The medical and carpentry team left yesterday morning. All 22 of them! And what a great team they were. They were supposed to arrive last Sunday, but a major screw up with the airline was to put them on the plane on Sunday evening instead of morning. By Sunday evening, though, Michigan was getting slammed with snow, so the airports all closed. And stayed closed on Monday, too. Finally, they were able to fly out on Tuesday morning.
So, we did what we could: rearrange the days for the medical brigades in the villages. The cool thing is that only one village had to be postponed until March. We were able to divide the team one day to allow us to serve two villages in one day. All in all, the team saw more than 1300 people in 3 days, among 4 villages. That's a lot of scabies and lice! And other things like high blood pressure, diabetes, ulcerated wounds, congestive heart failure, etc.
It wasn't just the medical team that rocked. The carpenters did an incredible job of building lots of much needed storage shelves/containers for the school and whole ministry. Then, when they finished that, they made lots of school desks for us. Yes, the Hondurans here were mighty impressed with all that they accomplished ~~ in just THREE days!
I'll be posting some photos here and on Facebook, but just wanted to take a few minutes to write and let you know that I haven't forgotten you.
Our internet has also been a bit flaky since Friday. We had several hours where we had mini shortages of electricity, only 3 or 4 seconds long, but just long enough to do damage. Ugh! If it's not one thing, it's something else. Right now, I've got a band-aid internet solution in place, but we won't be able to use that for the school tomorrow.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Shakin' Out the Bugs...
I'll bet that most of you have never had to shake the bugs out of your popcorn or beans. Here, it's just part of the territory.
After I got back in January, I went to the little store in the mercado that sells the big bags of popcorn. It's where we buy the 100 pound bags that we use in the Center. Normally, I just buy some of the popcorn out of a new bag when the ministry gets one. However, the Center was still closed and they wouldn't be buying any for a while, so I bought 5 lbs. of popcorn. I got home and got out my colander to shake out the bugs. I knew that there would be some of the little weevils in the popcorn that also show up in the beans. I call 'em "bean bugs", but they are a weevil of some type.
It didn't take long to shake out the popcorn and get it put in the cupboard in a couple of Tupperware containers. But it doesn't stop there. About two weeks ago, before popping some corn, I figured it was time to shake out the bugs again because more of the weevils would have hatched. I was right. I spent a few minutes shaking out the bugs before popping more corn. And tonight I did the same thing.
But tonight, I expanded the search and destroy mission. I had half a bag of store bought red beans in the cupboard and figured that they should probably be shaken out, too. I was right. Although store bought bags of beans don't typically have as many weevils as those we buy up near the lake, I knew that there would still be some larvae in the beans when they were picked, sorted and bagged.
Store bought beans are typically cleaner, with very few pebbles in them, but the flavor of the beans we buy at the side of the road up near Lago de Yojoa is far superior. The downside, of course, is that the Lake beans have way more bean bugs and need to be shaken out and sorted much more diligently than their store bought counterparts. For me, the trade off is worth it.
All that shaking and sorting tonight got me thinking... I'm sure that the Honduran women are not quite as meticulous when it comes to sorting their beans. I know they work to get rid of the pebbles and dirt clods, but I'm sure that lots and lots of weevils make it into the pot. Extra protein? I guess I shouldn't think about it too much!!
On a whim, I just googled 'bean weevils'. Lots of info there. Go ahead, give it a try.
After I got back in January, I went to the little store in the mercado that sells the big bags of popcorn. It's where we buy the 100 pound bags that we use in the Center. Normally, I just buy some of the popcorn out of a new bag when the ministry gets one. However, the Center was still closed and they wouldn't be buying any for a while, so I bought 5 lbs. of popcorn. I got home and got out my colander to shake out the bugs. I knew that there would be some of the little weevils in the popcorn that also show up in the beans. I call 'em "bean bugs", but they are a weevil of some type.
It didn't take long to shake out the popcorn and get it put in the cupboard in a couple of Tupperware containers. But it doesn't stop there. About two weeks ago, before popping some corn, I figured it was time to shake out the bugs again because more of the weevils would have hatched. I was right. I spent a few minutes shaking out the bugs before popping more corn. And tonight I did the same thing.
But tonight, I expanded the search and destroy mission. I had half a bag of store bought red beans in the cupboard and figured that they should probably be shaken out, too. I was right. Although store bought bags of beans don't typically have as many weevils as those we buy up near the lake, I knew that there would still be some larvae in the beans when they were picked, sorted and bagged.
Store bought beans are typically cleaner, with very few pebbles in them, but the flavor of the beans we buy at the side of the road up near Lago de Yojoa is far superior. The downside, of course, is that the Lake beans have way more bean bugs and need to be shaken out and sorted much more diligently than their store bought counterparts. For me, the trade off is worth it.
All that shaking and sorting tonight got me thinking... I'm sure that the Honduran women are not quite as meticulous when it comes to sorting their beans. I know they work to get rid of the pebbles and dirt clods, but I'm sure that lots and lots of weevils make it into the pot. Extra protein? I guess I shouldn't think about it too much!!
On a whim, I just googled 'bean weevils'. Lots of info there. Go ahead, give it a try.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Broken Server, Broken Internet, Broken Toe...
Wow! What a week it's been. Let me tell you a little about it:
Last Monday morning we had a power failure. Now, normally that's no big deal. In fact, we have a lot of power failures around here. Sometimes they only last 20 or 30 minutes and sometimes they last for hours and hours. Last Monday's was one of the shorter ones, only about 20 or 30 minutes. The power came back on and all was well. At least I thought it was.
After power is restored, we normally have to reboot the computer server in order to get people back online. Well, it had been more than a few hours since the power was back, but I noticed that we still didn't have internet. I figured that people in the school office had been too busy dealing with school registration to reboot the server. So, I went over to take care of it.
I rebooted the server and waited until everything should have come back up. No dice. Then I went into our wiring closet and rebooted the firewall computer in case that was the culprit. Still no dice. Reboot the server again. Nope. Nada. OK, occasionally when the power comes back, things don't reset at the cable company and I was willing to believe that maybe that's what we were dealing with. I just decided to call it a night and look at things the next morning.
Tuesday morning, things were no better. Still no internet and still no server access. No server access means that people can't access vital documents. That's definitely not a good thing during registration time.
I attached a monitor to the server and logged what was happening. Darn! We're stuck in a boot loop. I wrote down the details so that I could relay them to Greg in the States and we could figure out what was happening. Then, I tried attaching my laptop directly to the cable modem to see if the internet was back up and running. Not yet. OK, so that leaves us with a broken server and a broken internet
Greg and I spent some time talking about the server, discussing plans to retrieve data and then reconfigured the firewall so that it would hand out IP addresses once the cable company had the internet back up. By now it was around 9:30pm.
Leaving the school, I was walking at a quick pace along the dark walkway in front of some of our classes. All of a sudden *W*H*A*M*!!! It was no longer dark. In fact, it was quite bright and I could see lots and lots of stars ~~ and I didn't even need to look into the night sky. I had kicked a large brick that is used to prop up some wire cubbies where our young kids put their lunches and sweaters. Ouch! And, I mean OUCH!!! Within three more steps, I knew that I had broken my toe. It was an all too familiar sensation.
By the time I reached Sandi's front door, I just stood in the doorway. She saw the look on my face and asked, "What's the matter?" I told her I had just broken a toe. I made it over to a chair and tried to catch my breath. Then, I asked Sandi for some ibuprofen right away. I needed to try to get some pain and swelling relief right away.
But I still had work to do. After a few minutes, we called the cable company and Brenda explained what was and wasn't happening with our internet. Finally, Brenda handed me the phone so that I could explain more to the customer service guy. My first words to him were that I didn't speak Spanish very well and would he please speak slowly. Well, you can imagine my surprise when, in wonderful English, he asked me, "Are you the computer technician who has already looked at the system?" When I answered, "Yes, I am" in English, Sandi immediately turned toward the phone, a bit surprised.
I had a great experience with customer service from the cable company. I mean, really great!! And I kept encouraging the guy to continue using his English. We left things that a technician would be dispatched the next morning to come out and check our modem and connections upstream.
After hobbling home with Sandi and Brenda's help, I buddy-taped my broken pinky toe to the next one. Yes, I'm fairly practiced in the art of buddy taping toes. I've broken various toes more times than I can remember. 5? 6? 114? I even took a Darvocet N-100 hoping that it would help me sleep through the night. Not even close. Ugh!
So, early Wednesday morning I was up and over at the bodega looking for a baston (cane) with Antonio's help. We found one fairly quickly and then I just waited for Trify and Erica to arrive. We were heading to Tegucigalpa to pick up school books and other assorted things. I also added some computer parts to the shopping list and hoped we'd be able to find what I needed.
Miraculously, we got everything we needed and even had lunch before heading back to Comayagua in time for me to teach my afternoon English class. We pulled in at about 3:40pm and a few people asked if we were going to cancel class. I told them "Of course not. Class starts at 4:00 and I have 20 minutes to get my things and come back." I think they were a bit surprised by that, especially since I was dealing with the broken toe, as well.
So there you have it: broken server, broken internet, broken toe. Although the server is still down, I've been able to retrieve data and put it on the local machines of each person who needs it. The internet is back up and running. Although it will be a 6-8 week process, my toe is healing and I'm no longer using the cane.
As you can see, there's never a dull moment when you're a missionary...
Last Monday morning we had a power failure. Now, normally that's no big deal. In fact, we have a lot of power failures around here. Sometimes they only last 20 or 30 minutes and sometimes they last for hours and hours. Last Monday's was one of the shorter ones, only about 20 or 30 minutes. The power came back on and all was well. At least I thought it was.
After power is restored, we normally have to reboot the computer server in order to get people back online. Well, it had been more than a few hours since the power was back, but I noticed that we still didn't have internet. I figured that people in the school office had been too busy dealing with school registration to reboot the server. So, I went over to take care of it.
I rebooted the server and waited until everything should have come back up. No dice. Then I went into our wiring closet and rebooted the firewall computer in case that was the culprit. Still no dice. Reboot the server again. Nope. Nada. OK, occasionally when the power comes back, things don't reset at the cable company and I was willing to believe that maybe that's what we were dealing with. I just decided to call it a night and look at things the next morning.
Tuesday morning, things were no better. Still no internet and still no server access. No server access means that people can't access vital documents. That's definitely not a good thing during registration time.
I attached a monitor to the server and logged what was happening. Darn! We're stuck in a boot loop. I wrote down the details so that I could relay them to Greg in the States and we could figure out what was happening. Then, I tried attaching my laptop directly to the cable modem to see if the internet was back up and running. Not yet. OK, so that leaves us with a broken server and a broken internet
Greg and I spent some time talking about the server, discussing plans to retrieve data and then reconfigured the firewall so that it would hand out IP addresses once the cable company had the internet back up. By now it was around 9:30pm.
Leaving the school, I was walking at a quick pace along the dark walkway in front of some of our classes. All of a sudden *W*H*A*M*!!! It was no longer dark. In fact, it was quite bright and I could see lots and lots of stars ~~ and I didn't even need to look into the night sky. I had kicked a large brick that is used to prop up some wire cubbies where our young kids put their lunches and sweaters. Ouch! And, I mean OUCH!!! Within three more steps, I knew that I had broken my toe. It was an all too familiar sensation.
By the time I reached Sandi's front door, I just stood in the doorway. She saw the look on my face and asked, "What's the matter?" I told her I had just broken a toe. I made it over to a chair and tried to catch my breath. Then, I asked Sandi for some ibuprofen right away. I needed to try to get some pain and swelling relief right away.
But I still had work to do. After a few minutes, we called the cable company and Brenda explained what was and wasn't happening with our internet. Finally, Brenda handed me the phone so that I could explain more to the customer service guy. My first words to him were that I didn't speak Spanish very well and would he please speak slowly. Well, you can imagine my surprise when, in wonderful English, he asked me, "Are you the computer technician who has already looked at the system?" When I answered, "Yes, I am" in English, Sandi immediately turned toward the phone, a bit surprised.
I had a great experience with customer service from the cable company. I mean, really great!! And I kept encouraging the guy to continue using his English. We left things that a technician would be dispatched the next morning to come out and check our modem and connections upstream.
After hobbling home with Sandi and Brenda's help, I buddy-taped my broken pinky toe to the next one. Yes, I'm fairly practiced in the art of buddy taping toes. I've broken various toes more times than I can remember. 5? 6? 114? I even took a Darvocet N-100 hoping that it would help me sleep through the night. Not even close. Ugh!
So, early Wednesday morning I was up and over at the bodega looking for a baston (cane) with Antonio's help. We found one fairly quickly and then I just waited for Trify and Erica to arrive. We were heading to Tegucigalpa to pick up school books and other assorted things. I also added some computer parts to the shopping list and hoped we'd be able to find what I needed.
Miraculously, we got everything we needed and even had lunch before heading back to Comayagua in time for me to teach my afternoon English class. We pulled in at about 3:40pm and a few people asked if we were going to cancel class. I told them "Of course not. Class starts at 4:00 and I have 20 minutes to get my things and come back." I think they were a bit surprised by that, especially since I was dealing with the broken toe, as well.
So there you have it: broken server, broken internet, broken toe. Although the server is still down, I've been able to retrieve data and put it on the local machines of each person who needs it. The internet is back up and running. Although it will be a 6-8 week process, my toe is healing and I'm no longer using the cane.
As you can see, there's never a dull moment when you're a missionary...
Saturday, February 5, 2011
On the Road to La Libertad...
Today I decided to go for a nice leisurely motorcycle ride out toward La Libertad. I've wanted to get some photos, but have never had my camera with me while out that way. Today, all that changed. I grabbed my point-n-shoot digital camera and put it in a backpack. I tucked away a few Lempiras in case I decided to stop for a Coke or something. Then I was on my way.
Here's a photo I took not too far outside of Comayagua...
Just a few kilometers further down the road, there is a cemetery that sits under a power tower...
This is a scene along the way...
Here is a scene looking down on one of the market roads in La Libertad (notice the bird's nest of wires on the power pole)...
And finally, a shanty town that has sprung up on the side of a mountain...
Yes, people are really living in those homes.
Being out in the warm sunshine was wonderful. I often use bike time, whether bicycle or motorcycle, as prayer time. For me, it's very easy to focus on God when I'm out in His creation.
Once back in Comayagua, I stopped at a little comedor that makes wonderful pupusas and had lunch. After that, I leisurely wound my way back through the city and finally home again. I had been out for several hours, putting almost 100 kilometers on my moto. I also got quite a bit of sun on my arms. Reminder to self: Next time, wear sunscreen.
I took a lot more photos than I've posted here. I'll be uploading them to Facebook in just a few minutes. Feel free to peruse.
Here's a photo I took not too far outside of Comayagua...
Just a few kilometers further down the road, there is a cemetery that sits under a power tower...
This is a scene along the way...
Here is a scene looking down on one of the market roads in La Libertad (notice the bird's nest of wires on the power pole)...
And finally, a shanty town that has sprung up on the side of a mountain...
Yes, people are really living in those homes.
Being out in the warm sunshine was wonderful. I often use bike time, whether bicycle or motorcycle, as prayer time. For me, it's very easy to focus on God when I'm out in His creation.
Once back in Comayagua, I stopped at a little comedor that makes wonderful pupusas and had lunch. After that, I leisurely wound my way back through the city and finally home again. I had been out for several hours, putting almost 100 kilometers on my moto. I also got quite a bit of sun on my arms. Reminder to self: Next time, wear sunscreen.
I took a lot more photos than I've posted here. I'll be uploading them to Facebook in just a few minutes. Feel free to peruse.
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