Day Three- At the Farm School

Day 3- At four o’clock one of the missionaries knocked on all of our doors- our wake up call. The plan was to get on the road by 5 o’clock so we could make the trip down to El Sembrador and be settled in and have church with the students by 8:30. We took showers at the guesthouse, consciously remembering that we shouldn’t even get the water in our mouths, got dressed packed and headed downstairs to breakfast at the guesthouse. There was fresh Honduran Coffee, cinnamon rolls, cereals, and fresh fruit (pineapple, strawberries, melon, and papaya). We also raided the shelf where our hosts had things for sale for souvenirs. Handmade greeting cards, bottles of hot sauce, assortment of coffees, leather goods, etc. We thanked our hosts and proceeded to get the bus out on the road. Like Travis said, the roads would be largely abandoned because it is early Sunday Morning. But, just because there is less traffic doesn’t mean that it would be any less of a harrowing experience! I drive the school bus periodically- but Travis makes a school bus do things that I never thought possible! Just imagine passing a semi, on a mountain, on a blind corner, still dark, in the rain and fog, going about 60 miles an hour, with oncoming traffic. The bus ride alone is enough of a faith building experience. You want a little taste of the experience? Here’s a little clip of us passing a whole legion of bikes with oncoming traffic (this one’s a little tame in comparison to some of the other passes and maneuvers we made.)




***Take note of how close the car is in the other lane, how close the bikers are, and the rain falling on the windshield. Not the most ideal driving conditions- but such is the normal day in the life of a Honduran. Curt said tonight “We have a lot to be thankful for in the US- even the standard traffic laws!” How very true. Needless to say, there wasn’t a dull moment the entire 3 and a half hour trip. It was good to get to Catacamas and then the 5 mile journey to El Sembrador. We parked in front of the Conference Center AND AGAIN… and it seems we’ve been doing a lot of this… there was a round of applause for our driver when we made it to our destination. Déjà vu. And I’m sure it won’t be the last time.
We unloaded our bags, met up with Lori (Travis’ wife) and she gave us the keys to our rooms. The whole conference center and our rooms are clean, spacious and nice! We then had a brief orientation meeting with Lori. She Gave us instructions about the water (We can drink it) and about the plans for the day, and a bit about some of the expectations we can have for the week. We then were invited to go to church with the kids at the chapel. One observation was that when these kids worship, then mean it. It was done with an audible and visual passion. Which cements the fact that worship is not about music or words. It’s all about the heart. We can be in the same room- not understanding the language- but we can worship and fellowship because we have a Savior who is alive and resides in our hearts. That’s what KOINONIA is all about- a commonality. Here’s a clip of a song they sung. (First one to recognize the tune and makes a comment gets a handmade greeting card)


Delane and Bev told us about a student during the scripture reading, turned to the Bible passage in his Spanish Bible, handed it back over the pew to them and then would put his finger on the passage as the leader read. Some Caring and servant hearted kids here! The study was on Nehemiah chapter 4. I caught a few phrases like “Neccesitamos el mundo a mirar El Espiritu” We Need the world to see the Holy Spirit (in us.) And God has brought you here to El Sembrador for a purpose. Don’t ask me to type that one. All day I have found myself second guessing my Spanish. Am I using the right tense? Is it in feminine or masculine? Am I conjugating my verbs correctly to indicate self, selves or others?!??? ARRGH. Mrs. Behan (My High school Spanish teacher) would be appalled. They say to learn a language fast- you immerse yourself in the culture. Well, were are definitely inundated. PTL for KT- she’s the walking Spanish/ English dictionary whenever I need to find the right word! Later in the day we played basketball, soccer (everyone is good!) and softball with the students. Here is Lance, schooling all of us in basketball.
Mr. Air Jordan himself- making dunks all day. What a guy- good athlete- making neat connections with all of the students, just using sports as the language. Here’s the thing… We may not speak the language, but there are other ways to communicate that transcends the verbiosity. A common interest like sports. A common passion like music. A common Lord. And you don’t need to know a language to gain a friend. Case in point: We had lunch with the boys after church. And Richard and Arlis sat by a few kids. It was a little awkward at first. Greetings exchanged (hola) then there was the obligatory phrase “Como se llama?” (what is your name?) and then the few moments of silence as each party sizes each other up. But then Arlis took out the language cards that we made during our Spanish classes last year and that brought about great interaction with kids like Samuel- a 2nd year seminar student preparing to go into the pastorate. More stories like that!
By the way lunch was good! Rice, coleslaw, fried Chicken (dark meat portion) with some sort of sauce. What the sauce was made of- I don’t know. Thus the mantra “ignorance is bliss”. We spend time after supper (consisting of Carrots, Cucumbers, chips and Sloppy Joes. The latter was sweet to the taste… Bev said it was probably HORSE… probably not… I hope… but it was sweeter than MT beef nonetheless) unloading all of the candy, treats, peanut butter, tracts,, coloring books and toys for the kids at the VBS and AFE (Amor, Fe Y Esperanza- The Tegucigalpa dump ministry.) We organized all of it and have a few suitcases to take with us. Wow- there’s a lot of candy here! We also unloaded all of the sports equipment, socks, T-shirts, etc that you all donated. Thank-you so much! You guys have gone beyond the call of duty! You have a lot of staff and boys who are grateful for your sacrifices and sharing hearts!We just finished the daily team debriefing (9:30 pm) and shared stories (some of which I just shared with you) discussed and had devos together. Sang some songs- was great to have the group singing acapella with the sounds of 4 parts echoing off the walls. It is tremendously late- and again, everyone’s already asleep- so here’s a tentative schedule for the week. Tomorrow- Tour of El Sembrador & Work Duty. Tuesday- Work in the AM, VBS in the PM, B-day Party for Anna in the Evening. Wednesday- Work day finishing and maintaining boys dorm. Thursday- Depart, visit Valle de Los Angeles and Amor Fe, Y Esperanza. Friday- Flight home due to arrive @ 10:30. Big week ahead! Appreciate your prayers and comments guys! (Keri- I saw the same video! I purposefully didn’t show anyone, so they wouldn’t freak out)Many Blessings to all at home, Bruce For Everyone.

BTW- KT’s going to play the drums tomorrow during the Boy’s devotions. I’ll be sure to take a video and pics for all. Be sure to give her a good ribbing- she has some Honduran Boys following her around.