Two weeks ago, Mom, Allison and Riane came to visit me. It was everything I wished it could be. They got to see this life that I love, the kids I wake up for each morning, and the town that glows more and more each day. They were able to put faces to the names I write about in my blog. They saw the flawless mountains in the distance, the beach from the porch of my house, the wild cattle roaming the streets, and hear the chickens waking us up every morning. They saw grandma Nerea, at the corner of the block, each and every minute of every day. They saw the old man at his window, with his music blaring and a friendly wave each time we walked by. They got to know Rigo, better known as Manny (from Modern Family) as we often called him. They met Senor Funez, the owner of the local Mini Super down the street, greeting us daily with an “hola babies!” And we mustn’t forget little Bryan, cuter than ever, which they all fell in love with the moment they met him. Now, they understand why im here for a year (if not longer).
Monday we headed off to Cayos Cochinos. Islands of paradise you could call it. The most beautiful colored blue water I have ever seen, with islands that looked like a picture out of a magazine. So beautiful I would have believed it if I were told they were fake. We spent the day snorkeling, exploring and relaxing on several islands in the Caribbean. Even saw a past Survivor TV show, island! For dinner we ate on the beach in El Porvenir, swinging in hammocks over the water. Perfect day with the most perfect people (minus dad!).
Tuesday night we had dinner with our Kinder teacher, Rosa. We can always count on her to make an amazing dish. Empanadas with potatoes, beef and veggies. Everyone thought they would have to force the food down, just being polite and eating what was in front of them. But none took me seriously when I said Rosa is an amazing cook! One bite and they were sold.
Wednesday night we had a pizza party at the SOS orphanage. Food and dancing with adorable children and it was another perfect night. Thursday, thanksgiving! We had our morning vacation care class, including environmental week and making baskets with any and all types of decorations you can think of. Then, we went to a woman’s house down the street for Stone Soup. Locals and volunteers came by and we had a huge pot of soup, tortillas and pie to enjoy together. Off to afternoon vacation care, relax a bit, and Mayan ceremony time! Interesting sounding, I know. And it was. I really cant explain what a Mayan ceremony consists of, without it sounding completely bizarre, so I won’t even try. It was just a bonfire and we celebrated close to how the Mayans might have celebrated Thanksgiving.
Friday is the big day. And the best day I have had in Honduras thus far. There have been favorite activities, favorite nights, and favorite trips, but this was by far the BEST DAY. Our kids in vacation care were putting on a talent show, “El Gran Show de Talentos” reads the whiteboard. Everything from lip singing, to dancing, and poetry reading. Definitely a winner with the kids, they even loved our modeling show that the volunteers put on. We came home, grabbed lunch and headed straight to the beach. A few Christmas pictures with the fam, then Thanksgiving dinner time (one day late)! We all dressed up as either Pilgrims or Indians, to get us in the Thanksgiving spirit. We all chipped in a few dollars and a few of the volunteers made a huge dinner for everyone. We ended up having chicken, the turkey might have flown away? After our feast, it was time for something we have all been waiting for all week. THE CIRCUS! Yes, the circus has come to El Porvenir! Only $2.50 got us front row seats in the “box” section. All of us parade into the tent and the crowd of people in the stands starts cheering. Not quite sure why…but we went with it. So the line of gringos enter, sit in our box seats (plastic chairs on the ground) with hoots and hollers for a good five minutes. We start the wave, however that didn’t really go very well. The show begins. Nothing at this time could be better. I really couldn’t stop smiling. Three little girls come out and do a front flip on a trampoline, another girl does a back flip on the trampoline, the whole time one of the workers is literally holding the trampoline down on the ground. If this doesn’t tell you how the rest of the circus went, I really don’t know what to say. There were clowns, who went off on the fact that all us gringos were there. They had a SpongeBob Square Pants dance with the same girls that were the trampoline girls. The same guy that was the clown, was also the motorcycle rider in the cage, and who also sold pasteles at intermission. One of the women, who danced to random songs throughout the night, was also the tortilla lady and the ticket collector. Very multitalented circus performers, to say the least. I wish I could put into words how very funny the whole situation was. After the circus was over, a few of the workers from the SOS orphanage came over to celebrate Poppy’s (volunteer) birthday with Karaoke.
Saturday morning Mom, Allison and Riane left. It was honestly the perfect week, perfect weather, and perfect adventures. Plus, they brought me candy :) THANKS FOR COMING, LOVE YOU GUYS!
Along with them, they brought a special gift that many of you have contributed to. I honestly don’t have the words to express how much this means to me. You all wrote me letters that mean more to me than anything I could ever ask for. Mom put them into a scrapbook, with a few pictures from my trip in Honduras up until this point. These letters are such an encouragement to me, especially being so far away during the holidays. I have read each and every letter (there were many) and they have each brought me to tears. I love you all dearly and I can truly see the support and love I have from each of you.
Allison, wrote me something that I really think we can each learn from. This comes from and relates to something she learned in her anatomy class…”so when you break a bone, it hurts. It looks ugly and brings tears and a few moments of purely painful moments. However, when it heals, it really heals. In fact the bone becomes stronger than before. And you can see the scar on the bone for the rest of your life, but the bone itself is better. CRAZY! Everytime I read your blog or talk about you, this is what I see. Your heart is keeps breaking. It is painful to hold a sick boy. It is beyond words ugly to see the pain and suffering in a four year olds eyes as they walk to school with no shoes on or taking care of their family. Being a households provider and defender when they should be playing outside. Carefree. But, everytime you experience these things, you grow. You get stronger. You are forced to draw closer to the Lord, and your faith strengthens. And I pray you always have those scars so you remember who you are and how you got that way and who was a part of that.” I think Allison, really captured my feelings in the perfect way. Each time my “bone breaks” I just want to work stronger, love deeper and grow in my faith. Its hard sometimes. A lot of the time. But its worth it. Its so worth it. I pray that we can all take this metaphor and really live by it. To not pity others, but to really do something about it. To not let that bone break, but heal, and let it become part of who you are.
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