Archimedes, the Ancient Greek scientist, once said, “with a lever and a fulcrum large enough, I could move the world”. Little could he predict that a little chocolate bean could mean the difference between an independent living here in Honduras, or labor little better than slavery. Needless to say, we know where we’re getting our chocolate now!!
Nancy tested positive for Covid about a week ago. Thanks be to God and vaccines, our symptoms have been almost negligible: a cough here and there, needing another nap, etc.
Quarantine proved to be the biggest challenge: after a long enough time at home, one feels a creeping sense of uselessness. The suspicion that one is just “mooching” becomes a regular, though unreasonable, nuisance. The key for us in such doldrums is to remember that we are demonstrating love for our neighbors by reducing their risk and humility by obeying the doctor’s advice. Or as a Valaam monk once said, “don’t just do something, stand there!!”
Note: Everyone has tested negative and all are doing well.
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors
were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” -John 20:19
Nancy went shopping today, leaving the keys on a dresser outside of a room the kids and I were in. While this was done purposely, she accidentally locked a screen door to said room from the outside. With I having no access to the keys or front door, and the front door locking automatically from the inside, Nancy returned from her shopping to find us locked in and her locked out. By the grace of God, Lauren, our director, just happened to be driving by and just happened to have a spare set of keys!
To celebrate the beginning of classes here in Juticalpa, my
building principal gave me this cute hand-made figure…or a clear message as to
what I’m supposed to do here!!!
-Jacob
At
the end of a week, right as I (Jacob) got home, I was greeted by an
official-looking fellow saying he had received an order to cut our power. We’d
never received a bill or notice, and the foundation told us they’d paid it for
the month. The power guy said they hadn’t received it. So here we sit with no
lights, no fan, no means of recharging, nada. Not our fault, and still our
problem. While this certainly pales in comparison to the trials of Job, I
noticed a similar theme: unmerited tribulation. The whole book of Job flips the
just-world hypothesis on its head, inviting us beyond a world of rewards and
punishments into a greater world of mercy and humility.
Stores
in Juticalpa are generally closed on Sunday, and the power is known to fail at
times. It's something new to have to "slow down" and be in the
present moment at a moment's notice. The silence is awkward at first as one's
mind struggles to "fill the void" with more: things to
do, say, buy, and post. After a while, a kind of acceptance sets in. Fr. Thomas
Keating once said, "silence is the language of God, everything else is a
poor translation". The spontaneity keeps one from chalking the insights
found in these moments up to oneself.
A park just around the corner from our home proved to be an ideal place to take Santi, he was getting a little stir-crazy just being at home settling in. What I didn’t expect was just how much attention he and I would get from a pack of other kids that were playing there too.
-Jacob
