PREVIOUS 2 POSTS WERE ON AFRICA, READ THEM, IF YOU CARE TO.
These have all been posted before, but many did not get to read them, so posting again on this blog. I do not want to lose these memories as age creeps up on me, so I have them here to visit when I want.
In 1971, I had been married to my 2nd husband almost a year, there was a Missionary group leaving from our Church to go to Honduras.
I was asked to go, I prayed & prayed about this, talked with my husband & decided to go. He did not want to go, as he felt his job would not let him off for 6 mos, plus the fact that although he attended Church with me, he was not a Christian.
He supported my decision to go, & planned for my son, who was about 3, & himself to stay with my Mom & Step Dad while I was gone. This was good, for I knew my Mother would look after my son well & I would need not worry.
So, there was 10 of us going, 7 men & 3 women...to a 'slum area' a short ways from San Pedro Sula. The plane trip was long, then we arrived but we found it hard to get through customs, many of our things were confiscated.
The trip itself to the village was tiring and stressful, we had to go by horses most of the way (2 per horse), up & down mountainous terrain, through grasslands & swamps, being watchful the whole time due to bandits in the area. At one point I remember having to pull over behind big bushes & tall grasses to muffle our horses, praying while a band of bandits passed us by.
When we arrived, I was not prepared for what met me, it was almost unbearable. A foul stench met my nostrils from the open sewage everywhere. Little children, filthy with raggedy clothes, barefoot, open sores on their tiny bodies.
We were greeted by warm smiles, but suspicious eyes, & shown to 2 small houses that had holes in the roofs & the ground for floors. These were to be our homes for the next 6 mos.The men took one and the women the other. We were given old straw mats to sleep on.
Our first job was to try & patch the roofs as best we could to keep out the rain...as this was the rainy season.The children needed to be bathed and their sores treated, after that we talked with the mothers about cleanliness.
There was among our group a man that spoke fluent Spanish, so that was a big help!
We contacted a group, much like the Peace Corp, and worked with them in arranging immediate emergency food, clothing, more med supplies, etc, for these people. They came in a couple of vehicles, & a jeep with armed escorts, to bring supplies. How they drove down that grown over narrow dirt road I have no ideal, used to it here I guess.
They had well water, but we taught them the need to boil the water before using.
The village usually had food, mostly from their farming, some fishing, poultry, & the many fruits that were everywhere. But it was stolen on a regular basis from bandits in the hills, leaving them with nothing but fruit for several weeks to months at a time. We showed them how to keep the most part of it hidden, and have only a small amount out at any one time. We dug a cellar under one of the houses & they could keep a lot of the food there.
We took turns preaching and teaching! Having Services 4 evenings a week in the old Church on the outskirts of the village. We also did some renovation to the Church giving it a new life!
Since there was a civil war brewing, we had to always be careful and on guard. There were bandits living in the hills that would on occasions raid the villages, taking their food, & sometimes raping the young girls. We were told that several people had been killed when trying to stand in their way. While we were there 2 raids took place, but no one was hurt seriously. They took what little food was available, pushed us all around a little to show how tough they were, then left.
Once, I got pushed to the ground, ended up with a skinned knee & elbow, a few bruises...and one of our men was punched in the face & stomach. All because we blocked a man from dragging an 11 yo girl into the bushes.They had guns & knives, so as to save your life, it was better to not interfere, except when you HAD to. We were surprised that the man just shoved the girl back to us, muttered something and left. Going to another village I guess.
Although they had a Church , it was in bad shape, needing work, and the people did not come to worship as they should. We changed that! We got them involved in fixing it up, something they could be proud of. We talked with and helped educate their Pastor. He was a good man, but had almost lost his faith, we prayed with him, and for him. He re-dedicated his life to God, and to his people! There were regular services, teachings about Jesus, songs, music, many people gave their souls to Christ! It was a time to be happy, to know God had not forsaken them!
The people were of White/Indian ancestry, they were very poor, and most lived in houses made of adobe. The temp was around 80 most of the time we were there. A pleasantly warm season but with a lot of rain. Life there was tough, no amenities. Almost primitive. There was no running water, but they did have the community well.
People simply squatted and defecated where ever they felt the need to go. You would see a woman squatting by her front door, or a child in tiny dirt road (path) that went through the little village. Then the rain made it all one big sewage dump! We taught them how to go into the woods behind their homes, take a stick and dig a shallow hole, then cover it up (we thought of a litter box back home). We had wanted to build a communal outhouse, but they didn't like that ideal. They bathed & washed their clothes at an inland river nearby.
We encouraged them to bathe more often, & taught them about the need to keep clean and wear clean clothing. Dress was simple, some wore traditional clothing while others chose to dress more like us. Each family had their own cooking station, kind of like a fire place in our homes. Then there was a large cooking pit that was used for cooking community meals, i.e. weddings, etc. There was no medical help here, other than an old lady who helped birth babies. For serious illness or injury they'd have to go into town.
I recall several days when you could hear gunshots in the distance, they said it was the bandits raiding nearby villages. It was an accepted way of life.
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