Looking back...a follow up

Lest you were worried after the last post that we might decide to drive indefinitely without side mirrors, I wanted to let you know that I had them replaced yesterday. We have learned several things in this little experience.
1) People steal things that seem to have little value.
2) Driving without mirrors is annoying.
3) Removing the entire mirror from our car is easy and only involves three small bolts.
4) Replacing the mirrors is cheap.

Now, it has only been about 24 hours so I cannot yet testify to the quality of the craftsmanship, but I left the mirror assembly at a shop yesterday morning and picked them up again around noon. The shop custom cut pieces of mirror and glued them onto the mirror adjustment mount so we can still use the motorized mirror adjustment controls in the car.

The charge? 140 lempiras or about $7.00. For both, not apiece. No kidding. I thought it was ridiculously cheap so I gave the guy $10 and told him to keep the change. He looked at me like I was crazy, but said, "Whatever."

So the downside to living in Honduras? You're likely to get your mirrors stolen.

The upside? It only cost $7 to replace them.

No looking back

Recently I received word from two different graduate school buddies of their experience in the job search. One was just recently hired after years and dozens of rejections. The other is at a very encouraging step in the process with a reputable institution after himself having experienced his share of dismissive replies to applications.

I must admit that mixed with my happiness for them is a tinge of wistfulness, even jealousy. You see, that was the path that I was on, or thought I was at least, until almost a year ago when a different and unexpected calling was revealed. And yet, though we have embraced our life and ministry here, there is still a part of me that hasn't completely bid farewell to those earlier aspirations.

Yet--and especially if anyone from the congregation is reading this--we are not looking back. We have no end date in mind. We do not chafe against this calling. We are trying to call this "home" instead of constantly thinking of the states that way. We have no doubt that God has placed us here for this time and for His purposes. With that confidence, we are not looking back.

Well, that and somebody stole both side mirrors off our car.

A little cultural oddity

Growing up in a church that used the King James Version there were many an archaic phrase that my young mind struggled to understand.

One in particular came to my mind the other day upon observing a cultural oddity here in Honduras. The verse is Psalm 22:7.

All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip...

 That phrase "shoot out the lip" always struck me as odd.

I was thinking about this the other day because Hondurans point with their lips. I'm sure that sounds strange but they do, even in the middle of a sentence. In the case in question, a sales lady at an electronics store indicated a stack of inkjet printers in answer to a customer's question by "shoot(ing) out the lip" while speaking. It's the sort of thing that is kind of hard to imagine until you see it.

No, it doesn't have anything to do with Psalm 22, and no, I don't intend to take up the practice.

Little hope for change

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.

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.

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.

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!