Feliz Año Nuevo...

Happy New Year!

Well, from my last update you probably read that on New Year's Eve we took Woody and Marla to the airport for their trip back to Kansas. Later that evening I was ready to go to Gloria's house. I took a taxi over there at about 9:00pm. From there, we all loaded up their truck and went to the Cathedral. On the way over, Gloria and Roberto were pointing out a lot of the old men. At the parque central, they had music, vendors, etc. going on. Plus, the clock was running! That was very cool to see. We didn't stay very long because Roberto and the kids needed to buy more fireworks. I was kind of glad for that because I had picked up Lissy to see the singers a little better. She fell asleep in my arms, and was starting to get a bit heavy.

We walked back to the truck and Lissy crawled up onto my lap and fell right back to sleep. Roberto drove behind the Cathedral to where all the fireworks stands were. When we stopped, I didn't get out of the truck so that I didn't disturb Lissy, but I still got to see plenty. There must have been 20 different fireworks stands, each one had pretty much the same thing for the same price. It was just a matter of seeing if one of your friends had a stand and you wanted to give them your business.

After buying fireworks, we stopped by to visit Roberto's mother. Sure, twist my arm with some torrejas. Yennsi was keeping a constant eye on the time. She wanted to make sure we were back at home well before midnight. The kids were outside, setting off some of the fireworks, but saving the good ones for later. As we drove home, we stopped at one house in particular, just to look in the living room window. The entire living room had been cleared of furniture and a nativity scene set up. But what's different about nativity scenes here is that in addition to the Holy Family, Wise Men and Angels, an entire village and more is set up. Many of the nativity scenes I saw this year included models of the Cathedral, various local streets, stores and vendors, etc. This one we were looking at was, by far, the most elaborate. It filled the entire living room an included murals on the walls and stars and lights on the ceiling. It was incredible.

Before getting back in the truck, we stopped next door and talked to a guy who was putting the finishing touches on his old man. He was stuffing strings and strings of firecrackers in the old man's pants, in his shirt, under his cap, in his shoes, anywhere he could put them.

Now, before you think that this was some type of elder abuse, let me explain. For New Year's, one of the traditions here is to end the year by blowing up a dummy old man, kind of like a scarecrow. It's a way to get rid of the old and bring in the new. I had been seeing lots of old men propped up on the roadside for the past few days as we were driving and I knew what they were since I had been told about them. Some years, they have themes for the old men. Hermes told me that a few years ago, the old man was Osama bin Laden. (Because of the timing of Hussein's death, I wondered if there would be a push to turn the old men into Hussein, but they didn't.)

We got back to Gloria's and the children, okay, the adults, too, started lighting some of the fireworks. We were all anxious for midnight! At midnight, it started. Fireworks! Firecrackers! And exploding men! We ran to the corner to watch the old man there go up with a bang. I turned around and ran back the other way. Someone else had already finished blowing up their dude and now they were burning the remants. It was a huge bonfire! The first old man soon met the same fate. And firecrackers and fireworks everywhere ~~ for at least a solid half hour. Huge, colorful fireworks were lighting up the sky from the direction of the Cathedral. The streets were filled with bright light, smoke, and the sounds of laughter. After a while, I walked with Hermes as we stopped at about a dozen houses to say, "Happy New Year." People were everywhere, walking as families, groups of girls, and groups of guys. Doors were open. The streets were full. I commented to Hermes that I thought in many respects it was one of the safest nights of the year, that anyone could be out walking and nothing would happen ~~ except maybe having to dodge some firecrackers!

Back at Hermes' house I talked with his mother for a few minutes. Then a few other friends arrived. This whole time, there was wave after wave of fireworks going off.

Gloria and Roberto brought me home about 1:30am. Things were quieting down a little, but I knew that fireworks would be going off pretty much all night long. When I got back, I checked on Kezia, the dog. She's a Honduran dog and wasn't scared one bit. Afterall firecrackers go off pretty much every night.

By about 6:30 the next morning, there was another pretty big burst of firecrackers. There was more than the normal amount of firecrackers going off pretty much all day. Yeah, that sounds about right.

¡Feliz año nuevo!

A Visit From Home...

Woody and Marla arrived on Christmas Day. Talk about an awesome present!! Since we don't have a ministry vehicle (it's quite broken), I hired Jairo and his taxi to pick up Woody and Marla. Jairo is a young man from the church and I thought it would be a great way to bless his business to hire him instead of just "any ol' taxi driver".

We left Enlaces at about 11:00am Christmas Day and made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. I was pretty amazed at some of the things Jairo and I were able to talk about on the hour-and-a-half drive to the airport. At the airport, I was like a little kid; I kept trying to look above and below the silly paint they have right at eye-level to see if I could catch a glimpse of Woody and Marla.

Ah, there they are! Once through Customs and beyond the paint-blocked glass partition, I waved them over to the exit. Hugs all around, of course!

I had already told Jairo that if they were hungry I'd like to stop for pupusas on the way home, and showed Jairo which place. He knew it well! Yes, we stopped for pupusas. The first thing that W&M did upon reaching the restaurant was to grab a carry-on bag and change into some lighter/cooler clothing. They both enjoyed the pupusas, as well! On the drive back to Comayagua, we stopped once or twice to take a few pictures.

The only hiccup in the journey back was a Christmas Day road block. Road blocks/stops are pretty common. Well, since Jairo was using his father's taxi (it's larger) instead of his and had photocopies of the necessary papers, the police decided that Jairo needed a ticket. So, instead of returning to pay the ticket later, Jairo was able to "pay the ticket now", directly to the police officer. (That probably sounds familiar to some of you from our Dec. '04 trip.) ~~ I hope that the police officer bought his wife or family something nice with the 100Lps ($5).

I had wanted to take W&M to El Torito for Christmas dinner, but when we got there, they were closed. So, we walked a bit further to Los Jarros. The food there is fine, but nothing spectacular for the price. I did introduce W&M to anafre, though.

Tuesday morning I got our rental car and we were off to downtown. We were even able to get a parking spot right on parque central. We went to la catedral (it was closed), then the museo arqueológico, then walked around the mercado. W&M were even able to get most of their souvenir shopping done that day.

Wednesday we had planned to head over to Taulabe, to go to the caves and see the mission where the Mustard Seed used to be involved. First, we were stopping in Siguatepeque to meet Luis and buy some of his awesome coffee and hopefully check out his coffee operation. We arrived in Siguat. and I called Luis and left a message that we were at Granja Delia. We ended up needing to go to a pharmacy nearby and that's where the day "got good". Woody went for a cup of coffee and Marla and I were in the pharmacy. There was a woman waiting for something and she turned to Marla and, in perfect English, asked her if she was cold. Well, that opened up an opportunity for conversation. Before long, she was telling us about her family, including her 23-year-old son who was diagnosed with MS when he was 19. So, we offered to pray for Norma and her son right there. She accepted and we prayed. Later, she introduced us to her husband and their driver, and Marla introduced Woody. Norma told us that it was too bad we didn't have time to come to her house to pray for Fernando in person. We told her that we had time. I called Luis and told him what was up and it was not a problem. We went to Norma's house, met Fernando, talked with him for a while, led him to salvation and then prayed for his healing. It was an incredible morning!

We met Luis and got our coffee, then went for lunch. After lunch we decided to ditch the caves, but still go to the mission house. Well, the mission has changed hands and there is now also a girls' orphanage on the grounds. As it turned out, there was a group from North Carolina there that week, and WE GOT TO GO INSIDE THE HOUSE!! I can't even begin to adequately explain what an awesome and overwhelming time that was for me. The picture of Andre and Yobanni is still hanging in the living room! Yobanni is still involved in the mission and I also found out about some of the other pastors I knew from all those years ago. I took a few pictures, and I'll share them with those of you who have been there when I return. Oh yeah, one of the guys on the team from NC was Brad Daugherty, who used to play basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He had brought his family on the trip because he wanted their Christmas to be about more than themselves. What a cool guy!

Wednesday night was church service back at Enlaces. I was able to introduce W&M to several of my friends. Hermes translated for them during the service. I could translate the songs for them, but I can't do the teaching because I still need to concentrate on the language so that I can try to understand it. Sometimes that's easier than other times.

Thursday we went to las cataratas de Pulhapanzak (Pulhapanzak Falls). I had invited Theresa, another gringa missionary here, and her friend Jessica, who was also visiting from the US, to join us. The falls were pretty incredible. When we first got there, we were treated to a double rainbow over the falls. Yes, lots of pictures were snapped by all of us. We took the stairs down the falls and I showed them the path that I had used 11 years earlier to get to the bottom. Marla said something like, "You went down that way?" I told her that we hung onto the vines and such as we made our way down. The stairs that are in place now are much easier!

After the falls, we had lunch at a restaurant overlooking Lago de Yojoa. Woody and I had the pescado entero (whole fish) and the others opted for fajitas. They were all surprised when their fajitas were served with fresh-cooked tortilla chips, but not soft tortillas.

Friday was a relaxing day. We visited Soto Cano Airbase for a while. Then, we went to the pool at the Hotel Santa Maria. I had never been there before, but may make it over there another time or two before I leave, especially since it's getting quite hot again. (Today was over 90 degrees.)

Saturday we went back to the mercado one last time. We decided to walk down and take a taxi back. The cathedral was open so we went in and looked around. Then we asked a guy about going up into the clock tower. He got keys and we were able to go up and see the insides of the oldest working clock in the western hemisphere. He told me that they don't let the clock run a lot so that it keeps working, but that it would be running the next night, New Year's Eve. We also went another floor up where the bells are. It was quite cool to look out and see the entire Comayagua Valley. On our way back toward the mercado, I ducked into a bakery to try to buy a tres leches cake. We had been trying to get a piece of tres leches all week long, and none of the restaurants we ate at had any. The bakery had them. While they were boxing up our cake, I saw Siomara, the teacher from the mountains, standing right next to me. We recognized each other at exactly the same time. It was a nice reunion!

That night was church. Hermes wasn't there, so Yennsi, Gloria's daughter translated for W&M during the service. Afterwards, I introduced W&M to more people. Then, we invited a couple of families back to the house for some cake. Well, Woody decided that it was okay, but soggy cake wasn't really his thing. Postre de tres leches is basically a sponge cake, soaked with a mixture of three milks: whole, evaporated and sweetened condensed.

After church and cake, we went to La Casita for dinner. Woody and Marla like that place as much as I do.

Sunday morning, Marla and I spent some time worshipping with the guitar. We had planned to do more, but it seemed that time was always getting away from us. Soon, it was time to meet Jairo for our trip back to the airport. We got to the airport all too quickly. Check-in went smoother and quicker than I've ever seen at that airport. Then W&M paid their departure tax and we all walked across the street for a somewhat traditional Pizza Hut lunch. After lunch, and back at the airport, I went as far as security with Woody and Marla before having to say our good-byes. Where did the week go? Was it really time for them to leave?

When I went back downstairs, I didn't see Jairo so I walked to where he had parked the car. He was there, talking to a friend of his who drives one of the military buses for Soto Cano. Again, Jairo and I talked pretty much the whole way home.

After I got home, I rested for a bit, made a little something to eat and then got ready to go to Gloria's house for New Year's Eve. I had invited myself over to their house, to celebrate with them.

Navidad en Honduras...

Celebrating Christmas in Honduras was definitely a different experience. First, the real celebration takes place on Christmas Eve, and much of it centers on visiting others and eating, and fireworks, of course.

Around 5 O'clockish, I took a taxi to Pastor Carlos' house. Nancy and Carlitos were pretty involved in their GameCube. Carlos and I spent a while talking. My Spanish has progressed to the point where I can actually have pretty decent conversations with people. Carlos and I were talking about the church here, and my church in Kansas. Soon it was time for dinner. Chela had prepared an awesome feast: beef, salad, rice and torreja for dessert. So, that was dinner #1 and my first taste of torreja.

Torreja is a special dessert made at Christmas. Here is the official definition, taken from the Dictionary of Honduran Colloquialisms, Idioms and Slang: "a piece or slice of sweet bread, with the crust removed, soaked in a batter of egg, fried, dipped in hot water to remove cooking oil, and served with a syrup made from unrefined sugar (panela) and cinnamon; there are two types of torrejas -- torrejas de pan de yema and torrejas de pinol." Here's my translation: torrejas de pan de yema is kind of like super sweet, sugar-soaked french toast. Torrejas de pinol is more like super sweet, sugar-soaked pancakes. I had both that night, and they're both great. Chela's was de pinol.

Shortly after dinner, we loaded up Carlos' truck and headed to Hector and Sandra's house. Carlos and Chela didn't stay, but their kids did. Hector, Danny and Leandra weren't home, so I talked with Sandra while she fed 8-month old Isaac. Hector and the other kids showed up. Hector got out his video camera for a whole. Sandra had prepared a wonderful roast pork. I sampled a little, but was full from dinner #1. After a while, we loaded up Hector's carrito with all 8 of us and headed to another family's, who were relatives of Hector and Carlos. While there we were served Coke and torrejas -- the french toast-type. We visited for a while longer and then made our way over to Gloria and Roberto's house.

Dinner #2 was served there: turkey, corn, rice, squash and salad. Shortly after dinner, Hermes served up the tamales. Oh, I was stuffed. I had already eaten two meals and two desserts, but these were tamales, made by Hermes' Mom (with a tiny bit of help from me). And I had been waiting since the day before to have one. So I did. And it was every bit as yummy as I thought it would be. Other people stopped by; more food was served. There was lots of laughter.

Finally, around 11:00pm I decided to head for home. I knew it was early, but I was pretty tired. Hermes and Pedro were going to walk me down to the corner so I could grab a taxi, but within about two steps of getting outside, a taxi passed right by, so I flagged it down. As I arrived at Enlaces, the guard even mentioned that I was getting home early.

I stayed up for a while longer. At midnight, the fireworks and firecrackers went off en masse -- for about 30 minutes straight. Then there was about a 15 minute reprieve before another huge round of firecrackers. I ended up going to bed around 1:30am and slept in until 7:00am. OK, I didn't really sleep much since I was so exicted about going to the airport to pick up Woody and Marla.

But that's a story for another day.