo in the morning and then straight to kidâs group at the church until the mid-afternoon! The school Amy teaches English at in El Naranjo on Mondays and Thursdays has three classes: first and second graders together, third and fourth graders, and the fifth and sixth graders. These kids start up school at 7am, have an hour or more for recess time and are let out of school around 12-1, sometimes earlier. There is not a whole lot of structured learning going on and there is also very few resources for teachers to use. It has hurt me quite a bit to see these kidsâ futures be toyed with. There doesnât seem to be any urgency with equipping these children with the tools and knowledge they need for success. I’m not really sure why there isn’t much urgency and I think it’s a combination of many things. Maybe this is what most of the education system in Honduras is like so this is what’s expected, but either way these kids deserve a better education than the one they are receiving. This experience really has struck a nerve with me as a future teacher and I am not really sure what God wants me to do with it yet.
Fridayâs are dedicated to agricultural work with Larry and CalĂn. I have grown to love planting in and of itself and would love to have a garden at home in the summers. I have also loved planting with CalĂn and learning more about him and his family. Some of our conversations have been about airplanes and what itâs like to ride in one, how CalĂn met his wife, what kinds of foods we like here and in the States, just about anything I am able to understand in Spanish and respond to!đ This past Friday, however, I got to spend the day making tĂłmales with CalĂnâs wife, Norma! Every Friday, Norma and CalĂn wake up at 2am to begin the tĂłmale making process in order to be finished by the afternoon so they can sell them to families in El Naranjo…TĂłmales are a lot of work. God bless Normaâs heart for her patience with me as I destroyed about half of the tĂłmales I tried to make. We shared a lot of good laughs! I also loved just sitting with her and talking about life. She would ask me a lot of questions about the States, as do a lot of Hondurans. It is common in Honduras to send a family member, most likely a father or son, to the States to find a job and send money to keep the rest of the family afloat. The government is so corrupt here that businesses canât pay or just wonât pay an acceptable wage at most jobs and farming as Iâve explained in other posts is so difficult. Poverty, as Iâve learned it, is a lack of options. These people just donât have any other options and are stuck. Itâs been hard for me to genuinely put myself in the shoes of some of these families Iâve met. To have to choose between saying goodbye to a father or mother, brother or sister, possibly for the rest of their life, or work 24/7 for money that hardly keeps food on the table is hard to comprehend. My mind has a hard time going there. Iâve had so many moments where Iâve just had to stop and ask God âwhat do you want me to do with this?â or âGod, help me to feel what you feel and think what you think about this because I donât know what to do. This stuff is all just too hard.â It has allowed me to grow in my walk with Jesus and depend on Him. More and more, I feel the freedom that comes with living in begging dependence on Him.
Along the same lines, I’ve been studying Psalm 23 in depth while I’ve been here and man oh man, this passage speaks FREEDOM. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” WHAT. I read a book on Psalm 23 that was written by a man who used to be a shepherd and the parallels that David made in this psalm between a shepherd and his sheep, and God and us humans, are beautiful and have reminded me of God’s deep care and constant pursuit of me and you.
Saturday mornings are for heating the milk we get from sweet William, a 13 year old boy who delivers milk from a dairy farm across the river, and making some of it into yogurt. We clean as usual, too! Saturday afternoons we still have kids group here on Campus and discipleship group in the evening. It has become a habit to play a game of fĂștbol with the same group of kids every Saturday after Larry or Amy gives the message at kids group. This is where it all goes down. These kids are fiesty and I love it. Going to miss them a lot!
On Sunday, I got to spend the day by myself at a beach in La Ceiba. It was nice to see the ocean, relax, and read. I turned into a lobster (I even put on sunscreen Mom!), but it was totally worth it.
There is a possibility I will be spending this Friday at Instituto El Rey, a non-profit Christian high school about thirty minutes down the road that has given many students more opportunity in life. This school was started up over ten years ago by a couple in America. Allison taught at this school when she first moved to Honduras. If I have the chance to spend the day there, I am excited to see what that school is like!
It is time for me to head home in just over a week and I already know the transition is going to be hard. It’s a bitter sweet feeling because I am excited to see friends and family, but there are so many people, places, and things I am going to miss about Honduras! While I am going to miss the big things that I’ve discussed in all of my blog posts, I’ve been trying to keep a list of the little things I’m going to miss too:
- When it rains on the tin roof of our bedroom at night
- Hot coffee with fresh hot milk (like straight from the cow) on Saturday mornings
- Sound of the river at night (my natural noisemaker)
- Washing my laundry by hand and the alone time it provides
- Conversations at the breakfast table on Sunday mornings over coffee and pancakes
- All the late night game nights with Anna, Maddie, Bayron, Amy and Mainor
- The breathtaking scenery the study looks out on
- The sweet hospitality of the Hondurans
- Cooking and eating family meals with Amy and the Smoak family
- Worship in Spanish at church on Sunday evenings
- Picking up our vegetables in the market every week from Mario/Mario teaching me how to say all the vegetable names correctly
- The sweet prayers of the Smoak kids before meals
- Homemade papaya milkshakes
- The list could go on!
This experience has been stretching in a lot of ways. I didnât know how badly my heart needed this two month trip to Honduras. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers over the past couple months! Iâve got the greatest support system ever!
Emma
Prayer requests: The teachers and students at the school in El Naranjo and in Las Mangas, CalĂn and his family, Amy and her discipleship group girls, my heart and mind as I prepare to transition home, and for Anna and Maddie as they continue to acclimate back at home!
Psalm 23 âThe Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His nameâs sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.â
Honduras 2020 