First Half of October

(Nueva Suyapa in Tegucigalpa) (Me and my friends from the church)

This month I spent some time visiting in Tegucigalpa and strengthened the relationships I have with people there. I had a chance to spend time with both Honduran and American friends. I made friends with some people my age at one of the churches in Tegucigalpa and went out with them one day as well. After a visiting for a week and having a few meetings at the office my Dad came. He came to bring more supplements for the pilot project in the south. He also came to visit for a week. The day after he arrived we went to AJS (Association for a more Just Society) to see some different projects and learn about them a bit more. It was absolutely fascinating to learn about what they do. They base their purpose on 1 John 4:18 which says, “There is no fear in love: but perfect love casts out all fear…” Their work has the potential of being very dangerous when you are working for justice in a country with so much corruption. I have a huge amount of respect for everyone that works there.

(He is here!! It was so nice to have part of my family with me.)

The next day we went to a town call Ojojona where a local Honduran-made movie was filmed. I have seen the movie so it was cool for me to be able to go and see were it was recorded. That afternoon we went and cheered against the USA in soccer because we were all cheering for Honduras…unfortunately they lost 2-3. Sunday morning we went to church and I did my first little bit of translating for my Dad.

(Arturo helping the community organize themselves)

We were back in Catacamas Sunday night and Monday was a holiday so in the morning we had an opportunity to go visit some caves nearby which was really exciting. It was my first time every being to caves and it is just one more that shows God’s incredible beauty and imagination. In the afternoon we went to a community with Matt to bring beans for the people there to plant because they had lost 2 harvests to drought and had nothing left to plant. The way it works is that Diaconia gives a loan to buy the beans. Each farmer receives 50 pounds and when the farmers harvest they are required give back the 50 pounds. We had a very receptive training the next day on the Moringa tree. We made and brought soup made with Moringa leaves and tortillas made with moringa leaf powder. Most people really like the soup and hopefully will accept this plant as a rich source of vitamins, minerals and protein. They will be given seeds and plan to start a tree nursery where the trees can later be divided equally in the community.

(Giving beans to Farmers who lost 2 harvests)
We went to stay overnight in a community Wednesday night. This community is about 5 hours away and about 2 or 3 hours in on dirt roads going through the mountains. Wednesday we had one meeting in one community where Arturo is working with the Community Transformation project. This is a community that has no electricity, no running water and no out-houses. We had meetings in two communities here where the community organizes themselves to gather information, make decisions and assess their needs. We returned in the night on Thursday. Friday my Dad left for Tegucigalpa where he had some meetings. He left Saturday morning to go back to Canada but I really enjoyed having him here with me for a week. It was really comforting to have a piece of my home and even better to have a piece of my family here with me. I also enjoyed all the translating I did for him while he was here. It is something amazing just to learn a language in 3 months but to be able to translate is even more fun and exciting. Oh and did I mention that Honduras won against El Salvador and the US tied Costa Rica to guarentee Honduras a spot in the World Cup!! Go Honduras!! (helping make compost pits after a training on how to recycle nutrients in the soil.)

Water

It is a beautiful thing seeing people unite for the common good in any situation. I had a chance to see this because the small community of Villa Verde where I live united to do a water project. You could look down the street and see a line of people working digging ditches to put in the pipes for water. The tower had already been build and now we all worked together to finish the project. It was a pleasure for me to help with what I could. Since we have finished the project we now have running water. This is a huge excitement and relief, both stress and financial, for the community. Before everyone had to buy their water which gets to be very expensive. The water is not drinking water but there is a nearby well that is. We still do not have the water piped into the house but it is piped to the storage tank. It is a great blessing for everyone in the community. Here are some beautiful pictures of the community working together.

The Month of September

(Adorable Children Everywhere you go)

There was a lot missing this month. September here in Honduras contains three big holidays. “Dia Del Niño”, Independence Day, and The Day of the Bible. Due to the political situation parades were prohibited. There normally would have been lots of parades for “Dia Del Niño” which is a holiday to celebrate children. Thankfully there were still parties and Piñatas for the children in their school, houses and neighbourhoods but there were not nearly as many as past years. Not only was there no parades for “Dia Del Niño” but there wasn’t even parades for Independence Day which was September 15. Where I live in Catacamas you could not even tell that it was Independence Day. Unfortunately the Government banned most events that were to happen that day. I heard many people say how upset they were because there is usually so much excitement and celebration but this year there was almost nothing. The third holiday was “Dia de la Biblia” which is the Day of the Bible. This takes place on September 27 each year where Christians all around the country are united in prayer and celebration. Usually there would have been all kinds of parades, parties and celebrations but once again because of the political situation anything where there would be very large groups was prohibited. It was very sad for me to be missing out on all these worthy celebrations that people speak so highly of here. I heard so many wonderful things about how much fun and how marvelous these celebrations are. People would literally prepare for weeks ahead of time for these celebrations. Along with The Day of the Bible we had a day of Prayer and Fasting. This was announced in churches all of the country and thousands of Hondurans either gathered in groups or prayed individually and fasted as well. This was something the government would and could not stop. They stopped the parades but they can not stop prayer. Please keep praying for Honduras.
I went to multiple different communities where communities had loaned beans to plant by the government. Nearly everywhere that this bean was given out it turned out very poorly. The farmers were only getting about 10-25 percent of norm and also the beans were very poor quality. It made me realize how the people know their own zone so well that they know which seed is the best for that zone. So when someone comes in and gives them something new to try it can actually hurt them more than it helps. It is important to work with the farmers to help them develop, not to come in and develop for them.
I visited two communities that are way out in the middle of nowhere. La Puerta and Las Lajitas are two very poor communities that do no have running water, no electricity and no out-houses. Here I saw the very first step of the community development program. It is exciting to see people so far away in the middle of nowhere get excited because they see an opportunity to develop. I think they really see this program as something that can help and I think they will be willing to organize themselves to do what they need to do. I will be exciting to come back to this community in a few years and see how far they have come.
I went to a meeting in Valle de Angeles with many partner organizations. I learned a lot from the many different speakers that there were there and I learned a bit about the political situation. It was a good reminder of how complicated it is. Not only are people suffering from this situation but organizations are as well. One organization that was there used to have a staff of 12 but now because of cut fund are down to 3. Since there is not much I can personally do to help solve the political situation I will keep praying daily and I encourage all of you too as well.
Well I have to say that I miss home a lot. If you are reading this that probably means you are one of the people I miss because I know you care enough to take time out of your day to see how I am doing and to read about what I have been up to. You are probably one of the people I will talk with most when I come home because you are probably more interested than others. I hope that you are all doing well. I am doing great here and yes I do miss home but at the same time it will be hard to leave. I appreciate you reading this. Here are some more pictures of those creepy crawlies you live with here.