Monday 7.23.12

Today was my last day in Honduras. I am sad to leave all of these wonderful people, but truly excited for the things God is leading me towards in the future. We spent today working with a local farmer, Pablo in La Muralla. He has been interested in the SALT method for years, but is just getting to the point where he is able to do it! This was so exciting to learn from him as an example of a farmer who sees the benefits of the SALT method compared to the traditional slash and burn. Poblo is doing barriers with an organization called INGA (which is the name of the trees he will plant for the living barriers) starting tomorrow. I was a little bummed that we have to leave tomorrow and won’t be able to help him get started but today we were able to help a little in bringing the trees up a VERY steep slope where he will be planting them. This is a picture of us with 2 of his daughters. I continue to be astounded by what these farmers are capable of and their drive for survival among some of the toughest conditions. I pray that this work ethic would continue to be valued for generations in Honduras.

After working all day, we spent dinner together as a family at the beach. While using large leaves for plates and eating chicken, the community sent Yui and I off with words of affirmation sharing things they have learned from us and joys we have brought to this community. I will continue to cherish their words on my travels home tomorrow. Please pray for all of them and that God’s presence would continue to be made known to them as they continue to give so much of themselves to the local community through agricultural development and discipleship. 

Sunday 7.22.12

Today I participated in my last discipleship group. It was great to get to worship with this group once more and hear their hearts as they seek to be true members of the kingdom of God. We spent some time talking through the difference between knowing about God and truly knowing God and how Christ revealed himself by coming to earth. The incarnation brings such a real message to these people. The fact that Christ would give up his high position in heaven to come and serve the poor here on earth and surrender himself to death on a cross shows true love that’s hard to walk away from. Today I want to bring recognition and celebrate Christ’s incantational ministry to the world.

This is a picture of our normal time we spent around the table. Larry and Allison emphasize that meals are a time for discipleship and intentionality in relationships. Many life giving conversations have happened at this table.

After group, the young people, Yui and I went on a little hike to a small waterfall up the road! I love having fun with these people and living life with them and I will miss them very much. 

Better picture of the waterfall!

Saturday 7.21.12

Today we all went to La Ceiba for a day camp with Luis’ church. Here is a picture of all of the young people I’ve been talking about! Me, Yui, Karla, Luis, Jeremiahs, and Jessica. 

Its been so great getting to know their hearts and growing together in Christ. I have loved being a part of the discipleship group and today just continued to affirm the loving community God has brought here. The girls played in a soccer tournament and won 2nd! There was swimming, bible study, and a worship concert at night. Over 300 youth came out from various churches! The youth groups here don’t have many events, usually only one or two day events a year. I am so thankful that we got to experience one of these events and learn more about the Honduran churches need for youth groups and regulated meetings. It continue to affirm the power of the work the discipleship group is doing in the lives of these young people. You could tell the difference in our group from other groups due to the intentional discipleship we have been receiving through Larry and Allison. I love that these young people have truly sought out Christian community even though it is unusual for their church culture. The youth in Honduras are hungry for community and I am thankful that Larry and Allison see this need and have sought out to these young people to teach them a lifestyle of Christian community. Praise God! 

Here is a picture of the worship concert and sermon at the end of the day! Worshiping bilingually brings me so much pure joy in the Lord!

Friday 7.20.12

Today was our last day in town, so we went to town to get a few groceries and spent a little time searching for souvenirs. I like to buy locally when I travel and help the communities that I visit so mostly I’m trying to invest in what Larry has going on here. When we got back, it was time to go up to Instituto El Rey for the cultural event they had today! All of the schools do a performance and eat typical food to celebrate Limpira, a native indian who sacrificed his life seeking peace for Honduras. It was really cool to be a part of this at IER and I learned a lot about Honduran history and culture. These kids spent so much time on their outfits and studying their history to be prepared for the pop quiz questions they’d need to answer, it was a lot of fun to see them be so successful and to learn from them. At dinner we debriefed with a little more in depth history lesson while eating Japanese food. 

These guys were the winners!

Thursday 7.19.12

I felt a little sick in the morning from the fast yesterday, but I am feeling much better now! I didn’t drink enough liquids yesterday and my body was full of toxins this morning. After a little rest and slowly getting my stomach back to normal, Yui and I went to Jessica’s house to learn how to make Pan de Coco (coconut bread) and sweet bread. I have been craving some bread and this truly hit the spot! It was so great to spend more time with Jessica and her mom in her house. I love being able to truly experience Honduran culture through my new friends. After baking in the wood stove, learning all about here mom’s garden of fruit trees in the backyard, and sharing in some coffee and bread, we headed back to campus for dinner. Though the day started off a little rough, it was a great day and I’m loving all of the experience I am getting to learn more about the culture here! 

Bread! 

Wednesday 7.18.12

Today we fasted. Larry and Allison take one day a month to fast and seek direction for the community and invite the young people to join. I fasted some with my small group this year, but never have I fasted for a whole day. It was a really great day of solitude in community. We took most of the day for solitude, prayer and meditation and spent meal times sharing what God has been teaching us and praying together. It was so great to have a day to spend alone processing what God has been teaching me. I truly enjoyed it and would like to implement a similar pattern in my life. Fasting is healthy for cleaning out the body and today has been so good for my spirit to be at rest and seek direction. 

Tuesday 7.17.12

This morning, Yui and I road to El Naranjo to visit the orphan’s house. Julia (one of the twins) was sick with the chicken pox :( We spent some time talking to her and the other kids then Yui and I went to talk to Pastor Derrick who is leading some new developments in La Cuenca. He is working on bringing a feeding center to the area that will basically teach skills like proper hand washing and nutrition to families in the area. Though I have some reservations about their initial strategies, I think they will be successful in the long run. Pastor Derrick has worked with inner city families in the states and really has a heart for people. I know that the spirit will continue to guide him and his family as they work here. 

 In the afternoon we went to La Muralla to see the SALT technique in action on Larry’s corn. Its so great to see an example of this really working! I loved being able to visit La Muralla, but I was a little sad that we haven’t been able to work there since me being here. With Allison and baby Anna, the projects in La Muralla have been put on hold. I’m thankful for Larry taking me up there to see his corn field though. 

Just doing some learning...

Monday 7.16.12

Today we spent the morning making hot sauce for micro enterprise development. Sorry, I can’t tell you the secret recipe, but if you’d like some send me an email and I can bring some back for you! This batch was really hot, but the flavor is so good! This hot sauce is sold to lots of teams who come through La Cuenca. Larry has tried to get some friends in the market to sell at their stands, but hasn’t made those connections yet. He doesn’t really have the man-power to make and distribute the sauce large scale yet but dreams of providing jobs for the orphans in the future through the hot sauce and jams! I think he has some great things going in this area and there is lots of potential. I realized that I haven’t been able to take pictures of some of the agricultural projects I’ve been a part of and learned from, so I spent the afternoon with Yui and our little friend Lulu taking some pictures of all the projects around campus. The evening consisted of learning how to ride Luis’ motorcycle and making milkshakes among lots of laughter and community :) 

Here’s Larry with our roasted vegetables for the sauce, YUM!

Oops...

I meant to add in some pictures to my entry last Saturday... here’s a picture of part of the hill on the way to Rubinea’s house 

And here’s the one of me leading in the chicken killing :)

This is all of us at the Rubinea’s house after a hard days work! 

And this is me after cutting the Moringa tree near the school :)

Yay pictures! Sorry, I have been bad at adding these in! I’ll try to add more as I go!

Sunday 7.15.12

Today I participated in the discipleship group. It has been really great to see my Spanish picking up and to be able to participate in these times. Living and serving with this community takes on a whole new meaning when I am able to understand and participate in worship with them as well. 

Later, Luis took Yui and I floating down La Rio Congrejal! So fun! It was a great day worshiping and spending time in community relaxing. 

Saturday 7.14.12

Today, we spent all day in town. Since Larry came with us this time, it was cool to see how his ministry continues to trickle down the mountain into the lives of the people here in town. As we went through our day purchasing the items, he explained how God had worked through him to create relationships with every individual Yui and I buy from each week. It is challenging to see Larry’s faith in action with these people. God has truly gifted him relationally. While hearing stories of Mario from the market, the family at the Bodega, and the the guy at the chicken feed shop, we also experienced Larry’s friendly presence in town as he was stopped by many people or relatives of lives he’s impacted or been impacted by in the past. The body of believers is truly incredible!

Also on this trip we were also able to talk about some of the goals he has for the discipleship group and his strategy of teaching scripture and immediate application on campus in intentional community. I also asked about how they were dealing with some squatters who are occupying some of their land down the road. This brought a unique case study in which we were able to dialogue about some development strategies and how to better the community in La Cuenca (the general area near campus) by working from an empowerment perspective. I enjoy these conversations and getting to directly apply some of the things I’ve been learning in classes. Development is tough! There are so many unknowns that you can’t prepare for, but dialoguing through different issues here I have been learning a lot!

La Ceiba on a Saturday!

Hello all!

This morning Larry informed us of an opportunity on Monday out with an organization that's getting a local farmer started using the SALT technique! So today we needed to go to the market and get everything. Our time here is short so I won't be able to upload all my journals so I'll just give a brief summary of the week.

After going into town Monday we spent some time around campus cleaning up and after dinner Karla, Jeremiah and I went to get topas (small ice cream type snack) up the road. I enjoy walking the road up through Las Mangas and talking with these new found friends I live with. We have some great conversations about their families and life. Tonight we talked about their views on Alcohol and the standards that Larry and Allison have set for them while they live in this community. It was cool to hear their perspectives and see their maturity as adults and spiritually. When we got back, Yui, Allison and I spent some time together. It continues to be a blessing to have these women to talk things out with and to learn from. The intentional community I am receiving here and Allison's methods of discipleship through relationship have been awesome. Yui and I stayed up a little later and tried to make some lemon grass tea with the lemon grass near our room. After a failed attempt we decided to get Jeremiah to help us later.

Tuesday I learned a lesson on communication. I worked with a farmer named Toyano and through broken spanish we planted some Yuca and created some pepper wholes for later transplants. It was good to get to know Toyano and work with him. At 75 years old, he's still working like a horse! yes, 75! that wasn't a typo! The work ethic of these people continues to amaze me. Since this is a summary, I'll stop there, but this time with Toyano really expanded my take on communication cross-culturally and making sure the job gets done while still keeping those relational ties.

On Wednesday we spent some time with Rubinea again. This is the same lady we helped out last week who is building her house. We moved more Adobe blocks and hauled some sand from the river up the mountain. Rubinea and her family live at the top of this hill...

and this job would have taken them days if we were not able to help. It was wonderful to be able to give them this act of service and to spend time eating with her family again. God bless her and the joy she brings this world.

Thursday Yui and I killed a chicken again. This time, I took the lead in killing, de-feathering, and gutting the chicken. It was a unique experience once again :)

Later that morning we went to the clinic for Joel's appointment with the hand specialist. Jess (a visiting friend) and I got to talk to Dr. John about their dream of expanding their services to more villages off the main road. Jess is very interested in midwifery and it was cool to be part of this conversation. The clinic really wants to work hand-in-hand with the local midwifes. They don't want to mess with the natural system these women have created passing their skill down, but they want to give more education and assistance in emergency situations. This is a great way to approach the community and I was excited to hear about this as an upcoming development. Jess and Karla are talking about doing some interviews with local midwifes and I hope to be part of that next week. Please pray for this development!
ALSO, later that night, BABY ANNA ELIZABETH SMOAKS WAS BORN! Praise the Lord for a healthy and safe delivery. I wish I could express to you the excitement our community has had in welcoming this new baby girl! Thank you for your prayers!

Because Larry and Allison and many of the young people from the discipleship group were busy at the clinic watching Eva and anticipating the birth, Yui and I made sure that everything continued to run smoothly on campus Thursday night and most of Friday. Keeping up with all of the responsibilities and people who help around the property was difficult but brought great growth for both of us and stretched us to use our spanish a little more. Stewardship is always difficult and I thought alot about how we are are to be good stewards of the things God has given us and the gifts, talents, and responsibilities He has blessed us with as children in his kingdom similarly to the way Yui and I were asked to steward what was going on on campus while everyone was away. This day has given me a beautiful picture of what God wants for His children as we wait in anticipation for his return.
Friday night we also had a birthday party for Luis and Anna :) After dinner, everyone went around the table sharing what they appreciate about him. Larry shared that birthdays are for celebrating life and thanking God for the life He has given in that person. Our lives would be so different if we take out even one person from them.

So basically, I'm REALLY enjoying my time here. Its been great to learn from this community and I am excited for the remaining 10 days I have here. At the same time, I can't wait to be back with all of you and apply the things I've learned about relationships, discipleship, development, agriculture and just life in general. I miss you all and I ask that you would continue to keep me in your prayers. Feel free to leave some comments if you ever have questions or anything. I would love to hear from you all!

Praying for you all!

Monday at Dunkin Dooo's

Hello friends and family,

Sorry that I overwhelm you each Monday with my weekly updates. I hope you are still able to enjoy reading it in bulk.

Allison was having frequent contractions this morning and we are hoping for a baby soon! We are gaining a new appreciation for waiting and I have been able to share some of the things I learned in my small group this year about advent. Continue to pray for her as the day gets closer.

I am doing well and really enjoying my time here. Today is shopping day so Yui, Jessica and I are in town getting all of the supplies for the week. I hope all is well with you all and I appreciate your prayers and support while I'm away!

love you all!

Sunday 7.8.12

This morning, I participated in the discipleship group. Though they spoke in spanish the entire time, the Holy Spirit continued to meet me through the language and I was able to learn from Larry’s teaching and understand as many poured out their hearts and shared God’s work in their lives. This community is alive and breathing and I love being part of it. I only wish I knew more spanish so I could fully partake. Afterwards we all ate lunch together and spent some time laughing and talking. Many people felt sick today including Yui, Louis, Karla and even Allison didn’t feel well for a little while. But luckily we had an afternoon of rest and all are relatively well tonight. Hopefully whatever bug that’s going around will avoid me. Pray for the health of our community here mind, body, and soul. 

Saturday 7.7.12

Today we worked on transplanting trees in an area of Larry’s land that used to be a cow pasture. The soil here is very clay like and Larry spends time pouring compost into holes before transplanting his trees from the nursery. We also learned how to transplant vetiver grass and yuca both of which are used in many developing countries. Vetiver grass grows very quickly and is used as great barrier for the SALT method and makes for great forage. We also learned how to make transplant shaders from banana tree trunks (pictures soon to come), and spent some time discussing Larry’s attempts at two fish ponds and his plans for future developments. Along with these topics, we talked about the benefits of green manure cover crops, nitrogen fixers, and composting. Yui and I also got the pleasure of emptying out the urine compost toilet. It is amazing that even our waist can be used to help in the process of fighting hunger (even though this sounds very strange). God has created many natural answers to problems in this world, being educated of these answers is key for developing countries. Today, we used the urine compost on the banana trees. Larry has done research and found that the banana trees take very well to human urine. Though it was a messy job, I loved learning another redemptive quality in creation. Larry always gives us a new perspective on these things. Today he shared about how God can use even our waist to make something flourish and grow. It is cool to gain new perspectives from Larry and I enjoy the way he sees God in everything he does. 

Friday 7.6.12

This morning I helped Allison bake bread for the kids who come every Friday and Saturday afternoon. Larry locked his keys in the car this morning while he was in La Ceiba and was unable to make it back until lunch. So Yui explained some of the concepts she has been able to learn while being here. When Larry returned, we all went to work on some agricultural projects including transplanting God’s way and the SALT method. We spent some time accross the street in one of Larry’s gardens where he taught me the SALT (Slopping Agricultural Land Technology) method. The poorest of the poor farmers are many times marginalized to the mountains where slopping lands are hard to farm on and this technology brings them sustainable methods that will help them. It is used for erosion control and maintaining the nutrient of the soil. By using various barriers, many times trees or tall grasses, erosion builds up and soil is better maintained. When the trees or grasses are big enough, they will be pruned of their forage and placed at the foot of the tree to build up the soil. Farming God's way is a method by which nature is able to do what it was created to do. Larry uses these methods on his plants by giving them forage and compost to maintain the life of the soil. Soil contains layers of micro and macro organisms, each of these give nutrients to the soil and help in the break down process of leaves and forage. When we take a tractor and break up the top level of the home of these organism, we are disrupting the natural progression of the soil and making the organism want to leave. By farming God’s way, we aim to preserve the life in the soil and continue feeding it through forage for mulch and nitrogen fixing cover crops. The life of the soil in many developing countries is suffering. In order to help farmers in these countries have a more sustainable living, we must give back to the soil and rebuilt what has been lost. Many farmers in Honduras use the slash and burn methods and through these methods they are crisping the top layer of this organic matter creating issues for the plant life later. As Larry is working with these local farmers, one can only hope that they would see the vision of better land through these methods and how it could benefit them in their situation. 

Thursday 7.5.12

This morning we visited Instituto Del Rey and the Jungle Hospital clinic just up the road. The Instituto Del Rey is a high school that was established by some local missionaries and is very development minded. The students who attend here are asked to pay 100 limpedas (about $5.00 US dollars) per month. And if they are unable to pay this, they have the option of coming to work on Saturdays. This price was researched and is based on the average cash spent on sodas each month. Leaders figured that if the family wants their children to have a good education, it should be worth giving up sodas. This school has built a reputation with the local universities and many students have been given the opportunity for further education. In Honduras students are only required to complete their math and language competency in order to graduate but at Instituto Del Rey, students must take their education further and gain competency in computers and social studies and many students also receive a certificate of english competency. Many schools in Honduras lack discipline and the students are only required to be in each class for 30 minutes. Here, students are required to be in class 45 minutes at a time creating space for students to develop a sense of discipline. Also, through the christian standards of this instutution, a sense of integrity is formed. Giving students this sense of discipline and integrity continues to equip them for the future in positive ways. Many students are now in Tegucigalpa or San Pedro Sula studying medicine or engineering and two former students are now teaching at the Instituto Del Rey! It is great to see the sustainable work of this school. 

After touring the school, Yui and I pruned a Moringa tree that the school allows Larry to care for and we loaded it onto the truck. When we got back, Yui, Allison and I spent some intentional time together. Allison makes a point to take time out of her week to sit down with us and check in on how we are doing mind, body and soul. This is one of the intentional ways that she disciples us. It was great to get some time talk to these women and I am encouraged by their faith and love for God daily. 

Wednesday 7.4.12

Larry has many connections in the community here and I am constantly amazed at how many relationships he has made and the depth of those connections. It is beautiful to see how the love of God in him and his community here on campus has spilled out onto so many including those we buy groceries from in the city! Today we moved bricks to help a family build a house. The bricks we moved were made with the same technology that Egyptians used, here they call them Adobe blocks (maybe they call them that everywhere? i'm not sure.). These are made by mixing a certain type of sand and mud with water and straw and left to bake in the sun. When they are done baking, they will withstand the elements for years! It is amazing that God has given us such sustainable tools like this in nature! Before we started to work Larry prayed over us, and though this seems like a minor detail, I found it profound. If you do work like this everyday, I'm sure its easy to forget who you're doing it for. I think many times, we can get caught just going through the motions without remembering why we are doing the things God has called us to. Larry’s prayer for God’s presence and joy set the tone for the work that needed to be done. We worked hard, but at the end of the day, we did it for God and His people and we recognized that. The family we worked with have been through many hard times. This family used to live in Las Mangas (Where Larry lives now) as farmers (that’s how Larry first got to know them). After some controversies, their house in Las Mangas was caught on fire in the night. Luckily, the father woke up and all family members were saved though they lost everything but some clothes. They now live on some farming property near La Ceiba (city where we shop) as caretakers for a man who owns a restaurant in the city. A few years back, the father died from a disease Larry believes is linked to a pesticide they were using. They are building their house near by with these bricks and hope to be done in the next 2 weeks. When we were done moving bricks, the mother made us lunch. It was amazing to me the joy of the mother. She has lost her home, her husband, and her family was part of the controversy that set their house on fire in the first place, yet she as she has room in her heart to share a meal with us. Her ability to fight bitterness with joy was amazing and I am blessed to have met her. 

After lunch Stephen (the former intern of Larry's here to visit) took us to a ministry he's worked with which does outreach to street kids. This ministry creates an alternative place for kids to hang out which will help keep them out of trouble and keep them in a safe and life giving environment. These boys are many times found on the streets cleaning windows of cars for cash and are often miss treated by locals or in their schools because their socioeconomic status. The woman giving us a tour shared of many times where they have had the opportunity to advocate for these kids including a story about how the school system is mistreating them and they have been able to speak up for this voiceless population. 

I don’t remember if I’ve shared yet, but I get to pick some of the fruit from our property everyday. We use this fruit in our kitchen and we take it to the market in La Ceiba for trading. The cash crop Larry has includes havanero peppers and passion fruit. Among those, I also pick avocado, breadfruit and guava. This is a fun job I get to take part in everyday and I enjoy the solitude of picking fruit in beautiful Honduras. 

For dinner tonight, we cooked hamburgers and made maizapan (breadfruit) for the 4th of July. As Larry explained why our country celebrates the 4th of July, he gave me a new perspective on the holiday. He shared that though our country has many negative aspects, it was founded by some really amazing people who risked their lives to travel a big ocean for religious freedom. Larry and Allison are wonderful mentors to the young people living here. I am constantly amazed at their intentionality with many daily situations and conversations. Discipleship to them is a lifestyle and I am loving learning this lifestyle as they intentionally pour into those around me and some of it gets to spill into my own life as well. 

Tuesday 7.3.12

Today was full of cultural experiences, Yui and Allison learned how to kill and prepare a chicken, last week. So this morning I helped kill and de-feather a chicken from our chicken hutch! I have never done something like this before but I find it very interesting. When you buy sandwich meat from a store you tend to lose the appreciation for that meat as something that used to be a living and breathing animal. I think all meat eaters should take the time to be part of slaughtering an animal. It will bring a new respect for the amount of meat we consume. We have only had meat about 3 times since I’ve been here. Meat is expensive and unnecessary for ones diet if we learn to find other sources of protein. Larry has planted many sources of protein all along the kitchen, we usually have katuc, moringa, eggs, or chia in our meals which are all stacked with protein! It is cool to see inexpensive ways to get protein other than meat consumption, this is one of the concepts Larry tries to emphasize to the poor in his community. 

I also got to cook on a wood stove (pictured below)! 

These are found in many homes in developing countries. Another alternative to this is a three-stone fire. Three stone fires will bring many issues when used in the home. There have been many issues with these and smoke inhalation; using a wood stove can prevent these issues. Later in the afternoon, the kids came to play and Stephen (a former North American intern of Larry and Allison who now lives in Tegucigalpa working with street kids) and his family came to visit for the next few days. After welcoming them with a round of volleyball, we all ate dinner and Yui and I went out to the river with the boys to learn how to fish in the dark. El Rio cangrejal runs all along the local communities and up the mountain. The boys taught us how to fish with goggles and a flashlight :) There weren’t many fish out due to the bright full moon, but if was a fun experience none the less! 

Monday 7.2.12

When we arrived back on campus from shopping, Yui and I went to Jessica’s house to learn how to make tortillas from her  mom, a well seasoned Honduran woman! She was SO GOOD AT IT! No kidding. It was a blessing to be welcomed into her home and for her to teach us such a skill, I really enjoyed the cultural experience and the new found relationship with Jessica’s mother. We are going to go back soon because she said she wanted to teach us how to make coconut bread! 

Monday 7.2.12 DUNKIN' DONUTS!

Hhhhheeeyyyy, 

The internet access on campus is a little slow making it difficult to blog, so I've been journaling on my computer and we come to a Dunkin Donuts once a week for internet. So FYI get ready for some Monday memos from me :) Along with some recaps from the week.

Today Yui and have been shopping for the groceries in La Ceiba. We live about 30 minutes up the mountain in Las Mangas (a small farming community among other farming communities) and every week we will takes the bus down for any extra groceries we need and some internet access. Its been fun to be in the city, but a little overwhelming at times. I'm very thankful for Yui who has done this 3 times by now and knows the city like the back of her hand! Its so great to have a friend from the states here! 

Allison has been sick the past few days but is feeling better today! Although, not completely recovered, so continue to pray. ADDITIONALLY!!!! She said she had some contractions last night and this morning she was thinking that the baby could be on the way! (I don't know if I meanioned that she's pregnant, but she is! and she's planning on having a home birth.) Please pray for her today. If she doesn't have the baby today, it will be soon :)

I hope all of you are doing well today. I am praying for you constantly and that God will continue to be present in your days. I love you all very much and I am so thankful for your support while I am away. Your prayers have made my time here more enjoyable and I know that without them it would be difficult. Thank you for your support! I hope to write again soon! 

Love you all!

Saturday 6.30.12

Today was a pretty awesome day. I woke up, spent some time to myself and got ready for the day. Everything starts around 7:30 most days, so Larry and I started off the day by going down the road to pick Guava on a property owned by some local missionaries. After Larry climbed the trees shaking the branches to make the ripe guava drop, I gathered them for making jam later. After we gathered guava here, a neighboring farmer offered one of his trees to us for harvesting. So we followed him past his corn field (which had video tape lines across it to scare away bird with the way it reflected the sun as the wind blew it! Appropriate technology at its best!) to a field in the middle of a jungle-like area where there was a guava tree. Larry again climbed and the other farmer and I gathered the guava that fell along the plants below. 

When we were done, Larry and the farmer talked a little in spanish as I managed to pick up a few words (including the purpose of the video tape) and we went back to the property. As we were leaving, the new owner arrived with his two boys along with Papa Jack. Papa Jack is one of Larry’s spiritual fathers so it was a blessing to be able to meet him. 

When we got back to the house, everyone gathered in the kitchen to make jam. This jam is used for a micro enterprise for Larry and his community. The jam is sold locally and taken back to the states to be sold for support. The community here makes a lot of the things in their kitchen from items they grow, including: hot sauce, kefir, ketchup, jam, peanut butter, and much more I am yet to eat or discover. 

After making jam we cleaned up and Yui and I were able to rest for a little while in the hammock room. This was much needed. We stay so busy here and I’ve struggled to find time for myself to recharge. I love living in community and staying busy, but I also need to be intentional in finding time to spend with God and recharging for the events of the day. I am going to try to be more intentional with my mornings as those times, please pray for me to find balance in this. I want to take in so much but I also want to keep myself in the best condition for serving here and being present and to do that I need to find time for Christ and my introverted needs. So yeah, pray for my balance of community and Christ. 

Every Saturday, many young people from around the community are welcomed to campus (we call the community we live on Campus) to spend some time with us playing games and eating snack! Today we had about 21 kids come and play a game called Nuke ‘Em on the volleyball courts. Many of these kids are orphans and though they misbehave at times because of those roots, they were really fun to hang out with today. Some of the interns living with Larry and Allison used to come to these "young people days" to play games and are now being intentionally poured into by the Smoaks. This is one of the ways they have found students to disciple and really feed biblical principles to through intentional community. The intentionality of the discipleship program is unique here and I am enjoying learning from them on a daily basis.  

When the kids left, Yui helped me harvest the areas I have been assigned. One of my responsibilities while i’m here is to harvest some peppers, guava, avocado, passion fruit and anything else they ask me. We use these in the kitchen for our own meals and to barter with our friend Mario in the market. I climbed up into our guava tree out front and tried to jump around as i’d seen Larry do earlier. It was fun. ALSO along with the these plants, we got a bread fruit! This is a fruit I tried in Jamaica and LOVED! Larry said these usually don’t fall until August so I was thinking I wouldn’t get to have it, but God blessed us with one today! When we were done harvesting, Yui and I made dinner. Larry showed us the Honduran way to cook breadfruit- deep frying it until golden brown with salt. It tastes a lot like french fries but with a more interesting texture. It was great. 

Louis came home tonight as well and he, Yui and myself played a little settlers of Catan after cleaning up. Yui won. 

Today was a lot of fun! I am very tired though and wishing I knew more spanish. Pray for me as I translate things. I am struggling at times to know when to try to pay attention and participate in Spanish conversations. There is only so much I can listen to through out the day. Trying to think in 2 languages is tiring, but I am really feeling God redeem all of those tears I've cried struggling to succeed in Spanish. PTL! 

Friday 6.29.12

Today started out with some roosters. The campus here has about 5 roosters and 12 or so chickens. There’s a coop down the hill that I got to tour later on in the day. So about 3am I hear some roosters, I took a breath remembering i’m in Honduras and fell back asleep. I got up about 6:30 to get ready for the day and did my own thing making breakfast and hanging out with Yui at the table before the work day started at 7:30 am. 

Yui is another IWU student who came here about June 5th, she’s a biology pre-med major and is here to learn from Larry in the area of agriculture and just getting some experience for fun.

Larry and Allison are the permanent residents here with their daughter Eva and soon to be new born little girl. I have yet to hear their story of how they got here but I am excited to know those details soon! 

For Breakfast, we are able to make our own meals using anything we find in the kitchen. Today I had an egg, cereal and of course some good strong Honduran coffee. 

After breakfast, Larry with baby Eva in hands took Yui and I across the street to show us which limbs he wanted to use to build some A-frames (trellises) in the gardens. After we took his direction, he set us up with 3 honduran boys as helpers to cut the limbs and transport them to the garden. 

John, Walter, and Harrison (the boys) are orphan boys from a town down the mountain a little ways. Through broken spanish, I managed to find out that Harrison and Walter are brothers and John is their cousin. They were between the ages of 9 and 13 and were helpful at times but also playful and needed a little encouragement to keep working like any pre-teen boys :) 

The boys were very good with the machetes, hitting the mark EVERY time and without their help, Yui and I would have taken twice the time to get the limbs over to the gardens. 

After many hikes up and down the hill where the limbs were, we spent some time in the gardens building the A-frames giving the beans a structure to grow up on. When Larry arrived, he showed me the yams, cucumbers and toropical pumpkin plants. We built a structure for the cucumbers and he also pointed out some recently transplanted Moringa trees. 

Around noon, we took a lunch break and saw Eva and Allison. Allison was sick today so she spent much of the day in the room. Please pray she gets well soon, she is pregnant and due July 16th. Being sick for 2 is not fun. 

After lunch Yui and Jessica made Oatmeal Bread while Larry gave me a tour... If I tried to give all of the details of the tour, I would probably be up all night, but just know that it consisted of living fences, dark green leafy veggies that are used in the kitchen often, prikly pears, coconuts, breadfruit, passionfruit, compost and vermiculture, a home made compost toilet (i haven't used it yet, but soon!), dorms, bamboo patches, tire gardens, more moringa, peppers, a shady old building that used to be lived in but from Hurricane Mitch it is now used as a nursery for plants (my favorite place right now), chicken coop, miraculous volleyball court, study and library, squash and aloe plants, basil, spinach, oregano, lemon grass (which i’ll probably make a cup of tea with in the near future), and the home of some really great brothers and sisters in Christ. The tour was amazing and very fun!

After the tour, Larry went to pick up some local youth who came for some praise and worship, bible study, and games. It was great to see Jessica, one of the Honduran interns, in action discipling these kids from the area (she grew up here and has been an intern for the past year). 

After hanging with the kids and playing some classic monkey in the middle in the rain, we cleaned up and Jessica, Yui and I made dinner. 

Dinner consisted of brocolli, carrots, onions, katuk (dark green leafy vegetable that's high in protein. These are under utilized in the area but have many beneficial nutrients!), eggs and cheese with rice and beans on the side. It was delicious. 

After dinner, we spent some “family time” and everyone on campus (except for sickly Allison and sleepy Eva) came together in the study to watch Faith Like Potatoes. Good movie. I had never seen it, but as always I cried at the end. 

I’m so excited to be here and as my time here continues, I am constantly affirmed in God’s hand on me bringing me here. I know that He is present with me throughout my days and that He has brought me here for a purpose. 

Pray for me as He continues to teach me. I want to be a good student of our ultimate professor. Also pray for the people here, that God would continue to fill them up each day because they give so much of themselves to others in their community. And lastly, pray for Allison’s health. 

Thanks for all of your prayers! I love you all!