Cracked Pot Ministries

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:24:00 +0000

It's Monday morning and the mountain of laundry that's accumulated from our large brood calls, but again there is no water. So glad God made me flexible-no danger of Type A perfectionism. Last week our water pressure was so high is threatened to explode the pipes that shook and sang ominous groans from the closet where our water heater hides. With flashlights, Harold and our neighbor Kyle searched for a valve to turn down the pressure before we had an indoor flood. That pressure must have finally exploded something further up the line so that we are now without water again. It's been a battle of on again-off again thanks to cows who trampled the line, sticks and mud from the resevoir that plug it, a constantly washing road where the pipes are buried just below the surface and often lay uncovered while heavy buses run over them on their way to deliver tired workers from the city to their homes further up the mountain. I am learning to be grateful for the days when everything works as planned. I get up and the power is on, there is water, my internet line means I can touch base with family in the states... other days I am more aware that this IS the third world and most people here live without those things.
Over the weekend I had the blessing of attending a few sessions of a conference for missionary ladies. It was wonderful to sing and pray together. Again I was aware of God's grace for the many who are tired and beaten down.The enemy is very active against marriages, children,health...and Joy. So we cried together and prayed together and recognized that our Father still loves us though we are far from perfect. It was refreshing to just participate in something planned for me by a group of ladies I don't even know.....God knew how many were in need of a loving touch "with skin on."
So this morning I search for this neglected corner of cyberspace since I cannot do those things that seem most necessary. ( I think I may break down and use drinking water for dishes-my family will need to eat today.) Perhaps I will map out a plan of attack for the week. We have discovered that we will be moving again, the week before Christmas. At least this one should be the last for a while. We will be right on campus. It's exciting. And a little scary. Anyone ever been in a fishbowl? But the house there doesn't leak, there aren't steps, it's so close for Harold and the kids, the guard makes rounds... We have to give up our dog, who is more a person than a pet. We will all adjust and will do our Christmas in two places again.
Harold has begun classes for a Master's in Education. He's excited to learn more about this process we are part of and the counseling end will help him in his role as chaplain. He will visit over Thanksgiving with our family in TN-a bittersweet time as we recognize that his parents are beginning the last leg of their journey home. We will miss him and wish we could also visit. Nayt will come from MI, while Ben visits the week before. It's also hard to realize that letting go involves our kids too. The boys will spend their holidays stateside this year. Perhaps that is why God is moving us at Christmas. I will be too busy to have much time to grieve.
So for now, I will close this rambling and attend to the need at hand as best I can. And gratefulness will make me focus on the Giver...
-a stove that WORKS!
-my chatty companion
-hours in a book just for fun
-ladies' voices lifted in praise
-a new home coming
-opportunity to spend time with parents
-provision to get a letter postmarked in time
-little girl who converses in two tongues
-company roast and shared conversation
-birthday reminders of love

Preparing for Passover

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:20:00 +0000

The wonderful thing about living in a culture where you get an entire week's holiday for Easter is that there is time to s.l.o.w. d.o.w.n..... Time to linger over the season. To wonder how the God of the Universe cared about me enough that He planned for my redemption. That the One who came at Christmas did not remain a babe, but progressed through a plan He did not control that ended at the Cross.
This year we took a few of the things we enjoyed from Semana Santa (Holy Week) last year and we've added a few new things as well. No, we're not running off to the beach or touring some other Central American country, we're "staycationing" as the trendy new catchphrase says. But we're slowing down enough to enjoy what Jubilee calls "nothing days"-days with no required agenda where we enjoy each other's company. Where kids build forts that look like "Gilligan's Island" huts, we eat together late and experiment with new recipies, we have time for guests and chatting at the fence with our neighbors....
We began our preparations Saturday with cleaning out the leaven (symbolically). Everyone had a task, from the fridage and pantry to sweeping and picking up dog poop outside. Of course there is added excitement because we are also preparing for Grandma to arrive! Our Easter Tree has 16 days of accompanying devotions. Each evening as we gather for devotions, the kids find the picture that corresponds with our reading. And after we read scripture the famous work of art is added to our tree. We planted an Easter garden, lining a large basket with plastic we turned a small flowerpot on it's side for the tomb and covered the tomb with dirt. Then we planted wheat berries which are now grass on the hill where three stick crosses wait. The tomb will be covered on Friday and the middle cross will be draped in purple on Sunday when the tomb opens. We will make our resurrection rolls (put a marshmallow in the middle so that they are empty like the tomb after they are baked). And on Friday we will sit down to a Messianic seder. I am adapting the program to fit our family.
I am enjoying these Lenten traditions. It seems as the Protestant church struggled to place significance on the heart we lost some of the Rites that Israel had to incorporate the spiritual into daily life. Finding that balance of "teaching these things to your children" as you sit down (to a meal?), as you rise up (beginning each day with praise?), and as you walk along the way (day to day consistency)- is a process that looks different in each family and can change according to the season you're in. Right now we are loving the leisurely pace of life.

From the sick ward

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:46:00 +0000

We've been sick here going on two weeks. That's what happens when family genetics allow the germ to pass on with a slightly new strain to the next guy. "I've seen this before and I'll hit 'em harder." Though Mom hasn't been sick I've spent a lot of nights without my full allotment of sleep, and when day starts at 5am, short night are a killer. We're praying that everyone is better in time for our High School Retreat this weekend. We debated for a while, but finally decided the family will all go along and enjoy Word of Life. It's fairly new facility here and they are still in the process of building things though they have a large piece of land and lots of potential for growth. We're excited about the pool as we haven't been since we left Florida last August. Keep the Retreat on your prayer list. Lots of potential for challenging kids to grow.
Other news? I can hardly belive but in just a few months we will have a second graduate-Nayt. I am finally getting around to putting together his photo album. I started with Ben and want each of the kids to have one as a graduation gift so that they can take their family with them to school-in pictures anyways-as we won't be able to visit. It's a big project to compile 18 years of life into one album. Then next year I have another one to do for Josiah. Boy it will be different without my big guys here...and I'm dreading it.
Over the weekend we decided to revamp our family room by moving it out front and center. Hopefully this will give us a more usable space for hospitality. I tucked a comfortable chair and bookshelf by a window so I can sit there and do my devotions or study Spanish-which by the way is still coming very slowly. Hard to teach an old brain new things, and I'm not immersed as much as I would like. But I need to head off now as Spanish class is calling.

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:12:00 +0000

We've been studying Ephesians at church. Last week we talked about Christ being the cornerstone and Pastor Herb told about his church in Cuba. Over 50 years ago the church had a ceremony where the cornerstone of the new building was placed. That stone was hollow, and the pastor had placed a Bible in it to remind his church members that this church was founded on the Word of God. As a young boy, he would walk past that stone and remember. That pastor now walks with the Lord and several since then have been persecuted for their faith, but that church is still strong despite everything. Please pray for our church here in Honduras. Though we don't yet have a building (though the land is purchased and the plans made, just waiting for permits), the church is growing. Lately there has been lots of persecution, especially of marriages and families.

I need a transplant

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:39:00 +0000

That's how this Momma feels lately. A brain transplant to be exact. This one is old, and well, a little less than acceptable. I seem to be able to have a Spanish lesson and then promptly forget what I have learned. Perhaps it's that the lessons are at 3pm and my day starts at 5 in the morning. By 3 I'd just like to lay down and take a quick nap before I start dinner and the challenges of 5th grade homework. ("I am Smarter than a 5th Grader"-just keep telling self.) I know I NEED to conquer this challenge to really function here well, yet somehow a smattering of Tagalog creeps in from years ago, or the French pronunciation from High School....and what was that ending anyway???
Then there's the fact that soon I will not own a pan if I can't keep this brain functioning. And my family may need a new home. The other day I put some chicken on to boil for soup, got distracted doing something on the other side of the house and then remembered in a panic when this odd smell filtered into my bedroom. The house has smelled like dead fish, stinky dog, charcoaled chicken....take your pick as these were all used by the children and the stink was so bad we had to sleep with the windows open when it's in the 50's outside...
Can you teach an old lady to use a new part of her brain? I need to recussitate something in there. Someone once told me you lose 20 points on your IQ with the birth of each child. After 8 I think I am reduced to the "blubbering idiot" level so my family will have to be patient. THey are responsible for this. And I will keep plugging away with language, parenting, and ministry. I have joined a study on Ephesians recently. My desire for this new year is to look more like my Savior at it's end by filling my heart and mind with His word. That would be a productive transplant!

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:27:00 +0000

It's cloudy again and my laundry has already been on the line for 2 days. Perhaps I should just give up and throw it in the dryer, surely it won't add THAT much to the power bill. I am grateful that a dryer is even an option, as most folks here just have to live with this fickle weather.

We've spent 2 days this week without power. Last Saturday night we heard a large BOOM just as it was getting dark. I knew that wasn't a good sign. "It's the transformer, it will be out a while, find the flashlights," I told the kids, and I wondered how in the world I was going to cook 2 chickens for the anniversary celebration at church tomorrow. Ended up we boiled them over an open fire in our barbeque pit outside and they tasted pretty good I guess because someone asked if they could have the gravey to take home (this is a country where nothing is wasted).

Our second power outage started as I was coming home from my PreK pickup at noon. Some guys in a red truck kind of slowed down as I was going into my gate and I hurried to get inside (still just a little uncertain with crime being more frequent these days). They began ringing the bell and asking for a Laura somebody, then talking in Spanish that was too fast and far above my vocabulary limits. After a few attempts to explain that Laura didn't live here, I watched them stand up in the pickup bed and CUT MY POWER LINE. "Now what do I do?" I thought. I walked back to school and told Harold, then called the Superintendent. Ends up it was a mixup with the bill and the maintenance guys from school repaired the line. Had power for about an hour so I made some calls quick, then it went off again-and stayed off. So we roasted hotdogs in the fireplace for dinner and made hot cocoa in our enameled pot. And since it's dark here by 6pm it was an early -to- bed night after one episode of "The Flying Nun" on Harold's computer.

Our attitudes effect how the kids view these challenges. I can either complain, or look at it as an adventure. And perspective is definately called for. This morning as we hopefully flicked the lightswitch at 5am I said, "Power's on...and we ate last night....and we have a new President here...and there wasn't an earthquake that caused chaos.....and my kids are all safe" Yep, it's all about perspective. I can choose to give thanks, or I can complain and start that downward spiral into self-pity.

As a PS, please pray for the Matute family (family of 3rd grade student) They lost their 3-year-old yesterday in a house fire. He had hidden and Mom couldn't find him in time.

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:02:00 +0000

The fog is rolling across the mountain this morning and I feel it deep. How is it that looking and seeing the mountain behind me shrouded in clouds makes me feel cloudy as well? Suddenly my head aches from lack of sleep and the tasks in front of me seem larger than my ability to conquer them. I wish for sunshine. Why is it more difficult to give thanks for rainy days? It takes a decided effort to choose to give thanks when I don't FEEL thankful. Lord help me choose to praise you even when my emotions won't cooperate.

A morning with the President

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:14:00 +0000

Ok, so I am new to this whole world of technology and perhaps I am just a bit inconsistent with this blog thing. Hopefully I will become more accustomed and keep you all up to date with life here.
Last week our school had a visit from a VIP. While digging into my normal morning routine of cleaning and laundry I started hearing cheering from the school. The power had gone out, but I had already washed 3 loads of laundry (continual thing here) and thought I would hang them up and get my trash ready before I picked up Jubilee from PreK. I figured that soccer game I had heard discussed recently got moved to our campus and the kids were really enjoying it. What I didn't know (and boy if I had I'd have been there!) was that President Micheletti had decided to visit our campus. The third grade had been to the Presidential Palace the day before and missed getting their picture with him, so he actually made it a point to see these kids-and while he was at it, why not the school?
Honduras actually has 3 Presidents (in a way) currently. There is President Micheletti who is legally running that office, then there's incumbent President Pepe Lobo, who will step into office on January 27th, then there's former President Manuel Zelaya who is still in residence at the Brazilian Embassy, but seems to have quit insisting on a return to power. Not often that happens. Here's a picture of the Senior class with the President and Harold, who is crowd control for the event-he didn't get the memo about wearing a suit jacket and never actually got an official photo as he was too busy policing kids. Sure was fun though.

So Beautiful Princess

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:08:00 +0000

Why did God make 2-year-olds? Because sometimes you just need that little word of adoring encouragement. This morning as I was getting dressed Tikvah looked at me and said, "Mommy, you are a so beautiful princess."
There are times I am incredibly aware of the fact that I am getting older....most of the teachers here are just a little bit older than my oldest child, before long I will have 3 boys in the states in college, and my own college sweatshirt is (pink tinged smile, yes I STILL have it) almost 25 years old....
We are beginning to enter a new stage and I am still clinging to the old one. I don't feel as if I have much sage wisdom, and I am still investing a lot of time in my own little ones, yet now I am the one offering encouragement to the new Mom,"keep it up, it gets easier..." Perhaps that's why God spread our family out over 17 years. I can still relate at many levels. While it would be nice to put the diaper bag away for good, I will miss the loving 2 year old who sees her Mom like no one else.

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:16:00 +0000

Thankfulness. It's our gift to God. It lifts our spirits, improves our attitude, readjusts our focus.... Too often we forget to do this simple thing (but you can be sure we don't forget to complain). So at our house we're counting down our blessings this month. Making gratefulness a habit. I saw this project on a crafty blog, and another one purchased from a fancy schmantzy store. Ours was made with what I had, muslin and some scraps that have verses. And yes I am thankful for a sewing machine and fabric scraps because they are coming in handy for Christmas gifts and such... And pictured are a few other blessings....Kids who are learning sportsmanship if not winning and our own little market on the mountain. God is good.
11. creativity that satisfies
12. our own little mountain store
13. BB tournaments
14. safety in travelling for kids
15. preparing for Christmas
16. brother's anticipated visit
17. sewing fun with my girls
18. orchids purchased from a needy neighbor
19. girls Mensajeres presentation
20. a day out with my Davita

winds of change

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:02:00 +0000

"Blowing toward the south, then turning toward the north, the wind continues swirling along, and on its ciruclar courses the wind returns." Ecc. 1:6

This morning it seems my scripture reading truely coincides with this day. The wind seems to bring with it a marked change, a stirring outside of seasons and inside my heart as well. I'm realizing that yet another birthday's approach means I am further into this adventure, yet I long to be "further up and further in" pressing on toward the mark of the high calling. (perhaps it's sacrilege to quote Lewis and scripture in the same sentence.) So much of my task is still incomplete. I long to do things and yet like Paul I don't. Often I am aware of my own lack of wisdom-you would think after this many years and children I would have gained SOMETHING yet like Solomon I could say..."in much wisdom there is much grief and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain." 1:18 This dust I am made of is quite frail (just brushing my teeth last night caused a chip in one). And wisdom makes me more aware of how often I fall short. So today is a good day to begin to make gratefulness a habit. Choosing to dwell in praise rather than pity. My goal will be to join those who are listing 1,000 just a few each day. Try it. I believe it will change us, one praise at a time. The button is in my side column.
#1 seasons of life
#2 He continues to work despite my frailties
#3 He preserves and protects...Josiah's head injury
#4 quiet mornings for meditation
#5 wind dried laundry
#6 work appointed by the master..dishes, sweeping, cooking
#7 children's faces reflecting His love
#8 a school community gathered in prayer
#9 one who cares to know my daily struggle
#10 head and hands to record

Honduras is going to the World Cup!

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:53:00 +0000

Now my boys have played soccer. Harold has coached. I've hauled kids to practice and sat through umpteen games, but you've not seen excitement over a soccer game until you're in Latin America. When Honduras won their game against El Salvador, and then shortly after the US tied Costa Rica there were fireworks, car horns, screaming people....people celebrated all evening long in the streets downtown, cruising the streets cheering and displaying the flag. It's the first time in 27 years that Honduras has won a seat. That fact called for a national holiday declared by the president. We're so happy for them and glad the US could do something right, even if by default. Watch the video link and listen to the Honduran announcers-it's great!

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:25:00 +0000

“Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes - The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning

As a Mom my days are very full. Things just NEED to get done in order for life to continue as normal. There must be clean dishes and laundry, meals on the table, a fairly orderly place to find pencils and homework. Children must be readied for school, make it to and from sports practice.... Even here in a foreign country, without a car, life can be very full. Yet I am learning how to slow down. Perhaps it's the realization that comes with age, or the fact that we don't have a TV. I can't possibly keep up. I will never have the time to read every book, learn every hobby, do every family activity, teach every bit of wisdom I want them to know.... I am finite. And yet life is not meant to be lived in a frenzied rush. There are times when we can't prevent the hectic nature of life, but unless we intentionally calm the pace the quiet never comes.

I read a story recently of a test pychologists did. They put a concert violinist in a busy Metro station, playing his Stradivarious violin in bluejeans and a ballcap. Out of over 1,000 people who passed, only 7 stopped to listen. And EVERY child tried to stop, but EVERY parent pulled them along past. What am I missing with my kids?

Maybe I'm just realizing that I will soon reach the 20 year mark in being a Mom. With my older boys my time of daily involvement is almost over. Have I spent this time so caught up in the activities of life that I forgot to be still, to hear the music all around me? Makes the monastic life somewhat appealing (of course then there wouldn't be any children...) But I want to stop picking blackberries (for some folks maybe texting on one?) and see the fire of God.

"Be still and know that I am God."

trash or treasure

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:55:00 +0000

You know you are getting more relaxed as a parent when you don't absolutely fall apart that your toddler is playing in the trash. Since returning to Honduras Tikvah seems to have a fascination with our kitchen trash can. It has a rolling lid and is right at eye-level. When she passes by she likes to inspect what's in there-or throw something in. Her siblings taught her the throwing in part, taking advantage of her curiousity they hand her their trash and she obediently runs to the can and comes back like a puppy looking for something else to toss. Of course, this can lead to silverware, toys and missing school papers that disappear into that gray oblivion...and usually they ask Mom to dive in and recover the missing item. Sometimes as I take the trash out, I'll notice a suspicious rattle and have to seek out it's source. I've recovered forks, plastic plates, dollhouse pieces...

Of course yesterday you would have thought I hadn't fed the child because as I cleaned the kitchen I had to keep taking away her munchies. First it was an ancient PB&J from someone's lunchbox, then the crust of cinnamon toast from breakfast, the remnants of a bag of chips, and apple core....it's when she comes chewing gum that it's really gross (she's not allowed any gum because she doesn't seem to spit it out, it just disappears). "Now just where, exactly, did you get that?" She's all smiles but no indication of said gum's origin.

My kids teach me so much about myself. I am quite similar to my toddler. Often I am quite content to scour the garbage when God's got the good stuff freely available. Somehow that garbage can look so attractive and easy to aquire. Or I throw out the useful life lessons in a rush to move on to more important things. I remember in college there were a group of guys who liked to go "dumpster diving." In Chicago, you could find all sorts of useful things that people could no longer be bothered with. They enjoyed finding good sources and scouring them on a regular basis. (This did cause a problem when one girl discovered that her boyfriend's beautiful boquets where flower-shop rejects, not hard earned paid-for-with- cash posies.) Sometimes it's just a matter of adjusting your perspective on things. When I look at my life with eternity's eyes am I focusing on the trash or the treasure?

all we like sheep

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Tonight we went to our first "flock meeting"-I guess they would call it a community group in the states. And as I stumbled over the Spanish songs and looked in my dual language Bible I have a new appreciation for all those ESL folks in the states. I suppose here I am an SSL person. Some days I understand a good deal of what is said in the service, and other days it's a real struggle that makes my head hurt. But it's amazing that fellowship can still occur on some level and that people really do make every effort to include this foreigner in their midst. Choosing to attend a Spanish church was not the easiest thing-especially for the kids-but in the long run I believe God will use this to benefit our family.

We talked to a man who is the first in five generations to be raising a complete family-one with a father in the home. He and his brothers attended a christian school in Guatemala and his whole family became Christians as a result. His testimony was an encouragement to us. And we ate beans and rice with queso among a group of people from all economic levels-many of them new christians. This month there will be a mass wedding at the church-15 couples. Some of them have never been married and want to make things right before the Lord. Others were married in a civil ceremony but want to make their marriage an official covenant before God.

This week at school, we will start a full-day schedule again. Tikvah and I will be sad to have the house to ourselves for a much longer time during the day. Things in Honduras are quieter for now and we continue to pray for a resolution to this situation, which is not an easy one. Harold is reworking yet another schedule of spiritual life events which, Lord willing, will occur as planned.

Over the past few weeks we have been able to have many conversations with teachers, students, pastors....and we are just beginning to connect some of the dots in understanding culture, relationships, and such. True, we've lived in another culture before, but whether that's a benefit in the learning curve or not I'm still not sure. It's hard not to compare the two. As a Mom, I feel for my kids as they often struggle being odd man out. It's not always easy to demonstrate grace in these situations. Thanks so much for your prayers for our family.

the dash

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:03:00 +0000

I was reading a blog that I often drop in on for a challenge/encouragement and she had a link to a video poem about "the dash." It was a story about a preacher at a funeral telling the congregation that the most important things we not the date the person had been born or died, but that little punctuation in between, the dash that represents life and what you did with it. As I hung out laundry I thought, yes, life really is a gift from God and our gift back to Him is what we do with that dash.
On Saturday our principal and his church lost a dear Sunday School teacher who had been at an appreciation banquet. When someone informed the church members that a la resistancia march was headed their way, he had quickly run outside to move his car off of the street. (Members of the resistance group have been known to cause a lot of damage to vehicles in their wake.) In one split second the number was added to the end of his dash and a wife and two young girls were left to grieve-seems so pointless. Two demonstrators who rode ahead on a motorcycle were looking for trouble and found a victim to shoot.
And yet,this was no surprise to God.
So as I look around and get frustrated by the political climate in both my home country and my adopted one, I am reminded that my calling is to be faithful with my dash. One day at a time.

a week of curfews

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:57:00 +0000

These are some of the photos from the past week. Reminded me somewhat of the chaos created when they announce a hurricane in Florida and everyone runs for the gorcery store, only here there was a bit more panic after several days of curfews. (We joked that now in our 40's we have a 6pm curfew, but it really isn't a joke.) In parts of town, people looted grocery stores and left them empty. Folks say there's not much US news coverage on this. We had hoped to see something on Fox after their interview last week with the current President, but most of what we've found (other than Spanish papers) is reported by the Wall Street Journal and BBC. Seems the focus there is on the UN meetings. One newspaper here reported that in these meetings," Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez,invited his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama, to be consistent with the ideas and convert to socialisms proclaims as "salvation" of the world ruined by capitalism as in the case of Honduras." Can't believe he could say that without some reaction, but I guess there were a few other offensive remarks from different parties to get folks stirred up.

Here in our little mountain community we are largely sheltered from what is going on in the city. Things had been quiet here. Even the dogs have no one to bark at and traffic up and down the hill is greatly reduced. We went to a potluck for lunch and swam afterward. Our older boys decided to head home early and were sitting in our front room when they saw a face in the window. They went to check it out and saw two guys hopping over our wall. Turns out they'd been in our bedroom and helped themselves to a DVD player. It's a little disconcerting to have your house broken into. I realize it happens everywhere and as times get harder may be even more frequent, but it brought the looting closer to home. We're glad God had the boys here or it could have been much worse.

School is still out for Friday. People are concerned about the possibility of trouble and it seems most of the bi-lingual schools have decided to wait until Monday at least. Zelaya has stated from the Brazilian Embassy where he is camped out, "From now on, nobody gets us out of here again, so our position is homeland, restitution, or death." When we arrived in August it was a few agitators writing graffiti on walls, now it has escalated to the pictures above and is supposedly costing Honduras $50 million a day by people not being able to work. Common folks are the ones who suffer most.

Please keep praying for this country- that God will use all of these situations for His own glory in the school and His church here. Perhaps these situations will make it more obvious to those who claim Christ that living a consistent life is a daily choice. And for all of us who claim Christ, this choice may become harder as His return becomes more imminent.

curfews

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:26:00 +0000

We've been hanging out at home, waiting for "normal" to return. Not sure when that will be as curfew is extended indefinitely. We're so grateful that power and water are on and that we had a chance to shop with another teacher during the first 2 week flu break. The cupboards aren't bare, but I may need to do some creative substituting for ingredients we don't have like milk and eggs. The photos above are just at the bottom of our mountain. Harold and the boys ate at that BK last week during their venture out on public transportation and the Pais is actually a Walmart owned grocery store that we shop at regularly. There were hundreds of people lined up (people said, we didn't go as the school felt a bus full of gringos would really stand out). Apparently the stores were quite empty by the end of the day. Thanks so much for your prayers for our family and this country. God is in control!

a day in the life

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:26:00 +0000

It was a little quieter here today. At least one less voice contributed to the mob as Nathan is quietly letting his jaw heal after oral surgery (wisdom teeth). The pics above are some of what we've enjoyed the past week. Our weekly trip to the market (Harold is standing at the corner near our green tombstone that marks our street) lots of realxing in the hammock (it's actually from Madagascar and we love it), Nathan doing pull-ups off the loft, and Davita practicing handstands in the gym on our family fun day... today we've been reading. I enjoyed a wonderful book written by a dear missionary friend "No Way Out But In" that is her tale of what might have happened if we knew more of the day to day life of Noah. I loved it and highly reccommend it. Gabe has been ambitiously tackling "Pilgrim's Progress" (kids edition) and Jubilee has been working on the letter "I". Maybe we will be ready for school again.

a forced hiatus can be fun

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:25:00 +0000

Can't believe we are almost at the end of our two week confinement. Without a vehicle that's pretty much what it's been . We're dependant upon the school buses or other generous folks with cars. I must admit when I heard of all the teachers headed off hither and yon that green eyed monster in me was surfacing.

Wow, the beach places are cheap (with the economy and political unrest they're begging folks to come) Costa Rica or Panama sound glamorous (even on the chicken bus, it would be an adventure) or the resort at El Salvador with a waterfall in the pool...

Unfortunately, reality is that travelling with 7 children is not easy. And it's downright expenisve- even with a discount. And there's also the small fact that we've been, um, somewhat sick. After the stomach flu we moved on to colds/sinus infection and are just praying Harold has sufficiently recovered by Monday. We also had Nathan to the dentist and his pronouncement was that all 3 wisdom teeth needed to come out-sooner rather than later. He's there as I write.

So we've spent two weeks almost losing track of time. Every day feels like Saturday. There is no pressing need to do any specific task and no place to go. Several days we weren't even allowed on campus so that they could sanitize the place. We've been working on some projects here, enjoying lots of family game times and crafts, inviting folks over for meals.... Harold spent 2 days helping another teacher to get the internet back up in the elementary school-crawling around in the ceiling and discovering that the lights were rather precariously attached when one came crashing down through the ceiling. He and the boys also had an adventure riding public transportation when they took the rapidito bus to the end of the line and discovered it doesn't go back the other direction until the end of the day.

Last week was the Day of the Child celebration and our kids had a pinata at church to celebrate. The girls went Monday with some other girls from church to work on the verses they are memorizing to complete the first section of their book. Kind of like an Awana class, but verses, of course, are presented in Spanish.

This week we watched the goings on from the safety of our living room as parades and marches marked Honduran Independence Day. The Central American Independence torch was passed around this small country-fighting to maintain democracy. So they passed their own torch within. The marches were peaceful and celebratory though people wore the color of the person they supported. I was proud of my adopted country who struggle to maintain order, largely without the support of the outside world. Reminiscent of the People Power revolution in our former adopted home.

Monday life will resume it's normal flow. But I can honestly say I am glad for these quiet weeks at home and will miss the company of my family.

when pigs fly

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:45:00 +0000

As I walked to school to pick up Jubilee from PreK, I was thinking how perfect the day was...low 70's, breeze swaying the eucalyptus tree, guanacaste still in bright orange bloom by me, sun shining-yeah this is the postcard Honduras. Sure my calves were hurting as I pushed that 3-seater stroller uphill when I hadn't done it for a week...and I was more than a little embarrassed as I walked by the guard with my red face, but I made it and headed up the steep hill to the elementary school. "This will be easier when we live closer," I thought,"then I can walk for fun instead of out of necessity."
Something wasn't quite the same at the playground. Less than a dozen kids played there when there should have been close to 40. When Jubilee's teacher came out late with her bunch, she greeted me with,"Don't leave until I give you her work." I thought, "Homework, in PreK?" She continued, "I guess you heard you will have two weeks to do it?" I must have looked confused because she started to explain, "School is closing for two weeks after today. " We chatted for a while, I picked up homework and headed over to Harold's office to see what he was up to. The campus buzzed with talk of two weeks break and Nayt said he'd seen the space alien guys earlier (department of health guys in full gear). No we hadn't had any confirmed cases of the terrible flu, it was just a precaution after some schools in the city closed. At dinner that night Charis told how one of her Honduran classmates in writing English sentences on the board used the words "pig flew" rather than "pig flu" -easy mistake, and we all joked about it. Yeah, two weeks off of school when you've just started...when pigs fly -well the swine flu made it a reality.
So here we are with two free weeks and everything on the brink of being ready. The campus is officially closed. Not even the maintenance guys around. (We had to scramble to get our bottled water delivered before they all left.) Things had just gained good momentum, like a train beginning to climb a big hill, the school year stretched ahead....now everyone has to rethink and replan and restart the year. And, selfishly I thought, if we were going to have 2 weeks off couldn't it have been just a little further into the year so that I could use it to pack? We are hoping to move up the hill this semester and may possibly be able to do it this fall if our house here can be rented to another mission that's interested. They are supposed to come later this week to look, but I'll lose the whole possibility of cleaning the other house and maybe painting.....to a Mom of 8 who is frugal with everything (even time) it seems like such a waste.
Pray for God's purpose to be accomplished in this. Though it seems like a big, frustrating hassle to us, nothing happens that He doesn't allow.
On another note, we ask you to pray for Harold's mom, Hattie, who is in the hospital again with some complications from her surgery earlier this summer. She's been struggling through her first chemo treatment and a scan revealed that she will need another small needle surgery to remove fluid. It's hard to be far away from family at these times.

real life blessings

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Life in Honduras. Funny how you need to get reacclimated to life in another country after only a few weeks of ease in the states. I was taking my daily constitutional...yes I walk 2 miles a day now to pick up Jubilee after a half-day of PreK....anyway, I saw this iridescent blue green lizard and my first thought was, "someone's going to be sad he lost his toy out here in the road," then I got closer and the "toy" ran off. Oh, yes, I am in Honduras and it makes sense that a huge shining lizard is laying there in the dust.
On Saturday we walked to the school to play at the playground with the kids. On the way back a delivery truck passed us that advertised a furniture gallery in Chicago. Harold remarked, "Wow, that's SOME delivery charge!" Vehicles from the states get a new life here. A former Tennessee schoolbus now serves as a rapidito, careening around the corners up and down our mountain on a regular basis. I've seen a bus with Maryland plates and various types of delivery vans. If vehicles could talk you wonder the war stories they tell in the garage at night.
Friday was Open House at the school so I got to talk to all the kids' teachers and hear some of their own stories. Jubilee's teacher told me,"Sometimes a child's name just fits-she's such a joy to have, always singing something." Gabe's teacher told me about how she became a christian as a teenager after losing her Dad and having her family fall apart as a result. She switched careers in mid-life after a lot of God-nudging and has been teaching 1st grade at Pinares for 8 years. I'm so glad God placed him in her class. Just what he needed. Charis' Bible teacher bragged on her ability to define the gospel and Nayt's physics teacher reassured me that he will make it even through his test anxiety. The Spanish teacher says Josiah understands a lot-he just needs to speak it more.
Tonight we had one of the new teachers over for dinner. He told us that he and his wife had been praying for God to expand their territory. In one day he lost his teaching job of 25 years and his Mom. After grieving these losses he realized their purpose was to answer his request. God said, "I have a new place for you." Sometimes answers are painful.
Tomorrow is a "planned power outage" from 8 to 4. We have plenty of unplanned outages, so it is nice to get a warning. Gabe reminded me he can't bring anything for lunch that requires the microwave and Harold reminded me to fill the pila -a cement water tank in the laundry area- so that I will have water. I did a load of laundry that I figure I can hang out in the morning. This is Honduras-you adjust. And you are reminded how grateful you are that you have running water and electric most of the time, and your floor is tile not dirt (even when it does feel cold it's clean)...and so many other blessings.

We're Back

noreply@blogger.com (Celeste) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:32:00 +0000

What a day Tuesday was.
I knew it was a little crazy to attempt to return to Honduras with 7 kids by myself, but the offer of a weekend at Women of Faith with the ladies from Faith (our home church) was too tempting. So I stayed a week after Harold had to return. Mom watched the kids (with the older boys help). They went to Chuck E Cheese and orientation night at their old school to see friends. I snuck away for a weekend of singing and encouragement and dinner at the cheesecake factory where I didn't have to help anyone with their food!
Soo.... along came the dreaded day when we had to get up at 3am in order to leave for the airport by 4. Everything went pretty well in Tampa getting checked in and the only problem in security was 2 nerf guns the boys threw in and a package of oxyclean (over which there was much discussion as to what chemicals were included and whether they were legal-as if in my condition I could actually make a bomb out of oxyclean powder!) Then we got on the plane. It was full. Entirely so. Fitting our carryons into the bins was almost impossible. One bulging bag was partially dumped into a blue plastic airplane bag so that we could fit it overhead and make our slightly effeminate steward happy. I was sweating but we were in our seats at last. Everyone travelled well-Tikvah even fell asleep.
Next was Houston, where we reclaimed all our carryons (under advice from said steward that checking them might have been wise even though it costs money) and discovered that the Houston airport is incredibly LARGE and not nearly as easy as Tampa to navigate. We lugged what seemed like hundreds of pounds of carryons through miles of airport terminals, lost sight of the boys at one point when I ran to catch Charis and then realized I had made a turn at a three way and didn't know if the boys saw. Infamous steward saw the boys searching and reprimanded them for separating from us and told them which direction to go. We reached our international gate as they were boarding, had our passport checked and headed on another plane. This time Tikvah was not thrilled to get back on but we made it through the flight.
At customs in San Pedro, we had a very gracious lady who felt compassion on this family with so many children and let us go to the front of the line, she didn't even make me give her all the declaration slips I had carefully filled out. Josiah and Charis gathered luggage while I finished handing passports and pointing to children. Then we pushed our things to the security checkpoint and they asked us to open two bags. One gentleman was rather interested in a stick of pepperoni, but we made it through without a hangup. Our bus drivers were waiting with a sign and helped us load the luggage, which was Wonderful to this tired Mama. Nathan was quick thinking enough to ask if we could get something to eat at the airport Wendys-the only restaurant at the San Pedro airport. So he waited in line while I took the girls to the bathroom. After a long wait we finally had meals to the eight of us and our 3 companions and we were on our way.
Coming out of San Pedro our first holdup was a jacknifed Pepsi truck. Crushed 2 liter bottled were all over the road and people were everywhere combing the ditches for free Pepsi. It was like a party, with little kids guzzling down bottles and moms walking away toting as many bottles as they could carry. The poor driver just stood there looking miserable while an officer took down information. It looked like maybe he had attempted to back into this little road and caught the edge of the ditch on the way. Most of the ride after that was uneventful. Piles of pinapple along the road for sale. A look at the beautiful Lake Johoah, where our driver stopped for a plate of fried fish. A stop at Bongos for the bathroom and cold bottled water (we had sweated in that stopped bus for a while in San Pedro). On past Comayagua's military base and Word of Life Honduras camp, the El Indio coffee factory and finally the edge of the city. We went around the city and through El Centro in the Guanacaste section. Unbelievable that someone could acutally drive a bus through those narrow alleys. There's some poitical graffiti around but no sign of uprising. Finally we recognized the road up our mountain. The driver actually took us all the way to our door! Did I mention these guys are incredible drivers? How they can manuever such a large vehicle into such a small space is beyond me. Harold greeted us at the gate and he and the boys started to unload while a missionary friend pulled up with dinner. God is so good. Beginning to end was 3am to10pm Florida time-a 19 hour day.
School started with a half day today and everyone seemed to do well. We're mixing up some cookies to celebrate. The kids are playing with friends whose Mom works at school so they are here for the afternoon while she finishes. Our boxes arrived yesterday so I've been unpacking suitcases and boxes we shipped earlier this summer. They were wrapped in green plastic, which everyone teased Harold about. He told them they were just jealous because our boxes were so easy to spot and that he had actually looked for some red plastic too because it's like Christmas when they come. Thanks for your prayers for us. They were very evident through our trip.

Graduation Day Part One

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:13:00 +0000

Today we had our very first Pinares graduation. Gabe and the rest of the class of 2021 were promoted from Kinder to Elementary School. Each class sang several songs and each child walked forward to receive their "diploma" while a photo of them in cap and gown was up on the screen with their name and what they would like to be some day.If it's any true indication of future career paths this country will be flooded with dentists.
As we were eating our snack at the reception the sky went black and big drops began descending. By the time we made it up the stairs to Harold's office in the high school it was pouring. So....we had an adventure walking home in the pouring rain. A missionary from another organization saw us about halfway home and we finished the ride in his truck. On a side note, I also had 3 loads of laundry on the line-big mistake.
Tonight we made pizza and watched Narnia-Gabe's choice as the honored grad.
Matters for prayer in the next couple of days:
We will go tomorrow am. to get the last three Carnets (required residency card). For some reason they processed 6 of ours and lost 3. We need these before we leave the country so pray that all goes smoothly tomorrow.
Also pray for a safe and timely trip to San Pedro Sula as we leave on Thurs. This should be between 4 and 6 hours, but as there's only one road between the two cities, a major accident can cause hours (or days) of delay.
Finally, keep praying for Harold's mom, Hattie Cochran.She has been in the hospital about 10 days now. The doctors are having difficulty regulating her chemical levels and she's also having quite a bit of pain. They're not sure if this is related to the other meds she is on for her Parkinsons or just what the cause for the pain is.

Endings

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:54:00 +0000

I can't believe it, but the school year has ended and teachers are in the grading and packing mode. Some will leave Pinares for new adventures, following where God is leading. Such is life in the missionary/ex-pat community. Although we've been in missions before, it's always difficult to say goodbyes.
The biggest task at hand is emptying the 1st and 2nd grade building so that workers can put on a much-needed new roof and redo the wiring. This is the building that Harold's brother Hugh helped build in 1978 and the electrical system is still from that era. Another building of similar age burned when a mouse began eating the wiring ( a lot of it runs on the outside of the cement block walls). The kids and I spent the day at the school yesterday helping teachers pack up. They enjoyed helping finish out everyone's candy stash as most teachers give candy as prizes for reading and etc. We will head up again today and I'll try to get some video.
On another note, Bryan is doing better. They hope to get him stabilized and move him to the US where he can be in a hospital that specializes in patients with hemophilia. The one he is in here is the only hospital with the medicine he needs for clotting but as it's a public hospital there are unique challenges.
Mom Cochran is doing well, but Dad is hoping to get her to eat so that he can take her home. They say first results indicate the cancer was contained only in the uterus, but will still reccommend chemo for any free floating cells. It's both an answer to prayer and a cause for continued prayer as she enters the challenge of chemo.
Thanks so much for your prayers as we end out the year and travel home. We look forward to telling you firsthand of what God has been doing through your partnership here.