time

Time. Only one moment of it exists at a time. At each moment, everything that is is the only thing that is. Each moment is a miracle -- the unfolding of creation. Because nothing beyond that moments exists, or has ever existed!

Bonito

What a day! I am completely worn out, my body is just exhausted from all the walking we did and I have a headache. We were up early and walked to Chito & Rosa's to catch a bus to Bonito Oriental (aka Carbonales) -- but despite how early we thought we were, we didn't get there until about 9:45. Went to the bank first, then dropped some mail off, then did some shopping. First, vegetables. Then Prairie remembered she needed to buy pens, so we did that. And I remembered we needed a new ax handle, so we did that. Then cheese and fruit. Finally we made it to the internet around 11 or so. Prairie wanted us to catch the noon bus out of town because we had to stop in Limón before going back to the monastery. And with a slow computer, I didn't get nearly as much done on the internet as I'd hoped. Oh well. When the bus came (more like 12:30), Prairie flagged it down while I paid at the internet café and then walked straight out the door and onto the bus! We got lucky that it was one of the few buses that actually goes all the way into Limón rather than stopping at the end of the 4km turnoff. It was the dustiest bus ride ever! And so long... I had to cover my mouth and nose with a damp hanky just so I could breathe.

We were only in Limón for about a half an hour, and then we headed out, this time walking the whole way to Chito & Rosa's -- no jalóns today. We rested there for a while and ate our oranges, then continued on our way to our desvío. By now it was somewhere around 4pm, which meant we wouldn't get home until around 5. A pickup truck passed us and waved a greeting, but didn't stop, and Prairie lamented because it was someone she knew, and he was going in our direction, probably down our desvío. Well, when we got to the desvío, he was returning from it and stopped to apologize for not giving us a ride, but that he had been hauling trash and wasn't going to make us sit among the trash bags! We kept walking. But a few minutes later, we heard a car again, and it was him! Coming back to pick us up! He must have found it in his heart after all. I was SO grateful!!! He took us almost all the way to where the quebrada crosses the road, about 3/4 of the way to the monastery. I was so hot and tired, I think I would have expired on the way back if we hadn't gotten that jalón...

The butterfly

Through the streaked layer of dirt
on the thick window
of the bus,
Against a wall
of green foliage
laden with dust,
There soars a butterfly.

Not even the grit
and dinginess
of its surroundings
can dull
its bright orange
radiance.

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5)

Quebrada hike

"quebrada" means "creek." it also means "broken."

Today, Prairie decided it would be a good idea to visit the neighbors and take them our chicken-feed corn. And we figured it was closer to go by way of the creek than through Lencho's property. So, we set out. Well, as it turns out, there is a Y in the creek, and as you can guess, we didn't know which way to go! The barbed wire fence ran across it, and we decided to stay on "our" side of the fence. But after a while, we felt like we were getting farther away from where we thought their house was (although we didn't honestly know quite where we were!). And then the creek turned it what really seemed like the wrong direction. Hm. So, we went back to the Y and went the other way. It was even worse! The creek was smaller and the banks were muddier and steeper. The whole time we were clambering over logs and roots and hacking our way through the branches and other vegetation. We gave up when the way became impossible -- impassible.

We hadn't gotten very far on our way back when my toe caught on a stalk of grass laying across the ground --ouch! Got a nice little slice across the front of the big toe on my right foot. Well, that make the hike back a bit less enjoyable, and definitely more urgent. Luckily, it's not very deep, but it still stung! And there was still lots of grass, mud, and branches to go through to get back. I was thankful every chance I had to walk in the water. So my toe now has a nice little bandage on it. Prairie was smart and had worn her rubber boots, but we hadn't expected the trail to be so difficult! That is to say, we had thought there would more of a trail...Next time, we'll go through Lencho's and maybe come back by the creek. Maybe not...

the beginning of an answer

God:

You are wisdom, light, truth,
bringer of wisdom, light, truth.
You are joy, love, hope
and the bearer of joy, love, hope.
You are spirit of life,
breath of life,
source of life.
You are birther, nurturer, comforter.
You are the ancient one--a rock
You are a child--energy, wonder
You are a builder of bridgers,
and a bridge, too.
You are an infinite ocean
vaster than any mind can comprehend.
You are the sustainer of life,
the rhythm of life,
hearbeat of the universe.
You are a light on our path
you are the path.
You guide us through changes
you are change,
movement,
spinning us in circles,
through our cycles of existence.
You are the fiber of my being.
of everything.
And you call us to discover
our wholeness in you
in us.

Moonglow

Lat night, I looked up and saw a tree that was sparkling. It looked like there were little balls of light resting on its branches and leaves! Like fireflies, only they didn't blink; they swayed with the breeze. And I realized that it was droplets of light from the moon! Glorious.

waiting and walking

People do a lot of waiting around here. waiting for buses, for jalóns, for anything to happen... Today we waited around outside of Andrés's store for maybe an hour, along with about 20 other people. Just waiting. I watched two drunk men stagger around and then sit down on a bench together. Finally, we decided to begin walking, joined by Francisco's family again--his wife Santos Emilia and a few of their children. One of the drunk men kind of tagged along with us, and when a bus finally did come by, he got on, too. When I made a comment about the "drunk guy" to Prairie, she informed me that it was Francisco himself! I could barely believe it. He was almost completely unrecognizable to me. It's rather depressing, and makes me feel sorry for his wife and children (there are 8 of them!) who have to deal with a husband and father who gets drunk every time he goes to town. Luckily, I don't think they make the trip into town very often...

Seeds

Yesterday morning, we planted some seed bags and pots. 3 tomatoes, 3 peppers, some sage, basil, and coriander. It was a very satisfying activity. I enjoy simple gardening, working with creation. And it was something that could be started and finished in one sitting, involved a variety of tasks, and used a different part of the brain than, say, reading. And, it will (hopefully) bear edible results! It just felt good.

Cookies, Corn, and Cards

Feliz cumpleaños, Pradera! Today was Prairie's 26th birthday.

We did some gardening around the house this morning--I transplanted some lemongrass. But, for most of the morning, and most of the rest of the day, I was sorting corn. The corn we bought in Tocoa the other week was pretty bad--I spent the day crushing weevils and picking out kernels that had holes in them (where the weevils like to hang out). Hopefully now though the corn won't get much worse, since the majority of the bugs are out.

After lunch I brought out the gifts for Prairie--dried apricots, a chocolate-espresso bar, and a deck of cards. Yay. At dinner time, I got to make molasses crinkles! This being rural Honduras, they were a little different than what you might be used to. We had no shortening, just oil. And no brown sugar, just a form of solidified molasses called rapadura. But they came out just fine! Mmm, mmm!

In the evening, we played cards in the lamplight. It rained for a while, so hard that we could barely hear each other talk! The only interesting game we could remember was Rummy 500. I won by 300 points...

Grapefruit and chicken feet

Another long Monday, but a good day. And, it rained last night--finally! hooray. It is so loud when it rains hard--it kept me awake, along with my needed to go pee...

It was a slow day at Centro de Salud, but at the one moment when someone actually showed up with a prescription to be filled, Prairie wasn't in the room, and I was expected to do it! I felt so helpless--I couldn't read the doctor's handwriting to know what the medicines or dosage instructions were, I didn't know where to find them on the shelf, and I couldn't rip the tape to make the labels. Sigh. But I survived.

After getting our mail, we went to visit Gloria, a good friend of Prairie and Beth's. She fed us grapefruit! What a treat! We don't get much of that around here. And then she gave us lunch. I wasn't very interested in the "sopa de pato" (chicken-foot soup), so I had mostly broth with vegetables. Prairie gave me one of her chicken toes to try...it was enough.

On the way home, we walked with a family--a father (Francisco) and three older children--who live about 2 hours farther down the road to La Fortuna from us.

Wandering

I am wandering
in the pre-dawn light
of a cloudy day.
for I am not in total darkness,
but I have not come into full being
or understanding.
it is grey. and dim.

But
when the sun does finally rise,
it will be all the more glorious
for the clouds.
They may obscure the light
delay the daybreak

and make the search for truth more difficult,
But the most beautiful sunrises occur
when the clouds are illuminated
in hues
of pink, orange, and purple,
yellow against steel blue
And we revel in God,
the light of life.

Swinging with God

Here's a poem I wrote in El Pino after watching a young girl on a swing:

It only takes a few pumps of the legs
and arms
and then you're off.

Sometimes,
when you're small,
a push from a parent helps.
sometimes all it takes is a friend
your same age.

Arms, legs, and body working together,
you ride higher
and begin to soar.

Then, you can relax into the rhythm
and enjoy your flight
on the wings of the spirit.

When you descend,
calmly
back to solid ground
and dismount--
perhaps with a leap of joy--
your life goes on
and the swing stays behind,
swaying
waiting to carry its next soul
to freedom.

back to the mountain

so now it's back to the mountain with my sister. while Beth was here, I kind of felt like I was in a holding pattern, waiting for her leave so my experience could really begin. For the first 2 weeks it was mostly just me following their lead, tagging along--which felt appropriate, but I was getting tired of it. the dynamic will be very different with her gone, with just my sister and I. I'm looking forward to it, and hope we can get along without getting sick of each other for the next 6 weeks! We'll be back in town in a few weeks and I'll write more updates then. For now, you can look at my pictures on facebook: http://stolaf.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037363&l=d5e68&id=40401366

adios, beth

We are in El Pino and La Ceiba to see Beth off for her trip to the States. That means that we traveled to El Pino on Monday and spent the night here, before putting Beth on the bus bright and early Tuesday morning. Prairie and I spent Tuesday and Wednesday mornings helping with the children's feeding and pre-school program that the El Pino Methodist church runs. Tuesday was their first day. Hah! What chaos! First, we helped sort beans. Then, the kids arrived and immediately started crying and yelling because they didn't want their mommies to leave. I had planned to help out in the classroom with the 5 and 6 year-olds, since I have more experience with children age 6 and up. Well, the teacher asked me if I could help with the 3-year-olds instead (of which there were 15), because it was their teacher's very first day ever and she could use the help! So I did. Or at least, I tried. I didn't really know what to help her with though, since she wasn't giving any instructions. So mostly I just tried to comfort the five children who wouldn't stop crying--I succeeded with one of them! The same thing pretty much happened on Wednesday, although not as many children were crying as loudly for as long of a time. One sobbing little boy peed on the floor. And when I picked him up for a moment on our way to lunch, I discovered a stinky mess on his leg--and then on my dress... It was frustrating to see how little control the teachers had over the children, especially the one I was working with, who seemed at a loss for what to do. She'll be in my thoughts as the program continues...

the sound of water

I like the way the water tank sings as droplets fall into it. Each one has a different sound that rings, as if in a great silent chamber, a cathedral, or a cave; a holy place.