Our final week and a half in Honduras was the culmination of all that we had learned, with little God winks thrown in. Gwen finally had the meal planning and coordinating down, including not forgetting the food closet key for the cooks…it takes 21 days to create a habit and that is really true. You learn from your mistakes and failures until you find a way to cease failing. In this case it was to put the key in the bowl for the next days food when she came back from dinner.
The World Cup soccer event started while we were down in Honduras and the boys were very excited about all these games. We don’t speak Miskitu, but we can tell when the talk turned to soccer and the country names kept coming up in heated/excited debate. 🙂
Other challenges/excitement our third week was the escape of Francisco – an Amazon Green parrot (a female)…not just once but 3 or 4 times.
After the second or third time we talked to Mike and Lisa to let them know the enclosure was compromised and Francisco kept getting out. Lisa said to have the boys clean up an old cage that was downstairs and bring Francisco upstairs. It took one more escape before the boys got that taken care of and then we welcomed Francisco into the house. She was happy as a clam. We would leave the cage open and she would go in and out as she pleased during the day and then we would close it up at night. Well, as you can imagine, when the male, Tiki, found that his “girlfriend” was not coming back, he too, decided to escape. A day or two after Francisco came into the house, one of the watchies showed up with the second bird wrapped in a shirt. We were not sure both birds in the smaller cage would work so well, especially since the assumption was that Francisco was tired of Tiki’s attention, but God knew better. Parrots are social creatures and they like to be where the action is. In the house they both were kinder to each other and actually started grooming each other and not fighting. They could see the comings and goings of the house inhabitants and were not concerned with all the other critters. And after the initial morning when Francisco came inside, the cat, Wadoo, could care less about the birds. Same with the dogs. And life went on…
Initially we paid a local young mother, Carla, to wash our clothes. Not because we could not do it but to help provide her with work so she could have a small income. As time went on our funds depleted and we needed to wash our own clothes in order to have enough money left to pay for cab fare when we traveled back home. Lesson learned: We will pick up more Lempira on our way in next time. We did not think we would need much spending money since we were not doing any outside project work this trip and we ended up running out of local money (lempiras) and small bills of U.S. cash. To wash clothes in Honduras you end up using some sort of a washboard. At La Casa del Camino, the washboard is imbedded in a concrete washing area called a Pila. It uses trapped rain water for the wash and rinse water, and you clean the cloths by applying a special bar soap just for clothes and scrubbing them on the washboard. Discovered it is an excellent workout for your triceps (the back of your arms for those not into anatomy). It is no wonder the women of Miskitu are so strong!
Kurt washing clothes in the Pila.
The fans we brought from the states that the ladies here decorated we sealed before we came down. But we had a creativity day our second Saturday and between the boys, Gwen, and Kurt, we created 10 more fans.
We brought supplies to seal the fans to make them water resistant and hopefully help them last a bit longer in this humid climate. So mid-week Kurt and Gwen sat out front with the three neurotic little birds and applied Renaissance wax to all the fans.
Gwen had been working on relationship building with both cooks by learning from them, sharing bread pudding with them when she made it, and now she wanted to give a parting gift. She asked each one what her favorite color was and then created a work of art for each. Gwen had noticed that one of the cooks, Marcella, always wore black. When she asked Marcella what her favorite color was, she learned it was black…not a usual choice. When Gwen asked why, she learned that all of Marcella’s parents and grandparents had passed away and that is why she wears black. Gwen responded that she perceived Marcella’s heart was sad, and she agreed. Gwen made her a special black and white fan.
Since we had no truck and no way to get ourselves to church we decided to invest in the local help by paying the “taxi” driver who had picked us up from the airport to take us to church and then take us back home to La Casa. We wanted to hand out the fans personally. The boys rode bicycles to church and met us there (and one enterprising kid hung back and rode in the back of the “taxi” – a little pickup truck – both ways. 🙂 Points for taking advantage of a good situation! and not having to get all sweaty riding a bike.) The pastor invited us to share our gift at the end of the service. The ladies were happy to receive the gifts. There were big smiles as they came forward to pick one. Then the pastor asked if a gentleman in the front row who walked with a cane or crutch might take one to his wife that was not there that morning. And then the floodgates opened for any who had a mother, a sister, an auntie, or a grandma who was not there. Eventually all the fans were handed out to the women or members who had ladies in their life that would appreciate such a gift. Please pray for these ladies as they see the gift, that they would be encouraged that someone loves them and that they would be blessed by these small acts of kindness.
Our time with the boys for fun activities was rather limited since they had set study time after school and after dinner was the daily futbol game between the boys of La Casa del Camino. They would play soccer until it was so dark you could not see.
But our last weekend, Gwen told the boys she wanted to have at least one time on the weekend where we could teach them a new card game and everyone would come and play. They negotiated futbol time, devotion time early, and then time to play games! We agreed. Nine of the 10 boys joined in and we had a great time teaching them the new game (a few had joined a few times earlier in the preceding weeks so we had a few helpers). It was alot of fun! Next time we go we are taking two decks of Uno cards to introduce them to Killer Uno.
As the days were drawing near for our departure (Monday?), one of the boys asked if Gwen would make the Budin de Pan (bread pudding) again. Gwen did not promise anything since there was alot to do to get ready to go. But after thinking about it, she realized, if they made pancakes for breakfast she could use the bread made for the next morning to make the bread pudding for the last day and have it for a special dessert the night before Kurt and Gwen left. So once again, she asked one of the cooks to shred more coconut and set to work that evening (when she was supposed to do the final pack out), prepping the ingredients for the next day. The older boys were fine with pancakes the next morning, the pack out was completed, and the meal plan prep for the next five days was started. That evening Gwen negotiated with the boys again to have an accelerated evening so there would be time for playing games and a surprise. The boys agreed. We had bread pudding with mango sauce, decorated homemade wrapping paper for Mike (to cover the gift we brought him for his Birthday in August) and then we played more Swoop until it was time for the boys to settle down for the evening on a school night. It was a bit rushed to cram all that into an hour but we did it and had a good time! The boys wrote nice notes to Mike in Spanish and the artists made sure to add decorations all around the paper!
Probably the most profound event of the entire time there occurred on the morning of our departure. Gwen had woken up in the middle of the night and been praying for an opportunity to talk to Yoger, one of the older boys whose attitude had drastically changed from last year. He was one of the boys who tested the boundaries alot. He had gone from being a smiling and servant-hearted boy to a watchful and unhappy young man. Gwen asked God for an opportunity to talk with him before they left. In the mornings on a school day there are only three older boys to be fed and sent off for the day. They spend the mornings working on their homework. Our last day, Yoger needed internet access to answer a school problem. Kurt let him use his phone. Yoger diligently worked on his homework. When he was done, Kurt asked if he wanted to decorate the wrapping paper for Mike (he has missed out on that the night before taking the dog out for his nightly pit stop.) Yoger said yes and proceeded to write a nice note on the wrapping paper. When he was done, Gwen asked him how he was doing. (He is the one with the best English so we could talk freely.) She shared what she had observed from last year to this year and asked if he was alright. He answered honestly and said no. Then he proceeded to tell her what was bothering him. They had a good discussion and when it was done Gwen asked if she could pray for him. He said yes, and she prayed and then he prayed in Miskitu (he was honestly talking to God!). When they were done his countenance was lighter and brighter and he smiled a big smile. It does not matter what language we speak…when we try to deal with things on our own, it weighs us down. When we give it to our heavenly Father, a huge burden is lifted. As he headed out to school, we asked if we could give him a hug and he said yes. We sent him off to school with a big smile on his face. Gwen had told him that we care about him and we have been praying for him when they talked. It was encouraging to see the return of the boy we met last year. Please keep Yoger in your prayers. He had a number of significant concerns, but none that God cannot handle. Pray he keeps his focus on God and not trying to do it all himself. Who knows… maybe that was one of the main reasons we needed to be there in that space in time – to give Yoger a safe place to talk and encourage him to ask for help from the one who actually can help him!
So here is the crew we cared for, for almost a month…
Starting in the back left: Rudy, Arnoldo, Soriano; Middle: Moises, Messi, Kilmer, Fausto; Front: Daniel, Yoger, Eldrin (and Boaz the dog)
Thoughts on the boys:
Rudy: Liked Rudy last year. The only one who is not Miskitu. Last year he did not speak Miskitu or English and was sort of the odd man out. This year he has learned quite a bit of English and Miskitu. He was now part of the dinner debates and the bantering back and forth. He is a diligent student. When asked what his favorite subject in school was, he could not name anything but what he really said he liked was studying the Bible. He really likes when Pastor Ludy comes over each week to study with them. Rudy is kind, helpful, hardworking on his homework. He was a good helper in acting as a go between when our Spanish was not good enough to get a message across. And he is resourceful and asked for help with internet access to get his studies done. Kurt would set up a hotspot on his phone and Rudy would go use the computer to study. And Rudy was one of two who was good at cutting hair.
Arnoldo: Dormilon! (Means “sleepyhead”) Nice young man but never saw him working on his schoolwork. Late to breakfast often. Likes to play the guitar and has improved quite a bit since last year. He was going to go to church early one day to play on the worship team but did not get up in time, so another day. Borrowed the phone he shares with his brother to watch the World Cup games, which ended up being a distraction. But his easy-going nature meant having to surrender the phone to get work done was no big deal. Arnoldo was the other designated hair stylist. (All the boys have to meet strict grooming standards for their school, so the boys help each other out by making sure their locks are at the prescribed short length to avoid demerits.) He graduates this year.
Soriano: Different from last year. He has grown up alot. The helpful puppy quality has worn off. He is a bottomless pit when it comes to food. We were almost always given way too much food as the “heads of the household.” Invariably we gave extras to the boys. Soriano was one who frequently asked for the extras. He was harder to gauge this year. He was always interested in what the older boys were doing and more easily led astray. Overall, still a good kid. Still needs more effort on study.
Moises: He was harder to read – holding his cards closer to his chest, so to speak. He would smile but he would hang back. He is one of the new boys this year, so he is probably still figuring out how life at La Casa works after only 4 months and then strangers show up to fill in for Mike and Lisa. He is interested in what the older boys are doing. He is struggling with schoolwork, but he likes to draw and paint.
Messi: He is even newer. He just joined the household a month ago and he is still settling in. He is very serious right now. Doesn’t smile much. He is also very interested in drawing and art. He likes playing games. Not sure about his study habits, he, and a number of the younger boys are struggling in school, and the lack of internet was affecting them quite a bit. However, I suspect whenever we go again next year we will meet a completely different kid after he has acclimated to this new way of living. (Some of the boys don’t have siblings and come from broken homes. Messi was living with his grandmother and going to school. Then his grandmother died, so he has come into La Casa after facing recent loss.)
Kilmer: Nicknamed – “Fish.” He grew up on the river, so he likes to swim but living on a polluted lagune is not his favorite place to swim. He was new last year and the “eager to help” has worn off. More distracted by what the older boys are doing. He may be growing as well. He ate a considerable amount and wanted to sleep during study time a few times. He was resourceful toward the end of our time there. His teacher had sent the class home with a question he could not find an answer for in the study books at home. He asked for help. He was patient while Gwen clarified the teacher’s question, educated herself on what the book covered (all in Spanish), determined there was no answer, borrowed Kurt’s phone to search in English, asked AI to translate the findings to Spanish, and then let Kilmer read the material. Once he read all the findings, then he decided which out of the many answers to use to respond to the instructor and Gwen left him with the phone to search for material to write his response. It was nice to be able to help them find solutions to some pretty tough homework questions.
Fausto: Another new boy this year. Really liked Fausto. Sweet spirit. Not sure how many of these new boys already know Jesus, but Fausto likes to pray. He is also another budding artist. Gentle spirit. Nice young man. Respectful. Helpful.
Daniel: Another new boy this year. Found out he is an only child and his mom lives in San Pedro (clear across the country). Makes us curious how he ended up in La Moskitia. Daniel had a stye when we got there so he and Gwen had a connection because she helped him remember to do warm compresses 2-3 times a day to help speed up the healing process and one of the first times she sat with him and learned about him while he held the compress on his eye for 15 minutes. Found out he is also very interested in art and creative things. He would come home from school and find Gwen doing creative stuff and look at her with big puppy dog eyes and she would have to insist he go study even though she really wanted to let him be creative. (He, Fausto, Messi, and Moises were all struggling on their quizzes and Gwen or Kurt had to sign off on each bad score. Gwen asked them on the second bad score to sit down with her and find the correct answers in their notebooks before she would sign off.) We both really liked Daniel. Kind, gentle spirit, willing to do what you ask, helpful, and a competitive card player!
Yoger: He was watchful and had no light in his eyes when we got there. He was different from last year. This year he was a director but not a servant. Occasional glimpses of a smile. Worked hard on his studies. Gwen talked with him early on and found out that he still wants to be an architect but he had a part-time job over the school break working in a motorcycle repair shop and he found that he liked fixing things. He sees this as a way to earn money for college. He is a smart, attractive young man and he needs prayer coverage that he can stay focused and not get distracted by girls until he completes his education. He graduates this year and wants to continue his education at college.
Eldrin: We liked him last year and we like him even more now. He is the quiet, steady one of the group. He is the one I trusted to run errands to the store. He is diligent in his studies. He was hard working when he was doing the weekend chores – cutting grass. Helpful, kind, creative. He does not speak much English but he understands quite a bit. He would help us with our baby Spanish and verify if what Google translated was accurate. We like who he is becoming. He also graduates this year and wants to go to college.
Boaz: The actual puppy. Active and energetic. Bit of an instigator. Gentle when playing with Buggs, the little dog (who really likes to play). He had a growing streak also while we were there – apparently when Belgian Malinois grow, it can cause growing pains just like in kids and they get lethargic and have trouble using their back legs. He had us worried until Kurt did his sleuthing thing and found out this is part of the growing process. About 3-4 days later he was back to his normal impy independent self. We tried to teach him a few things but he was rather stubborn. Needed more time and a leash, I think. He is a good dog.
Overall impressions: A great group of boys. Totally into futbol (soccer) and food. They like to laugh and have fun. For the most part they are good kids and we would definitely be willing to stand in for Mike and Lisa again in the future.