Gil's Blog

Planting Watermelons and Playing Bingo

2012-02-10T19:41:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

Today several of us are out in the fields. We're planting watermelons and it's hot. I wish I had one right now. Did I put my sun screen on? Where did I leave my water bottle? Using measuring sticks ( 2 & 1/2 feet long)we work our way down the row, making a small hole an inch deep into which we drop 2 seeds cover them and move on. The seeds are slightly red, that's from an herbicide, we have to be careful not to rub our eyes, mouths, or noses. There are tiny ants that you don't see until they bite you on the wrists or ankles. I don't know how I'd make it as a farmer, doing this kind of work all day long, every day.

A van rolls up announcing ice cream and sandwiches on it's loudspeaker. Somebody's noticed that the gringos are in town. We resist the call.

We engage in other projects too. Some help with the construction of chicken runs. Families are looking to keep the birds out of their gardens. I think of our 3 chickens back in Seattle. What fun they'd have if they could get into our garden.

The community is building a greenhouse where they will nurture baby plantains (kind of a starchy banana), which they'll sell to other communities who are starting plantations. The greenhouse is covered with a fabric that will keep out bugs and plant diseases, rocks along the base to keep out rabbits, and protection from harsh sun. There will be an decontamination chamber so that whoever comes in and out can wash off, keeping diseases out. There will be a spray irrigation set up as well. Our farmers are learning some pretty sophisticated techniques.

I like working on the greenhouse. I think it's because we're all working in pretty close proximity and are able to talk to each other as well as see what each other are doing. We are impressed by Erasmo's skill doing carpentry with a machete. I learned a technique for notching a 2 by 4 with 2 simple cuts!

Though things have been rough because of some of the problems I mentioned in the previous letter, there have been breakthroughs. Catalino, one of the farmers who has succeeded in growing high quality plantains was able, with help from Agros, to negociate a contract with a major distributor. He now has standing orders for his fruit as soon as it comes ripe.

Getting enough water has been a continual challenge for the village. A plan is in the works to look at drilling a well. This will require a scientific survey and would be expensive. If successful it would be a major benefit to the community which now depends on an insufficient source of water piped from miles away.

While some of us were in the fields others were with mothers and children around the community center. Barbara introduced a game that caught on like wildfire: Alphabet Bingo. Whenever someone got a bingo, they received a crown. Vive Jorge el Primero! Vive Maria la Primera!... Even kids who didn't know their alphabet before were starting to get it. Later we had adults joining in, too. One of our group had made coloring books using photos from the previous trip made very,very light. Perfect for coloring. The whole village turned out to be full of artists!

Getting these kids into school and staying there through elementary levels, I think may be one of the biggest changes in the lives of these people. This year a teacher has started coming out to the village, teaching first through fifth grades. Sixth graders go to a school in the little town two miles down the road. There's a high school about 10 miles away.

Bye for now! Gilberto.

Agros, Bethany, & Nuevo Amanecer.

2012-01-31T13:42:00.000-08:00

Hola Amigos!

Much hotter here in North Honduras. San Pedro Sula is in the broad flat of stretch of the country that extends northward to the Carribean, The "Mosquito Coast". This is where Chiquita Banana grew up. You can read about the history of the United Fruit Company in a book called "Prision Verde" by Ramon Amaya Amador. San Pedro Sula is the commercial center of Honduras, lots of "maquiladoras" ( tax free foreign factories) here , lots of crime, lots of AIDS cases, but mainly just a lot of people and a lot going on.

My friends , a team of 8 from my church in Seattle, Bethany Presbyterian, had arrived just a couple hours before me. They had just dug themselves out of the snow and ice. I was very happy to see them.

We headed out the next morning for Jesus de Otoro, a fair sized town not in the guide books, between Siguatepeque and Esperanza. This will be our base, since it's just over an hour from the community of Nuevo Amanecer where our farmer friends live.

It's a bumpy ride down a dirt road. We pass oxen pulling a cart with wheels and axles taken from an old car, yards decorated with laundry hung on the fences and guarded by skinny sleeping dogs and strutting roosters, hillsides dotted with maguey (century plant)... dry and dusty and dead looking but brightened by yellow and purple and red blossoms (trees here wait for the dry season to bloom... more pollinators). We get to the driveway, I recognize a twisted "kneeling " tree. That's my " Bearing Tree" or reference point here. At the end of the road is the soccer field, and the ground from which the adobe bricks were cut, bricks used to build this village.

We clamor out of the bus and up the trail, over the creek ( nearly dry now), under a giant gangly Higuera ( fig tree), and around the back side of the hill where Nuevo Amanecer sits.

Despite the green and yellow balloons strung up around the space outside the community center and the smiles on the faces of our friends, I can feel a little tension. Earlier we learned that a young woman had died only a couple of days ago. She suddenly fell ill back in November and had to be taken to hospital where she was in a coma for a time and had to undergo dialysis. The doctors could not say what caused her illness, beyond saying that she died of kidney failure. Unfortunately, her family have accused a neghbor of giving her a drink that caused the illness that killed her. They have threatened this woman and are demanding that she leave. They see the Devil's hand in the death of their daughter. We are seeing the Enemy spreading lies that threaten to tear apart the community and the work of many over years and years.

Even though this is an agricultural project with material goals of developing the land , building houses, growing and selling produce, paying off loans, etc. We are reminded that the major work is spiritual, building unity, encouraging hope, growing vision, nurturing love, learning to forgive, ... All of us have renewed our commitment to pray for our friends. We realize more than ever that we are here to help people talk, to be listeners, to provide emotional and spiritual support.

My Bible study in Psalms 78:9-25 reminds me of the role of faith in every human effort. If God's people break covenant, no matter how strong, no matter how well equipped , they won't finish the fight.We have to live God's way. We've got to remember who he is and what he's done in our lives and others.

I think of the agronomist, Enrique and the social worker, Sandra who are here almost every day dealing with these issues and am very grateful.

Til later, Gilberto.

Back in San Jose

2012-01-30T16:08:00.000-08:00

Hi friends!

I've been pretty busy. Berta , who runs the Hostel "The Corner" is our new grandma. We invited her to share our breakfast the other day and learned how she raised her kids by herself after divorcing her alcoholic husband by keeping up this place. When she saw our Bible, she told us how God had guided her life and how she always looked for ways to serve Him. Well when we got up around 5 am to catch the bus for San Jose, She was up too. She wanted to pray with us before we left. Putting it together in Spanish when I'm kind of emotional is hard, but God helped me. All that probably explains why things went so well getting back to San Jose.

Once in town,we found our way to the hostel on the city bus (way cheaper than the taxi). This time we stayed at the Quaker hostel/peace center " Casa Ridgway". It's a great place to meet people who really care about the making the world better for the poor and the other creatures that get walked on. They've got a great "Peace" Library, talks on current issues by people in the know, & free breakfast. Breakfast is a great time to connect with people. Jane met some Mexican environmental activists who had just been to the volcanic island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua where she was going and was able to get some guidance on making bus connections and getting through some rough neighborhoods safely.

We found a great vegetarian restaurant called Shakti. The special is a good choice and a good price. We were in the part of town close to Plaza de la Democracia where there are a couple of good museums, namely the National Historical Museum and the Museum of Modern Art and Design. The Modern Art museum had a couple video pieces that impressed us. One was of a Guatemalan artist, who had done a performance art protest against the government during the years of violent oppression in her country. She carried a bowl of blood that she stepped into and walked along the street leaving bloody footprints up to gates and steps leading to centers of government power. She stepped into the bowl every few steps then lifted and carried it farther. The prints were ever fresh. Another video showed a beach with waves of the sea washing up. You could see small hermit crabs crawling up the beach as a poem was read about human pressure on the environment (like plastic trash that will remain out there for eons) forcing creatures to adapt. As you watched you notice the shells of the crabs looked a little different... You know, that last crab was wearing a plastic bottle cap!

We took a taxi to Parque La Merced, where we caught the TUASA bus for Alajuela (stops at the airport). I sent Jane off to Nicaragua and I caught a flight to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Through the window, I watch the map of Costa Rica, unfolded beneath me... someday I'm going to see where that river goes... maybe I'll climb that mountain...perhaps I'll eat a watermelon from that farm...

Hasta pronto!(see you soon!), Gilberto.

Catching Waves and Waving at Monkeys

2012-01-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

Hola Amigos,

Today was our last day on the Osa Peninsula and we were like fishermen casting about for that little pull followed by a wild ride. Our first cast was early in the morning into Herrera Botanical Gardens. We met Tom the owner and guide who over the past 20 years has been transforming what had been an old cow pasture back into the jungle that it had once been. He came down here with the Amigos program ( like Peace Corps), stayed on to start a guide service with a friend, and started this project as a way of showing the value of keeping the forest as forest and showcasing the many trees and plants that can benefit both humans and wild creatures. We hung out on his veranda at first munching on one of the fruits of the jungle "custard apple" while watching 2 trees, one full of white face monkeys and the other with "howler monkeys". I learned that if you want to get along, you don`t show your teeth when you smile or look at them directly ( they consider that a sign of agression) also scratching yourself and leaning to one side and then to the other indicates that you feel at ease ( however don`t try this at home). I learned a lot about trees and plants, one curious fact I`ll share is about the passion-fruit. It has little nubbins on the vine which are" fake butterfly eggs". The butterflies see them and think someones already been here so they don`t lay any more and thus save the vine from destructive caterpillars.

We took our siesta then for a couple hours. For gringos the siesta is the time when your almost dead from the heat and pass out hopefully in some horizontal shady spot. Later we went off looking to do some kayaking in the mangrove swamps here, but unfortunately the tide was out and that place would be mostly mud. So we lit out for the beach we met some friends on the way who dropped us off at Playa Plantares. A beautiful sandy and empty beach with great waves rolling in. We splashed about as the sun set gloriously over the palms. We walked home as dusk settled lit up by millions of tiny lightning bugs. Then another friend picked us up.

Hasta luego, see you soon. Gilberto.

Costa Rica

2012-01-18T18:31:00.000-08:00

Hi All

Trip down went well. Was able to see my sister while on lay over. Somehow she`is managing with 40 kids 4 to 5 years old in her class. One of those Texas charter schools. It was great seeing her, it has been 4 years.

I got into San jose 4 hours before Jane. I had not seen her for 2 weeks! When you connect with someone after being apart so long and so far it seemed to me a miracle to find her in all that space and time. I was very happy to see her.

we are way down south in Costa Rica. the bus ride was 8 hours. We found a great place to stay in Pto. Jimenez "Cabines The Corner", managed by a lovely grandmother, Berta. Today we took a Collectivo, a cattle truck with seats, over miles of rough dirt road. I was standing the whole way. I have more sympathy for cows than ever before. We then hiked out to Cabo Matapalo, which is a favorite for surfers and naturalists, several long stretches of beautiful and almost deserted beaches. We saw monkeys, squirrel monkeys, white-face m., and howlers. Brown pelicans, herons, parrots, even a hummingbird that was taking a bath in a creek.

More later the computer use time is up.

Hasta la manana, Gilberto.

Back to Central America

2012-01-14T19:33:00.000-08:00

Hola Amigos,

Sorry to be so long getting back to writing. It is on my list to do more of. Well, we are heading back again to C.A. Actually Jane is already in Nicaragua, where she has been part of a team teaching spiritual ministry to Nicaraguan staff of Young Life there. They are preparing these young Christians to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit and more active in His work of transforming, healing, and strengthening, especially through prayer God's young people all over that country. Miracles have been happening!

I will rendez-vous with Jane on the 15th in San Jose, Costa Rica. We will spend some time together exploring some of the beautiful natural areas possibly Corcovado National Park from Puerto Jimenez in the south on the Pacific side or in the north in the wilds around Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui. Either way we'll be seeing a lot of jungle and wildlife.

Afterwards I will join my friends from Bethany church on the Agros team in Nuevo Amanecer, Honduras. It is now 7 years that we have been working with the farmers of this community through many ups and downs as they have been making a go of farming this patch of land, now more and more their land. They are paying off their loans and have developed the land ( planted plantain,corn,beans, yucca...dug reservoirs...built houses...installed drip irrigation...). We both have become year by year closer friends.

I will do my best to write down the story of these next days so that you, too can share in our travels.

Hasta lluego, Gilberto.

God calls us. God goes with us.

2010-11-09T15:47:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends.

I got up early in the morning for some of Juan's special super-light pancakes ( he whips up the eggs separate). Then Jessica, a med student and soon to be doctor with whom we worked at the children's home, came by to take me to church. We walked down, down, down to her church "Honor and Glory", where I found the leaders already on their knees praying ( they had started an hour earlier). The sermon was from Moses encounter with God in the burning bush ( Exodus 3:10-12). The gist of which was that God is with us and that He calls us to confront power and to set people free. What matters is not me or you. What matters is not the plan or the strategy. It's God that matters and that He has chosen us.

Jessica then walked with me all the way to the top of the hill, to Juan and Isidra's church. There I listened as each one of several brothers and sisters shared how God was speaking to them. Psalm 95:1-2 was the word that stuck with me, God invites us to come celebrate with Him, to recognize the reality that His Truth and Justice stand above the lies and injustice that surround us down here.

Juan went to the local Chinese restaurant on his motorcycle and picked up His favorite dish for our farewell meal. Today is a special day honoring Francisco Morazon, the founder of Honduras. Juan sees this man's life as a life of sacrifice to build a country where people could live a good life in peace. May God use Juan and all my friends here to make it so.

When the taxi dropped me off at the bus station, there I met Jenny's mom. She'd brought some clothes I'd forgotten at her house. She stayed to see me off and make sure I didn't forget my backpack. Gracias Senora Funes!

The bus trip to Siguatepeque went quickly. I decided to make friends with my seatmate even if he was sitting in my window seat. I think talking with him and finding out about his life ( he was on his way home from his cousin's wedding in Olancho and was going back to work in a steel fabrication plant in San Pedro Sulas) was way more interesting than picking up a little more scenery. Then too, there was more room to stretch my long gringo legs on the aisle.

I arrived some time before the team made it in from San Pedro Sulas, still I wasn't alone. Luis who had worked as the agronomist at Nuevo Amanecer ( New Dawn) in the early years was there, too. We had a couple hours to catch up. He had been studying for his masters, focusing on insect pests, at the University of Arkansas. A difficulty with his visa had forced him and his American wife, Christy, to return to Honduras and work until it is straightened out. They found jobs with World Gospel Outreach where they have been working with orphaned kids. Luis will be working with us all next week as we return to Nuevo Amanecer.

A couple hours later my friends rolled in. How great to see them, it seems like months since we last saw each other. Tomorrow we'll journey together to for another reunion at N.A. Till then, adios.

Standing on Picacho, Jesus Blesses Tegucigalpa

2010-11-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Que tal, amigos?

My last full day in Tegucigalpa, I decided to go some place I haven't been.... United Nations Park on Mount Picacho. This park sits high above the city and the view is something else. I started early because getting there is a trek. First I catch a bus to the central market ( nearly all the buses go there). Then I walk to a bus on the other side of the market, which in turn takes me to the steep curving road that winds up toward Picacho. At this point I sardine my way into a minibus "can" hurtling toward the peak. I was hanging on with all my might next to a wide open door! We passed some pretty fancy real estate on our way ( many of the embassies are up here, including the US embassy). The bus let me out at the top and continued on it's way to La Tigre . As I ambled the last mile along the road to the park gate. I saw maybe 30 high-school students with hoes clearing away invasive plants from the grounds.By the viewpoint stood a little cafe where I bought a coffee and sat down to gaze at the city far below. Further along I saw rock-climbers practicing their stuff on the vertical rock cliffs . Then I came to a replica of a Mayan temple which descended stepping down into large garden, where stood a 4-story high statue of Christ with arms outstretched in blessing. It made me think of the statue of Jesus that stands on Sugar-loaf mountain in Rio, which I've only seen in pictures. Grandiose? Yes, but I found a verse inscribed at the bottom that made it more personal: Luke 24:46-50, which ends with " while he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven." I thought of that last gift from his hands, his blessing, falling upon the people of this city.

In another corner of the garden I found a statue of Confuscius within a very formal Chinese garden where many of his words were hidden, almost like surprises here and there. Sometimes that is the way truth comes to us. I was fascinated as I walked through the gardens at the diversity of plants, most of which were new to me. I wonder how birds and insects appreciate and engage with this world ... we seem to have forgotten.

Later I returned to the city,and wandered through streets marked with graffitti , punctuated with splinters and shards of glass from last years demonstrations, a message that doesn't make it to the newspapers anymore but still echos off the concrete and asphalt. There I found a little souvenir shop and startled the owner by buying something.

After dinner, back at Juan and Isidra's, I accompanied them to their church where a member and friend was getting married. This was a little different since both the bride and groom were in their late sixties and had their adult children standing in the place of best men and bride's maids. Everyone, even the kids were dressed like they stepped out of a magazine. You'd never know we were in the scruffy barrio of Flor del Campo. I think that the picture that will stick in my mind was the little flower girl who went back and picked up all the rose petals she'd earlier scattered all down the aisle.

Tomorrow is Sunday. I'll be heading for Siguatepeque to join my friends from Bethany church after lunch. I feel so much more at home in this place, thanks to my friends Jenny, Juan, Isidra, and Guillermo. So different from the first time 10 years ago, when we were hesitant even to get out of the van. See you tomorrow.

Hasta Manana, Gilberto.

Flor del Campo

2010-10-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

Hola!

Here I am , back in Tegucigalpa. Traffic has always been bad in this town. Teguz is splayed over dozens of hills and cut up by deep ravines and has grown like an amoeba, while streets and roads are more like heart by-pass surgery around clogged arteries. Recently a cavernous hole eroded in the middle of a main highway that has forced cars, buses, trucks, taxis, motorcycles, etc. up alleys and back streets to get around the blockage. It takes twice as long to get where you're going, but some buses that didn't work before do work now (and vice versa).

For us who are used to hot water showers, that's not something you can take for granted here. My friends, practice true southern hospitality and in consideration for gringo sensibilities, heat up water on the stove. I then, drawing on yankee ingenuity, mix it with cold water in a bucket and pour it over my head, a little at a time. I think it saves water and electricity. For breakfast it's typical to have refried beans, fried plantain, cheese ( think cottage cheese but solid and salty), and tortillas. It's pretty common to have sweet black coffee or fruit juice. Alternatively they often serve oatmeal ( mostly hot sweet milk with cinnamon sticks thrown in) or "panqueques" (pancakes). If you miss breakfast there's always the pulperia next door. These little shops are on every block, and sell mostly everything you shouldn't be eating: chips, cheetos, pop, candy, cookies, and gum.

After I said goodbye to Jenny and her family, I got on the bus ( an old American school bus repainted and renamed "Carlita" , with a "Taz" "Back Off!" sticker on one end and a picture of the Virgin and the words "Dios es mi Guia" ( God is my Guide) on the other. There's a beefed up sound system blaring the latest "Regaton" (rap) hits. The music does vary, other buses play ranchero music or even Christian music. On my 6 hour trip from Trujillo to San Pedro Sulas we listened to non stop romantic pop... in English! Did I tell you I was missing Jane?

I got to the Flor del Campo school early. This school has over 200 enrolled from kindergarten to 6th grade. The classrooms are small and usually packed with 25-30 children. I have come to appreciate those good teachers who know how to keep order in a classroom, because having a gringo speaking "Spanish" and throwing out lots of questions, can cause a little disruption. Still, the kids seemed to get what I was talking about and were sometimes way ahead of me. I left every class shaking hands right and left . I felt like I was on the road to win an election! Gil Ward leading the Birthday Party.

After school let out I went to meet a friend of mine, I'll call him Guillermo, a former handyman at the children's home. He'd been through a rough stretch, after getting laid off, he got to drinking. His wife moved out taking the children and it just got worse. Remember my friend Juan? He took G. to AA, but it just didn't take. Then another Christian friend took him to church. This time G. made a turn around. He's been going to this church almost every day for a couple of months. The brothers and sisters at this church are serious about reaching and saving the lost. When he doesn't come they go looking for him around the neighborhood, even checking in the bars. Now the pastor and G. have each others cell numbers, so he can check in. G. is working on his relationship with his wife, they are attending marriage seminars at another church . I share this, to encourage prayer for my friend, his wife , and his children. This story shows the church as a family looking after it's own. That's an example to us.

That night I stayed with Juan and Isidra. Juan is a reader, and unlike many Hondurans his house is packed with books , which may explain his dedication to the local library project. So after he whips up a healthy "celery smoothie" we sit down and talk about religion and politics. His brother Mahatma Martin is staying with him for a couple weeks before rejoining his wife in Germany. MM is a professional violinist working with an orchestra in Costa Rica and it's there that he met his wife, who is German. We're talking now about children in Honduras, especially poor children and the challenge of helping them to widen their horizons. I mention taking kids on hikes, Juan brings up books, and Martin tells a story about playing his violin in some barrio schools in San Jose. Juan points to the pervading influence of TV ( even homes without plumbing or refrigeration will have a TV) and how it makes kids want things but doesn't show them how to get them ( setting goals, learning skills, solving problems, etc...) It makes me think anew about my responsibility as a mentor... Who am I teaching? What am I teaching? Who were my examples? What did I learn? Am I just expecting things to " happen" somehow?

That night we go next door to visit Juan's stepson, who's 16 year old son is having a birthday. We do something different from other birthdays I've been to. Holding hands, each one present: mother, father, uncles, aunts, cousins, guests, etc ... shares some hope or dream or expression of pride or thanks for the young man... then we blow out the candles. I like it! We should say more things like this out loud.

On this note let me say, Goodnight, see you tomorrow!

Gil.

Coming Home To Tegucigalpa

2010-10-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos.

It was a long trip. 6 hours to San Pedro Sulas, an hour in the waiting room, and 5 hours to Tegucigalpa. As I got off the bus and was getting my luggage, there were my friend Jenny and her mom, who'd come down to the station to make sure I got to their home safely as night was falling. Jenny has been preparing for missionary outreach in places where nobody goes. She has finished Bible training school, made a reconaissance visit to Pakistan, and is working on an English certificate that would equip her to teach.

Jenny helped me with bus connections the next day to from El Iberia to the neighborhood I've worked in over the past 10 years, Flor del Campo. There, I met many Honduran friends, who work with El Cordero (Lamb), which operates a school there, and a childrens home/school just outside town in San Buenaventura. When I was here a year ago I gave health talks in the school and to a business support group of single moms (see earlier blogs). The director of the school, Jacky, suggested a few topics for talks. So before I left, I'd not only reconnected with a lot of friends, I had an assignment, give a talk on " How you show respect for yourself and others", and " Using words to build-up and not to tear-down".

I bumped into Isidra, a social worker who is working with teens to help teach them good life skills. She leads 3 different evening clubs ( over 100 kids), who spend the time studying the Bible, playing soccer or basketball, and talking about life issues. She's married to my friend Juan who is a community activist. Juan was home and invited me over for lunch. Though not officially employed, he is always working , now helping someone navigate their way through the sketchy health care system, then getting a alcoholic to AA and sitting with him, later pushing to keep the local library open while the city isn't paying the librarians ( ask me more about this). Juan is a Christian concerned about social justice for the poor. He's now enrolled in a theology course. As we ate our tortillas, we talked about liberation theology and ways to protest peacefully and act constructively. Juan is concerned about getting the big picture, and reminded me that a free press is not something to take for granted. Interestingly, his brother, is named Mahatma.

The next day I caught a bus for San Buenaventura to visit the kids at the childrens home. I just love getting hugged by 60 people! The first thing they asked was always, " Where's Jane?" ( by now I'm missing her as much as they are). The second thing was, " When are we going hiking?". I found Valerie, the school director/3rd grade teacher, on her way to class. After big hugs she let me know that the kids were expecting a talk. I set my pack knapsack down and sat down, pulled out my dictionary, and started thinking. Here's what I came up with.

Respect/ Honor

Think of a time when we honor people... when we celebrate them... yes that's it, their birthdays!
How do you get ready for a birthday? You clean up ( shower, brush teeth, comb hair, etc). You dress nice ( clean clothes, nice clothes, shirt buttoned and tucked in, shoes brushed and shined, etc). You bring a present ( what can you give if you don't have a lot of money? a smile, a hug, a card, friendship, help, encouragement, forgiveness, love, etc). You say nice things ( you listen first, speak politely, don't say mean/hurtful things, etc). You do kind things ( you behave well, you join in, you help celebrate, etc).

We all like birthday parties don't we? They're fun. Everyone's happy, not just the birthday boy or girl, but everyone! Now what if tomorrow we celebrate like it's a special day for us and for everyone around us. Let tomorrow be a special day when we honor people. Let's see what happens. I think we might feel a little like when it's a birthday and then who knows we might just start celebrating every day.

The kids seemed to like it. They know parties. Parties? That reminds me... I have some books that I've been carrying all this way. Thanks to all of you who have contributed. Valerie started a library project about a year ago, partly to help these children become readers. Now it's a space where kids come to hang out every day. The biggest need are novels, especially good for teens.

San Buenaventura is up in the mountains and the wind blows hard. It was cold and wet and I felt like I was in the Northwest ( so far Honduras has gotten 3x the rain it usually gets in the rainy season). We did manage to get out on 2 hikes. No mangos this time, but it is the season for nance. They're small clusters of yellow berries that grow on scrubby trees scattered among the pines. They taste a little acidy sweet and besides eating them whole, people often make juice out of them.

I was able to stay overnight 2 nights ( I slept in the weekend watchman's bed). It was good to have the chance to live with the children through the whole of their everyday, from meals,to chores, to school,to homework,to play, and to bedtime. I have one picture of a 8 year old boy washing out his clothes by hand ( think washboard and elbow grease). I think that when I come back, I'll focus on teaching kids and staff how to play games and how to take care of them. They need more games and games cabinets to keep them in. Something about the miserable weather reminded me of when I was a kid playing Monopoly with my brothers and sisters. Bad weather can be a blessing.

It's always hard to say goodbye, especially when you have to say it 60 times. I'm so glad that I was able to make it, even for just a short visit. As the kids went back to class after lunch. I headed to the road to catch the bus into Tegucigalpa. I haven't mentioned my bodyguards, 2 dogs that followed me everywhere, they saw me off. I wasn't alone though, Maria the cook was on her way down the mountain. She sat and talked with me all the way into town. I made a new friend.

I'll say goodbye for now. The next installment will be out soon. Adios! Gilberto.

Trujillo, Honduras

2010-10-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos,

Arrived in San Pedro Airport around noon on the 22nd. Hot... whew! Left the airport with my backpack and walked down the road to the highway into town where the local buses run. It was a longer walk than I remembered. Maybe it was the hot sun and the lack of any shade. A compassionate Honduran, Abel, gave me a lift the last quarter mile.I caught the "publico" into town, a minibus out to the main terminal( think of a bus terminal like an airport, with different companies headed out all over Honduras), and then I was on a 6 hour bus to Trujillo. It was a 6 hour trip that turned into an 8 hour trek. As it got dark it turned out that the brights weren't working, which forced the driver to go really slow until we got into Tecoa where we changed buses. Trujillo is an old colonial town on the North Coast almost as far east as you can go on the bus. Trujillo was where Columbus first set foot on mainland soil. For a short time it was Honduras' capitol. Later a fort was built there to help fight off pirates. It was here too that William Walker, a kind of an American "pirate" who took over Nicaragua for a short time, met his end trying to take Honduras.

I toured the old fort and got some great views of of the bay and the arc of beautiful white sand beach that stretches out to Puerto Castillo, a long-time banana shipping point.

The next day I hiked 10 K.( 6 miles) up into Capiro-Calentura ( Fever in Spanish... I was feeling hot by the end!)National Park. Alfonzo was my guide. He's working with a private group on and anti-litter/pro-recycling program for Trujillo, besides organizing and training a group of guides. I rode on the back of his motorbike up to the Park entrance.I learned all about plants of the forest, especially those you can eat. I became convinced that you could live off the forest, just like a pair of toucans we saw picking fruit in the treetops.I was surprised to hear their almost "wooden" raspy call. One plant with large heart-shaped leaves and edible roots, Malanga, is often sold in the market or planted in the garden. The trail follows an old road the US built for a radar station at the top. Now there are cell-towers there which are serviced by pack-horses. From the cloud-forest heights we gazed through shifting veils of cloud at the sun sparkled seashore below . We got back, tired and muddy, just before Tropical Storm Matthew hit. Whew!

The day after the storm all was quiet and sunny. I swam and beach-combed some of cleanest and nicest beach I've seen in Honduras. I hung out under the palms at a beach restaurant run by a family . The babies and their clothes were being washed at the pila ( an outdoor laundry sink). Later that day I walked out the Rio Negro to find a trail following a water line up to a magical waterfall-cascade.I surprised a mot-mot bird who burst out of his dug-out nest in a dirt bank to keep an eye on me balancing with his long tail from a shady branch. As I trudged home, a pick-up full of workmen , Santos, Mario,and friends ... on their way home stopped to give me a ride into town. I really felt like I came a stranger and left a friend. I got to thinking about how we treat travelers and other strangers and how important a word or an act of kindness can be.

Tomorrow 9/26 I'll be on my way to Tegucigalpa ( a looong trip). I'll keep in touch. Thanks for reading. Gil.

Back to Honduras

2010-09-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos!

I guess traveling is what un-jams my writer's block. This moss-covered rock is rolling again. I'm on my way to Honduras today. I'm part of a team from my church returning to work with the farmers of Nuevo Amanecer in central Honduras. 5 years now, we've been journeying with this village. There are 17 families digging out a living growing platano(plantain), corn, beans, and vegetables. They've built adobe homes, piped in water, built reservoirs, and a drip irrigation system for the platanos. Slowly they are paying off the loans that helped them buy the property, build their houses, and develop their farms. You can find out more about this work at Agros.org .

Our team will number 11, several of them first-timers. Our aim is to continue relationship building, encouraging them in their efforts, and helping out in the fields and in the homes. We work hard to learn everyone's names, and get their pictures, which helps us focus our monthly prayer times on them and the challenges they face throughout the year.

We've been asked to share something on conflict resolution and strengthening marriages. I thought maybe some of the talks I prepared on self-esteem for kids and staff at the San Buenaventura Children's Home might be helpful.

Speaking of the children's home, I'll be visiting them as well. I'm planning to take them on a couple of hikes.

This will be a shorter sojourn, only 3 weeks, and I'll be on my own, Jane has work to do and will be staying home. I will miss her. As I go I'm thinking about the story of Jesus in Matthew 14:17-21. Jesus, though his heart was broken for his friend John the Baptist, felt compassion for the crowds. His love didn't run out. Though the disciples had only 5 loaves and 2 fish, they fed 5000 plus people. He called his people to love like He loves. The key was bringing what they had to Him first, and then, transformed, they went back to those who were empty. My personal goal for this trip is to affirm my love for my friends and be a servant, someone God can shine His light through to brighten these lives.

Until later then, Adios! Gil

Build up a highway for the Lord

2010-06-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hi All, I've just been reading in Isaiah about getting people moving, bringing them home, and clearing a way. So I'm trying to clear away obstacles in my own life, including things that keep me from acting, speaking, and writing. With these words I'm spilling a little water over the dam to make it easier for the good thoughts, like salmon, to fight their way upstream.

Big news around here is that my daughter Jenni and her husband Tyler have a new baby! Her name is Ella and she was born May 19th. I think she looks a little like Tyler, but her hands are definitely Jenni's. Jack, her brother, just graduated from preschool and will be going into kindergarten in the fall.

I've cut back at work to part-time. The patient load and level of need of my patients was wearing me down. Routinely we work 2-3 hours over on my floor. I have been learning a lot, mostly the hard way. I want to say hurray for my fellow nurses who have helped me through it all. The 3 minutes you take to help a coworker even when you're hard pressed, counts big time. I hope I can be as helpful to others.

Sin is a word that means little to most people and I find that even for myself, I have to think hard about just what God means when I read about it in the Bible. In Isaiah, where I've been reading, it seems to be just focusing on yourself and acting selfishly. Not thinking about others. Not thinking about God. I believe self-respect is important, that's why I cut back at work. But righteous action includes helping that hurting patient or that flustered nurse when you can. I hope I can keep this in mind. Read Isaiah 58:6-9.

We are continuing to look for ways to live sustainably. Right now we're turning more and more lawn into garden, greens into compost, and body-fat into pedal-power. We've enlisted the aid of 2 chickens, Beulah and Tranquila, who are skilled at turning dandelions into eggs. Jane and I helped out at the latest Green Festival here in Seattle at the Undriver Licensing Booth. We're encouraging people to look for ways to get where they're going without burning so much gas (bus, bike, walk, carpool, car-share, skip trips, telecommute, hitch-hike, etc...)

Hope you are all well. Send me a note. Hasta lluego! Gilberto.

A Wrinkle in Time, A Warp in the World.

2009-12-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

Hello Again,

I know it's been a while since I've written. My fingers are a bit stiff. What with the magic of jet travel. those first days back in the US, we felt like we'd wandered through C.S. Lewis's wardrobe. It was hard to find any connection with the life we'd just been living. Now and again we have a moment of clear focus on Honduras. I just received a message from a friend who is striving to bring some positive change to the country. He seemed distant from those celebrating the election of the rightist candidate, ( a number of opponents boycotted the election and the former president is still holed up in the Brazilian embassy). I have heard that things are much tougher economically for the country. Opposition radio and press are largely shut down or suffering harassment. I have friends on both sides. If they can talk to me, can they talk to each other? Can a man be a bridge?

We have been back to our apple orchard in Discovery Bay. After several days chopping blackberries and cutting grass, we got together with friends to squeeze cider. It felt like an old harvest festival, ripe apples falling, autumn leaves swirling, and salmon leaping. We made a lot of cider, enough to share with our neighbors up and down West Uncas Road. It wasn't apple pies, but some remarked how it reminded them of how my Mom used to share with everyone the fruit of her trees and her hands. We are still hoping to rent the house, but for now are enjoying having a place in the country.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with 4 refugee friends, a Burmese couple and their baby girl and a young Iraqi man. We skipped the turkey but enjoyed the main part of the holiday, we were thankful for our friends . Thanks, also to lots of leftover free Halloween pumpkins we had plenty of curry pumpkin soup. Later that day I found a message in my e-mail from our friend who has been working as a translator where there has been much violence. We had not heard from him for months and had feared the worst. He is OK! Thank you God!

Both Jane and I have been looking for work. I had been able to get some temporary employment, but finances have been dwindling. I am happy to report that I've found a new job at a nursing home in West Seattle and that I'll be starting next week. One drawback is that the schedule is 4 on 2 off, so my days off will continually be changing. We'll see how it goes.

We look forward to meeting some of you in these next weeks. We have missed you. Though our hands are cold our hearts are warm. God has blessed us, now where and who will we bless? Till later, Gil.

The House with 2 Smiles

2009-09-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos, The last weekend of August I took on a physical challenge that had been on my list since we moved into our house in the country way back in May, to find out where the road past our place ended. I'd made several exploratory attempts, each time getting a little further, discovering which forks were tributaries and which one led, so to speak to the source of the Nile. I set out on my bike early and brought lots of water, nightfall and thirst had forced me to turn aroundall those other times.I broke tradition and asked directions of everyone I met, though I met few people on the way, mostly woodcutters and people heading for market. Of these most were on foot or horseback. The road wound through beautiful mountain country, past rivers, cliffs, jungle-like forest, cornfields... I felt like Lewis or Clark discovering a new land. Finally after 2 sweaty, uphill, rock-hopping hours I arrived at San Buenaventura where our children's home is located. I was just in time for lunch and the kids were a great audience for my fascinating story. Mountain-bikers come to Honduras! Just remember to bring water and a good tool kit.

For my final health talks to the kids I brought together physical health and spiritual health. I compared the most important health practices: washing your hands and bringing your hands together in prayer and worshipping God,... eating a healthy balanced diet and reading the Bible, The Bread of Life,... exercising daily and the spiritual exercises of love, sharing with Christians and others, too,... avoiding harmful stuff like drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and too much food and staying away from stuff that kills your spiritusl relationship with God, sin. I finished with the Greatest Commandment Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Mark 12:30. Life takes a total commitment. God wants us whole, body and soul. When Jesus teaches he heals, too.

Our last hike almost didn't happen due to a transportation glich. I had a crowd of excited kids all dressed up with no where to go. Fortunately one of the child care workers had an idea. We all trooped off down the road toward the village and off into a ravine where a water main pours a shower of water into the creek bed. What fun to be with a lot of kids just getting yourself and everyone else wet. To top it off I had a sack of guavas from our tree at home to share with the children. None of our hikes have been walks in the park but always the resilient spirit of the children and staff and God's blessing have turned things around. Just a few days before,

I took the staff on a bush-whack where I totally lost the track home. We had 3 small ones with us ( 4 year olds). Finally by we climbed out up a steep hillside covered in slippery pine needles into a corn field above the children's home. I felt like we'd done Mt Everest. Still they all laughed and were ready to go again the next day.

It´s been such a privilege to have a place of our own while we´ve been here. I´ve enjoyed early mornings on the porch listening to the birds and looking across the valley while I read my Bible and and think about things. Our friend Valerie described our house with its 2 hammocks as ¨The House With 2 Smiles¨. I feel like those are our smiles. Leaving is hard.

Wednesday we got loads of ¨valentines¨ ,hugs, and kisses.I got a list of all the kids birthdays and hope we can get messages to them through the year. We caught a ride with a friend and swung by to pick up our luggage only to find that some one had broken in and taken it. After the shock wore off, we took comfort in the fact that our passports and credit cards were left behind and that we´d already given away quite a lot. Actually, what we really have is what we gave away - I´m thinking of gifts of love and work that build up friendships. Those we have plenty of. We´ve got those ¨love notes¨ to prove it.

Don´t forget to pray and act for peace and justice in Honduras. We spent one of our last days here with Juan and his wife, local community activists. Juan remembers when he was a student in the 80´s and the difficult times in El Salvador. He thinks the situation here and now is very similar. They are praying and working with others to build toward a more just society. So much money that should go to pay social workers and community health workers like them has been lost to corrupt and inept politicians, leaving people like them unemployed. We visited a beautiful library that was built in this poor barrio. The Global Village helped build it, and the Reicken Network filled it with books, but the mayor´s office has not come through with operating expenses for months now.

This is my last note written in Honduras. Friday night September 11th we´ll be arriving home in Seattle. The job hunt begins anew. Thanks so much for all your support, prayers, and kind thoughts while we´ve been away. I plan to keep up the blog so stay tuned. Gil.

A Visit to Nuevo Amanecer.

2009-08-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos, This last week we not only took the kids on a hike, we took their tutors out, too. The tutors here have a challenging job. they are responsible for 10-15 kids ranging from 2-5, 5-11, and 10-13. They take care of everything (getting kids up for school, serving meals, supervising clean up, helping with homework, encouraging and disciplining, being big sister/moms) apart from school hours. for 3-5 days at a stretch. They are mostly pretty young themselves (early 20's). We figured they needed a break. We hiked around the hills and then around the village. They introduced me to a lot of local folks and to some of the local iced treats "palitos" sweetened juice and milk frozen in a little bag and chocobananas(frozen bananas dipped in chocolate. I was also served "machucas" a kind of tamale served up with butter.

Our teenage girls dropped by for toast and tea before we lit out on the bus for church. We like having people over even if it is only a short visit. They're getting the route down , so we think they'll manage fine after we leave. Then we took off on a long distance bus for Siguatepeque (Central Honduras). There we met with Norma former director of AGROS Honduras, and Luis, former agronomist with Agros. Norma is now teaching LPNs the skills they'll need to work in rural communities where there are no doctors and Luis is studying for a master's in Agriculture at the Univ. of Arkansas, specializing in entymology. Luis was able to come with us when we left the next day for Nuevo Amanecer (see March Blog). We met with Agros director Joel, social worker Sandra, and agronomist Saul, and the whole community. There are 6 new families since March. We toured the farm, It's much greener now ( March was the dry season). The Plantain (think starchy bananas) we planted then is now 9 feet high! The next day we visited famiies, writing down everyone's name, and taking pictures. There are loads of kids now, mostly girls. A big plus with this community is that there are 2 schools nearby. We met Gloria, who is continuing her training as a volonteer health promoter. Even neighbors are seeking her help, the grandma of an expectant mom came looking for her that afternoon. We picked up some groceries and with the help of community cooks fixed up a lunch for the whole village. Afterwards Jane conducted a Bible study on Exodus 1.9-2.10. How God uses the powerless to show his power. Moses' life was saved by women who were slaves (except for Pharoah's daughter). Check out "Reading the Bible with the Damned" by Bob Eckblad . I finished up with a talk on preventing and stopping the spread of H1N1 flu. We were very encouraged that the community is learning self reliance and working towards self sufficiency as they pay off their loans.

Today I talked to Honduran missionary trainees about my experiences in Tunisia and ways to encourage dialogue between Muslims and Christians. One student is preparing to go to Morrocco and another to Pakistan ( she's already visited once).

We are looking ahead to our return to Seattle on Sept. 11th. Thanks to the internet we can do some job hunting ahead of time. If you have any leads please contact us. We're looking for openings for an RN/health educator and a psychotherapist. Til later, Gil.

Painted Cave, Ebenezer, and Cloud Forest

2009-08-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

¿Que Tal Amigos? Hope you`re having a great summer. It`s been busy the last few days. I was able to arrange transportation in a truck for about 35 of our kids ( a hay-ride without the hay) to the trail head for las Cuevas Pintadas. These are indian caves decorated with petroglyphs some 600 years ago. We all made it even some of the 4 year olds. These kids are hardy! We ran into some bats and a very large variety of moths called Buhos (owls). I was very encouraged, after all my talks about preserving the environment, to see the kids picking up trash along the trail. I talked with the staff manager of the home about continuing these outings with the kids and he too is concerned that they go on after I leave. Hurray!

Sunday we accompanied 5 teenage girls on a trek to Tegucigalpa and their church Ebenezer (Hebrew: Rock of Help). We went by bus, teaching them what they need to know so they can be more independent. They were riding in a van from the home but engine problems and high cost of fuel closed down that possibility. It was a lot of fun, I like exploring town on a bus and the girls always found something to laugh about. They get a lot out of church, where they have been studying the Bible to learn how to live out their faith as followers of Jesus. Needless to say they were grateful for our help. We are going to the same church now, where people have included us like part of the family. A great help to all who are learning Spanish, most of the churches project the words to the songs and often the sermon outlines on screen.

Celebrating Jane`s recovery, we made a day trip on Tuesday up to La Tigra National Park. This is a cloud forest, high elevation and always in the clouds so that there is a luxuriant growth of ferns, mosses, bromilades, orchids, and many many trees. It`s interesting that this area was once the scene of American mining exploitation. They hacked it up pretty bad while taking out millions in valuable metals and left when the Hondurans started talking taxes and unions. It`s been protected since the 80`s and is now the source of a major part of Tegucigalpa`s and 30 other communities drinking water. We got off the bus and found we had a 2 km hike up hill to get to the trailhead. We hiked the Esperanza (Hope) trail. It reminded me of the Olympic Rain Forest except that some enchantment had fallen over it transforming the ferns into trees , little vines into ropey cables, and, seemingly fallen from the sky, exotic bromiliades ( air plants) perched on every branch. Some of these look like Pineapples and some like houseplants gone crazy. We hiked and hiked and then almost ran out of the park, rushing to catch our bus, the last one. The bus driver had told us 3 PM but fortunately it was 340 PM, so we weren`t left behind.

This week the talks were on the Heimlich Manouever. This gave me lots of opportunity for physical humor, which the kids love, and a great need for volunteers, which gave me something to do with the rowdy ones. I asked about emergency services, you know they always tell us to call 911... I was told that even though the firemen drive fast, they`d be a long time getting to our neighborhood. I did get the school coordinators to call the Red Cross which do give classes.

I`m developing some habits, like swinging in the hammock in the morning, and tastes like mangoes with my granola that are going to be hard to satisfy when I`m back in Seattle. I think I`ll be able to keep my Spanish up, if I keep riding the bus. I do hope we can keep some of the attitudes like not being in too much of a hurry, and just enjoying being with people and talking. I don`t think I need to be "plugged in"
all the time. It`s been good for Jane and me not to have so many distractions so that we`ve had more conversation time and more shared experiences as well. Still sometimes I think she might want to smother me with my crossword puzzle book. I`m even doing it in Spanish sometimes.

Adios, for now and hasta luego. Gil.

On the lake and under the falls

2009-08-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hi friends, We've been carrying on work at the children's home and the schools. Jane's more or less recovered from the virus that had been plaguing her. She is happy about losing some weight. I'm glad she's gettting her energy back. We found a gym with a swimming pool, where she can go and that is her favorite exercise. I've been going with her and am feeling much more comfortable in the water. Maybe I'll try one of those just for fun triathelons...?

When we first came down here for 2 weeks at a time we wondered how we could make much difference in such a short time. Now We've been here 6 months and I still feel the same way. You see a lot that needs changing. You get to know people and see what they're up against and wonder what will happen 6 months down the road. I hope we've communicated that we care and left some good memories. I guess every goodbye is preparation for the last goodbye.

I've been talking to the kids about setting goals ( paso a paso a su pasion) and eating healthy so they'll be in shape to get there. I continue to work with a great group of poor, mostly unsupported women who have been working to make a living through microbusiness cottage industry. They liked the goal setting exercises, too. I'm encouraging them to make a personal contract, with a specific measurable step tied to their calendar, each week.

My latest project is to ge a basketball hoop set up at the children's home. Where do you find one around here? I found an idea on line for recycling an old bike into a hoop, using the handlebars, fork, and a wheel rim. Wish me luck.

Jane and I got off last week, celebrating her recovery and bringing a teacher from the school who was needing a refreshing. We went to Lake Yojoa, the one big lake in Honduras. It is the place to see birds, so we got up early, 530am, and hopped into a leaky boat rowed by an eight year old boy. He did good! I spelled him a couuple times and realized he was a much better rower than I. We wandered around the shoreline through sub tropical rain forest checking out the myriad trees, plants, butterflies, and other crawling creatures. Later we went to Pulhapanzak Falls. We didn't just look at this incredible falls 15 meters high, we went under it and behind it. Led by a guide we braved the "firehose" spray' sometimes holding on to each other so as not to fall down and not get lost, since we could barely open our eyes in that churning water. By the end I was washed ,rinsed ,and put through the ringer. What a rush!

Jane and I are reading Job, Do we serve God for love of Him or to get a blessing?Look at Job 13.15 In the morning I'm reading Acts, lately realizing how God is working in many many people all around me, even those I'd never suspect. He's a surprising God.

For you bird lovers, I think I identified the bird that every morning wakes us up singing "Did you pray?" He's an ocellated quail, Im pretty sure. Hope you're all well. Hasta luego! Gilberto.

Healing the Scars

2009-07-31T14:23:00.000-07:00

Hi friends, this last week was quite a different experience for me. I joined with a team that included a doctor and 3 nurses (counting myself) but we weren´t treating people as patients. The team was engaged in praying for healing in the lives of the children and staff here at San Buenaventura and Flor del Campo. I was very flattered and challenged to be asked to translate for the team. I have often prayed for this ministry but it was different praying for each person individually and with the expectation that God´s Holy Spirit was near and willing to heal broken spirits and scarred hearts. At the same time I´m reading the New Testament book of Acts how God´s Holy Spirit was daily transforming individuals and communities. It´s got me thinking, too often we box God up with our ¨religion¨ and we need the faith to let Him loose right down here where we live our lives.

We´ve been here now almost 5 months and have only 5 or 6 weeks left. I´m thinking a lot about what kind of impact we´ve had, if and how and who might carry on the work we started. The Saturday hikes have helped me to make friends with a lot of kids, I´m going to miss them. I will be looking around for someone who´d like to to keep on with the hikes. I guess my biggest goal is to leave them with some really happy memories.

Though this is short I´m going to publish it. I´ll be back soon with some more of the story.

To Belize and Back Again

2009-07-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

Last Monday when I went in to extend my permission to stay in the country for another 30 days, I was told, " Oh didn't you know that you can only do that one time?". I would have to leave the country by Tuesday and spend at least 3 days away. The closest places to go outside the CAFTA block are Belize, Mexico, and Costa Rica. So that afternoon I was on a bus to The North to San Pedro Sula. The next day I crossed into Guatemala on my way to Flores (Peten region, near Tikal) to come into Belize through the back door. Always talk with your seat mates and follow up on little details that don't fit. I stayed on the bus when I should have changed. No one mentioned a change, but I did notice the bus had Guatemala written on the front and the driver walked the aisle pointing at everyone and saying Guate'. Well Guatemala is not just the name of the country, it is also the name of the capital. I went about 100 miles down the road before I was able to catch a bus going to Flores. There were 20 Hondurans on the bus, my seatmate told me, who were hoping to cross the border into the US. He had been deported after 3 years there. Unfortunatly his wife, also illegal, was still there with their daughter, who was born in the states. Flores was beautiful, a little island in Peten Lake. I got to see the sunset. The next day I hopped a bus for Belize City. I was the only passenger on a 5 hour bus trip. Got to know the attendant, he used to play soccer professionally until he had a bad drug test. Careful with those steroid creams! Once we got to Belize City, I jumped right on the water taxi for Caye Caulker. What a change of scenery! Caye Caulker is a sandy isle, shaded by palm trees, hung with hammocks, perfumed with barbeque, and moving to a kind of slow reggae rythm. It was a good place to slow down and to meet people from all over the world. I tried out some snorkeling, but discovered that the really good place to see fish was on the reef. So I broke down and went on a tour. We sailed out to the reef on a sailboat. The captain and mate joined us in the water showing where to look. We saw everything! Fish ( a rainbow spectrum, striped and polka dotted),Sharks, Rays, Turtles, and a Manatee. To look at it you'd think it couldn't be anything but clumsy, but that's why we don't make hasty judgements. It described grace with it's flippers and tail! We enjoyed a great day sailing, swimming, talking, and eating. I recommend the outfit, Raggamuffin Tours. Too soon, it was time to go home. I got on a bus from Belize City going South to Punta Gorda. Belize is a beautiful country. I especially liked the mountain jungles. Super Green! The people are a real mix too. Garifuna ( descendants of escaped African slaves who settled all along the southern edge of the Caribbean), Ladino, Maya, E. Indian, Chinese, German (Mennonites). The Belizians are great cooks, they all know barbeque, and , if you're hungry, will sell you a plate. I've had no difficulty getting around, everyone has been helpful and no one has taken advantage my gringo disability. From Punta Gorda I took a launch to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. We bounced along in vain trying to flatten out the waves. I had cleverly picked out my seat so as to recieve the maximum spray of salty sea in my face. I arrived as fresh as frond of seaweed cast up on the beach. Then managed to sidestep a van driver who was going to take me across the border for only $40 and found a busito in the market that took me there for 20 Quetzales ( $2.50). Then walked across the border and caught a public bus to Puerto Cortez. Since it was already 3PM I chose to stay in the beach town of Travesia. It turned out to be a good choice. I found a great hotel( clean, reasonable, right on the beach, great cook, and friendly owners) La Frontera del Caribe. The next morning sitting on the beach I watched Garifuna fisherman jump out of their boat with a net. They worked it while swimming and later waded ashore with 3 large Palomita. Made me think of the disciples fishing in Galilee. My landlady Marilyn, took me into town the next day, so I could get to a bank. It turned out that her husband, Jose, was on his way to visit his family down south and would be passing through Tegucigalpa. We split the gas , I got home before dark, and made a new friend. The only trouble we ran into was being stalled for 45 minutes due to a small group of demonstrators who set fire to some tires on the highway. The political situation is still a stalemate. the government in power won't go with Arias' 7 point peace plan and the ousted president continues to say he's coming back. We do have a curfew, 11PM to 4AM.
God bless you all! Gil.

Como Esta Honduras

2009-06-29T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody. You may have heard about the recent political disturbances here. We're OK. Things were a little tense Friday thru Sunday. What we would have considered a reasonable referendum on relaxing term limits was worrisome to many who were concerned about vote buying ( outcomes are often contested here). Lately a lot of fuss was made by the legal powers over the constitutionality of such a referendum. When the military wouldn't cooperate to get the ballots from the legal branch, the president got his people to get them, provoking legal reaction which led to the military sacking the president. His popularity had been sagging. The legislature then endorsed the action and appointed the president of the congress ( cf Speaker of the House) as temporary head. The problem now is that this looks like a military coup. They say it's not, but most other countries say it is. Anyway life seems to be going on like normal. We've been staying home ( we live 10 miles south of Tegucigalpa) for the past couple of days.

I started a chess club for the kids up at the children's home. What a riot, teaching a crowd of 7 and 8 year old boys that no you can't move the pieces around like toy soldiers and knock the other guys down while making gunfire noise. I guess it would be the same if I was teaching a bunch of politicians. Happily they started catching on and seemed to enjoy themselves. We're going to need a few more chess sets now.

Jane was sick for several days...diarrhea which led to dehydration. We got excellent medical care by the Honduran doctors. Not expensive either. She's OK now. We have to be really be careful about food. Washing, peeling, etc. You can't assume always that kitchen and serving staff are trained and practicing good hygiene. Sometimes it's good to watch for a while before you order. It's time for another training for the children's home cooks. I was happy to see that some of my suggestions to improve the facilities are being implemented. Thet're getting a new tile floor and there's a new work table.

Jane was able to team up with a psychiatrist to review some of the kids who are on medication or need to be. Building fairness and accountability into the system is very important to us. Pray that this will be a learning and a healing community.

I finally got my bike tire fixed. I'm on wheels again! I identified the hummingbird that hangs around our house as a "White Eared Hummingbird". We've got "Yucatan Jays" as well as "Social Flycatchers", "Streakbacked Flycatchers, "Altamira Oriels","Great-tailed Grackles", and Wagler's Oriels" . I'm still trying to figure out the others. Like one who says "Did you pray?".

I've been reading how many of Jesus disciples didn't recognize him right off when he appeared to them after his resurrection. I'm wondering how often I miss him because I'm too caught up in my concerns, too distracted by all the noise the world's making, or just not looking? Time to clean out my ears. Hope you're all well. We miss you. Gil.

Cementing Friendships

2009-06-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends, Another team has come to help here at the children´s home. I´m helping out with communication between the the Honduran mason and the team as we have been building a concrete courtyard in front of the school. I´m learning a lot about the process, from leveling out the site, tamping it down, laying rebar, mixing and finishing cement. Maybe I´ll try putting in a little patio when I get home. We´re all learning, the team includes a surgeon and a lawyer and their kids among others. Even those who´ve done this kind of work are finding out how it´s done Honduran style. Working with Hondurans this way does a lot to help cement friendships too. What if we built relationships with as much care as we do houses?

Thanks to all who have been praying for us. Both Jane and I have been sick lately. We have a fresh appreciation of the value of our community here and at home.

I´m preparing a talks for the kids on self-esteem. Jane loaned me a great book- Respect-A Girl´s Guide to Getting Respect and Dealing When Your Line is Crossed-Macavinta and Pluym. I wish I´d had something like this when I was growing up. I hope we can get these boys and girls off to a better start.

I´m reading in John 16:20-21 about the hard times that Jesus was anticipating and how he was trying to prepare us. He describes it using the picture of a woman having a baby. How does a woman prepare for childbirth? Maybe there are some ideas there for all of us as we face spiritual and emotional hard times.

I´ll say goodbye for now. Thanks for reading. Gil.

From Ciempies to Futbol

2009-06-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends, It's been a busy couple of weeks since I last wrote. One thing that's impressed me is that Nature however beautiful, can be dangerous. My last health talks at the children's home have been on Earthquake Safety and What To Do in Lightning Storms. You'd think I'd be more careful. I found a lightning bug in my house and thought I'd help him outside. I discovered that he had electricity left over. Yeoww! Then I saw one of those creepy, wiggling a thousand ways, centipedes (ciempies). Didn't realize it had crawled into my bed. Aghh! They sting!

Jane had to make a trip to California, so I was on my own for a week. As it worked out I was able to help out with a medical team down here from Tennesee. My first time to help out translating for doctors. It was pretty challenging. The area for consultation was about 10x20 feet with 5 tables, an MD, a translator, and a family at each. Noisy! Then I discovered that many people were using words in ways different from dictionary definitions. Fortunately being altogether in a tight space, I could get help from other translators. After a while it seemed that patients were comparing notes and their symptoms were sounding very similar. That's when the physical exam was essential. We saw probably 300 plus every day. My last day with the team, I had to get my residency papers renewed( I'm good for another 30 days), so my translator job was filled. I was pressed into community relations, which meant I was out in the street playing Frisbee (platillo), volleyball (capia), and soccer (futbol). We did a lot of retrieving frisbees from roof tops and soccerballs from ditches. I learned anew how important it is to learn peoples names. I made more friends that day. I got to know some really kind and friendly brothers and sisters from Tennesee, too.

We celebrated National Student day by taking a hike. It was a long way to the trail head so we were really tired by the time we got to a river with a nice pool. We decided to make that our objective and soon all were splashing and whooping it up. Who cared if our clothes were drenched, it was hot! We made it back, big kids carrying little kids. You'd think they'd had enough of hiking for a while, but they were asking me about next day's hike. That's another story, we did find another mango tree. The kids are a real team, some climbers, some gatherers, some carriers... they really help each other. I do think God was watching out for us...no one was injured badly by falling mangos...I had only one first aid call and I was carrying bandaids...and the rain held off until we got home.

Speaking of fruit, I've been reading John 15:4-5. Jesus is the tree and we are the branches. Sticking to him is our work and the work of the Jesus and the work of God's Spirit. Fruit comes out of this unified cooperative community. What is this fruit? It's love for each other, like those kids take care of each other, and it's praise and thanks to God. Like oranges are liquid sunshine, love is a spiritual wine, we lift our glasses to him.

Hasta luego amigos!

Green Mangoes and Manzanitas del Rio

2009-06-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

Buenos Dias a todos, I´ve got more of a schedule now, and we´re in our own place which feels good. I´m really enjoying my Saturday hikes with the kids from the children´s home ( Hogar de Niños). Recently I enlisted the schoolbus driver ( a local) as a guide. We hiked for nigh on 3 hours.The kids were pretty worn out at the end but revived when we came across a tree loaded with green mangoes. Soon they were scampering up the tree, shaking branches, and scrambling for the fallen fruit. We returned home laden with mangoes, stuffed in pockets, t-shirts, and even plastic sacks salvaged from the roadside. The hikers were generous and shared their haul with the other kids. Even when green, mangoes are good. People here eat them with salt and lime and chili sauce. Next week I took a different group out, they were talking mangoes from the start. Things turned out different, this time we discovered parroqueet feathers, slid down hillsides covered with pine needles, and ran into a tree of manzanitas del rio ( little river apples). These taste a little like apples with a hint of some kind of spice. I don´t know what we´ll find this next Saturday. I just hope the ice cream man doesn´t find me again. How can I say ¨no¨ to 15 hungry children?

The latest health talks to the kids have been ¨Who Do You Talk to When You´re Upset¨ and ¨Making Sure We Have a Healthy Environment- Taking Care of the Earth¨. the adult talks have been ¨Depression- Danger Signs and How to Help a Friend¨ and ¨Keeping Your Joints and Your Back Healthy¨. It is getting easier. I´ve started asking for feedback, I need the correction and encouragement to keep at it.

Our place is feeling more like home. I got the hot water working, hooray! It´s kind of an on demand electric water heating shower-head. We got a hot plate and yesterday I made crepes and french toast. I´ve got a bike to keep up my exercise, but so far most of my sweating has been over flat tires.

Some of you may have heard about the earthquake down here. 7.1 on the Richter Scale just off the Caribbean coast of Honduras. We felt it here. It was like we were in a boat. We could hear water splashing in the toilet. It wrecked a lot of the dock in the major port of Puerto Cortez as well as a major highway bridge to the North coast. 6-7 people died. I´m planning a ¨What To Do in an Earthquake¨ talk for the kids. I´m going to try to translate some of this blog into Spanish. It´ll be good practice and I know I´ve got some Latino friends I´d like to keep informed. Til later, Gil.

Charlas y Caminatas

2009-05-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
Charlas y Caminatas (Talks and Hikes) have been a big part of things for me lately. I´m now doing little talks in the schools, going from kindergarten up to 4th grade. It keeps me hopping, It´s getting easier...at least I´m not as nervous about it... I just jump right in...with both feet into my mouth.I´m doing some talks to mothers, those who are recieving food aid and those recieving scholarships for their kids. Latest topics The right way to wash your hands, Preventing infection to cuts and scrapes, Keeping Skin Healthy...I´m also leading a couple of groups of hikers into the countryside on Saturdays. I talk with them about Nature and Taking care of our world. There were 11 kids in the 10 to 12 year old group. ´We had all been to the dump the day before, kind of a nightmare scene with garbage trucks rolling in every minute, hundreds of people picking through the trash for usable and recyclable stuff, vultures flopping around, and buzzing flies. We talked about what it was like and who was responsible and what we could do to keep the world from becoming like that. Then we scampered up a nearby mountain. I felt like I was herding wild goats. The younger kids about 20 of them went a little slower. We caught a lot of crickets. Besides talking about caring for the earth, we talked about the pine that grow here and Nance, another fire resistant evergreen(broadleaf) that puts out sweet little yellow fruits. I picked up an old scout book and hope to use some of the ideas as we get out into the wilds each week. It looks like I´ll be doing some talks for the staff on health issues, too.

We´re moved into our place now. Nice and quiet in the morning. The rains have come and things are greeening up beautifully. We´ve got some chorchas (orioles), bright orange and black birds that make hanging nests. A brilliant accent to this bucolic scene. We´re getting around OK on the busses, although it´s a challenge ( packed in, 3 to a seat and standing jammed together) to see out of the bus to know where to get off. Getting off is a something you have to start working on 5 minutes ahead.

We get thunder and lightning daily along with the rains and at night afterwards there are hundreds of lightning bugs shining everywhere we go. My mom would love it, having grown up in Arkansas.

I´ll sign off before the power goes off.

Getting Busy

2009-05-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hola Hermanos y Hermanas, We're into the thick of it , this week. Jane has been meeting with staff of the school and children's home. The Children's home has been needing a psychologist since January and the School's psychologist is going on maternity leave in June. Jane's working to set up groups for kids that really need help. I'm getting our place together- some safety and plumbing issues mostly. I'm doing my first health talk to a mothers group, on skin care- preventing infection, dealing with problems like rashes and sunburn, etc. They want me to do a talk to the kids on respect for animals. I've been thinking about working with some of the older kids (8-12) taking them on nature hikes, a chance to teach respect for the earth, so this fits right in. I was on the bus hitting the hardware stores. Haven't gotten too lost or missed many stops, people have been really helpful getting me pointed in the right direction. Jane and I celebrated our 13th anniversary Sunday. What an adventure! Thanks so much for your prayers. We're looking to find a church close by, where we can build friendships. We learned just yesterday of Maxine's going home. When she let her light shine, it went off like a roman candle. What energy. What warmth. What sparks. I think God used her in a major way to link Bethany to our African brothers and sisters. We'll miss her terribly... still... I can just see her, in bright colors, "marching in the light of God". Til later, Gil.

one last look at Guatemala

2009-05-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos. We just got back from visiting Coban and Semuc Champey. We invited our Korean friend Carmela along. She´s been in Guatemala several months and hasn´t had much opportunity to travel around much ( a Catholic sister and a nurse, so she´s a worker). The area around Coban is wet and cool, ¨cloud forest¨country ( think of the Olympic rain forest, just a little warmer. Semuc Champey is really out in the sticks, miles and miles of dirt roads in 4 wheel drive to get there. Hot springs meeting a cold rushing stream over eons have created a fascinating sculpture of stairsteping pools over caverns that the river has dived underneath. We swam and jumped from pool to pool, climbed down a rock cliff, swam under a waterfall, and climbed up into a cavern. A strange place of wet, glistening, fantastic shapes. We finished with a 15 foot leap into the stream. Wow! All this barefoot so as not to damage the fragile limestone. To top off this jungle experience Howler Monkeys sang us their version of ¨Good Night Irene¨. After 2 days we caught one of the very efficient minibuses they use to get from town to town here and went to Biotopo Quetzal. This is a park set aside to protect cloud forest habitat, a place where the increasingly rare bird, The Quetzal, lives. This is the national bird of Guatemala, with the feathers of a showgirl, but terribly shy. We never saw one but we did see a green toucan, a heliconus charitonus (sp?) butterfly ( black wings with yellow lightning bolt and red heart markings), and some really great trees. I love this stuff. It´s amazing nature´s variety. We´re packing up now to leave for Honduras at 4 AM tomorrow morning. We met a friend, Mike, from our last time down here. From my last post you know how dark the future looks for Guatemala. Mike encouraged me, pointing out a couple of things. One is that we modern Americans have gotten away from looking at things from the long view. Our forefathers , like many recent immigrants, worked and sacrificed, living through really hard times, keeping hope for their grandchildren and great grandchildren. Think how heavy are snowflakes? How heavy is the last one that breaks the branch? The other thing was the candle in the dark, Amnesty International´s symbol. Each little light makes it a little harder for the dark powers to have their way. The moment will come when they will have no place to hide. Today I read Psalm 103:4-6. God will come to the defense of those who suffer violence. Til later, Gilberto

Back to Honduras

2009-04-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hello all. We will be finishing our language study today and heading back to Honduras next week. We're hoping to swing by the mountainous area of Coban on our way. It's one place we've not seen and famed for waterfalls, grottos, and cloud forest. I attended a lecture recently about the present state of things in Guatemala.To sum up it looks pretty dismal. There's a big chasm between the indigenous and ladino population, the government's weak and overly centralized (little local control), corruption is rife, legacies of a 36 year civil war persist (many of the peace accords have yet to be implemented), and population growth is the highest in Central America ( 4.4 kids per child bearing woman). Right now the drug traffickers control 40% of the country and and the murder rate is 6 times that of the US. The lecturer, an American woman who has lived here for 20 years, says she's more pessimisstic than ever. There are positives They have a free press and good reporting, many grass roots leaders are emerging, there are no political prisoners, there is freedom of religion, and women can own and inherit property. Big needs are education, especially of young women. So, lots to do. Lots to pray about. Jane and I both feel like we've made breakthroughs in Spanish. She's hoping to keep up studying with her professor using Skype. I know we'll be getting lots of practice over at the children's home and elementary schools. I read psalm 100 today. What a privilege we have. God is inviting us into His presence. He loves us! Think about it. Thank you all for your emails and prayers. You help keep us going. Hasta luego, Gilberto.

Easter 2009, Antigua, Guatemala

2009-04-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Hola, The last couple days, I´ve been focused on the reality of Jesus´resurrection. The world is changed. Whether we see it or not God´s kingdom has come.We´ve got Good News! I had another chance to glimpse, to feel it this weekend. Easter morning I climbed up Cerro de la Cruz to sing and pray with other Christians. We are a grand family united by his indestructible love. The cross couldn´t kill it. The grave couldn´t hold it down. Jesus is alive! The nails are rust, the thorns are dust, Jesus lives and loves in these hearts and in this world. Afterwards we got together with our house-mates to share breakfast together, our landlady is on vacation so we took care of each other. I feel like we have a privelege in sharing fellowship with others who are in the middle of big changes, a life adventure going who knows where? Later we went to El Camino Church where they focus on communicating in both English and Spanish. We got to sing everything twice, in both languages. I was very happy afterwards when April, the song leader gave me copies of the words with the guitar chords. Hope to carry the songs with me. We´re doing OK so far eating what the street venders are selling. I´m mostly staying away from anything not cooked, and things that are hard to wash like salads. Lots of beans, rice, tortillas, plantain, etc. Hope you´re all pushing up through the cold ground and blooming in new colors. I hear the tulips are coming up in Seattle. If you see my flower bed let me know how it looks. If you can send me a picture that would be great.

Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala

2009-04-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hi again, Just back down from the Volcano. Thinking ahead I borrowed a couple of broomsticks from my landlady, and used them as hiking sticks. They came in handy as it was a steep trail with plenty of jagged bits of broken lava at the top. Having 2 was good, I had one to share with a woman who was needing a little extra help. Guess what do you know that alder grows up here on the high mountains? Many of the local folk accompanied us on horseback. They we're expecting some of us to poop out and hire a 4 legged taxi. I've got some pictures of lots of lava pouring out of the mountain and sliding down the slopes. Forgot to bring the marshmallows. The last couple of days we've witnessed many reenactments of Jesus last week before the crucifixion. I've been reading the account in John along with the Psalms 87,88, & 89. God has been opening up to me a picture of the power of God in the face a darkness that denies His existence. I think of some of his last words: Buck up, guys. I've beaten the powers that run this world" John 16:33 (my paraphrase). I'm working on another health talk, "Dealing with Depression". If any of you come across any good stuff I can use for my talks, send me an e-mail and include a link, if you've got one. Here are some of the titles: Dealing with Back Pain, Protecting Your Skin, Keeping Your Heart Healthy, Keeping your Lungs Healthy, Dealing with Joint Pain, Maintaining a healthy Weight, Balancing your Diet, Staying Fit for Busy People, Dealing with Stress, Dealing with Depression, Exercising Your Brain,...We appreciate your prayers too for Jane as she forges ahead in Spanish.

With Jane in Antigua, Guatemala

2009-04-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos, It´s been great being back with Jane. We are staying with the same family we stayed with 2 years ago. In some ways I feel right at home. We´ve been learning about a ministry here called God´s Child PROJECT. A Korean nurse, Carmela, who is at the same house works there. The are working with kids facing some of the same challenges our work in Honduras is confronting. They are further along so we´re getting some good ideas. Right now it´s Holy Week in Antigua which is a religious center in Guatemala. They go all out, with flower murals in the streets, processions carrying representations of the events of Christ´s last week leading up to the Crucifixion. Yesterday, Palm Sunday, I thought how Jesus´ entry into Jerusalem reflected ahead to that day coming in the future when He will return as King. I read Psalm 84, which talks about the joy of living where God lives, where God is King: the Temple. Then I thought of how I can make this place, this corner where I find myself, God´s Temple. How do I claim ground for God´s Kingdom ? The psalm makes it sound like bringing justice, especially to the poor, is a good place to start. Hope you´re all well. I´m planning to hike up a volcano tomorrow. Hasta lluego. Gilberto.

Overnight in Copan

2009-03-31T07:14:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos. I'm here in Copan, an amazing ancient Mayan city in western Honduras. If you ever come to Honduras, stop here. I stayed at an old hotel where Jane and I have stayed before, Los 'Gemelos, the twins. The owner Mafalda, is like your grandma. She keeps a garden in the center courtyard. I ate this morning at " Llama de los Bosques" run by another grandma, it's plain she likes you because she feeds you so well. I'm going to walk over to the ruins. It's like a big park, you can imagine the crowds of mayans gathered around the ball court their faces painted, waving flags, cheering and chanting fight songs. I hope to post some pictures after I get a little technical assistance. Later today I will hop on a bus for Antigua, Guatemala and a reunion with Jane. Dios les bendiga! God bless you! Gilberto.

Last Week. Tegucigalpa

2009-03-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos, I've been staying at my friends, The McCalls, the past week. We're setting up to live in the house next door. It needs the electricity hooked up but otherwise it'll be a good base for us. Close to our friends and not far from the children's home where Jane and I will be working. It's out in the country, a tranquil setting. This last week I visited the children's home, the schools, and the neighborhoods where we'll be and talked to staff and a group of women about a series of health talks I'm preparing. They gave me some good suggestions. I did a health talk at the school on how to keep from spreading disease, what microbes are, and good handwashing. I even got to do a devotional for the Honduran staff. I talked about the psalms, how they are personal conversations with God and we took some time to write our own psalms. Here's one I wrote. " Thankyou God. You refresh me like a cool breeze. Like a drink of water you revive me. I can go on through the desert. Through dry land, I keep walking. Till I come to you. You are my green pasture." Please pray as we get started on our work and build new friendships. Yes, and safety on the road. I'm headed for Guatemala by bus on Monday to rejoin Jane for a couple of weeks. Til later. Gilberto.

a week in Nuevo Amanecer

2009-03-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

Hi all. It's been pretty busy. This is my 4th time to the village. It's beginning to feel a little bit like home. each time there have been new faces and sadly some of those we knew before have aren't around any more. We hope that our being there provides some encouragement and continuity to those who have kept at it. We hope too that we are doing something to help the new people integrate into the community. One thing I've learned, farming is hard work,and building a community is even harder. I really like the new staff, the director Joel, the agronomist Saul, and the social worker Sandra. In an effort to connect with folks, we took pictures of all the families and made them into a photo mural which for a while will be posted in the community building. Later they can take them home. Some in our team worked with the kids, helping each one make a little booklet with their own stories and illustrated with their own drawings. We put their photos on the covers. By the end we had the names photos and artwork of almost everyone. that will help as we continue to pray for Nuevo Amanecer throughout the year.We participated in a lot of farming jobs all week long. Starting out with planting plantain the first day. We got into every facet of plantain cultivation, from pruning (the call it surgery), to harvesting, setting up new seedlings (corms),and learned a lot about pests and marketing the fruit too. The farmers have really developed the farm a lot. They built two reservoirs and a drip irrigation system. We worked in the communal garden fertilizing cabbage. We got to do other things too. One morning we went to the little town down the road and visted the school where most of our kids go. There are 2 teachers teaching 70 kids, 3 grades in each class. They're well organized into small groups with each child responsible for certain tasks including discipline, which they rotate every week. Not many books in the library so we're thinking that would be a good project that would help the larger community. They provide lunch for the children which makes a big difference in such a poor area. I had an opportunity to do my Dengue fever talk ( one farmer was recovering from the fever). Friday we cooked up lunch for the village - rice and beans and hotdogs with everything.Then there was cake. It was hard to say goodbye, some of us blinking back tears. I think I'll be able to come back a couple of times since I'll be only 3hours away in Tegucigalpa until September. I saw the former director of AGROS Honduras, Norma .She invited me to stop by when I'm back in town. Norma is working at the nearby Evangelical Hospital training Health Promoters. One of them, Gloria lives in our village . She was looking to put together a first aide kit for the neighborhood. We decided to leave our team kit with her. The next day was another hard one for me since I had to say goodbye to my homeward bound teammates. I'm so glad for e-mail.I'm feeling pretty comfortable in Spanish and more at home in Honduras. I'm missing Jane a lot. She's in Antigua, Guatemala studying with her old prof/tutor about 8 hours a day. I hope to join her and celebrate Easter there later. I'm off to Tegucigalpa where I'll be looking at where we'll be living and working at LAMB's Children's Home.I hope to keep writing like this. please give me some e-mail encouragement and suggestions and questions. Thanks. Gil.

Honduras Bound

2009-03-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

I'll be heading off for Honduras tomorrow. Big changes. I wrapped things up at work ( couldn't get a LOA for 6 months so I left my job, I'll check back though when I get back to see if they missed me). We found some friends, Steve and Laura Lympus and their little boy Theo who will be renting our house while we're gone. Still looking for a renter for our place near Port Townsend. I'm trying to pack and move a lot of our stuff out of the way ( to basement and obscure storage areas). If I missed saying goodbye to you, please accept this as me waving to you from the plane. I am going to miss you... I will be with the AGROS team from our church, Bethany Presbyterian. There are 9 of us who will be helping our Honduran farmer friends in Nuevo Amanecer, a small community near Siguatepeque who are working for their own land. We'll likely be helping with construction since a number of new families are joining the 13 who are already there. After the team returns to the US, I will go up to Tegucigalpa where Jane and I will be helping LAMB, a local Honduran ministry to families and kids in that city. Jane will be doing counseling and I will be working in health education. Gotta get back to work. Til later. Gil

Some Verse I Like:

2008-09-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

I read Psalm 24:1-10 while I was looking down at the Columbia River from Ruthton Park.
That's a good one!

pedalling the Columbia Gorge

2008-09-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

Just finished riding the Gorge. Started in Vancouver 9/21 rode to Camas. Next day rode to Bingen. 9/23 rode to Hood River via the Dalles. 9/24 rode back to Portland. Great fun. Used the old Columbia River Highway for most of the westward trip.

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