Welcome to our restaurant

One of the things I was hoping to experience while living here was eating authentic food, things that I wouldn't likely get in the states. Yesterday after I cooked an American dish for lunch, I told them they could be the chefs for dinner.

They asked me "can we pick the flowers from behind the house to eat for dinner". I told them they could and when I went to go check on them they looked like little monkeys, high in the tree. They came in with there bags full of little pink flowers, much more than we could eat by ourselves for dinner. Then I had an idea. I asked them "how would you like to cook them for some more people who are visiting from the states?" I was sure the other visiting missionaries at the hospital would want to experience the culture in this way as well. Their faces lit up as they pondered the idea of being the chefs of the evening. We went through the kitchen gathering the ingredients we would need to bring - eggs, meseca, oil, flowers and green beans.  On the hospital grounds there is a "hotel" for visiting teams and they have a large kitchen downstairs.We hopped in the car and were off to our "restaurant". 

The two younger boys lost interest in being the chefs when there was other things to do, but the older two were up to the task at hand. They started preparing the tortillas as I helped separate the flowers. As people came into the kitchen they would hand them a tortilla saying "Probalo", "try it". They would study each persons reaction as they tested their creation. When the "customer" said they like it they would stand up a little taller, very proud of themselves, and continued with their cooking.  

Another couple had prepared chili and bread, which was good because we wouldn't have had enough for all of our guests. When the food was ready we went upstairs to the dining room table which was prepared nicely and lit by candle light. There was 12 of us altogether. We enjoyed good food and company as we fellowshipped together. It was a different experience for some of the boys and you could tell they were trying to take it all in, not quite sure what to do at times.

We had dessert which another gal had made, said our goodbyes and called it a night.

I think they have a future business as restaurant owners, now we just have to come up with a name. 

Taming the Waves

One of the things that the boys love to do is go to the beach. They especially like to bring there "lanchas" which is a boogie board and styrofoam surf board and ride the waves. They are very fun to watch as they help each other paddle out trying not to get pushed back to shore before catching the perfect ride in.

One of the boys while waiting for his turn on the "lancha",  had found a stick on the beach and was playing in the water. He is the smallest of the four boys but loves to use his imagination.   I couldn't help but smile and laugh as he was slapping his stick, with all his strength, against the waves as they came towards him. It was as if he was saying "take that" you wave, "I'm the master here". He did this for several minutes ready to teach each wave who was boss. I think he thought that maybe if he did it enough times the waves would cease to come in and surrender to his strength, giving up the fight. When the waves persisted he finally jumped over them, throwing himself into the mercy of the water as if to say "this time you win".

Playing Mom

This past week I have been in charge of the kids as Lisa is away temporarily for 2 weeks. I have tons of help and am not alone in this task and am so very blessed with all the people who are helping me and making sure I'm ok. Being responsible for these kids is teaching me a lot. They help me see life/ in a new way, challenge my patience at times and always keep life interesting. Here are a few stories from the week.

Life

Wow I can't believe it has been almost 3 weeks since I wrote my last post. Time flies by.

I am settling into life here and am starting to finally feel more comfortable speaking Spanish. Every day is a little different which keeps things interesting. I have been planning English lessons, working on cleaning and organizing projects, doing hair cuts, going to the dump, and playing with the kids...just to name a few of the things I've been up to.


During this time God has been teaching and molding me more and more into the person that He has created me to be. Every morning my prayer is that I will be able to hear his whispers and follow close to whatever it is he has for me that day. I am being stretched and hopefully being made more pliable so that I will continually remember to yield to Him. This morning I was reading Psalm 143:8 which says it nicely "Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you."

I never know what each day will hold, I only know it will be a little different than I expect it to be. I get to continually practice being patience, coming up with creative solutions, as well as learn how to gently direct, as I continue to work with the boys. They are such great kids, with huge hearts and who have already taught me a lot. They are great helpers, desire to learn, want to do good, and for the most part play really well together. Each day has it's learning moments or times when I feel I can't take anymore, when I just have to take a deep breathe and ask God to give me strength and guidance for the situation at hand.

I'm also remembering not to take things for granted, such as having electricity and internet. I surprise myself how dependent I can get without realizing it until I don't have it when I would like it. During these times I remember I can go 24 hours without these things and my world will not come to an end. But I have become more prepared when theses situations arise :)

More thoughts soon...

Miracles

I am so overwhelmed by the goodness of God and His faithfulness. Yesterday morning we got a call from the mother of the boys who took our stuff and she said she wanted to give it back. When Lisa told me I could hardly believe it. Could they really still have my computer? It had been 3 or 4 days and I figured they had sold everything by now. We got in the car and went to the meeting spot where the lady said she would be. I tried not to get my hopes up just in case she didn't show and sure enough when we got there she wasn't there. We asked around to see if anyone had seen her and no one had. "Lord what is going on?" I thought. "What do we do from here?" Just then a police car drove by us and we decide to ask for their help. We had a strong Honduran man with us, who knew knew Lisa and obviously knows the culture, and he thought it was ok to go with them. So we hopped in the police car and with the 4 police men and their rather large guns we went searching, but to no avail. After 45 minutes of driving down bumpy roads, asking around, and receiving many strange and confused looks decided to return to the car. On the way back we passed by the original meeting spot and we saw the mother. She had our things with her! Lisa got back her DVD player and CD player and a few other things and I got my computer.

 Later that night when I got to look at my computer there was not even a scratch on it and everything that I had on it was still there. It still blows my mind. The chances of getting it back were slim to none and getting it back all in tact 4 days later is nothing short of a miracle!

Thanks for all your prayers!