A Day Without My Camera

As the time nears for groups to to start coming, Marc has to decide where houses will be built. So many people need houses and it is a tough job to decide. We have a friend here in Honduras that is a doctor and does a lot to help us in our ministry. He had three potential sites he wanted us to see. Then we were going to the fruit market. Normally, I would never even consider not taking my camera, especially when we are going to look at potential house sites. But we always need to be flexible in Honduras.

A couple of folks needed to be picked up at the airport. Marc was going to leave me at the airport this morning, I was going to meet the folks, eat across the street, and wait on Marc to come back for us later in the day. So, I put my book in my backpack and rationalized I do not need my camera to sit in the airport nor to go to the fruit market. The fruit market was the big thing. I do not like to carry my camera there. On the way to Tegucigalpa, I discovered someone else was meeting the folks at the airport and I would be going with Marc after all. I was glad to see the house sites, but knew immediately I was already sorry I did not have my camera.

We went to the hospital to meet our friend. Again, several things changed. He had too many patients to see and could not go, but was sending his assistant, Michelle, with us, a very delightful young lady. Also, he had asked us to bring some clothes from the warehouse. Which we did. Before we saw the house sites, our friend wanted us to take these boxes of clothes to central park. I thought he had lost his mind. Take seven boxes of clothes to central park. What we found at central park was the mayor's wife hosting a benefit for some families that had lost everything to fire. There was bands playing and people milling about everywhere. Michelle jumps out of the car and finds a policeman to tell him what we were doing and he found a parking place for us and directed us into it.

We have driven by the park many times and I have thought everytime how I would love to take picture, but because of trees and electrical wires and such knew I could not get good pictures from the car. Here I stood in central park without a camera. There stood this grand old church. I love to photograph churches, bells, and crosses. Often where there is one, there is all three as was the case this time. Massive bell towers with massive bells to fill them. The front of the church was covered with pigeons. While I am not particularly fond of pigeons, it would have made a good picture. Not to mention all the happenings in and around the park.

We took the clothes to a tent that had some of the families sitting inside. Then we were off to the first house site. We were not on El Hatillo, but in that direction. We were fairly high on a mountain and off to the right of the Jesus statue. We had to climb steps, hundreds of steps to get to this house site. Steps are normally better than walking up a slope that steep. Some of the steps were a yard tall, at least. The more of them I climbed, the taller they became. I think the last few were ten yards tall. We were very near Jesus. The way I was panting climbing those stairs, I thought I might be near Jesus, literally. When we finally arrived, not only did I need a camera to take a picture of the house site, there were some of the most beautiful views of the city I have ever seen. If I have to climb those stairs again, I may not ever have the chance to take those pictures. Of course, there were a couple more churches.

The house site was a burnout. The man had cleaned his lot already, ready for a new house.

Then we drove to San Miguel, a community in which we have already worked. I learned a new way to San Miguel, a useful thing to know. And I saw a new part of San Miguel. This country is so dry. This was a very dusty drive. We stopped and everyone got out of the car. Everyone except me that is. I was not sure my heart rate was back to normal from the last hike. Two little boys walked up to the car window and asked me how I was. I told them and asked them how they were. They told me how they were. They stood at the car window smiling and watching me read my book. That did not last too long. I am sure I bored them. Then I saw three little girls standing by their house, all three in nothing but panties and the streaks of blond in their hair, a sure sign of malnutrition. This makes me sad everytime I see it. Everyone came back and Marc said it was probably a good thing I didn't take that hike. Michelle was wearing heels, but she was also a lot younger than me. Marc bought me a bag of coke. I was more than ready. This house was a burnout, also.

Then we drove a long way out on the San Pedro Sula highway to the third site. It was in a community called Capital. We have never worked there, but have worked in one near there. There were a lot of bad houses in this community. The roads were steep and rocky and awful. Marc said for a moment I thought we were back on the first road we took to Copan.

This third site was not a difficult walk at all. Another burnout. The lot had not been cleaned yet. The family's few possessions were in the yard completely burnt. Seeing those few possessions touched me from deep within. Marc told the man we could not build until June. He was just grateful we were going to build.

Again, there were beautiful views, there among all that poverty. It would have been a perfect place to try out my new zoom lens.

After viewing the house sites all over town, it was too late to go to the fruit market. One of the reasons I did not take my camera this morning. That is not really important. Three families will soon have new houses. That is important.

Terri