Wednesday, August 31, 2011

August Newletter


Casa de Espernza
Making a difference, one child at a time
P.O. Box 9222
Columbus, MS 39705


In July, there were many visitors on campus as groups came to do work projects or just visit the kids. The kids were spoiled by the end of the summer. One group came and made cotton candy. A couple of groups did hot dogs and chips. One took the kids to town for fried chicken, one to the movies, one to the water park, one to the river for a picnic and swimming. One group came to Casa and held a VBS. The kids are always excited when they get to go on an outing and when people come to visit.




Thank you to all the groups that visited Casa and/or took them on an outing. Everything was greatly appreciated by the children.


School continues and it won't be long until third quarter exams start. Seems like we just finished second quarter exams. Most of the kids participated in Indian day at school. Adonis did not get to start school. He is working on his reading, writing and arithmetic at home.

Dalys, our counselor, resigned. She is expecting a baby in September. At present, we do not have plans to look for another counselor.

August brought much excitement at Casa de Esperanza. It is the rainy season. One afternoon it rained about five inches in one hour. The church building flooded and a rock wall broke on the front of the property. Fortunately, there was little damage at Casa. Mirian's house flooded and she spent hours mopping water.

Brayan had to have an emergency circumcision and Fernando had to have a few stitches around his eye. Brayan had to have a few days bed rest. Both boys are recovering.

Along with floods and emergency surgeries and stitches, came two new children. We had been waiting on these two for weeks. Any(Annie) and Yair are another brother-sister team. Any is 3 ½ years old, the same age as Josue. She is smaller than Josue. Yair is eighteen months. He, too, is a tiny little thing. They both have asthma and he was in the hospital a few weeks ago, which is one of the reasons we had to wait. They have come from extreme poverty.

Any

Yair


This month I would like you to meet Guadalupe, also known as Lupe or Lupita. She is our little Dora. Lupita is six years old and is in kindergarten. She and her brother, Adonis came to live at Casa in April.


She had been neglected and physically abused. She is very hard to understand. Karen understands more of what she says than I do. She will be starting speech therapy at Teleton in October. Lupe is one of the slowest people I have ever seen. She eats slowly and is always the last one at the table. She dresses slowly. She make her bed slowly. As slow as she is, she is a little sweetheart and has stolen the hearts of everyone at Casa. Please pray for her continued adjustment and that her speech therapy will be beneficial.

Thank you for your continued prayers, support and encouragement. There would be no Casa de Esperanza without all of you.

Please feel free to share this newsletter. If you have any questions regarding Casa, please email me at terriltindall@yahoo.com

Sincerely,

Terri Tindall

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

We Should Have Made Reservations

This morning we left Abilene for Lubbock.  We decided to take the business route through Snyder to find a place to eat lunch.  Now Snyder, Texas is not a booming metropolis, but there were very few businesses on the business route.  Not a gas station/quick stop.  Not a restaurant. No cars.  No people.  Not much.  We finally saw a Dairy Queen with no cars at it.  What kind of Dairy Queen would have no cars in Small Town, Texas at lunch time.  We kept going.  At last we saw a restaurant called The Spanish Inn.  Everyone in town was at The Spanish Inn for lunch.   We put our name on the list and waited.  Not too long, but we waited.  People were walking in and saying, "I have reservations."  Reservations.  This is a diner in Snyder.  I laughed and said we should have called ahead and made reservations, too.

We got a table and a menu.  We thought the prices were high for lunch.  And the food was good, but not great.  I was still glad we ate there, with or without reservations.  We didn't see another place to eat until I saw the Sonic in Slaton.  Sonic is always good, but it would have been a long time to wait for lunch.  As much as I like Sonic, it loses its appeal to sit in the car and eat when it is 106 outside. 

Next time we drive from Abilene to Lubbock, we will know we need reservations at the local diner in Snyder.

Terri

Monday, August 29, 2011

Birthday Pizza

For this year, Marc and I decided we would take the kids to town for pizza for their birthdays.  We did not want to make nineteen trips for pizza, but yet we wanted to make it special for the kids, therefore, we decided groups of four would be great.  We did the first four in January.  By the time the fourth birthday in the second group rolled around, we were in full swing with groups.  And then there are a lot of birthdays in the summer.  Before we left for the States, we got caught up.  We took four to Pizza Hut one night and two nights later we took five of the kids, since Rosy and Nohemy share the same birthday.

The first group consisted of Josue, Reina, Katty, and Fernando.  What a crew.  Pamela told Josue he could only go if he held my hand the whole time.  And he did.  The kids were so excited.  Reina had a smile on her face from the time we left until the time we returned. 
We got a table, ordered pizza and soda, and then the kids and I went to the play area.  Josue could not climb that big play ground.  Fernando and Katty would jump and get their arms on each level, wiggle their bodies up, and then each one would grab one of Josue's arms and drag him up.  It worked.  All of them loved the play area.



When the pizza arrived, I herded them back to the table.  The kids always act like they have never eaten before. 


Fernando was taking such big bites of the ice cream that I had to help Reina or she might not have had any.  Marc was helping Josue.  And Katty did not have any trouble fending for  herself.

When we left two nights later, Ana was planning her trip to town for Pizza.  She seems to have conveniently forgotten that she was in the first group to go in January.  I  hope she is not too disappointed when she does not get to go again.

That night we took five girls.  That is the only group made up of all girls.  Pamela, Cindy, Maryuri, Rosy and Nohemy were all dressed up when we left for town. 


The girls played some, but not like the other group.  They came for one reason and one reason only.
After pizza, the ice cream is always a big deal.  It is a super sundae with ice cream in a great big glass, with chocolate and peanuts on the outside.  It is always a mad rush for the ice cream, but with this group it was truly dualing spoons.

And Cindy was not going to leave until every single bit of the ice cream was gone.



And some ate until they were ready to pop.

We  had five sleeping girls, when we got back to Casa.

We will have another group ready to go when we get back.

Terri

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Sticker Shock

We constantly are trying to find a way to do things better and/or less expensively.  If we can find a way to do both, that is great.  We have been in this dilemma for a while with houses.  Do we continue to build wood houses and help more people, or do we build block houses, which is a better house, for the same price and build fewer houses because the block one takes longer?  But if we can build a block house for the same price in the same amount of time, then that would be much better. 

We have been talking about a pressed earth machine for a while.  A machine that would make blocks out of dirt.  A couple of weeks ago, Marc, Trey Morgan, Bobby Moore, Randy Allen, Rickey Husband, Steve Tucker and others got together and decided it was time for the block maker.  Some research on this had already been done and the money for the machine was put together.

Friday, Marc, Bobby and I drove to San Antonio.  Rickey met us there.  We saw a demonstration on the smaller machine.  The one we did not think we wanted.  Dirt was loaded and in just seconds blocks began coming down the conveyor.  This thing can make up to 300 blocks an hour.  In an eight hour day that is more than enough for one house.




Then we went on to the big boy, the one we thought we wanted.  This one can make up to 480 blocks in one hour and the blocks are slight larger.  It is also a more complicated machine.  Something that definitely needs to be considered in Honduras.

We went to San Antonio to buy this machine.  When we sat down to discus details like price, we had a big sticker shock.  The machine was $20,000.00 more than we thought.  Other companies make a similar machine for the price we wanted, but we also know this manufacturer makes the best machine. 

We left without purchasing any thing.  We went to the river and had Mexican food and talked about other options.  A "plan B" was formed.  We will have to wait and see if that works or if we go to "Plan C."

Terri


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Casa Happenings

Marc and I have been in the States for almost two weeks.  We are enjoying the time here.  We are very busy.  Back in Honduras, Karen is also very busy at Casa de Esperanza.

On August 17, we got a new little girl.  Her name is Any(Annie).  She is three years old and she is smaller than Josue.  She is part of a brother-sister team.  We had been waiting on them for weeks.  Karen and Dorian went to get them and only Annie was ready.  Welcome to Honduras.

Wednesday night, after Marc spoke in Childress, we received a phone call from Karen.  She and Dorian were in the emergency room with Brayan.  Brayan had had trouble going to the bathroom all day and the pain had become worse through the day.  Brayan had to have an emergency circumcision.  Poor thing.  Poor Karen and Dorian.  They were at the hospital all night and got home at 9:00 the next morning.  Baby boys are not routinely circumcised in Honduras.  For Brayan, this caused a big problem.  He is resting as comfortably as possible.

Then Thursday night, Karen had to go back to the emergency room.  Fernando had to have a few stitches in his eye.  Karen doesn't know the whole story, but she walked outside and sweet, calm little Daniela was beating Fernando to a pulp.  We think Fernando provoked her.  Not that what she did was ok because she was provoked.  What a humbling experience for Fernando, to be beat up by a girl.

Yesterday was the regularly scheduled visitation with parents.  When Karen and the children came home, they had Any's little brother, Jair, with them.  He is eighteen months old.  Both of the children have asthma and need treatments.  I think Josue's world has been rocked.  He has been the only baby for so long.  And now there are three.

Karen handles all situations gracefully.  I thank God for her everyday.  But, I am also praying she does not have to handle any more emergencies any time soon.  She has dealt with enough for one week.

Terri

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Hitting The Road

We have enjoyed our time in Borger with our families.  Now it is time for our travels to begin as we share our stories from Casa de Esperanza, the dump and others. 

Last night we were at the Childress Church of Christ.  And it is hot, hot, hot, like 109 yesterday.  We leave for Fort Worth today. San Antonio tomorrow.  Back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for Saturday and Sunday.  Abilene on Monday.  Lubbock on Tuesday. Shawnee on Thursday.  And then on to Little Rock for Labor Day weekend, where we get to love on both of the grandgirls and the kids some more.  And get to meet our new great niece.  From Little Rock, we head to Bellville for a couple of days.  After that we go to Tennessee to so many places that I don't know everywhere we are going or when.  I will trust in Marc to let me know where I need to be and when.  Hopefully, we will get to sneak away to Gatlinburg for a couple of days.  I have no delusions of finding a cool place to sneak away. 

Marc and I have fun riding along in the car.  I bought three books for the journey and one is nearly finished. 

Please pray for us as we travel. 

Terri

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Death Of A Village

For the most part, I do not understand the ways of politics.  Or politicians.  This goes for any and all countries, Honduras included.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras leaving destruction and devastation everywhere.  Over 5000 died and a good portion of the highway system was destroyed, leaving villages and towns isolated.  I did not see Honduras before Hurricane Mitch, but I think it is safe to say that some 13 years later all damage has not been repaired.

There were several groups, humanitarian, governmental, and faith-based, that rushed in to do several projects, most with the blessing of the administration that was in power at the time.

This picture is of a village near Tegucigalpa.  This village was one of those projects.  There is a thousand houses built to house 5000 people.  One thousand nice block houses.  There is no water, no sewer, no electricity, no infra-structure of any kind.  It is far enough from town that having a job in the city would be almost impossible.  Not one family was ever lived in this village. Ever.  One thousand houses have sat empty for more than a decade.

Now another administration is in power.  One that cares not what any other administration built or accomplished.  This entire village will be bulldozed.  I don't know what the plans are for this land, but I hope this beautiful property can be used to house people or to plant food with which hungry people can be fed. 

Politics are, indeed, a funny game.

Terri

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Weather, Here And There

As I have said before, we live in the mountains.  We sleep with our windows open and the temperature gets down to 60 degrees at night and most days the high is around 80.  We arrived in the States last week to record high temperatures.  Most of you know that already because you have lived with this heat all summer.  It is a drastic difference from that to which we have become accustomed.  It is hot and dry.  And brown, much like summer in California.  We pass cattle grazing in the field and we ask what are those cattle grazing on?
I know crops are long dead.  Yards are dead.  Air conditioner sales have been great for those people that sell air conditioners.  Everyone everywhere is praying for rain. 

In Honduras, not only is it the rainy season but moving into the heavy part of rainy season.  Friday afternoon the rain started to fall.  Around 4:00, the really heavy rain fell for about an hour.  Several inches fell in that hour.  The church had five inches of water in it.  Water pipes were broken.  And a rock wall that separates the front of the property and a park was broken.  It took several hours to clean up the church building.  A tropical depression was moving in over the bay islands, meaning Santa Ana will probably receive more rain.  Last fall crops were ruined because of too much rain.  Hopefully, the same thing won't happen this year.

I am enjoying seeing sunshine every day.  But this part of the world does need rain.  Desperately.  And in Honduras, there is a little less rain needed.

Terri

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Three Days With Haley

This morning Matt, Haley and Nicole left for Baton Rouge.  They are ready to be with their church family and with Matt's family.  But that means they have to leave us.  We have been blessed to spend the last three days with them.

Besides boosting the economy of Amarillo on Wednesday, and hitting Sonic everyday,  we have been to McDonald's, been bowling, played in Aunt Janet's playhouse and had a birthday party in the park, among other things.  I have had Haley hugs every day.  And Nicole hugs.  We have laughed and laughed.  At Haley.  At each other.  At past memories.  We even had a good time doing our laundry yesterday morning.



I know that feeling of longing to be with the church family. I know how much they need to be with Matt's family, but, how I am going to miss them.  And, I do need to get some work done and I cannot seem to focus on that work when they are here. 

Safe travels to Matt, Nicole and Haley.

Terri

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Rosy Visits The Nursing Home

Last week Rosy had a series of projects.  One day she had to make mayonnaise.  One day she had to visit a nursing home or special needs center.  Marc is familiar with both of those so we assigned him to the task of taking her.  He picked her up at school one afternoon and they went to the nursing home.  She had to have pictures and then do a project on this.  I reluctantly turned my camera over to Marc for the day. 

Marc got pictures of the residents but Rosy is not in any of them.  She would not go near anyone.  Marc said she had a look of terror on her face.  Rosy is deaf and Marc could not easily find out what was wrong, but we guess she was scared he had taken her there to leave her. 

Marc called me and told me what was happening and I let Karen know.  When they got home, Karen asked Rosy where she had been.  She said no where.  I haven't been any where.  Karen asked if she went to the nursing home and she said no.  Karen said I know you did.  Rosy said there was a kitten and she liked it and it peed on her.

Karen asked the teachers at school to explain to her why she went there.  I don't know if the teachers got it explained or not.  Rosy had a complete meltdown at school.  The worse meltdown she had ever had at school.  Karen and I and the staff have seen those once in a while, but never at school.  She was throwing herself in the floor.  The teacher would try to get her stand and couldn't.  The day after that, the teacher said her whole body was sore from dealing with that.

I got the pictures printed and Rosy refused to even look at them.  Dilma was the person that was having to help Rosy with the project.  I have no idea how that went, but I have an idea Dilma was ready to pull out someone's hair before she was finished.

I have no idea what was going on in Rosy's mind, but she was absolutely terrified of this situation.  I hope some day we can find out the reason for this fear and help her work through it.  I also hope she doesn't have another assignment like that for a while.

Terri

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Meeting Haley

Nicole and Matt finished language school last week.  They flew out of Amarillo a year ago and today they flew back into Amarillo.  Marc and I were there to meet them.  We only got to the airport 40 minutes early. 

In Amarillo you can get a lot closer to the deplaning passengers than most airports.  We saw the Continental plane come in.  After what seemed like hours, but was only just a few minutes, we could see the first passenger come off the plane.  And then a few more.  And then Matt.  And then Nicole and Haley.  They got a little closer and Haley let go of Nicole's hand and started running toward us.  That did this Grammy's and Poppy's hearts good.
Marc scooped her up and hugged away.  I hugged Nicole and Matt and then snatched Haley out of Poppy's arms.  It was my turn for Haley hugs.

We have already had so much fun with her.  The next three days there will be lots of hugs.  Lots of family time with aunts, uncles, cousins.  Lots of craziness with Nicole and I together.  Lots of pictures.  Thank goodness I have a new 8G sd card.  Trips to McDonald's.  And not much sleep.  I will sleep after they leave. 

I am praising God that we made a safe trip from Honduras, that Matt, Nicole and Haley had a safe trip from Costa Rica and that we get to spend the next few days together.

Terri

Monday, August 15, 2011

Shopping With Cindy

Cindy recently had a birthday.  She is ten years old.  Ten at Casa is special.  No more naps, not that Cindy has actually taken a nap in a long time.  A special someone sent Cindy some birthday money.  I thought how fun it would be to take her to town and let her spend her birthday money.

I  thought through this long and hard because she is not always the most well-behaved child, but she usually does well one on one.  I had so much to do that week in between the groups leaving and Marc and I leaving.  The days were flying by and I thought I might not have time to take Cindy to town.  But through a series of unplanned events, I was doing all the errands on Saturday and decided I would take Cindy.  I watched her at devo and she was doing pretty good.  One time she did something and I thought we would go into her bad day mode.  I told her to behave and she would get a big surprise.  Cindy is usually one to test me and see, but she decided to be good.  After she fed the chickens, I told her what her surprise was.  She hurriedly ate breakfast and changed into town clothes and did her hair.

I explained we had to do all the errands first and then we would shop.  As we left, Cindy is hanging out of the car, waving at everyone.  Taking kids to run errands with me is not something I do very often. 

We got gas.  Then we went to cash a check.  Fortunately, that line was not too long.  When the man went into the vault and brought out stacks of 500 lempira bills, Cindy's eyes were huge.  I wasn't writing a check for that much money, though.

Saturday traffic and lines in Tegucigalpa was horrible.  Cindy waited patiently each place.  When we got to Price Smart, we had several things to do.  Another long line to pay the electricity and phone bills and then pick up a few things Dilcia left off of the first-of-the-month list.  Cindy pushed the cart.  She liked that.  One more thing, Office Depot, before we hit the mall.  As I paying at Office Depot, I asked if she wanted to eat first or shop first.  She said eat.  Then she said shop.  As we left Office Depot and started across the street to the mall, she said eat first.

I had to get some cash before I could treat her to lunch.  I stuck my card in the machine and out came two 500 lempira bills.  She liked that magic trick.  I told her she could choose anything in the food court.  She chose Popeye's.  So, we had fried chicken and french fries. 

Then, it was time to let the shopping begin.  I told her how much money she had.  We looked at shoes.  The pair she really liked was on sale and that she could buy those and then still buy clothes.  She wanted to try on the shoes and the clerk never came.  No shoes for Cindy.  She wasn't going to wait on the clerk.  We rode the escalator up one floor to the clothes.  She looked at shirts and jeans.  And dresses.  And skirts.  She tried on one outfit.  The shirt fit, the skirt didn't.  We looked some more.  At jeans and shirts.  At dresses.  At skirts.  And then the most beautiful jacket she had ever seen caught her eye.  A beautiful pink hooded jacket with Barbie on it.  She tried it on and her eyes lit up.  It didn't matter that if she bought the jacket, that is all she could buy.  That is what she really wanted.  And it was her money.  We purchased the beautiful pink hooded jacket with Barbie on it.  She walked out of the store, proudly carrying her bag.

Then she asked me for ice cream.  I bought her some.   I let her eat in the car.
When Marc got home she came running out saying she got to go to town with Terri.  When I left for the airport yesterday morning, there was Cindy wearing her brand new jacket. 

I had a delightful day with Cindy.  And she was beyond thrilled to pick out her own gift.

Terri

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Four Years

Marc and I have lived in Honduras four years now.  Four years.  Can you believe it?  I can't.  How time flies when you are having fun.  And what an incredible journey it has been.  I have been blessed beyond measure.

All of a sudden, we are having a rash of people ask when we are going home?  We plan to leave for the States on Sunday.  But only for six weeks.  Yes, I need time with my friends and family.  We need to do some development work and will be visiting many churches.  And we will continue to do that once or twice a year. But, for right now, this is home.  There are no plans to leave any time soon.  As Marc always says, "we have the best jobs in the world."  And to make that job better, Matt, Nicole, and Haley will be here in one more month.

Thank you all for loving us, supporting us, praying for us, and allowing us to be here.

Terri

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

From A Cornfield In Indiana To A Cornfield In Honduras

Last week one of our groups was from Mitchell, Indiana.  Corn country.  I have never been to Mitchell, but they say they live in a cornfield.  Their goal in Honduras is work with a small village here.  To go back every year.  Make friends.  Work with the church in that community.  Marc found a perfect fit for them.  A little village called Guajire.  Last week was the second time they had worked in the community.

There was already a church in existence, but it was meeting in a house.  Last week the team from Mitchell built a new church building.  It was a double wide wooden house.  Last week Marc promised a little girl he would buy her some school shoes.  After purchasing the shoes, Marc and I headed out of Tegucigalpa for Guajire.  As we snaked our way through the winding roads high above Tegucigalpa, we could feel the temperature dropping.  It was 82 degrees when we left Tegucigalpa and 72 when we arrived in Guajire.  And by the way, it was 90 when we got back to Tegucigalpa.

We were definitely in farm country.  There were cabbage patches on the left and I said I wanted to get a picture on the way down.  Marc said don't worry, we are going to go right through a cabbage patch in a minute.  He wasn't teasing.

We stopped at a house in which a man named Coronado and his family lived.  Guajire is a poor, poor community.  And Coronado's family is no exception.

We walked through a cornfield to get to the house where Lidia lives, the little girl for whom we bought the shoes.  After visiting for a few minutes, we walked through another cornfield, with a clearly well-worn path.


And at the end of the path, stood a brand new wooden church building and two Sunday school classrooms.


We looked inside the building.  Not glamorous by U.S. standards, but the community of Guajire are very proud of their new building.  Friday afternoon, as the group worked there, there was one baptism.  And two more on Sunday morning.  Praise God.

Last week it was rainy when the church building was built.  More than just a little rainy.  The lumber truck got stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out by an oxcart.  Then Marc had to hire the oxcart to haul the lumber.  Oh, never a dull moment.  

As we were leaving, Coronado tried to give us some of his beans. 

There was not enough food to feed his family, but Hondurans are very generous people.  We told him we were leaving for the States and would not be able to eat them.  I was in tears at his sincere generosity.

How thankful I am for people that live in a cornfield in Indiana want to come work with a poor church in a cornfield in Guajire.

Terri

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Another Summer Mission Season

This morning we put our last of the summer teams on the plane.  By the looks and sounds of the airport, we were not the only ones ending the summer mission season.  There is just always a little bit of sadness when the summer ends.

And what a summer it was.  And spring.  From spring break until now we have had 367 people here.  Sixty five wood houses and three block ones have been built. Also a church building and Sunday school classrooms have been built.  Children have been fed in the feeding centers.  Thousands of meals have been served in the dump.  Several hundred families have had food delivered to them.  Clothing has been given away.  Hundreds served in clinics.  We have seen baptisms in Los Pinos, the prison, and Guijare. 

Spaghetti and chicken and rice have been served in the prison.  For the prisoners, who never receive anything but beans and rice, this was a treat.  Vicki Cubillos did her magic show at the prison and then Wesley did some of his magic.  Preaching. 

Of course, the hospital was visited several times.  An awesome playground was built in the courtyard at Hospital Escuela.   Veinte Uno de Octubre, a boy's home was visited several times.  Boys living in worse conditions than the prisoners were treated to pizza, carnitas, and birthday cake. 

The Casa kids were thoroughly spoiled.  Having groups come make cotton candy, cook hot dogs, (more than once) and just play.  They also have been taken to town for fried chicken, been to the water park, the river and the movie.  Candy and gifts have been handed out.  The grandparents have all left and we start the task of unspoiling.  We are grateful for our guests and the love they have showered upon the children.

The groups have eaten at Carnitas and had ice cream.  New friends have been made.  And old relationships strengthened. 

So much more happens when a group is here than I could ever describe.  It is awesome.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't tired.  I am absolutely exhausted.  A tired hit me Thursday that I have never known before.  It has been another great summer in Honduras.

Give us a couple of days to rest and we will be ready to start planning the fall and winter teams.  And even next summer. 

Thanks to each one that shared part of their spring and summer with us.

Terri

Friday, August 5, 2011

Looking For Incubators

Our friends at Bread For A Hungry World give chickens to poor families.  The chickens lay eggs and the families have eggs to eat.  I don't know all the logistics, but chickens are purchased and shipped to Honduras.  Bread For A Hungry World thinks it will cheaper to buy some incubators, hatch eggs, raise chickens and then give the chickens to the poor families.  It will also employee a few Hondurans, always a good thing.  It sounds simple.

Welcome to Honduras.  Finding incubators in this country is not as simple as that.

I was making the airport run yesterday.  Marc said there was a farm store in Mateo.  I told Darrell he could go to the airport with me and then we would go to Mateo and get the incubators.  I had never been to Mateo, but I knew where the signs were pointing to Mateo.

After leaving the airport, we started toward Mateo.  And we drove and drove and drove.  Occasionally, I would see a sign that said Mateo.  That was refreshing.  At least I was driving in the right direction.  I stopped and asked a couple of people where Mateo was.  And the answer was always "mas arriba."  Higher.  So up the mountain we continued.  We got to Mateo and it was not much more than a wide spot in the road.  I thought the farm store would be easy to find in such a small place.  Before I knew it, we were out of Mateo and on a dirt road continuing to climb high into the mountains.  At least the drive was beautiful.

I had to turn around, which proved to be a challenge in itself.  With that task accomplished, we headed back to Mateo.  I began to ask where the farm store was and got several different answers.  We had seen a chicken farm before we got to Mateo and thought surely they would know where to buy incubators.  Silly us.

We drove back to the chicken farm and drove right through the gate as if we knew what we were doing.  I asked someone cutting the grass where to buy incubators.  I had the right word, but was accenting the wrong syllable.  He said he knew nothing.  We drove further and asked a truck driver.  He said maybe the farm store and we asked where it was.  He didn't know.  The truck driver asked another person and he said Comayguela.   I told Darrell I could not go to Comayguela and that I did not know my way around there at all.  Like I knew my way to and around  Mateo.

I stopped at the feed store where we buy chicken food and bought chicken food.  I asked them where to buy incubators.  Again, clueless.  We tried the farm store in Ojojona.  Accenting the wrong syllable, no one knew what I was talking about.  But I described it.  A box with warmth and light to hatch eggs.  The lady in the farm store said no they didn't have those and she did not know where we could buy them.  Once I finally was saying it right, I asked several people in Santa Ana.  Everyone thought I was talking about an incubator for babies.  And when I said for chickens or eggs, no one knew where to buy one.  One person said maybe Tegucigalpa, but didn't know where in Tegucigalpa.  I really wanted to help find these incubators, but I  wasn't going back to town.  At least yesterday.

Perhaps, chicken farmers here don't use incubators.  Perhaps, they hatch eggs the old-fashioned way.  I don't know. It was an interesting hunt.

While I didn't expect anything in return for my efforts, I got treated to lunch at Caso Y Campo, one of my favorite restaurants.

Today, Darrell is considering building incubators.  I think we can find the supplies to build an incubator much easier than we can find one to buy.

Terri

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Living In A Pig Pen

 Remember the story of the prodigal son.  The son that asked his father for his inheritance and then squandered it on riotous living.  When the money was gone, he found himself living in a pig pen with the pigs.  No one wants to live with the pigs.  Pigs are dirty.  But somehow I always think, in the case of the prodigal son, it was more or less of his own making.

A couple of weeks ago, while the Childress and Baton Rouge groups were here, there was a clinic in Guamaca.  As the medical needs of hundreds were being attended to,  it was discovered that a lady who worked with pigs had had her house burn to the ground.  With no house, and very few belongings, she had no choice to live in the pig pen with the pigs.  I just can't imagine.  Our groups were only working in Guamaca that one day.  But Marc knew Bobby Moore and company would soon be coming to Campamento, a short distance from Guamaca.  On the spot, Marc called Bobby and asked him if his group could build a house for this lady.  And Bobby said of course we can.
This is the lady who was living in the pig pen.
Behind is a blue tarp and under that tarp is all the worldly possessions she owns.  She and a family of four.

Last week a new house was built for this lady.  Praise God, she is no longer living in the pig pen.  In addition, new beds were purchased for her and her family.  And a bicycle so she would have some transportation.

I love this story.  Not that she was living in a pig pen, but that she no longer lives in one.

Terri