Politics Schmolitics...Let's talk picnics and things

Hey friends! So, I've been sorting through some pictures of our recent excursions, and thought you'd enjoy a different update than the political stuff we've been musing about. Take a breather with me.

This is a picture of our friend and temporary neighbor (he's the overseer of the architecture on the new house across from us), Manuel. He is kind and good-natured, and he enjoys teaching us Spanish. He's also rather skilled at woodwork. We've taken a couple tours of "his" house and admired his work. A few weeks ago he gave us some of the corn he pulled out of the backyard and cooked on his little stove. It wasn't quite ready, but we were happy to share it with him. That's the purpose of the corn picture below. Not that you don't know what corn looks like, but this is certified Honduran scrawny corn, folks.

A couple of weekends ago, Colin and I took a short day trip up to this lovely place named Valle de Angeles (Valley of Angels). It was a quaint town, full of Honduran goods and sweet people. We found an organic pulperia (a small family-operated store), toured their mini museum, bought a couple souvenirs, and I ended the excursion with some disastrous food poisoning. Colin was a fantastic nurse. I was out the whole next day--even fainted on him again. But 24 hours later, good as new.

  

Above you see the collection of cell phones that I found in the museum. It was a strange museum--mostly photographs, strange collections of things (like pins and key chains), and some old random pieces of equipment. Worth $2? Sure!

One of my favorite little stops in this quiet town was the cultural arts center. There I found these lovely pieces that I thought my mom would appreciate. We're always on the lookout for realistic perspectives on the female body. This Honduran artist has got the right idea. Unfortunately, they weren't for sale.

  

A few other bits and pieces of my discoveries here in Tegucigalpa. I am a big fan of a fruit known as a leychee. Leychees (and I have no idea about the spelling) have a seed inside that has the texture of a grape and the sweetness of sugarcane. The only downside of a leychee is the pulp gets all stuck in your teeth.

But let's get talking about this past weekend's picnic. The church we've been visiting, Union Christian Church, had a picnic outside of town at a beautiful park. The park was up a mountain and tucked in the woods. There was a swimming pool, horseback riding, and picnic tables. When we got there, young boys were riding horses around everywhere. Soon we learned that they were from the Micah House Project in downtown Tegus. Colin and I have been wanting to get involved with this ministry since before we moved down here. And so they had joined up with the Union crew and picnicked with us. We played a fun game of futbol Americano--I actually caught a couple of throws. It rained the entire afternoon, but it felt wonderful. At the end of things, I colored with a sweet young boy named Manuel. He is part of a triplet, and he often is left in charge of his home when his single mother leaves the kids on their own. Many of the boys we met still struggle with addictions--a common addiction is glue. We had such a wonderful time playing with these kids. We're hoping to make more time for them in the coming months.

   

This couple (Becca and John) works full-time at the Micah Project. They are wonderful people--and she just happens to be a runner. Isn't that swell? Here's the link to the Micah House Project if you'd like to know more: The Micah Project

So, there you have it. A little bit of this and that is what's been keeping us going. God is graciously supplying all our needs. He continues to deepen our love for people and demonstrate his own for us.

And on that note, I think I'll get back to my kitchen and make some dinner--I'm thinking Indian food tonight. I wish Joseph Arockia were here to school me in the art, but I'll have to make do.