Rick and Cheryl on Adventure

Rick and Cheryl’s mission to Honduras and first foray into volunteer work among the poor in another country has come to an end. We enjoyed a fitting conclusion to our journey as we spent time with the global workers of the Latin American/Caribbean region at their retreat in Orlando. We were privileged to be invited to attend the retreat as we were just short-term workers - not full-time global workers who have moved from their homes in Canada and given significant portions of their lives to ministry among the poor and oppressed in countries around the world. We met more than 40 global workers who serve in places like Haiti, Guatemala, Brazil, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Dominican Republic. We were honoured and humbled to talk with them and learn snippets of their stories. At Blue River park - a Manatee refuge close to Orlando We met the Redmans who have been in southern Brazil for the past 11 years. They operate a facility for troubled youth who are sent to them by the cou...

December 8th was our last day in Honduras.  We started our journey home early on the morning of December 7th with a 7 hour bus ride from Trujillo to San Pedro Sula. The two of us with our six pieces of luggage boarded a school bus-style coach that did have what appeared to be coach seating. At 8:30 we headed west.  On these buses that bump around Honduras, in addition to the driver, there is a trip manager who solicits riders at every stop and gets them to pay the appropriate fare once they are settled into their seat and we are again under way.  We were wondering if we should have held out for the "nicer" bus, which was a Greyhound-style, but the ticket master assured us this was a direct bus.  Since the seats looked good and it was leaving at the right time, we opted for the school bus.   Looking forward to six hours on this bus Not very many of us were on the bus initially so we were able to claim two seats each.  Rick has done a few trips by bus ...

Cheryl has made some progress in her ability to be content doing nothing. Those of you who know her well will recognize the accomplishment here. In earlier blogs, we have hinted that the number and assortment of tasks for Cheryl to do here has not always been up to par. During the month of November, we (as it turns out, wisely) decided to embark on two jaunts to the Bay Islands of Guanaja and Utila in order to fill our time and experience a change of pace and venue. We had a lovely time exploring these islands and steeping ourselves in the incredible underwater world of the coral reefs. Our bank account took a hit but it was worth it - we took advantage of being in Honduras anyway and not likely getting a chance to visit them again. And it kept us from falling into boredom. Cheryl had only the cooking curriculum to work on which meant sitting in front of the computer searching for online resources, and she can only do that for so many hours a day. Rick continued to have a seemingly nev...

Mission accomplished . . . There are two vehicles owned by the mission - one 11 years old and the other 8. While they were in pretty good running condition, time and rough roads had taken a toll on these units.  When I got to Trujillo, I was asked to do what I could to make sure they were completely checked over and repaired as necessary.  However, the mechanic shops are a bit sketchy compared to what I am used to in that they are mostly open air with a lot of junkers lying around - first impressions do not inspire confidence.  But over the past few months, I have found that many of the owner/operators are capable mechanics and charge a fair price. So one of my challenges and satisfactions was being able to find dependable mechanics who could understand what was wrong and fix the problem.  I did find two very good shops in Tacoa, which is 60 km from Trujillo, where the owners spoke English making the dialogue much easier.   I got some of the major work done ther...

The school year is now over and graduation was held this past Thursday. The program went off relatively smoothly and really was something special for these girls and their families. We were a bit chagrined, however, when at 20 minutes after the program was due to begin, most of the girls' families hadn't showed up. We are all very aware of the more casual approach to start times in this culture, but last year this had not happened. Eventually, one of the teachers came in and happened to remark that there were lots of people visiting out on the street, while the program venue was about 100 feet to the back of the property. A lesson was learned that a sign announcing the event at the location is not enough; you need to have someone stationed out on the street to direct people to the entrance. So the program did get started half an hour late and the hall did fill up.  Processional Dance performance Drama - Jesus is temporarily thwarted by Satan        ...

As with any place, our days have settled into somewhat of a routine and not too much new and exciting jumps out that we haven't shared with you already. It looked like the rainy season was upon us, but there hasn't been much rain this past week. As I write, Hurricane Patricia, which you are no doubt hearing about in Canada through Facebook or the news, is threatening the west coast of Mexico. We are aware that savage storms can hit Honduras, and Kim is currently in the process of arranging for roll down hurricane shutters to be made for her windows. However, we don't think of this as a dangerous place other than the possibility of sweating to death! On our early morning beach walk  Classes have wrapped up at the ministry centre and a deep cleaning is underway. This involves windows - taking off and washing the screens, scrubbing all the glass slats that open and close, and cleaning the window grates on the outside; water tanks - climbing inside and scrubbing/bleaching...

  It's Thanksgiving ( Cena de accion de gracias ) Sunday and we are so thankful to be here. We have settled in to a routine and although it is not as busy as Cheryl would perhaps like it, it is a privilege to learn how to live in a new culture and an education to see how life proceeds effectively in different parts of the world. I can say that my suspicion that sometimes the "old ways" still work the best is being confirmed down here. Horses mow the grass around town; all spare deadfall or pieces of wood are used for cooking; all that are needed for a day's work are a machete and a shovel; chicken cut up, floured and fried over an open fire beats barbequed chicken breasts; walking with a huge bowl on your head is better than hauling a bag; bicycles hold two or three people for eco-friendly transportation; clothes scrubbed outside on a metal washboard are cleaner than those washed in a washing machine; geckos are better than Raid. Just outside our gate this morning....

Cheryl's brother told me to work on my wildlife photos because of the poor quality images I have provided so far.  Here are a few pictures of the birds in the yard that hang out at a small wetland. hey They are a little skittish so it is hard to get very close.  Hopefully these ones are a little better. We  missed the opportunity to get a close up of group of Black Buzzards along side the road, but trust me on this - las pajaros esta muy feo.  The birds are very ugly. Black Bellied Whistling Ducks Little Blue heron Northern Jacana

Improvisation is becoming a way of life.  When we arrived to our apartment, we had a brand new gas stove that had to be connected and the last couple of things put together. It is a basic stove, but is fine for our needs.  We are not really planning to do a lot of baking etc.  One problem was that all of the burners were too hot.  It was impossible to simmer so we were having trouble cooking things like rice.  I researched it and clarified that there is a small screw inside the burner knob which adjusts the low setting.  The opening was very narrow and deep so no screwdriver i could find here would fit.  After another clumsy attempt at cooking rice Cheryl was getting frustrated so i got thinking about options.  maybe a stiff piece of wire could be ground and used for the adjustment.  the first piece was still tto big but i had a stiff piece of thin wire that fit in the hole but could i get enough catch in the screw head to adjust the fla...

This the load of fruit and veggies we picked up last Monday for 13.00.  We think it is a lot for that much money