Adios Talanga...Hola Tegucigalpa

While much has happened since my last blog post, the fact that I have not updated in a while is actually a sign of growth and settling in. Instead of constantly jotting down ideas for my next blog post and wondering “when’s the next time I can sneak away to the internet café,” the days and weeks are passing by quicker. Many things are normal now and I do not feel the need to “process” everything. I enjoy living each day while choosing to remain open and content no matter what comes my way. This, ladies and gentlemen, is growth. And I thank God for bringing about this growth in my heart and my mind because it manifests itself in peace. I’m a fan of peace.   

It was a privilege to watch the World Mission Builders team enter Talanga with open hearts and ready hands. I was amazed at how quickly the thirty of us constructed a 24’x80’ church building. Having other North Americans around was good for my morale as it gave me relief from the loneliness and frustration I felt the first three weeks. It was beneficial for me to see this group experience similar cultural awakenings that I had undergone weeks prior because it gave me the opportunity to share with them the lessons I learned from my mistakes. I was thoroughly impressed by many of the men in the group. Many were in their fifties or sixties, some retired and some still building their careers. Their job backgrounds were broad from construction to teaching to finance. It was inspiring to see their hearts and attitudes for service especially considering all the other things they could be doing at this point in their lives. All in all, it was a pleasure working beside this hard-working group of “gringos.”

This next story goes out to all my Southwestern buddies. Surprisingly enough, I got to go door to door in Honduras! Never thought I’d put my door-knocking experience to work in a third-world country, but I helped pass out flyers for the various church services we had last week. I felt my “at-the-door charm” kick in even though I was speaking to families in Spanish, not English. It was great to interact with the different people in Talanga and experience more of the local culture since my interactions have primarily consisted of the Archaga family and the Honduran construction workers. I was accompanied by a few other North Americans from the missions team and they were shocked at how confidently I ran up and knocked on each door, took three steps back, and turned profile before approaching the person at the door… haha, these bookman skills will be engrained within me forever. Let’s just say my Honduran territory was very different than Northern California, where I knocked on doors this past summer. It was a blast to see my Southwestern work experience put to good use in a very tangible way.

Location update: I have moved from Talanga to Tegucigalpa (commonly referred to as Tegus, pronounced “Teh-goose”), the capital of Honduras. I am very glad I started and spent most of my time in Talanga before moving to Tegus, as this new city feels almost as luxurious as the United States of America.  The city is very large, commercialized, and far more developed than most towns in Honduras. In the words of a Honduran friend, my five weeks in Talanga gave me real Honduran culture, Tegus is definitely more “Americanized.” For example, the house I live in has a full kitchen and 2 bathrooms… with running water. In Talanga, every time I took out my laptop, people would gather around it and stare as if it was a spaceship that just landed from a different planet explaining how to solve all the world’s problems. Whereas here in Tegus, I entered the house yesterday to find Julia (my new host mom) video chatting—on the house laptop—with her sister in Panama. I think you get the point. While I am grateful for and certainly enjoy the return of these comforts, it is interesting how quickly the temptation for worldly wisdom has sunk its teeth back into my mind.  Now, I’m sure this is a combination of my genuine weakness for things of this world and the deprivation I’ve experienced these past five weeks. But, it’s unbelievable how quickly again I’ve found my flesh craving the shallow “yuppie” lifestyle of making money and “living it up” as a young adult in this world. It just goes to prove the fact that when I’m surrounded by more opportunities for comfort—which the U.S. is filled with in comparison to many other parts of the world—it is much easier to be distracted and lose sight of God’s priorities for my life. This realization has caused me to begin praying for my return to “normal life” in the U.S. I am uncertain as to whether or not anything in my life will drastically change when I go home. However, I do not want to forget my experiences here in Honduras and I hope to continue searching for connections between what I’ve learned while living here and how I chose to live my life back home.

With exactly three weeks left, I am confident that God has more for me to see, hear, feel, and learn. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement.

¡Dios le bendiga!

 

new friends: Dennis (left) and Christopher (right)

You never know what you'll find when you take a walk on Main street in Talanga

BEFORE 

AFTER

first service in the new building

more new friends from North America

view overlooking Talanga

Learning how to make Honduran quesadillas

Helping out with VBS was an unexpected blessing

MetroMall, very close to my new residence in "Americanized" Tegucigalpa

View from His Eyes Medical Clinic overlooking Tegus

Baptized in Humility

I’ll start this blog entry with a brief update before I dive into the depths of my soul :)

My life has mostly consisted of waking up around 6am (I’ve learned how to ignore the obnoxious roosters), working on the construction site from 8am till 5pm, going to church or hanging out with the Archaga family from 5p to 9:30pm, and lights out around 10pm. The new Channel 15 (the Christian TV channel that the Archaga’s run here in Talanga) building is coming along as we’ve completed all the walls and are installing the tubes for water in the bathrooms. Our goal is to have the bathrooms finished by this past Monday. Monday was when the first three “gringo” missions team leaders arrive. The rest of the team—about 25 people, mostly from Indiana—arrive this Monday, 10/17. The team will be staying in a hotel towards the main entry of Talanga (believe it or not, this hotel has the luxury of running water!). The team will build the new church for Celeo (the pastor I am living with) and his church, “Cuerpo de Cristo” (The Body of Christ). I will help with construction every day until October 28^th when the missions team leaves Honduras. In November, I'll move to Tegucigalpa and live with Oscar Mora and help more directly with His Eyes Ministries. I’ve had a blast with the Archaga family as I’ve gone fishing, helped lead worship, learned how to eat Honduran-style (no silverware), traveled to different cities nearby, witnessed a Honduran baptism in the local river, met their extended family, went to the circus, and even made an appearance on TV! 

As for my more contemplative update (you knew it was coming…), I am still learning new life lessons, however, the learning process has had its fair share of difficulty. Now, I hope I don’t offend anyone with what I am about to share. But If I do, please don’t hesitate to let me know and hopefully we can talk more about it.

Unfortunately, the guys I work with on the construction site have shaped much of my insight to how Hondurans view Americans. While I feel accepted by the Archaga family in the morning and at nighttime, for eight hours in the middle of the day I have experienced marginalization and stereotyping at it’s finest from the guys’ onsite. Because I am a gringo from the USA, it seems like my skin tone automatically makes me a wealthy American.  While this has been difficult to deal with—because I do have much more material wealth in comparison and because I want to help them as much as possible—I have learned how to keep my cool and try my best to not reinforce “wealthy American” stereotypes.

More so than the “wealthy gringo” stereotype, the “gringo work ethic” stereotype has been extremely tough to endure on a daily basis. The guys clearly expressed their negative opinions of gringos and lumped me into their stereotype. They use one word to describe the way white people don’t like to “work” and this one word essentially encompasses all white people.  The word is “arragon,” very similar to the English word arrogant. They tell me that on construction sites in the US, white men stand over the Hondurans and tell them what to do while watching them work because the white men don’t like to work. They have used this word when talking about me and laugh at me when I don’t know how to do a job relating to construction work. They laugh even more when, due to the language barrier, I have trouble understanding their definition of the job. This has caused me to blow a gasket once or twice because I (a gringo) do indeed have a desire to work and serve. Just because I am not a natural construction worker by trade doesn’t mean I don’t like to work. Once I am shown or understand how to “work” their way, I will work hard and do my very best.

I am not looking for accolades or recognition for being here, but by their comments and actions, it’s as if I’m not good enough for them and they don’t even want my help . Although it is a small-scale comparison, this must be what Jesus felt like when He came to earth to help people who ended up mocking and ultimately rejecting Him. Even though I’m here in Talanga to work and help these guys, I get made fun of a lot for being white and therefore incapable/unwilling to “work.” Although these same guys will sometimes tell me I’m becoming more “Honduran,” I know I’m still very gringo in their eyes. They seem unwilling to view the motives behind gringos and respect, embrace, or be grateful for those motives rather than getting caught up with gringos’ culturally contrasting actions.

Whoa… light bulb moment. THEY ARE ME. Haha, weird sentence, let me explain. The way they’re judging and stereotyping white people rather than trying to view them in God’s eyes is the exact same issue I’ve been struggling with these past two weeks! It’s definitely been a fight to keep a “willing to learn” and “look for the good” attitude in this unnatural and uncomfortable setting. I see in them the very attitude I’m fighting to let go of in my own life. It’s all the same. It’s all interconnected. And it’s all dependent on learning to embrace God’s gracious love for me so the overflow from that love can then pour onto others.  This love goes far beyond racial and cultural differences. I am not here to represent myself or America by getting defensive and ornery when I feel misunderstood or offended; I’m here to represent the fact that my identity is in Christ alone by showing God’s love as I walk in confidence and peace no matter what anyone says.

I was reading scripture the other day and found confirmation of this lesson God is currently teaching me. In Luke 14:13-14 it says, “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just,” and in Psalm 41:1-2, “Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him; the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.” In these two passages, it’s pretty clear how God views those who take time to consider the poor. So far, my Honduras experience is definitely the most up-close, long-lasting interaction I’ve had with poverty and the very real effects of it on a community and culture. How can I allow God to change my heart to the point where at my “feast,” I’ll invite the poor and crippled and truly consider their wellbeing? Not just the similar, easy-to-love American gringos. It feels like God is working on me slowly but surely. I’m still in the exposure and shock phases of His plan to increase my awareness and consideration of the poor. I pray “He who began a good work in you [me] will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 1:6) and that He will give me His heart for the poor as well as those that are very different than I. I want to have the eyes of Christ; I just didn’t realize it’d be this difficult. Haha, I wonder if God is laughing with me right now at this incredible learning process I’m going through?

After my iPhone died one week into my trip, I found a great $18 alternative from Claro! (similar to TracPhone in the US). Alejandro picked one up too. 

The Archaga's leading worship (Celeo-left, Isabelle-middle, Alejandro-right) 

My wonderful host mom, Gloria and the youngest Archaga member, Alan

yes, I got to rock out in worship practice

Fishing in the local river

It really is a beautiful country

Isabelle and I talking/singing on the Christian TV channel

The Circus

the new TV station coming right along

Alejandro's baptism! Such a cool experience. 

 

Lots of mud with a little perspective on the side

We had one crazy adventure last night! Four of the guys I am living with and I decided to go fishing in a town about 45 minutes away. We loaded the truck up and ended up driving down a long dirt road that eventually turned into a long muddy (lodo in spanish) road. After driving over a mile down this road, the truck got stuck in about of foot or so of mud. Lets just say we didnt end up fishing that night.

We tried to get the truck out but it would not budge. Fortunately we had a friend in a town nearby who brought his truck to pull us out of the mud. Unfortunately he got stuck too. After practically swimming in pools of mud, we dislodged his truck and were able to pull ours out as well. Once we got out of there, the next logical thing to do was clean off... in the river. Yes, we bathed in the river in our shorts. And it was refreshingly fun to simply laugh and crack jokes with the guys I live with and work with day in and day out. This night was truly an experience to remember. 

As for “how I’m doing,” let’s just say the “honeymoon phase” of being in a different culture has worn off. Typically, short-term missions trips last about a week or so, then its time to get back to normalcy… this is my normalcy. Every hour of every day, it feels like my natural characteristics are dying a slow and painful death. Allow me to elaborate. I have character traits that until now I thought were just God-given and not as culturally defined as I’m now realizing. For example, I am a direct communicator who appreciates efficiency and organization. While these characteristics can function as strengths, they can also turn into weaknesses very quickly. These characteristics combined with my “fix-it” mentality feel like they’re slowly dying with every cultural interaction or observation here in Honduras. My life in the U.S. is very opposite from this rural Latin American culture. While I am used to things being quick and automatic, here they are slow and manual, while I am used to having a plan, here there is rarely a plan and if there is, it’s loosely followed. I’ve been thinking about these differences quite a bit as I run into them constantly. 

Now, please bear with me as I put on my psychological/sociological/anthropological hat and attempt to analyze this situation. I’ve found myself asking, “am I just a bi-product of the culture I was raised in?” The differences in this culture are not wrong and for all I know, the way these people are living could be more glorifying to God in certain ways. However, it’s so tough not to dismiss things as “not for me” because they goes directly in the face of how I do things back home. I’m just trying to reconcile my thoughts about how I’m supposed to view things here. Am I supposed to agree with it all and want to move here next year? How do I show love for the people and their culture when most of it is very difficult for me to live in let alone adopt as my own?

Appropriately enough, I just finished a book called “Uncommon Decency” by Richard Mouw (president of Fuller Theological Seminary), which was written to answer these exact questions I’ve asked. I am not called to agree with everything here. I’m simply called to love the people and keep an open mind. I must maintain a willingness to learn. I’m pretty sure my willingness to learn has waned since my arrival. In some ways, I have shut off my heart and mind to looking for the good in these differences. My natural tendency has been to focus on the negative. From now on, I’m starting to ask God to keep my heart in check by teaching me to actively search for the benefits within this culture. I am trying to stay teachable by looking for take-away’s and important lessons I can learn from any cultural difference I notice. This is what I’m called to do. I don’t have to leave Honduras ready to dedicate my life to going to the bathroom/eating/sleeping next to cockroaches, but I do hope to leave with a better knowledge of how to be “uncommonly civil” and open-minded to learning from anything, no matter how much I may disagree with it. Although this trip is an example of extreme conflict of interests (my culture compared to Honduran culture), if I can maintain a Christ-like civility and a willingness to learn for these 8 weeks, I’m sure I’ll be able to apply what I’ve learned to real life in some way.

I’ll leave you with a verse I’ve been reading a lot lately as it pertains directly to this lesson I am learning. In Philippians 4:10-13, Paul is wrapping up his letter to the church of Philippi. I feel like Paul right now writing to the “church” back home (friends and family supporting me) saying, “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” –Phil. 4:10-13

Quick update: the construction project for the new Christian TV station building is going well. We’ve being laying bricks for the past week and are almost finished with the walls. My Spanish is getting better with each passing day. My listening skills have definitely improved, however, I need to keep practicing my speech boldly. I need to be willing to make mistakes, which is not easy. I found a long paved road to go running on in the mornings, running is a much-welcomed familiarity for me. The roosters here are the most scheduled out of anybody… unfortunately their schedule starts at 5am. There are so many of them. I want to kill them all and eat them because I’m so hungry :) 

Ok, that’s enough for my rooster rant.

Thank you for your prayers and support, God is definitely at work.

Pastor's meeting in a beach town called Tela, Honduras

Just having some night fun on the beach

Working hard...

the new Channel 15 Christian TV station 

It really is a beautiful country

My bed, complete with a "peach mosquitera"to keep all the bugs out 

Our kitchen

the water basin where we wash clothes, do dishes, etc.

the left 3x3 box is the shower, the one on the right is the toilet

Culture Shock

The title of my blog entry does not do the past 5 days justice in the fact that my life down here in Honduras is unbelievably different than my life in the US.

Although there are so many details I would love to fill you in on, I am trying to keep my entries concise for your sake and for mine. Not to mention the fact that the internet cafe by mi casa is the only place I get internet connection and I have to pay for it. And their keyboards here in Honduras are very interesting, so much so, I cannot find the apostrophe button, hence the reason why this post will contain no contractions. Every single english teacher in America may want to adopt these keyboards into their curriculum. All this is beside the point,

the past few days have been very eye-opening as I realize over and over again how priveleged I am in the United States. I mean, things I took for granted like, running water... seriously. The house I am living in has not a drop of running water. Please imagine this scene with me, Lucas uses the bathroom toilet and tries to flush, however, nothing happens. He tries again. Nothing. Embarassed, he asks someone he met ten minutes ago why the toilet will not flush. This person procedes to take Lucas to the water basin where he is instructed to fill the pitcher with water and dump it in the un-flushed toilet. Ironically enough, the toilet does not overflow when you add fluid to it, rather it flushes everything down. I will spare you the story of me clogging the toilet yesterday.
You should have seen me in the shower. I stood in a small cement box with a gallon jug of cold water that I poured over myself while trying to wash my sweat-soaked body. On a good note, one of the helpers in my house, Margarita, fell in love with my Old Spice body wash scent. This commercial really is true:

Being a person of little patience for incompetency, I am now the incompetent one... in so many ways. The language, the food, the bathrooms, the music, the movies, the work, the lingo, etc.
It has been humbling to say the least. However, I am truly grateful to be here and I have not yet found myself too frustrated with any of the changes. I know you are praying for me to have patience and I am shocked by how even keel I have been this past week. The patience everyone has with me is also humbling. I have had some very encouraging conversations in Spanish and I have had some not-so-encouraging conversations that end with a group of Hondurans laughing at/with me :)

I am learning to enjoy the slow pace of life here. I began helping with the construction site (which is what I will do almost every day for the next month of my life... as well as eat beans, eggs, butter, and tortillas with coca cola or pepsi) and I felt like our "work" was more of a hang out. I am so accustomed to 100% effort 100% of the time, whereas here, it is ok to just sit and be with others. I am glad to learn these lessons as I probably would not learn them otherwise if I were working in the US right now.

The family I am living with here in Talanga, the Archagas, are wonderful. Celeo is the pastor of the local Cuerpo de Cristo (Body of Christ) church. His wife, Gloria, is very sweet and laughs easily, which is helpful for me as I am muy chistoso (silly or funny). They have four children, one of which I have bonded with well. Alejandro is my new amigo. We talk about school, music, food, the beach, Apple products (which they are fascinated with down here, you should have seen the whole family gather around when I whipped out my MacBook), and many other things. I no longer feel like I am on a missions trip as I have realized I will live with this family day in and day out for the next month or two of their lives; I am excited.

So, I am on a computer in the local internet cafe and I just recieved a message saying, "Dearest customer, there comes a great storm. Be sure to save your information if cut out energy." Hmm, I am thinking it is time to wrap this update up. Let me leave you with a vivid story from my journal:

My first night here, I attended a funeral service for a man that died of a heart attack. This man was very respected in the community and  invovled in the church. As the service started, I sat down on a couch not realizing I sat in the spot beside the widow of the husband whose funeral we were attending. She was a strong woman, but you could see the grief in her face, the ache in her stride. Sitting next to her, I felt an overwhelming amount of empathy pour over me for this woman. I noticed the way she held herself up and put a comforting hand on the shoulder of the woman next to her rather than the other way around. She cried as she mourned the loss of her husband and appeared as if she was at the end of her strength.  All I could think of was the short, often joked about verse in John 11:13, “Jesus wept.” Jesus entered Lazarus’ death scene knowing full well He was going to raise him from the dead, but instead of storming in and giving the right advice, he empathized with those around him and wept.

I entered this funeral service thinking to myself, “well at least this man’s in heaven, so maybe it won't be that sad.” I had the “right advice.” And although I’d never met this woman before in my life, as she cried next to me, I couldn’t help but extend my hand onto her shoulder and cry with her. Yes, I cried with her. It was empathy within me that I haven’t felt before, an empathy from God.

What an incredible way to start this season. Over the past two weeks, I  was shown the same weakness in my personality and leadership style that tend to disregard empathy or validation of one’s emotions. No matter where we are at, sometimes we as humans just need to be listened to, respected, and validated; the “right answer” or the “correct ‘fix-it’ advice” is usually not the answer. Tonight, I gained a tangible experience in which I had more empathy for a random stranger than I’ve had for the closest of friends and family. It’s amazing to see direct confirmation that this is a lesson God wants to teach me right now. I’m excited to keep learning about and tapping into this newfound reservoir of God’s love for others. 

Pretty cool stuff. Thank you for your prayers, please keep them coming. I will do my best to shoot out an update once or twice a week depending on when I can get into the internet cafe long enough.
Hope all is well in los Estados Unidos!
 
P.S. Unfortunately, I left my camera cable in the states and cannot upload my photos yet. I am going to borrow a plug from an amigo of mine here in Honduras and see if it will work. Don't worry, I am taking pictures and you will see them. Sometime. Hopefully soon. 
In the meantime, here is a link to a photo I took with my iPhone (whose screen just broke last night, rendering me "phone-less" in Honduras this week) before I found out I was using all my minutes to upload information to facebook... soy un gringo estupido.  The picture is from a funeral I saw in Talanga my first night here:

http://distillery.s3.amazonaws.com/media/2011/09/21/331bcbbe2cba405781c765a985cb0200_7.jpg

beginning to land

Tomorrow begins my adventure to the third world country of Honduras. It's crazy to think that just three weeks ago I was planning to go backpacking through Europe right now, but God sure has a way of making things happen His way, right? 


From September 19 till November 19, I will be living in Honduras and serving with His Eyes Ministries (click here to view the ministry's website). During the month of September and most of October, I will live in the town of Talanga and help a church plant construct a building while serving the pastor and local community. Towards the end of my trip, I may move to Tegucigalpa to assist at a medical clinic, help with one of their clothing ministries, or remain in Talanga if needed. 


According to wikipedia, [a credible source, I know] Talanga is a medium-sized, agriculturally-reliant town that crops corn, sugar cane and fodder. [Now, if you're anything like me, you may be asking yourself, "what the heck is fodder?"]


Fodder: any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. 
[Now this is only a guess, but, if the town primarily crops food for cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs, I can only hope to get in touch with my farm-boy roots... my goal is to kill and pluck a chicken for dinner]


Back to Talanga, the town's most notable feature is that the streets are all dirt. [Good thing I packed extra allergy pills] 
And the town just finished installing a sewer system as of 2006. However, I've still been warned to throw my used tp in the trash cans by the toilets as it may clog the pipelines. 
[Don't worry, I already said goodbye to my Starbucks' commercial grade toilets, that can literally swallow a bowling ball if you so decide to flush one] 
Rest assured, Mom, Talanga has a very good indoor market with produce, meat, pots and pans, and other household goods as well two internet cafes. 
[eh, who needs paved roads when we've got the internet; life in the 21st century]


I will fly into Atlanta tomorrow where I have an overnight layover. On Tuesday, I will arrive in Tegucigalpa, Honduras around noon CST. Oh yeah, did I mention the Toncontín International Airport is ranked the second most dangerous airport in the world due to its proximity to mountainous terrain, its short runway, and its historically difficult approach to the runway? check this out:

Yeeeah, let's hope I even have a second blog post. 


Here are some things you can be praying for if you'd like:  
1) Safety during travel to Talanga
2) Large amounts of patience and humility as I adapt to many new things
3) Quick immersion within the Spanish language
4) Current and future building construction in Talanga. Prayer for all the work to be done to God’s glory, that stress would be minimized, and things go smoothly. 


Thanks everybody. I'm excited to keep you updated on what happens, what I observe, and what I learn. 
Hopefully my next blog post will come straight from Honduras!