Don't Rain on my Corn Fair!

Today I had a really special opportunity to travel to Danli, a city about two hours away, and visit a family that I met on my first trip to Honduras two years ago. I met up with my friend Michelle, a missionary who hosted our team in 2006, who has been helping me stay in touch with Jenny, Isis, and their family by delivering letters between us.

Tegucigalpa is the red square in the middle of Honduras, and Danli is directly to the right of it.

The family first touched my heart two years ago when Michelle told me of their tragic circumstances. There were six kids: Jason, Oscar, Edward, Isis, Jenny, and Yadira. The mother had been a prostitute and had died of AIDS. None of them had known their fathers. The five youngest kids lived in a humble shack right next door to the church and were looked after by their aunt. But besides extreme poverty, Michelle feared that these kids had seen and experienced things that no human should ever have to go through. I had been writing to the girls off and on since I'd met them, so I was excited for the chance to see them again.



The annual corn fair was in town, so we figured it would be the perfect outing to take the kids on. Yes and no. When we got into town, it was great because the streets were covered with sidewalk vendors, decorations, and people on horseback. People ran amuck selling everything from candy and soccer jerseys to bras and pupusas. It was a really festive atmosphere and everyone had fun walking around and taking in the sites.

Next, we took the kids to eat lunch along the row of food vendors near the entrance to the fair. I don't know why, but everything I did seemed to be strange and novel to them (okay, maybe I do know why). They all got pupusas, I felt like tamales. This was strange. Why was I eating those for lunch? They ordered banana soda, I asked for water. Why was I drinking water? They put chile sauce on their pupusas, I put chile sauce on my tamales. What are you doing? Tamales are sweet, you're not supposed to put chile sauce on them...You get the picture. haha.

We kept walking, taking in the sights of the fair, enjoying the sounds of the marching band in front of the soccer stadium (there was a Motagua game going on.) That's when it started to rain. At first it didn't bother us much, so we kept on going. But the rain fell a little harder, a little harder.... we were forced to duck under the nearest shelter we could find, a tiny food vendor booth where a couple of women sat peeling potatoes. Within a matter of minutes, it was a full-fledged downpour. Rain fell in diagonal sheets from the sky, and a river began flowing down the center of the street, sweeping up anything in its path into foot-deep, muddy water. I'd never experienced rain like this before- they're even saying it was the tail end of Hurricane Gustav. Somehow, I ended up being the only one in the group who wasn't soaked to the bone (oh well, I'm from Seattle- I've had my fair share of rain, right?)

We were under that shelter for a good hour- so unfortunately, it put a damper on our plans to ride rides with the kids (literally). However, the kids didn't seem to mind. I think everyone enjoyed the time we did have at the fair.

I'd like to say that things are all better for Jenny and Isis now since the last time I saw them. Unfortunately, they still need a lot of prayer. Their baby brother, Jason, died about a year ago, and all the kids, especially Isis, struggle with anger and hurt in their hearts. However, there is definite evidence that God is at work. Compassion International recently replaced their lean-to shack with a sturdy house made of brick. And Edward was chosen to be a sponsored child. So somehow, despite the hardships, God is making things work out for these kids and showing them that there is always reason to hope.

Here are some pictures I took with them at their house. I would have liked to have taken some at the fair, but I already stood out enough so I wanted to avoid looking like a tourist.

Me with Jenny and Isis's two cousins

Isis's self portrait. Pray for this face!

The Calix family: Oscar, Isis, their cousin and aunt, Jenny, Yadira, and Edward. (Jenna, Jenny is holding one of the boxes of crayons that you sent with me as a donation!)

Honduran Politics

Yesterday was a historic day for the country of Honduras. We didn't know it as Rey, Elise, and I set out for the movie theater, excited to finally get the chance to do something together for Rey's birthday while Elijah was home with the nanny. But driving through downtown, we noticed there were a lot more people out than usual. "Oh, no, another protest," Rey said. Protests and strikes are a common occurence here and a common reason for getting caught up in traffic. The farther into the city we got, the more we saw streams of people in every direction, many carrying signs. But they seemed to be in more of a celebratory mood; not angry enough for it to be a protest.

Then we remembered the news we had heard the day before: Honduras had just decided to join ALBA, (The Bolivian Alternative for the Americas), an organization of countries from the Latin America and the Caribbean. The President was set to make a speech and sign the official documents, and now, thousands of people streamed in, apparently in support of him.

It seemed we had picked the wrong time to come downtown. As we noticed a group of cops walking through the crows with riot gear, and a camouflage-colored army tanker parked in the middle of the street, we decided we had better get home before we got caught in the midst of anything. "The Mummy" would have to wait.

When we got home we did some research about it online, but it is hard to get unbiased sources for these kinds of things. I read that ALBA is committed to putting poor people first by opposing things like free trade which are known to be oppressive to smaller, less powerful countries. It all seemed simple enough. Of course, I knew it wasn't. A lot of people are concerned about it, and I wanted to find out why.

When I saw the list of other countries which currently make up ALBA, I understood where some of their concern might come from. Nicaragua, Bolivia, Venezuela, Dominica, and Cuba- all very left-leaning governments. Still, if it helped the poor, what was the problem? I had an interesting talk about it today with my friend and fellow teacher at AFE. She is concerned that the promises of the government are simply a bunch of lies and that abolishing free trade would hurt the poor in Honduras more. This goes against many of the things I've learned about free trade, but it was interesting to hear her side. As for the thousands of supporters who had come out yesterday, she said that many of them were peasants who had been paid good money by the liberal party to act like they were in support of the treaty. She's also concerned that Honduras will be pressured to form military alliances with the other countries in ALBA, which might eventually be harmful to them.

I don't know how informed she was about the situation, and I don't know enough details about the situation yet to say whether I am for or against it. But it has been interesting to see the political process at work here, and sad to think how the government continues to use "primero los pobres" ("the poor first") as little more than an attractive slogan while the workers of the dump continue to scavenge each day for food.

Leaving Comments

My mom just brought it to my attention that some of you have been wanting to leave comments on my blog but aren't sure how. Sorry for ignoring that detail!

• To leave a comment, just look at the end of this post (or any other post that you want to comment on) where it says "1 comment" or whatever number it happens to be. Click on that, which will bring you to a new page.
• On the right there will be a white box to leave a comment.
• Finally, decide on a way to sign the comment. The easiest way is to click "anonymous" and just make sure you tell me who you are when you write your comment. You can also do "open ID" and just ignore the URL box.

Hope this helps! If all else fails, you can e-mail me at glennk@seattleu.edu

Hope all is well with you! And thanks for keeping up with my blog.

Keep on Truckin'

The deceptively beautiful scenery looking away from the school, up to the dump.

I mentioned before that one of my goals my time here has been to nurture dreams in the hearts of the kids which God has planted to inspire them to strive to get out of the trap of the garbage dump. Today I tried to continue this by reading them a couple more books, "I want to be a nurse" and "I want to be a truck driver." As I read about the nurse they were all silent as they stared at the pictures while I read descriptions about what nurses do and who they help. If that wasn't good enough, the book about truck drivers was a huge hit! The boys, Carlos and Josue, asked me to read it again, and again. By the third time I sent them off to look at it on their own because Paola (and I) lost interest. In our culture, which measures success by income and prestige, a truck driver isn't a profession that many kids aspire to be. I'm not sure what the determining factor was- the chance to travel and see new things; the possibility of playing an important part in the delivery of food and goods; or maybe just the chance to drive a big, shiny truck. But they were hooked. It was a cool thing to witness.

The wall of postcards

Going along with that, all of the kids at AFE have just been given a chance to learn more about the world. When Courtney Haynoski visited the school with the Washington Cathedral mission team last week, she brought with her a stack of postcards she'd collected on her journeys backpacking through Europe last month. Today a group of teachers and students spent the morning with some gluesticks, scissors, and construction paper to create a beautiful display showcasing the colorful scenes from Greece, Italy, Belgium, and various other countries across the continent. I could see curiosity sparked on several of the students' faces as they glanced at the postcards in the hall after recess. It's simple things like postcards and books that are expanding their world, showing them that, yes, there is another world out there that's yours to explore and be a part of. Whether they become nurses, truck drivers, or travel agents, they'll be doing something that interests and inspires them. Please continue to pray that God would use people in Honduras to bless these kids and help them defeat what is perhaps the sharpest blade on poverty's multifaceted sword- hopelessness. And thank you for the support you've already given!



But all is not well, however. Dreams alone won't get kids out of the dump- it will take hard work on their parts and on the parts of the teachers, pastors, and prayer warriors working with them. One problem with this is that AFE has not been able to keep a steady teacher for the kindergarten class. Today I realized with sadness that even though I've started to really feel comfortable with the kids, I'll be leaving in only three and a half weeks. Please pray that God would send the right person to teach the class after I've left, and that they would commit to staying for at least a year. If the kids do not feel a need to go to school when they are young, they may stop coming and never come back. I'm already concerned about two students, Joselin and Milton, that haven't been to school in at least a week and a half.

Thank you for all your prayers, comments, and continued support. If you're reading this and haven't commented yet, I'd love to know who you are so I know who's reading this. Dios les bendiga!

Look at the progress being made on the kitchen and cafeteria!

Total Surrender

In spite of all the work God is doing and the hope that exists here at AFE, I worry that my blog entries, especially the last one, might be giving the mostly North American audience who is reading this a false sense of comfort with the way things are. Some of you have been to the dump yourselves and seen the misery, and some have heard about it through others. But I wanted to give everyone the chance to take a little dose of reality and see some images from the dump with the following videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWn4zkND0mc&NR=1 (8 min.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYzQgPMX9IY (2 min).

One Spanish word for "dump" that I recently learned is "crematorio." The first time I heard it, it sent chills down my spine. Keep in mind that the majority of the AFE kids no longer work or live in the dump. Most of them live in communities down the street. However, about 40% of them (60 kids) still do, and that is 60 kids too many.

I know you have probably seen those child sponsorship videos on TV that are supposed to make you cry and feel guilty about yourselves. I didn't make these videos, and that's not my intent. I know that we all have problems as well, including financial struggles, and that there are a million other worthy causes out there that you could give of your time and resources to. And if your favorite cause is homelessness in Seattle or education in the inner city, that is great too. I don't want to take you away from those causes; it is just important to dedicate yourself to something in the name of Jesus. The more I learn about God, the more I am convinced that he wants us to give not just what is convenient or comfortable for us. He wants all of it. He wants us to give more than we feel is wise. He wants us to pray more than we've ever thought to. But he wants us to do it out of love, not guilt or obligation. I've still got lessons to learn from this, because I still lead a pretty comfortable life in the States. But in the meantime, I am trying to live by Jesus's words in Luke 9:23: "If anyone wants to be my disciple he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it. But anyone who gives up his life, for my sake, will save it."

It seems that people are naturally drawn to risk, at least in our culture. Shows like "Fear Factor" have been pretty successful. Problem is, eating bugs and jumping off buildings aren't making the world a better place. What if we all decided to take a risk in giving of ourselves and our money to see what God would do with it? We probably spend more on lattes, fast food, health clubs, and other items that we "need" for our own well-being than these workers in the dump, the homeless in Seattle, or the unemployed immigrants all around us make in a day. What if we took a risk and gave that up, just to see what would happen?

Futbol

On a lighter note, Honduras plays Mexico tonight in the World Cup qualifiers. The whole city is excited and we are going to Jeony's house tonight to deck out in our Honduran soccer jerseys and cheer them on. ¡Que gane Honduras!

Also, a couple more pics of the kiddos:

Carlos posing in front of our number wall

Beyond their Wildest Dreams

I am absolutely exhausted right now as I rest up from the past week. But we had a great time with the mission team and they helped us out so much, creating wonderful memories for the kids. Let me share with you one of those memories.

On Friday, we got up at 5 am, packed 150 AFE kids into two school buses, and drove for 4 hours to Los Delgaditos, a beach on the south coast. It was by far the biggest field trip we had attempted with the school, and for most of them it was the farthest they'd ever traveled away from home. Most of them had never been to a beach before and didn't know what to expect. Some of them were glued to the windows on the bus ride, intrigued by landscapes and sights they'd never seen before.

Excitement building on the way to the beach

R0ger, Maoly, and me dancing in the aisles on the bus ride!

Imagine the excitement that overtook them when they stepped off the bus, walked over the sandbar, and met with the sight of the Pacific Ocean in front of them, stretching as far as they could see. For a kid who had lived their entire life in the garbage dump and the surrounding area, this was a dream I couldn't imagine. Yes, there was another world out there! You could even see El Salvador from where we stood. A beach, an ocean, another country! One boy looked at the waves and asked Jeony what was making the water move back and forth.

Leyby, a girl from my group

Before leaving we had brainstormed ideas for other activities to have available at the beach- frisbee, sandcastle building, group games. What a joke that was! We spent the entire time in the water, and had to drag them out for lunch. We splashed, we swam, we jumped waves. It was a lot of work to continuously count and make sure that the 5 kids from my group were still there. And at the end of the day we were exhausted, but it was completely worth it.

Some of my students: Paola, Carlos, and Milton. They weren't in my group for the day, so it was kind of fun to be able to see them there and interact with them without actually being in charge of them.

I think our lives are a bit like this. The kids at AFE had no idea what to expect when we went to the beach, because they had never experienced anything like it, so they had nothing to compare it to. How much more does our God have in store for us! His plan for AFE, for our church, for his children all over the world is greater than anything we've ever imagined before. How much would we be missing out on if we didn't want to join in God's plan because we didn't believe? God has extended his invitation to us. It might be a long journey, worse than 4 hours on an unairconditioned bus. But won't it be worth it in the end?

Playing in the water

Mi amiga Susan, who is also a teacher at AFE

A New Week

It's been a busy last couple of days as we've headed into a new week. I arrived at school this morning to a room full of angry kindergarteners who were mad at their profe for not having been there last week! That means that either they missed me or, more likely, they didn't like having to hang out with Jessy who is way more strict than me. haha. Either way, I am back now and things are going well, although it was tough to get back in the swing of things today, coming back to a room where everything had been moved around, not knowing what material they had covered last week. But we have new workbooks to use in the classroom and they are great! I am so thankful for them because they lay out the curriculm in a fun, easy (well, easier)-to-teach way.

On Saturday, the Washington Cathedral mission team arrived for a week! It's been fun spending time with them. They taught everyone at AFE to play Capture the Flag, although a better name might be "Run aimlessly around the soccer field, tagging any random person you feel like." As you can see, they were tired today- spending a few hours with the kids will do that to you!

Then, on Sunday, we had a party for Elijah's first birthday. It was a mix of American and Catracho (Honduran) customs, complete with the giant red Clifford pinata. Jessy, Pastor Jeony's wife, cooked up some awesome food too.

Jessy, my friend and fellow Motagüense: Motagua fans unite!

Paradise?

You haven't heard from me in a few days because this past week we've been on a retreat on the coast with World Gospel Mission, a mission organization we partner with. We had a lot of fun, but I did a lot of thinking while I was there. A lot of people would look at the swaying palm trees and turquoise waters of the Caribbean and call it Paradise. People love to say that they feel closer to God amidst the roaring waves and golden sand. Videos of praise music often show peaceful mountain streams or eagles soaring over canyons to inspire us to worship God. Do things have to be perfect to praise God? He's at work everywhere. I agree that nature is beautiful, but we don't have to be in the face of serenity to meet with God. He is just as present- if not more present- amidst the kids at AFE or the workers of the dump, where things are less than perfect. The real challenge is to be able to look in the face of a defiant child, a garbage scavenger covered in flies- insert your own idea here- and see the face of Jesus, and praise Him for being there. My goal is to get to that point.

Sore feet and piñatas

I've been working hard as of late to observe everything I can about the culture here in Honduras to try to fit in as much as possible. That may sound funny, because obviously I can't do much about my physical features, and my accent will be hard to kick. Still, I feel that any time I understand something more about the Honduran culture, I'm able to connect with the local people more. I've been eating lunch at AFE every day, the same meals the kids eat, which are actually really good. Today we walked downtown to go shopping for supplies for Elijah's party, and even though it was 84 degrees, I wore jeans because that's what all the Hondurans wear. Later I squeezed my feet into a size 41 pair of those ballet flat type of shoes that all the women wear here, which were still just a bit too small even though that's the biggest size they had in the store. (I then proceeded to walk through the centro with an oversized "Clifford, the Big Red Dog" piñata under my arm for Elijah's birthday party- that is not something that most Hondurans do).

Another thing that's huge here is soccer. Tegucigalpa has two teams in the Honduran league, Olimpia and Motagua. It is a huge rivalry and everyone is loyal to one of those teams. I figured I would have more fun in those types of conversations if I picked a team too, so I did a little research. A lot of people I know are die-hard Olimpia fans, so I picked... Motagua! They have a game on Aug. 17th that the whole country is excited for, so I can't wait!

I guess that by doing this, I'm trying to follow the model of Jesus, who purposely made himself like the people he ministered to in order to gain their trust and acceptance. Maybe I am just making a fool of myself. Maybe everyone will get a good laugh out of the gringa with sore feet who declares herself a Motagua fan when she's never watched them play (yet). But I'm okay with that! It'll be a struggle, and I might embarrass myself. But as long as I keep taking steps in the right direction and enjoy the ride, I think everything will turn out just fine.