Suyapa and Juan Bautista

The last couple days I have met some really neat people. Yesterday, the group that is here was building in Santa Ana and in the next town over in Ojojona. Before the group got up here, my dad, Matt, and three AIMers went on to the house to get it measured out. I did not meet the lady living in the house they were building, but I met her sister Suyapa. She lived in a house that her family has had for 46 years; however, I doubt that there is any 46 year old portion of that home. It was in decent shape though. At least eight people in her family lived there. Suyapa was so hospitible. She offered me and my dad seats. She was cooking something in the back part of her house. If we had stayed longer, she probably would have offered us some food. Suyapa had a little garden in front of her house. I admired the beauty of the flowers. Upon my admiration, Suyapa preceded to hold up a can with the same type of flower in it, and said, "Here this is the same, take it to plant in your garden." I smiled and then rejected her gift because I had no place to put it.

A few hours later, I was back at the house site in Ojojona. One of the guards from Casa de Esperanza was there visiting with the preacher. When we got there he told us someone was in need of a house. When we walked down to look at the area, we visited with Francisco's mother a while, then she joyfully ran into her house and grabbed some bananas to give to my dad. She had the biggest smile on her face, and was so excited to share what she had.

Today, we worked in one of my favorite communities, Los Pinos. No matter how many times I go there, and no matter how long it has been since my last visit, hundreds of kids always remember my name. I think I can go anywhere on that mountain and hear "Nicole!" It is always special to me that the remember my name when they don't see me for years. As soon as they see me they run to me to help me carry whatever is in my hands, to hold my hand, or to simply give me a hug. The kids all found flowers and gave them to me; that was really sweet.

While we were at the house site, Matt, Feesh and I went to the road to wait on the second load of wood. We were told that we would be waiting "20 minutes," but time is relative in Honduras. We were told that about 10:15, and the wood finally arrived at 1:30. Anyways, we were sitting on a rock, and the sun seemed blazing a little more today than other days. After about five minutes, a man across the street brought three chairs from his house and asked if we wanted to sit in the shade. We readily accepted. This man's name was Marco, and his brother's name is Juan Bautista which translates John the Baptist. They were very friendly. They told me that 12 live in their home. After a few minutes they invited us inside, but we told them that we had to be able to see the truck. At the house, was Sofia, Oscar, and Miguel. Sofia was the the daughter of Marco, Miguel was the daughter of Juan Bautista, and I am not sure if Oscar was Juan and Marco's brother or one of their son's. Nevertheless, the three little ones were incredibly ticklish. Miguel laughed even at the thought of being tickled.

I am always amazed at the generousity of the people I come into contact with here. I am continuously reminded by them to be content with what I have and not to worry because God always provides.

I would also like to ask prayers for the family of Marco and Juan Bautista because none of them go to church. I pray that they can be reached by the church in that community and fall in love with Jesus.