Thursday started out with a bang. Haley knocked on my door and said that something was wrong with the baby pig. We had a new mama pig that decided she didn't like the littlest one and started puncturing her runt with her teeth. We took it away from her and have been feeding it a bottle. The runt was living in the chicken brooder so it could keep warm but somehow in the night it found a way out and that night our temperature dropped. He was freezing. So I got the girls to get some warm water mixed with sugar and then massaged the little one until he showed some signs of life. He is on formula and is doing fine now.After that, we walked to Yasi with our older girls and some of the youth group, to bring more rice from Children Against Hunger. We have been trying to serve the children in the neighboring aldeas that need a supplemental lunch to help them overcome some nutricional problems in our area. The last hurricane combined with months of non stop rain has severely damaged the corn and beans here. The Mayor stated that over 90 percent of the areas crop is gone. He said they would not feel it now but about Christmas time people will be running out of food. The Mayor wants our ministry to collaborate with his office to help deliver food when it gets here. We are going to continue to give the supplement, but the government of Honduras is requesting help from other nations and they are buying food preparing for the end of the year. They have a work for food program where people work in their communities and the government clocks their hours and pays them with basic grains. We commited to help them once a week to attend to this need. Our older girls, youth pastor with some of his young adults and some of our staff will go into the aldeas we have already been visiting along with going to some other remote areas that have no resources at all.
When we got back from Yasi we had to take a shower and go to La Esperanza and see about a 2 year old little girl that we are going to receive. When we told the girls that we were getting a new girl they all screamed with excitement. They love it when we get a new girl. The paperwork wasn't quite through so we came home to a bunch of sad faced girls who wanted our new girl to be in tow. It will be next week before the little one arrives. Her name is Tania, so please be praying for her that she will acclamate to our center rapidly.
The next morning early, I left to go to Tegucigalpa and get my residency renewed. I was hoping to get a 5 year residency, but found out last week that was not economically feasible. It was going to cost 500 dollars for a 5-year as opposed to paying 20 dollars a year for an annual fee . Even though I strongly dislike driving over the roads that are full of road crews and all their equipment right now, I opted to take a trip to Tegucigalpa the capital.
The roads going through Tegucigalpa are still messed up because of the rain, so I went around Tegucigalpa on their new by pass called the Ring. It worked out great. I went into the immigration office and usually it is a long ordeal. They told me to go to the first window to get a receipt, and I got behind this man who had about 60 passports that needed receipts also. I was trying to be positive. I had been sitting for quite some driving so now I had an opportunity to stand for a long period of time. Surprisingly it went by rapidly and I got my receipt. I went to the bank window and paid the fee, and returned to the immigration lady. She looked at my documents and said wait 20 minutes and your card will be ready. I asked, "No photo" "Not necessary", she replied and in 5 minutes I had my card renewed and left the halls of immigration.
I had several other errands in town. I was to visit one of our girls, who lived with us for years. She is at another center right now and I wanted to see her before I leave for the US. She hadn't completed some of her studies and so I wasn't given permission to visit. I had everything packed to bring her a goody bag . I was disappointed that I wasn't able to see her. One of the other errands was to locate a turkey for Thanksgiving before I left to go to the States. We came up empty on that particular errand, also but I still have a few weeks before I leave to get that done. I visited cell phone headquarters to get some things worked out with them.
I went by Brenda's and had a birthday supper with her and her cousin and Sandy Miller who has a ministry in Comayguela. Sandy and her husband Currie have a Youth Ministry and one of the largest bi-lingual schools in the country called Enlaces. Brenda, a graduate from college and one of our former PTC girl works with their ministry.
Sandy was supposed to be monitoring a competition that her school was involved in. We chose a restaurant nearby and ordered. While we were eating, the folkloric dance competetion was going on. We had to keep a check so that we wouldn't miss her school. We kept popping outside to see what was going on. After we ordered, Sandy ran out and prayed for her kids and ran back in and we ate. The meal was wonderful and and just as we finished the Enlaces dancers were called to perform. We loved all the dancers, and children did a wonderful job. The children of Enlaces won 2nd prize in the competition. Normally in Comayaguela the weather is stifling and it has lots of mosquitos. It was a cool evening, limited bugs and the scenary of the large Catholic Church was the back drop for the dancers was truly beautiful. The crowd filled the town square and it turned out to be a great night
I needed to get back to La Esperanza in the morning. Evelyn, one of our girls who was traveling with me, needed to attend a class. On our way we needed to check out some goats in that area. We have 4 females and we need a boyfriend. We found one. He is the only male in the area, he is the size of a small cow and he has horns like a waterbuffalo. He scared me, but they said he was very sweet. I knew he would have scared Evelyn and neither she or I were prepared to load him up in my truck, so we came on home.
All in all I got about 50 percent of what I hope to accomplish done. That is the way it works here sometimes. I don't get as stressed out when things don't go as I had planned like I used to do. The culture here uses a wonderful word... manana. You just get peace, and wait for another day.
Blessings, The Manana Honduran MOM
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