Drip, Drip, Drop

I recently decided to start checking out the “pulperias” around Yamaranguila.  Pulperias are extremely small stores that sell some food and drinks.  There are around 8 or 10 of these small stores in the city of Yamaranguila, and a handful more between here and the farm.   I thought maybe I could find enough food to make a supper at these stores, but I was sadly mistaken.  For the most part, there pulperias sell drinks, candy, chips, and cell phone minutes.  I made a mental note to do my grocery shopping in La Esperanza on the weekends so that I don’t starve during the weeks.  On a happy note though, at one of these pulperias in town, I can buy 2 liter cokes and fantas for about $1.25.  And really, who need nourishment when you can have orange soda?

So for the last week or two, I don’t think I’ve taken more than 10 pictures.  First off, I’m feeling like less and less of a tourist, so the camera has been staying up just out of apathy I guess.  And secondly, there has been so much rain that I have been afraid of my camera getting wet in my bag.  It will be really nice to get a camera case and hopefully a water proof/resistant book bag sometime in the future.  I really need to get back on my picture taking duties so I can populate my blog and e-mails with pictures.  Who likes reading words with illustrations?  But alas, my internet connection won't stay strong long enough to upload pictures this week.  Maybe I can add some in later.

School is getting better and more exciting.  Each day I feel like I’m getting more and more acquainted with this system.  I think I’m learning more about the program and also more about the girls and what motivates them to learn.  Again, it is so incredibly different than anything I was expecting about a teaching job.  Not only is the program vastly different, but the entire culture that my girls are living in is different.  Its interesting to see what motivates these girls to learn and work hard.  Yet, its an adventure every day and It feels nice hoping that my work might be going to good use in these girls’ lives. 

Traveling this week has been interesting.  It has rained harder and with more consistency this week than it has since I’ve been in Honduras.  This means that the roads have been so bad that people are opting to stay in instead of drive to and from town.  For me, this means that there are nearly no trucks for me to bum a ride off of going to or from the farm.  That means a three mile, hour long walk in the rain on extremely muddy roads.  So one day I decided to use my boots as skis and slide down a short section of a particularly steep hill.  I slid and little bit, then a little bit more.  It was pretty fun until I started slipping out of control.  I caught myself just in time to realize that I didn’t want to fall and be covered in mud for the rest of my walk home.  About 15 seconds later a dump truck came zooming around the corner and covered me in mud.  I even got some in my ear hole.  Yes, directly in the ear hole.  I don’t know what the lesson is in this story.

There are a few really interesting plans for the future that have began to for this week at the farm.  First is the idea that a church might form at the farm.  In the past several weeks, I’ve had the privilege to visit a house church just up the road from the farm at Don Chilo’s house.  Don Chilo (Or Mr. Chilo, which took me a long time to figure out), is one of the leaders of the actual FARM farm.  Anyhow, the preacher at the house church was very charismatic and passionate about the Lord and in his teaching.  I’m not entirely sure of most of what he preached about, but I sure enjoyed it.  Well this preacher, Flavio (I think), has met with Mrs. Pam about the idea of starting a church at the farm.  We had a meeting this week and everything went pretty well for the initial plans.  The main idea is to start slow, so we’ll begin having a youth group meeting at the farm for a few months and then see where God takes it.  There are several churches in Yamaranguila where I am living, but nearly nothing out near the farm in El Obispo.  I hope this will turn into a way to minister directly to the community around the farm.

And secondly, there are some plans for starting an accredited, private school at the farm.  School in Honduras is (beating a dead horse) vastly different from school in the states.  For starters, free and public education only goes through the 6^th grade.  Middle and High school are seen as much more of an elective type of path.  Our girls are getting home-school, tutoring, and high school accreditation, which is much, much more than some of the children in the surrounding area.  We have began simple talks this week of expanding the school at the farm into a private school as yet another way to minister to the surrounding area while providing more financial stability to the farm.  This would be good for people who are volunteer teachers now, because it might mean a paycheck to cover some basic living expenses in the future.  Anyhow, I’m really excited to see how God is using the farm to minister to the area.  Please keep these two basic plans in your prayers in the weeks to come.

And finally, I want to repeat myself with the need of a new vehicle on the farm.  Again, we have a great need for a 4x4, diesel, extended cab, extended bed truck.  We are looking for a Toyota Tacoma, but if you know of anything foreign (Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, ???) let us know.  The roads here get pretty bad in the wet season.  This week, we haven’t been able to use the 2 wheel drive Nissan because of all the rain.  Also, with as many people as we have and as much ministry as we’re doing in the area, it would really be beneficial to have a truck with these specks.  If you know of anything, please contact me.  If you don’t know of anything, it would be great if you would join us in praying for a vehicle.

Well, I’m getting a bit longer with my blogs.  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.  I decided to write down some things through out the week and I think it helped me get a few more stories and ideas in here.  As always, thank you for checking out my blog.  It really helps me to feel connected to you guys back home to be able to write and know that so many of you are reading this.  Please keep me and the farm in your prayers.