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Published: December 13th 2009
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Going home
Grandma Mary's funeral. This entry is about 6 months late. After the last journal, life became so demanding I put a halt to everything. Then upon returning to the states, I didn't want to think about the trip for a while, and then I found the job, and then I got busy again.....you get the picture. But I'll try to sum up the last two months of my stay in Honduras in less than 5 pages. 😊
April and May were busy months. Not only was it the last semester of school, we also had to plan for a presentation and graduation, exams, final grades and the national tree day celebration. And of course the children were so excited to be getting out of classes they could barely contain themselves, which was a job in itself on a normal day. Exams were also very hard to make because there had to be a second exam for the students who failed, without duplicating information on the two. Grades for all the students proved to be challenging as well. Everyone waited until the last week and even the last few days, then everyone poured over the computers hoping the power wouldn't go out. It was
a very harrowing experience.
Something happened on Semana Santa (Holy Week, or Easter) that was completely unexpected and sorrowful. Both my grandmothers had been in the hospital and my father had just returned from caring for his mother in Florida after an 11 day stay in the hospital. My mother's mom had spent a few days in the hospital because of chest pains. Not even a week after returning, she died of a heart attack at 91. My mother called me and I knew right away something was wrong. It was a Saturday, and everyone at the house in Santa Rita had been "spring cleaning" and getting ready for a large family get together. I was washing windows and screens when I got the call. Immediately I bought a ticket for the next day, left at 5:00 the next morning on the bus, and flew into Detroit at 9:00 that night. Fortunately I was able to get a ticket, unfortunately it was Spring Break in the US and it cost 5 times more than it normally did. I spent the entire year's savings on that ticket.
God blessed me in so many ways that week. First, I didn't
Very Large Boulder
That fell about half a year ago and it's just too big to move. There's still JUST enough room for the bus to get by. miss one day of teaching because Honduran schools had the week off for Semana Santa. Then, I was able to get ticket quickly and get home in time to help ready things. My church in the states decided to pay for the ticket from a fund set aside for these sorts of things. I had an uneventful trip both ways. And I had decided to go home for Christmas, so it had been just a few months since the last time I saw my Grandma. There were many blessings amidst the sorrow.
The month went by so quickly. It was the first week of May when I received another phone call; my other grandma had passed away of a heart attack shortly after returning to Michigan. Again God blessed me in so many ways. The director allowed me to return to the states and miss three teaching days. It happened on a Friday, I returned on Saturday and left Wednesday. This time the ticket was only twice as expensive, I was able to fully pay it. God provided safe passage and again, time to help with the preparations. Although I wish we would have had more time together, (I
Brother Antonio
When he was living and well. He will be missed. was so looking forward to spending time with my grandmothers when I returned) I am glad they lived long and fulfilled lives.
May flew by, faster than April. There were birthday parties and trips, and I was planning a special trip of my own. Another death took place very dear to my heart - a brother from the church fought with kidney stones for several months and because of his stubbornness and the poor health system, brother Antonio died. It was terrible to see how his physical body wilted away to half its size, but it was encouraging to know he was not suffering any more and was forever enjoying the presence of God.
June 6 was graduation, and the 7th my parents flew in. (That's the special trip!) I moved out of the house where I was staying and my parents and I spent a week in Copan, the next town over. That week was extremely hot and I kept telling my dad and mom, it's supposed to be raining, it's the rainy season! But again, we were able to travel to all our destinations without having any mud slide problems, so it was a blessing in
disguise! We went to the Mayan ruins on Monday, to the bird park on Tuesday, and the rest of the week was spent visiting church members I had grown so close to. My parents got first hand experience traveling by foot to Very Far Locations, going by: taxi (three-wheel wonders), back of a pickup, and "chicken buses"! Traveling was definitely not their favorite activity, but we arrived where we needed to go and they were blessed by the generosity of so many people who had so much less than them. Their visit was a welcome relief after a very difficult year.
After they left, I took Spanish classes for a week while staying with a very sweet family of a Baptist pastor in Copan. Then I moved in with my pastor and his family for the last few weeks. They had offered earlier in the year, for me to live with them, but I refused for two reasons. One, I was afraid I couldn't handle living with them, (they have three children, various animals and a dirty house) and two, I didn't want to make things worse between the director and myself (we had a tense relationship). After living
with them less than a week, I was kicking myself for not living with them sooner. All year I would have given my left leg for a home where love was, because I did not feel loved and accepted where I was living. By the second day I was jumping in the cold dirty shower, sleeping with the flea infested cat, and sharing the kids germs. What a treat! It was the best home experience ever!!
While I was very happy to leave the job, I was very sad to leave all my friends. I had over 20 brothers and sisters in the Lord who were very dear to me, and in another church in Copan just as many in the youth group that had showed the love of Christ to me. The worst parting was between my good friend Carol and my pastor's wife, Vilma. I spent the majority of my time with those two wonderful ladies and they have a part of my heart. They are both filled with the beauty of Christ and are wonderful examples for me. Carol is a beautiful young woman inside and out. She and I shared many interests, from teaching, to
books, movies, games, playing the piano...even the fact that we were both taught at home. Even though our time together was limited, we formed a real friendship. And Vilma shared so much with me: she taught me how to cook, talked my ear off even when I didn't understand, and she pretended to understand when I tried to talk. She opened her home up to me whenever I wanted, and I will never forget her generosity and love.
The next to last week was spent working with a medical brigade in Copan, and the last week was a solid stream of visiting every last person I had come to know. At the end, I was wishing I had more time to visit places in Honduras and the surrounding countries, and spend more time with my friends!
Thank you for following along this journey, and I hope you were amazed at the way God worked. His power and might were made known this past year. God's blessings to you!
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