Accidents and Providence

Today (Saturday) we had school to make up for some of our missed school. Two of my closest friends and I decided to go out for a movie and sushi to celebrate our survival of the Week That Would Not End. I figured I wouldn't need to bring my cell phone because I was with these two and anyone else who might call could leave a message. Besides, one of my friends had her phone, so we wouldn't need both hers and mine. (We try to roll without purses as much as possible.) We invited another friend, but he opted out.

On the taxi ride to the movie we got into a minor accident. We hit the car in front of us at maybe 45 mph. It was pretty bizarre because we all realized we were about to hit, and then a split second later I thought "Ooh, this is going to be bad..." I turned my face into my friend and began to burrow/hide when we crashed into/under the car in front of us. We heard the windshield shatter and then fumes started filling the car.

We all got out fine and some very sweet, concerned Hondurans on the side of the road were asking us if we were ok. We all got little bumps and bruises and I messed my thumb up somehow, but nothing serious.

There was so much that evidenced God's protection and sovereignty over this situation. Firstly, we had no seatbelts to be wearing. I was in the middle backseat and, according to Newton's First Law of Motion (inertia--I just taught a unit about it), I should have been thrown forward. But I wasn't. Also, none of us were in the front passenger seat. If our friend has joined us, he would have sat up front and could have seriously injured his long legs against the dashboard. (Not to mention the lack of an airbag.) There was also no car that crashed into us from behind, and given our speed, we all walked away in good shape.

Here's the best part: As we were collecting ourselves on the side of the road, an IST employee pulled up just moments later and picked us up. It turns out my friend hadn't brought her phone either, but this woman had hers and knew the numbers we had to call. We debated going to the hospital but decided to give it some time, and it turns out this woman was going to the same mall we were. We weren't even that much of an inconvenience! We went ahead with our plans for dinner and a movie to give ourselves some time to relax and unwind a little. Given the circumstances, the three of us are very aware of the depth of God's protection over us.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

**Just found out Leslie's (my roommate who was also in the accident) pastor felt the need to pray for her yesterday afternoon...

WORLD CUP 2010, BABY!!!!!!

Tonight's win depended both on Honduras beating El Salvador AND the US beating or tying Costa Rica. Honduras won 1-0 but the US was down 2-1 for most of their game. At the VERY last possible moment, the US scored a goal TYING the game and sending Honduras to the World Cup!!!!!!!!! If only you could hear the cheers and fireworks erupting right now. Honduras is finally united again in celebration. As my friends and I walked home, we were greeted by cheers, shouts of thanks, and declarations of love for the USA. But this was all Honduras. They've earned this victory.

And now Micheletti has declared tomorrow a national holiday so we can all celebrate safely. Beautiful.

(For the record, My heart does still feel for Costa Rica and am hoping they'll pull through against Uruguay. Then life would be absolutely perfect.)

Mom and Pops

I began this evening feeling really overwhelmed and frustrated with certain circumstances in my life, but now, thanks to my parents' logical practicality and youthful sense of humor, I am smiling again and back to work. (We've got a 6-day week this week as we struggle to make up for lost time. That's what I get for bragging about all our unexpected time off!)

Though I'll be the first to admit my history of frustration and irritability at my parents' teasing, I think I can appreciate it a little more as I get older. (Though they will probably be the first to tell you I still don't "appreciate" it enough...)

Mom and Dad, I miss you. Please don't ever stop teasing me.

And don't quote that back to me any time soon. :o)

Community

School went well today but I've started to feel frustrated with our inconsistent school schedule and the effect it is having on my class. I have students of all abilities and it's been incredibly difficult trying to catch everyone up to the same page, given many manditory and voluntary student absences.

Anyway, today I processed with a friend, and it really helped me to give voice to my deeper thoughts. Then after my roommate and I caught each other up on the day, she got me a treat from our local panaderia (bakery) as a day-brightener. I also got a very sweet, encouraging email from the friend I processed with. Finally, I just got a call from the mother of our Honduran family who live below us. She excitedly asked if I was home and told me she had something for me. I went down to meet her and she handed me a warm and delicious surprise gift of yucca frita. She remembered it's one of my favorites.

This has been the BEST bad day ever. :o)

Suspension of Rights

An email I received today:

U.S. Embassy Tegucigalpa
Avenida La Paz
Tegucigalpa, Honduras

To: All American Citizens
From: American Citizens Services Unit, Consular
Section
Date: September 28, 2009
Subject: Warden Message - State of Exception Imposed

The Embassy advises citizens residing in and visiting Honduras that the
de facto regime issued a decree suspending certain rights under the
Honduran constitution on Sunday, September 27, 2009. This decree
affects all people in Honduras, including non-Hondurans. Specifically,
the following articles of the Honduran Constitution have been suspended
for the next 45 days (until November 11, 2009):

Article 69: The right to personal freedom
Article 72: Freedom of Speech
Article 78: Freedom of Association
Article 81: Freedom of Movement
Article 84: The right to due process _

For the next 45 days, the defacto regime has stated that the local and
national police, at times to be assisted by the military, will arrest
individuals for the following reasons:

* Disobeying announced curfew, or appearing to engage in
suspicious activities
* Gathering in public without prior approval from police and
military forces
* Carrying out media announcements violating the law or government
resolutions , or offending human dignity or any public official

The de facto regime has also stated the following:

* Individuals that are arrested for violating the above listed
restrictions will be detained
* All public installations which are occupied by demonstrators or
which are occupied by persons carrying out activities prohibited by law
will be cleared

The U.S. Department of State continues to strongly recommend that
American citizens defer all non-essential travel to Honduras as these
new restrictions will be in effect throughout Honduras, and may be
extended beyond the 45 days originally announced.

The de facto regime has been imposing a curfew of varying time periods
affecting various cities throughout Honduras since Monday, September 21.
It is expected that this practice will continue for the foreseeable
future. The Embassy recommends American citizens monitor local
television and radio for
updates to constitutional and travel restrictions and other security
measures. The Embassy strongly recommends that American citizens abide
by these restrictions.

Barring a change in the security situation or the imposition of a
daytime curfew, the Embassy and the Consular Agency in San Pedro Sula
will remain open to the public. Non-immigrant visa services remain
suspended for all but emergency medical cases.

Honduran airports re-opened September 24 for domestic passenger flights
and international cargo and mail flights. Most International passenger
flights resumed on Friday, September 25. Those whose flights were
cancelled due to the curfew should contact their airlines for further
information.

The Honduras Mess

After 60+ hours of curfew, which has now (thankfully) been restricted to afternoon/evenings, this is the best article I have found on the situation here. (The rest all seem to be heavily biased in favor of Mel and are seriously inaccurate.)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204488304574427403985118892.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

School was canceled for a couple days because of the curfew, and yesterday I only had 15 out of my 26 students. I asked them if when we prayed together any of them would want to add anything, or if they would rather I pray for us all. They smiled and (awkwardly) looked around at each other for a moment, nobody saying anything. I explained that either way was fine as long as they prayed along in their hearts and asked them again if any of them, given the chance, might possibly want to add to my prayer out loud. One of my boys asked if they could pray in Spanish ("YES!") and then a bunch of hands went up, most of them volunteering to pray. It was so good and sweet and encouraging. Thank you guys, too, because I know Honduras has been in your thoughts and prayers and you are joining with us in seeking peace for the people here.

38 hour lockdown

We're on hour 27 of 38 and we're all going a little crazy by now. The teachers have a list going around and I thought you might enjoy it.

Some ideas for staying in:

sleep
count the number of drip spots in your ceiling
do some plyometrics
pilates anyone?
bake something delicious and share it with your watchyman
Speed Read
sleep
do some jumping jacks
color a picture
write a card to all new North American teachers
bake something else and hoard it cause who knows what food we might have to save (kidding)
knit a quilt for those cold nights.
use the bathroom while the water still works.
play hide and seek.
play body body.
extreme dance party (with candles.)
write a novel about being under a curfew.
run in circles.
plant a garden.
clean your house because lela will probably never actually come back.
start naming insects in your house.
make bottlecap magnets for your fridge.
lay out in your courtyard without sunscreen.
wax the ceiling
drop a cat from a high place.
catch a cockroach and make it to a pet. and give it a leash.
sharpen your teeth.
braid your roommate's hair.
research the holy roman empire.
clean and polish your belly button
wash a tree (but only if it's inside).
mow the grass with scissors.
weave a carpet out of insect legs.
whine.
listen to a painting.
sweat.
try to draw a map of where everything is in Tegucigalpa
imitate the vendors that yell in your neighborhood (we miss their voices)
decorate your room
start digging a tunnel to the other houses (naranja, im half way there, any progress on your side?)
declare war on the ants in your kitchen
talk to the watchyman
update all the worried family memebers in the states.
invent something
play cards
make pancakes in the shapes of your roommates initials
write a letter
craft something, anything
drink way too much coffee and see if that helps your cabin fever
read for fun
quote movies
actually memorize your cell phone number
clean out your fridge
make up new recipes with the random food you have left in your house
learn spanish
decorate using Francisco Morazan
speak without using the letter e
make a liquado without milk or yogurt or juice
wash your hands in the pila because you don't have running water
polish your engagement ring
try 6 times to upload pictures to a facebook album... and still fail
sneak out of your house to go to a closed pulperia
enjoy the silence
watch cows walk up your road
fill your toilet with water from the pila in order to flush it because you still don't have water
form a girl band and make a music video
read in the hammock
plan all vacations for the rest of the year with your Lonely Planet Guidebook
bake bread
verbally encourage your tomatoes to grow in your garden
finish Gilmore Girls Season 1
plan a wedding
base your worth on how many people comment on your facebook status
look up uglydresses.com and try not to throw up in your mouth
kill a chincha
talk to your housemates on gchat even though you are within speaking distance
argue with pulperia man to make him give you his last 3 bottles of agua azul
have an in-depth conversation about which country the Little Mermaid takes place in
come up with witty quotes for your newly-added quote board
watch R. Kelly's Trapped In The Closet
follow minute-by-minute updates on Honduran politics
attempt to watch all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls before curfew is over (WE are starting season 4)
take a shower using a saucepan
wage an epic battle against a honduran hornet
make a design using thousands of colored tally marks
count the number of cracks in your styrofoam ceiling
play hide and seek with your houserat
update your blog and read other blogs obsessively
see who can kill more red ants in a day
then see who can count more different kinds of ants you having living with you
build a fort in your living room
sit on your balcony and watch the lightning
seriously contemplate hardcore parkour routes on your neighbors' roofs
look up song lyrics in Spanish
play indoor soccer
try to do EVERYTHING that EVERYONE has recommended
make a list of suggestions to pass along
Defrag. computer before 11pm.
Develop an evacuation plan titled, "Get the white people out of here"
Write a Christmas list.
Boil extra water. And then some.
Put extra floor wax on the floor and have a skating party.
Email last love letters b/c you don't know when you'll have electricity again. (Marnie)
Write a love letter by candle light. Que romantico!
Make a castle with a deck of cards- just remember that all fans must be turned off. Unless you want to designate someone as the blocker.
Find and or make your Halloween costume, its only a month away.
Instruct a Chepes class.
Count out your Honduran change to find out how many Choco. bananas you can purchase when we escape.
Develop a trap for geckos just in case we run out of food.
Have a massage train with your house mates and guests.
Have a slumber party where ever you end up falling asleep.
Reminiscence of snow days but frown when you realize that at least during snow days you can have fun outside.