A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words...

... or so they say. Well, we have learned that it is altogether true. Reade has been really good about taking pictures of the kids as they've been hanging out in front of our steps, so we have literally hundreds of photos of them. Every time we snap a picture, we are surrounded by children wanting to see the digital image because they just love looking at the pictures.

Reade was inspired early on in our time here to do some kind of photo project where we print off one picture of each child to give to them, and let them make a "frame" out of construction paper. For children who generally do not own a picture of themselves, this is far more of a novelty than we could have ever imagined.

Kids literally came out of the woodwork and we made many more friends than we even had before. This, of course, meant that as more kids showed up and wanted to have their picture taken, we took several trips downtown to print off more and more pictures. But it was totally worth it.

To follow up on that, we spent several hours compiling most of these pictures into a slideshow (which anyone is welcome to see when we are back in the US -- just say the word). We even found some good tunes in Spanish for the background music. We told the kids we had a surprise, and they were all invited to our house the night before we left to see what it was.

Two hours prior, we had kids literally hanging on the front gate, waiting to be let inside.

When the time finally arrived and we had gotten everything set up and ready, we let adults in first, which was no small task seeing as though there were probably 20 kids piled onto the small front steps. We were just thrilled that adults came! By the time we finally got everyone piled in, there was almost no room left whatsoever. We fit probably 50 people in there. Here's a glimpse of how full it was.

The kids had a blast. They laughed and laughed. The joy was palpable. But then it was time to say goodbye, and that is always hard. Let's just say that there were tears, some gifts, and lots of hugs. There was even one point where two little boys were fighting over who got to hug on Reade more. It is hard to fathom how different our lives will be because of these people we love and this place called Nueva Suyapa.

Two Other Friends

Denisa at her birthday party


Cute little Alesandro, her younger brother

JOY: great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation

It was such a great day. We want to share with you one of the richest experiences during our time in Central America.

We decided to take three of the poorest kids we know to the children'smuseum in Tegucigalpa. We've talked on here about these three before - two brothers and a sister who have very little and are left home alone every day while their single mom goes to work. The oldest one has had to take on so much responsibility and grow up so fast. All three were just due for a day where they could be kids.

With excitement overflowing, they wanted to meet us an hour before it was even time to leave. They sat on our doorstep anxious to start the big day.

As we set out to catch the bus, the two boys clutched Lisa affectionately (see photo).We got on the old, retired U.S. school bus to go into town - no type of transportation we or anybody in the states would write home about - it was as if these kids had set foot inside a NASA Space Shuttle. The oohing and ahhing as we rode turned into even greater amazement when we transferred into a taxi for the rest of the ride. It was at that point we realized that what we consider simple things can bring such joy to those who have so little.

The Tegucigalpa Children's Museum, called Chiminique, is first class and as good as any children's museum we've ever seen. It is loaded with activities. We started by visiting the Santa display and making Santa hats. Then it was off to see the moon rock, play with a crane complete with a hoistable bucket, make a TV recording in a TV studio, drive a bulldozer.. on and on. They loved each activity so much, it was hard to get them to move to the next....







But it was the ball machine that was the big winner. One part of it shot balls up into a maze, where the balls would drop through, activating other parts of the machine. Another part with a blower caused the balls to hover magically. The boys literally were shrieking with joy as they played. Try and play the video... it is so cute.



It nearly took the jaws of life to pry them away from the museum. But they had built up an appetite, so we lured them away with the promise of a meal. It was time for McDonalds.

This was the first time these kids had ever eaten fast food. And what's so cool, they got to do it in style. Though this is Tegucigalpa, the resident expert in McDonalds, Reade, rated this as one of the top five nicest McDonalds he has ever been to (they even have a doorman). Happy meals... french fries for the first time in their lives... and then Playland. It was so cute. Third world, meet first world. What do you do when you come from an area with no playgrounds and then see something like Playland??? All these tube slides and ladders!

We quickly discovered the kids didn't know what a slide is. They tried to run up them at first but just kept spinning their wheels. We laughed... they laughed. So we showed them how to climb up, then slide down. The shrieking screams of excitement could be heard again.

We finished the day by walking up to the mega-mall, which is also a first world type mall, to get some Frostys.


The day was not without amusement. When it came time to use the restroom, Reade pointed the boys to the stalls. The five year old promptly stuck his hands into the toilet to wash off his sticky fingers. "No, no," Reade shouted, and the boy stared in bewilderment. He thought he was doing good to clean up. But when you come from an area with just back yard latrines, toilets can't be taken for granted. So they got to learn how to use toilets that day...well at least in part. The two year old little girl seemed scared of the toilets. Lisa tried to get her to go, but to no avail. She finally couldn't hold it any longer, and just let loose in the middle of the mall all over her older brother while sitting on his lap.

Then there was the escalator. What the heck was this??? Do you go up it or down it? Why not try both?

What a joy it was to give the kids such a special day. What a joy it was every time they smiled, laughed, or shrieked with excitement. What a joy to let them just be kids... to play... to run around... to not have to worry about babysitting each other, or not worry about having a warm meal. It was such a great day.

But we were sad their mom had to work and couldn't share in the day with us. And we were sad when we got back home, because we knew that the kids might not get to experience anything like this again for a long, long time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This was the first Thanksgiving that either one of us has spent away from home. It was strange not to be with family, but we were really blessed to be included in a wonderful mix of gringos and Hondurans, almost all of whom were bilingual. It was so much fun to hear the interchangable conversations, a cacophony of English and Spanish words, conversations surrounding common visions and dreams and goals. One couple is in the final stages of adopting their sweet little Honduran boy, and almost all of them work in some capacity to help the poor here in Honduras.

Needless to say, we were in great company for the evening, and to make it even better, we had American Thanksgiving food, complete with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and apple pie. I tried my hand at my first homemade pie crust as they don`t sell the ready made kind here. That was an experience, let me tell you. I think both Reade and I were covered, head to toe, in flour. At any rate, as wonderful as it was, we did miss home and are certainly thankful for all of you, and especially your prayers for us as we continue to live amongst and love on these sweet families.

We leave on Sunday and find ourselves very sad to separate from these people whom we have come to love very dearly. We had to say goodbye today to one friend, and it will only get harder as we say goodbye to more. They all ask when we will return, and although we cannot really say, we hope that it will not be all too long before that day comes.

New Shoes

Our little friend, R, has been walking around without shoes, and it has been pretty cold outside. So we, with the help of Anna who lives next door, went and got him some shoes. You would have thought it was Christmas. He was so excited.

Trash Day

So we decided to have another kids club today with the focus being on keeping our earth clean. People just throw trash everywhere, especially in the gutters, and don´t think twice about it. So we gave them each a trash bag and sent them out to clean up their neighborhood, with the promise of a freshly popped bag of popcorn as a reward when they brought it back. They were all smiles and had a great time.

The Biggest Jesus You Ever Did See

We spent a lovely day walking around El Picacho park which is known for its gigantic statue of Jesus, something you can see from way below in the city. It also has a statue of Confucius, but not nearly as tall. Anyway, the park has an amazing view of the city of Tegucigalpa as well as the prettiest gardens we have seen in Honduras. We enjoyed the day away to relax and be quiet and take in the beauty. It helps in being able to process everything we have experienced over the last couple of weeks.

There's also a little zoo there, which we went into more as an afterthought. We were glad we did the second a monkey came running up to us and danced on by, sadly, too quickly for a picture. The zoo doesn't really hold a candle to the D.C. zoo, but the one thing that is better is that you can get right up to the fence and see these animals really closely. Even the tigers. And several of the monkeys just run loose. It was really fun, especially because Reade tried to talk to all of the different animals. It often came out sounding like a chicken, but I'm sure that they appreciated the effort.


The statue of Jesus was particularly beautiful with the sky as a backdrop.


Jesus´ foot, also impressive in size.


Reade enjoying the view of the city below. He particularly liked watching the planes take off and land. I hope he never really grows up.


Monkey roaming free


Warthog


This leopard was shockingly close to us.

La Danza

Our neighbor and friend, Anna, announced to us and the neighborhood kids that her sister was arriving for a two week stay. You would not believe the excitement that this produced on our street! We spent two almost full days in preparation: making cards and signs, and practicing a "danza". This is not just any dance. It is a worship dance, and it is so touching. At one point, they were singing the words along with the CD... part of it went: "Escuche la voz (Listen to the voice) / Que viene del cielo (That comes from Heaven) / Es la voz de mi Señor (It's the voice of my Lord) / Mi Padre Bueno (My Good Father). Seriously precious. And stuck in my head for days (just ask Reade).

Reade and I were available to them as they were practicing, but they did the whole thing on their own. Not to mention that on the day of Rachel's arrival, every one of them had bathed, combed their hair, and donned their nicest outfits. This was a huge deal to them. They don't bathe for just anyone. We have posted pictures below of them, but also got them on video, so if you want to see it when we get back, all you have to do is ask.



The whole gang dancing.



These lovely ladies were the ringleaders... fantastic young women.



L-man and Joker



This little girl just held the ends of her skirt up and twirled. She was so cute.



This guy surprised us by how into the dance he was.



We call this girl The Hugger because you can pretty much bet that if you are anywhere near her, she'll be offering you hugs.



This little boy is so sweet... we love this picture.



This young lady was fully enthusiastic about practicing and showed up at least an hour before we had agreed upon in anticipation of the practice.



All smiles at the end!

A Few Of Our Friends

Our last week has largely been spent playing with and loving on the kids in the neighborhood. We have gotten to do a number of activities with them… which you can read about in the following entry.

We want to introduce you to three kids who are really special in our hearts.



Meet K (8 years), R (5 years), and G (2.5 years). They are very, very poor. They live four houses down in a shack with bare dirt floors, no running water, a bunch of roaches and barely any electricity -- just one weak lightbulb. They are so, so sweet. They live with their mom, who leaves them alone in the morning until late in the evening to go to work downtown. Their father is in jail, sadly. Even the neighborhood kids, who also are poor, talk with shock about how poorly cared for this family is.

K started to hang around us and was very quiet, often with a sad and blank look on his face. His sister often tailed behind him. She would stare, and we didn't hear her utter a word for almost a week. K is left to take care of his younger siblings all day long. He is so sweet with them. He shares food when it is given to him, holds their hands, and walks them home.

All three of the kids are filthy and smell of urine. They live in the street most of the day and are in and out playing around the gutter (into which neighbors dump their latrines). G doesn't have diapers. She runs around in dirty underwear all day long since nobody changes or cleans her up. It was so sad to see a puddle on the ground under her feet the other day. She peed without giving a word of warning because she has nowhere else to go. It took at least a week of interacting with her before she began to show signs of recognizing when we were talking to her, and even more time before she said a word. Now, though, she knows our names and responds when we ask her questions. Mostly, she just wants to be held.

We haven't met K's mom, but she seems pretty desperate. Some neighborhood kids, who have very little themselves, recently gave them some old clothes since they saw that the ones they had worn for several days in a row were filthy. K's mom then allegedly sold the clothes. We were mad when we heard this, but at the same time, she likely did it to get money to buy food. She is probably just doing the best she can.

When we first met K, he would occasionally smile. We started to talk to him, but it was pretty hard to have a conversation as he speaks fast and garbles his words. So, we found the best way to engage him was just to say things to make him feel valued and to involve him with the other kids in street sports and arts and crafts. We also would feed him and his siblings.

He quickly came out of his shell. While playing American football with Reade and other kids out front (more rugby by any standards – these kids love contact sports), he started to show great excitement and vitality. He suddenly came alive. Lisa led an arts and crafts activity, and he was beaming every time he got to show off what he had made. He began to smile more, and started calling out to us by name whenever he saw us.

K's brother, R, who looks more like he is age 3 than 5 (probably due to malnourishment), never smiled or talked when we first met him. But after a game of soccer out front, he began to show some sign of life. He would not leave Reade's side, and didn't want to let go of his hand – he is hungry for male attention, but also clearly adores Reade and is so blessed by the positive attention Reade freely gives that he so rarely receives. The only time he did let go of Reade's hand was to go pee in the gutter, hence the urine smell. After a little while, he would light up whenever he saw us come out of the house because he knew that we would hug on him and care for him. He eventually started calling to us by name as well.

These three kids show up on our doorstep several times a day. We love them. We are heart broken for them. It is painful to see how they are forced to grow up at such a young age.

While working with these kids is a blessing and honor, we have also found it to be very draining because they mutter their words, making Spanish even harder, and communication is difficult. We have learned, though, that there is a huge ministry in just being present and listening to them, even if we don't understand everything they say. We want to communicate to them God's love for them and their value while they are young and their hearts are still so soft.

What's so cool is that these kids, who largely have experienced childhoods cheated by parents who don't or can't provide for them, don't show anger or disrespect. They take time to care for each other. They rarely fight. They really respect the rules and us. It makes you wonder why kids in America, who are often times so much more blessed, often don't show such respect to one another or adults. Maybe in having so little, you learn what it is to need one another.

Please take a moment to say a prayer for these three kids. Thanks!

Gatito

This cute little guy found us not too long ago by squeezing itself through the very narrow bars to our porch. We fed it some milk and a little fish before it squeezed itself back out through the bars onto the street. Fortunately, Reade went out to check on it just as a frisky bunch of dogs decided the were hungry for a cat snack, and this man (who hates cats) saved the little thing's life. This put us in a dilemma as both Reade and Maureen (who actually lives here) are very allergic to cats. If, however, we didn't do something, it was clear that our gatito would not survive the night. So we kept it in a bucket with a towel until the next morning when we proceeded to quickly find a home for it. These folks like to have cats around, because if they don't feed them, they eat all of the rats and cockroaches in their houses. Blech. He was pretty darn cute, though... even Reade liked him, which says a lot.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

We have found our ministry here to be with the kids in the neighborhood, ages 2 to 13 or so. School is on recess for their "summer vacation" so to speak, and they therefore literally have nothing to do most of the time. We bought a soccer ball, because they all love the sport but don't have the money to buy an actual ball. They love it when Reade goes out and plays with them. We have found ourselves amidst several spontaneous activities, from throwing around the football to playing games in the street to making signs and cards for people.

In addition to the spontaneous stuff that we just try and be around for, we are planning several practical activities for them to be a part of. We did one this past Monday, teaching them about germs and how important it is to wash their hands before they eat. We were fortunate to have our wonderful neighbor, Anna, help us. She is a missionary here in Nueva Suyapa, originally from Colorado, and speaks Spanish perfectly.

We want you all to see some of the kids we interact with daily. They are adorable. And yes, I do want to take all of the home with me.



Anna, talking to the kids at our first Kids Club. Thank goodness for her.



One of the activities was to trace and cut out their hands.



A spontaneous coloring activity on our front porch.



Reade and the boys



Lisa on the steps with the girls



These are three of the most enthusiastic girls we have met, always full of smiles and hugs for us. And ususally waiting for us on the front door step when we come home.



We love this guy. He's the perfect mix of a goofball and a sweetheart.



The Joker and his little sister live right across the street from us. They are so cute.



The Joker's little brother with Lisa's sunglasses on.



This guys is really special. We see him pretty much everyday, and though he is pretty poor, you would never know by the joy that he is filled with. He loves to tease and tell jokes. He loves to wrestle with Reade and play thumb war with Lisa. He offers to run errands for us. He is a fantastic young man.


These three young ladies are sisters and so sweet. We love these three pictures.

A Trip up the Mountain

At the suggestion of Maureen and Chris, we decided to take a couple of days and head up to the mountains by San Juancito, part of the La Tigra National Park here in Honduras. It is about an hour's drive outside of the city, and then another 30 minute or so climb up a pretty steep, rocky incline (and yes, in a four wheel drive vehicle). We got lost a few times on the way, even with a really good set of directions, mostly because you navigate here by landmarks instead of road signs.

A man named Jorge and his girlfriend Monika live in this quaint little house that they had built overlooking the valley below, and the plants that they have surrounded themselves with are gorgeous. They are both vegetarians, and seeing as though there are no restaurants anywhere nearby, you eat all of your meals there in their house. Jorge's a really good cook. He also makes these homemade jams and syrups that are fantastic, which we got to sample for breakfast. We ended up bringing a few of them back with us.

The only bummer was that when we got there, it began to rain, and it rained at times very hard, pretty much the whole 2 and a half days or so that we were there. Plus, we were high enough up that it was frigid. We by chance had brought an extra blanket and were super glad we did.

It wasn't too cold or rainy, though, to take a nice long hike around the mountain on the one full day that we were there. The scenery is just breathtaking. We saw a couple of little waterfalls (see below), huge flowers, corn fields on the steep mountainside, and even an orange tree. After hiking for about 2 hours, we pulled out some of Jorge's homemade bread and some peanut butter and had a tasty lunch which we ended up sharing with the local man working his corn fields. He offered to share his beans with us, but we passed, as beans have been none too kind to our systems.



When we got back, we showered and warmed up before heading down to dinner with Jorge. Upon entering the lovely house, we decided to take our shoes off so as not to track mud on his floor, but as soon as he saw our sock-covered feet, he instructed us to immediately put our shoes back on, mud and all. I guess he has a thing about feet. We thought that was pretty funny. Their adorable and very friendly kitten then proceeded to jump up onto Reade's lap which would not have been a problem except that Reade is pretty alergic to cats. So I coaxed it onto my lap, which is where it stayed, purring, throughout the entire rest of the meal. Fortunately, Reade was not allergic to me afterwards.

What a wonderful time of relaxation, reading, laughing, studying Spanish, and soaking in the natural beauty of the Honduran mountains. We could get used to this.


Adam...


... and Eve