It´s Summer in Honduras!!

Trip to San Lorenzo

In Honduras, the thing to do during Holy Week is bañar (literally translated, that is "to bathe" but we bathe more than just once a year). Bañar, is actually the word used for swimming. So, in the weeks leading up to Semana Santa, people don´t ask "What are you doing for Semana Santa?" Instead they ask, "Where are you swimming in Semana Santa?"

"Isla el Tigre" -- We climbed that!

On the boat over to the island.

So, for Semana Santa, which was also our spring break from school, Ashley and I started by going to San Lorenzo, Valle, Honduras. This is in the south of Honduras, bordering the Pacific Ocean. We were each able to scratch something off our bucket lists-- Ashley climbed a volcano, and I swam in the Pacific Ocean!! It was an awesome vacation-- perfect mix of relaxing and adventuring. Very hot and sunny, too!

The Pacific Ocean!!!

"Bañar-ing" with Buen Pastor

After returning to Comayagua from San Lorenzo, we went swimming with my parents and the Buen Pastor moms and babies. (The Misericordia women had already been swimming with their school). We went to a small waterpark outside Comayagua, and had a great time. The girls did waterslides for the first time, splashed around, and got to be teenagers for a day. Javier, Alexandra, and Tatiana went with us, and they provided lots of laughs (see below!). We were all thankful for a fun day where the girls could get away and play around and just have fun.

Alexandra, our most mischevious and "traviesa" did NOT like the water...

I think it stessed her out, judging by the early nap with Papi (which she can say perfectly--we are still working on "Emily")

We are thinking this was Javier´s first time in a hammock-- he is completely stiff, and has a look of terror on his face. Definitely not relaxing the way your are supposed to in a hammock!

Las Alfombras -- My first time!

Comayagua is famous for its Semana Santa alfombras (carpets) and processions. Ths was my first time being here for the Easter week celebrations, and it did not disappoint. The carpets are made of colored saw dust spread out in the streets.

A beautiful design in the street...

The Holy Family on carpet...

Easter Sunday!

Interesting cultural difference is that here the biggest celebrations/activities are on Thursday and Friday of Holy Week, not on Sunday. Easter morning in church we talked about the importance of Sunday--without Sunday and the resurrection, death would have won. Praise God that Christ was and is victorious over death!! We read the scripture of Good Friday and the Resurrection, and I love part of what the speaker said-- He posed the question, "Why did Jesus ask God, `Why have you abandonded me?´" The answer: Jesus asked this question so that we wouldn´t have to. Jesus took my sins, my separation from God, and suffered the consequences so that I would never have to. He bridged the gap, for me and for you, and we can live full and eternal lives with our Creator and Father, who will never abandon us. Praise be to God!

Precious.

Ashley and me with the orange tree (or orange tree??) outside our house.

Cinderella story?

I remember studying in my cross-cultural communication class that a typical American´s mindset is very positive. We say and believe "You can do anything you put your mind to." We read books to our children where a train trying to climb an impossible hill says, "I think I can, I think I can," and he does. And, we sing and love songs like, "I believe I can fly/I believe I can touch the sky." We hold fast to the American dream, that anyone, through perseverance and education, can "make something of themselves".

I remember discussing that, amidst American prosperity, it is easy to have a positive view of life. However, when you transition to look at the rest of the world, that kind of idealism is difficult to find. Poverty, war, sickness, and other difficulties have their effect on the personality of a society. It has been my observation here in Honduras that, even among the wealthier people, education is not necessarily considered to be of great value. I have been in situations where an adult will encourage a child to copy off the Internet, copy from a classmate, or, the adult will simply do the work for the child, instead of "setting high expectations". You don´t hear a lot of Cinderella stories, where someone through education was able to rise above the poverty. In fact, most of the stories that even come close typically end with, "And then they left and went to the United States."

But here is a good Cinderella story...

On March 23rd we celebrated the graduations of two university students from the Hogar--the Hogar´s first two graduates ever. The university program has been around for about six years now, so it is safe to say that this was a long awaited day.

Many of the university students have not done well in college: they struggle to make good grades, struggle with the social pressures of university and of that stage of life in general, and have had to drop out of the program for one reason or another. Others get to university, realize the difficulty level, and decide not to continue on in their education. The perseverance and desire to keep moving forward, which are necessary to continuing in education, have not commonly been displayed.

These two students overcame many obstacles, some too painful to mention, in order to get to graduation day. No doubt their lives would have looked very different if it were not for God´s grace and his work in some very key people. Before these graduates were even born, God was working in Mami Carmen´s life (the woman who started the orphanage), Linda and Chema´s lives (the parents where the boys live), and the lives of countless others--staff memebers, board members, donors, padrinos, friends, family members, etc. -- so that this day could be possible.

My favorite part of the story is why these graduates say they were able to do what they did. I have been to my share of graduations in the United States, experienced my share of graduation parties, and read my share of graduation cards, all of which point to the graduate as the person to be praised and celebrated. But this graduation was not about "I did it, I did it, I made this great accomplishment." These students, when asked to speak at a small graduation party we had afterwards, were quick to recognize the work of God in their lives and the blessings he had given to them through others. It was encouraging and eye opening all at once, to realize that these students were not graduating because they had embraced the American dream and American value of education more quickly than their peers. They were graduating because God had made it possible, God had given them an opportunity, and God had given them the strength to acheive their goals. They thanked God, and with tears in their eyes, thanked the people that had surrounded them and helped them move forward. They talked about wanting to be an example for the other young people and children in the Hogar, and how they want to give back to what has been their family all their lives.

My prayer is that I would let this sink in and change the way I live my life here. For example, with my own students and with the students at the Hogar, that I would not be pushing education or perseverance on their own, but that I would be teaching about God and about how he makes all things possible.