When it rains, it pours...

No, really, it does!

Not metaphorically either. Meteorologically!

5¢ Tour

Click on the link below to see some pictures of the Union Christian Church building. Several rooms (and not just bathrooms!) were omitted from the tour. You'll just have to come visit to see the rest!

UCC Tour

Where in the world are we?

Below is a map with labels for a few places of interest for us here in Tegucigalpa. You should be able to zoom in and out and to click on each to find out what it is.

View Tegucigalpa in a larger map

The week in review

I don't know that I will faithfully write a week-ending post but it seems easier to do a bit each week than to try to write a detailed letter at the end of each month. I'll likely do both for awhile.

As suggested in last week's "week ahead" portion we began the process of finding housing and transportation this week. It is not really much different than doing the same in the states so most of you will know what it's like. The main difference, of course, is that much of the discussing with landlords and auto dealers is done in Spanish and we have to make the currency exchange in our heads. It is still temporarily disorienting to be told that a car costs 145,000 (that's about $7700).

In both cases--housing and cars--we saw things that would work for us though we haven't settled on anything yet. We may look at a few more places this week before we decide. We also need to test drive a car or two and have a mechanic look at them before we make a decision on that.

Slowly we are getting to know our way around. Each week offers trips to new places or new challenges like unexpected road closings that force us to learn whether we want to or not!

At church we are starting to get into the flow of a church year. The women's Bible study has met for a few weeks and a men's breakfast group will meet this week (somewhat unexpectedly at Denny's). Some fellowship events are on the calendar and we are looking forward to getting to know more people through those. For the first time this Sunday when I looked out on the congregation more faces looked familiar than not. That's progress.

We regularly get asked how we're adjusting and there's a sense in which that question is impossible to answer. Most who ask it have been through it and so understand. On the one hand I can say that thus far the transition has gone very smoothly. The stresses we have felt are not much above what we would have experienced had we moved across the US. That said, I should also admit that we get weary quickly. We have not been sick but have felt offish in various ways which can likely be attributed to stress and diet and so forth. Contributing to this is that life in general has not settled into any patterns yet. Every day/week is a jumble of activities different from the day before. You know that that can be more tiring than a familiar schedule.

I trust the above does not sound like complaining. We do not feel that way at all. We do, however, know we are weak and want those who love us to pray with and for us meaningfully. Thank you.

Sight of the day

Man bicycling down the middle of the street with a crutch strapped to the side of his bicycle.

(I considered following him to find out it he was partially lame or if the crutch was in preparation for the injury he was likely to get riding down the middle of the street!)

Eight Polish foods of Christmas

You may be familiar with the Veggie Tales song "The Eight Polish Foods of Christmas." To the repetitive tune of the 12 days of Christmas the vegetable crew sings of various polish foods--pirogi, gwumpkies, kielbasa, etc.--most of which when described seem to be something wrapped around meat.

I got to thinking about this today as I was ordering lunch for us at Tacontento. There are a variety of foods here in Honduras that I enjoy but when considered really boil down to something wrapped in a tortilla. The tortillas vary from flour to corn, thick to thin, and the contents vary from simple beans and cheese to beans-cheese-plantain-scrambled eggs-meat-vegetables. The following are all available and amount to something in a tortilla:

Gringos

Baleadas

Pupusas

Fajitas (with corn tortillas usually)

Taquitos

Flautas, and of course

Tacos

I have yet to be disappointed!

All is well and all will be well and all manner of things shall be well

We did not dare to hope. We feared that we must live with happy but fading memories.

And then she saw them.

There they were, nearly hidden in the semi-gloom of the parking garage. But no shadow could truly cast a pall over their resplendent beauty. No patina of use could mar their majestic glory. And no lone, forlorn pilgrim but a veritable phalanx of lucent color and form.

The world so recently tipped and spinning precariously contrary to its axis is now set aright. For we have found them.

Super La Colonia has car carts.

NOT sufferin' for Jesus

For purposes of humor I have often used the expression "sufferin' for Jesus" to describe a less than difficult ministry assignment, like say, beach evangelism in Waikiki. (Although given how I feel about beaches that WOULD involve some suffering!) I just want to make clear that we do not feel that we are suffering here at all.

We have this...

And this...

Which we bought here...

Which is basically this...

We have one of these...

And last night I watched these guys...

Thanks to...

Which, of course, means we must have one of these...

And thanks to...

and

We have email, can blog, and can even watch stuff here...

Is our life here different?

Sure.

Are some things that we are used to that are difficult to find here?

Yes.

But are we suffering?

Not a chance.

Out "my" back door

When we find our own place I think the thing I will miss the most about our temporary housing are the views out the back of the property.

A view of Tegucigalpa

Across the valley

Village across the valley (Bonus: with storm moving in)

Almost close enough to see the pot o' gold!

Language Games

In addition to the adjusting discussed in a previous post there is, of course, the adjustment to life in a culture that speaks a different language. Each of us negotiates this differently.

For Stephen all those years of teaching Spanish have been extremely helpful in communication. That said, he regularly finds himself in conversations where his knowledge of vocabulary is insufficient, e.g. when discussing a repair project to keep the church from flooding again. He also pretty regularly discovers that the word he knows for something is not the common word here. When approached in Spanish unexpectedly (like at the store) it sometimes takes him a bit to get his bearings in the conversation. All in all he seems to understand and make himself understood. He visits www.wordreference.com frequently.

Debbie has a good ear for language (must be all that music). So if she knows what a conversation is about she follows along pretty well. When addressed in Spanish by someone who doesn't know that she doesn't speak it (again, as in the grocery store) it is not uncommon for it to just seem like a buzz with no discernible words. A friend at church who has worked with a tutor has already approached her tutor about adding Debbie to her schedule. Once life gets settled a bit she will likely pursue that avenue. Most importantly she is game to learn.

And then there is Ellyn. Like most things 3 year olds do Ellyn does not approach the language issue in a straight line. One morning she was eagerly pointing out items at the breakfast table and asking how they say that in Honduras. In those moments she actually repeats words quite well. She unwittingly tries to replicate what she has heard especially with names. "Barahona" become "B'dona" and "Efraín" becomes "Efadín" which are closer than many English speakers would come reading those names. Frequently, however, she just lapses into Elly-speak whenever she hears people speaking Spanish which is just making up words. (She responded similarly to hearing her friends' mother addressing them in Hindi).

It would be possible to dwell in an English bubble probably and not get beyond much more than the basics to negotiate life. But knowing more opens up other opportunities. Even within the congregation there are several people for whom Spanish is much more comfortable than English. It is an act of love and respect to learn and use the language of our brothers and sisters in Christ to whom and with whom we minister.

The week behind, the week ahead

We have been here as a family for one week. We spent most of this week just catching our breath after a busy final week in the states. We also have been adjusting to the home where we are staying for the first few weeks and to our new home--Honduras.

Ellyn is adjusting insofar as a three year old has to adjust. Both of her first two Sundays she found and made friends with adult women in the church more readily than we expected. She still plays quite shy with many people like Efrain the church guard though she talks about him when we're at home. At home she loves the trampoline and a large dollhouse to which she has access and has a love-hate relationship with the German Shepherd that lives here. She also likes when we take the "bumpy way" home (which we always do because it's the only way but she sometimes sleeps through it. The last quarter mile or so to the house where we are staying is a rather rutted dirt road.)

Debbie is also adjusting and as you can imagine her adjustment is a bit more complex than Ellyn's. We made a first major shopping trip to a grocery store, La Colonia, and all emerged unscathed and with food. She also attended the women's Bible study on Tuesday and got to meet several women from the church and other ministries. This Tuesday they will have a luncheon to provide more time for people to get to know her. Today, Sunday, she drove in the city for the first time. Sunday is the best day to drive as the traffic is much less crazy. Debbie is also adjusting to life in someone else's home, kitchen, laundry room, etc. The house is more than adequate for our needs and we are grateful for it but also look forward to finding a place of our own and making it home.

Stephen did not have the week he expected to have. This was primarily because two days of it were spent cleaning the church after flooding. We were very grateful for those church members who worked with us to get the water out and sweep and mop up all the silt and grime the water brought with it. Sunday School started this week as well. We are doing a study on Respectable Sins which will be loosely based off Jerry Bridges' book of the same title. Stephen will preach one more sermon from psalms before beginning a short series from the book of Haggai.

So much for the week behind. The week ahead poses new challenges--known and unknown. We soon need to make a vehicle purchase (though we received today the offer of another loaner that gives us a cushion on that) and we would also like to start looking at housing not knowing when we might be able to get in to a place. There are also issues like health insurance, residency, and bank accounts to attend to. These are necessary hurdles that can be time consuming but we believe that the bureaucrat's heart is in the hand of the Lord so we are confident that the hurdles will be crossed.

We invite you to thank God with us for:

1) Health in these early days

2) The generosity and warmth of the congregation

And to pray with us for:

1) Wisdom in the search for a car and home

2) Patience and persistence with the paperwork issues

3) Power and authority in preaching

4) A growing love for the congregation

Getting dizzy on the merry-go-round

As mentioned in a previous post, Thursday was Independence Day and many teachers and others had extended weekends. Knowing that many of them would be enjoying a weekend away I figured that attendance might be a bit lower this Sunday. Oh me of little faith.

As it turned out it might have been our fullest Sunday since our (0r my) arrival. I particularly noticed and enjoyed this fact when we were singing. It is hard, however, to decide what, if anything, that means. After all a certain percentage of today's attendees were members of a team visiting one of the ministries represented by our members, The Micah Project.

We are also in a stage where newer arrivals to the country are visiting churches. So far I am having a hard time getting my head around who exactly the congregation is. What I mean is that visitors who may land at Union are in and out for various reasons and regular attenders are themselves on rotating schedules with other ministry responsibilities. I have yet to sort out who is a "sometimes" who is an "always" and who is a "maybe."

To make things worse, of course, is that they ALL know who we are but we have to work to remember who THEY are!

Independence day

Today, September 15, was Independence Day in Honduras. This date is shared by neighbors Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica and commemorates their independence from Spain. For most of these countries it wasn't quite as simple as that as there were many more coalitions and divisions on the way to being separate countries. (By the way, the five stars on the Honduran flag represent the same five countries and the blue bands top and bottom represent the Pacific ocean and the Caribbean sea.)

There were some parades in town but many stores were still open and getting around the city was a little easier than on a normal work day. Schools are on holiday as are many other businesses. Many of the teachers in the congregation have a four day weekend and are using it to get out of the city for some vacation. We didn't involve ourselves in the festivities this year but that may be something to learn about in the future.

Gringo gazing

Just one of the many things that I don't understand:

Salespeople and so forth approach me assuming that I speak Spanish. While we were grocery shopping I was asked to do a survey about the products of one of the bottled water companies. I just don't think I have the sort of look that screams "Spanish-speaker."

On the other hand, the weirdest looks I get in public seem to be from people I identify as likely North American. I can't decide if they're just trying to guess why I'm here or if they secretly want to initiate conversation in English to confirm their suspicions.

Well, at least one of us is relaxed!

We're in Honduras...we think

After a very early departure and two unremarkable flights we found ourselves in Tegucigalpa, Honduras around noon on Saturday, September 10. We spent most of Saturday resting and settling in to our temporary home. Sunday found us at church where we were welcomed very warmly. We also enjoyed lunch with a group from the church.

Many people ask how Elly is handling the change. The biggest challenge appears to be convincing or explaining to her that we have indeed arrived in Honduras. She kept asking, "When are we getting to Honduras?" and we would answer "This IS Honduras." We thought it was clear but then she asked, "Will we come back to Honduras after church?" So we're not sure where she thinks she is. What we are pleased with is how quickly she became comfortable with several people at church. 

We have many things to learn, transitions to make, and details to arrange. Facing these, we are so thankful for the loving encouragement from our "old" friends, the generous support from our "new" friends, and the everlasting arms of our eternal God. 

Things I see everyday in Tegucigalpa

Many things are very similar to other places I have lived. But there are a few things that one sees everyday in Tegucigalpa. They are just part of the scenery.
Like taxis. All taxis in Tegus are white with the yellow registration number. They are all styles, models, ages and conditions but identifiably taxis.

Or power lines. This is a pretty standard display.

Lots of these...(double cabs are particularly popular)

And often like this...

And this, for when your solid metal gate just won't do...

And guys equipped like this...

...outside stores and so forth. That doesn't really bother me that much except that most of them look like they're barely 17 years old.

And these. Two of the major cell phone providers. They are as ubiquitous as Verizon stores are in the states if not more so because most people are on pay as you go plans and every corner store sells minutes.

Familiar "faces"

There are, of course, many things to get used to living in another culture. Thanks to globalization, however, there are many familiar cultural icons. For instance, Tegucigalpa offers the following establishments for your dining and shopping pleasure. Feel free to decide whether it's a good thing or a bad thing!

And, yes, we even have one of these...

Believe it or not, I have not seen one of these...

Though we have many of these...

Word play

Though I speak Spanish there are still thousands of words that I don't know. I don't study vocabulary anymore I just pick it up along the way as occasions demand. Since arriving I have learned several words.

Thanks to some car trouble I learned the word for spring (resorte), shock absorbers (amortiguadores), and suspension (amortiguación).

I have also been looking at cars to buy. In doing so I came across what might be my new favorite Spanish word: quemacoco. This is a compound word that I couldn't quite figure out. The first part, quema, comes from the verb "to burn." The second, coco, is the word for coconut. However, coco is also a slang term for one's head. Hence, the term quemacoco means something like "head burner." Which still isn't all that clear when applied to a car. I suppose if you think long enough about what part of a car might burn your head and that someone selling the car might want to highlight you might come up with the answer.

That's right, it's a sunroof.