What an amazing day! After a wonderful breakfast (zip lock omelets) we ALL sat around the living room talking to Edgardo. Mark again answered questions for him. Steve has been trying to get Edgardo to take a few days off. Neither he nor Yadira have done that. I finally asked Steve if Edgardo understood that when he took vacation days he would still be paid. Steve explained that to him, and hopefully he will take a few days now. He looks tired and a little stressed. From my take on things here in Honduras I think there is an urgency about him to reach all of the Chorti villages (96) at once. I tried to explain to him a couple of things that I felt God laid on my heart to say:
1) Even Jesus withdrew to rest and spend time alone with God, and
2) Jesus did not go EVERYWHERE...He taught His Disciples and sent them to some places that He did not go. Edgardo is currently having Bible Study with leaders from 8 villages. 5 of those take the lessons back to their villages, and Edgardo is going with the other 3 to their villages to do some more indepth studying. He's doing a great job, but he is only one man.
I pray he will heed those words. Mark and I have grown to love Edgardo as a Hermano de Corazon (Brother in Christ), and we want to support him as best we can. The best support we can give him is prayer, and we are going to continue giving him plenty of that.
After we met with Edgardo we went to the Day Care in Copan de Ruinas. This was a very different visit than yesterday. The only similarity was the heat. This building was very well kept. There were several rooms, and plenty of workers to help with the children. These children were clean and well cared for. It was evident they were loved and nurtured. The director, Emily, is from the US and has been in Honduras for a few years. She is a young girl with lots of energy and a vision for these children. As I laughed, loved, and played with these children I couldn't help but compare them to the ones I had seen at the orphanage the day before. While it was much more pleasant to be sitting among the children at the Day Care, my heart longed to be at the orphanage loving on those children who had no home to go to at the end of the day...no mother...no father...no family. Emily told us the orphanage was notorious for taking what people had given them and the children only got about half of it. The dilemma is this...Do we not give them anything, and the children have nothing? Or do we give them something, knowing the children will only receive about half of what should be coming to them? I'm no math expert, but half is always better than nothing! God has given me a burden for these children. Now I wait patiently and see what He wants me to do with it.
Yadira prepared a wonderful lunch of baledas, a flour tortillla stuffed with beans and cheese, folded in half, and grilled. It was wonderful. They are much like our quesadillas, only these were homemade tortillas from a lady down the street.
After lunch Edgardo wanted to take some of the flip flops left by the Arkansas team to a village called Las Medias Dos. (I guess there are two.) As we were driving there Connie and I were talking about how this trip was not as stressful on us physically. We had a lot of emotional things going on at the orphanage, the Daycare, visiting with Edgardo, and taking the guitar to the village the day before, but not physically. I even made the statement that God knew I was not in the physical shape to do much walking this trip. I'm sure as I uttered those words He was letting out a little chuckle. As we wound our way through jungle (in the pickup) and drove along a walking trail I was so thankful Edgardo was getting us as close as he could to the villagers. My first clue that things were not about to go according to MY plan was when the pickup stopped in the middle of a field. All I could see on either side was coffee plants and jungle! Edgardo said we would have to walk the rest of the way in. Uh oh!! We walked a couple of hundred yards downhill and came to a house. Yay! Not too bad. Edgardo stopped at the fence to talk to the man, but he made no move to go inside. Uh oh again! Finally Edgardo headed straight down the mountain and wound his way through coffee plants and jungle. The whole way Connie and I were laughing (I think hysterically by this time). We knew if we were walking down it, we had to walk back up it!
When we got to the house we were panting and sweating, and I'm sure no decent deodorant company would want me as their spokesperson! As we entered the small house (hut) many villagers gathered inside with us. It was hot, humid, and cramped, but no one seemed to notice...not even me. One lady hugged us, and though no English was spoken, I could tell she was grateful we came. Edgardo bent to put flip flops on a little naked boy. I hope no one is offended that I took pictures of him, but I wanted you to see his stomach. It was protruding while the rest of his body was thin. He had parasites all in his stomach and intestines. Steve said someone would eventually bring parasite medication to him, but until then he would have them. He said a medical team had been to that village about a year ago, but the need was there again. There were several children with parasites like that in this village, but because he was naked his stomach really protruded. There are 96 villages and not enough people to help. There was a baby in the village that had a terrible cough. They told us she had pneumonia and we believe she probably also had asthma. Yet her momma had her wrapped in a blanket. She had been given medicine by someone, but didn't know how to use it. Edgardo explained it to her, and Connie gave her some ways to help relieve the baby's breathing problems. I pray she understood and the baby will be okay.
The climb back up nearly did me in. I must say my knees worked great, thanks to the Prayer Warriors back home! The rest of my body was in shut down mode, though. I can't remember sweating that much in my life, and the muscles in my legs and behind tried to lock down on me. But we made it! Connie and I laughed all the way back to the mission house...once we could breathe again.
In Christ!
Trisha
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