Trujillo, Honduras

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

¿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.