Enjoying our Alameda Family

For their 2nd annual trip with an organization called TORCH, over thirty members of the Alameda Church of Christ in Norman recently visited Honduras.  It's hard to believe that Bart and I attended this congregation for almost 4 years!!  Saying goodbye to them was difficult last September, but we knew we'd be seeing many of them during their short-term mission trips here.
Most of their group stayed for 2 weeks, so we were able to spend some of our work days as well as our down-time with them!  They were really fired up about Honduras, so they encouraged both of us with their positivity.  Plus, they helped make Bart's birthday special, which was so thoughtful.

We really love the Alameda Youth Group kids, and these girls really

impressed me with their ability to make fun things happen for the kids

in our church...even at the end of a tiring work day.

We were blessed to work with almost everyone who came from Alameda,

building a house for a family in our church's community.

Some fellow TORCHers helped us paint trash cans for

our church property.

And...always a favorite project...the futbol cancha!

These guys are laying block for the goals.  And though we're 

a few steps away from being completely finished with the cancha,

we're pretty close to being able to play on the field!!

md

Good Humiliation

This morning I had the pleasure & privilege of speaking with a man I really respect, Howard Norton, who is the current president of the Baxter Institute here in Tegucigalpa.  He has lived a long life of faith, serving as a missionary for many years in Brazil, and preaching and teaching at the university level in the U.S.  Now that he and his wife, Jane, are serving here in Honduras, they are adding a third language to their repertoire.  To me (especially now that I’m experiencing the struggles of learning a new language), this task they have joyfully chosen to take on is truly impressive.  

During our chat Howard said something great: “Learning a language is humiliating.”  He is so right!!  Standing in front of a native Honduran, knowing my mumblings and mutterings make me sound like a 3-year-old, is stressful, tiring, and often embarrassing!  And while I’m so grateful for the seemingly endless patience of the Hondurans that we’re around (they really support any effort we make to speak Spanish), it has been so frustrating to know what I want to say to someone and not be able to say it.

But the gift in this ‘humiliation’ is that I need to be humbled!  I need to be reminded that I don’t have it all figured out.  And I need to be in a place where I have to rely on God and on the people He’s put in my life.  When I finished school there was a big part of me that believed I wouldn’t have much more to learn in my life.  And now, thankfully, God is showing me that it would be a sad, sad existence to stop learning and challenging myself.  Not only because my brain would get bored and my life would be a yawn, but also because my faith needs exercise. 

Having said all that, I must also say that being in the midst of the learning-spurt is very difficult.  At the end of a bad-Spanish-day (sort of like a bad-hair-day, just your brain & tongue don’t function well together), I find myself yearning for an easy day, a day when I know how to do what I need to do.  

But today (thank you, God!) I’m encouraged by Howard and Jane, who, in their late seventies, are still continuing to seek after God’s next challenge for their lives.  Truly inspirational!  

md

Happy to Have the Dodsons

This month Bart's parents were able to make the trip from Colorado to Honduras to see us and the things we do here.  They experienced some of our typical, day-to-day tasks, as well as helped us with some special, one-time events.  Pictured below are some of the events.

Susan and I held a ladies brunch for all the women employees at Jovenes en Camino.  These are some of the hardest-working women I know, so it was great to honor them with a morning of food & crafts.    

To help reinforce some of the English classes Bart & I have been teaching at JEC, Barry & Susan helped us play an English BINGO game with all three groups of boys.  Barry will now forever be known as 'Bingo Gringo.'

Thanks to a donation of reading glasses from the States, we had the opportunity to help those in the community of Mateo who needed a pair of glasses.  

And we also got to tour some of the pretty places in Honduras, like this great park on the north side of Tegucigalpa.

Thanks, Barry & Susan, for making the trip!!

md

¡Guatemala!

A few months ago we found out the law had changed which had once restricted visa-renewal travel to countries outside the CA-4 (Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador & Nicaragua). This was great news for us, both because being able to travel to one of these bordering countries would be cheaper for us and because we were really interested in seeing parts of these great countries. 

So last week we visited Antigua, Guatemala. It was a beautiful city, filled with old architecture, gorgeous fountains, tasty restaurants, and lots of international travelers. We were so thankful to have the opportunity to take a short break from our daily routine and experience the rich culture of Guatemala. 

I just posted pictures on my Facebook, so enjoy those...and for now here's a self-portrait in front of an old cathedral on the main square.

md

Picture Honduras

One way the city celebrated Good Friday was to decorate the downtown streets with these colorful, sawdust "carpets." It was so beautiful!


md 

Great Days

I count it a 'great day' when something occurs that makes me smile/laugh so much my cheeks hurt. Well, I'm pleased to say that both yesterday and today were great days! Tonight Bart and I returned from our weekly stay at Jovenes en Camino, and here's what we enjoyed:

Yesterday, there was a 'birthday party for everyone.' Thanks to a donation from the States, all the boys and employees got to eat Church's Chicken, birthday cake, and - of course - got to celebrate with 3 different piñatas. A few minutes after the youngest boys started wailing away on their Sponge Bob piñata, the rope holding the piñata broke, landing the piñata on the ground. And the boys, without a moment of hesitation, pounced on Sponge Bob (and each other) and ripped him apart with their hands in order to grab as much candy as possible (pictured above)! The adults around the action proceeded to drag the boys away from dog pile (pictured below), but - I must be honest - Bart & I just stood there laughing and pointing...It was such a perfect moment...I'm smiling just thinking about it.  

Then today...

This afternoon, we had the privilege to attend the youngest boys' soccer game (to which we had been invited 3 separate times by the same boy yesterday!). It was the first time we had seen the team in such 'official' uniforms, and they were psyched to be playing on a nice field against a team from a bilingual school in the area. When we arrived at the field, it was impossible for us to ignore how, um...perfectly...the uniforms fit them. Especially the littlest ones! Their little ankles didn't even fill out the socks. When they came off the field, it was hard for me to give them a high-five instead of a huge hug. 

Again, I can't stop smiling.

md

fun with family!

Last week was a great one! Four precious family members made the long trip from Colorado to Honduras to join us in our work. We are so thankful that Matt, Betsy, Josiah & Drew were able to spend a few jam-packed days of service and sight-seeing with us. Here are a few of the ways we stayed busy:

tie-dying t-shirts with 60 kids at Jovenes en Camino...

repairing a burned kitchen for a church member in Mateo...

(along the way, earning a couple 'handyman badges' for Boy Scouts...)

enjoying some quality sibling-time...

and taking advantage of every spare moment to enjoy

the beauty of Honduras.

Thanks, guys, for making the effort to come down & be a help and encouragement to us! We love you!


md