Family Time: Smokies, Baseball and Biking

(Click on any of the pics for a closer view to recognize faces)
August 9, 2009

We’d like to catch you up on our family happenings since our last blog on July 17. We enjoyed some time at home July 14-25. It was a busy time of catching up with mail, garden work, and we enjoyed a visit from Carl’s parents and went to two different family reunions. July 27 we arrived in Waynesville, NC and spent the next few days with Carl’s sister, Sonya and her family (Ellis, Nathan, Kirstin and Logan) near the Great Smoky Mountains. It was a joy to have the cousins together, and to take in the beauty of the area. The NC hills gave us some good final conditioning on our bikes. Tuesday, July 28 we had great weather to go to Deep Creek and we went tubing. The water (despite the creek’s name) was not
extremely deep, so sometimes one would get stuck, but it was lots of fun gliding and banging (into rocks) down the creek. Another day we enjoyed touring a settler’s homestead and learning how they lived in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. We returned to PA Thursday night, July 30 and unpacked and then repacked for our bike trip.

Before we left for our trip though, we had time for a great evening on Friday with John and Barb Benner who graciously took us along to a Baltimore Orioles game with Player Pass tickets they had purchased at a fund-raising auction. We love baseball and the game was made special by having passes to go down and meet Mark Hendrickson, the player of whom we were guests, outside the locker room after the game. Quite a few “baseball greats” walked by us as we waited. We saw John Smoltz pitch what will likely be the last win of his storied career. Thanks, John and Barb!

Only Carl & I were going on the bike trip so Katrina stayed with Monica Miller and family, Deanna with her Zimmerman grandparents and Aunt Ranee, and Stephanie with Ken & Rosetta Landis (friends that live in upstate New York) whose daughter Jessie is a good friend of hers.

Saturday, August 1
We arrived in the Finger Lakes region of New York. We were about to embark on a biking adventure with 55 riders as a fundraiser for Mennonite Central Committee. The money raised was for “Creation Care” projects all over the world. We were happy to see fellow rider Ari Wadel (from Marion Mennnonite) when we arrived at Keuka College. We rested well that night and woke up Sunday morning to clouds and drizzle. By the time breakfast was finished, it was raining…but off we were for our first day of biking. The ride was so well organized. Our “stuff” (everything from clothes to camping supplies) was carried in a truck that met us each afternoon at our destination. We rode 60 miles the first day…about 30 minutes into the ride I (Rochelle) had my first flat tire. Carl was by my side and fixed the flat for me. We rode fairly hard that day and by early afternoon the rains had stopped. Each day we had a morning & afternoon snack along the route (provided by our sag wagon), we also had a lunch destination (usually at a picturesque place by a lake). The first day we rode the 60-mile perimeter of Keuka Lake and ended up near where we started. We set up camp, showered and enjoyed an excellent meal. After eating, there was a time of input from Grant Rissler (MCC representative) and each of us shared our name, what we do when we don’t bike and any other info. we wanted to share. We headed off to bed early…between 8:30 and 9:00. (Ari said, ”I haven’t gone to bed this early since I was 12.) We needed the sleep!!!

Monday, August 3
We awoke to bright sunshine and sang “I owe the Lord a morning song” for our breakfast prayer. About 10 minutes into the ride I had another flat, this time my back tire! Carl fixed it well, but he was beginning to be concerned about my tires so we ordered 2 new tires to help me through the week. We were thankful someone could pick up those tires for my bike. I just needed to meet the sag wagon at break time. Later in the morning we had a long climb up a hill followed by an amazing downhill. Carl hit around 43 mph and I was at 39 mph. 5 minutes after that hill, I had another flat tire (up to 3 for the ride)… I was praising God that it hadn’t happened on the downhill to create an unsafe situation. It was about 8 miles to our break and with a missed turn, we finally arrived at Weaver’s Baked Goods. The store and area reminded me so much of Lancaster County (except for the amazing views of the lakes), as recent years have seen an influx of Old Order Mennonites and Amish into the area. Carl graciously replaced my two old tires there and after I was pumped up with around 120 pounds of air…I was ready to roll! We ate lunch by Seneca Lake and took a lower mileage route option for the afternoon. We met up with a solo biker from Mount Joy, PA that was finishing 100+ miles for the day. We had a nice time talking while riding and shared with him about MCC. We finished that day of riding with 48 miles. That night we stayed at Cayuga Lake State Park. Bedtime by 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, August 4/hump day
Carl & I both woke up to some aching muscles, but I was extra sore in my thighs and was feeling quite cranky. I needed to remind myself why I was riding…to support other people around the world that were hurting due to poverty, war, climate changes, etc. The day continued to be a challenge all day long with strong gusts of wind, hills and hot sun. The scenery after lunch was breathtaking at times. Carl had one flat that morning. We rode 57 miles. (A cute side story…other campers were always gawking at our group, lots of people, bikes and many tents. Also, the food wagon, supply wagon and sag van. Close to meal time, a little boy around 10 yrs. old said to me “Wow, a cooking show!” I conversed with him and told him that those ladies were our cooks and that was their kitchen. He was quite impressed, but I still think he was looking for Paula Dean or Emeril.

Wednesday, August 5/Ithaca area
The weather continued to be beautiful. It was great not having to pack up our tent and supplies in the morning. We were returning to this campsite in the evening. We had two nasty up hills, but an amazing downhill before our campground that had Carl hit 45 mph and I hit 40 mph. We took more of a leisurely day and only rode 45 miles. Before lunch we had a special creation moment on a back road. The Finger Lakes region seems to have lots of wild flowers and we looked to our left and saw a deer standing in a thick field of flowers, just looking at us. The noise of getting the camera scared it off before we could “shoot” it, but we got to see the deer run and jump through those flowers. It was a special gift from God. Also, most days we were greeted by goldfinches that were flying across the road, and red fox and wild turkeys were spotted numerous times. We enjoyed time in Ithaca, ate lunch at restaurant of local fame called “Moosewood” and Carl enjoyed time in a guitar shop near the restaurant. We spent some time in Ithaca Commons downtown, even coming across a 10,000 Villages Store to browse in. The Ithaca area has beautiful waterfalls that we enjoyed along the ride. Ari Wadel and 5 other men/boys did a century (100 miles) that day. Congratulations Centurions!

Thursday, August 6/Last day
It was hard to believe we were already at day 5. It was so special meeting and getting to know other riders from PA, OH, NY, IN, IL, MD & VA. The conversations around mealtime and during the rides were meaningful and we were sad to see the 5 days end. The last day had some major climbs (well…hills everyday was a given), and after lunch we hit the highest point of the Finger Lakes region at 1605 ft. Carl, with his outgoing personality saw a lady drive up to her mailbox and asked her to take our picture. We had a bunch of riders together, and Carl asked if this was the highest point and she confirmed that it was and had a U.S. Geological Survey cement marker on her property to prove it! It was a quick ride after that back to Keuka College…basically all downhill. (Ari rode with Carl & I most of the day…he was into a slower ride since his 19 yr. old muscles found their limit from the 100 mile ride the day before.) We had a lot of good times that week!!

A big thank you to all of you who prayed for us and gave a donation towards MCC. Besides a few sore muscles, a few black and blue spots from one fall, and grease tattoos from our chains…we finished quite strong with a 56 mile day for an approximate total of 265 miles.

August 7 we rounded up all our girls and returned home. It’s only a few weeks until school begins and Carl will leave for an 8-day silent retreat Aug. 27-Sept. 3 to end his sabbatical time. We all are anxious to see our friends at Marion Mennonite. This time away has shown us how much our church family means to us. This may be the end of our blog, but you can check sometime in September to see. Enjoy the rest of your summer!!

Blessings,
Rochelle

We're home!

We're home, in case you were wondering. We arrived in PA around 11:30 p.m. on Monday. It was an uneventful travel day from San Pedro Sula to Atlanta and then to Washington D.C. We breezed through all the security checks and customs. It is great to be home again and to process all the things we learned in Honduras. Backing up just a little bit, Sunday we spent the day and overnight in San Pedro Sula. About a week ago they had a lot of rain which created a flash flood. The road in front of the bed & breakfast house was totally broken up and now is impossible to drive on. Because of the governmental unrest, it may be a long time until that is fixed. People in Honduras just learn to "deal with it" and wait. Since coming home we have been trying to catch up with mail, unpacking, gardening, housework, etc. We want to thank the many people who helped us during our time away. Thanks Dustin for mowing our yard, our neighbors Bob & Rhonda for watching over our place,and Phil & Moni for helping with Sandy our dog. Zeke for taking and picking us up at the airport and for keeping Sandy (don't ask how many times she ran away), and for the numerous kind "weeding" angels who came and worked in our garden. Our neighbor said he saw four women there at one time...we have our guesses it was some special folks from church!

Thanks everyone for your prayers during our time in Honduras. Carl will continue the rest of his sabbatical in the states now. At the present time, Carl's parents are spending a few days with us and we will enjoy a family reunion in Johnstown on Saturday with the Luther family (Carl's maternal grandmother's family tree). We can't promise as many beautiful pictures but we do look forward in later July to a time in the Smoky Mountains and then Carl & I will be biking in upstate New York August 2-6. (If you would be able to sponsor us with a monetary gift towards MCC, please let us know.)

We wish all our family and friends a good week. We are praying for the church at Marion Mennonite, especially those who are experiencing physical pain.
Peace to you and in the world !

~Rochelle

Adios Honduras, Hola Estados Unidos

July 13, 2009

Today is the day we return home! We are excited and I must be as much as the girls, since it’s 6:15 a.m. in Honduras and I can’t sleep anymore. The last week of our schooling went really well. The teachers pushed us and we learned a lot about the verbs in Spanish. It will take years to learn all the necessary verbs and all their tenses, but the schooling was very helpful. Friday was our last day of classes and we took many pictures and the school gave each of us a certificate. That afternoon we jumped in our host family’s vehicle and headed for the mountains. In the states, the vehicle would only allow 5 passengers, by the time we picked up two nephews of our host, we had 10 people in the vehicle. We passed the Jungle River Lodge where we had stayed a few weekends ago and went farther up the mountain to where Gloria’s (our host mom) brother lived. After visiting for a while, we walked to the river to go swimming. The current was strong at the spot we went swimming. We would jump off a rock and allow the current to take us down stream a little and then we would swim against the current to get back to the rock. There were little kids from the area swimming and they were amazing to watch. Even though it was fresh water/river from the mountains, it had to be close to 80 degrees. We enjoyed walking around that tiny village and seeing the sights. Some people were living in extreme poverty and then there was a new construction happening that was probably going to be a tourist lodge. It even had a pool.

Saturday we met up with Uncle Abram Zuniga. He grew up in Honduras and met and married Carl’s Aunt Mary (in the 70’s) when she was in Honduras as a missionary. They live in Miami, FL and in the past few years he purchased a farm in Saba, his home area. (It was about 1 hour from La Ceiba.) He took us to his meet his parents, and then we traveled out to the country. The locals grow palm trees from which they harvest the fruit/berries that grow on the tree. They process the fruit and make palm oil. It is more profitable than raising cattle. After we took some pictures, at the palm fruit collection station, we headed to his farm. It took about 15-20 minutes of driving back through the shade of acres of mature palm trees until we reached the farm. It is beautiful, near the mountain and he is in the process of growing corn, and nurturing his young palm trees. When he is not in Honduras, he has a family that takes care of the farm. While they are paid fair wages, they lived, like most families in the rural areas, in a one-room shack. Seasonal farm workers live barely at a subsistence level. It was a new experience of seeing this level of poverty first hand for the girls and I. We had taken along punch balls (balloon-type balls on a rubber band) and shared them with the children. Deanna even gave one to a young girl that look older than Deanna and wow did her eyes ever light up. That opened up some deep discussions about “contentment”. We enjoyed lunch in town with Uncle Abram and then took a bus back to La Ceiba.

Sunday morning was time for our “goodbyes”. Our host family and our relationships with them was just one of the many blessings God allowed us to experience here. Even though the country was in political turmoil, we were so glad to be able to come before the “coup” and to remain in Honduras and learn a lot about the people and the country. What a blessing indeed! We had a prayer time together and then gave our hugs and kisses. We left La Ceiba around 10 a.m. and arrived in San Pedro Sula at 1:00. We spent the night in the same B&B as when we arrived, but the street and neighborhood look quite different as only one week ago, they experienced an awful flash flood right in the street in front of their home which destroyed two blocks of asphalt and left 2-3 ft. deep gullies. There was sadly even a fatality of a child who was a passenger in a car that had driven into the water. Now with politics in the turmoil they are, we can only imagine how long it may take for the street to be rebuilt. Yet another reminder of the many privileges we take for granted at home, and another situation and family we will be praying for and keeping in touch with in the months ahead.

Now we have checked the Delta Airlines website and according to the info there our plane is thankfully on schedule! We were just a bit concerned as many airlines have cut back on flights into and out of Honduras over the past weeks, but we fly out around noon, land in Atlanta and then to DC…then a drive home. It will be late when we finally get home.

I was thinking about all the young adults and families that I know that have served the Lord in other countries, and I now understand in a small way how hard it must have been to go, but what a blessing their new home became and then how hard it must have been to come back and adjust to the life in the States. I pray that this experience will help our whole family, especially the girls to see beyond themselves and the desires they have for things, but to think about the people God has made all over the world. God is alive and present in Honduras. Let’s continue to pray for the country and its people. Thanks for partnering with us in prayer!!!


What I will enjoy when I get home??
-safer drivers on the roads
-less trash along the roads (no one adopts a road in Honduras)
-our yard & garden
-warm/hot water
-cooler temperatures (less humidity and sweating)

What I will miss?
-hearing Spanish
-the food, like tortillas, rice, beans, baleadas, fresh fruit, etc.
-seeing people enjoy people…people took the time to visit and talk

~ Rochelle

July 4 thru Ro's Birthday

7 de Julio del 2009
Feliz Cumpleanos a mi! Well, I’m celebrating my birthday here in Honduras. We went to school and they sang to me, plus at lunch our host mom made a delicious Chinese dinner and wonderful pastel (cake) to top it off. She’s a great cook! (The picture to the right is of our host family.)



We enjoyed last Friday afternoon and Saturday at Rio Cangrejal with “Jungle River” outfitters at their riverside lodge. It was a VERY rustic place, (think Split Rock Roost at Cove Valley Camp) with not much in the way of luxury, but what it did have was beautiful scenery and a place to relax. Friday night Katrina & Carl went on a jungle canopy/zip line tour. The other girls and I were swimming and we got to see Carl & Katrina flying over the river. We met people in the swimming hole from France and the US. The little French girl spoke no English or Spanish, so the girls got along teaching each other how to count in their own languages. They had fun as children do, even when they can’t talk the same language.



We began our Saturday with a pancake breakfast and then Katrina , Steph & Carl went on a rafting trip. Since the water is much lower at this time of year, the guides said it was quite safe for Stephanie. (enter Katrina) Before starting down the river in our boats, we hiked up the river for practice swimming across the river. At one point Dad and I, along with some of the rest of our group, got to jump off of a rock that was about 4 ½ meters tall. From there we floated back down to our boats and hopped in for a short training session. We were finally ready to face the rapids. They started out easy and got progressively harder, but since the river was so low there was never any worry about falling out. Despite that it was still pretty draining and it was great to be back on shore at the end. (exit Katrina) One thing I’m jealous about is they saw two toucans on their way to rafting. Deanna & I went on a long hike, almost two hours through the mountains. The beginning of the hike meant walking over the river on a swinging bridge that was probably 100 yards long and 80-100 ft. over the river. It was newly made and very sturdy (unlike the wooden one I used to walk over when I lived in Ephrata beside the Cocalico Creek). But about ½ way even I almost chickened out, but Deanna & I kept saying ”we can do it!” We kept looking ahead, rather than down, and were very proud of ourselves when we crossed the bridge. The mountains were amazing. We saw all different kinds of plants, flowers, lizards, hummingbirds, butterflies, birds, a small waterfall, and even a snake. To end our time, Katrina had to jump off one of the huge rocks (7 meters) into the river. She did it and we screamed with delight or terror as she went. Then Carl had to rise to the challenge and he jumped too. (No broken bones-PTL!)

Sunday, July 5 we enjoyed worshipping with the Mennonite church here in La Ceiba again. It was great to be there to hear their perspective about the political situation. They read a statement from the national Honduran Mennonite Church that was then published in a national newspaper the next day, calling for dialogue and pledging to work for reconciliation. The main thing that stood out to us is that they are praying for all the leaders and not trying to take sides, but willing to talk with those in whose midst they live to encourage peace. Carl had an opportunity to speak again (w/translator) and shared his heart with them and that the church in the US will continue to pray for them. We continue to feel safe, thanks for your prayers for our family and the whole country. The media pictures you see of angry people are not an accurate image of the Honduran people. Please do pray that we can purchase our bus tickets to arrive in San Pedro Sula on Sunday. There has been intermittent breaks in transit services and almost daily country-wide curfews to work around. We feel confident once we get to the airport that we’ll be able to fly home to the US.

We have had some break in the heat, with some cooling rains in the afternoon. It has made sleeping at night much better. Of course the absence of hot water means that we can always count on a cold shower to refresh us!

~Rochelle, Carl and Katrina

It's Great... But It's a Grind... But It's Great

It’s the end of Thursday, July 2, 2009. I am very thankful for electricity. Yesterday from 3:00 – 8:00 p.m. we had no electricity, and again for two hours this afternoon. Our host mom still made us amazing baleadas (cooking on a gas camping type stove outside) and we enjoyed sitting outside where the breeze was keeping us cool. The family we live with has a telescope and the moon and stars were very bright last night. As we could tell, other parts of the city had electricity, just not our street. Many shouts of joy were given on the street when the power came back on, but many people continued sitting outside enjoying the night air. The road we live along is quite narrow and extremely BUSY!!!! Buses, taxis, cars, trucks, bicycles, motos and walkers all doing their thing. Also people are always stopping in and visiting our host family, or our family is next door (probably to get away from the noise of 5 extra people). ☺

We continue to enjoy our Spanish classes, though they’re getting more difficult as we keep plowing new territory. Some of us have switched teachers this week. It gives a new perspective and has been a positive change for all of us as we’ve found some teachers are more effective than others. My teacher now is the director’s wife and she speaks hardly any English, but is such a good teacher that I could follow her teaching so well today! The reality, of course, is that 3 weeks has us only skimming the surface, but it has deepened a love of the language for us. Katrina has become the most advanced since she had one year of Spanish in school. Our schedule each day is quite on time …breakfast around 7:00, off to school at 7:45, class begins at 8:00, break at 10:00 and classes are over promptly at noon. We have about 10 min. to check email during our break and send out the blogs, so it’s not much time. We eat our main meal at around 12:15, and then the afternoon/evening is free. We often take a nap (as it’s HOT and four hours of thinking in another language is exhausting) or read, play games, TV, go the beach, go to the market or supermarket. Our plans to volunteer to do volunteer work has changed a bit as the schools and day-cares have been closed due to the political unrest. We can go anywhere we need to in the city with a taxi, as they are everywhere. It costs 20 limps (around $1.00/person/ride). Sometimes our host mom or dad will take us on little trips.

Funny, I’m sitting at the kitchen table and the TV is on and I looked up and recognized the news anchor. Here he was our S.S. teacher the first Sunday we were in La Ceiba at the Mennonite church. Interesting!

Today after lunch, the school director picked us up and took us to a daycare center where they often send volunteers. They take care of children that are from single parent homes where the father was abusive. They were waking up from their nap when we arrived. We shared punch balls/balloons and little stuffed animals and toys. Even though our Spanish was limited we had fun with them. Our last stop today was at a local store that had many souvenirs and the store was air-conditioned. Wow, that was a foreign feeling, but wonderful. We plan to go to the Rio Cangrejal river and Pico Bonito Nat’l Park tomorrow for an overnight trip when our school-week is over.
~Rochelle


While we have had numerous restrictions on some of our activities, and we wonder if the unusual and prolonged power outages have had anything to do with the political situation, for the most part life is going on as normal for most everyone here no matter what you may be seeing on CNN. It’s been interesting being on the inside of a developing international story, when we’ve generally only heard the U.S. media’s slant on such things in the past. Though we have struggled to keep up fully understanding the details of the situation, I do sense that the perspective of the Hondurans that we are among is much different than what we read when we get on the internet and hear what other OAS heads of state and news outlets have to say. Rather than a coup de tat, I’d say Hondurans see Zelaya’s removal as having been a quick no-nonsense “impeachment” and they wish everybody would mind their own business. From what I’ve seen and heard here, I doubt international pressure will get them to change their minds about any of what’s been done, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Well, it’s bed-time and my Spanish homework’s not done, so ‘til later…
~Carl

Weekend Reflections by 3 different Knisses

Saturday we went to Cayos Cochinos. We went across the ocean in a little “Water Taxi.” When we got there we watched a short clip on the island. Then we went back in the boat to some land and got flippers, snorkels, and masks. Then we went snorkeling. Deanna and I wore life jackets so we wouldn’t get tired treading water. Well It’s a good thing I did because the breathing part on my snorkel came off! I got it back on with mom’s help. We swam back to the island and got back on the boat. Then we went for lunch. I tried a little bit of dad’s fish and sort of liked it. I had eggs and beans and rice. After lunch we got got back on the boat. It was the best day of my life!
~Stephanie


I’ll continue from my perspective (Rochelle) about our day at the islands. This being my first time out of the country, I’ve only seen the beautiful blue waters of Florida, but wow…I never saw anything so clear blue/green in my life.

Our boat ride over to the islands was around 30 minutes and it was quite enjoyable. Our guide, Melvin, was a character. First thing he said real seriously, “you have your passports, right?” Then he started laughing. (Ours were back at our host house.) He had many facts to share about the area, doing these tours for 8 yrs. Most of the islands were protected or privately owned, a few were used for the upcoming “Survivor-Honduras” season and one is owned by the Honduran president. This area is the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world, next to Australia. We were not allowed to take along any corral or other items from the sea, to protect the area for more tourists to enjoy and for the natural habitat to continue uninterrupted. After a short video at a welcome area, we took our boats to go snorkeling (which Steph shared about). The water was incredibly salty, so you didn’t want to swallow any water. It was my first time snorkeling and I got the hang of it eventually. The fish were beautiful and Carl even saw a large lobster. It was a time of amazing sites. What an awesome God to make such beauty. I was so blessed to experience a little part of his creation yesterday. After we tired of that experience, (my jaw was tired from biting down on the snorkel) we went to a small beach and went swimming in shallow water. The water had to be in the high 80’s.

Our last stop on our tour of the Cayos Cochinos was to a small island where there is a small Garifuna village. They cooked meals for probably 50 people and gave us time to wander the area. Katrina & Deanna had a big fried fish on their plates (head, tail, eyes and all), rice & beans and cooked platanos. I also ate seafood (tasted liked chicken to me). The people are from African descent and speak some English, Spanish and their native dialect. Deanna bought a necklace that the locals had made and we listened to Garifuna drummers and watched some dancing. We did some more swimming before heading back to the mainland. After returning back to our host family, we realized that the sun had done a “burnt” number to our backs and shoulders. No one suffered too much, but we used Gloria’s aloe vera plant to give us some relief. It was a special day to have this opportunity to swim, snorkel, eat and enjoy the beach.
~Rochelle


We’ve had an unusual Sunday morning. Neither our family nor our host-family went to church as there is a country-wide prohibition against group gatherings today, including even movie theaters and churches evidently. Added to that, the power went off around 7:00 a.m. so we’ve been without fans which we’ve found essential to survive in the heat here. The restrictions are due to the national unrest over recent political maneuverings by the Honduran president who has been attempting a single-handed constitutional change to allow multiple presidential terms. We’ve only been able to hear and understand bits and pieces about what’s going on, but there was evidently going to be a referendum vote across the country today on whether or not to change the constitution. There has been a lot of opposition against the president’s plan with demonstrations and marching in Tegucigalpa, the capital, the last two days. Nothing has seemed dangerous to us, only unsettled. If we’re understanding correctly this morning though, he has been taken into custody (protective or detention, I haven’t ascertained) and flown to Costa Rica. We’ll likely piece it together once we get an internet connection, hopefully later today. Chances are if it’s made the news in the US, many of you know more about it than us, but we wanted to let anyone know who may be worrying, (you know who you are) that there’s no need to. ☺

Now, shortly before lunch, the power has returned. Aah, the difference a bit of a breeze makes! Though we didn’t attend a service this morning, we attended the Saturday evening service with the Moncada family (our hosts) last evening. They attend a small house church that affiliates with the Church of God. It was a very meaningful service, Pentecostal in flavor, with the sermon given in English by an older American woman who is also a student at the language institute where we are studying. She is a retired missionary who is working at getting her Honduran residency. We’ve met a lot of interesting people with equally fascinating stories in this our first week here. We look forward to the remaining two weeks!
~Carl

Silly Gringos!

The best and most humorous Gringo-esque mistakes I’ve made so far have to do with my less than secure grasp on the Spanish language. The girls are having fun repeating the stories to others for laughs. On our second day here, Manuel, the school director came to pick me up to go to the bank to cash our traveler’s checks to pay our tuition. On the way, he asked how things are going, and I attempted to tell him in Spanish that our host family is very kind, but he just looked at me, puzzled. Then he brightened when I told him in English. It turns out I had told him that they were “very furniture”! (muy mueble vs. muy amable)

Then Thursday Rochelle and I went alone to the mercado and I wanted to buy a Honduran soccer T-shirt as a souvenir. Our host family’s son, in who’s room we’re staying, is a big soccer fan and I saw the name Salva Vida on the jerseys of the team-photo poster he had in his room. I figured I should get a shirt of the team that he roots for, so I asked a t-shirt vendor for a Salva Vida shirt when I didn’t see one hanging up. He dug through his stock and pulled out two that said Salva Vida, and they were cheap enough that I thought I’d buy both, in two different colors. I was proud of my purchases, but when I got home and showed them to Carlos, he said I had bought an “enemy” team shirt. (Think Phillies fan buying a Mets t-shirt) I said I was confused because the team on his poster had the same Salva Vida name on their shirts. Oh!, he said with a laugh, Salva Vida is the name of one of their sponsors, which happens to be a famous Honduran beer company!

Silly Gringo pastor!
~Carl

Hace Calor, Hace Mucho Calor!

Hoy es jueves 25 de Junio del 2009.

Greetings from Honduras! Today Carl & I are celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary. We are done with our classes for the day and Carl & I plan to take a walk to the Spanish school to send this blog, and then visit the mercado again. What a blessing these years have been and now at this point to be on this adventure…I look forward to many more years together, Lord willing!

Backing up just a little bit, on Tuesday we had our classes which begin each day at 8 a.m. Our host mom or dad always take us and pick us up. In the afternoon we went to the beach. We were allowed to swim at the beach in front of the hotel. (The director of our school is a friend of the owner). The water was so warm, just like warm bath water. (By the way we are taking cold showers here, as they have no hot water, which is very refreshing for us because of the heat.) We enjoyed relaxing on the very empty beach, finding sand dollars in the sea, and swimming. As we would look around while swimming, we could see the mountains. That was a new perspective for me since there are no mountains near the Jersey, MD, or Florida beaches.

There are many taxi cabs in La Ceiba and the traffic patterns are quite unique! Our taxi ride home from the beach was like an amusement park ride. Our driver must have been in a hurry, and on the main road he decided to drive down the middle of the road…as the oncoming traffic was coming. It’s just more common here to pull out in front of people, create your own driving lane and bikes or motorbikes drive wherever they want. The roads seem chaotic, yet everyone works together…so far we haven’t seen any accidents.

Our host mom has made us some traditional foods like pastelitos (fried meat pies), baleadas (avocado, beans, cheese & tortilla), also lasagna, and lots of rice & beans. Many hours are spent talking with our host family, especially Carlos (Alberto) the oldest son. He teaches at the Spanish school and his English is easy to understand.
They are a caring, Christian family and are so giving. Gloria & Hugo speak some English and we work together to understand each other’s language.

Wed. we went to school from 8-12 and then home for lunch. After lunch Deanna & Steph stayed home with the host family and Katrina, Carl & I went to visit The Peace & Justice Project/ministry that was started by the Honduran Mennonite Church with support from Mennonite Central Committee. Ondina Murrillo, the director, via translation by her granddaughter, shared with us about the four programs they have. Most of their work is with youth who are caught up in gangs and end up in jail, or working preventively with those youth at risk to end up in gangs. They also have conflict transformation workers they offer to the national church.

About 2 hrs. later, we left and walked to the mercado (market) and bought some fresh fruit and souvenirs. We looked at some hammocks but will do some comparison shopping before making a purchase. On the way home we made the mistake of jumping into a too-new cab that had not only ice-cold AC, but also an outside thermometer that read 95 degrees. We hadn’t really wanted to know how hot we were! The humidity is likely 95% as well.

Well, off to town, we’ll type later.
~Carl and Rochelle

Primera Dia de Escuela

Hola! Today it is Monday, June 22, 2009.

Honduras is incredibly warm!! I mean that in many ways. Warm (hazy , hot & humid) in temperature for June, but more importantly warm in kindness of people. They are so very hospitable. We feel so blessed to be with our host family. (We will take their picture soon and post it.) This morning Katrina woke up sick. She has the all too familiar stomach problems. She didn’t eat breakfast but did join us for the
first session at the school. (Illness is very common with the different types of food, but soon the stomach will adjust.)

We went to the school around 8 a.m. and met our individual teachers, and then the teachers took us for a walk as a group. We went all over town, seeing many fruit trees (like mango, guava, papaya, mazapan, etc.). We also went to a park owned by the Standard Fruit Co., walked near the mercado (market), looked inside the Catholic church on the square and just took in the interesting sites of the city. The younger girls were beginning to wilt, so we headed back after about 1½ hrs. and had a two hour session with our teacher. I have to say that I’m impressed that Rosetta Stone prepared me as well as it did. I’m not great on conversation yet, but I did well (at least I think I did) in my first lesson on singular/plural words, etc.

Even though our stomachs may have done a few flips, the food is amazing!!! We love everything our host mother is making us. Lots of rice, beans, delicious-spiced meats, and tortillas. I tried to make my own tortilla last night and it was pretty tiny and it was a lot harder to make than Gloria made it look.

The host of the school gave us many ideas of things to do on the weekends and even a pool we can go swimming at for free. We are having a great time and the trip is a muy grande bendicion!!

~Rochelle

Aqui en La Ceiba!

(Written Domingo tardes (Sunday afternoon) 21 Junio by Katrina)
Hola, from La Ceiba! We finally arrived at our destination yesterday, after a three and a half hour bus ride from San Pedro Sula. Even though the ride was a little long, it was very comfortable as the bus was complete with reclining seats, air conditioning, and even a movie. When we arrived at the station, the son of the language school director, Carlos, was there to take us to our host family. When we reached the right street, the oldest son from out host family, Carlos Alberto, jumped in to direct us to his house. There, we were greeted by his father, Carlos Hugo, and his mother Gloria. Today we got to meet their youngest son, Ricardo. The whole family is very welcoming and hospitable. When we had unpacked and settled in, Gloria gave us a wonderful supper of tortillas, rice and beans, ham, and eggs. Then Alberto sat down with us and we talked for over two hours. He speaks very good English, while Gloria speaks only a little and Hugo almost none. Alberto is actually one of the teachers at the language school, so while we had conversations in half English, half Spanish, he would teach us new words and correct our grammar. He is very patient and has taught us a lot in just the one day we have been here.

This morning Gloria drove us down town to the Mennonite church there called Iglesia Evangelica Menonita Central. Everyone seemed very excited to see us and even had us come up front and give greetings from Pennsylvania. It was a new and awesome experience worshiping with them. Despite the language barrier, it was evident that the Holy Spirit was present there. Another blessing was that there were two people there who were fluent in English. We stayed a while after the service and talked with them. One of them is a girl my age who attends a bilingual school. She hopes to someday become a cardiologist. The other is a woman who this fall will be moving to New York City to work with Mennonite Central Committee. It is always encouraging to see how God is at work all around the world.

Tomorrow is our first day of classes, and we are all very excited! We will tell you all about that later. Until then,

~Katrina

June 19 arrival in San Pedro Sula

Well, we had a good flight to San Pedro Sula. There was a lot of Spanish and English floating all over the airplane. We saw the beautiful mountains and landscape (bananas, palm trees, etc.) We arrived around 11:30 a.m. local time (1:30 EST). Stephanie summed up all of our feelings by sharing she was scared, nervous and excited all at the same time! We waited in line for a while to go through customs, but they were very laid-back and didn't inspect our bags as much as they did in DC.

As we were running our bags through the x-ray machines, we looked out and saw our host for the night, Luis, holding a sign with our name. He greeted us in Spanish and English all mixed together. The heat hit us terribly (hace calor). Steph, Deanna & I went with Luis, and Carl & Katrina went with another vehicle. We picked the non-air-conditioned vehicle, but we enjoyed his company and trying to talk together. It was very noticeable as we drove that we weren't in an affluent American city. We are staying overnight with Luis and his family in a bed & breakfast. His family was very welcoming and immediately brought us fresh mangoes (YUM)!

We were all so exhausted, but decided to take a short trip to the mall for some necessities and a meal. Luis dropped us off and we were on our own to trust Katrina's Spanish 1 learnings and what we haved picked up through study this year. We managed to exchange our money at the bank (banco) and then we got a cellphone for use while in Honduras. That took Carl & Katrina a while, but they did pretty well. The mall we were in looked like any mall in the US (Park City, Chambersburg or Hagerstown Mall). There were mostly American chains. We walked a few blocks (ourselves) back to the house and are now crashed out in our rooms with air-conditioning. It is now 6:30 Honduran time and we are very tired. We are looking forward to a good night's sleep before catching a bus for La Ceiba tomorrow.

Rochelle

Unplugging

OK, so I'm backing up a bit, but with all the bustle of preparation and packing, I couldn't take the time to reflect and blog about my first week of sabbatical.

It took, (or maybe is still taking) time to get used to "unplugging" myself from thinking and/or worrying about things I shouldn't be anymore since the congregation is in the capable hands of the pastoral team in my absence. I/we will of course continue to remember and pray with/for all of you at Marion over the weeks ahead.

After a few days of walking with the Witmer family early in the week, grieving their loss of Brenda, I spent the day Wednesday (after sleeping in) preparing for going away the next day for a hike in the woods to begin my sabbatical experience with some time of solitude. Wednesday night, Rochelle and I had the first of several planned summer date-nights at the Totem Pole Playhouse when we saw "The Cotton Patch Gospel" which was excellent both musically and theatrically.

Thursday morning I headed north, driving along the Susquehanna River then a bit east to Rickett's Glen State Park. I had heard of the park for years but never had the chance to visit it. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon hike, hands down the most picturesque hike I've ever been on. It was a secluded, lush, five mile loop hike down one side of a gorge along one stream to "Meetwaters" where it met another, and back up out of the gorge along that stream. All told there were 22 named waterfalls along the hike ranging from 7 ft. to 90+ ft. I'll see if I can insert some pictures.



It was a worthwhile 24 hrs I spent in solitude attempting to hear God's voice for me as I began to unplug in order to immerse myself into experiencing what God has in store for our family this summer.

Halfway to Honduras

We're sitting at our gate in Atlanta, some of us napping, some too hyped to sleep so walking the corridor, waiting for our plane to start boarding for Honduras. We started out from home this morning at 2:30 a.m. and were up too late finishing preparations, so we're a bit bleary-eyed, but are all excited that we're finally on our way. Everything has gone smoothly so far. Thanks, Zeke, for driving us down to D.C.!

The girls all loved watching the clouds and the ground drift by as we flew. This is the first flying experience any of them are old enough to remember.

We'll type more later!
Carl

Our Summer Sabbatical

Our family has embarked on the beginning of our Summer Sabbatical. We are the recipients of a blessing twice over. In the first place we are blessed by the generosity of our congregation, Marion Mennonite Church, Chambersburg, PA, in receiving time and support for a sabbatical period of three months which we have chosen to take this summer. Secondly, we have been blessed by a Pastoral Sabbatical Grant from The Louisville Institute ( http://www.louisville-institute.org/Grants/programs/sgpldetail.aspx ) to fund the plans we had hoped to be able to accomplish during this time.

We've chosen the summer since the rhythm of congregational life is a bit lighter over that period, and the girls are out of school so we can enjoy as much family time as possible. After pastoring at Marion for 5 years, which has been my first full-time pastorate, we have begun to feel some of the toll that this vocation can take on a family if stressors aren't monitored carefully and balance isn't maintained. We are so thankful for the chance to hit the "reset" button as a family through our varied experiences together this summer. The timing feels as if it couldn't be better.

The largest one component of our plan is a trip to La Ceiba, Honduras for the whole family to study Spanish through an immersion experience facilitated by Centro Iternacional de Idiomas, a Spanish language institute. This will happen between June 19 and July 13. We have several other whole-family activities and several solo and part-family experiences planned. We will likely lay out our itinerary in some way on the blog, or else you can just follow along as we go.

The theme I chose for my sabbatical grant proposal is "Seeking Shalom: Finding the Path, Leading the Journey", and an excerpt from my proposal follows so you can get a sense of the rationale for my sabbatical plan.

My theme of shalom-seeking grows out of an emerging awareness that my life, like many, does not fully reflect God’s design and desire for our lives. If God dreams, I’m convinced the dream is for all of creation to once again return to the state in which it was created, which God called good. This goodness was, and will be, characterized by a life of wholeness and peace. A peace that goes beyond what we generally settle for, that is, the absence of conflict, but rather the peace that grows out of right relationship. I understand God’s vision of “rightness of relationship” for humanity to be deep and multi-faceted and includes all our relationships; not only with God’s self, but also with one another, with creation and with ourselves. This dreamed-of picture of wholeness and right-relatedness that we see throughout scripture is best summed up in the Hebrew word ‘shalom’.
The four facets of shalom that I hope to assess and address in various ways over the course of my sabbatical are in my own relationships to God, to others (in this case, my family), to creation and to myself.

The rationale for the goals of our whole sabbatical (and the motivation for my work in the Church) is that "We can’t lead someone on a journey that we’re not on ourselves."

Well, this first post is getting long enough, but hopefully it helps set the stage for what we are doing and what our goals are. As we go along this summer, we will post updates periodically, as we have time, so that you can keep up with where in the world we are! We will likely take turns writing submissions, and we'll try to remember to sign them so you know whose ramblings you are reading.

Signing off for now,
Carl

BonVoyage Blog

So this is a first for me, having never blogged before, but thought it would be a good and simple way for those who care to keep track of our family this summer. This first post is basically just a test to see how this all works. The first "official" post will explain why it is that our family may need to be tracked this summer in the first place, and who may care, and why they might. Type to you later!