Bikes and the car

My kids are big bike fans. Last night they were so happy to finally have room to ride their bikes. They were disappointed to no longer have the use of their pool, but that pain was quickly eased when they realized that they had more than two feet to ride their bikes in. Even Joey likes to be on a bike. He does not know how to peddle so he goes no where. When he does grasp the concept of peddling towards the front instead of the back there will be no stopping him. The kids are really going to miss their bikes when they go to the states.

Jordan was on hand to help out Max, our mechanic, fix the truck today. Max has not yet found the problem so the truck is still unusable, but Jordan still had fun. Max ended up taking the truck to his house so he could work on it more. We are hoping and praying that the cost of fixing will be cheap.

Nasty Bugs

Have you ever seen a uglier bug? Well, yesterday evening when I was trying to get some housework done I found this ugly creature. We took the pool down a couple of days ago because the rain has started and it has cooled down. Last night I was finally fed up with all of dirt and junk on the porch. I had gotten all of the toys picked up and cleaned that area and decided to finally pick up the tarp from the pool. I was almost finished folding the tarp in half when I came face to face with this thing. It may not look big from the picture, but this thing is almost six inches long plus the length of the antenna. It is not a cockroach or a spider, but it is gross. I ran to get a ziploc bag and then trapped him and threw him in the garbage. I told Jason about it when he got home and he dug the ziplock out of the trash. He thought is was very cool and wanted to keep it, but I put my foot down. I have never been so scared by a bug in my life. I don't think that I have ever seen a bug that big.

Another subject on the bug topic is that we have baby cockroaches and crickets flooding our house. Last week when we had the water tank cleaned, the man who cleaned it said that we were growing cockroaches in the top of the tank because of the coolness and water. We bleached the tank and that got rid of them, but since that day I have seen these babies all over the house and porch. They are tiny and only about half an inch long. I have no problem with them as long as they grow somewhere else!!!

End of the strike

At around 3:00 pm today the president of Honduras issued a statement that the strike was to cease. The police were sent to "clear the streets". We were able to watch on the news as the police started moving the taxis out of the way. If there was no keys in them and the owner was not around they just pushed it out of the road. One taxi driver got into his car and refused to move it so the police arrested him. He agreed to comply to their orders a few minutes later and they released him to go and move his car. We don't know what tomorrow will bring, but we are thankful that someone finally stood up to the taxi drivers and showed them that they don't always get their way. While we wouldn't have minded the lower gas prices, we don't like the idea that if you just block the streets you can get anything you want.

We also found out today that there are supposed to be 7,000 licensed taxis in Tegucigalpa. Because of corruption there are more than 10,000 registered taxis. There would be enough work for everyone if there were only the 7,000, but with 10,000 on the streets it is hard for them to even break even.

Our mechanic looked at our truck tonight and will have to make some repairs. During the day he is working on Bro. Alan Jackson's bus. He will be here tomorrow night to fix the car at our house. That means that the kids and I will not be able to go to the soulwinning night. Jason will go with Josue in his car and Jason will pay for the gas. We are hoping that the truck will be ready for Friday night.

Taking the streets

Isn't it funny how you have no desire to leave the house when you can, but when you are not allowed to leave, you want to so badly to go somewhere. Today we had no plans to leave, except to get the truck fixed. Our diesel truck that we use for everything is broken. Yesterday, when Jason went to get me some different medicine (which is working great) the car started whistling. Jason had plans to take it to the mechanic today, but when he was leaving he found out that the roads were blocked. The taxi drivers have blocked the roads protesting the fact that they voted for the president because he promised he would lower the gas prices by 10 Lempira when he took office. Needless to say, the prices have only gone up since then. What the taxi drivers do is block every major street with at least two taxis so that no one can go in or out. Right now one of our friends, Becky Jackson, is stuck at the McDonalds on the other side of town (my kids wish that was their predicament) and her husband is stuck about 10 miles outside of town. We are thankful that we are at least stuck at home.

Please pray for us to be able to get our truck fixed before tomorrow night. We changed our Thursday night service to churchwide visitation for the special services we are having Friday through Sunday. We were all planning on going, but if the streets do not get unblocked or if the mechanic is unable to fix the truck in one day we will not be able to go.

Material and passport

Today we were supposed to go with Esperanza to buy material so she could sew pants. She was supposed to come at 9:00 am, but when she did not get there by 10:00 am and Joey had an appointment to get his Honduran passport, we had to leave. I was so sick and tired, but had to be there or they wouldn't issue the passport and we would have lost the money (they require both parents to be present). When we finally got everything done I was so tired that I was very glad to be going home. As we were driving up the street we saw Esperanza sitting in the shade of our neighbors tree. She arrived at 10:30 and had been waiting for three hours.

She had both twins sick so she had to take them to the doctor this morning before she could come. She also had to pick her daughter up from school because after three months the teachers in Ojojona have decided that they don't want to work anymore. They are having to close the school. There have been many problems since the government has turned over to the Liberal Party. The papers are saying that this is the most disorganized government they have ever seen. Needless to say, she was late.

I was not to anxious to go buy the material with her as I was feeling quite bad. But we went anyway. I wish there was some way I could have brought a camera to show a picture, but probably would have been shot for it. We went into a huge warehouse with a rounded roof to allow ventilation into the area. They divided the two floors into many little stores. I was so neat to see. I didn't bring any more money than what it would cost for fabric because I was afraid I would be robbed. I even took off my wedding ring. I plan to go back before we leave to buy something for our display table.

I was able to see for myself why I will never be able to shop and live like a Honduran. I just would not be safe. This market is where all of our church people shop. They have volunteered to take me many times. There is no way I am going to give up shopping in a store for a market with smells of a raw meat and bad drainage mixture, flies, and no air conditioning or fans.

We are so excited to announce that we were able to talk to Esperanza about her salvation. She told us that on Mother's Day she realized what salvation is and that she had never done it. She also told us that she planned to get saved on Thursday. We asked her why she didn't do it right away. We explained to her that she didn't have to be in a church to get saved and she finally understood. We got to pray with her as we were driving down the anillo (two-lane divided highway running around the town) and see her accept Christ as her Saviour!!!!!!! She is planning on being baptized on Baptism Sunday on the 4th of June. Please pray that nothing keeps her from taking this step.

Colds

I still have a cold. I am getting very frustrated. I am taking an antihistamine/decongestant when I go the sleep at night and also when I have a few hours to lay down. I do not think it is working. I have been sick with this cold or sinus infection for almost a month now. I went to the doctor a few weeks ago, but because of the hepatitis, I cannot have an antibiotic right now. I have been going to services lately, but this past Sunday I stayed home and slept trying to get over this. Please pray that I get well soon. This weekend we have three special days of services planned. We are to have a movie night on Friday, a sermon and chalk talk on Saturday, and a special service on Sunday. I really would like to go and participate in these services. Please pray that I will get well. I am so sick of being sick!!!

Water, water, and more water

Last Friday, we had a man scheduled to clean our water reserve tank. We had been running our faucets trying to empty the tank. It is not a huge tank, but it drains through a small pipe and it is gravity fed so that the pressure is not great. Normally it is not a problem, it only takes a long time if you are trying to empty it. Gustavo, the man who is cleaning the tank, called at 9:30 am to ask if he could come the next day. Of course we said that would not be possible as we were already emptying the tank. He finally showed up at 11:00 and started working. As the tank was not totally full he decided, with Jason's help, to empty the leftover water by bucket onto the roof to the side of the tank. That roof runs down to a pretty large drainage pipe and from there to the street. That roof also just happens to be the roof for the pantry and laundry room. Everything was going well and as Audrey had finished her school, I was planning the work out for next week. I heard the kids saying, "Wow, look at this water." I didn't think anything for a while, but finally I decided to check it out. When I did, I found the pantry and laundry room filled with water. The water must have gone under the roofing tiles since it was coming down so fast and with so much force.

I had a shelving unit that was covered with water. On those shelves were all of my cookbooks, toilet paper, paper towels, cereal, and other small appliances. Thankfully most everything was fine. The cookbooks just had to be hung dried. The cereal was still in its packaging and therefore was not ruined. The toilet paper and paper towels were mostly dry, but I discovered when checking them that they were eaten with termites. Needless to say Honduras has a termite problem. When the first rain falls every year the termites leave the trees and search new areas to eat. They are already in the pantry ceiling, but I was shocked to find them in the paper products. Thankfully they are not in the house. Our other house had a lot of termites. If we ever own our own house we will call Terminex. They have them her in Honduras and we have friends who use them and say the do a great job.

Esperanza's Surgery

We found out Tuesday about Esperanza's health problems. When she went in to have her ultrasound they doctor's found out that the cyst she had had another growth to the side of it. They immediately put her in the hospital to watch her. She was in that hospital for two days and then they transfered her into another cheaper hospital for the surgery. She was in the hospital so long because they would not release her before she paid her bill. She was trying to call us, but that was during the time that our phone was out. She finally got a hold of a different friend that she had that lives in the city and they loaned her the money and let her stay with them for an additional week so she could go every day to see the doctor.

The doctor's were able to successfully remove the cyst and said that it wasn't cancerous. She is feeling much better. She still owes her friend 400 Lempira which is just over $20. Please pray with us that she will be able to make this money and pay her friend back quickly.

Computer troubles

We just got our computer back. We have had problems with it lately and took it in last Saturday. It worked great for a few days, but then stopped working all together. I don't know what was wrong with it, but we took it back in on Monday when it refused to start. We just got it back today and boy was it frustrating to not have our computer.

So much has happened these past few days. Esperanza came to our house on Tuesday and told us she has found a house and is trying to move. She came back from the hospital and found out that all of her plates, cups, buckets, ect. were taken away. She found a house for almost $20 a month, but does not even have the money to make a downpayment. She was making money by sewing pants and selling them, but when she went to the hospital her "mother-in-law" took the machine back from her. The stories we could tell you about this family. They are so petty and everything is about "me". I do not understand how someone can treat their family the way Esperanza has been treated, but they do. We want to help Esperanza, but are not sure how. We found a sewing maching for about $90. It is a treadle machine which is what is common here so people can work without using electricity. We are not sure that we can get it for her though. We don't know what we are going to do. She was supposed to come yesterday and we were going to buy her material to help her get ahead, but she did not show up. We will ask her today why she didn't come. It is most likely that she could not get anyone to watch her kids.

Please pray for us that we will use wisdom in dealing with this situation. Also pray for us as we are trying to find a truck to use when we get back to the states. It has to be low mileage, 2003 or newer, diesel, and 4 wheel drive so we can bring it back here to Honduras to use it on the field. We have limited search resources and time so please pray with us that we will find the one God has for us.

Mother's Day

Sunday we had a great attendance in church. There were close to 50 people in church. With a huge majority being women. Most of the men of the church were off visiting their mothers in other parts of the country. Here the mom is the cornerstone of the family. Grown children will all go home to Mom's house to celebrate. The funny thing is that they will not take their wives and children. Mother's Day is to celebrate with your kids, so if the kids are young it is not a very special day for you. Every young girls dream is to be a grandmother because that is when your children will support you and start to respect you.

We had a great time with the women that were there. Esperanza was there and is really showing signs of growth. She did raise her hand for assurance of salvation. We have talked with her about that over a year ago. I am going to let Reina, who is the wife of the man taking the church while we are gone, talk to her so we know that she is understanding well. She seemed to understand when we had talked earlier and gave a testimony of when she got saved, but I want to make sure she understood what we were saying.

This year we let the men of the church decide what was done for the mothers. Hermano Ernesto, the man pictured above with the peach shirt, made little plaques for the mothers and made the many butterflies that are on the wall. We paid for the materials, but he was able to do everything for less than half the price that we could have done it. Hermano Josue also made chicken sandwiches for the ladies. Everyone really enjoyed it. Especially Jordan. When everyone was finished Jordan announced loudly, "todavia tengo hambre" which means "I am still hungry". The ladies all thought that it was so funny. Kids here that are under the age of 8 are normally very shy which is why they think that anything that comes out of my kids' mouth is so great.

We had a blessing with the teenagers on Sunday. They helped serve the ladies without us having to ask. Praise the Lord for the growth they are showing under the leadership of Hermano Josue.

The passing

It is not often that I will write three blogs in one day, but I wanted to let you all know about the sad occurrence that took place a few hours ago. Our dear and beloved cat, Missy, went to kitty heaven. I was washing dinner dishes when Audrey came running in yelling to me and crying at the same time, "Missy is dead, Missy is dead". It seems that Jordan decided to put the cat in the drink cooler and screw the lid down. Just the fact that Missy allowed him to do that testifies that she was a good cat. She was great with the kids. Joey liked to carry her around all day like she was his baby doll.

I spanked Jordan not for killing the cat, but because he knows he is not supposed to trap the cat in anything. We have rescued her more times than I care to count. He hadn't done anything like that in months though so I thought he was getting better. I heard her crying, but thought she was just out playing with the dog. I feel so badly about it. I am thinking that Jordan put her in there after she scratched his nose for being mean to her. I don't think he understands that the cat is dead because of his actions.

After dinner Jordan went to see how Missy was faring in the cooler. When he discovered that she was limp, he put her on the porch. Then he proceeded to tell her what a bad kitty she was for pottying in the cooler. While he was doing this, Audrey came running to tell me Missy was dead. I don't think we will ever use that cooler again.

As I am writing this she still sits out on the back porch when the kids put her after they pulled her out of the cooler. I just don't have the power to do anything with her. She will have to sit there until Jason gets home from his meeting.

This is a picture of her at Christmas. She grew a lot since this picture.

Public Transportation in Honduras

Did you know that sidewalks are known as the Taxi lane? Many times when the streets are filled with traffic you will see a taxi pass you while he is driving on the sidewalk. It is understandable when you realize that they rarely use their gas pedals. Frequently, you can see them pushing their cars in a line waiting for their next passengers. A few months ago we had to take a taxi from downtown to our house which normally is a 15 minute drive. It took us 45 minutes of non-airconditioned discomfort to get home. Once the taxista "taxi driver" got up to speed, which was slow, he never put more pressure on the gas pedal. When we came to a hill we were almost at a dead standstill when we reached the top as he did not accelerate to climb it, but by the time we were at the bottom we were going at a pretty good rate once again.

Taxistas feel as if they own the road. Twice today, when I was driving back from the computer store, I was cut off by a taxi. While they do not like to use their gas pedal, they hate to use the break pedal. They will drive on sidewalks, make two lanes into three or four, run red lights, ect. A well known statistic here in Honduras is: One in every three accidents involving two or more cars will have a taxi or bus at fault.

Bus drivers are just as bad, but are less likely to be hit as they do not have the power to sneak up on you like a taxi does. There are many times though where a bus will cause an accident by sideswiping another vehicle while trying to pass. I don't ride busses here as the crime rate while on a bus is atrocious. I also do not ride because I don't feel like standing.

Please pray for the leaders of this country. The bus and taxi drivers have threatened to strike if the leaders either do not lower the price of gas by 10 lempiras or else let them raise the fares. The last time they had a strike they blocked off all roads in the city. You could not come, go, or do business of any kind. If they do choose to do this, I just hope and pray that it will not be on June 20th as that is the day we fly out and we would not be able to get to the airport.

Today I saw something that was kind of funny and sad at the same time. It was a semi with a silhouette of two scantly dressed females on his grill, a bug shield that says, "God is Love", and as it drove past I saw that is was a beer truck. The Honduran people think that if they put anything about God on their truck or car it will keep them safe. If only they knew how easy it is to have the confidence that God will take care of you. It is one thing that we try to teach our people that if they know God as their personal Saviour and are living a life that pleases Him nothing will happen to them that is not ordained of God.

Little stuff

Well, I got the material. It took me a while to find it as the store as it was in a huge roll with the upholstery fabric. I asked just to make sure that it wasn't for furniture and they assured me it was for making clothes. I am going to ask Norma, the lady who sews for me, to make some jumpers for me today. She just finished one, but the arm holes are a little small and so I am hoping that she can also fix that. She doesn't sew by patterns. I just show her a picture and she copies it. Sometimes she has to redo one aspect or another, but when it is done I am always satisfied with the product.

Jordan is so weepy today. He must still be sick. Right now he is sitting on his bed crying because he cannot find his shoes.

It has been so hot lately. I am looking forward to a break in the weather. Because of the heat, we don't usually start cooking dinner until after 6 pm. Today I am going to try and make pizza. That should be a relatively cool dinner until I cook it later on.

Carlos Miguel, a teen from our church, is at our house for the morning and Jason made coffee for him. Joey is so cute. He is following Carlos around saying "I cafe" which is translated, "I want coffee". As consumers of great amounts of coffee, his daddy and Grandpa Smith are so proud.

Thursday night

Last night I did not get to go to church. It is getting to be to often that this happens. Anyway, Wednesday evening we went out to make the repairs to the church and try to seal it after the breakin. Jordan was getting over his cold wonderfully, but Thursday morning when he woke up he was a bear and continued to sound very croupy and be weepy all day. Jason decided that he needed to stay home and recover. He must have been feeling bad as it is 10:00 am and he is still asleep. They had a smaller group, but the miracle was that it was all men. Normally, the women far outnumber the men. It is a great encouragement to see men becoming involved in the Lord's work.

Today we discovered that the VCR we use for showing films was stolen. We forgot to take it out of the box with the sound system and it was stolen. It was a cheap model that you can buy at Walmart for around $20. The only problem is that when we bought it here we paid $60 for it. It makes us so sad and frustrated that these things were stolen. We know who did it, but cannot prove it. We even talked to the peole and asked them to keep an eye out for the things. We did this as a way to let them know we know what they did without calling them thieves. They looked very guilty.

This afternoon I am going to go to the fabric store. Last time I was there they had some gorgeous blue jean fabric. I have two jean jumpers that are so old. They don't fit me anymore and have developed holes. I need to replace them. I know a lady here who has made clothes for me before. I am hoping she can make me some new jean jumpers.

In Honduras it is hard to find 100% cotton fabric. When you do find it, it is very expensive. On the other hand upholstery fabric is very cheap. I think that this blue jean is upholsters fabric, but I will have to take a closer look and see if it will work. What I love about upholstery fabric is the width of the fabric. I have used it to make curtains, tablecloths, and lots of litte things as it is so economical and durable.

The picture is of Jordan with Jason at Chiminike. They went with Jason and my Mom when I was still on bedrest from my Hepatitis.

Haircut.

So much has been going on and our computer is making funny noises so I haven't been able to update like I would like.
Saturday I went and got my hair cut and permed. That is the last time I do that in Honduras. The perm did not take well. Either because they didn't use the right kind of rollers or because they didn't use enough rollers, but I am already having problems with my hair not holding the curl after just five days. I do like the style though. I will probably just get another perm when I get back to the states as long if this perm does not perk up when I get out of this humidity.

I found out why it has been so humid and not rained. Teresa, a lady in our church, has been praying that it will not rain until she gets the roof back on her house. She is having a new roof and rafters put in. I told her to stop praying for it not to rain as we are dying in the city. :-) Teresa lives just out of the city where it is not as hot, but still has the same rains that we have.

Esperanza was at home last night when we had Ladies Meeting. I got a chance to talk to her and find out what happened. She went in for her test and was admitted for surgery right away. She tried to call us, but because our phones were out and you cannot call a cellular phone from public phones she was not able to get a hold of us. She is back home now, but is supposed to be taking it easy. That is not so easy with four little kids and one of them sick. Iris is 18 months old and has a high fever. We are going out today to fix the church after the breakin and will give he some children's tylenol for the baby. She still owed 400 Lempira for the surgery which is about $22. I told her we would pray with her about it as God can provide it. Please continue to pray for her as she needs to get out of the house she lives in. It is not a good situation for her.

Robbed again

Today I did not get to go to church as Joey is still very sick and we didn't not want him around the other babies at church. When Jason arrived at church today he found out that once again someone had broken into the church. They sent a small kid in between the top of the wall and the roof. The kids then opened the window and took quite a bit of stuff. We lost the four oil lamps that we had just bought the church. We lose power a lot and have been looking for lamps for almost a year. We finally found some and bought the four that they had for sale. Those were stolen, the sound system, and clothes we had donated to the church to have another sale. Value wise is was only about $250. worth of stuff, but the discouragement is a much higher cost for us and the faithful in Ojojona. This is the third time that the church has been broken into. We don't know what we are going to do, but the men have started looking for another property that maybe we could buy.

We got a call today from Marvin about the truck. He wants to buy it and should be able to pay for it this week. I was so excited to hear that. We are hoping and praying that everything will continue to go good.

Esperanza is back in Ojojona and we still don't know what has happened. Her youngest daughter, Iris, had a high fever and she had to be taken to the hospital. We want to talk to Esperanza and find out what happened and chew her out if she didn't try to call us. As our phone has been out she may have tried and not been able to get a hold of us. Her daughter said that she was operated on. We are anxious to find out what happened. I will try to talk to her at Ladies Meeting on Tuesday night.

Esperanza

Just a little update on Esperanza. We heard (we have not had a chance to confirm or deny this) that she did go in for her test and was kept for 6 days at San Filipe Hospital. Since her release she has been staying at a friends house and going to San Filipe for daily treatments. We have tried to call San Filipe, but have not succeeded in getting ahold of anyone. The father of her kids is who told us this news and is supposed to try and get information on where she is so we can go and see her or help her if need be. Please continue to pray for her. If this news is indeed correct that is good in the aspect that she did not just run away, but bad in the aspect of her health. Please pray that we will be able to find her and help her.

Please also pray for our kids. They are all sick, but tonight Jordan has been crying a lot about his ear hurting. This may mean that he has an ear infection. We will have to take him to the doctor tomorrow and get medicine. We are hoping that all the kids don't also get ear infections.

This picture of Esperanza and her twins is just over a year old

wonderful chicken recipe

Garlic and Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients:
6 Chicken Thighs – without skin
18 Mushrooms – halved
6 cloves garlic – beaten to a pulp
6 cloves garlic – finely chopped
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
1½ cups water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Wash the chicken and dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper and rub in garlic pulp. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Heat the butter and oil in a skillet. Fry the chicken. When it begins to turn golden, add the chopped garlic and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and fully cooked.
3. Add the water, lower the temperature and cover. Cook until the liquid is almost evaporated.

I found this recipe in a Spanish magazine. I had to make a few changes to this recipe. I tried it last night and it was a big hit. Everyone loved it. The only complaint that I heard was from Jason who said that there was not enough. I have to agree that it needed more mushrooms, but my skillet wasn't big enough. Next time I will cook this in my big skillet and include more chicken and lots more mushrooms. This is definately one I will make again. I wish I had enough mushrooms to make it tonight. It was YUMMY!!!

Cold and Flu Season

Well, cold and flu season is upon us once again. All of us have the bug. Jason is getting better and we are thankful for that. Jordan, Audrey, and I just have the runny nose, congestion, and cough left. Joey on the other hand is having the hardest time with it. Tonight he had a fever and only wanted to sit in the recliner. He looked so sad with is eyes watering and red rosy cheeks. We gave him some acetaminophen and were glad to see that by bedtime he was his regular active self. Here we can get a gallon of acetaminophen for under $10. We are sure going to miss that when we get back to the states. Please pray that we will all be better soon. We sure don't want to miss out on church tomorrow night.

Joey is pictured here on Baptism Sunday. He traded hats with Oscar Cruz. It was quite comical to see Joey wearing Oscar's baseball hat backwards and to see Oscar Cruz wearing the Mickey Mouse beach hat the Joey was supposed to be wearing. Oscar is 21 years old and Joey's hat almost fit him.