Sorry it’s been so long everyone! Life has been a little crazy here in Urraco. As you are about to find out.
Oh, and the picture you see above, you will read about him later. His names is Aaron.
It took us almost two days to get here by bus. We stayed overnight in a hostel in Tegucigalpa and then the next day we took a bus to Progresso. Our contact, Pastor Rony and his friend Joel picked us up in Progresso and in about an hour we arrived in Urraco.
It seems that every morning or night there is some sort of unexpected visitor. Or surprise. Whatever you want to call it.
Our second night here, we hear our team leader scream, “GIRLS! Get up! GET UP!” It was 5 in the morning and it was raining. Because of the rain and some leaks in the roof, half of our sleeping area was flooded. A couple of the girls’ beds and belongings were soaked.
The next night, some of us moved our beds hoping we would wake up dry the next day. And we were dry! But instead, there was an infestation of ants underneath our leaders’ bed. We couldn’t seem to catch a break.
The fourth morning, I was laying in bed listening to the online prayer that we listen to at 7:03. Mollie and I both notice something moving a couple of feet from my bed. A little bat decided to join us for morning prayer. I guess he really needed it because he was missing a wing. It was on the other side of my bed. I think he had a bad run in with the fan during the night. Atleast he wasn’t next to me on my pillow. Whew. Reminded me of the time my roommates trapped a bat in my room. RIP Bradley Bruce.
Living here feels a little like, ‘I am Legend’ with Will Smith. There are no windows and no doors except for the door to get in and out. For us to truly have our space, we have to shut the sliding door and lock it. Otherwise, drunk men tend to wander in or kids come in and want to play. Which, I’m all about playing with the kids, but we have to protect our time alone. Otherwise people would be in here all the time.
We also are planning and cooking our own meals this month. Although sometimes we don’t have electricity or water. That certainly puts a twist on things.
Another factor is that Pastor Rony doesn’t speak any English. We don’t have any fluent speakers on our team. Although Claire and Meg have been doing really well with translating and we are all learning a lot of Spanish. Also, we are the first team to come to this location. That fact alone comes with many challenges. Like unmet expectations on both sides.
Now we are switching gears. It’s story time.
The heat here in Urraco is unreal. It will put you flat on your back. In fact, it did for me today. I spent ten minutes walking outside to get some fresh air and then came back and helped clean up the church. I guess I didn’t realize that being out in the heat for that short amount of time did a number on me. Cleaning the church only involved some sweeping and mopping. But before we were done, I was sweating profusely. I started to feel pretty lightheaded, dizzy, and a littler nauseous. We were about to leave for ministry but I was in no condition to be outside and around a bunch of kids. We decided it was best for me to stay behind with Kat.
So I was laying on the cement floor near the cracked door with cold bags of water around my neck, hoping to feel some relief. I heard some little feet scuffling nearby and I opened my eyes. Aaron was standing at the opening of the door, looking at me. He is eight years old and he is one of many little kids who live in this community. I closed my eyes and when I opened them again, he was an inch away from my face. “Estoy enferma,” I quietly muttered to him and I closed my eyes again. He gently grabbed my face and kissed me on the cheek. I smiled and even laughed a little. He patted me on the head and walked out of the door. Not exactly the relief I was expecting but it certainly made my day.
Okay, just one more story and I’ll wrap it up.
So Monday night, Pastor Rony arranged for us to play futbol against some of the women that go to the church. Those of you who know me, you know I was excited about this. So it was 10 vs 10. The Hondurans vs the Americans. The whole church and other people in the community gathered to watch. I was pretty pumped to play on a normal sized field with grass. Team relentless won. 3-1. I just need to give a shoutout to my girls because some of them had never played soccer before and they killed it on the field. I was so proud of them all. Meg scored one and I scored two. Our team leader Kat was running all over the place and communicating. Mollie, Sara, and Claire were killing it on the defensive side. Meg was playing left forward and played like a champ. Way to go USA. We represented well. On Monday night we play them again and I have a feeling they are going to come back with a vengeance.
So this is our life right now.
God has something special cooked up for this month. Good thing God doesn’t need water or electricity for that right? 🙂 I know He is already moving and softening my heart and the hearts of the people here.
Please continue to pray for us as we tackle this month and the rest of our time on the race. Thank you! Love you all and miss you!
