So, Was it What You Expected?

Saturday, June 28, 2014

It is 3:00 am on Sunday and I have just pulled into my driveway after spending a week in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It has been a whirlwind day. After saying goodbye to everyone at El Hogar, we headed to the airport where we started our long day of travel. After filing the paperwork that would let us leave the county, we flew to Houston where we had to go through customs and immigration and stand on a number of really long lines. We had a three hour layover here, so a meal was in order. I quickly devoured one of the best cheeseburgers I have ever tasted.

And now, in the blink of an eye, the trip is over.

So, was it what I expected? That, my friends, is the number one question I am being asked.

As I stated in the beginning of the blog, I didn't know what to expect. Sure, I had read the handbook, so I had formed some images in my head. But what is in the handbook and what is reality were two different things.

I expected to feel like a wet dishrag all week. The reality was the weather was very pleasant. Warm during the day and cool at night.

I expected the property to be larger and dingier than it was. It was pretty compact and very colorful. In the midst of the poverty of Honduras, it was full of hope, happiness and love.

I expected to feel unsafe, but even with seeing uzi machine guns, not once did I feel unsafe.

Over the course of the week, I expected at least one of the members of the team to have a meltdown, especially when the bathroom pipe broke. But no one did. No one got on anyone's nerves. We all got along very well. I couldn't have traveled with a better group of people.

Our team. Love you guys!

I didn't expect the kids to be so warm and affectionate. But they were.

I expected to get emotional, and I did. Particularly thinking about Anthony's situation and the moment Tesla's mom came to pick up the box of food.

I expect that I will do this again. Maybe not in Honduras, but somewhere...there is so much need in the world.

In the sermon last Sunday, our minister made reference to our trip. He said that most likely our being in Honduras did not have a big impact on the kids at El Hogar. He is probably right, they have teams come every week, we were just another face in the crowd. But did it make a difference? Yes, it did. The impact this trip had on the nine of us is immeasurable.

I will leave you with this thought. If you ever have an opportunity to do something like this, do it. You may be uncomfortable, you may be thinking "what the heck am I doing??", but don't be afraid. Don't think you are too old. Don't think you can't make a difference. It is a week out of your life that will make you grateful for all that you have and it will make a difference.

Until next time...

Time to Pack It All In...

Friday, June 27, 2014

I didn't go to breakfast this morning, rumor had it there was banana bread. I did have two bowls of oatmeal at the house in order to get my energy level up.

We had a very full day ahead of us. It started with the "home" visit. We were going to Tesla's house.

A little aside; Most of the children at El Hogar have families. They are at the school because their families can't provide for them or perhaps they have a bad situation at home. The parents (most of the time only a mom) come and visit on the weekends or the kids will go home on the weekend.

One of the stipulations of the home visit is that we bring a box of food for the family. First we stopped at a bodega-like store to purchase the food. The items in the store were all behind bars and you had to go to a window to order what you wanted.

Entrance to the bodega.

Everything was behind bars.

We spent $15 on food, we were told it was enough to last the family for a month. It included rice, beans, bread and milk.

Food items purchased for the family.

Raul parked the van and led us into a dimly lit alley way. On the right-hand side were three houses. On the left-hand side there appeared to be a common kitchen/laundry area. At the end of the alley we entered a small open area that had a door to a common toilet and a door to a common shower area. There was a rickety staircase which we had to climb to get to Tesla's house. At the top of the stairs there was what we would call a shed. The door was locked with a padlock. This was Tesla's home. Her mom was not home, mostly likely she was fortunate enough to get work for the day. The house was maybe 12x12 and housed Tesla's mom, her sister and her brother. Raul described the inside as having a dirt floor and a one mattress for everyone. The rent is $30 per month. We didn't leave the food, it would have been stolen in minutes. Tesla's mom would pick it up when she was done with work for the day.

We walked into the middle opening to get to Tesla's home.

Tesla's house.

At the other end of the spectrum, nestled on a hillside in the small town of Santa Lucia, just outside of Tegucigalpa, is the newest El Hogar campus, the Girls’ House. The girls in grades 7-11 (with an option to continue on to grade 12) live together on the three-acre campus, which includes a house, three apartments and out buildings. The girls attend a local private school called Virginia Sapp. While they are on a separate campus, the girls remain very connected to the El Hogar community, participating in all events involving the other centers.

This was our next destination for the day. It didn't take too long to get there, but the ride was incredibly bumpy. After leaving the main road, we were on a single-lane cobblestone road. The ride was worth it though, check out this view!

View from the porch of the girls house.

After a tour of the house and the adjoining apartments, we headed back out onto the bumpy road.

Our next stop was for lunch. Raul took us to a very nice restaurant, LaFlorida. We had the whole place to ourselves. The meal we had was delicious.

No trip would be complete without a little shopping. St. Angeles was our next stop. A cute little village that offered a lot of tourist type shops.

Shopping in St. Angeles.

When we got back to El Hogar about 3:00 pm, the place was a flurry of activity. On Saturday, El Hogar was holding a bingo fundraiser event. Three hundred people were going to enter the gates to play bingo. There were a lot of preparations to be made.

The boys were out mowing the lawn (with machetes!). We were given some last minute painting they wanted done to spruce things up. And the girls were leaving.

In an effort to keep things organized, they send most of the girls away for the weekend. Where were they going? Up to the older girls facility where we had just come from. It is kind of like one big pajama party for the weekend. So we had to say our goodbyes now. Which wasn't easy, we were all kind of attached to them.

The girls heading out for their weekend away.

In the midst of all of this, Tesla's mom stopped by to pick up the box of food we bought her family. The gratitude in her eyes and the hug she gave me is something that will stay with me for a long time.

After the girls left, it was time for dinner. We were having a Friday night pizza party. Dominos staff came on three motorcycles and delivered 25 pizzas for dinner. The cafeteria had been cleaned earlier in preparation for the bingo event, so we had the party up in the dormitories. Again, everything is very well organized. The little guys get two slices of pizza and then the older kids and employees get three slices. After we ate, the kids put on a little presentation for us thanking us for coming for the week.

Pizza delivery.

Pizza anyone?

Handing out the pizza and drinks.

Presentations thanking us for spending the week at El Hogar.

After dinner we finished our last minute painting (in the dark!) and headed back to the volunteer house. We had to pack up and clean. Tomorrow we head home!

Cows and chickens and goats, oh my!

Thursday, June 26, 2014

We had an outing planned today to the agricultural school. I was looking forward to this and I was feeling better. 

The Agricultural School, located outside of Tegucigalpa in Talanga, is home to 60 boys in grades 7-9. The 240-acre farm is a very quiet and pastoral setting, with views of rolling mountains. After graduation, some continue on with schooling or get jobs, and some go back to their own communities to teach sustainable principles to other local farmers.

We were on our way by 9:00 am.  We saw quite a variety of scenery along the way.

Houses on the side of the road.

Houses in the mountains.

We arrived at the school about an hour later. Raul handed us off to Miguel who was going to give us a tour of the facilities. It would have been a little easier if he spoke English (or we spoke Spanish), but hand signals go a long way.

Our first stop was the volunteer house. Yes, they have one here also. Service teams can apply to stay at the farm for a week.

Our next stop was the fishery. They farm tilapia here. There are four ponds total that each hold 4000 fish.

Tilapia pond.

They also grow a variety of produce. There are cows, chickens, goats and my favorite, the pigs.

We got introduced to the students, which was followed by a lunch of chicken tacos.

Some of the students at the agricultural school.

After lunch we headed back to Tegucigalpa, but first we had to make another stop. We were having a hankering for ice cream. So where to go? Why Walmart of course.

Ice cream. 98 Lempiras was about $5.

Eggs. We could not figure out why they were not refrigerated.

Medicines.

Coffee and rice was sold out of open bags.

When we got back to El Hogar we got a quick tour of the children's dormitory. They have one building with 4 dorms for the different age groups. Three dorms for the boys and one dorm for the girls.

Dinner was spaghetti. Yes, regular spaghetti with tomato sauce. Not 5-star, but palatable. Then we finished out the evening with the last dorm activity, music lessons and the English class.

Bamboo airplanes were tonight's project.

Later, back in the volunteer house, we broke out the ice cream which was enjoyed by all.

Will She Rally in the Ninth?

 Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Today was another challenging day for me. I forced myself to eat a bowl of oatmeal. I didn't go up to breakfast or to the morning devotions. I was trying to will myself to feel better, but I wasn't winning.

El Hogar ministries operates four facilities in Honduras. We were staying at the elementary school facility. They also have a technical school and agricultural school for older boys and a facility for older girls to continue their education. Today we were headed out for a tour of the technical school which is located on eight acres of land in the Amarateca Valley. 66 boys in grades 7-9 call it home.

I would love to tell you how great it was and all that they do there, but I can't. I bailed on the outing and spent the morning in bed. Was I upset with myself? Yeah, I was. It was just one of those "What are you going to do?" situations.

So while I am convalescing in the volunteer house, let me give you a little tour of El Hogar and the compound. The grounds were very colorful and well kept.

Garden area.

Circular driveway at the entrance.

Toothbrushes. The kids have to brush their teeth four times a day.

Rock garden.

Courtyard. They really take pride in their property.

Bunks in the volunteer house.

Kitchen in the volunteer house.

Porch on the volunteer house. The chairs were crafted at the tech school.

Cistern. This is where our shower water came from.

We drank bottled water all week. This device to pour the water was made at the tech school.

The rest of the group got back about 1:30 pm and regaled me with tales of the tech school. They teach them a trade so they become employable after they graduate. Students produce items such as, furniture, metal window and gate grills and other small items, which are available for sale, mostly to the other centers and to volunteers. A lot of the items around the school were made at the tech school. In the dormitories, the metal beds and shoe racks were built there. They also had lunch at the tech school which included a nice piece of beef. Beef! Not rice and beans and I missed it! I in turn regaled them with the tale of the wonderful soup the kitchen staff brought me...and how it lasted 21 minutes in my stomach.

Shoe rack made at the tech school.

Girls dorm bunks crafted at the tech school.

The rest of the afternoon? Lather, rinse, repeat.

I rallied myself enough to help with our painting project. The rest of compound was watching Honduras play in the World Cup.

Hopscotch board.

Twister board.

The kids enjoying their new hopscotch board.

Checkers anyone?

Dinner was at the usual time. I ate an entire plantain (go me!). We did our evening activity with the third dormitory, gave the music lessons and practiced English with the tour group students.

The rest of the evening was spent on the porch of the volunteer house. We used this time to reflect on the day and write in our journals. It was a very peaceful way to end the day.

Down for the Count...

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Gurgle gurgle, glub glub. That my friends, was the sound of my stomach this morning. In an effort to calm it down, I had oatmeal at the house before heading up to breakfast. There I choked down two forkfuls of eggs.

Immediately after breakfast all the children met in the courtyard for their morning worship service. We were asked to join in and sit with the kids while devotions were read in Spanish. Classes started after that at 7:20am.

Morning worship in the courtyard.

I wasn't expected to help in the classroom until 9:00 am so I went back to the house to lay down for an hour. I was laying in bed an hour later willing myself to get up, but my body was having no part of it. I was stuck in bed for the rest of the morning.

It started to thunderstorm. While I was wrapping myself in every sheet available to stave off the chills, my cohorts decided to inventory the donations we had brought down with us. We had nine full-size suitcases pack with items. I heard counts of 67 pairs of jeans, 34 towels and 54 pairs of flip flops. The members of our congregation were very generous. The storm passed and they all left to work on the service projects for the week. Now I could actually get some rest.

Suitcases we brought down filled with donations for El Hogar.

Speaking of the service projects, in addition to helping in the classrooms, one of the other things we had been tasked to do was help build a bathroom. We left that job to the guys who got heavily involved in mixing and hauling cement.

Bathroom that was being worked on.

Lunchtime came and my roommate came in and announced, "We're taking the kids to the movies at 2:00 pm." Wait, what?? I'm sick, you can't be going to the movies! There was no way I was going to miss this, so I ate a few crackers, popped some more Imodium and said a prayer.

So how do you get 73 children, 9 volunteers, 2 teachers and 2 drivers to the movies in two, fifteen passenger vans? Very carefully. There don't seem to be any driving laws in Honduras. The roads are a free for all, seat belts not required, feel free to sit on the edge of a flatbed truck while bouncing down the highway. We could have used bungee cords to secure kids on top of the van and it would have been ok. So each van made two trips to the theater with about 25-32 people on each trip. It was only a few miles away. At the mall of course.

We purchased the tickets, bought popcorn and soda for each child and in we went. What were we seeing? How to Train Your Dragon 2. In Spanish of course. There was a bit of confusion with the seats. Apparently in Honduras theaters you purchase assigned movie theater seats. A few of us weren't in our correct seats and it was confusing the other patrons.

I have to say, the children were very well-behaved. Of course with a giant popcorn and soda, there were numerous trips to the bathroom.

Even in the bathroom the girls wanted their pictures taken.

Wednesday night was spent in the amphitheater with the second dormitory of boys. We did the same type of craft. Who would of thought a white paper plate would make someone so happy.

More fun with paper plates!

This seemed to be the never ending day. My head was so happy to hit the pillow.