The other night as I sat in the local Wendy’s with my teammate, Becky, we both started laughing at how weird our lives were. There we were on a Friday night in the hottest city in Honduras, sitting in Wendy’s because it was open late enough and had wifi so we could Skype family and friends. We sat there for over three hours as we waited for our host couple to pick us up after their meeting at the church. At Wendy’s. In Honduras. On a Friday night.
This month we started pointing out moments that were abnormal, moments that we would have never imagined happening a year ago, moments that would never happen in the States. As we started this trend of “our lives are weird”, it made me realize that somewhere along the line I lost my wanderlust. The frequency of the abnormal became normal. I’m no longer shocked or frustrated when people I talk to don’t understand 90% of the words I’m saying. Riding in the bed of a pickup truck is my preferred seat not because it’s fun and exciting, but usually because the windy ride in the back is cooler than sitting inside the vehicle. Crossing a border doesn’t make me instantly flip through the pages of my passport to look at the new stamp, I just get a feeling of relief if it takes less than an hour. Meeting new people is normal, living with strangers is normal, eating new food is normal.
I let this crazy weird journey with Jesus become normal.
I had heard the warnings before leaving, and I read numerous blogs about this happening, but I never thought it would happen to me. I’m the queen of wanderlust- always looking at maps and photos of gorgeous places around the world, imagining myself walking down new streets and gazing at the scenery around me. How in the world could I get used to this life?!
But as I said, my teammate helped remind me that this life isn’t normal at all. It’s weird and strange and exciting and something I should take in every day. While my day-to-day routine doesn’t seem exciting to me, a year ago I would have LOVED hearing about it. So. Here’s a day in the life of Caitlin in Choluteca, Honduras:
I wake up around 6:45 or 7 every morning to get ready for the day. This month, I’ve had the priviledge of sleeping in a comfortable bed in a room with an AC unit (PRAISE).
I go out to the kitchen to start the coffee- Honduran coffee is bomb, you guys.
Becky and I eat our regular breakfast of corn flakes, bananas, and coffee before making our lunches for the day. By the time we finish getting ready and packing up our things, our host has arrived back at the house after opening up his convenience store and picking up the rest of our team from their host homes.
We drive out to a nearby community to work at a Nutrition Center (CDI) for kids in the area. They can go there for food, homework help, spiritual guidance and teachings, and plenty of time to play. We would get there around 8 and stay until about 2 Monday-Friday. For a majority of my time there, I got to work with the 3-5 year old kids! They were rowdy, but sure do give the best hugs. Their teacher, Lilian, is the sweetest lady and has such a thirst for knowledge. She taught me a lot of Spanish while she was seeking to learn more English. I loved spending time with her and talking about different things while I swept and mopped the floors after lunch!
On Tuesdays and Thursdays our team would leave CDI and head over to another community to hang out at an orphanage. We would play games, sing songs, and just spend time with the sweet kids there. From the moment we arrived, they treated us with an incredible outpouring of love. Those kids taught me a lot about loving unconditionally.
After leaving our official ministry, our evenings would vary. Some nights, our team would get together to hang out. Other nights, we would attend meetings at the church or spend time with our host couple. We were introduced to many traditional Honduran foods- and yes, all of it rocked. Obviously. This is Central America.
Sometimes these nights looked like sitting in the living room while our Honduran host, Walter, cooked us Chinese food for dinner. Or sitting outside the church as it poured rain and having awesome life conversations with Walter’s English wife, Janine. Or sitting at Wendy’s on a Friday night and a 14 year old boy trying to hit on me by sketching a picture of me from the next table over. Or going and doing zumba with hundreds of other Hondurans in the city center on a Wednesday night.
Many nights, we wouldn’t get home until after 10 at night. We would be exhausted, sweaty, covered in dirt, and ready to hit our heads on our pillows.
While our days were long and hot and to be completely honest, many days the kids frustrated me to no end, I have happy memories of this city. I will always remember sitting with my 5 year old buddy at CDI and he would repeat over and over, “Catalina muy buena, Catalina muy loca!” and then give me eskimo kisses. I will never forget painting the girls’ nails at the orphanage and watching their eyes light up. I’ll remember driving up to the center and watching kids run up excitedly to the truck. The nights my teammate and I sat laughing on our bed eating cereal for dinner because it was too hot to cook will forever be engrained in my memory.
Our days may feel filled with monotonous tasks, frustrating moments, and exhausting hours, yet it’s important to look for the extraordinary. Our lives, no matter what we’re doing, can be thrilling and adventurous and full of sweet moments. Jesus calls us to a life opposite of this world, and that means there will be many times that just aren’t “normal”.
We just need to stop, smile, and point out the weird.
