Wow, this was a long day, but one that began with a great night of rest. Electricity had been restored, and all was good. On this day, we would be visiting the larger school in the city, Clementina. Because of the larger numbers of students, and because we were out of the Lion's mask activity we had brought, we ended up making the Faith bracelet activity I had brought. It was the bracelets made from pipe cleaners with a black, red, blue, white, green, and yellow bead representing parts of our faith. It went OK, but we did not plan it very well, so while a few of the kids got the idea of the bracelet, and even answered very well when I tested them with the meanings of each color, it was just not divided up well, so that Sam, me, and Jonathan were crowded by hundreds of kids getting their beads for their bracelets. It was almost like a horror movie with hands crowded down wanting next. We learned that whether it be kids or adults, they are not big fans of lines here.
I did run into one of my friends, Carlos. He had been friends with Rafael and Brian Jose the previous year. Brian Jose was the one that wrote me a really nice card. But both of them had moved to the mountains. The skit went well here because even with a larger crowd, this school had a microphone that Sonja handled well. As we left the school, it was fun shooting the poppers I brought into the crowds of kids. Like shooting the tshirts into a crowded basketball game.
Back at the day care, Fabrezio/Mauricio told me that he had been sharing the card trick with his friends. Did you tell them how you did it? No, he told me they all asked him, but he would always reply "No, solo yo" (no, only I can know the trick). I did see Kendall distributing medicine to Jeffrey, so I think we can get that added to our accomplishments...distributing medicine to the locals.
It was either this morning or the previous morning, when one of the other interns with CRF told me he liked my magic, then asked me if I knew any card magic. It was then that he pulled out some cards and showed me about 10 minutes of the card I "randomly" selected kept showing up in random places. Luke Taylor was this college kids name, and I learned that he actually helped pay for much of his college with about 60 minutes of material he could use doing card magic. It was really cool to see his tricks...he had been working on his since the 8th grade. No, he did not show me any of the actual sleights, as like Mauricio, "Solo Yo" would be his reply. Can't say I have ever got to be front row to my own personal magic show, but it was fun to watch.
We later went to deliver food to some more families in the area. Both were members of the church their in campamento. The first was another couple that would be married on that Friday. They had 6 kids and took care of one cousin with autism. All in a very small home. Maximo told us that the man worked at one of the local hotels...to which Justin replied "Wow, that is good. that is a job". Sam and I busted a gut laughing about this later, just happy that the locals don't know english in these situations where we have people on our team without good filters. This was also the home where we found the power line being held up by a branch on a tree. I think it was here also that Jonathan asked for the forgiveness of our fish (pescados [fish] is very close to pecados [sins]), and we picked on Jeffrey for writing it down wrong.
We rode in the back of the truck and learned from Obed some local language lessons like "Cheque Lecki Pancaky" being a fun way the young folks would say bye...it is similar to a "See you later Alligator". Obed also told us about "Que Pedo" for "What's up"...but it loosely translates as "What Fart?" I thought this was funny, and asked Eduardo the following day about using it, he told me no, it was not a good Christian example. I guess it is a little crude, so I won't use that one, but the kids loved hearing us say "Cheque lecki Pancaky".
The next home we visited was a grandmother that was in her 60s, and had 7 children and over 30 grandchildren. She was a sweet lady, and I got to visit with her a bit more on the wedding day. And there were chickens sleeping in the trees here!
That evening at church, the gringos were definitely the majority. Maximo covered a lesson from Leviticus, which I probably wouldn't have understood in English. I got to meet Eduardo's mother and his sister, and cute little nephew Aaron. I asked about his grandmother that is 86 years old. He said she is sick right now and on medicine, but doing well for her age.
Back at the Day Care, they had invited all of our sponsored children over for dinner. I was so excited to see Eloisa, but must admit, with the large numbers of kids in the open area, I did not recognize her initially, but I did recognize when she recognized us...Her smile got really big, and she ran over to hug me and Sam. We told her that Davis would be there soon, and she saw him and ran and gave him a hug also when he came in with his cowboy hat on. I showed her all my magic tricks and she liked them. Sam showed her his "rocky" character on his hand, to which she also laughed. Kylen and Rinoa were drawing the pictures that the kids could paint, and Eloisa selected a Mariposa (butterfly) to paint. I was able to chat a little with Eloisa's mother. Eloisa has a new baby sister, and loves holding the baby. Her favorite color is yellow, and she loved showing us that she knew all her colors in English. Her mom liked the mustard seen necklace we got for her. I remembered Eloisa had two cats so excitedly asked her about them, but sadly both had died. But she remembered Oreo from our cards and asked about him. We had another really great meal, and just enjoyed our time this year with Eloisa...as last year she was sick and we really only had about 10 minutes with her. After dinner, I brought down the bag of surprises for her, but told her to wait till she got home, so I think she was ready to go after that point. Haha, she told us "Alabamos", which I believe she was saying "we praise", but at the time, I thought she just remembered we were from Alabama. We walked her to the door of the day care after one last group of hugs, and I loved seeing her big smile as she went home to open those prizes.
This was a long day, but a really fun one. We met one more family that showed up on this day...Nate and his mother Michelle. We sang "Redeemed" in spanish that night at church, but apparently the chorus is "Yo se" there. Davis made ice in the freezer the night before, and we all laughed as it would not fit in his water bottle that morning. And that night, i had the best cold shower. I think I have only mentioned the pressure, but the shower temperature is always just normal temp, which feels pretty cold, but it was funny to me that by Wednesday, our bodies (or at least mine) had acclimated to the constant heat (hace mucho calor) in Honduras, and the cold shower was just normal. No cringing, just jump in and wash off, thankful that it is enough water to actually get the soap out.
And since it was featured in two of the pictures below, I will speak to the famous Denise "First Aid Kit" that has always traveled to Honduras to serve any need. Denise was not able to be with us this year, but sent it with Kendall, with what we were told many many instructions for each and every content. So it became a part of our team in Honduras, even joining in a hand of Goat Lords in one of the pictures below. There are many random pictures of that kit, and all make me laugh. Kendall was a great sport about it, and I know Denise will love the pictures. And the Salutaris pic is included because it is easily my favorite soda when I am in Honduras. A grapefruit soda that has a ruby red sweet taste, and not as bitter as a Fresca. And about 10 Lempira ($0.40) at the pulperia next door.
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