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 never-ending list of tasks because new problems keep popping up such as clogged drains, leaky toilets, and exploding oven doors. Even so, he appreciated getting away from the tedium of repair work.

Sunset on our own private beach on Guanaja

So now it's been a week since we returned from Utila and it's been pretty "relaxed" for Cheryl. She has adjusted by reading three books, walking home from the centre instead of driving, running along the beach, writing long emails, working on Spanish. To prove the point, however, we want to share with you how we spent this weekend.

Friday: 
6:00 - 8:00  Morning routine of getting up, doing a 50-minute yoga session, breakfast, devotions and prayer
9:00 - 10:30  Spanish lesson
10:30 - 11:30  Wandered around el centro purchasing hardware and vegetables
12:00 - 2:00  Cheryl finished up sewing curtains and footstool cover for Kim and Rick did repairs at school
2:00 - 5:30  Hung out at a cafe called Vino Tinto enjoying beer, pizza and Scrabble with the expat proprietor
6:00 - 7:00  Made and ate chicken tacos for supper
7:00 - 9:00  Showers and Netflix

At the Vino Tinto with Ed, a Canadian expat with whom we've played several Scrabble games

Saturday:
6:00 - 8:00  Morning routine did not include walk along beach because of rain, breakfast, devotions and prayer, talking, checking email
8:00 - 11:30  Rick went to school to fix taps, get toilets ready to re-install after tile job, and work on stove while Cheryl stretched out sweeping, emailing, getting laundry off the line, going for a run along the beach and showering
12:00 - 4:00  Met other Gringos for lunch and played another Scrabble game with Kim and Ed
4:00 - 7:00  Back at beach house, talked to Juan and Kim, checked email and Facebook, worked on this blog
7:00 - 9:00  Studied Spanish, Netflix

Sunday:
6:00 - 9:00  Beach walk took a nice long time because we got caught in a rainstorm and waited it out under cover at a beachside restaurant, made a nice breakfast of gallo pinto and scrambled eggs with onion, tomatoes & cheese, devotions, made notes on computer 
9:00 - 4:00  Power out. Used computers til batteries ran out, chatted with Kim for an hour, read, played Bananagrams (okay - this really went slow . . .)

So as you can see, the task-orientation is at an all-time low . . . and Cheryl is not vibrating. Progress. As per Rick's favorite line on our yoga DVD: "Wherever you are, just be there." Also, a repeated thought in the key books that have prepared us for mission is: the experience needs to be about "being" and "learning" as much as about "doing" (Corbett & Fikkert). We have indeed been reflecting and learning. We hope we are more prepared to accept the polychronic view of time that is common in Latin American and many other cultures.

Cheryl learning to "just be"

It looks like Cheryl will be painting Kim's bedroom during the final week and she paints REALLY slowly, so that should get her through the week. Rick will be quite busy putting the wrap on as many projects as possible. Please pray that we will finish well and that our debrief with Kim will be effective.

Kayaked across Utila to a secluded beach