Developments (B)

I guess the first development I should speak of are the political developments that are taking place here in Honduras. I really have no idea what is going on – but I hear that the President was detained by the military and moved to Costa Rica. I don't know – of course there are so many details – and floating opinions. I plan on googling a news article and reading it later. You might find it interesting too. Whatever happens - don't worry about us.. NOTHING ever happens in Urraco. :)

On a smaller note, developments around Casa de Esperanza are slow but happening. We have had a lot of visitors this week, including friends, family, possible donors and bored members, as well as a dean of a college that is looking into future mission trip ideas. No more interviews with house moms but this is still a top prayer priority. Other than that it has just been grounds and construction work- it is so opposite from Kansas, where you start with nothing in landscaping and try to get SOMETHING to grow – here you just try to control growth to a point where you can see where the kids are playing and where your vegetables are producing.

Personally, I am developing a phobia of ants. I have never had a true phobia before. It is kind of interesting to be so irrationally and unconvincingly afraid of something. You see there is this one kind of little bitty black aunt here that I am apparently allergic to and each time I get stung or bit or whatever, that entire appendage stings for like a week. So I have taken to wearing rain boots and jeans at all times and to jumping even when I see a different kind of ant or a picture of an ant, or one of Jude's plastic ants. It's an interesting personal development.

Jarod must be developing an immuno-deficiency of some sort because he has come down with 3 illnesses in a row, keeping him on the couch for 2 weeks. I threatened last week that he, “either needs to get well, or we are going home.” But then I learned from a friend that some amebas can live inside of you a quietly kill off your immune system and the only way to know if you have one is to take in some poop to be screened. So I threatened Jarod with that, and you all know how EXTREMELY private and embarrassing he considers bathroom matters to be – and I expect him to be getting well any day now.

Dru is developing muscles. He is quite surprised by this and the pain he feels after a day of lifting river rock, but I think he really enjoys the hard work (unless I am the one to suggest it). He has also developed – or has a pretty natural ability for welding I guess. He has been welding the trusses for the 3rd home and is doing a great job – a loves the work. I told him he could make good money at and he thought that sounded better than McDonalds. He also developed a pretty bad attitude toward me yesterday and we had a nice long discussion about authority – and his problem with it. He said he was “working on it,” and I thought, “Well, I'm still working on mine, so that's all one can ask.”

Jude has re-developed his terets tic again. It came back a few days ago, and although it is annoying, I have dealt with it better this time. He'll be a little socially odd. But now that we have moved him to the jungle he is going to be a little socially odd anyway. There are so many people coming in and out of his life on a regular basis he is going to end up a little “military bratish” I think – unable to form long term relationships. Like the other day, a little girl from Minnesota and her family stayed with us for 3 days. O nthe first night when she was leaving after a 2 hr play session Jude yelled out the door, “Come back anytime to play.... IF YOU'RE STILL HERE!” Also, I think the reason missionary kids tend to be a little off is that everyone finds (or pretends to find them) so interesting. Everyone around here kind of feels sorry for him and so pretends that he is making perfect sense or is perfectly fascinating even if he is just dragging on a story about a tadpole. Thank goodness for Dru who reminds him that he, like every other 4 year old, can be quite annoying.

Lucy has developed a habit of not sleeping through the night in her weeks of illness. Nor has she been taking appropriately length naps. One of which she just now awoke from... so I must go. The girl needs to develop some new sleeping habits – and I need to develop the patients to let her cry it out in such an open air echoie house.

Stay tuned... next week I'll do introductions. And I'll work on pictures too!

Illness at the edge of civilization.

We're a puny family. We moved to the jungle but needed no malaria or amebas or poisoned bites to get us down. No, in the last 2 weeks all four of us have been put on antibiotics for simple things like ear infections and strep throat. But it really has proven that these “simple” things can be a bit difficult when one takes into account the proximity to medical care, the lack of luxuries – like say a bath – that one so longs for with a 104 fever, an allergic reaction to amaxacillian by the little one – that led to days of hives for her and nights of no sleep for me – the feverish one. Oh yeah, don't forget this all started on our drive up here, which was followed the next day by the arrival of 15 teenagers and adults from a church in Indiana – who shared our living space through the entire ordeal. Jason asked us recently how we are liking it here and I just gave him a blank stare. I have no idea how I will like it here in a “normal” week.... oh dear Lord I hope these haven't been normal weeks. All in all, apart from the sicknesses I thin things are going better than we expected. Dru seems to be thriving here... already making great friends in the community and loves to work with the short term teams. Jude seems to love it.. all though we have been keeping his activity down. And well, Lucy got a tooth in the midst of it all and seems to love licking the dirt off of our floors (And there has been plenty of it with over 20 muddy sweaty people traipsing through for each and every meal – or just to “stay hydrated”). Amazingly one can stay hydrated from the water that comes out of my kitchen sink!!! Which is astounding for this part of the world (Thanks team). Also, today I just got shelving put up in a pantry, which is a rarity as well (Thanks Nate) – but such a necessity as keeping things off of the floor is one of the best ways to help inhibit mold growth. And does mold grow! It seems that half the food we brought up already molded.. so we are still looking for a solution to that. And the humidity is caused by incessant evening showers that pound so hard on the tin roof I can barely hear myself think. It will take some getting used to. Then maybe we can get to work. All of this to say that had I written this blog 48 hrs ago we would have been at a C- but a lowered temperature, a clearing rash, and a teenager who is starting to show initiative bring us back up into the B's.

Cangrejal B+

Well after a 5.7 earthquake that crumbled some concrete in our bathroom I am feeling really ready to move. Yesterday, we took one load of our things the 1 hr and 15 minutes up to Casa Esperanza. The drive was about 30 minutes shorter than I was expecting and the house was about twice as furnished as I expected. They now have a monkey for a pet, we met 4 more great people that we will be working with and received another tour of the gardens and greenhouse, so all in all it was a very exciting and informative day. We are still doing chorus coughing around the house - otherwise I'd say our life was A material... but as I hear those coughs inch toward Dru and Jude's lungs I want to petition a bit of pray... especially considering the upcoming climate change. (It will be cooler though!)
Anyway, we are off to pick up final necessities, attempt to PDF the world wide web, say goodbye to a few friends, and close up this house. I don't know when I'll write again but I am sure Jarod will check the email anytime he gets down this way. Hope you all have a great summer... and don't forget to write.

If you want to check out more about the area and some of the people we will be getting to know you could visit:
http://www.cangrejal.com/
www.hhim.us/
http://ierschool.org/school.htm

Oh and here are some photos of our last outing with our friends the McCanns .... seems like we are always leaving something wonderful.... but that must mean there is more wonderful things to come.






And again we are working with: Jason and Sarah Furrow at www.givehope2kids.org

It was a C or maybe a C-

So during this week of over 300 earthquakes here in Honduras, Lucy got a virus, gave it to everyone else in the house, and then proceeded to develop pneumonia. Now, after days of little to no sleep, everyone in the house catching what Dru has dubbed "The Lu Flu," over 10 hours, 3 Dr.'s visits, 3 antibiotic injections, countless nebulizer treatments, an x-ray, and a blood test later (all for under $50), and a considerable slowing down of our packing and organization to move to "Casa de Esperanza" we are all finally in recovery. Yesterday we began shopping for basic household supplies and a month worth of groceries (A five hour event at over a dozen different stores), and today is our last day of language school. Anyway, we really struggled this week on a lot of levels, but now that we are feeling better and getting some sleep it is amazing how much nicer the world (and our own family members seem) :). So we are at least back to a B. Thanks for the prayers and well wishes.

The Clinic where we took Lu is called Medicentro - and I am calling our room "Medicentro dos" because it has been filled with weds and sickness for the last week - and due to it being air-conditioned to 86 degrees... there are usually at least a couple of us lying around on the king sized bed.

(When I remember this - our 9th home... this is what I will remember)

It has been rumored to me that these hammocks are also usually occupied by at least one person. But when I asked Chrissy why I never got lay in them she said it was because I was "type A" and didn't know how to lay down. I think it is because I am a mom - and we just don't get to. (i have a feeling we are both a little right.


Here is Dru and Lu checking out the x-ray.... too bad I don't scrap book... because that should definitely go somewhere special....


Which brings me to the difficulty of packing. We have been here long enough to accumulate random stuff... like X-rays and outgrown baby items but not long enough to have things that every household might need... say, like a trash can... what to buy, what to pack, what to get rid of.... that is the task for today.... and maybe for tomorrow. Not sure when we are moving because the people who are coming to help us move don't have a phone, so they can't tell us the plan... we have to just wait until they show up and be ready.

How annoying. Sure am glad I'm not those people. Oh wait.. I'm going to be.


On a random note:

Last week before things went so down hill - Dru helped in a skit at a kid's club... he made a great silent Samuel... and now with 3 days of Spanish class under his belt he can go buy us milk!


We have been making fresh squeezed orange juice from lovely green oranges


And we had a missionary fellowship at our house which filled it with songs of praise, sounds of kids laughing, and extra sweat for several hours



And our sweet potatoes that put in 3 weeks ago are almost 4 ft. long - which makes me all the more excited to garden in Honduras and all the more sure I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DO THIS!!!

The day there was no tsunami - B

So there was this earthquake... 7.1; I'm sure you've heard. But since there was no tsunami it has effected our life less than a little fever that has been floating around our house. Amazing... a 5 degree body change in a 20 lb girl means more to me that a huge rumble of the earth and oceans. Also... it causes way more of a decrease in my hours of sleep than a little shaking. Babies... oh and husbands with a fever aren't much better I guess. Anyway, that's what is going on with us, and as far as the rest of the country goes... it doesn't seem to be a major catastrophe – especially considering their track record with hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters.

Before the fever and tremor strike

Vagabond values – B

We are now a random family of six in a single cab truck that works only semi-consistently. We are in the full swing of language school that somehow only 'swings' about ½ as fast as desired. We just came out of a week of 'Carnival' -which fitting to it's name allowed us 3 various opportunities to view how Hondurans spoil their 'carne' – with too much fried food, beer, and dancing... and as usual around here – any extra event brings extra garbage and noise.

The 3 boys each have their own machete. We all lay on our bed together at night and watch movies with Spanish subtitles and we snack on anything we can get our hands on. Lucy spent one night in a cardboard box and Dru was out learning to juggle until 4:30 in the morning one night when it was too noisy to sleep. And right now the kids are 'swimming' in a 3 ft. plastic tub. And I am beginning to think we are becoming more Honduran by the moment.

I am easily frustrated while in school because I feel like we aren't 'doing' anything, and sometimes I question what we are 'becoming.' But the kids are laughing and right now Jude is singing in Spanish, Jarod is showing a considerable amount more patience with car trouble than he ever did in the states, and Dru has done more dishes and laundry in the past week than in his whole life combined. So... maybe we are learning... to be patient … to be gracious... to live together in the back of a truck... and speak broken Spanish... wow... what values we are imparting to our children.

Please pray that my attitude will improve and that the car will be like a $10 – 1 hr. fix. Thanx.

Ready for our carnival adventure:


On a river adventure:


My Machete men:

House allegories - A

I love that my blog is about 'housewifery' because I feel all the freedom in the world to talk about boring things like scrubbing my floor. I spent today, our 3rd day in our new home, scrubbing the floors (which is something that a higher class mother would have gotten around to … oohh in like the 1st 30 seconds after discovering the filth.) We knew the house previously, so nothing, including the reliably unreliable apt. manager, came as a surprise but down on ones hand and knees, face to face with termites, cockroaches and mold... one beings to pontificate a bit much about the situation at hand (warning – pontificating can be done without internet... just not 'posting' – meaning you'll probably get a lot of these long rants in the coming months.) And this is what I thought:


Prov. 12:15 The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.
Prov 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

First, this house was built by North Americans. People who didn't know the climate, the bugs, or the fungi. They 'knew' what they wanted; what they liked – wood, windows, and air conditioners. The ever present stench of mold is a good reminder that humility is a good thing. They could have asked around, gotten advice, settled for 'different' and avoided a lot of trouble. We could all do the same, as we enter this world.... we have never been here before - but my children are proof that from day 1 we “know” what we want. They, and I, would do well to ask for some advice from someone who has been around awhile, or maybe even from the Creator – because the climate of life is a force to be reckoned with... even more than fungi.

Second, delayed maintenance is not maintenance at all – it is destruction. Things like termites and rot can not be 'dealt with tomorrow.' Or you get things like this:




It ain't pretty. We've all got relationship issues, personal struggles, or major crouching character flaws that we try to ignore until the damage is so apparent it is unrepairable. Like my house... there are so many things in my life that would have been easier to take care of yesterday.

So, that's it. Those are my thoughts from 5 hrs. of cleaning while the boys were off exploring the city. Things are good here - pretty much back to normal. We even found a truck – which is amazing! (and right now the boys are macheteing an area to park it in) Our house has been full of friends since we got back and our avocado seed even sprouted while we were gone and I think Dru and are going to start some sweet potatoes today. We have internet now – for a month – so we'll be in touch.







P.S. This is the photo of the day - Jude loves the fact that the bathroom has hole where the door-handle to bathroom is suppose to be - right at his eye level so he can make sure that 'that is really where Dru is' - if he hasn't seen him in a few minutes. (Welcome to a family with a 4 year old) (STAGED PHOTO)