Ok. ready? Here we go!
Wednesday was a VERY special day. Growing up Southern Baptist, I quickly learned about the Lottie Moon Christmas offering and how important it was because it helped the IMB missionaries around the world.
Being here in Copan, I have had the awesome pleasure of getting to know and hang out with some real live missionaries, Billy and Mary Collins, who gave up their life in the USA to spend their time here loving on, educating, helping, and serving the people of Honduras. It has been so awesome to get to know them. They are hilarious and need their own T.V. show!
I thought my parents would really enjoy getting to see what real live missionaries that they support with their Lottie Moon Christmas offering do too, so I asked them if we could tag along one day. Wow. What a treat. Mary (unfortunately Billy had a dentist appt and couldn’t come!) took us up to their agricultural center where they have a farm of all sorts of plants and trees, a stove project (more on that in a minute), and goats. They use this center as a teaching ground to show the people who live in the surrounding villages how to wisely plant, grow, harvest, and store their own food, in hopes of helping with the hunger issue that is so prevalent in the villages.
If a man can successfully grow a crop of corn (which Hondurans use for everything!) then Billy and Mary will provide them a silo (pictured to the right) for storing their corn. These cisterns can store enough corn for a year!
If a man can do this correctly for a year, Mary and Billy will give his family a stove for their home, in order to make cooking easier and to provide more options!
Billy and Mary also have goats on the farm for their milk. I questioned “why goats instead of cows” and the reasons were endless-less to feed, better milk, use their manure for fertilizer, etc. etc. etc. Crazy. I am so amazed at their knowledge and practicality for the village people. In order for someone in the villages to be given a goat for their family, they have to successfully grow and harvest corn for a number of years, have been given a silo, have been given a stove, and proven responsible in the ag project. (I think I am remembering the numbers and requirements correctly, but forgive me if I am not!) I love that Billy and Mary are teaching and that what they are teaching will continue to go on once they have left. One mother goat had just given birth 3 days before so we got to see the sweet new baby goats!
After our tour of the farm, we got to visit a house at the AG center where Marta showed us what she does at least 3 times a day—make tortillas. She grinds up corn and adds a little water to make a dough type mixture. Then she toasts them on her little stove to provide the staple of tortillas for her family. Super cool.
Following the tour of the AG center, Mary took us with her to a Bible Study she was doing in a village that afternoon. My parents were amazed at the roads she drives on to get to these villages, as was I! Just look at what we crossed to get there!
The Bible study was really neat though. We met in the school house. It seemed like everyone from the village showed up in their best clothes to come and listen. It amazes me to think that that might have been those peoples FIRST time ever hearing the stories of Jesus. How much I take for granted that I have known these 
stories since birth basically, that can read and that I can read the Bible. It truly is such a gift. It was awesome to get to be a part of that. The people are just beautiful. I made a baby cry—I don’t think he had ever seen anyone that looked like me, but I loved being there in the midst of all these children of God that were hearing the story of their Father for the first time. Wow. It gives me goose bumps.
We crossed a river coming in and had to fight some cows to 
get out of Rio Amarillo. But it wasn’t Mary’s first time herding cows with her car, and she got those big fellas out of the way. :)
I am so thankful we got to go and see their work first hand. It does give me a new appreciation for missionaries and a greater understanding of why my church encourages the Lottie Moon offering so much every year—so people all around the world can hear the story of Jesus for the first time! There is no price for that!
After the amazing day, we took the padres to get the PB&J of Honduras—a baleada. A baleada is basically a folded tortilla, refried beans, salty cheese, and crema inside, and MAN, these people can eat some baleadas. It’s like bagel bites—baleadas in the morning, baleadas in the evening, baleadas at super time, and whenever else you eat. :) but they are super cheap and filling, so I can understand why!
Thursday—our last day together was also another incredible day. This is long and there are a lot of pictures, but I think it is worth the read :)
I have written about my 2 students, Kensy and Milton, who live in a surround village called La Pintada. Well, I wanted to take my parents to this village to meet Milton, Kensy and their friends, to show them what a real aldea looks like, and also to put my dad to work again as a clown for these kids who probably have never seen a clown! We loaded up 2 moto-taxi’s and drove up the mountain to La Pintada, stopping outside of Kensy’s house (pictured above).
As we walked through the village, kids just started following us…probably because we were 3 gringos and a clown, but it was awesome. The kids were so excited! It was hard to keep the kids from piling on top of Rip!
Another cool part of visiting La Pintada is that we got to meet the local village school teacher, Nelson. I am so happy that La Pintada has a teacher like him. I do not know much about him, but I know that he moved to the village to teach them, that he was there playing with the kids when they did not have school, and that he brought us Coke :) All of those things make me extremely happy that La Pintada has Nelson. He even learned how to do that spinny-thing trick!
Now some pictures for your viewing pleasure :)
My dad and Milton sporting his new balloon hat!
Milton learning how to do the spinny-trick thing! All the kids loved this and wanted to learn how to do it!
Two sweet little boys with their “espadas” (swords!)
I had asked my parents to bring down some soccer balls because the soccer balls the children use in Honduras are like small, hard plastic. My uncle so generously donated balls and a pump to some kids in Honduras. I was able to give one to the school teacher to the kids to use during school and one to Milton. He seemed pretty excited! Thanks Uncle T!
La Pintada has opened a restaurant in the village for tourists, and Kensy’s mom is the cook! (she is also the cook at this expensive hotel (their sign is pictured below) located near La Pintada, so you know she has to be good!)She makes delicious food so we decided to support her and get lunch at her restaurant after the show. It was great! Dad kept on his clown gear too :) He said he broke a clown rule—eating with a face on! That’s ok! It was worth it!
Instead of moto-taxing it again, we decided to walk back to the pueblo from La Pintada so we could experience what Milton and Kensy have to do every morning to catch the bus—an hour walk. (probably in the dark for them…they are in 2nd grade by the way.) Don’t you just love this family picture we stopped to take? :)
During Semana Santa, everyone goes to the river. Its like going to the lake or July 4th—its what you do! So…as we walked by the river, EVERYONE stared at us with smiles and screamed PAYASO (clown, in Spanish!). So fun! Dad loved it and just kept waving to everyone! I mean, its not everyday you see a clown walking by the river in Copan!
When we got back to Copan, we saw they were starting to work on their carpets for Semana Santa. They were equally as incredible as the ones in Antigua! And they were huge! To the right is a picture of the bags filled with colored sawdust and below are the carpets being built!
I am so thankful that my parents could come and visit. But even more than that, I am so thankful that my parents would come and visit. How blessed am I that my parents would travel MILES, run through airports, pack heavy bags mostly filled with things for me and Hondurans, eat strange foods, ride on uncomfortable buses, sweat, walk a lot, and give up a week of their life to just to visit me!? That is awesome and I am so thankful for that :)
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