Flor del Campo

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

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

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.