Honduran-Style Holidays

We spent Christmas and New Year's in La Ceiba, as our village house isn't quite ready for a toddler and baby. (Here is a post about what holiday celebrations are like in rural Garífuna communities.) Although many people prefer to travel to their home communities instead of staying in the city, we still had a fun time as a family (Part 1), and we now realize God had a plan for Fernando to be here (Part 2 below).

Part 1: Enjoying the Holidays

Many Hondurans decorate for Christmas, stringing lights on their roofs and winding them around palm trees. Garlands and trees with artificial flowers and pinecones, lights, and ornaments, are common, as well as snowmen, reindeer, and other symbols. With such a hot year, it made the north pole feel a tiny bit closer!

Our toddller-friendly wreath

Christmas music plays in stores, including carols and songs familiar to us but in Spanish, and also typical upbeat Latino carols. You can hear one about how the fish in the river drink water when they see baby Jesus is born and the burrito (donkey) who traveled to Bethlehem. (These two get stuck in my head whenever I go to the grocery store during the Christmas season.)

Honduran women spend Christmas Eve (La Noche Buena) in the kitchen, preparing tamales, arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), roasted meats, and cakes and breads. Families stay up until midnight eating the food and setting off fireworks. People sleep in on Christmas Day and then visit and share food with family, friends, and neighbors. We were given some delicious dishes from both Garífuna and Latino friends and neighbors.

Check out the Christmas lights on this taxi. Sadly, I didn't have the camera when a car with antlers went by.



New Year's is considered the most important holiday of the year, and the exodus from urban to rural areas increases. Like Christmas, women prepare food and families await midnight to set off fireworks and celebrate the start of the year... and then spend New Year's Day recovering!

Although we missed the more colorful traditions of Garífuna communities, and especially spending time with family, I made my mom's Christmas Day coffee cake and some cookies (which had to be refrigerated so they wouldn't melt), and my Christmas "gifts" were the extra quiet and increased water pressure due to an emptier neighborhood. :)



Having fun together over the holidays

Part 2: Joining Others in Suffering

We saw how God allowed Fernando to be in La Ceiba to minister in two difficult situations. The first occurred near the village the day after Christmas. A relative got stuck crossing the sandbar in the early morning hours, the common time to begin the long trip to the nearest city. Some other travelers stopped to pull the stalled pick-up across and, tragically, were mistaken for drug traffickers by a military group, who opened fire and killed one young man.

No drugs or weapons were found on anybody or in any vehicle. Another man, about 20 years of age, was wounded and transferred to a hospital in La Ceiba, where he passed away. Fernando joined the family and others from their home community at the morgue as they prepared to take the body back to the village for burial. (A big thank you to our supporters, who enable us to help with such expenses in these situations.)

It is impossible to live here without knowing people who have lost their lives or been affected by drug trafficking and violence -- hardworking people going about their everyday lives in their communities. I have become used to Fernando occasionally going to wakes late at night, and I recognize by the tone of his voice when he receives a phone call with bad news. But this incident was a shock, since we have traveled in that location at that hour.

Several days later, Fernando found out that a friend and fairly new believer was hospitalized for a blood condition he has had for several years (doctors think it's leukemia). Fernando visited him each day, reading Scripture to him, praying with him, and listening to him share his heart. He is now home with his wife and two young children, and we continue to pray for his healing and for strength, peace, and hope in the Lord.

Praise God for sending His Son, Emmanuel, God with us in both celebrations and in tragedies, who saves us from our sin and provides an eternal home for His children. Even as we enjoy holiday food and time with family and friends, how good it is to know that the wedding banquet and eternal life are promised to us. May He use us to bring His hope of justice and restoration and His light to darkness in this new year.

Christmas/New Year's in Wageira

Happy New Year! We hope 2013 is off to a good start for you. Fernando and I are back in La Ceiba after spending two weeks with Fernando's family in Wageira. We are thankful for a good, safe trip and would like to share a few highlights with you.

We spent one day at a youth conference held at a nearby community, and Fernando was one of the speakers:

I enjoyed continuing to meet with Rosa (pseudonym), Fernando's cousin's wife. We had been studying the Bible and praying together in La Ceiba, and it is exciting to see her grow in her faith as she learns from God's Word. On Christmas Eve day, I joined Rosa and her sister to make tamales:

  Cornmeal dough (masa) with juice from pork meat and other seasonings

 

Preparing plantain leaves

 

Filling the leaves with the cornmeal, meat (pork or chicken), vegetables, and rice

 

Filling the pot to cook it over the fire

 

 

 

Later, we got ready for church, where the service continues until midnight or later.

 

 Merry Christmas!

 

With Fernando's sister

 

Fernando sharing a Christmas message during the service

 

 

People spend Christmas Day relaxing with their families and eating the food made the day before. Fernando and I took a walk with some friends down the beach to a river. We enjoyed coconuts and swimming in the ocean.

 

 

 

While we were there, a truck had to cross the river on a raft. Here is a picture and a video of the process:

 

On other days, people enjoyed soccer games:

 

(No. 15 is a superstar)

 

I enjoyed practicing Garifuna and am encouraged because I can speak much more than I could a year ago. Wageira is the ideal place to learn Garifuna, as it is the language people prefer to speak and there are a lot of people to talk with.

New Year's Eve is also celebrated at church, where Fernando gave another sermon and we enjoyed special presentations by children and youth:

 

At midnight, each family there gathered to pray - probably my favorite moment of the holidays, thanking God together with Fernando's family and praying for each other as we start the new year.

 

Several hours later, there was still a praise party going strong! I needed a little rest, so I took this video:

On New Year's Day, there is a traditional dance called Wanaragua ('mask'). Fernando's cousin dressed up and ready to go:

 

 

After such a good trip, we are back home preparing for the coming months. We would appreciate your prayers for wisdom and faithfulness in our work each day, and for trust in the Lord for our plans this year.

 

We want to say, "Thank you!!!" to those who have sent special gifts in the past few months, which have been an incredible help for the projects we're working on as well as our own needs - thank you!

 

Also, thank you for visiting our blog, and we look forward to sharing with you again soon. Happy New Year, everyone!

Guess the Mystery Meat!

We were given some meat that many people here find quite delicious. A friend came over to teach me how to prepare it. If you think you know what it is, leave a comment!

Raw

Cooking it in coconut milk

Ready to eat!





Unconventional Thanksgiving Meal

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a day full of good food, time with family and friends, and, especially, celebration of all of God's good gifts in your lives.

We spent the week in Wageira, working on more stories for the OneStory project and visiting several pastors to encourage them in their studies. As usual, I enjoyed practicing Garifuna with Fernando's family and am happy to see continued progress.

The meal we ate on Thanksgiving wasn't turkey, but it was delicious! We had machuca (Spanish) / hudutu (Garifuna): mashed plantains, coconut soup, and fish. It was so good I forgot to take a picture until half-way through! :)

For dinner, I helped make tortillas, which we ate with refried beans and cheese. It's obvious that I made these ones because they're not exactly round! But, thanks to Fernando's sisters, my skills are improving (good thing for him!).

This year, I feel particularly thankful for being part of Fernando's family, especially since I am far away from my family in the U.S. I also am thankful for how God brought Fernando and me together in this adventure of serving Him, and for all of you who are a blessing in our lives!

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you." Colossians 1:3