More From The Feeding Center

We are so excited about this new feeding center that we can't stop talking about it.

Monday, the first day, 140 kids were served, 180 plates, but 140 kids.  Some of the kids got seconds.  Each day the number of kids served has grown.  Today, 190 kids were served.  There wasn't quite enough food, but everyone made it work.

The two ladies that Matt hired to work in the feeding center are poor.  Very poor.  And, even though, they now have jobs, they are still poor.  When one realized that not everyone would get cheese, she went home and got cheese from her house.  Of course, Matt offered to pay her and she said no.  Both of the ladies are taking ownership and this was one way she could help.  I cried after Matt told me this.  Out of her poverty, she gave everything she had so all of the children could have cheese.

Another lady has six kids.  She also knows Matt can only pay two people.  She comes and helps serve the children every day because she is so grateful that her kids are eating.

I think there will be many lessons that can be learned from this new feeding center.  I am praising God daily that these kids are getting to eat.

Olman

Olman (and Josue) will be two years old in less than 2 weeks.  They came here when they were two months old.  Olman was, and is, the bigger one, but when they came, they both were so tiny.  Olman was only 6 pounds. 

Almost immediately, we thought Josue had the sweeter personality.  All Olman did was scream and cry.  If I had been a paid employee in that house, I might have quit my job.  Olman cried when someone walked in that house.  And when someone left.  He cried if you looked at him.  And if you didn't .  Going to the doctor was a nightmare.  He screamed when we got in the car.  When we got in the elevator.  In the doctor's waiting room.  In the doctor's exam room.  He still turns and runs the other direction when a man comes near, but at least he is not screaming every time. The first few weeks in church were a screamfest.

As of late, Olman is beginning to develop a much sweeter personality.  He smiles and laughs.  Many times, when I go in at 6:00 to give medicine, he comes running to me and gives a big hug.  He allows me to give medicine.  He plays outside.  He does not like to share and can still turn on the crying and screaming.

Oh, what a joy it is to see this little personality develop.

El Comedor Nueva Vida

Today is another great day Honduras. 

The feeding center in Buen Samaritano opened its doors.  Today 140 kids were fed lunch.  Kids that might not have otherwise been fed.  The feeding center will feed kids lunch every day Monday- Friday.  The menu will be beans and rice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, spaghetti on Tuesday, and soup on Thursday.  Due to a slight complication spaghetti was served today and beans and rice will be served Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Matt is in charge of this project and he has done an awesome getting things ready.  He has diligently worked for two weeks.  He hired 2 people.  He has found a someone from whom he can purchase wood and another person from whom he can purchase water.  The people he hired have scrubbed the feeding center clean and painted the tables.  I had the extreme privilege of going with Matt to purchase pots and cooking utensils, buckets, mops, brooms, bleach. spray bottles, scrubbers and all sorts of necessities. 

I am quite sure Matt thought of every single little detail.

Saturday, he went to the market and purchased beans and rice and other things.

This morning, Matt, and all of us were very excited about the opening of the feeding center. 

Some feeding centers only feed children of school age.  We will be feeding all children in this community.

A ton of spaghetti

A long line of hungry kids

It has definitely been another great day in Honduras.  Congratulations, Matt on a job very well done.

 

Political Shenanigans

In Honduras, election day is two weeks from today.  There are rallies and all sorts of stuff going on.  The rallies are sometimes quite loud and I don't mind that too much as long as streets are blocked to allow the rallies to take place. 

Rallies are one thing, but some of the other things that are going on, are a bit too much.  Not that I have any control over any of it.  A person I know is poor, as are most people in Honduras.  She was needing help getting electricity.  This is a much different process here than in the States.  A person has to buy their poles and everything and then be hooked up.  This person went to the city and asked if they could help her get her electricity.  Since the mayor is running for re-election, of course he could help her.  After she received her electricity, and while she was at work, someone came and put a red flag on her house.  Red is the color of the liberal party and the part to which the mayor belongs.  She was not happy.  But, she does not want to remove the flag for fear that her electricity will also be removed.

Then someone representing the national party (the blue party) came giving an item away.  She really wanted this item, but they said she could only have it if she signed an agreement to vote for the blue party and removed the red flag.  She would not sign the agreement and is afraid to move the red flag so she did not receive the item.  She said she did not want anyone to know how she was voting and did not want any flag on her house.

I really don't like anyone being intimidated.  And, I sure have a different opinion of all those flags flying over people's houses.

The other night we were at at a Christian concert.  During the prayer, the person praying prayed for a certain candidate to win the presidential election.  The whole crowd booed.  The venue wasn't really appropriate to introduce politics or the person praying's  political opinion.

Today Nicole went to a mandatory meeting at the high school.  There was a presentation of the new entrance to the school, provided by none other than the mayor.  So this required meeting became a political rally for the red party. 

I cannot vote here.  I am a US citizen, something of which I am very proud.  And, I stay at Casa de Esperanza most of the time and don't really know what is going on if it is not happening on this property.  These are just a very few instances of which I am aware.  I cannot imagine the full scope of intimidation and bribery that is taking place by all the parties. 

More rallies, more intimidation and more bribery and no telling what else will occur in the next two weeks.  Be sure of it.

A Walk

This morning some of the kids did not have school.  After I took the ones that did, I assessed the situation of who was with me this morning.  Mirian generally does not allow to her kids to play out of a morning.  So we could play or we could do something a bit different and go on a walk.  I asked the kids and they wanted to go on a walk.

They asked if we were going to the park and I said maybe.  But I turned as if we were.  We took the long route to the park.  As we crossed some water, the observant one, Rosy, saw a little tiny frog in the water.  We stopped and watched that little frog for a while.  Then, we went up by the rose garden.  We stood and looked at that for a while.  Our eyes and our noses were delighted with what we saw and smelled. 

I then chose a path I had never taken before.  We walked a ways and found ourselves looking down on a small waterfall.  The kids wanted to go further down.  I would have been ok with that, if my knee had been wrapped.  I didn't want to get down there and not be able to get back up. 

We walked in the back of the park.  I told them we were staying 20 minutes.  We stayed 30.  No one asked to stay longer, I just decided.  Everyone was having so much fun and I was enjoying just sitting and listening to the wind rustle through the pines.  Everyone played well together and I allowed them to do some things I normally would not do when the whole group is along.  The reckless one, Katy, made me nervous on more than one occasion.  She is just about as resilient as she is reckless, so all was well.

As we walked back, we stopped and threw rocks into the water. 

Sometimes it is fun for the kids to go to the park in a smaller group and sometimes, it is kind of nice for the adult, too. 

I did not get up in time to do my workout this morning, but I still managed to get a good hill workout.

I am thankful for those special moments this morning.

La Finca California

La Finca California is the name of the farm.  Yesterday, for the first time, I got to see the farm.  Oh my!  It is beautiful.  The farm is 70 acres and I think 30 acres of it is coffee.  There are plantains, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, avocados, and so much more.

The property line

A young coffee plant

More mature coffee

Coffee beans are red when they are ripe and ready for the harvest.  The first beans are turning red.  Soon there will be bright red covering these plants.  Some of the Casa kids will go to the farm and learn to harvest coffee, a skill that will serve them well in this country.

This is a mahogany tree.  There are other mahogany trees growing on the farm.  One day, this will be worth a lot of money.

And the fruit, the beautiful succulent fruit

Someone left a ladder out for me to harvest the fruit.  Just kidding.  Not me on that ladder.

And squash.  I was thinking fried squash and squash casserole

 The farm house, Don and Cheryl

A few other shots.

 There were all sorts of medicinal herbs growing.  I know nothing about medicinal herbs, but I might want to learn.

All of the fruits and vegetables for Casa de Esperanza will be grown here.  The kids will be taught to farm and harvest.  We hope some day to use this farm to rescue more boys and teach to love the land and love the Lord.

When I was standing on this farm, surrounded by its beauty, it was quite easy to get lost in dreams.  Won't it be fun to see what God has in mind for His farm.

Rosy

Rosy has to get up before any of the other kids.  She gets up around 4:00 and leaves for school with Elena at 5:00.  They don´t return of an afternoon until around 4:00.  It is a very long day for her.  Then she still has her homework to do.

Last week Rosy had finals.  Today was the end of school program.  She got home this afternoon and she told us she was so glad school was over for this year.  She said she was going to go to sleep and not get up until next year.  We laughed.  But I think, at the time she said it, she was serious.