Food, Dishes, etc.

Here I am in the kitchen, making the big meal of the day. We are having crepes (I know, not very Honduran).  The evening meal may just be something like scrambles eggs and beans on a tortilla, nachos or leftovers. 

This is the dish washing soap.  You dip the wet sponge in the hard cake and scrub your dishes, then rinse with water (cold in this case).  There is only hot water available in the shower.  It does take a little getting used to doing dishes in cold water, but everything gets sparkling clean and no one gets sick, so apparently it is fine.

 

Instead of jars or cans, a lot of grocery items come packed like this in a foil pouch.  They eat red beans here and they are very tasty, especially when they are cooked with the Honduran cheese below and eaten with tortilla chips.

It is kind of like mozzarella, but saltier.

Milk comes like this on the shelf.  It makes it handy to stock up, since you don't have to refrigerate it and the taste doesn't seem much different than what we use in the states.

 

We made it!

We got in around 12:30pm Honduras time on Sunday.  After we got through customs without any incidence, Guillermo was waiting on the other side ready to take us up the hill to 9km Hatillo. Anna and Guillermo David were waiting for us in the bedroom.  It was a joy to hold him and smell his sweet baby smell.  Also there to greet us were Guillermo's parents and sister, full of hugs, kisses and "mucho gustos".  So welcoming!

Luckily, we saw this video last time we came so we knew what to expect.  Toncontin is the 2nd most dangerous airport in the world.

Baby G

  Snapshot from Skype

We got the call before six, on Friday morning letting us know that they were off to the hospital to have a baby.  The funny thing is that when Dave woke up around four, he asked me what the date was today and I told him the 14th.  I asked why he needed to know that and he said, "Because if I have a grandson born today, I need to know what the date is, so I can remember it". Premonition?

The "Aunts to Be" and I went to work and waited impatiently for the phone to ring.  It did, but it was never Tegucigalpa.  Around 10 we got a text that said she was 6 or 7 cm dilated and everything was fine.  Finally when I was in the grocery store parking lot getting ready to go in and shop around 1:30, Anna called and said, "He came about an hour ago and everything went well". Since there was no internet at the hospital, there would be no pictures for awhile.  I confess it took me several tries to get into the store.  First I forgot my keys, then I forgot my list - I was in la la land.

That afternoon when I got home I couldn't stand it any longer and I got online and bought a calling card for Honduras and called Guillermo's cell phone.  Normally we use Skype, but that doesn't work when you don't have internet access. He answered and we talked for a minute when all of a sudden in the background, I hear a loud and long cry.  That's all it took, I broke down and blubbered.  I guess I didn't expect to hear him since I couldn't see him.  Talk about turning Nana into mush. 

Welcome

Guillermo David Jimenez

Born

January 14, 2011

at

1:50pm

52cm

(20 1/2in.)

7lbs 2oz.

Compassion Visit

 

           Eduin                                                                Evelyn

Lately, I have been spending a lot of time on the computer getting my visit to the Compassion project in Honduras lined up where we sponsor two children.  It means lots of emails going back and forth from Allenspark to Colorado Springs to Tegucigalpa and back again.  They have also changed the requirements from the last time we went, so everyone that comes on the visit will need background checks.  I have been gathering Driver's License information, Social Security numbers, etc. so they can check us out.  This will be my second visit. We went three years ago when the whole family went  to Honduras for the wedding.  That time we only had one little boy to visit.  His name is Eduin and we met his Mom and little brother, visited their home and took them to the mall for pizza.  This time we will see the new girl we sponsor in that same project, whose name is Evelyn, as well as Eduin.  

I am so excited to see them.  Every time I write Eduin he always asks if I have been back to Honduras.  I assure him that I wouldn't go all that way and not see him.  We purposely chose children in that country because we knew we would be visiting there regularly and could be an actual presence in their lives. 

I used to think it was better to send money instead of going on expensive mission trips, but then we spent a few hours at the Compassion project last trip and saw all the children eating lunch, met the teachers and learned we were only the second sponsors to ever visit in that community and it gave me another perspective.  All those children had sponsors who wrote to them and they wrote to regularly, but to actually see that real people were connected to those letters seemed to make a big impression. 

Encouragement and caring in any form is a great gift, but to do so personally can make an even bigger impact.  I found the same to be true when we went to Liberia, although you do have to weigh the impact of what you do vs. the money spent in each individual case as your money can do a lot of good in a third world country.  Having said that, I have come to a couple conclusions.  One, it's only money and two, sometimes you don't get to see the impact you have made, but that doesn't mean you you should stop trying.  It is amazing what God can do when we give freely of ourselves.

January 6, 1978

It was cold and the snow was coming down sideways.  My sister Cindy and I had a quick dinner at the Fawnbrook Inn and headed up to the Allenspark Post Office parking lot, across from the church to wait for the rest of our group to arrive.  As we waited, watching the snow pile up, I wondered aloud if anyone was going to make it up the mountain that night.  It didn't look promising.  Then headlights broke through the dark and Dave drove up in his big blue truck. The next car to break through the drifts was Dave's brother Paul.  If no one else showed up we would be okay, the bride, the groom, the minister and a witness had made it.  


Thirty three years, four daughters, one son in law and a grandson on the way later, that couple is still hanging in there, traveling through the ups and downs of life together.

Happy Anniversary Dave, I love you!