Piñatas and product placement

Having a 6 year old means going to lots of birthday parties. We've (or various percentages of the family) been to several recently and it is interesting to compare the features of different ones. Ellyn's palette of friends is pretty diverse given that her school is populated by people from a variety of embassies as well as local Hondurans. So far we have been to parties hosted by United Statesians, Canadians, and Hondurans. 

Today's party was for one of her closer friends from school and neighborhood and had a few of its own distinctive features. It offered us a variety of ways to, let's say, "appreciate" cultural differences.

There was a clown, games, music (not too loud, actually). Both Debbie and Ellyn got roped into games for which they did not understand the rapidly issued instructions. 

After the obligatory bludgeoning and dismemberment of a cherished cartoon character (a Lalaloopsy doll in this case) and the concomitant scurry for candy, things proceeded to cake. This was one of the odder moments. The assembled guests--native Spanish speakers to the last one (present family not included)--began to sing "Happy Birthday to you." So what? you say. But they were actually singing it in English, that is heavily accented English. As it turned out, because she hadn't caught what was going on, the only person singing in Spanish--"Feliz cumpleaños a ti!"--was Debbie. It...they...what?!

Then the choir launched into the second verse: "Ya queremos pastel..." which means "Now we want some cake..." Added to the end of this was a brief refrain "Y un Coca-cola." I can only imagine that the people at Coca Cola would be thrilled to find their name so naturally associated with the most oft repeated song in the world. 

The Lord is Risen!

We enjoyed our Resurrection Sunday Sunrise service at Parque España, a small park near the church that overlooks the city. Since Sunrise came at around 5:30am I must confess that it was a "Sunrise Service" in name only; we met at 7:00. 

We were privileged to have the Coro Unido (United Chorus)--a volunteer choir of members from various churches--encourage us with two familiar songs: "Un Día" (One Day) and "La tumba se encerró" (Christ Arose). We joined voices--and languages!--on one verse and chorus of "Christ Arose."

After the early service we ate breakfast together and then had a time of fellowship until our regularly scheduled worship service. 

We hope that you had a similarly joyous celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 The Coro Unido warming up. They arrived at 6:15am to rehearse, sang two songs in our 7am service, then left to serve in their own churches! Thank you!

A view of the choir and the city.

Choir and congregation.

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.

Sight of the day

A lot of cast-off clothing from the US finds its way to Honduras. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that some of those t-shirts printed for the World Series losers end up here.

This means that it is quite common to see people roaming the streets with clothing sporting brand names or English text. The wearer's grasp of English being what it is (or isn't), this can create some humorous pairings.

Like the portly, middle-aged Honduran man I saw at the auto mechanic shop the other day sporting a sweatshirt labeled thus:

Colorblind?

Most Hondurans are brown. Like most people groups there is a range of pigment in the population. They are not as dark complected as other Latin Americans, and are darker than others.

I don't bring this up just as a ethnic curiosity. My actual curiosity is in how much of the advertising I encounter here seems oblivious to the ethnic reality choosing instead to portray very Caucasian looking models. And it is not just a matter of North American companies duplicating their ad campaigns here. Even the advertising for exclusively Honduran (or Central American) businesses like my bank tend to use very anglo-american looking models.

My curiosity with this is in part due to the excessive political correctness observed in much American advertising. Who hasn't chuckled at the absolutely improbable groups of fresh-faced ethnically diverse young people gracing the web pages of colleges and universities. (If it is a Christian college, at least one of the young people will be holding a guitar as well.)

But more importantly I wonder about the message that is being sent. Why are white people the standard? To whom are they appealing? Are the advertisers appealing to what they believe is a wide tendency to regard the European/American model as the image of what is desired? Are they trying to create that image? Are they heedless of their audience? Or, if the ads target the rich and the rich have North American tendencies, what messages are being sent to the rest of the people who see these billboards?

I honestly don't know. But it niggles at me.

Well, at least they're not dead...

Pastoral ministry typically includes a measure of illness and bereavement care. The pastor plays a special role ushering people from this life into the next. I don't have a great deal of experience with this, though I know that I don't like it much more than the next guy.

Due to the makeup of the congregation here, hospital and funeral care are not a significant part of my duties. I have attended a wake but funerals are rare. (And I am legal forbidden from performing marriage ceremonies). However, I have already discovered that there is a parallel responsibility: ministry transition care. If that sounds like a euphemism, it is. I could have written "helping people leave" or, as above, "ushering people from this ministry life into the next." This involves counseling people about ministry decisions, helping people sell their belongings, writing references, and taking people to the airport.

So far, I don't like it any better than funerals, but at least they're not dead.

Fired up, powered down

On and off last evening I was hearing noise from surrounding neighbors and neighborhoods. I didn't think a great deal of it until about 9pm when it rather abruptly got crazy. Fireworks were going off incessantly and people were shouting and screaming. At first I figured that there was some festival or other; I have yet to have a real handle on Honduran holidays--when they are or how they are celebrated. Then it occurred to me that there may be a more simple explanation. A brief search online revealed that Club Deportivo Olimpia had just defeated Real Club Deportivo Espana 2-0 in the League championship (3-0 on home-away aggregate). This was somewhat unexpected I believe, because Real España had dominated in the regular season. Olimpia is based here in Tegus while Real España is from San Pedro Sula, the second largest city in Honduras. Needless to say, fútbol  being the official national religion sport and Olimpia being one of the home town favorites, there were some fired up people in town. 

Though I doubt that there was any relation, last night's excess of energy was followed by a shortage today. For the first time since our arrival, the electricity was intermittent this morning at church. The church has a generator for such circumstances but the noise of the generator and the instability of the electricity it provides made for a different sort of service. Fortunately the congregation did not seem too bothered by it and, as most of my friends know, I have a big enough mouth to make up for the lack of amplification.

As I explained in a previous post, today we also said "Goodbye" to a good friend and fellow minister Jesse. It was good to hear him present his decision to the church and to pray with him and for him. He will be sorely missed but we rejoice with the direction that he is moving for the good of the kingdom.

Festivities and "Fare thee wells"

Today Union Christian Church celebrated Christmas with a luncheon and a brief service of celebration with singing and special music. Both, I think, were well received. Midway through the lunch we were afraid that we might not have planned for enough food but in the end I think it worked out. The time of singing was brief but I, at least, enjoyed the participation of singers and accompanists. Thank you!

If December 11th seems early to some of you for such a celebration it would help you to know that the coming week is a week of departures for many. Some, whose ministry schedules permit it, have already departed statesward. Between now and next Sunday many more will follow; this especially applies to those of our number who serve in the various schools in town. Most churches experience attendance abnormalities around the holidays. Ours may very well be the reverse of those experienced elsewhere. So today was not just about Christmas cheer it was also a good day to well wish the many who we will not see for a few weeks.

There is one particular farewell that is tinged with more sadness due to its finality. This week the part-time associate pastor of worship, brother, and friend, Jesse, decided to make his long-scheduled visit to the states a permanent move. There is no way to sugarcoat this: it is a real blow to the church body. We are in a bit of shock. It is sort of like those first moments after you tumble down the stairs: you don't know exactly what your injuries are but you are sure you're hurt. I imagine that it will be some time before the church and the leadership fully understand the extent of what we have lost with his departure. He has done much. He has done it well. He has done it graciously. For that we are very thankful.

So our festivities have an air of sobriety about them but hope as well. We sorrow the departure of a friend and fellow-laborer while rejoicing at the warmth and conviviality shared amongst the congregation in our celebration of Christ's birth. We look ahead to the new year with hope and some uncertainty, but also with confidence in the grace of Christ.

Ministry Profile - New Life Deaf Ministry

As we have mentioned many times, many in our congregation are involved in various types of ministries here in Honduras. It is truly a blessing to be associated with so many quality people and ministries. To give you a feel for the congregation and to introduce you to ways that you can pray for Honduras or perhaps even minister here, we will be profiling the ministries represented in our congregation from time to time.

New Life Deaf Ministry

On Saturday we had the privilege of attending the first sixth grade graduation of Manos Felices (Happy Hands) a school for deaf children. The school is part of a larger ministry called New Life Deaf Ministry or Ministerio de Sordos Nueva Vida, a ministry that includes a church and community outreach in addition to the deaf school. This year's graduation was of particular importance as it represented the culmination of many years of growth. The school has added a grade level every year and these students were in the inaugural class. In the coming year they will be continuing the program by beginning high school classes for the first time.

The needs of the deaf are left virtually untouched here in Honduras. This school and church are among the only ones of their kind. Many families with deaf children are dismissive of their children's prospects and must be convinced that education is worth it. Many deaf are unable to find work and are thus heavily dependent upon family or other limited resources. Accordingly the work of NLDM is extremely important. The school is slowly changing cultural perceptions about the value of deaf persons in human and Honduran society. Among the school's faculty is a woman who was the first deaf Honduran to graduate from the education program at a Honduran university. 

Union Christian Church was privileged to host the graduation ceremonies and further blessed to have the ministry's director, Christy, among our members, as well as one of the pre-school teachers, Beverly. We are personally blessed to count these women as our friends and New Life Deaf Ministry as partners in the cause of the gospel. (And Ellyn has been building a friendship with Carolina, the hearing child of a deaf couple that works with the school. Carolina attends Union frequently.)

We invite you to visit NLDM's website (yes, it's in English) to learn more about this vibrant and important ministry.

Thanksgiving (again)!

We hope that all of you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday. We celebrated the day with a meal and time of thanks at Union Christian Church complete with turkey, pumpkin pie, and Packer football. (It should be noted that it doesn't feel as much like football when the commentary is in Spanish. Something not right there.) There were over 60 people in attendance, many of them "visitors". It was our goal to expand our celebration beyond the church family and we were happy to have English-speakers from other churches and ministries, members of the Ministerio de Sordos Nueva Vida (New Life Deaf Ministry, a church and school), as well as several Honduran families. Below are some pictures of the festivities. (For more pictures you can visit the church's Facebook page.)

The fellowship hall prepared for the meal

The spread!

The crowd

The more the merrier

This group is watching the Packers-Lions

game in the church foyer.

One happy customer!

With and without

Some of you may have noticed the cyber silence here lately. It has not been intentional. Rather, internet has been a bit spotty lately. Another way to say this is that I am in a life and death struggle with a certain internet service provider who shall (for the moment) remain nameless. I think I know who is more likely to die. Yet another way to say this is that I have been given the opportunity lately to grow both in my patience and my facility speaking Spanish over the phone about semi-technical issues. My Spanish may be improving but my mood is not. Yet, driving today with a friend we were discussing early missionaries and the challenges that they faced. I have a hard time imagining Adoniram Judson or even the relatively more recent Jim Eliot grousing about their internet being down.

Digital deficiencies are not our only news, however. More importantly, we are happy to report that today, with the generous loan of a cargo van and the even more generous loan of strong backs we were able to fetch our belongings from their point of delivery and transfer them to our home. We are now surrounded by piles of partially unpacked boxes. It is wonderful! It is not unlike Christmas as we discover all our things anew.*

That Christmas feeling will just keep coming in the weeks ahead as we have found several furniture and home furnishings to purchase from people leaving the country. This is bittersweet as we will miss them in spite of only knowing them for awhile but it is a part of the circle of life and ministry here. We are happy to be of a type of service to them by purchasing their belongings, relieving them of at least one detail.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We miss many but are eagerly setting the plow a little deeper in our ministry here.


*Special thanks to WGO (World Gospel Outreach) for the use of the van and to His Eyes ministry for the space in their shipping container.

Week-end Report - 23.10.2011

I was about to title this post "end of the week report" but realized that, it being Sunday, I would have fallen into grave theological error! Sunday, Resurrection Day, is always the first day of the week. Nevertheless, on this beginning to the week I report on the past week's activities.

The most noteworthy event from the week past was our move into our own home. With the help of friends from church we loaded, moved, and unloaded the items that the church had for our use. These included the major appliances, beds, dressers, and some shelves. This is a tremendous start. We still have to find some other furniture items (we're presently short on seating) but we are living comfortably in our new home.

We are already appreciating the benefits and discovering the shortcomings of our new place. The shorter trip to the city is a boon and Ellyn has already made use of the community swing-set and swimming pool. We miss the quiet and the view from El Hatillo where we stayed the first two months. At present I hear a car alarm (though we're used to those from our time in Racine and Milwaukee) and nearby there is a rooster who is apparently on Eastern Standard Time.

Another major event this week was the return of a key family from the church who had been in the states raising support for their ministry. They had generously offered us the use of their home during our first months. Since they contribute to the church in so many ways we are all glad that they have returned. Their return offered me my first opportunity to drive to the airport to pick someone up. I had previously only gone as a passenger. A small but useful skill!

Debbie has done some more driving and we are growing in our knowledge of the city and the shopping. Developing relationships is a key part of what we are doing right now so we eagerly accept any invitation to gather with others casually or formally. We even met some neighbors here in the community. The language barrier is a bit of a challenge for Debbie and Ellyn in these moments. Ellyn wanted to play but was hesitant to jump in as she usually does so eagerly.

And finally, for those of you whose word association with "Honduras" is of mud huts and natives with bones through their noses, you would be interested to know that we had a church fellowship yesterday. We went bowling. Yes, bowling. And it looked and felt like a bowling alley. (Though a bit quieter because there are only 8 lanes and weren't many other people there). To further confound your mental images, we only went bowling because the mini-golf place was closed for repairs.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!

I stand corrected

A few posts ago I was subtly dismissive of the church's self-description as "international" and suggested that most weeks that means little more than Americans* and Hondurans.
Just to spite me, I'm sure, this past Sunday we had at least the following nations represented: Germany, Honduras, the Netherlands, Taiwan, the United States, and Zambia. (Not to mention that the church guard is from Nicaragua.)
I enjoy worshiping in such an environment and just watched the people from different places lifting their voices in song in partial fulfillment of Revelation 7:9

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

* To most people from the United States, "American" is a common and acceptable self-referent. However, when one gets out into other countries on the American continents its sounds inaccurate. Unfortunately, English offers no other demonym for our use. Spanish has the word estadounidense to refer to citizens of the United States, though, truthfully, gringo is more common!

Big city; small world

Big City. Tegucigalpa is a city of almost 1.5 million people. I am acquainted with fewer than 100 of them. And yet I ran into two of them at the store yesterday. That was a pleasant surprise (and also a reminder that I always have to be on my best behavior!)


Small world. In this morning's service we had a visitor who teaches as one of the Christian schools in Tegucigalpa. After the service she asked me if I had any relatives named "Jon." As it turns out, she attended my brother's church in WI during two summers while working at a nearby summer camp. Who'd a thunk?