Manistry
Generally the term “Manistry” is reserved for when the guys on our squad are put on a team and do ministry together for a month (coincidentally they’re doing it this month). My Manistry has nothing to do with the male faction of our squad but rather the manual labor I’ve done this month!
This month my team has been living in the mountains two hours outside of Tegucigalpa. The Leadership Center is a 3-year business college for women with current ages 17-27. The first year they exclusively learn English, the second year is more technical (math, science, leadership) and the third is strictly business. We’re technically not part of a town but the closest one is called Zambrano. The Honduran mountains are primarily covered in pine trees and the scenery is stunning. The beautiful green needles against the bright blue sky are gorgeous. (On a slightly depressing note, there is a beetle infecting a large amount of the trees and you can see it spreading all over the country).
While we haven’t been teaching this month (English is one thing, business is quite another) we’ve been able connect with the students and serve in another capacity: manual labor! Everyone’s favorite ministry! Ok so it’s actually been pretty fantastic. Firstly the staff here is American, which is a pleasant change of pace for us. Our host is a family from the west coast. They’ve been here for 5 years and have 3 kids! Being able to have your host empathize with being an American missionary has been cathartic this far into the trip. Steven, the official grounds keeper here and our go-to guy for instructions this month has been great. He and his wife are here on a one-year commitment; he’s doing the labor and she’s teaching Math and Science.
So what have I actually been doing? Basic run down of the day involves waking up by 6:50 for breakfast (Assume that all meals are tortillas, beans and something else). One of my favorite parts this month has been the coffee. They grow their own organic coffee here, sell it in the states, and provide it for breakfast. Basically I don’t mind waking up as early now… Anyway, after breakfast we have work hour with the girls. The girls are on full scholarship to come here, so the work hour is sort of their way to earn their room and board. We’ve rotated through the ranks but the jobs consist of feeding chickens and pigs, hoeing around the coffee trees (definitely the most labor intensive), shucking peas, planting trees, killing chickens, etc.
After the work hour, the girls go to their first class and we begin our first work shift with Steven. It often looks a lot like work hour. We’ve planted over 150 trees, hoed around plants, scratched the protective coating off of seeds, started fires… we’ve done a lot this month! At 11:30 the girls get out and we finish our first shift. We can help them with their English, take a shower or just relax for a little. We do lunch and then launch into our second class and second work shift respectively. After that, we have free time until dinner. Normally this just consisted of hanging out with the girls or our host’s kids or catching up on some reading.
The month has been exhausting but rewarding. These girls are driven and striving to make a difference in not only their own lives and of their families, but in the future of the country of Honduras. I have so much respect for how much work the girls do. They persevere in spite of being exhausted, for which I admire them greatly.
Our internet is only available between midnight and 5 am so if you’re wondering why I haven’t been posting…I’ve been sleeping! Hope to post more soon.
Katie
