Two Months, Two Funerals...

I’ve been here for two months and I’ve already been to two funerals. The first was last month, for Ena’s mother. Then, this week I went to another funeral.

We were at prayer meeting on Wednesday night. I was having a wonderful time during the praise and worship. Soon, I found myself crying. I was just weeping over this nation. I didn’t think I could love these people any more, but God just absolutely broke my heart (again) for these people. Then Pastor Carlos started teaching. I was able to catch about 50% of it. (Sometimes I understand more, sometimes less.) At the end of the service he started talking about something else. I couldn’t follow what he was talking about, but whatever it was, was happening that night. So I asked Hermes.

Hermes told me that a couple in the church had a 7-month old baby which had died that morning and the funeral was “tonight”. I found out the baby had hydrocephalus, and had been sick and in the hospital in Tegucigalpa. He died that morning and they brought his body back to Comayagua. Those who wanted to, were going to go to the house then and Pastor Carlos would do the funeral service.

There were about 15 or 20 of us who were going to the funeral so we all got on the Enlaces bus. Rolin drove. We headed out into the neighborhoods that are behind the Esso. This was also the first time I’ve been back in that area. I know that the US military personnel are not allowed in the neighborhoods behind the Esso. Now I could see why. It was kind of like being on the ‘other side of the tracks’. I could immediately see that this whole area was much poorer than other parts of Comayagua. But it was a type of poverty that I’m familiar with here. I’ve seen it before and love the people.

When we got to the home and started walking up, Hermes told me, “that’s pretty typical,” when we saw a group of 4 or 5 men playing cards outside the home. Some of us went inside the home and just kind of waited. A while later, someone came around with a tray of Coca Cola. (You are always offered some kind of refreshment at a funeral.)

The baby’s coffin had been placed in the main room of the house, on a table draped with white cloth. Flowers were hanging on the wall behind it and from the canopy placed over the coffin. There were also some flowers placed in vases underneath the table that held the tiny, simple white coffin. I sat there and just prayed silently for the distraught parents. Although they were crying, it was a very quiet time.

Soon, Pastor Carlos began with a time of worship. We sang some songs and then he shared. I was able to understand almost all of what Carlos was talking about. He was sharing about when, in the Old Testament, David lost his son. I think I was able to understand more of it because I had recently studied that very thing in my morning quiet time.

After a while, we all got back on the bus and returned to Enlaces. As we filed out of the house, I went up and looked through the glass window on the coffin. I looked at the tiny child, who appeared almost as if he were sleeping. Yet, I knew that at that moment, he was no longer suffering, but living in the splendor of the King.

I Wonder...

I’ve spent the past few days waxing philosophical. It hardly seems possible that I’ve already been here in Honduras for almost two months and that I only have just a little over 3 ½ months left before I return to Kansas. So, I’ve found myself thinking, and in those thoughts, I wonder:

=> When I return to Kansas, will I be able to sleep without the sounds of roosters crowing at 1, 2 or 3am or dogs barking pretty much all night long?

=> Will I ever attend a birthday party that does not include a piñata?

=> Am I really starting to think in Spanish?

=> Have I assimilated enough of the culture that 25 Lempiras (about $1.25) really is too expensive for a piña?

=> Will I ever need to sleep with more than just a sheet here?

=> Are socks really that important?

=> What’s a “one way” street when I have a bicycle?

=> Why doesn’t the clock in the cathedral, the one called the “oldest working clock in the western hemisphere”, work anymore?

=> Why can’t I be here during Semana Santa and get to see las alfombras? (Go ahead, Google it.)

=> Who needs more than a pair of Keens and a pair of flip flops?

=> Could I live here?

=> Will I ever be able to clap on beats 2 & 4 again?

=> Why do birds suddenly appear…? (Sorry, couldn’t resist that one.)


Just some of my thoughts as I go about my day to day life.

Blessings!

Immigrations...

My visit to Immigrations last week did not go well. Originally when I came to Honduras, I planned to leave the country when my 90-day visa was up and go to Guatemala for three days. The laws here have changed and I can't visit any of the other C4 countries (Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, & Nicaragua) and have it count as actually leaving Honduras. So we started looking for other options. A friend from Siguatepeque (and also our coffee connection for the BEST coffee available) told us about going through IHNFA. Luis has helped several people get extensions of their visa through IHNFA. IHNFA is kind of like Social Services/Child Welfare.

As it happened, the woman from IHNFA was here at Enlaces a few days later, getting some supplies. We asked her about writing a letter for me and she said, "Yes." Within a week, I had my letter from IHNFA and also a letter from Enlaces asking for the extension of my visa. So last week we took Sandi, Eli & Elisa to the airport, then Hector and I went over to Immigrations. I was armed with my passport, both letters and cash -- to pay for the extension.

The line was not too long, and soon it was our turn. Hector told the woman what we needed, and without even looking at my letters, the woman told us that an extension of more than the normal 30-day extension was not possible. While Hector and I were talking about it, I saw another woman that, based on Luis' description, had to be Patti -- the one Luis thought we should talk to. So we got back in line, but in such a way that the first woman wasn't able to pay much attention to us. (It is very disrespectful to doubt the word of one official and then go ask another.) We talked to Patti. She at least looked at my letters before saying that things have changed and I can't get an extension. But she told us to go upstairs and talk to Eric. So we did that. Eric didn't really have any better news for us. He recommended that I apply for a one year residency. That costs $100, plus attorney's fees and usually doesn't arrive anywhere near on time, so then you are stuck with paying a fine for being on an illegal visa. But Eric told us to go back downstairs and talk to Patti again.

When we talked to Patti again, her best advice, very unofficially, was just for me not to do anything, and then when I left the country to pay the fine. She said the fine is L1149 (about $61). Talking to Scott and Cindy this week, they said the fine is more like L5000 ( about $265).

So that leaves me back to leaving the country for three days. My options are Mexico, Belize and Costa Rica (or the US, of course). I looked at Taca and can get a plane ticket to San Jose, CR for $440. It's only about $20 more for a ticket to Miami. I'm starting to check on bus tickets. It looks like I can go from Tegucigalpa to San Jose (with an overnight stay in Managua, Nicaragua) for $70RT. I've found what looks like a very nice hostel in San Jose. It's $10/night if I do the dorm room or $18 for a single. I'd opt for the single. And then I'll just have to find something for the night in Managua.

Some people have told me they don't think it's a good idea to travel all that way by bus. I've talked to Hermes and he doesn't think it's a problem at all, especially on Tica Bus. Plus, I need to make certain I will be able to travel freely through Nicaragua without any visa issues. There's always flying, but if I were going to fly, I'd just as soon go to Miami (but I know I can't get a hotel for $18/night). Oh, what to do, what to do?

This is definitely an opportunity for prayer.

Then, as if all of this weren't enough, the other night Scott mentioned that another teacher at his school got a letter from the government. It seems that Honduras is about to put some restrictions on people that are here teaching in bi-lingual schools. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! They may make it tougher on the very people that are here to help. But since I'm not here as a teacher, that doesn't effect me.

All of this is just part of everyday life here.

Canopy Ride

And this is me in my gear.

Zippin' Through the Trees...

We had already had an incredible morning visiting the Copán Ruins. Now our day was about to get even better. We were going horseback riding up a mountain. Then we were going to do a canopy zip ride down the mountain.

After lunch we arrived at our group of horses. Hmmm, these horses looked a little sorry. We could see some open sores and things like that, but Bismarck, our guide, told us the horses were fine. (As a side note, Bismarck had gone to college for two years in Coffeyville, KS. Hey, we were practically neighbors, even if he was originally from Nicaragua.)

We mounted our horses and began to head out. It soon became apparent that most of these horses really weren’t in good condition. Several of them would limp intermittently and none of them had shoes, except for one. And that one was losing its shoes. As we continued, I was talking to Bismarck and found out that they had only had these horses for three days and this was their third trip up the mountain that day. The horses were definitely not used to this kind of work, especially since most gringos are larger than most catrachos (Hondurans) – at least the catrachos that would be riding a horse.

We continued on, but soon the mountain turned up, straight up. We were on about an 18-19% grade and most of the horses were slipping terribly. Chris was behind me and she told me that my horse was sweating buckets. I couldn’t take it anymore so I dismounted. The poor horse. Sweat was literally pooling beneath him. So I walked him for a bit. Then we reached a house (one of only about two that we passed) where Bismarck knew the people. So he talked to them and left my horse there after I told him I wouldn’t ride him again. Soon two others dismounted for the same reason. Call us ‘softies’, but we just couldn’t put the horses through that. I ended up walking the last ½ to ¾ of a mile, although at that grade, it felt like much more.

Finally, we were at our destination. We started getting geared up for our ride down. There was a waistbelt harness that also went around each leg, with a steel pulley-type thing hanging from it. It was cinched pretty tightly. Then we donned a helmet and some heavily padded gloves. Basically, the gloves would serve as our brake.

For those who are wondering what a zip ride is, it’s where you zip down a steel cable, from tree to tree, secured only by your pulley. You hang on to your harness with one hand and use your strong hand on the cable. To slow down or stop, you lean back, letting your body weight pull down on the arm/hand that’s running on the steel cable and you slow or stop. Oh yeah, you’re doing this over and through the forest – sometimes as much as 100 feet above the tops of the trees.

Earlier in the day, when we learned about this, we thought it might be two or three zips and then we’d be done. Well, we had FOURTEEN runs to go down. The first one was our practice run. We were given very specific instructions. Everyone listened; there was no fooling around now since if we messed up, well…

I knew that several people were a bit scared or nervous at first. Me? Believe it or not, I couldn’t wait for my turn. The thought of doing this was awesome. I was a little surprised that a few of the military people were scared, but I didn’t say anything about that.

Finally, it was my turn. Bismarck put my pulley wheel on the steel cable, gave me last minute reminders and then let me push off. OHMYGOSH!!! This was fantastic! There was absolutely no fear at all. The first run was considered a short one; it was about 150 meters long. We were supposed to slow down/brake in the middle, and then continue to the end. When I reached the end, one of the girls told me that she could see I was in total control the whole way. It even felt that way to me.

It was our third run that was the best, the most exciting and also the longest. It was over 500 meters in length and was highest above the trees, completely out over the valley. Out there, about all you can hear is the wind is you zip down at about 60mph. It was absolutely incredible and convinced me that I need to try hang gliding, parasailing and maybe even parachute jumping. (Note to self: add those to life’s ‘to do’ list.)

We continued on, zigging and zagging through the trees, over the trees, over the valleys and down the mountain. On several of the runs, we had a clear view of the ruins. As our time progressed, I started to get just a little nervous that we were quickly running out of daylight. I knew that we definitely didn’t want to be doing this in the dark (although part of me thought that would be cool also). I don’t think Bismarck took into account how long it would take a group of 10 (plus three guides) to get down the mountain.

By about run 7 or 8, many of us were ready to be done. It’s not that it wasn’t exciting, but it was more that we were tired. It had been a long day, first walking through the ruins, then riding (and walking) the horses up the mountain. Plus, this was also a physically demanding activity. When we got to the 14th cable, I was sad that it was almost dark. We were going to zip through the trees and then break out over the river before finally landing on the other side of the river. This run was probably 300 meters. It would have been incredible in full daylight. Even still, it was pretty spectacular in the waning dusk.

Once everyone was on the correct side of the river, with their feet firmly planted on terra firma, we gathered up all the gear and it was stowed away. Then we all got in the back of a pickup truck for our trip back to town. I think the driver was trying to extend the fun because he seemed to take every opportunity to hit every pothole & bump and whip around each corner. Maybe he was trying to see how many gringos he could throw from the truck. I wonder if they get points for that here.

Back at the hotel, we paid Bismarck. The cost? Are you ready for this? I mean, in the United States, the zip ride itself would have cost at least $100-150 per person, and we would have had to sign mutliple releases of liability, and probably even updated our wills. Here? The total cost, including the horseback riding, which was for about an hour and a half, was only $30US per person. Nope, I’m not kidding? 30 bucks. Incredible. Heck, next time I say, "let’s skip the horseback riding and drive straight to the top of the mountain." And, I sure hope there is a next time…

This is Sgt. Bell, getting ready to push off for our first run. No, that's not a parachute on her back.