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