No, this post is not about Obama, rather, a specific follow-up to an observation made in an earlier post.
Today I ate lunch out with a friend. Our bill came to about 200 lempiras or $10.00.
Neither of us had much in the way of small bills so I paid with a 500 lempira note, roughly worth $25.
My change, all 300 lempiras of it, came in 10 and 20 lempira notes (13x20, 4x10).
To put this in perspective, I essentially got $15 worth of change in thirteen $1 bills and four 50¢ pieces.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
In the news...
If you see Honduras in the news in the US or Europe it is probably not a good thing. The last week has been particularly traumatic for the country.
First, on Tuesday night a fire claimed the lives of over 300 prisoners at a prison in Comayagua, a city about 60 northwest of Tegucigalpa. It will likely be some time (if ever) before the truth of the matter comes to light.
Then today, another fire broke out in an open-air market in Comayagüela, a sister-city to Tegucigalpa. Several of the ministries represented in the church are located not far from where this fire took place and minister in this area. Currently, reports indicate that there were no fatalities but that upwards of 500 merchants' stalls were destroyed. Many people rely on this market for both their livelihoods and their goods. A photo gallery of this fire can be seen here. The images of thick, black smoke rising over the city are sobering.
To my knowledge, neither of these fires have impacted congregation members directly. I know of one member who has a stall at a market but in a different location. However, many of the ministries in the country will be seeking to offer relief to those in special need at this time.
Pray with us for the peace of Honduras.
First, on Tuesday night a fire claimed the lives of over 300 prisoners at a prison in Comayagua, a city about 60 northwest of Tegucigalpa. It will likely be some time (if ever) before the truth of the matter comes to light.
Then today, another fire broke out in an open-air market in Comayagüela, a sister-city to Tegucigalpa. Several of the ministries represented in the church are located not far from where this fire took place and minister in this area. Currently, reports indicate that there were no fatalities but that upwards of 500 merchants' stalls were destroyed. Many people rely on this market for both their livelihoods and their goods. A photo gallery of this fire can be seen here. The images of thick, black smoke rising over the city are sobering.
To my knowledge, neither of these fires have impacted congregation members directly. I know of one member who has a stall at a market but in a different location. However, many of the ministries in the country will be seeking to offer relief to those in special need at this time.
Pray with us for the peace of Honduras.
Language Barriers
In moving to a foreign country one expects a certain amount of difficulty communicating across the language and cultural barriers. This is true even for those that are semi-competent in the local language.
By and large we have been able to communicate more or less effectively. Stephen's Spanish is adequate and Debbie is learning.
There have been some additional and unexpected language challenges, however.
First, Ellyn's best friend here is the child of deaf parents that work with New Life Deaf Ministry, whose director attends Union. At 7, Carolina already is competent in Spanish, English and Lesho, or Honduran sign language. (She would like to learn French and Chinese!) Needless to say, our interactions with her parents are limited to the two signs we know: "hello" and "thank you."
Today yet another language challenge faced us. Along with the other household items that belong to the church, the previous pastor and his family left behind a fan which has been sitting at church since their departure. Since the warmer months are coming we thought another fan at home would be a good idea.
HOWEVER.
When we went to turn it on we were confronted with this:
All is not lost. The ones in the picture on the left appear to be (reading from the bottom up: on/off, high, medium, low). That toggle switch, though, has me stumped so far. Fortunately, we do go to an international English-speaking church and I know of at least one Chinese speaker in the congregation.
By and large we have been able to communicate more or less effectively. Stephen's Spanish is adequate and Debbie is learning.
There have been some additional and unexpected language challenges, however.
First, Ellyn's best friend here is the child of deaf parents that work with New Life Deaf Ministry, whose director attends Union. At 7, Carolina already is competent in Spanish, English and Lesho, or Honduran sign language. (She would like to learn French and Chinese!) Needless to say, our interactions with her parents are limited to the two signs we know: "hello" and "thank you."
Today yet another language challenge faced us. Along with the other household items that belong to the church, the previous pastor and his family left behind a fan which has been sitting at church since their departure. Since the warmer months are coming we thought another fan at home would be a good idea.
HOWEVER.
When we went to turn it on we were confronted with this:
All is not lost. The ones in the picture on the left appear to be (reading from the bottom up: on/off, high, medium, low). That toggle switch, though, has me stumped so far. Fortunately, we do go to an international English-speaking church and I know of at least one Chinese speaker in the congregation.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
And, no, it wasn't Taco Loco
Moving to a new country and culture involves a series of "firsts." All those things you don't think twice about in your own country but somehow take on significance when you are somewhere new. For instance, I very soon will have to buy my first pair of shoes in Honduras. I have no idea how this will be similar or different from doing so in the home country but it just seems different. (I'm sure it will be anticlimactic).
As some of you have doubtless already heard, our most recent first was food poisoning. It was horrible. We know where but not what. And no, it wasn't the recently eulogized Taco Loco. Needless to say, our suffering engendered not a small bit of sympathy on the part of both our Honduran and North American brethren and sisteren. Oddly enough, as it is something fairly universally experienced here, it also forges a strange sort of fellowship with one another.
We have decided, however, that this fellowship will NOT be deepened by replicating the experience!
Thanks for your prayers!
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