DIARIO DE HONDURAS

SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
MISSION TRIP - 1998

Friday, May 22, 1998
Monte Carmelo, Honduras

The parking lot was silent and dark when we pulled up the car. Slowly, other cars arrived and the excitement of the journey yet ahead permeated the conversation. We had finally arrived at the place we had been planning for over the past months. We were anxious, excited, tired, and maybe a bit fearful.

Almost immediately the sense of community and cohesion took hold. We talked of what we would do and see. We hoped for the best - would the food be good? Would I get sick? Will I feel as if I've made some difference?

When the plane landed in San Pedro Sula, I was seized with the reality of the moment. I experienced that heightened sense of awareness that happens when you encounter something completely new. The heavy air and hum of Spanish were the first things I noticed. We were anxious to get through customs and to meet Gloria with the van. Our luggage was loaded on the roof and we piled in the van, the thirteen of us and our three escorts, Gloria, Krisna, and the driver.

Click map for bigger (49K) view

It was a four-hour drive to Tegucigalpa, our destination for the first few days of our trip. Although it was very hot, the mountainous breeze was refreshing. Many of us dozed throughout the trip, heads heavy with the need for sleep. We saw banana trees & coffee; people selling food and candy on the side of the road; farmers working in their terraced fields.

After what seemed like forever in the van, we arrived at Monte Carmelo, an oasis de paz. It is beautifully situated on the side of a hill. The rooms were clean and welcoming even though we were all too tired to appreciate much else. We met students from the Colleges of the South and were extremely thankful that our luggage had arrived unlike the former.

I think we were all amazed at how good the food was. We had stew and rice with zucchini and broccoli. I volunteered for dish duty, which involved washing in a huge tile basin. We went to bed early, around 9:30, all exhausted, excited and looking forward to the adventure of the next week.   (Courtney Olson)

Saturday, May 23
Monte Carmelo

We awoke without an alarm, refreshed and ready to face the day ahead. Before breakfast we chatted and some of us hiked to the top of the mountain behind our meeting place. Breakfast was at 8:00, and we had pancakes with real syrup, fresh pineapple, and orange juice. After breakfast, Mario Argueta (historian, Fulbright Scholar, and librarian, among other things) spoke for awhile about the people, land, and recent history of Honduras. He was quite good. We changed our $ into L., afterwards, we headed down to the dining room for almuerzo; we had pupusa/rellenos (both meat and cheese), finely shredded cabbage, homemade salsa (yum!), watermelon, and the juice was some kind of berry. Following the strong tradition from Breakaway, we filled our time waiting for the van by playing spoons. I don't think our hosts had ever seen anything like it before; we tried to convince them that we weren't always so violent.

When the van arrived, we packed up our fanny packs, put fresh film in the cameras, and loaded the van. We were off to Tegucigalpa! Our trusted driver negotiated the steep road down to the "highway" very well. As the 20-minute drive drew to an end, we saw the huge cloud of smog hanging over the city. We stopped in a neighborhood to see some of Gloria's friends who made wooden boxes and wooden wall hangings. All of the houses had dogs that were pretty tough looking. It was nice to go from the dusty streets into the small, clean home and look at the crafts. After purchasing our boxes, etc. we loaded the van, drove out of the hilly neighborhood and went downtown. We stopped in a little gift shop. We found some great deals (fish mugs for L.32!). While meandering through the streets our eyes were opened to the ways of city life. We stopped at 2 cathedrals, which were beautiful. As we met the van, we all talked about how we stood out like sore thumbs with our hats, cameras, and wide eyes.

Back at Monte Carmelo I caught the tail end of a program given by an economist. Dinner was at 6:00, we had white rice, beef with onions, cauliflower in butter sauce, salad (the radishes were cut like flowers), and tortillas. Desert was cake with pineapple on top. After dinner the Spoons game began. Sam and I did the dishes with two girls from the other group. Next we watched a video about CCD. The power went out and so we had devotions by the light of Ruth W.'s flashlight. Christie was in charge of the devotions and we started by talking about the beautiful things we had seen that day. It was easy to see all of the negative things, but there is beauty in abundance as well.   (Abby Gorton)

Sunday, May 24
On the road!

We spent 10 hours on the road today, between Monte Carmelo and La Granja, which will be our home for the next five days. We started out on the Pan American Highway, which is in good shape, but only 2 lanes. An alarming local custom involves cars passing each other in the middle of the road. If a car is coming, the car being passed moves to the right shoulder, and the oncoming car moves to the opposite shoulder, and everyone honks!

We got a wonderful tour of the countryside, including steep hillsides and coffee plants, low growing with dark green leaves. They need shade, so they are either planted under tall trees or under thatch shelters the farmers make. We've seen houses made of everything from straw to adobe to brick (only one brick house so far!) We've seen people on foot, on burro or horseback, driving Brahmin cattle down the road.

We've seen people beside the road selling burnt sugar candy, beans, honey, and mangos, doll hammocks, woven baskets and hats. We stopped to buy baskets.

The last hour of the trip was over one of the worst roads I've ever been on, with big boulders, deep gullies, and a steep cliff on one side. We were bouncing! I tried something the travel doe recommended, ginger capsules, and I didn't throw up! We were relieved to finally arrive, and we're staying in a beautiful place! A half-dozen cute little boys (maybe 4-8 years old) are playing outside the women's dorm. The dorm is one big room with a dozen or so bunk beds, screens on the windows and a couple of light bulbs. The toilet is up the hill, outdoors, with manual flush mechanism (take in your own bucket of water). There's no light in the toilet or shower, which has only cold water. But it feels so good after a long hot day. It's starting to not seem strange at all!   (Ruth Webb)

Monday, May 25
Rodeo village

This was our first day at the medical clinic and we (Gloria, Maria Louisa, Nehemias, Ken, JoAnn, Ruth B., Christie, & Trish) set out wondering what our day and the road to the trip would be like. Gloria had told us it would be an hour-long trip, which would be much "bumpier" than the one to "the farm". Little did we know just how much bumpier it would be!! Because it had rained very hard on Sunday night we were even less sure how the road would be as the roads get washed out easily.

After an hour of bouncing about in the 4 wheel drive and passing many scrubbed local children with backpacks on their way to school, men on burros - with machetes - and women with parcels on their head or carrying a small basin full of agua, we arrived at the "clinic".

The clinic serves as the church for the village of Rodeo - a small adobe whitewashed building about 12'X20' (I'm not very good at sizes). The men were still in process of fixing things for us - they had put together grain sacks to partition a room for patient assessments. The altar was covered with a brightly colored cloth and we stored surplus on it.

Four benches were brought to place around the room - two of which held our medicines. The other 2 were for people to sit on while waiting to be seen. Maria Louisa is a nurse who helped organize the health aspect of this trip by scheduling people from several villages to come to the clinic (must have been quite a task as she had names & times for people to arrive!).

The table was set at one of the 2 doors where an intake (name, age, village, and complaint to be addressed) was performed. After all was set we began to see our patients. Many were women with children but there were a surprising number of older people and men. The baby's/children complaints ranged from ear infections, poorly repaired cleft lip, poor nutrition, worms which were almost universal, to more serious -mental retardation, pneumonia. All of the symptoms and the widespread malnutrition and parasites were enough to make us cry

The adult's complaints consisted of many complaints of pain (head, arm, abdomen, all over), gripe (flu), and poor appetite. The children had such lovely, huge brown eyes that they just tugged at your heart. One woman wanted to pay everyone and hugged everyone as she went out.

We did school physicals on ½ of the children, dewormed them and gave them candy in spite of poor dental status. We also gave out toothbrushes and toothpaste to the children and tried to demonstrate how to use them and they just laughed at us like we were crazy.

For lunch we closed one of the doors, the townspeople brought us cold or almost cold Coca Colas to go with our sandwiches and cucumbers.

We all put off having to use the "latrines" across the road but when nature calls you go - and actually it was like the one at "the farm".

We finished the afternoon much as we had the morning - tired and hot - but feeling as if we had made a very small difference in the health of the community. Many of our patients had never seen a doctor or nurse before. The community's people were so appreciative and all came to see us and were fascinated by the sight of us - even though we were all horrified by our own sight!

The ride back was just as bumpy and dusty and we are headed straight for the shower - THEN we felt refreshed and wonderful!

Dinner (fried chicken, rice, carrots, and beets)all delicious. We sat around (some of us in a stupor) after dinner and once again it poured rain - onto on the men's beds and rain onto the women's floors. The women had to move their luggage, we went back for devotions led by Ben Lewis which were very nice, and then we headed back to our rooms for a good night's sleep ZZZZZZ!   (Trish Birchfield)

Tuesday, May 26, Early morning
La Granja

Yesterday was our first work day. I could feel it in my hands, arms, shoulders and back when I awoke this morning. We (those who stayed here at La Granja while the medicos went off to treat patients) worked hard all day, with a break for about an hour for lunch and a little siesta.

After breakfast we climbed the hill with Krisna, Don Lucio and Innocente to a spot beside a meetinghouse for retreats, reunions and community education where someone had dug a pit for latrines. Our work is to build the latrine - a foundation around the pit to hold the concrete cover, a cover we will pour using a form they have, and the latrines themselves, two little houses, each with a toilet, dropping into the pit. They sit beside the pit, not on top of it.

Our first assignment was to gather rocks from grande to pequeño, to go in the foundations and be stuck together with cemeto. So off we went across the hillside gathering rocks (piedras). We had varying degrees of success with the big ones. One huge one we were trying to roll back along a path apparently was too large, for Don Lucio came and broke it up with his sledgehammer. One got away, rolled over Sean's hand, and went off down the mountain. Sean has a large bruise on his left palm to show for it.

Then it was concrete mixing time. We learned a new method, which I call "volcano de cemento" since you mix the cement in a pile on the ground with a crater in the middle to pour water in. Occasionally the side gives way and there is a lava flow (or cement flow) down the mountain. We became fairly adept at this - 50 shovels of sand, one bag of cement, mix it up, make a crater pour in water, mix it up, etc., etc.

Then we took it, shovel by shovel, to the foundation, to the spot Innocente indicated. Más cemento aquí. Más piedras. No, pequeño. No, pequeñito. Más grande aquí. Etc., etc.

What a day! What a crew! We're a cement-mixing machine. It's satisfying to be able to make a tangible contribution to the lives of people who work so hard in conditions so difficult - and who are so patient, kind and hospitable to a group of gringos.

I can't say that I feel at home here, but I will say that lam well taken care of and feel the loving strong spirit of these people. But lying in the hammock at the end of the day was a feeling of contentment and connection to a beautiful place.

And the rain - how wonderful it must be after six months of dryness to finally have rain.

Now back to latrine building today. If only we can keep the hose away from Ruth W., we'll all stay dry. But if Greg doesn't shower soon, we will all hold him down within hose range!   (Sam Pendergrast)

Tuesday, May 26
Rodeo

Off to Rodeo. The road washed out some more with the night's rain, but the terrain was more familiar. Saw endangered birds, pigs, chickens, kittens, thin dogs, cattle, horses, and burros.

People were waiting at the clinic when we arrived. 40 scheduled patients, a mix of adult and children. Saw about 6 unscheduled one follow-up pneumonia. The little girl is worse but we have little to offer except antibiotics, fluids, and Tylenol suppositories. On top of these patients we saw 25 kindergartners and 45 8-12 year olds. We have now seen the whole school! Found some congenital heart defects, cerebral palsy and failure to thrive. Heart wrenching little girl with profound malnutrition and abdominal mass. A good days work!   (Christie Lewis)

Tuesday, May 26
La Granja

We worked hauling things today. In the morning we hauled 4 sacks of concrete up the hill to lay the foundation for the toilet building. While the foundation set, we (the mules) hiked around and explored the area around the farm. I explored the creek and saw a toad, a quite large one at that, with a tick on its nose. There's a first for everything. After exploring for awhile we had a rousing game of Spoons. It got violent - Greg & Abby, Sarah & Greg, Ben & Ruth, Me & Sarah, and a few others. So much for suppressing violent impulses. After a filling lunch of Cokes and soup, we hauled more concrete for martyr and then cinderblocks for the walls of the structure. There were 50 blocks total and we ran out with only a about a 4 foot walls. Continued later. Some of us then went into the creek bed and hauled out rocks for a wall. Some played mason assistant while we hauled. Overall the day was marked with hauling things and stints of brief concentrated work.   (Sean Blomquist)

Tuesday, May 26, Evening
La Granja

I'm writing to reflect on our conversation with Sebastian, the director of the CCD office in San Marcos, which took place yesterday evening.

He spoke of several areas of CCD's work: the alternative credit program, the agricultural work, health, and ecumenical cooperation. We also asked him about aspects of the Honduran economy.

He suggested that the key to addressing most of the problems people face is education. For instance, providing clean water will do limited good without educating people about its use. They are used to water running all the time in the creek; so tend to leave the clean water running also. And some are slow to make the connection between clean water and better health. Then, hands must be washed , food kept clean, fruit washed and peeled, etc., etc. And women here have been socialized to be at home, to let the men deal with the outside world. The women then do not become educated as quickly as the men do. Women are seen last by the doctors also.

The loan program provides up to 2,000 Lempira for agricultural start-up and small business. They charge the same interest as the bank, but the money stays in the community and builds up for a stronger local economy. 85% of the people CCD works with are Roman Catholic, and the priest gives support to their work.

Sebastian said that Honduras's main economic problem is the 40-45% of the national budget, which goes for payment of interest on their foreign debt. He suggested that the U.S. and the World Bank and IMF alleviate some of this burden. Gloria disagrees. She said that much of the debt was caused by politicians skimming from loans to the country, and that Hondurans must hold their leaders accountable.

The maquiladores pay good wages (by Honduran standards), but the people don't know how to handle the extra money. Alcoholism increases and other problems in the assembly plant zones.

25% of Honduran land is good for agriculture but most of it is owned by the large owners and ranchers.   (Sam Pendergrast)

Wednesday, May 27
Rodeo

Another great day: Breakfast was mango, bananas & fried bananas with frozen orange juice & coffee - our lunch was the soft white bread with creamy peanut butter and Cokes.

Most remarkable was the recovery of the frail sick lady we visited yesterday. She drank about 1 cup of the flavored Electrolyte fluid and took some Dramamine and a prenatal Vitamin. She had gone to town to notify sons to go get her husband. Apparently a news radio report informed her that her husband was sick "swollen stomach" in a hospital in San Marcos. We tarried at her home and chatted with a blind woman who had the most pleasant smile and smooth olive skin - she had glaucoma - blind for 20 years.

Many sick persons today young girls with pneumonia, several adults that could easily be treated in the States - but could not here - hypertension, masses. We had a great system working today with Gloria and Joann interpreting, Christie and Trish seeing persons and Courtney coordinating the meds. I tried to "triage" or "ready" persons. Several urine specimens, wounds, the women with "nervousness" who could have used estrogen - we finally were able to give her a massage - neck, shoulders and arms. A full day, but writing the following evening after another full day with closing celebration, many sick children and adults. (The termites were everywhere this evening - driving us nuts!)

On Wednesday we also sang songs with the children who continuously gathered at the doorway - Itsy Bitsy Spider - Gladys with her smile and hands across the face.

Amazingly on our return to La Granja the work group was out on a walk to Colalaca (in the other direction) and then carried concrete blocks and bags of sand... such a great group on this trip hard, determined workers and great health group too. Trish had a meaningful devotion followed by a poem in Courtney's journal. So many thoughts.   (Ruth Berry)

Wednesday, May 27
La Granja

The latrine team resumed their roles as packhorses today (we have pretty much resigned to the fact that we are the brawn rather than the brains of this operation). We started out the morning by (once again) hauling cinder blocks. Because 20 min. of that kind of work spends much of the energy of us usually inert North Americans, we were allowed a break to sit in the shade and catch our breath. After our break, we began to clean out and dig some drainage ditches for the farm. This task provided the opportunity for us to become familiar with some of the more creepy-crawly Honduran wildlife -among them: millipedes, scorpions, and a friendly blonde "Tarantula" that crawled on Abby! We pretty much spent the rest of the morning digging and singing any work song we could remember. We were dismissed early, so we spent the half-hour before lunch playing what else but "Cucharas" (Spoons).

After lunch we took an hour walk down the "highway" to Colalaca where we participated in a spirited (yet not as bloody as "Cucharas") game of fúbol with some of the local schoolboys. We Gringos held our own and won that game 1 to 0. After the schoolboys left, there was another group of men waiting to play. So Krisna, Ruth W., Abby & I left the game while we toured the local school. The principal/first grade teacher took us to each classroom, introduced us, and told the class that we were here from the U.S. to build latrines at La Granja. After the tour and the soccer game ended, one of the local women took us to a small store where we could buy Cokes.

When we returned form our long walk, we were greeted with a pile of cinder blocks that needed to be transported up the hill. Our day ended with a final hike up the hill with sandbags and a promise of a good nights sleep   (Sarah Drahovzal)

Thursday, May 28
Rodeo

Last day in the Rodeo Clinic. Rodeo Drive was unusually slippery and we had to drive in the bus due to a flat tire. In the clinic saw our little pneumonia girl back and she was cured! Old woman with BP 214/110 and a four-hour walk. Maria Louisa gave her a massage to try to bring it down as we had no medicine for hypertension. Had "foot washing" day for two children with infected feet. A mother cried when she didn't have the money to have her son's hernia fixed. The general surgeon from the U.S. is in San Marcos until next week and maybe they can repair him. Part of the team made 2 home visits. Part of the team went to the kindergarten and gave away pencils and pads of paper.

After seeing all of the patients on to the celebration. One and ½ hours of songs, Bible verses, and thanks. Our group was quite anxious to leave and a storm was threatened and we didn't want to drive in the rain.

Last adioso to the three grave markers and the cliff.   (Christie Lewis)

Friday, May 29
Copán

The main part of our trip seems to be over now so I am granted the position of reflection on what we have done, seen, and felt about it etceteras. Or at least what I have done, seen , felt about it etceteras. Work was hard and long but wholesome. The food was good enhanced by the exhausting work. The beds gave me ticks, which were no fun to remove. But what do I have to complain about. I only did it for 4 days and now I am sitting in and air-conditioned hotel room having just had a beer. I feel guilty, and happy about leaving La Granja and my happiness only makes me feel more guilty. Don Lucio and Innocente will finish the latrine and level the land we hacked up. The kitchen ladies will still be making tortillas. The roosters will still be crowing and the frogs croaking. Hondurans will go on living. Living. Or will they. Not many Hondurans are thriving many are suffering but most are just living the way they have for many years. Life at its bare necessities, enough food, a couple of changes of clothes, a few worms, maybe die at 60. But this life seems so much more grand. The immediacy of catastrophe and ruggedness of dwelling in Honduras makes the cycles of Honduran life much starker and hard. The amplitude of existence is much greater than that of the U.S. Joy is much greater and sorrow much deeper. Both simple. Grand and simple at the same time. It appeals to me but perhaps this is just a blind attempt to romanticize something I know nothing about. Less than two weeks and a flood of experiences I can only grasp a few of. A shovel full of sand or my teaspoon of memory captured. Most passing right by some spilling over the sides grain by grain. Forgotten, what little we collectively grasp from this experience will be great, though, I wonder whether we or the Hondurans we helped will benefit more from our trip here. With our work complete, or no longer in progress at least. I look forward to touring the ruins and returning to the U.S. with the opaque layering of jaded Americanism removed from my eyes and truly see. Copán has little nightlife. (Greg Blomquist)

Saturday, May 30
Copán

Our last full day in Honduras was spent seeing other sides of the culture - far richer than some we may have expected. We saw the ruins near town and the museum of Mayan culture (the new museum is not ready yet). We also had the opportunity to spend our last Lempira. Gathering together we shared some thoughts on our experiences - but I expect that some changing in us may not be known until later, weeks, months, etc. as we see others, other cultures and indeed ourselves differently.   (Ken Klint)

Saturday, May 30
Copán

All the food was great today as it has been on the entire trip. After breakfast we went to the Copán ruins and had a tour of the complex, which lasted 2½ hours. Our guide was very knowledgeable and opened our eyes to the Mayan culture which flourished here from 1800 BC to 800 AD. We saw many temples, plazas, stellae, old ceiba trees, macaws with bright plumage, mounds of archeological rocks still to be put in their correct place, the entrances to the miles of underground tunnels (which we could not see), the ball court, the magnificent stairway with its important hieroglyphics that have a large awning over them to protect them from the elements, the small museum on the site, and the shop of artesanía. We saw groups of Honduran school children learning about their heritage. After lunch we went to the museum which gave us further information on the Mayan culture, complete with artifacts, photographs, and stellae. Some of us bought posters of Copán and postcards. The rest of the afternoon was spent on individual shopping in the small town or watching television in Spanish and/or English. After dinner we discussed the trip in general, trying to determine if there would be follow-up and how. Somehow each person brought their individual talents and contributed to the project all week. Most came back with insights of a different culture and awareness of the tremendous need still to be met. The work of CCD is impressive with its grass roots organizing. As an umbrella group, it can mesh with both church and university work groups and the indigenous communities. The trip was more rugged than anticipated and the amount of help given and goods and medicine were only small pittance of what is needed and what remains to be done. But God gave us courage, provided for them, and us and worked his will through all of us. God be praised.   (Joann Klint)

Sunday, May 31
Going Home

The final day of our Honduras experience is made up of travel. First after leaving my extremely comfortable bed we started our trip to San Pedro Sula. The roads were decent, honking and semi's were kept to a minimum, so I was able to sleep. I really don't remember much of the ride I guess that's because I was asleep.

At the San Pedro Sula airport I, being a twelve-year-old, bought an ice cream. Then I watched the Jackal with Spanish subtitles. And here I am writing in front of Puerta Cuatro in the international section of the airport.   (Ben Lewis)

While building latrines may not seem to be an "efficient" use of the time and energy of wealthy Norteamericanos, we were conscious that our notions of efficiency and usefulness took a back seat to the process of building relationships and opening our lives to the patient work of God with us.

Our work was coordinated by the Christian Commission for Development (CCD), an ecumenical ministry of the churches of Honduras. Second Presbyterian Church and the Presbytery of Transylvania are beginning an informal mission partnership with CCD for continued work, learning, sharing and exchange.

CCD was begun in 1982 by a group of Honduran Christians. Their approach is "Hondurans working with Hondurans to overcome the tremendous difficulties which exist." In projects in 132 communities, there is an educational process leading people to understand the reality in which they live and the ways that they can act in order to transform it. CCD works in five areas:

1. Sustainable Agriculture
2. Community Health
3. Alternative Credit and Cooperatives
4. Leadership, Organization and Gender Issues
5. Pastoral and Theological Training

We have made a commitment to a work trip to Honduras from Second Church every third year. Through the Presbytery partnership more frequent visits will be planned.

Our commitment includes an understanding that our work is two-way mission. We receive as well as give. We enter into this partnership with the expectation that there is much we will learn from our Honduran co-workers about the life of faith, that much of our work is listening across cultural boundaries, and that through our work together we can grow into unity in Christ.

I encourage anyone reading the "Diario" to consider Jesus' words from Luke 6: "Blessed are you who are poor .... But woe to you who are rich ...." and his other teachings about wealth and poverty, and to consider that the liberation/salvation of our poor neighbors is intimately connected with the liberation/salvation of the rich. We enter this mission partnership in the faith that our only hope in life and in death is in Jesus our Lord, and believing that God has called us to share life together with all people.

A Presbytery medical team is scheduled March 11-18, 1999.